bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mathematics Achievement and Attitudes of Senior Secondary-School Students in Transkei, South Africa
Authors: Kulubya Mathlas M. , Glencross Michael J.
Published: August 2011

In a study of mathematics achievement and attitudes toward mathematics, a sample of 266 Standard 10 (Grade 12) students (98 boys and 168 girls) from 10 senior secondary schools in the Umtata district of Transkei, South Africa, were administered a mathematics achievement test and an attitude questionnaire. Contrary to other studies analysis showed no significant relationship between students' scores on measures of mathematics achievement and attitudes.
Weight Loss for Women: Studies of Smokers and Nonsmokers Using Hypnosis and Multicomponent Treatments with and without Overt Aversion
Authors: Johnson David L.
Published: August 2011

Study 1 compared overweight adult women smokers ( n = 50) and nonsmokers ( n = 50) in an hypnosis-based, weight-loss program. Smokers and nonsmokers achieved significant weight losses and decreases in Body Mass Index. Study 2 treated 100 women either in an hypnosis only ( n = 50) or an overt aversion and hypnosis ( n = 50) program. This multicomponent follow-up study replicated significant weight losses and declines in Body Mass Index. The overt aversion and hypnosis program yielded significantly lower posttreatment weights and a greater average number of pounds lost.
The Companion Animal Bonding Scale: Internal Consistency and Factor Structure When Administered by Telephone
Authors: Poresky Robert H.
Published: August 2011

The performance of the 8-item Companion Animal Bonding Scale as a self-report behavioral measure of the human-animal relationship when administered as part of a telephone interview is described. For 784 respondents Cronbach alpha for internal consistency was .74 and the SPSS for Windows Principal Components factor analysis of its internal structure yielded two factors which accounted for 55% of the scale's variance. These results are similar to the scale's Cronbach alpha of .82 and the first two of the three factors which accounted for 56% of the variance when the scale was included in a written questionnaire.
Collectivism in Moral Development
Authors: Ji Chang-Ho C.
Published: August 2011

This study investigated the relations among ethnicity, moral reasoning, and collectivism by administering the Defining Issues Test and the Individualism-Collectivism Scale to 165 Euro-American and Asian graduate students. To the data were applied analyses of variance, correlation, t test, and regression analyses. The analysis indicated that the Asian subjects had lower P scores on the Defining Issues Test so Kohlberg's model may not incorporate the concerns and experience of Asian people. The study also showed that scores on collectivism were not necessarily associated with low P scores.
Effects of Perceived Leadership Behaviors on Job Satisfaction and Productivity
Authors: Butler John K. , Cantrell R. Stephen
Published: August 2011

This study investigated effects of perceived leadership behaviors on job satisfaction and productivity. Participants were 467 graduate and undergraduate organizational behavior students who formed 101 groups. Previous field studies have found no effect of leaders' behaviors on organizational productivity when productivity was represented by indirect, enterprise-wide financial measures such as profit and return on assets. In our study, we manipulated leaders' behaviors (consideration and initiating structure) and measured productivity in terms of units produced by each group. Analysis indicated strong effects of leaders' initiating structure and consideration on both job satisfaction and productivity of group members.
The Understanding Mood Disorders Questionnaire
Authors: Gavazzi Stephen M. , Fristad Mary A. , Law Julie C.
Published: August 2011

This study reports on the development and psychometric properties of the Understanding Mood Disorders Questionnaire, designed to measure family members' attributions about and knowledge of symptoms, course, and treatment of mood disorders.
Tryptophan and Suicide
Authors: Lester David
Published: August 2011

A measure of tryptophan intake in 30 nations was not associated with their 1980 suicide or homicide rates.
Self-Reported Depression and Risk-Taking Behaviors among Hispanic Adolescents
Authors: Pesa J. A. , Cowdery J. E. , Westerfield R. C. , Wang M.
Published: August 2011

In assessing the relationships between self-reported depression and certain key risk-taking behaviors among a national sample of Hispanic adolescents ( N = 935. ages 12 to 19 years), girls who reported depression were significantly more likely to engage in these behaviors than girls who did not report depression. No significant differences were found among boys ( n = 470), although they were more likely than girls ( n = 465) to take risks regardless of depressive state. These results suggest that depressive symptoms may be a marker for engagement in risk-taking behaviors among Hispanic girls.
Scores on Loneliness of Chinese and American College Students
Authors: Xie Xiaolin
Published: August 2011

197 American college students going to school in Oklahoma and 91 Chinese college students going to school in China participated. Chinese students from extended families (families with three generations) reported less loneliness than those from nuclear famines. In the younger group (aged 18 to 20 yr.), Chinese students scored higher on loneliness than American students as did all freshman compared with all sophomore students. Significant interactions between nation and years in college and between nation and family structure (extended families vs nuclear families) were found within the same age group.
Predictive Validity of Graduate Record Examination Scores for Outcomes of American Indian/Alaska Native Students
Authors: House J. Daniel
Published: August 2011

