bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Combining Psychometric Data on Brain Damage and the Influence of Aging
Authors: Davies Ann D. M. , Spelman M. S. , Davies M. G.
Published: September 2011

60 young and middle-aged patients (age 20 to 52 yr.) with generalized and chronic brain damage were individually matched for age, social class, education, and occupational history with normal control subjects with no history of brain damage. Both groups were given a battery of cognitive tests which included Clement's Digit Code test, Memory-for-Designs, Trail Making, the Spiral Aftereffect, Elithorn's mazes, Mill Hill vocabulary, Progressive Matrices, and the Synonym test. The discriminative efficiency of each measure was examined individually and in combination using discriminant function analysis. The most efficient individual discriminator was the Digit Code. When this was combined with the Trail Making Part B, correct over-all classification was 80%. No other addition improved discrimination significantly. Thus a battery of tests taking 10 min. to administer was as effective as the larger battery which took more than 2 hr. The gradient of test scores with age was examined cross-sectionally for each measure. For most tests, gradients were larger for the brain-damaged than for the control group.
Meaningfulness and Isolation Effect for Normal and Retarded Subjects
Authors: Gabassi Pier Giorgio
Published: September 2011

The aim of this study was to verify whether, in the normal and retarded subjects (aged 11.7 yr.), the isolation effect is less evident the lower the meaningfulness of the material to be recalled. 12 groups were tested, six normal and six retarded, each of 25 subjects. The retardation was diagnosed with Raven's Progressive Matrix ′38. Three series each of 9 CVC trigrams were used at 15–20%, 50–55% and 85–90% of associative value, respectively. Each trigram was exposed for 3 sec. As the level of meaningfulness increased so did the isolation effect for both normal and retarded subjects. For the retarded, however, the isolation effect only appears when the level of meaningfulness is very high.
Preschool Children's Field Independence: Prediction from Antecedent and Concurrent Maternal and Child Behavior
Authors: Moskowitz Debbie S. , Dreyer Albert S. , Kronsberg Sandra
Published: September 2011

This study was designed to explore the stability of early precursors of field independence. Field independence at preschool age (3 ½ yr.) was measured by the Preschool Embedded-figures Test and was regressed on measures of 24 children's social and exploratory behaviors at infancy (1 yr.) and at preschool and on measures of maternal interaction behaviors at infancy and at preschool. The children's exploratory behaviors and the mothers' behaviors at infancy and preschool were not predictive of cognitive style. The children's social behaviors at both ages were highly related to their cognitive styles. Examination of the regression equations suggested that field-dependent children seek more emotional reassurance from their mothers at both times of observation than field-independent children. The data did not provide support for the idea that mothers' proximal and distal behaviors towards their children influenced the early development of field independence.
Young Children's Ability to Use Precued Information to Select and Maintain a Response
Authors: Clark Jane E. , Moore Joyce E.
Published: September 2011

The present experiment examined whether young children were capable of using precued information to preselect a response and remember it for a brief duration. The findings suggest that, indeed, the 10 4- and 5-yr.-olds could preselect a response and maintain the response for about 1 sec, but they had difficulty maintaining the response for a 3- or 5-sec. delay.
Personality Dimensions in Rorschach Reports: An Empirical Synthesis
Authors: Dana Richard H. , Bonge Dennis , Stauffacher Rick
Published: September 2011

The concepts contained in Rorschach reports from 31 college students prepared by eight examiners were abstracted. The 286 resultant concepts were sorted into substantive personality categories by seven clinical judges. Their 83 categories were factor analyzed and rotated to a Varimax criterion. A 12-factor solution included interpersonal relationships, disruptive internal process, rigidity, intellectual control, achievement, creative integration, timidity, affectional needs, self-concept, authority, inertia, and obsessive control.
Lucid Dreaming Verified by Volitional Communication during Rem Sleep
Authors: La Berge Stephen P. , Nagel Lynn E. , Dement William C. , Zarcone Vincent P.
Published: September 2011

The occurrence of lucid dreaming (dreaming while being conscious that one is dreaming) has been verified for 5 selected subjects who signaled that they knew they were dreaming while continuing to dream during unequivocal REM sleep. The signals consisted of particular dream actions having observable concomitants and were performed in accordance with pre-sleep agreement. The ability of proficient lucid dreamers to signal in this manner makes possible a new approach to dream research—such subjects, while lucid, could carry out diverse dream experiments marking the exact time of particular dream events, allowing derivation of precise psychophysiological correlations and methodical testing of hypotheses.
A Multigroup Study of Personality Patterns in Creativity
Authors: Weiss Daniel S.
Published: September 2011

