Comments on Meehl and Rosen's paper.

In a paper by Meehl and Rosen (see 30: 2902) a rationale for evaluating the predictive efficiency of psychometric instruments is presented. The purpose of this paper is to emphasize the importance of administrative policy in any consideration of statistical criteria. A discussion of Meehl and Rosen's Case 1 situation is presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Estimability: Comments on a paper by Cramer and Appelbaum.

Contends that some statements made in a paper on nonorthogonal ANOVA by E. M. Cramer and M. I. Applebaum (see record 1980-06667-001) are incorrect. The corrections are provided. (3 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coordination success and interpersonal perceptions: Matching versus mismatching.

Coordination is an essential part of social functioning. The authors distinguish 2 types of coordination: matching and mismatching. In matching, coordination is successful if parties choose the same action. In mismatching, coordination is successful if people choose different actions. In 3 studies, the authors investigated the downstream social consequences of tacit coordination for interpersonal perceptions. In all studies, participants repeatedly choose between 2 bets with equivalent expected values, and payoffs increased either when they choose the same bet or when they choose different bets. In the 1st 2 studies, coordination success increased the perceptions of interpersonal similarity and liking when matching was required but not when mismatching was required. The authors' interpretation is that matching responses and coordination success had countervailing effects in the mismatching task. Also, percentage of matched responses did not affect perceptions when coordination was not required (Experiment 2). In 4 person teams, a frequently matching partner was viewed more favorably (smarter, more similar to self, and more liked) than were other teammates, even when mismatching increased payoffs (Experiment 3). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Matching smokers to treatment: Self-control versus social support.

This study involved 137 participants who were assessed on 12 relevant predictor variables and then randomly assigned to social support or self-control treatment. Outcome across treatments was predicted by cotinine levels, treatment history, previous abstinence, happiness, self-efficacy, and perceived social support for quitting. Social support treatment was more effective than self-control treatment for participants with high baseline self-control orientation scores and participants with high self-efficacy scores. All other hypothesized Subject?×?Treatment interaction effects were nonsignificant. The study provided an example of a coherent approach to matching research and demonstrated the difficulty involved in providing treatments that are different enough from each other to benefit different smokers. Matching research has important theoretical value but may have limited potential for improving smoking treatment effectiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Metacognitive regulation of text learning: On screen versus on paper.

Despite immense technological advances, learners still prefer studying text from printed hardcopy rather than from computer screens. Subjective and objective differences between on-screen and on-paper learning were examined in terms of a set of cognitive and metacognitive components, comprising a Metacognitive Learning Regulation Profile (MLRP) for each study media. Participants studied expository texts of 1000–1200 words in one of the two media and for each text they provided metacognitive prediction-of-performance judgments with respect to a subsequent multiple-choice test. Under fixed study time (Experiment 1), test performance did not differ between the two media, but when study time was self-regulated (Experiment 2) worse performance was observed on screen than on paper. The results suggest that the primary differences between the two study media are not cognitive but rather metacognitive—less accurate prediction of performance and more erratic study-time regulation on screen than on paper. More generally, this study highlights the contribution of metacognitive regulatory processes to learning and demonstrates the potential of the MLRP methodology for revealing the source of subjective and objective differences in study performance among study conditions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comments on Cattell's paper on "perturbations" in personality structure research.

This brief note is in reply to Cattell's (see 36: 2HJ60C) paper. From Psyc Abstracts 36:02:2HJ75B. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Belief versus race as determinants of social distance: Comment on Triandis' paper.

A joinder by Rokeach to a criticism of an idea in his book (1960) by Triandis (1961). From Psyc Abstracts 36:01:3GD87R. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comments on the paper by K.A. Lehman and K.H. Krauskopf. Intraoperative consciousness during balanced anesthesia

The renal cell carcinoma as the most common malignant renal tumour in adults may produce diagnostic difficulties if it follows atypical patterns. In the case of a polycystic renal tumour this problem is discussed; the high sensitivity of CT and MRT in detecting even small areas of solid tumour is shown.     