This study was intended to investigate the predictive validity of the Graduate Record Examination for American Indian/Alaska Native students. A sample of 28 students at a large public university was tracked longitudinally; analysis indicated that GRE scores were significantly correlated (for GRE-Total r26 = .40 and for GRE-Quantitative .47) with students' degree completion status but not with their grade performance. These results indicate that, in some instances, GRE scores may be significant predictors of the outcomes of American Indian/Alaska Native students.
Pleasantness, Activation, and Sex Differences in Advertising
Authors: Whissell Cynthia , McCall Lorna
Published: August 2011

Advertisements in men's, women's, girls', and boys' magazines ( n = 38,195 words) were scored objectively in terms of 15 measures of linguistic style, e.g., use of common words, use of long words, use of specific words and emotional tone (pleasantness and activation, as measured by the Dictionary of Affect). There were several sex- and age-related differences among advertisements from different sources. Advertisements from boys' magazines were extremely active, those from women's and girls' magazines were shorter and unusually pleasant. In two follow-up studies ( N = 122 volunteers), objective emotional measures of advertising text proved to be related to ratings of persuasion and of success of appeal for individual advertisements. The most preferred advertisement for women was pleasant and active, that for men unpleasant and active. When men and women created advertisements, women's were shorter and more pleasant.
Educational Equity of Married or Engaged Partners
Authors: Taylor Ronald D.
Published: August 2011

A causal-comparative research design was employed to analyze the number of years of formal education completed by individuals publicly announcing their marriage or engagement to marry. For the majority of couples, men and women had equivalent years of formal education completed. Among the remainder of couples, women more often than men had completed more years of formal education. Over-all, more men than women had completed no postsecondary education, but more men than women had completed an associate's degree and more men than women had completed an advanced degree. Far more women than men had completed a bachelor's degree.
Relations of Early Maternal Employment and Attachment in Introvertive and Extraverttve Adults
Authors: Domingo Meera , Keppley Sharon , Chambliss Catherine
Published: August 2011

The present study examined attachment scores of adult children whose mothers were employed and how maternal employment varied as a function of children's personality styles. Children's extraversion was expected to moderate the effects of maternal employment on their attachment as adults. Responses of 106 undergraduates were obtained on 3 measures, the Eysenck Personality Inventory, the Adult Attachment Scale of Collins and Read, and the Adolescent Relationship Scales Questionnaire of Scharfe and Bartholomew. A median split was performed to divide subjects into those scoring High and Low on Extraversion. Subjects were then grouped on the basis of their mothers' employment status during the subjects' infancy (Full-time, Part-time, Nonemployed). Subjects high on Extraversion seemed to show more adverse attachment consequences in adulthood following full-time maternal employment during infancy. Adults who scored high on extraversion may have been more comfortable with continual maternal presence during infancy, while those more introverted as adults may have adapted better to the periods of separation associated with infant day care.
Reliability of Social and Personal Competence Measures for Adolescents
Authors: Epstein Jennifer A. , Botvin Gilbert J , Diaz Tracy , Baker Eli , Botvin Elizabeth M.
Published: August 2011

Five newly developed social and personal competence measures had high internal consistency (alphas ranged from .73 to .89) based on a sample of 5287 seventh grade students.
Personality and Criminal Profile of Adolescent Sexual Offenders, General Offenders in Comparison to Nonoffenders
Authors: Valliant Paul M. , Bergeron Tracy
Published: August 2011

16 adolescent male sex offenders and 13 general offenders were compared with 13 nonoffenders on psychometric tests to investigate differences in their general intelligence, personality, and criminal attitudes. There were no significant differences in general intelligence amongst the groups. Examination of personality scores and criminal attitudes showed that the sex offenders were more socially isolated, more assaultive, and more resentful than the general offenders. Present results, if replicated with larger samples, suggest treatment of adolescent sex offenders in a manner similar to that used in the treatment of adult sex offenders.
Has the Work Ethic in the USA Declined? Evidence from Nationwide Surveys
Authors: Weaver Charles N.
Published: August 2011

Examination of data from nationwide public opinion surveys from 1972 through 1993 indicated no decrease across occupations, sex, or race within the US samples, but a decrease in sense of satisfaction with work.
Altruism and Religiosity
Authors: Eckert Robert M. , Lester David
Published: August 2011

Religiosity and altruism as measured by self-report questionnaires were not associated in a sample of 41 undergraduate students.
Longitudinal Study of a “Student's Evaluation of Course” Including the Effects of a Professor's Life Experiences on Students' Evaluations
Authors: Dreger Ralph Mason
Published: August 2011

Issues of import to students' evaluations include accountability, improvement of teaching, anonymity, meaning and motivation of such evaluations, and validity and reliability. The very brief Student's Evaluation of Course, an entirely anonymous rating scale, is presented here for use only by the instructor, not for administrative purposes. Validity has been described previously. In this study, students' ratings of the six course-relevant items across a period of 35 years by one professor's students show that the ratings were affected by objectively determinable external events. Six specific hypotheses were set up and tested; five of these were borne out.
Loneliness: A Predictor of Health Perceptions among Older Korean Immigrants
Authors: Kim Oksoo
Published: August 2011