The personality characteristics of three professional groups, each rated for level of creativity, were investigated using the California Psychological Inventory. Samples of male architects, mathematicians, and research scientists were compared and then combined to allow an over-all pattern of personality characteristics associated with creative accomplishment to emerge. Using regression analysis a five-variable index was constructed which yielded an over-all within sample validity of .375 (.35 corrected for shrinkage), and subsample validities of .42, .31, and .31, respectively. Scales with positive weights in the regression equation were Capacity for Status and Empathy; Sociability, Communality, and Good Impression received negative weights. The personological meaning of this creativity index was illustrated with California Q-sort, Adjective Check List, and case study data of selected high and low scorers.
Comparison of Rational Beliefs of Blind, Deaf, and Non-Handicapped High School Students
Authors: Shorkey Clayton T. , Saski James
Published: September 2011

This study investigated whether significant differences existed in scores of blind, deaf, and non-handicapped high school students using a low reading-level form of the Rational Behavior Inventory. Subjects were 160 non-handicapped students, 27 deaf students, and 41 blind students. An analysis of variance yielded no significant difference among scores of the three groups on test forms viewed as most comprehensible to each group. A significant difference was found between students in regular academic classes and those in classes for slower learners.
Effects of Induced Lateral Gaze on Performance on the Rod and Frame Test
Authors: Gross Y. , Even A. , Feldman B. , Glaubman H.
Published: September 2011

Performance of various cognitive tasks has been affected by induced lateral gaze, both in terms of quantity and quality. Work on quality attributes this to a heightened level of arousal in the hemisphere contralateral to the direction of the gaze. A similar effect on a field-dependence task is demonstrated in the present study. 20 right-handed subjects performed a rod-and-frame test while gazing to the right and while gazing to the left. The estimation of true verticality was much more accurate when the subjects' gazes were directed to the right. Implications of the findings are presented.
Effects of Variability of Practice in a Movement-Education Program on Motor Skill Performance
Authors: Moore Jane B. , Reeve T. Gilmour , Pissanos Becky
Published: September 2011

The study investigated the effects of the direct and exploration methods of teaching on the overhand throwing performance of kindergarten children. Variable throwing practice was provided in the exploration method by allowing children to throw 5 different types of balls at a variety of targets. Children given the direct method threw only one type of ball and received specific instruction and demonstrations. Throwing for distance and throwing accuracy were measured on pre- and posttests. A novel throwing task was administered on the posttest to measure skill transfer. The experimental groups received instruction three times per week for 4 wk. in throwing while a control group received no instruction. Significant sex differences in throws were found for distance and accuracy. Analysis of data from the novel task gave no significant effects. The two methods of teaching did not produce different levels of throwing skill.
Further Investigation of the Relationship between Hypnotic Susceptibility and Classroom Seating
Authors: Stam Henderikus J. , Spanos Nicholas P. , Radtke H. Lorraine , Jones Bill
Published: September 2011

Three classrooms of students ( n = 98) were tested for hypnotic susceptibility, handedness, and seating preference in an attempt to replicate the relationship between classroom seating and hypnotic susceptibility reported in 1979 by Sackeim, Paulhus, and Weiman. No relationship between these variables emerged for males. For females the relationships were inconsistent across samples. Over-all these results constitute a failure to replicate previously reported findings. Theoretical implications for the relationship between hypnotic susceptibility and “hemisphericity” are briefly discussed.
Assimilation and Contrast in the Parallel Lines Illusion?
Authors: Jaeger Ted
Published: September 2011

Judgments of 40 undergraduates indicated that the assimilative character of the parallel lines illusion was destroyed at large values of both context line length and separation of context and center line variables. Accommodation of a portion of these results requires a modification of Brigner's (1977) theory of perception of illusory extent.
Cognitive Style and Choice of Leisure Activities by Older Adults
Authors: Petrakis Elizabeth , Hanson Carole J.
Published: September 2011

The relationships between cognitive style and choice of leisure activities by older adults (55 yr. and older) were investigated. Also examined were the differences between 7 men and 9 women in cognitive style and selection of leisure activities. Subjects were administered the Group Embedded Figures Test to assess the cognitive style and the Leisure Activities Blank to determine preferences for leisure activities. Moderate Pearson product-moment coefficients were obtained between cognitive styles and choice of both past and future leisure activities for the total group as well as some leisure activity choices for the 9 women. There was no significant difference between men and women in cognitive style. There were differences between men and women in choices of past activities, and those for future activities seemed to follow traditional patterns of leisure behavior of older adults. Cross-validation is essential.
Incongruities in Self-Presentations and Judgments about People
Authors: Knox Lewis A. , Mancuso James C.
Published: September 2011

