When your top choice turns you down: Effect of rejected offers on the utility of selection tests.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 102(2) of Psychological Bulletin (see record 2008-10756-001). There was an error in the last line of Table 1, which appears on page 137. The corrected version is presented in the erratum.] Develops formulas for calculating the average ability of job candidates actually selected when the proportion of initial offers accepted is less than 100%. Three cases are considered: (a) those in which offers are declined at random, (b) those in which offers are declined by the highest-scoring applicants, and (c) those in which test scores are related to the probability of accepting an offer. It is shown that under realistic circumstances, utility formulas currently used could overestimate utility gains by 30–80% and that, under extreme circumstances, overestimation could be much worse. Such overestimation occurs even when tests are used only for screening rather than for rank-ordering candidates. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

MMPI, Rorschach, and WAIS: A meta-analytic comparison of reliability, stability, and validity.

We estimated the average reliability, stability, and validity of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), Rorschach Inkblot Test, and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) from articles published in the Journal of Personality Assessment and the Journal of Clinical Psychology between 1970 and 1981. Following standard psychometric theory, reliability values exceeded stability values, which exceeded validity values. Validity studies based on theory, prior research, or both showed greater effects than did studies lacking a theoretical or empirical rationale. In general, the reliability and stability of all three tests were acceptable and approximately equivalent. The convergent-validity estimates for the Rorschach and MMPI were not significantly different, but both these estimates were lower than the estimate for the WAIS. It appears that both the MMPI and Rorschach can be considered to have adequate psychometric properties if used for the purpose for which they were designed and validated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Two studies of the long-term follow-up of minimal therapist contact treatments of vascular and tension headache.

Tension and vascular headache patients, initially treated with biofeedback and/or relaxation training in either a minimal therapist contact protocol (3 visits) or an intensive individual protocol (10 or 16 visits) were followed-up prospectively for 2 years. In the first study, for the first 6 months of follow-up, half of all patients continued to keep headache diaries and were seen monthly and the other half had only minimal contact. The results at 1-year follow-up, based on 4 weeks of daily headache diaries, revealed equally good maintenance from both treatment protocols and from both follow-up conditions. In Study 2, we found that patients remained improved over pretreatment baseline levels at the 2-year follow-up regardless of initial treatment intensity. Approximately three quarters of vascular patients who were initially improved at posttreatment remained improved at 2 years. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Religious life-styles and mental health: An exploratory study.

Conducted an intensive, case-by-case assessment of life-styles of a sample of religious students. We identified differing styles of religiousness and made comparisons by means of tests and interviews between subgroups whose subjects manifested differing religious life-styles. Those subjects with continuous religious development and mild religious experiences appeared to be healthier than those with discontinuous development and intense religious experiences; however, intense religious experiences tended to enhance the adjustment of those who experienced them. There was no evidence in the group as a whole for an overall negative or positive correlation between religiousness and mental health, but some modes of religious involvement appeared to be related to disturbance, whereas other modes appeared to be related to enhanced stability and resilience. Because causality in these relations remains uncertain, we generate hypotheses concerning further studies of life-styles and adjustment. We also discuss implications for student counseling and development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of austenitizing temperature on the fracture initiation toughness of As- quenched hp9- 4- 20 steel

The mechanical properties of a heat of HP9-4-20 steel in the as-quenched condition have been determined as a function of austenitizing temperature. The mechanical properties determined included smooth axisymmetric and plane strain tensile properties, the Charpy impact energy, and the fracture initiation toughness. Austenitizing temperatures of 840 °, 1050 °, and 1200 ° were utilized. The effects of austenitizing temperature on the characteristics of the primary and secondary particle distributions and on other microstructural features were quantified. For this material the results suggested that the increased fracture toughness resulting from higher austenitizing temperatures was due to both an increase in the primary particle spacing and to increased resistance to void sheet formation. The increased resistance to void sheet resistance is attributed to changes in the characteristics of the secondary particle distributions.     

An illusion of memory: False recognition influenced by unconscious perception.

The results of two experiments showed that an illusion of memory can be produced by unconscious perception. In a first phase of those experiments, a long list of words was presented for study. For the test of recognition memory given in the second phase of each experiment, presentation of a "context" word preceded that of most recognition test words. Ss were to judge whether or not the test words had been presented during the earlier study phase of the experiment. Effects of a context word on this recognition memory decision were opposite when Ss were aware vs. unaware of its presentation. For example, as compared to a condition in which no context word was presented, the probability of false recognition was increased when Ss were unaware but decreased when Ss were aware of the presentation of a context word that matched the recognition test word. Results are discussed in terms of unconscious influences on an attribution process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Visual conversion disorder: A case analysis of the influence of visual information.

We examined the influence of visual information on a decision task that was administered to an individual with monocular visual conversion disorder. Findings indicated that his performance was influenced by the visual information and by motivation instructions. The findings are discussed in terms of a model of hysterical blindness that recognizes the interplay of cognitive and motivational processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Under what conditions are observed intercorrelations greater or smaller than true intercorrelations?

Two possible explanations were examined for finding that observed correlations among dimensions are sometimes greater than and sometimes less than true intercorrelations: It can be explained by (a) variation in true halo or (b) in terms of individual differences in perceived similarities among dimensions. Subjects (N?=?145) viewed videotapes that exhibited either high or low true halo, rated them, and rated similarities among dimensions. True halo level accounted for significant variance in rating intercorrelation, but perceived similarity did not. Results suggest that neither explanation is adequate to account for the finding that observed intercorrelations can either overestimate or underestimate true intercorrelations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The cost of good fortune: When positive life events produce negative health consequences.

Previous research regarding the effects of positive life events on physical health has been inconclusive. We tested the hypothesis that positive life events have a detrimental effect on health only among people with negative self-views. This prediction derives from an identity disruption model of stress, which holds that an accumulation of life events that are inconsistent with the self-concept leads to physical illness. To test the hypothesis, we conducted 2 prospective studies in which positive life events and self-esteem were used to predict the development of illness over time. In accordance with predictions, both studies showed that desirable life changes were associated with increases in illness only among Ss with low self-esteem; among Ss with high self-esteem, positive life events were linked to better health. Implications for understanding the manner in which life events affect health are considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Facilitation of sociomoral reasoning in delinquents.

An intervention involving 60 incarcerated juvenile delinquents (ages 14–18 yrs) yielded significant gains in sociomoral reasoning that were attributable to a dilemma-discussions treatment. The treatment consisted of 8 weekly small-group discussions of sociomoral dilemmas. Ss were pretested on the Sociomoral Reflection Measure (SRM) and the Dilemma Decisions Survey and were assigned to either consensus dilemma-discussion, nonconsensus dilemma-discussion, or no-discussion groups. Pretest results show that Ss initially differed in both sociomoral stage and dilemma opinion. Of the dilemma-discussions Ss, 87.5% were pretested at Modal Stage 2 on the SRM and shifted to Modal Stage 3 on the posttest, whereas only 14.3% of the Modal Stage 2 control Ss did so. Pretest Modal Stage 3 Ss remained at Stage 3 on the posttest. Across the experimental groups, no difference was found between groups where a consensus was required for the discussion and groups having no consensus requirement. Investigations of the possible in-program and postrelease behavioral ramifications of the dilemma-discussions treatment are recommended. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)