This study examined whether loneliness predicts health perceptions, i.e., emotional and physical health, in a sample of 174 older Korean immigrants living in a metropolitan area. Scores on the revised UCLA Loneliness Scale predicted scores on the Life Satisfaction Index-Z and perceived physical health in the older Koreans, but not scores on the Sympton Pattern Scale.
Prediction of Performance in an Academic Course by Scores on Measures of Learning Style and Critical Thinking
Authors: Gadzella Bernadette M. , Ginther Dean W. , Bryant G. Wendell
Published: August 2011

Three scores were used to predict how 38 students who received A grades and 25 students who received C grades in introductory psychology courses differed in learning style and critical thinking skills. The subjects were 63 students enrolled in undergraduate psychology classes with one instructor. Students were given course outlines, test schedules, and scores on their tests and reports and computed their own course standing throughout the semester. At the beginning of the semester, students responded to the Inventory of Learning Processes and Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal. Ten scores on the two inventories were analyzed by discriminant function analysis which showed that the combination of the three test scores: Deep Processing and Methodical Study (from the Inventory of Learning Processes) and the Total Critical Thinking (from the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal) correctly classified 84.2% of the students with A grades and 68.0% of the students with C grades.
Description of Personality Similarities and Differences of a Sample of Black and White Female Engineering Students
Authors: Brown Nina W.
Published: August 2011

45 black and white female engineering students were assessed on Gough's Adjective Checklist and Schultz's FIRO-B. Nine Adjective Checklist scales showed significant mean differences between black and white women with black women having higher mean scores on Succorance and Abasement. White women had significantly higher mean scores on Achievement, Dominance, Counseling Readiness, Self-confidence, Military Leadership, Masculinity, and A-4. Comparison of scores on the FIRO-B by race showed only one scale with a significant difference, Wanted Inclusion.
Intervention-Based Assessment: Rates of Evaluation and Eligibility for Specific Learning Disability Classification
Authors: McNamara Kathleen M. , Hollinger Constance L.
Published: August 2011

Intervention-based assessment, a systematic form of prereferral intervention, represents a viable alternative to “test and place” models for identifying and teaching children with a variety of learning-related problems in schools. Data obtained from 13 schools participating for a third year in a pilot study of statewide implementation of intervention-based assessment suggested that, in comparison to a prior prereferral intervention model, fewer children are evaluated and found eligible for special education. Of those children receiving intervention-based assessment, a slight decrease occurs in the percentage classified as specifically learning disabled.
Anger Management Training in Prison Inmates
Authors: Holbrook Mark I.
Published: August 2011

Inflicting harm on others after a perceived wrong is called revenge and has been implicated in a wide range of criminal and antisocial behaviors. Revenge is defined as a retaliatory act and may be ruled out when antecedent to instrumental aggression if hurting someone is secondary to the primary goal of acquisition. Revenge is considered the Impetus for reactive aggression, however, if the primary goal is to hurt someone. 26 male inmates were chosen for training in anger management using cognitive behavioral methods. Selection of inmates was based on their history of reactive aggression. As predicted, inmates showed a significant reduction in posttest scores on the Vengeance scale.
Lack of Medical Support in HIV Infection and Unstable Mood States
Authors: Hayashi Motoko , Fukunishi Isao
Published: August 2011

This study examined what kinds of social support are related to mood states in a sample of 50 HIV-positive patients without AIDS (46 men and 4 women; M age 36.5 yr., SD = 9.8). In the early stage of HIV infection, HIV patients without AIDS may be prone to depressive symptoms although none of these HIV-positive patients' symptoms fulfilled the DSM-III-R Mood Disorders including Major Depression. The depressive symptoms were not significantly related to lack of ordinary social support such as friends and family but were significantly associated with dissatisfaction with HIV/AIDS-related medical support
A Modified Work Locus of Control Scale: Preliminary Investigation of Reliability and Validity in a Sample of Pharmacists
Authors: Gupchup Gireesh V. , Wolfgang Alan P.
Published: August 2011

Items in Spector's Work Locus of Control Scale were modified to reflect how much control the respondent feels he might have on a job as opposed to what he feels people in general have. This modified Work Locus of Control Scale was tested for reliability and construct validity. As part of a larger study, data were collected via mail questionnaires from a sample of 284 pharmacists licensed in Indiana. The Cronbach coefficient alpha for the modified scale was .88, indicating good internal consistency. The modified scale also showed some evidence of convergent validity when correlated with scores on measures of Extraversion, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, arid Job Dissatisfaction.
Meta-Analysis of Response Time Data in a Single Experiment
Authors: Chen Jenn-Yeu
Published: August 2011