180 college students were asked to make judgments assumed to correspond with judgments about the mental illness of targets who projected various combinations of cues in attire and verbal messages. Procedures were designed to elaborate the position that the cues involved in making mental illness judgments about a target are not necessarily those associated with mental disease as traditionally defined; that the cues correspond with judgments of mental illness only in some cases and combinations, and that observers' construct systems affect judgments. Attire, message, and the degree of congruence between them were assumed to project to observers certain cues regarding the core-self and self-explaining role of the target. Different combinations of attire and message were presented to separate sample groups by the same target. Analyses of scores taken from semantic differential scales, a behavior check list, and a question about psychiatric condition showed a tendency for the targets with in-congruent attire and message to be judged as with more mental illness. In addition, older subjects and subjects with a more “demythologized” opinion about mental illness tended to attribute slightly less mental illness to targets in general.
Cross-Validation of Sex-Role Measures for Children with Correlation of Sex-Role Measures for Children and Parents
Authors: Newman Robert C. , Carney Richard E.
Published: September 2011

Second-grade children (21 boys, 14 girls) and both parents from intact, middle-class, at least second generation U.S. citizenship homes responded to measures of sex-role adoption, concepts, and preference. Classroom teachers rated children's sex-role adoption. Both adults and children had clear sex differences on means of measures of sex-role preference and adoption. Boys and girls showed close agreement as to the stereotypic sex-role concepts with little overlap between the distributions of concept scores characterizing boys and girls. Parents tended to adjust their preferences toward those more stereotypic for the sex of their child. The sex-role adoption by children tended to be positively correlated with the sex-role adoption by their mothers. Girls also had such correlations between their sex-role adoption and father's sex-role preference and stereotypic sex-role concepts.
Functional Asymmetry in Body Perception and Ocular Dominance: A Study of Their Interactions
Authors: Ruggieri Vezio , Bergerone Chiara , Cei Alberto , Valeri Carla
Published: September 2011

The relationships between ocular dominance and body perception (for the left and right body halves) were examined for 41 undergraduate female psychology students. The results indicate an interesting connection between the two phenomena. The four groups of subjects classified on the basis of ocular dominance (right, left, fluctuating and no dominance) showed statistically significant differences on one aspect of body perception, measured by the ‘Difference Deviation Scores.’ Also three groups of subjects classified on the basis of body perception (subjects with major perceptual error on the left or on the right, and subjects showing no difference in perception of the two body halves) showed statistically significant differences in ocular dominance.
Effect of Stimulus Perspective on Perception of Oscillation
Authors: Martinetti Raymond F.
Published: September 2011

8 groups of subjects, 10 per group, had 10 trials for each of two perceptual tasks. Subjects in every group viewed a rotating trapezoid at a constant speed at equal-interval angles of tilt (0°, 30°, 60°, 90°) and two directions of stimulus tilt (toward observer and parallel to observer). It was predicted that most reports of oscillatory perception would occur for parallel tilt at 0° and 90° angles of orientation. In addition, there would be a hypothesized decrease in perceived oscillations from 0° to 90° when the stimulus was tilted toward the observer. Both direction of stimulus tilt and angle of orientation were significant. Post hoc comparisons yielded reliable differences for the parallel tilt and tilt toward the observer. The evidence supports the position that veridical information processing in the trapezoid oscillatory illusion is a joint function of signal-detection capability and availability of perceptual cues.
Study of Quick Test, WAIS, and Premorbid Estimates of Intelligence for Neuropsychiatry Patients
Authors: Law Joseph G. , Price David R. , Herbert David A.
Published: September 2011

For 30 patients high correlations among scores on Quick Test forms and between scores on Quick Test forms and WAIS scores are as expected from prior work. Premorbid scores were higher than current scores. Range was restricted (IQs of 50 to 127), variances heterogeneous as expected.
Predictors of Motivation for Job Changing: Maintenance versus Motivation Seekers
Authors: Defiore Roberta M. , Kramer Thomas J. , Munz David C.
Published: September 2011

99 adult males, who had left their jobs or were in the process of leaving and were seeking new positions through a career management firm, served as subjects in a test of an extension of Herzberg's two-factor theory of job satisfaction. A systematic relationship was expected between personality variables and the reasons people leave their jobs. A stepwise multiple regression of .341 indicated that people who leave their jobs seeking greater satisfaction possess different personality characteristics than those people who leave their jobs because they are dissatisfied with their present jobs. Implications for future research include the possibility of predicting which people leave their jobs based on their personality characteristics and the situational factors surrounding their jobs.
Readability of the MMPI
Authors: Blanchard Jay S.
Published: September 2011

The MMPI was analyzed by readability formulas which represent varying criterion of comprehension from 50 to 90%. Computation involved a computer-generated word and syllable count, taking as many non-reoccurring samples as possible. If an examiner wishes to ensure 90% comprehension of the inventory items, nine successful years of schooling seem necessary.
Acute Restriction of Nocturnal Sleep in Children
Authors: Carskadon Mary A. , Harvey Kim , Dement William C.
Published: September 2011

