Measurement of identification: A methodological note.

Each of 16 children (age 5-8 yr.) watched his same-sex parent and a stranger of the same sex compete in a perceptual recognition task. Stranger and parent were prerehearsed to pass and fail specific items during the competition, and each was praised or censured following success or failure. The child's overt behavior and heart rate were recorded during the session. The children smiled more after the parent succeeded and the stranger failed than after parent failure and stranger success. Degree of cardiac acceleration following parent success and stranger failure was larger than under the opposite conditions. The data suggest the feasibility of assessing vicarious involvement with the model as an index of identification. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A methodological note on job complexity indexes.

Investigated potential differences in the results of job design research as a function of the type of job complexity index used. A questionnaire was administered to 94 18–67 yr old nursing service employees, and 3 job complexity indices, a growth need strength, and the degree of general job satisfaction were calculated. Findings suggest that organizational scientists should give more careful consideration to the type of job complexity index employed in job design research, since the use of each of the 3 indices produced different results. (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Microcounseling Skill Discrimination Scale: A methodological note.

Absolute ratings on the Microcounseling Skill Discrimination Scale (MSDS) confound the individual's use of the rating scale (response language) and actual ability to discriminate effective and ineffective counselor behaviors. The present article suggests methods of scoring the MSDS that will eliminate variability attributable to response language and thereby improve the validity of the instrument. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A Guttman scale for sexual experience: A methodological note.

"The reported premarital heterosexual experience of 100 highly selected college men was subjected to the Cornell Technique of Guttman Scale Analysis, with a satisfactory scale forthcoming. It therefore appears feasible to order certain aspects of sexual behavior along a unidimensional cumulative scale, thus aiding in the definition of premarital sexual experience." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A methodological note on the study of personal space.

Considers that direct comparability of results of research on the concept of personal space has been hampered by the use of diverse methodologies, and presents empirical evidence on the relationships among 4 common methodologies in the measurement of personal space. Methods of live participation, observation of live actors, felt-board placement, and judgment of photographs were compared across 36 undergraduate Ss. Interrelationships suggest that the live observation and felt-board techniques are more reflective of Ss' actual behavior than are photograph judgments. A cluster analysis performed on the data reveals 2 distinct classes of methodologies for the study of personal space. (21 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A methodological note on time intervals between consecutive accidents.

It is pointed out that in the theoretical distribution of time intervals between consecutive accidents, short time intervals are much more frequent than long ones." An excess of short time intervals over long intervals between accidents is not itself, therefore, evidence of accident proneness. It must be shown that the excess is greater than that given by the theoretical distribution. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessment of premorbid social competence in schizophrenia: A methodological note.

The developmental theory underlying the Zigler-Phillips Social Competence Scale ({ZPSCS}; Zigler & Phillips, 1961) has important implications for using the scale to assess premorbid adjustment in schizophrenia. Many studies using the {ZPSCS} have scored the scale in an inconsistent manner or have not clearly limited the premorbid period to that prior to the onset of illness. {ZPSCS} ratings of social competence change over time, therefore studies using the {ZPSCS} should attend closely to the definition of the premorbid period and indicate whether premorbid or current adult social competence is being assessed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessing recognition memory for surface forms in discourse: A methodological note.

Two different experimental procedures have been advocated for testing recognition memory for surface forms in discourse. One involves using a reversed-text control group that reverses the roles of recognition targets and distractors. Experiments using this procedure have led some researchers to conclude that surface memory is a fairly robust phenomenon. The alternative procedure, which makes use of a no-text (or guessing) control group, has produced inconsistent results, leading other researchers to question the status of surface memory. The goals of this inquiry are to (1) explore the strengths and weaknesses of each approach, (2) assess alternative explanations for the inconsistency between them, and (3) evaluate the available evidence for better-than-chance recognition of surface forms in discourse. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Alternative measures of expressed emotion: A methodological and cautionary note.

Undergraduate raters listened to Camberwell Family Interviews that had been conducted with the spouses of depressed patients and then rated each relative with a rating-scale assessment of expressed emotion (EE). Students' ratings of relatives' criticism, hostility, emotional overinvolvement, and warmth were significantly correlated with trained raters' EE assessments obtained in the conventional manner. Despite this correspondence, further analyses revealed that undergraduates' assessments of relatives did not predict 9-mo relapse rates in patients. These results highlight the importance of establishing both the concurrent and predictive validity of any alternative measure of EE. They also emphasize the dangers of assuming that significant correlates of EE are necessarily significant predictors of relapse. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological versus spatial determinants of social schema distance: A methodological note.

Notes that recent applications of J. Kuethe's (see pa, vol. 37:2972) "social schema" technique to the measurement of interpersonal relationships among normal and disturbed persons have assumed that schematic figure placements indicate the psychological closeness a person feels toward given others. 2 experiments were conducted with 32 male undergraduates and 36 male hospital employees to investigate the possible confounding of psychological and spatial distance. In a factorial design, the effects of these 2 variables were examined both separately and in interaction. Psychological distance was varied by having ss interact with either a warm or a cold e, while spatial distance was varied by how far s sat away from E. Objective spatial distance exerted a significant influence on schematic placement distance, I.e., the distance placed between figures representing self and E. This influence was especially strong before ss and e had had appreciable interaction. E's psychological distance showed no effect on the figure placements. (11 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A note on recruiting sources and job survival rates.