Conventional analysis based on mean response times does not fully utilize data and also ignores the difference in precision among the means by weighting each mean equally. A meta-analysis was applied to the reaction time data obtained from the Stroop color-naming task in a single experiment which employed a mixed design. It treated each subject as an independent replication of the same experiment and the same hypothesis. Individual subjects' data were first analyzed with a time-series regression adjusting for lag 1 autocorrelation. Results from these analyses were, then, combined to estimate the over-all effect size as well as significance level. A between-subject factor was also analyzed to assess its influence on the effect sizes and the significance levels. When these analyses were contrasted with the conventional analysis of mean reaction times, the meta-analysis based on reaction times of individual trials yielded a more powerful test of the research hypotheses than the conventional analysis based on mean reaction times for these trials. The advantages and possible limitations of the within-study meta-analysis are discussed.
Correlations between Leadership Styles as Measured by the Least Preferred Co-Worker Scale and Adults' Attachment Styles
Authors: Doverspike Dennis , Hollis Lisa A. , Justice Amy , Polomsky Michael
Published: August 2011

A measure of attachment styles and the Least Preferred Co-Worker Scale were administered to 117 male and 82 female undergraduates. Analyses indicated that scores on two of the attachment styles were significantly correlated with scores on the Least Preferred Co-Worker Scale.
Examination of the Validity of the WISC-III with Urban Exceptional Students
Authors: Sapp Gary L. , Abbott Gypsy , Hinckley Roxanne , Rowell Andy
Published: August 2011

To investigate the criterion validity of the WISC-III, WISC-R and WISC-III IQs of 96 urban special education students who underwent a 3-yr. reevaluation were compared. The study examined (a) differences between WISC-R and WISC-III IQs and scale scores, (b) relationships among respective WISC-R and WISC-III IQs and scale scores, and (c) WISC-III IQ differences across three exceptionalities: Learning Disabled, Mentally Retarded, and Behavioral Disorders. A related question was to assess whether WISC-III Full Scale IQs differed by race. As expected, all WISC-III IQs and subtest scores were lower than the corresponding WISC-R IQs. Correlations computed among the three scales, respectively, indicated substantial conceptual overlap (Full Scale IQ = .88, Verbal IQ = .82, Performance IQ=.81). Analysis indicated a significant difference in WISC-III Full Scale IQs with respect to race. Comparisons by exceptionality and race indicated that African American students in the Learning Disabled and Behaviorally Disordered groups obtained significantly higher WISC-III Full Scale IQs than did Euro-American students. No significant difference was obtained on scores for Mentally Retarded groups.
Tourette Syndrome, Epilepsy, and Emotional Disorder, a Case of Triple Comorbidity
Authors: Eapen Valsamma , Champion Lynn , Zeitlin Harry
Published: August 2011

We present a case report illustrating the complexity encountered in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with multiple diagnoses. The clinical presentation in Tourette syndrome, and the behavioural manifestations in some cases of complex partial seizures can both be misunderstood and misdiagnosed. The paper, within the framework of a case, emphasises the need for a multidisciplinary approach in the assessment and management of such cases.
Blood Pressure and Personality
Authors: Berry Dianne , Lester David
Published: August 2011

Measures of blood pressure were not associated with scores on Psychoticism, Extraversion, or Neuroticism for 61 college students.
Denigration of a Victim in Individual Psychotherapy by Violent vs Seductive Child Molesters
Authors: Eisenman Russell
Published: August 2011

20 child molesters, 10 classified as violent and 10 as seductive, were studied in individual psychotherapy, with their therapists responding to a checklist indicating clients' use of victim-denigrating statements. The violent child molesters were significantly more likely to make statements denigrating their victims than were the child molesters classified as seductive. The results expand the 1993 findings of Eisenman who observed this phenomenon with sex offenders during group psychotherapy. Theoretical and treatment implications are discussed.
Stress and Social Support in Mental and Physical Health of Chinese Students in Japan
Authors: Jou Yuh Huey , Fukada Hiromi
Published: August 2011

This study examined the influence of stress and social support on mental and physical health and happiness of 175 Chinese students enrolled in 13 Japanese universities. Needed support accounted for only 10% of the variance in reported stress, indicating that the relation between the two variables was not strong and they were generally independent. With greater scores on stress or needed support and lower scores on perceived or received support, depression and somatic complaints become more severe. The higher the scores on perceived or received support, the higher the reported happiness Both perceived and received support showed a buffering effect on somatic complaints. Finally, stress and needed support had an interesting interaction, indicating that only among students reporting more stress did students who experienced greater need for support report more severe depression than those who experienced less need for support.
Reliabilities of Human Judgements: Measurements from Photographic CT Scan Images
Authors: Pickersgill Mary J. , Valentine John D. , Hart Geoffrey
Published: August 2011

