Application of supervised and nonsupervised microcounseling paradigms in the training of registered and licensed practical nurses.

Studied the effect of supervision on the learning of interviewing skills within the microcounseling format, using 18 female registered and licensed practical nurses at the psychiatric ward of a midwestern Veterans Administration hospital. Ss were randomly assigned to a supervised, nonsupervised, or no-training control condition. Trained coders categorized 32 trainee utterances from pretraining and posttraining videotaped interviews as one or more microcounseling skills, opposite skills, or a miscellaneous skill. Analyses revealed a significant main effect indicating significant improvement in only the supervised group's combined use of opposite and microcounseling skills. A significant double interaction demonstrated significantly higher Ideal Therapeutic Relationship Scale ratings as a function of training condition and time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Selection versus training in the development of paraprofessionals.

To investigate the relative contributions of selection and training on the performance of paraprofessionals, 80 undergraduate volunteers responded to simulated phone calls. Ss were randomly divided into 4 samples, and 1 group was chosen from each sample. Two groups were chosen on the basis of high scores on the Telephone Counseling Effectiveness Scale (TCES), which was used to rate the responses to the phone call, and 2 groups were chosen randomly. One selection group and one random group were trained in 3 2-hr training sessions. All Ss were then asked to respond to the call again, and once again 3 wks later. All calls were rated using the TCES. Using an analysis of covariance, training was found to have a significant main effect, while selection was not. There was also a 3-way interaction between training, selection, and test. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Status and independence as variables in microcounseling training of adolescents.

Studied 104 high school sophomores aspiring to be peer counselors to determine whether trainees, blocked on the variable of dependency-independency, would learn the helping skill of open-ended comments more effectively from microcounseling training in which no special status was attributed to the model. The interaction of model status and trainee dependency-independency and its effect on training outcome was also examined. Results from a posttest-only design using a 2 * 2 analysis of variance show that adolescent trainees exposed to a high-status model employed the target counseling skill at a significantly higher level than trainees whose model's status was not indicated. Independent trainees employed the target skill at a significantly higher level than dependent trainees, contrary to expectation. No significant interaction effect was found. Results suggest applicability of the microcounseling paradigm for training adolescents in a helping skill, but for maximum effect it must be used differentially. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assertion training for mental health paraprofessionals.

Provided 10 wks of assertion training to 8 mental hospital paraprofessionals who, in turn, served as either counselor or counselee in a microcounseling session with 8 paraprofessionals untrained in assertion training. The data were analyzed by a 2 * 2 completely randomized multivariate analysis of variance. Trained counselors were superior to untrained counselors on a set of counselor-effectiveness measures. Trained counselees differed from untrained counselees on a set of client behaviors. This effect was mediated by the training of the counselor. The problems of conducting scientifically valid research within an institution are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluating training programs for paraprofessionals and nonprofessionals.

The importance of paraprofessional and nonprofessional human service workers in the current mental health delivery system has resulted in the development of systematic training methods for such personnel. Mental health professionals must begin the complex task of assessing such training. Three major strategies for the comprehensive evaluation of training programs are offered. The 1st strategy concerns the assessment of the differential usefulness of selection vs training of helpers. The 2nd strategy focuses on identifying factors producing effective training, while the 3rd entails an evaluation of the impact of systematically trained helpers on helpees. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An evaluation of microcounseling as an interviewer training tool.

Assigned 24 male 2nd-yr medical students to 1 of 2 interviewing training groups. The 12 microcounseling Ss received training in the use of attending behavior, open-ended questions, minimal activity responses, paraphrases, reflections of feeling, and summarization through the use of the microcounseling paradigm. The 12 comparison Ss received equivalent interview training. Pretraining and posttraining interviews with real patients were videotaped for each S. Data analysis reveals that both groups of Ss became better interviewers, but those receiving microcounseling training improved more than the comparison Ss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Experimental techniques of job interview training for the disadvantaged: Videotape feedback, behavior modification, and microcounseling.

Assigned 64 clients from 3 manpower agencies to 1 of 3 treatment conditions: (a) a combined-treatment program of videotape-feedback and behavior-modification techniques (n = 24), (b) a videotape-feedback-only program (n = 21), and (c) a no-treatment (control) program (n = 19). The Culture Fair Intelligence Test was administered to all Ss prior to the program. Results show that on 9 out of 10 measures of observable interview behavior, personnel interviewers, acting as judges in randomly presented videotaped interviews, reported greater positive change from the initial to the final interview among the combined-treatment group. Moreover, on 2 of these items, analysis of variance showed that the change was statistically significant, and on an overall evaluation item concerning the probability of hire, positive change also reached statistical significance. On the probability of hire item, both the video and combined groups' IQ test scores were significantly related to positive change. Results suggest that the application of these techniques could substantially increase the chances of a disadvantaged person's obtaining suitable employment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Integrating research on the microcounseling program: A meta-analysis.

Subjected research on Ivey's (1971) microcounseling program to a comprehensive meta-analytic review. A multistage sampling procedure resulted in the identification of 81 admissible studies. Glass's (1976) effect size (ES) statistic was used to estimate average effects for each study and across all studies, and the relation between ES and the sampling distribution of several important methodological and substantive characteristics was assessed. The most conservative overall ES statistic fell in the large-effect category. ESs were influenced differentially by the populations from which Ss were drawn and by the type of client the Ss interviewed when data for ratings on dependent measures were acquired. There was some evidence that the dependent measures used in microcounseling research are limited, which led to a conclusion that research on the teaching of more complex skills may be delayed. The microcounseling program has made a contribution to counseling training and may have pointed the way to new training models. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A symposium on skill dissemination for paraprofessionals: Models of training, supervision, and utilization.