Comments on Gloria.

The author comments on his peformance with the client "Gloria" in the classic training film The Three Approaches to Psychotherapy. It is noted that rational-emotive therapy has employed many new thinking, feeling, and behavioral techniques since the film was made in 1965, including cognitive distraction, modeling, and skill training. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychometric phrenology revisited: Comments on neuropsychological testing.

Critically evaluates the interpretation by D. Amante et al (see record 1978-08129-001) of results obtained from testing 3rd-grade children with the Bender Gestalt Test, the Frostig Developmental Test of Visual Perception, and the Wepman Auditory Discrimination Test. It is argued that such tests not only lack empirical and linguistic validity, but also tend to confuse their users and may hamper more appropriate remediation services to children with learning disabilities. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attribution and affect: Comments on Sohn's critique.

The author examines D. Sohn's (see record 1978-21902-001) critique of his analysis of the attribution–affect relation. Weiner agrees that one should separate emotional reactions from interpersonal evaluation and that effort does not magnify all the possible affective reactions to success and failure. A conception relating attributions to affect that can incorporate Sohn's data is outlined. Weiner expresses the hope that this theoretical approach will provide a new path to the analysis of emotions. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comments on my critics.

Allan R. Buss responds to Bavelas' and Macdonald's criticisms of Buss's article (see record 1976-26634-001) on the evaluation of Canadian psychology departments. Buss says that Bavelas' (see record 2007-04411-001) criticisms are, in the main, important, insightful, and fundamentally correct and that Macdonald's (see record 2007-04410-001) criticisms are, in contrast to Bavelas', highly original, unimportant, and fundamentally incorrect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comments on orthogonal components.

Several limitations in the use of an orthogonal components solution, as proposed by Gaito (see 34: 3638), in situations requiring multiple comparisons tests are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reliable component analysis through maximizing composite reliability.

Reliable component analysis (RCA) provides (a) the weights that construct the most reliable linear composite of a battery's variables, (b) additional sets of weights that give the most reliable composites, uncorrelated with the first and each other, and (c) the reliabilities of each composite. The composites can be used to give factor loadings for the variables on the corresponding components. RCA is a promising method for exploratory factor analysis, because the components' reliabilities can provide a rational basis for the number of factors to rotate. The similarities and differences of component and common factor models are sketched. Artificial and real data are analyzed to illustrate RCA and suggest how its results may differ from those of other methods. Appropriate use of RCA rests on having good reliability estimates. Computations of RCA in a macro computer language are described. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multicultural research and practice: Theoretical issues and maximizing cultural exchange.

This article reviews literature on cross-cultural approaches to assessment, research, and clinical practice, culminating in recommendations for using a “cultural exchange” approach when working with multicultural clients. It examines challenges in studying culture and mental illness, including methodological issues and problems in defining constructs in multicultural research. Measurement of disorders cross-culturally, including efforts to validate depression measures for use with multicultural populations, is also discussed. Perspectives on cultural competence are presented, including the American Psychological Association Multicultural Guidelines, and a “cultural exchange” approach to therapy is presented as a tool for maximizing the benefit of therapy with multicultural clients. Three clinical vignettes are presented to illustrate the use of this approach and how identifying the commission of Type I and Type II multicultural errors can enhance clinical work. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comments: Doctors and Doctors.

Acknowledges that D?rken's report (May, 1955 American Psychologist), of the legal action challenging psychologists' right to the title of doctor, touches on a point that has been and will be a cause of concern for many psychologists. In an apparently unrelated item on page 224 of the same issue there appears what nicely serves as an illustration of how we help to maintain the confusion over the meaning and use of the title of doctor. The author comments on the confusion arising because doctor has two meanings, first as a title and second as an occupational category. He goes on to discuss the distinction made between the "doctor" and "physician". (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)