Studies of brain lesions are generally dependent on human judgement for identification and possibly for measurement, but estimates of reliability are frequently neglected. The present study involves three investigations based on X-ray CT scans into reliabilities of human judgements: (1) the areas of brain lesions identified over two occasions by a single judge, (2) brain areas based on the projections of scans by a second judge over two occasions, and (3) brain areas computed from brain outlines by two independent judges. Errors decreased geometrically over procedures in the order listed, reflecting the decreasing complexity of judgement involved. Nevertheless, all three reliabilities proved satisfactory, showing that these procedures may be applied consistently over occasions and between raters. This was reassuring since computerization is currently practicable only in (2) and (3), where errors were least. Although not always performed, reliability checks are important, as indicated by the outlier, Case 10. Where there is a large discrepancy, seeking the reason(s), with a view to standardizing the criteria of judgement, is preferable to automatic averaging, both as a safeguard in individual cases and also to estimate error of measurement in group studies. To assist decision in any particular instance as to whether averaging is an acceptable solution, a statistical rule of thumb is proposed for testing the significance of the difference between two judgements.
Personalities of Players of Dungeons and Dragons
Authors: Carter Robert , Lester David
Published: August 2011

20 men who played Dungeons and Dragons did not differ in mean scores on depression, suicidal ideation, psychoticism, extraversion, or neuroticism from unselected undergraduates.
Feedback, Test Anxiety and Performance in a College Course
Authors: Clark J. W. , Fox P. A. , Schneider H. G.
Published: August 2011

The effects of three forms of test feedback and text anxiety on test performance were examined within the context of a self-paced, criterion-based course in educational psychology. 73 undergraduate students completed seven units of work and were evaluated by computer-administered unit tests. Students were randomly assigned to one of three test feedback forms: (1) item-by-item knowledge of responses, (2) answer-until-correct, and (3) delayed feedback. Students received their assigned feedback during the first two units, after which they were allowed to choose. Test anxiety was measured prior to testing on Sarason's Test Anxiety Scale and during testing on an item administered by the computer program. Students who reported high test anxiety on the Test Anxiety Scale experienced more anxiety during testing than students reporting low test anxiety. Anxiety during testing was not related to type of feedback, and the two variables were not related to course performance on the second unit. Data collected at the conclusion of the semester indicated that students who reported higher test anxiety required more attempts to pass unit tests than those reporting lower test anxiety. Given a choice, students preferred answer-until-correct feedback. This preference was not related to Test Anxiety Scale scores. Anxiety during testing was not related to being allowed to choose forms of feedback.
Evaluating an Excerpt about Gender: Does Sex of an Author Matter?
Authors: Moore Melanie , Trahan Richard
Published: August 2011

This study examined whether students are more likely to view a female author as biased and as having a political agenda when writing about gender than a male author. In the sample of 338 undergraduate students, the sex-related excerpt was rated as more biased, more subjective, and less scientific than the control reading. Female authors were rated as less objective and more likely to be presenting a personal view than male authors; however, no interaction between content of excerpt and sex of author occurred. The implications of these findings for research on sex and prejudice are discussed.
Factor Structure of the Millon Adolescent Personality Inventory for Psychiatric Inpatients
Authors: Hynan Linda S. , Pantle Mark L. , Foster Barbara M.
Published: August 2011

A principal components factor analysis (with varimax rotation) was performed on the Millon Adolescent Personality Scale Base Rate scores of 335 adolescent psychiatric inpatients. A four-factor solution was obtained (accounting for 84.1% of the variance), which was similar to that obtained by Millon, et al. for the normative sample. Confirmatory factor analyses, however, using data obtained from computer-generated random responses to the test, also fit the inpatient and normative sample data very well. The factor structure of the Millon Adolescent Personality Inventory therefore was inferred to be driven by the considerable item-scale overlap that characterizes the test.
Rebuttal to Ormond and Sulsky's Critique of Jawahar and Stone's Influence of Raters' Self-Consciousness and Appraisal Purpose on Leniency and Accuracy of Performance Ratings
Authors: Jawahar I. M. , Stone Thomas H.
Published: August 2011

Rejoinders to three issues raised by Ormond and Sulsky are presented.
Influence of Raters' Self-Consciousness and Appraisal Purpose on Leniency and Accuracy of Performance Ratings: A Critique
Authors: Ormond Wayne E. , Sulsky Lorne M.
Published: August 2011

Theoretically, evidence challenges the construct validity of the self-consciousness scales used by Jawahar and Stone. The demand characteristics introduced by the experimental procedures called into question the validity of their findings. Moreover, the statistically significant results for both measures of rating leniency and accuracy as operationalized was likely an artifact of using a leniency measure which shares considerable overlapping variance with the accuracy measure. Although self-consciousness as a moderator has theoretical interest, further work is needed to provide evidence for self-consciousness as a moderator variable in the rating process. In short, we are skeptical of the findings and share the authors' caveat in interpreting the results.
Academic Elite in Psychology, 1982–1995
Authors: Bair Jeffrey H. , Boor Myron
Published: August 2011

The ten most highly rated doctoral programs in psychology in 1982 maintained their positions in 1995. These “elite” programs showed little or no change in their tendencies to hire faculty members from among their own and one another's graduates.
Families and Parenting: A Comparison of Lesbian and Heterosexual Mothers
Authors: McNeill Kevin F. , Rienzi Beth M. , Kposowa Augustine
Published: August 2011