Sleep, performance, and sleepiness were evaluated in nine (6 girls, 3 boys) children (ages 11 to 13.2 yr.) with a view toward determining whether children are more sensitive to sleep restriction than adults. In this 3-day study (immediately preceded by 3 adaptive days), sleep was permitted for 10 hr. on the baseline and recovery night, and for 4 hr. on a single restricted night. Effects of sleep restriction and subsequent recovery on nocturnal sleep parameters were very comparable to results seen in adult subjects. No significant effects of the procedure were seen in performance on abbreviated versions of the Wilkinson Addition Test and Williams Word Memory Test or on a listening attention task. Multiple sleep latency tests showed a significant increase with daytime sleepiness following sleep restriction, which persisted into the morning following recovery sleep. Children appear to be able to tolerate a single night of restricted sleep, although they do not recover as rapidly as adult subjects.
Geophysical Variables and Behavior: III. Prediction of UFO Reports by Geomagnetic and Seismic Activity
Authors: Persinger M. A.
Published: September 2011

Multiple regression analyses were used to test the hypothesis that UFO (unidentified flying object) reports are indices of natural events associated with accumulating tectonic strain within the earth's crust. More than 80% of the variance in a sample of UFO report numbers within the central and eastern U.S.A. between the years 1950 and 1966 could be accommodated by entering the appropriate three to five measures of geomagnetic or seismic activity of the previous one to three years. In general, UFO report numbers tended to increase two to three years after decreases in geomagnetic activity and the year after increases in the number of local, low intensity earthtremors. Predicted UFO report numbers within these regions were also determined from the equations for the years 1967–1981.
Persistent Phantom Limb Pain
Authors: Dawson Linda , Arnold Paul
Published: September 2011

The role of psychological factors in 10 patients with painful phantom limbs was investigated by means of a questionnaire and interviews. The hypotheses were that the severity of pain would be positively correlated with their present personal problems and attitudes and with experience of pain in the limb before amputation. The first hypothesis was confirmed but the second was not.
Effects of an Integrated Physical Education/Music Program in Changing Early Childhood Perceptual-Motor Performance
Authors: Brown Judy , Sherrill Claudine , Gench Barbara
Published: September 2011

Two approaches to facilitating perceptual-motor development in children, ages 4 to 6 yr., were investigated. The experimental group ( n = 15) received 24 sessions of integrated physical education/music instruction based upon concepts of Kodaly and Dalcroze. The control group ( n = 15) received 24 sessions of movement exploration and self-testing instruction. Analysis of covariance indicated that significant improvement occurred only in the experimental group, with changes in the motor, auditory, and language aspects of perceptual-motor performance as well as total score.
Cognitive Improvement Associated with Tricyclic Antidepressant Treatment of Childhood Major Depressive Illness
Authors: Staton R. Dennis , Wilson Helen , Brumback Roger A.
Published: September 2011

11 children fulfilling DSM-III criteria for major depressive illness were administered detailed neuropsychological batteries prior to and 3 to 6 mo. after starting tricyclic antidepressant treatment. Remission of depressive illness in those children with melancholic major depression was associated with significant improvement in WISC-R Verbal IQ and Performance IQ, and on the Similarities, Comprehension, Block Design, and Coding subtests. In addition, there were significant improvements on the Halstead Categories test, on the Visual Reception subtest of the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities, and in response latencies on the Matching Familiar Figures test. Two children with evidence of mild left hemiparesis showed amelioration of hemiparesis during tricyclic antidepressant treatment.
Minnesota Percepto-Diagnostic Test and Reading Achievement
Authors: Putnam Lillian R.
Published: September 2011

With mental ages partialled out, the correlation of −0.25 between perceptual error scores of 102 remedial readers on the Minnesota Percepto-Diagnostic Test and Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests was not significant. Intra-group analysis of scores on reproductions showed that those in the organic classification made significantly more errors on the horizontal arrow figure. Inter-group analysis indicated significant differences among primary, secondary, and organic classifications with the organic producing the most errors on the horizontal arrow figure. Inter-group analysis of brain-damage indicators yielded no significant differences; inter-group analysis showed that those assigned the organic classifications made significantly more errors in distortion of dots.
Personality and Injury in Competitive Runners
Authors: Valliant Paul M.
Published: September 2011

26 injured and 15 non-injured male runners were approached following competitive road races. They were requested to complete Form A of the Sixteen Personality Factor Inventory (16 PF) as well as a questionnaire specifically designed to obtain responses concerning physical and training measures. The injured runners appeared less toughminded and less forthright than the non-injured runners. Injured runners were also heavier, taller, and ran more miles per week than non-injured runners.
Increase in Simple Reaction Time of Knee Extension Induced by Simultaneous Bilateral Performance
Authors: Ohtsuki Tatsuyuki
Published: September 2011