Proposes designing better programs for training mental health paraprofessionals and presents a comprehensive training package focusing on skills that facilitate client life development. A broad conception of the roles proper for paraprofessionals is needed, and potential new roles are suggested. (76 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Performance of administrators, professionals, and paraprofessionals during community-based brain injury rehabilitation training

OBJECTIVE: Two related studies that evaluated the impact of a continuing education program about community-based rehabilitation on the performance of administrators, professionals, and paraprofessionals are presented. One study contained a second part that examined whether differences between pre-course test performance and post-course test performance might be accounted for by practice effects. DESIGN: Factorial mixed model designs. SETTING: University classroom. PARTICIPANTS: Three hundred and eight professionals, administrators, and paraprofessionals from a variety of community-based rehabilitation programs. INTERVENTION: The 4-day graduate-level course focused on three content areas: brain and behavior relationships, behavioral and cognitive intervention strategies, and a rehabilitation philosophy that emphasizes individual client rights. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: An examination completed before and immediately after taking the course. RESULTS: Professionals and administrators perform better than paraprofessionals when tested at the beginning and end of the training. However, the absolute differences among these groups were not substantial. In addition, the rate of learning course content was the same for administrators, paraprofessionals, and professionals. CONCLUSIONS: The results support the usefulness of training for all levels of staff and suggest that all levels of staff benefit in an equal fashion.     

Mentally retarded residents as paraprofessionals in modifying mealtime behavior.

Investigated, in 2 experiments, the possibility of employing 2 mildly mentally retarded residents (aged 28 and 39 yrs) to observe the mealtime behaviors of lower level mentally retarded residents (20-65 yr old females). It was found that the residents could rate mealtime behaviors reliably (mean reliability = 95%). The residents were then employed as reinforcing agents, to determine if a retarded "trainer" could modify the observed mealtime behaviors within a multiple baseline design. Since an experimental effect was demonstrated on 4 (proper use of napkin, clean face, clean table, and proper use of utensils) of the 5 target behaviors, it was concluded that such change agents could modify the mealtime behavior of lower functioning residents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interference effects in the Stroop and Simon paradigms.

The possibility that Stroop and Simon effects reflect the same cognitive processes was tested in 3 experiments with 62 adult Ss. The words LEFT and RIGHT were shown left and right of screen center. Similar levels of interference were found for a Simon task (keypress to meaning of word) and a spatial Stroop task (name its location). A reverse Simon task (keypress to word location) showed minimal interference from the irrelevant word, but in a reverse spatial Stroop task (read the word aloud) interference from the irrelevant location was sizeable. This poses difficulty for translational accounts of Stroop interference. Presenting LEFT and RIGHT laterally balanced by a color-name foil yielded a Simon effect inconsistent with an orienting response hypothesis. With bilateral stimuli in a reverse Simon task, interference was marked, supporting an integrative account of Stroop and Simon effects in terms of cognitive activation and the salience of irrelevant stimuli. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Application of two neural network paradigms to the study of voluntary employee turnover.

Two neural network paradigms—multilayer perceptron and learning vector quantization—were used to study voluntary employee turnover with a sample of 577 hospital employees. The objectives of the study were twofold. The 1st was to assess whether neural computing techniques offered greater predictive accuracy than did conventional turnover methodologies. The 2nd was to explore whether computer models of turnover based on neural network technologies offered new insights into turnover processes. When compared with logistic regression analysis, both neural network paradigms provided considerably more accurate predictions of turnover behavior, particularly with respect to the correct classification of leavers. In addition, these neural network paradigms captured nonlinear relationships that are relevant for theory development. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential control by context in the inflation and reinstatement paradigms.

Examined, in 5 conditioned suppression experiments, the influence of summation between fear of the CS and the context in experimental paradigms in which the rat is exposed to UCSs following conditioning or extinction. Context-preference tests assessed contextual fear. In Exps I–III with 88 female Wistar rats, the inflation paradigm, in which fear of a CS paired with a weak UCS is enhanced by exposure to intense UCS alone, was investigated. Results show that the contextual fear that was present when the target CS was tested was reduced by presenting the intense UCSs in a different context, by exposing Ss to the context following their presentation, and by signaling the intense UCSs with a 2nd CS. In Exp IV with 32 female Wistar rats, UCS exposures following conditioning or extinction both produced contextual fear, but only fear of the extinguished CS was reinstated by that fear. In Exp V with 32 female Wistar rats, identical amounts of contextual fear reinstated fear of an extinguished CS, but not a nonextinguished CS, when the 2 types of CSs were arranged to evoke comparable amounts of fear prior to testing. It is suggested that contextual fear plays a role in the reinstatement paradigm but not in the inflation paradigm. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ritualistic evocation of antiquated paradigms.

Comments on J. J. Magnavita's (see record 1993-42219-001) assertion that Freud's purported discovery of unconscious processes and psychic structures "laid the groundwork for the scientific investigation of emotional disorders and techniques for their amelioration." Freud fabricated an architectonic structure from hypothetical constructs that were developed over 150 yrs of psychophilosophical and clinical investigations of psychotherapy. The concepts popularized by Freud are often seen as increasingly antiquated or as impediments to a contemporary science of the mind. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)