Schizophrenic thought disorders and impaired perspective.

Hypothesized that impaired perspective on the idiosyncracy of their own behavior is a central factor in the speech and thought pathology of schizophrenics and bizarre patients. 30 schizophrenic and 29 nonschizophrenic patients (mean age 25 yrs) rated the typicalness of their own and other patients' responses to proverbs. An index of perspective was calculated by correlating these ratings with trained judges' ratings of the idiosyncracy of the responses. Perspective on patients' own responses was significantly lower among schizophrenics and bizarre patients than among nonschizophrenics and nonbizarre patients. Poorer perspective occurred in patients' ratings of their own responses than in their ratings of other patients' responses. Results suggest that (a) loss of global perspective concerning the idiosyncracy of one's own verbalizations is closely associated with a tendency toward disordered speech. (b) Somewhat impaired perspective on what behavior is socially appropriate is common to all types of disturbed patients but is more severe in schizophrenics. (c) The impairment in schizophrenics is selective, involving difficulty in maintaining perspective on their own behavior, with better perspective when assessing others' behavior. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Contributions of affect, attitudes, and behavior to marital satisfaction.

Examined the value of assessing affect and attitudes in addition to daily behavior in the prediction of marital satisfaction in 30 distressed couples, self-referred to marital therapy, and 25 community couples. Measures of positive feelings toward spouse, commitment, and exchange orientation were obtained along with 7 days of behavioral records. All of these variables were significantly associated with marital satisfaction. However, multiple regression analyses and semipartial correlations indicated that the affective and attitudinal variables accounted for more unique variance in marital satisfaction than did the behavioral variables. It is suggested that affective and attitudinal variables be addressed in marital therapy to better individualize treatments and optimize the ability to predict responsiveness to therapy. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical and cognitive effects of methylphenidate on children with attention deficit disorder as a function of aggression/oppositionality and age.

Children (aged 5.6–11.9 yrs) diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADD [n?=?44]), ADD plus aggression/oppositionality (ADD/O [n?=?34]), and as not meeting ADD criteria (NC [n?=?29]) received methylphenidate and placebo for 21 consecutive days each. Parents and teachers rated all groups improved under medication, but teachers reported less improvement for NC than for ADD/O children. Methylphenidate and chronological age had generally similar effects in a Sternberg task: greater accuracy and speed (especially for nontargets at low memory loads), larger P3b waves of event-related potentials, more pronounced slowing of P3b latency by memory load, and a greater trend of earlier peaks for targets than for nontargets. Both methylphenidate and maturation promoted more efficient strategies involving differentiated evaluation of targets and nontargets. These results were comparable among ADD groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When is an illustration worth ten thousand words?

In 3 experiments, students read expository passages concerning how scientific devices work, which contained either no illustrations (control), static illustrations of the device with labels for each part (parts), static illustrations of the device with labels for each major action (steps), or dynamic illustrations showing the "off" and "on" states of the device along with labels for each part and each major action (parts-and-steps). Results indicated that the parts-and-steps (but not the other) illustrations consistently improved performance on recall of conceptual (but not nonconceptual) information and creative problem solving (but not verbatim retention), and these results were obtained mainly for the low prior-knowledge (rather than the high prior-knowledge) students. The cognitive conditions for effective illustrations in scientific text include appropriate text, tests, illustrations, and learners. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

De-mystifying employment test validation: A process to get high validity coefficients.

Presents a model of test validation which yielded high validity and reliability coefficients. The study was conducted for a mid-level secretary position at a state university. An employment selection test was developed around 25 tasks of work identified in the job analysis. A research performance appraisal was developed with behavioral statements, which matched each of the test sections. The appraisal contained 80 task statements and was mailed to 1,488 incumbents and their supervisors at 20 institutions. Questionnaires were returned by 883 incumbents and 659 supervisors for a total return of 1,542 completed questionnaires. Ss evaluated each of the 80 task statements as to relative importance, frequency, and knowledge needed at time of hire. Results substantiate the importance of job analysis in the test validation process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stereotypes and social judgment.

In 5 experiments, 272 university students were initially exposed to an induction series in which there was a systematic association between the amount of psychopathology that was implied by various behavior samples and other readily discernable aspects of these samples (i.e., correlated cues). In 2 studies, for example, a series of confused definitions or nonpathological definitions were described as coming from patients at psychiatric or general hospitals. The introduction of correlated cues often produced contrast effects, suggesting that Ss may have evaluated the test definitions by implicitly comparing them to other definitions from that category (e.g., other definitions from the same hospital). Assimilation effects were observed when Ss were required to indicate their overall impressions of a given patient, or group of patients, before evaluating a particular definition. Findings are discussed in terms of priming and stereotyping. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Strategies for selecting and securing the predoctoral clinical internship of choice.

Discusses the goals that need to be considered in selecting a clinical internship site, procedures involved in applications and interviews, and the need for preparation in both the academic and personal realms. A carefully planned transition will likely result in a positive experience for both the intern and the site. (3 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fuel poverty in UK cities

Cities, with their numerous buildings and transport networks occupied and used by millions of individuals are huge energy-consuming entities. However, in Western Europe energy has rarely been considered as a criterion in architecture or planning. Coal has always been abundant and the shift to oil made the widespread use of electricity easy and cheap.     

Is the F scale irreversible?

"Four recent studies which have found a lack of positive correlations between the F scale and scales of reversed items were examined. It was argued that the attempts at reversals were often characterized by items that were not psychologically opposed to the original items… . A new set of items designed to overcome some of our objections was developed… . A method for determining the significance of response set was developed and data from an additional representative nation-wide sample of adults with a college background indicated no significant degree of acquiescence… . It is concluded that the data do not support the identification of acquiescence with authoritarianism." (26 ref.) From Psyc Abstracts 36:01:1HF43C. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preparation of sections of plastics and polymers for the electron microscope

Experimental details of a method for sectioning rubbers and plastics at room temperature are presented. Usually specimens are embedded in a butyl-isobutyl methacrylate mixture (provided that they do not dissolve in the monomer) which can be polymerised by ultra-violet light to varying hardness. This enables sections through fibres and surfaces to be obtained. Because of distortion of the surface layers the angle between the knife and specimen is critical. The thickness of these distorted surface layers rather than the total thickness of the specimen provides a limit to the resolution obtained. Choice of the sectioning angle was made primarily by means of sense of touch, so that a microtome design incorporating a direct transmission of pressure from specimen to hand is needed.