Simple reaction time to an auditory stimulus was measured for separate unilateral and simultaneous bilateral knee-extension tasks. The latencies of the electromyographic discharge (155.3 msec.) and knee-joint movement (231.0 msec.) were longer in the bilateral condition than in the unilateral condition (139.2 and 218.8 msec., respectively), while the time difference between EMG onset and the knee-movement onset was the same for the unilateral (79–5 msec.) and bilateral (76.2 msec.) conditions. Interhemispheric inhibition was discussed as the mechanism for this unilateral-bilateral difference.
The Personal Attribute Inventory for Children: Normative Data
Authors: Rankin Charles I. , Parish Thomas S.
Published: September 2011

The Personal Attribute Inventory for Children has been previously reported reliable and valid for quick assessment of interpersonal and intrapersonal attitudes of children in various settings. As few normative data are available, for 1,050 children evaluations of themselves, their mothers, and their fathers provided normative information.
Perceptions of Teacher-Supervisors of Students in Competency-Based and Field-Based Teacher-Education Programs
Authors: Powell Jack V. , Reiff Judith C.
Published: September 2011

Perceptions of 72 elementary teachers supervising in a competency-based teacher-education program were compared with the perceptions of 54 elementary teachers supervising in a field-based program. Significant differences were found between the two groups on cooperative program planning and interns' influence on classroom teachers' instructional behavior.
Me: A Self-Concept Scale for Gifted Students
Authors: Feldhusen John F. , Kolloff Margaret Britton
Published: September 2011

The purpose of this research was to develop a self-concept scale for gifted students. An effort was made to develop items which focused on gifted children's talents and abilities and associated or related behaviors. Preliminary developmental analyses for 224 gifted girls and 188 boys in Grades 3 through 6 indicate promising reliability and possibly good validity.
Perception of Memorized Words and Nonwords
Authors: Deboeck M. , Hueting J. , Soetens E.
Published: September 2011

In this experiment we tried to explain why a word is perceived more accurately than a nonword. We compared the accuracy of the tachistoscopic recognition of words with memorized words and of nonwords with memorized nonwords. We used the method of the critical interstimulus interval (Turvey, 1973). The results showed that the over-all performance was better in the word conditions than in the nonword conditions, but the influence of the memorizing factor was virtually nonexistent. This is in contradiction with two proposed hypotheses, the “feature redundancy theory” because the memorizing factor was not significant and Massaro's (1973) assumptions that the difference between words and nonwords is due to redundancy. Although words and nonwords were equated for redundancy, there remained a difference in processing time. Words and nonwords seem to be processed in essentially different ways. The word advantage seems to be dependent upon the subjects' strategy to consider the presented words as a whole.
Differences in Sex and Curricula on Learning the Group Embedded Figures Test
Authors: Lusk Edward J. , Wright Haviland
Published: September 2011

The authors demonstrate that learning occurs on the Group Embedded Figures Test in that scores on the second section of the test are higher, on average, than scores on the first section of the test. They further report that performance differentials between men and women are not evident for either absolute performance or improvement in performance when differences in curriculum are taken into account.
Effects of Uncertainties of Time and Occurrence on Reaction Time of Mentally Handicapped Students
Authors: Surburg Paul R.
Published: September 2011

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of uncertainties of time and occurrence on reaction time of mildly handicapped students. 33 students were randomly assigned to the following treatment groups: no catch-trials, 10% catch-trials, and 20% catch-trials. Randomly varied foreperiods of 1.5, 3.0, and 4.5 sec. were used in a reaction time task. The role of catch-trials varied over four days of testing. Reaction times following 3.0- and 4.5-sec. were significantly faster than measurements following a 1.5-sec. foreperiod.
Women Runners' Views of Running
Authors: Harris Mary B.
Published: September 2011

A survey of 156 women runners varying greatly in age, experience, and ability was conducted to find out why these women were participating in what was once stereotyped as a masculine activity and what they perceived the psychological and behavioral effects of running to be. Statistical analyses indicated that almost all subjects had positive views of running, received support for running from others, and would encourage other women to run. They reported that running made them feel significantly stronger, happier, more relaxed, better about themselves, more attractive, more feminine, less masculine, and more energetic and also that stopping running made them feel guilty, fatter, depressed, tense, and less energetic. Other common changes with running were small weight losses, decreased quantity and improved quality of food eaten, reduced smoking and drinking, and lighter menstrual periods with less severe cramps. It appears that women runners view running as a positive experience which enhances their femininity rather than increasing masculinity or androgyny.
Information for the Spatial Factor in Korte's 3rd Law of Apparent Motion
Authors: Hartman Alan M.
Published: September 2011

The experiments reported here show that Korte's space-time invariance equation governing perception of apparent motion is limited to situations in which metric or apparent separation of targets define but a single interval of space. Variation in interstimulus intervals and metric separation of targets did not influence the perception of apparent motion when the background array was structured to depict apparently equal intervals of space. These results provide a test of Koffka's and more recently Gibson's view that higher order properties of intervals of space specify the spatial factor in apparent movement.
Scotopic Thresholds of Rhesus Monkeys at Different Grating Densities under Normal and Low-Protein Diets
Authors: Hill Charles W. , Riopelle Arthur J. , King Alan R.
Published: September 2011