Mothers (24 lesbian and 35 heterosexual) were asked to complete a questionnaire of four scales, Index of Family Relations, Index of Parental Attitudes, Family Awareness Scale, and Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Analysis of the mean scores indicated that these lesbian and heterosexual mothers gathered in a snowball sampling had remarkably similar scores on self-reported stress, adjustment, competence, and quality of the relationship with their families, although variability was larger for the lesbian group.
Trends in Homeschooling in a Midwestern Community
Authors: Schumm Walter R.
Published: August 2011

Changes from 1993 to 1997 in a homeschooling population in a rural midwestern area were examined. The number of families involved in homeschooling, and consequently the number of children involved in homeschooling, appear to have increased over time. The families appear to be becoming somewhat more diverse in religious affiliation, location, and age ranges of children. However, the families continue to represent stable marriages that are usually affiliated with a relatively conservative or evangelical Protestant denominational group.
Validity of Scores on Alternative Predictors of Success in a College Algebra Course
Authors: Smith Joseph G. , Michael William B.
Published: August 2011

For a sample of 59 male and 26 female students in continuing education at a private university, analyses indicated that (a) scores on a basic algebra test (either in a traditional multiple-choice format in which each item is accompanied by a reinforcing illustrative example) employed for placement of students in an intermediate algebra course were promising predictors of success in this course ( rs = .67 and .66, respectively, p < .05) and (b) affective measures representing the constructs of mathematics anxiety and locus of control appeared to have little, if any, predictive validity.
Observations on Mendleson, et al.'s Intercultural Tolerance Scale
Authors: Hofstede Geert
Published: August 2011

Three observations are made with regard to Mendleson, et al.'s 1997 paper proposing an Intercultural Tolerance Scale. The proposed test misses inputs from other cultures, it hardly shows proof of validity, and the paper cites sources which the authors evidently did not read.
Satisfaction with Relief Agencies during Hurricanes Erin and Opal
Authors: Piotrowski Chris , Armstrong Terry
Published: August 2011

From a larger study, ratings of satisfaction with disaster relief agencies in the aftermath of Hurricanes Erin and Opal showed high satisfaction from services provided by the American Red Cross/Salvation Army and somewhat lower ratings for the Federal Emergency Management Agency from 167 residents and business owners in the Florida Panhandle.
Machiavellianism and Tolerance of Ambiguity
Authors: Moore Shirley , Ward Michael , Katz Barry
Published: August 2011

The relationship of Machiavellianism and Tolerance of Ambiguity was studied in 47 African-American college and university administrators. The mean score on Machiavellianism in the youngest group (30–40 yr.) of administrators was significantly higher on Machiavellianism than the mean of the oldest group (50 yr. and older) of administrators.
Breakfast Consumption and Intelligence in Elderly Persons
Authors: Smith Andrew
Published: August 2011

The relationship between breakfast cereal consumption and intelligence was examined in a sample of 205 adults aged between 60 and 79 years. Those who consumed breakfast cereal every day had a higher mean score (38.4) on the National Adult Reading Test, known to correlate highly with intelligence, than that ( M = 34.7) for the irregular breakfast eaters (WAIS predicted IQs for breakfast cereal everyday 118 and for irregular breakfast eaters 115).
Comparison of Alternative Treatment Techniques in Bulimia: The Chemical Dependency Approach
Authors: Giannini A. James , Colapietro Gale , Leskovac Nancy , Keller Michelle , Melemis Steven M. , Timcisko Terri
Published: August 2011

Bulimia and chemical dependency are thought to be mediated by the nucleus accumbens, the primary pleasure center in the brain. These disorders consequently share biological, behavioral, and demographic characteristics. Also, earlier researchers have reported similar responses to different types of pharmacological intervention. There has, however, been little investigation of comparative nonpharmacological treatment modalities. The authors treated 10 white bulimic females in an eating-disorders program and a similar group in a 12-step chemical dependency center. Outcomes were similar for the weight-management program and for scores on the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. Implications are discussed.
Body Elimination Attitude and Occupation
Authors: Adams Robert A. , Templer Donald I.
Published: August 2011

16 food service personnel and 20 bank employees scored significantly higher (indicating greater disgust) on the Templer, King, Brooner, and Corgiat 1984 Body Elimination Attitude Scale than 46 nursing personnel and 15 sewage workers.
Out-of-Body Experience and Personality Functioning
Authors: Tobacyk Jerome J. , Wells Donald H. , Miller Mark M.
Published: August 2011

Reporters of out-of-body experiences ( n = 21) and nonreporters ( n = 159) showed no significant differences on the Spheres of Control Scale, Self-efficacy Scale, and Purpose in Life Scale. However, reporters of out-of-body experiences showed significantly greater belief in Psi, Spiritualism, and Extraordinary Life Forms than nonreporters.
7-Year (Circaseptennian) Patterns in Psychology and Biology? Comment on Verhulst and Onghena
Authors: Cornélissen Germaine , Sothern Robert B. , Halberg Francine , Halberg Franz
Published: August 2011