Several recruiting sources for obtaining new workers used by an insurance company, a bank, and a professional abstracting service were compared in terms of their relationship to later job survival. Types of jobs studied included clerical, managerial, professional, and sales. Significant differences were found among the various recruiting sources in their relationship to later employee turnover. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A methodological and substantive note on the performance-cue effect in ratings of work-group behavior.

According to research on the performance-cue effect in work ratings, knowledge that a group performed well or poorly can trigger raters' implicit theories, resulting in inaccurate judgments of the group's behavior. Unfortunately, because information concerning group performance has always been provided by the experimenter, it has been impossible to tell whether the performance-cue effect reflects the influence of participants' implicit theories or is simply an attempt to conform to the experimenter's belief. To test these 2 explanations, participants observed a work group without having received performance information and then completed evaluative and behavioral ratings of the group. Allowing participants to evaluate the group free of any externally provided performance information enabled participants to form independently generated impressions; thus, the demand characteristic problem was eliminated. Results indicated the performance-cue effect is not an artifact and that it is likely due to a systematic response bias. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A methodological note on the selection of friends as controls

A number of issues inherent in the selection of friends as controls in case-control studies are illustrated in the light of a recent dietary study, based on hospital and friend controls. Preselection of certain characteristics of the controls by the interviewee is almost unavoidable. The choice of controls to be used in a case-control study must reflect the nature and type of hypothesis which is being tested. Advantages and drawbacks of potential control groups must be weighted against each other.     

A methodological note: Do students expect what clients do?

Research on expectations about counseling is complicated by use of noncomparable measurement techniques, varied definitions, and nonclient samples. The Expectations About Counseling (EAC) is an instrument that has been used in several studies and may help standardize research on expectations. The present study used the short form of the EAC to compare expectations of 78 university student nonclients, student clients, and nonstudent clients. Although no statistically significant differences were found among the groups, results must be viewed with caution. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A methodological note on the Cline and Richards' studies on accuracy of interpersonal perception.

Comments on a series of studies reported by Cline and Richards (1960, 1961) (see record 1960-07621-001; see record 1962-06527-001) that offer evidence for the existence of a global ability to judge others. The authors (1961) note that their findings are at variance with previous research which had failed to find any generality or global ability to judge. The comment asserts that the authors, though recognizing the introduction of bias, employ a faulty logic in its defense. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cline and Richards' reply to O'Connor's methodological note.

The authors reply to the comment by William F. O'Connor (see record 2006-01824-001). O'Connor (1963) has identified a point which was inadequately discussed in the original paper on accuracy of interpersonal perception (Cline & Richards, 1960) published in this journal (see record 1960-07621-001). Previous investigators had found little or no generality of accuracy of interpersonal perception, and from these earlier results, some had drawn the conclusion that it is impossible to obtain a homogeneous scale of accuracy of interpersonal perception. The authors, however, were convinced that the failure to find a homogeneous scale was a result of the methodology used rather than being inherent in the subject matter. In particular, previous investigators, after obtaining an initial sample of persons to be judged, used this sample without further selection. However, it is well known that even for characteristics where it is well established that it is possible to construct a homogeneous scale (for example, vocabulary knowledge or numerical facility), such a scale cannot be constructed from unselected items. It is necessary to do an item analysis in order to define a homogeneous scale. Since no such item selection was done by previous investigators of accuracy of interpersonal perception, the authors felt it was hardly surprising that no homogeneous scale was obtained. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of positive findings on submission and acceptance rates: A note on meta-analysis bias.

Argues that the effect size reported by M. L. Smith and G. V. Glass (see record 1978-10341-001) in their meta-analysis of therapeutic outcome may have been inflated by the selective bias for positive articles appearing in the research literature. Data from 609 members of the Clinical and Psychotherapy Divisions of the American Psychological Association indicate that there may be a significant relationship between research study outcome and the decision to submit a paper for publication. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dieting and depression: A methodological study.

Examined the effects of 3 variables on reports of psychological functioning in 28 obese women (mean age 42.1 yrs) who lost an average of 19.2 kg in 6 mo. Analysis of the 1st variable, frequency of assessment, showed that although Ss experienced improvements in mood from pre- to posttreatment, more than 50% showed worsening in mood during 1 or more wks. Analysis of the 2nd variable, time of assessment, revealed that retrospective reports of depression and anxiety were greater than were concurrent reports. Analysis of the 3rd variable, method of assessment, showed that Ss reported several symptoms in response to an open-ended interview that were not measured by objective tests. Data indicate that the method of mood assessment determines the answer to the question of whether dieting is associated with adverse psychological consequences. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early infantile autism: A methodological critique.

Examines the available evidence in support of early infantile autism (EIA) as an observable syndrome of related behaviors. It is proposed that the 1 psychometric instrument designed to detect EIA does not significantly improve upon a base-rate prediction. Criticism is offered concerning the nature of the criterion against which the instrument has been validated (diagnosis by a clinician) as well as the nature of the instrument itself (parental ratings, often retrospective). It is concluded that EIA has not yet been validly and empirically demonstrated as a unitary behavior disorder which may be reliably discriminated from other severe disturbances of child behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Show-Z-Minx: A note on code lettering.

9 of the 26 letters of the alphabet can be read upside down as well as right side up. The use of these letters as code designations in blind product testing can have a significant effect upon respondents' perceptions of the product, particularly when there is the possibility of settling or separation. An incident is reported in which the use of one of these letters had the effect of introducing irrelevant sources of variance into a product test of a packaged dry food. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)