Scotopic thresholds of rhesus monkeys were determined over a range of luminance levels, from 1138 to 17.8 × 10−9 cd/cm2, and grating densities, from .132 to 1.58 lines per cm. The effects of a low-protein diet on these thresholds were also investigated, and standard stimulus objects within the discrimination learning situation were employed. Obtained thresholds decreased systematically from about 350 to 20 × 10−9 cd/cm, and there were no significant differences due to dietary protein level.
Operant Conditioning of Mental Retardates' Visual Monitoring
Authors: Perryman Roy E. , Halcomb Charles R. , Landers William F.
Published: September 2011

To study improvement of visual monitoring of retardates, specialized training methods backed up by incentives were used. The extent to which these training techniques might be expected to produce results which would generalize to those situations in which the retardate was required to monitor without the increased signal rate and knowledge of results was explored. Subjects were 8 female mental retardates with IQs from 38 to 69. Detection of an aperiodic pattern change during pre-training was compared with final performance after 4 training sessions. During training, the task difficulty was increased until during the final training session it approximated the test conditions. Immediate knowledge of results was given for correct detections and false positive responses. Tokens were given to the subjects, based on the score at the end of the session. After the final session these tokens were exchanged for prizes. As predicted, training under these conditions significantly enhanced the retardates' performance and transferred to the condition with no knowledge of results.
Self-Report as a Validity Check for the Lüscher Color Test
Authors: Ledford Richard S. , Hoke William E.
Published: September 2011

20 college students, in a single-group design, participated in a study of the validity of the Luscher Color Test. The objective was to determine whether personality descriptions based on the test would significantly match written statements the subjects selected as self-descriptive. Each subject took the test twice and data from the second testing were analyzed. Later, the same subjects took a self-report test on which they rated 32 statements on a continuum from “characteristics I identify with most” to “characteristics I identify with least.” The results of comparing the two tests showed a greater than chance correspondence between the test descriptions and self-report descriptions. Observed social desirability appears to account for the correlation.
Test Settings and the Sensorimotor Performance of Infants with Down's Syndrome
Authors: Dunst Carl J.
Published: September 2011

The effects of test setting (home vs classroom) on the sensorimotor performance of 7 Down's syndrome infants were examined. The 7 Uzgiris-Hunt scales were administered on 10 occasions over a 4-mo. period, yielding 5 home-classroom comparisons for each subject. Analyses of mean performance scores, intersetting test-retest reliability, and intrasetting stability indicated that test performance was minimally affected by test setting, but that intrasetting interindividual invariance in performance was less stable when the subjects were tested in a classroom environment.
Constant vs Variable Stimulus Intensity and Visual Simple Reaction Time
Authors: Niemi Pekka
Published: September 2011

The effects of constant and variable stimulus intensity on simple RT were investigated with an effective intensity manipulation. Luminances were 40 and 90 dB re 10−10 lambert. RT was generally longer when intensity varied within a session than when it was constant. RT also was longer when a bright stimulus was presented on the preceding trial as opposed to a weak one. These effects were not found in earlier studies in which differences in luminance were small. However, the RT-difference between bright and dim stimuli was equal under the conditions of constant and variable intensity. Hence the present results replicate only in part the auditory findings of Grice and Hunter (1964) and Thrane (1961).
Senegalese Adolescents' Ratings of Being Understood by Father, Mother, Friends, and Teachers
Authors: Vandewiele Michel
Published: September 2011

We have tried to show, using a rating scale, the importance of family, peer, and school pressure on 828 Senegalese adolescents attending school. Boys felt better understood successively by their mothers, best male friends, fathers, favourite teachers, and best female friends, while the decreasing order of understanding of the girls was mother, favourite teacher, best male boy friend, father, best female friend.
Sex and Birth Order in Children's Goal Setting and Actual Performance of a Gross Motor Task
Authors: Hall Evelyn G. , Lee Amelia M.
Published: September 2011

This study investigated the effect of birth order and sex on goal setting and actual performance by boys and girls of elementary school age on a ring-toss task. Children were asked to give a verbal estimate of the number of successful trials out of 10 they expected to complete. Data were analyzed by 2 (sex) × 2 (birth order) analyses of variance. Results indicated that firstborn boys set higher goals and performed significantly better than later-born boys, firstborn girls or later-born girls.
Do Eye Movements Have a Special Importance to Mental Activity?
Authors: Rosenberg Barbara A.
Published: September 2011

Several areas of research are reviewed in which associations between eye movements and the nature of mental processes have been attributed to hypothesized third factors. It is suggested that a simpler hypothesis—that eye movements are related in some fundamental manner to cognitive functioning—deserves consideration. A metaphor is presented to show that the quality of information processing need not exclusively reflect processes deep inside the brain but could also be affected by peripheral motor mechanisms.
Comparing Two Approaches to Job Perception
Authors: Ekehammar Bo , Hjortzberg-Nordlund Fredrik
Published: September 2011