Nonlinear rhythmometry confirms a pattern of about 7 years, describing the number of births by birth year of quantum fathers reported by Verhulst and Onghena in 1996 and estimates the period to be 6.53 years with a 95% confidence interval overlapping 7 years. Other patterns of about 7 years are found in biology, as shown herein for the mean gonadal weight of an echinoderm (the purple sea urchin) and a mollusk (the black chiton). A number of periodic components with different frequencies, some shown to be genetically anchored, await applications in psychology as well as in other fields of medicine and biology.
Students' Views of the Characteristics of Instructors' Approachability
Authors: Perrine Rose M.
Published: August 2011

The present study explored college students' perceptions of what makes an instructor approachable. 82 female and 22 male undergraduate students were asked to list characteristics of an instructor that would make it more likely and less likely for that student to seek help from an instructor outside of class. The responses were content analyzed and six categories of behaviors emerged from the responses: personality, lecture and class style, respect for students' understanding, goes beyond the call of duty, office habits, and grading issues. Responses that fit into the first four categories were listed as the most important factors in instructors approach-ability.
Personality Profiles of Male and Female Positive Role Models in Medicine
Authors: Magee Mike , Hojat Mohammadreza
Published: August 2011

This study was designed to investigate the personality profile of positive role models in medicine. Participants were a national sample of 188 physicians (164 men, 24 women) who had been nominated by the chief executive officers of their institutions as positive role models and who completed the Revised NEO Personality Inventory. Compared to the general population, these 188 male and female positive role models in medicine scored higher on Conscientious factor, and on Achievement Striving, Activity, Competence, Dutifulness, Trust, Assertiveness, and Altruism facets, but they scored lower on the Vulnerability facet than the general population. In addition, the male role models scored significantly higher than men in the general population on the Agreeableness factor, and the female role models obtained significantly higher scores than the population norms on Extraversion and Openness factors, and on Feelings, Ideas, Positive Emotions, Values, Warmth, Aesthetics, and Fantasy facets. The female role models scored far below their sex-related norms on Neuroticism factor and on Angry Hostility facet. Comparisons between the male and female role models showed that the female role models scored higher on the Openness factor, and on the Feelings, Positive Emotions, Aesthetics, and Fantasy facets of personality. Implications in medical education and in explaining, assessing, and improving the qualities that contribute to professional success and in promoting the concept of “positive medicine” are discussed.
Clients' Positive and Negative Expressiveness within Their Families and Alexithymia
Authors: Yelsma Paul , Hovestadt Alan J. , Nilsson Johanna E. , Paul Brian D.
Published: August 2011

49 prospective clients from a midwestern urban community, who sought counseling at a university training clinic, completed the Self-expressiveness in the Family Questionnaire and the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale. As predicted, the positive self-expressiveness scores were significantly negatively correlated —.52 with scores on alexithymia, and the negative self-expressiveness scores were significantly positively correlated .34 with alexithymia. These results support the premise that mental health clients' self-reported lack of positive expressiveness and abundance of negative expressiveness within their family context may be attributes associated with their tendency to be alexithymic.
Students in Compensatory Education Programs: Analysis of Scores on Performance Assessments for the Iowa Test of Basic Skills
Authors: Daniel Michael L. , Taylor Ronald L. , Siders James A.
Published: August 2011

Analysis of Mathematics and Language Arts scores for 11,438 fourth-and 8,972 seventh-grade students in compensatory education programs on the performance assessments for the Iowa Test of Basic Skills indicated the students performed poorly, particularly in mathematics.
Using “Stages of Behavioral Change” Constructs to Measure the Short-Term Effects of a Worksite-Based Intervention to Increase Moderate Physical Activity
Authors: Cole Galen , Hammond Sharon , Leonard Bruce , Fridinger Fred
Published: August 2011

We evaluated a three-level incentive program to promote regular, moderate physical activity among employees working in a federal agency. The objective was to assess the short-term effects of the intervention by examining the stages people go through as they attempt to make permanent changes in physical activity. Indicators of the process by which changes in physical activity take place were based on a modified version of the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior. A one-group pretest/posttest design was used to ascertain which of the stages the 1,192 participants were in both before and after the intervention. Analysis indicated that, of the 1,192 participants, 6.5% regressed one or more stages, 30.3% did not regress or progress from one stage to another, 27.7% remained in the maintenance stage, and 35.4% progressed one (21.1%) or more (14.3%) stages during the 50-day intervention. Among those who progressed, the most common change was from preparation to late preparation (20.8%) and from late preparation to action (19.4%). Findings reinforce the notion that the stages of change concept can serve as indicators of the change process which, in turn, can be used as evidence of the short-term effectiveness of interventions. Findings also indicate this type of intervention holds promise for increasing physical activity among willing participants of a worksite population.
Positive and Negative Affect in the Factor Structure of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Japanese Workers
Authors: Iwata Noboru , Mishima Norio , Shimizu Takashi , Mizoue Tetsuya , Fukuhara Machiko , Hidano Tadashi , Spielberger Charles D.
Published: August 2011