Two different approaches to the study of job perception were compared. One was based on an instrument of semantic differential type adapted to the study of jobs (job differential), the other was based on similarity ratings among job pairs. Data for the two approaches from the same 42 subjects were used for multidimensional analyses of nine job titles which were chosen so as to cover different status levels and job areas. The approaches seemed to yield congruent results. The number of dimensions was the same, and the psychological content of these dimensions seemed to correspond. The three dimensions were interpretable as “Preference,” “Status,” and “Nursing and Contact.”
Effect of Length of Movement on Linear Arm-Positioning by Children
Authors: Corlett J. T.
Published: September 2011

15 boys in each of three age groups were tested for ability to reproduce learned linear arm-positioning movements using a slide bar. Movements of 10, 20, and 40 cm were learned without the aid of vision by moving the slide to a stop, then repeated from the same starting position without the stop in place. Analysis of variance yielded a significant main effect of length of movement for both absolute and constant error and also a significant interaction between age and length of movement. The discussion offers explanations based on information-processing capacity and patterns of child development.
Autoregulation of Skin Temperature with Feedback-Assisted Relaxation of the Target Limb, and Controlled Variation in Local Air Temperature
Authors: Donald Merlin W. , Hovmand Jane
Published: September 2011

The primary aim of this study was to determine whether feedback-assisted skin temperature regulation can be demonstrated when skeletomuscular mediation, in the form of altered local EMG activity, is prevented. A second aim was to determine whether the success of such regulation is affected by the basal temperature of the skin. 30 adult subjects were asked to increase or decrease the temperature of the index finger of the dominant hand, while the local musculature was kept in a relaxed state using EMG feedback. The local ambient air temperature surrounding the limb was set at either 10°C, 24°C, or 38°C, resulting in large differences in basal skin temperature. Subjects were successful at both increasing and decreasing skin temperature while maintaining an integrated EMG output below 5 μV in the target limb. The magnitude of change, much smaller than those commonly reported in this field, did not vary across the air temperature levels, indicating that skin temperature autoregulation under these conditions does not conform to the law of initial value. It was concluded that autoregulation of skin temperature can be demonstrated in a virtually flaccid limb, and that the amount of temperature change achieved is not a function of basal skin temperature.
An Exploratory Study Using Repertory Grid Approach for Measurement of Cognitive Complexity
Authors: Brook Judith
Published: September 2011

A pilot study is described to determine the usefulness of Bieri's modified version of the Role Construct Repertory Test as a measure of cognitive complexity and as a means of testing relationships between complexity and factors of sex, age, individual response style and the effects of prolonged social interaction. Repertory grids from 5 male and 5 female subjects were first evaluated for degree of matching of construct rows, using a metric devised by Bieri to obtain a measure of cognitive complexity. There was a strong tendency for females to be more complex than males. There was also a tendency for mean cognitive complexity to increase from the youngest to the middle range of ages in the sample and decrease again for the older subjects. Although females were more cognitively complex than males, there was no appreciable difference in their use of extreme scores. Finally, subjects tended to perceive intimates as more similar to themselves than people with whom they had less social contact. The small sample size precluded the use of tests of significance but the trends apparent in the data generally agree with other published results, suggesting that Bieri's method could be appropriate and useful to measure cognitive complexity.
Movement Patterns as an Output Variable in Reaction Time
Authors: Wakabayashi S. , Nakamura R. , Taniguchi R.
Published: September 2011

Effects of two experimental variables, movement pattern and signal selection, on EMG-reaction time (RT) of the biceps brachii were investigated in 17 subjects. Analysis showed that (a) interaction of two variables was not significant in the analysis of variance, (b) RT-difference between the movement patterns was not affected by the signal selection, and (c) the degree of EMG-RT slowing due to the process of signal selection did not vary with movement patterns. The movement pattern was regarded as an output variable.
Gesture in Early Counting: A Developmental Analysis
Authors: Saxe Geoffrey B. , Kaplan Rochelle
Published: September 2011

This study is an examination of developmental changes in children's use of pointing gestures to achieve an accurate count. 42 children at 3 ages (2, 4, and 6 yr.) were required to count objects (2, 3, 7, or 8) in two conditions, one in which they could not use pointing gestures and the other in which they were encouraged to do so. With increasing age, children's counting accuracy improved across both conditions; however, it was only at the 4-yr.-age that children's performance was significantly better with gestures. On the basis of these data, it is argued that the functional relation between the recitation of number names and children's pointing gestures in counting changes over the course of development.
Comparison of Scores on Two Visual-Motor Tests for Children Referred for Learning or Adjustment Difficulties
Authors: De Mers Stephen T. , Wright Dan , Dappen Leon
Published: September 2011

93 students 6 to 11 yr. old and referred for evaluation because of learning or adjustment difficulties by their classroom teachers were administered Beery's Developmental Test of Visual-motor Integration and Koppitz's version of the Bender-Gestalt test. Previous research with retarded samples indicated the two tests were highly correlated while one study using normal subjects yielded significant differences between the tests. The present study indicated significant mean differences between the tests and significant but moderate correlations between the measures for each of three age ranges between 6 and 11 yr. In general, Beery's test gave higher standard scores for this sample of referred students; examiners are cautioned not to use the tests interchangeably with similar populations.
Internal Structure, Factor Satisfaction, and Reliability of the Body Cathexis Scale
Authors: Tucker Larry A.
Published: September 2011

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the internal structure and dimensionality of the Body Cathexis Scale, while secondary problems were to compare the relative satisfaction of each factor and to determine the test-retest reliability of the instrument. The scale was administered on a pretest-posttest basis to a sample of 83 college males. Using a factor analytic strategy with varimax rotation, four independent factors emerged: (1) Health and Physical Fitness, (2) Face and Over-all Appearance, (3) Subordinate and Independent Body Features, and (4) Physique and Muscular Strength. Analysis of the relative satisfaction reported for each axis indicated significant differences among the factors. The items of the first two factors were rated significantly more favorably than the variables of the second two dimensions. Test-retest reliability coefficient was .87, suggesting that the Body Cathexis Scale is stable over time.
Gender of Thematic Apperception Card 3 BM Figure
Authors: Holmes Cooper B. , Dungan David S.
Published: September 2011

A total of 215 subjects completed the TAT as part of a psychological evaluation or as volunteers. The gender of the figure on Card 3 BM was noted for our study. Our data show that the figure is in most cases seen as a female. This holds true regardless of the sex of the examiner and the sex of the subject.
Children's Responses to Nonexplicit Requests for Clarification
Authors: Pearl Ruth , Donahue Mavis , Bryan Tanis
Published: September 2011

67 learning- and 60 non-disabled children in Grades 1 to 8 participated in a referential communication task in which they provided clues for an experimenter who indicated with varying levels of explicitness the need for a second clue. Facial feedback expressing non-comprehension did not acquire the functional equivalence of explicit requests until Grades 7 to 8. Learning disabled girls in Grades 1 and 2 were less likely than non-disabled girls to respond to facial feedback; however, learning disabled boys in these grades were more likely to respond than non-disabled boys. A locus of control measure administered to children in Grades 3 to 8 indicated that responsiveness to the implicit request, “I don't understand,” was related to a belief in internal responsibility for failure.
Relaxation Training Tapes: Preferences and Effects of Gender and Background
Authors: Nathan Ronald G. , Nathan Myra Malmed , Vigen Mark P. , Wellborn James G.
Published: September 2011

Relaxation training tapes vary in voice gender and background, but little has been published regarding the preferences and effects of these parameters. Four classes, totalling 40 male and 36 female undergraduates, listened to parts of two commercially available sets of relaxation tapes. Both sets offered progressive relaxation and autogenic training in a choice of a male or a female voice. One set also provided a musical and environmental background. Tape segments were randomly assigned to the classes and balanced for gender and background. Subjects indicated a preference for the female voices. In addition, there was a significant association between sex of subject and voice gender preference, with males preferring female voices and females preferring male voices. However, the choices of the “best” tapes and actual ratings of relaxation indicated no significant voice-gender preferences or associations. Preferences for the facilitating effects of the tapes with musical and environmental, backgrounds were reflected in significant preferences for tape sets, tape choices, and relaxation ratings. The clinical implications and limitations of these findings were discussed.
Sex Differences in Dichaptic Processing
Authors: Dawson Grace D.
Published: September 2011

The failure to control for variables known to relate to cerebral asymmetries accounts, in part, for inconsistencies in research reporting sex differences in tactuospatial processing. In the present study, a dichaptic task procedure which attempted to minimize response bias was given to 20 males and 20 females at Grades 1, 6, and undergraduate while controlling for handedness, familial sinistrality, verbal ability, and visuospatial performance. Under these controlled conditions, there was a sex difference in tactuospatial functioning. Males performed more accurately than females with the left hand at all grade levels while there was no difference between right-hand performances. Older males performed more accurately over-all than older females. These results support the hypothesis that the males' right hemisphere is more specialized for spatial processing.
Effects of Task Difficulty on Response Latencies of Young Children
Authors: Green H. G. , Clinton Leroy , Macklin Faye
Published: September 2011

The relationship between latency to respond and task difficulty using items, weighted for difficulty, from the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities was investigated for 49 preschool children. The children were observed as they responded to the items. Response latencies and responses were recorded. Latency to respond was related to difficulty of the task.