The factor structure of Form Y of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-Y) was examined with 1,862 Japanese adult workers (1,509 men, 353 women). The initial principal component analysis extracted three factors based on the scree test. All 20 state (S-Anxiety) and 20 trait (T-Anxiety) items had dominant salient loadings on the first factor, which reflected “over-all anxiety.” The three factors identified by an oblique (promax) rotation were labeled “anxiety-absent,” “state anxiety-present,” and “trait anxiety-present.” All 20 items with dominant salient loadings on the first oblique factor were clearly grouped on the basis of their content, indicating the absence of anxiety. The second and third oblique factors, defined almost entirely by the STAI-Y anxiety-present items, clearly reflected the state-trait distinction in this sample of Japanese workers.
Factors in Attrition of Black Students at a Predominantly Euro-American University
Authors: Piotrowski Chris , Perdue Bob
Published: August 2011

Based on 30 African-American students who dropped out of a southern university with a predominant enrollment of Euro-Americans, most frequently endorsed factors were dissatisfactions with faculty, academic life, and inadequate financial aid.
Caring for Terminally ILL Persons: Comparative Analysis of Attitudes (Thanatophobia) of Practicing Physicians, Student Nurses, and Medical Students
Authors: Merrill J. , Lorimor R. , Thornby J. , Woods A.
Published: August 2011

To investigate why some caregivers desire to avoid patients with terminal illnesses, a thanatophobia scale assessing caregivers' uncomfortable feelings and sense of helplessness was developed and evaluated among practicing physicians and student nurses and medical students. As a group, student nurses scored lower on the thanatophobia scale than practicing physicians and medical students. Higher scores on intolerance to clinical uncertainty were associated with higher thanatophobia scores in all groups. Scores for depressed mood, decreased sensitivity, and Machiavellianism were statistically significant predictors in some groups. Higher thanatophobia scores also predicted lower scores for ratings of self-esteem in caring for elderly patients. Among senior medical students, those with lower thanatophobia scores tended to enter primary care residencies. Health professional educators may find this scale helpful both in pinpointing sources of caregivers' angst and useful in counseling students in management of terminally ill persons.
Predicting Cirrhosis Death Rates in Hungary and the USA
Authors: Lester David
Published: August 2011

Marriage and birth rates predicted the rates of death from cirrhosis of the liver in the states of the U.S.A., but not in Hungarian counties.
Predictors of Outcome in Drug Treatment of Adolescent Inpatients
Authors: Dobkin Patricia L. , Chabot Luc , Maliantovitch Katia , Craig Wendy
Published: August 2011

Little is known about for whom treatment is most effective and how to match adolescent clients to substance-abuse treatments. 280 adolescents treated in a multifaceted program participated. Of these, 128 did not complete treatment prior to termination of the 2-mo. inpatient phase. They were significantly different from clients who completed treatment measures of alienation, social maladaptation, aggression, and lower occupational status of the father. Of those who completed inpatient treatment and remained in the study at 1-mo. postdischarge ( n = 69) two groups were formed, those who improved and those who either remained the same or worsened in terms of substance abuse. For those who unproved factors which differentiated them were identification with middle-class values, tendency to be older, initial difficulty identifying emotions, and depressive symptoms at intake. Clients who did not change or worsened were distinguished by more social anxiety, depressive symptoms, and troubling thoughts at intake. These results suggest that individual characteristics may identify cases who are more likely to benefit from treatment.
Comprehensive Review of Biorhythm Theory
Authors: Hines Terence M.
Published: August 2011

Biorhythm theory which became popular with the general public in the late 1960s held that three different biorhythm cycles influenced three different general aspects of human behavior. There was a 23-day cycle which influenced physical aspects of behavior. A 28-day cycle influenced emotions and a 33-day cycle influenced intellectual functions. Further, according to the theory, these three cycles started at birth and progressed, sinusoidally, throughout life varying not a bit with environmental or physiological factors. This paper reviews 134 studies of biorhythm theory, both published and unpublished. 35 of those reported some support for biorhythm theory. Careful examination of these studies identified methodological and statistical errors that account for the claimed findings supporting the theory. Another 99 studies, covering many different variables, yielded no support. The conclusion is that biorhythm theory is not valid.
Differences between Volunteers and Nonvolunteers in a High-Demand Self-Recording Study
Authors: Waite Bradley M. , Claffey Robert , Hillbrand Marc
Published: August 2011

Research combining time- or event-sampling techniques with diary methods in naturalistic settings has become increasingly popular in recent years. Advantages of such procedures include the enhancement of the ecological validity of the research as compared to traditional laboratory studies and the elimination of the bias in retrospective recall of traditional diary studies. However, such research places a relatively high demand on participants' time, effort, and willingness to self-report and self-disclose. To examine whether this demand influences the decision to volunteer, participants in a week-long Experience Sampling Method study were compared with persons who declined to participate. Potential differences between the groups were assessed for personality, adjustment, and demographic variables. Analysis indicated that the volunteers, as compared to the nonvolunteers, were less anxious, less likely to employ pathological defensive styles, and over-all were a better adjusted group. The results may reflect a tendency of more poorly adjusted individuals to avoid volunteering for research which they perceive may cause them to experience greater stress and anxiety.