Addressing “The criterion problem” in the assessment of aggressive behavior: Development of a new taxonomic system

Aggressive behavior is a highly complex construct that is very challenging to measure. While advancements in the assessment of aggression have been made, some fundamental problems persist. First, the operational definition of aggressive behavior and its various subtypes are frequently misinterpreted and lack sufficient conceptual clarity. Second, due to these definitional problems, assessment instruments frequently correspond to different conceptualizations of aggression. In the present review, we attempt to resolve these limitations by proposing a new taxonomic system of aggressive acts that (a) corresponds to a hybrid definition of aggressive behavior, and (b) increases conceptual clarity between subtypes of aggressive behavior. It is argued that this classification system will permit greater precision in the assessment of aggression and lead to the improvement of theories, diagnostic systems, and clinical interventions.     

Parallals between attitudes and traits as predictors of behavior

Both attitudes and traits have served as within-person constructs intended to permit the prediction of later behavior. Despite this similarity, research in the two domains has tended to progress in a relatively independent fashion. A number of parallels between the attitude and trait literature are noted with regard to definitions of the constructs and their utility as predictors of behavior. Parallels with respect to the identification of variables that moderate the attitude-behavior and trait-behavior relation are also discussed, as are similarities in the potential processes by which attitudes and traits guide behavior. It is concluded that the parallels are so extensive that research in each domain would benefit from an increased exchange of theory, methods, and findings.     

The Psychopathy Q-sort: construct validity evidence in a nonclinical sample

Scant research has examined the validity of instruments that permit observer ratings of psychopathy. Using a nonclinical (undergraduate) sample, the authors examined the associations between both self-and observer ratings on a psychopathy prototype (Psychopathy Q-Sort, PQS) and widely used measures of psychopathy, antisocial behavior, and negative emotionality. Self- and observer prototype correlations generally displayed predicted patterns of convergent and discriminant validity for the PQS. Future research using the PQS should focus on potential domains of incremental validity of peer-rated psychopathy beyond self-reported psychopathy.     

Diagnostik der Hypochondrie

In the current review the criteria for the diagnosis of hypochondriasis in the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV) are compared with the criteria for illness anxiety disorder in DSM-5 and differences are discussed. A current review of instruments for the dimensional assessment of the severity of hypochondriasis and associated characteristics (illness-related cognitions and safety behavior) is given. Possible ways of implementing these instruments for planning and evaluating therapy are specified. Furthermore, economical screening methods, which could be broadly applied in medical contexts to identify patients with pronounced illness anxiety in order to offer effective treatment are described and discussed. This procedure would not only lead to a reduction of strain in the person concerned, it would also be connected with financial relief for the health care system.     

Processes of inference during sentence encoding

Four experiments were designed to determine whether implicit instruments are “computed” and stored during sentence encoding. Subjects read pairs of related sentences and indicated when they understood the second member of each pair. In Experiment 1, response times were longer for test sentences that, relative to the antecedent, mentioned implicit rather than explicit instruments. Experiment 2 revealed this difference to be stable over a range of reading times and two phases of practice. The results were interpreted as suggesting that the inferences in question are not computed, or at most, are partially drawn during encoding In Experiment 3, the procedure was employed to distinghish four degrees of relation between propositions and the inferences they permit. Experiment 4 examined the agent, patient, and instrument cases. It was shown that subjects need more time to verify both true and false inference tests than to verify their direct counterparts.     

Modeling Stability and Change in Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms Using the Revised Interpersonal Adjective Scales–Big Five (IASR–B5)

In order to test the hypothesis that anal character traits would be reflected in taking a tough stance in regard to the behavior of teenagers and social welfare recipients, two scales measuring anality and social severity, respectively, were developed. An adult nonstudent sample of 562 respondents was administered both instruments in person to person interviews. Modest support for the hypothesis was revealed in the correlation of anality with severity.     

A Comparison of Adaptive Behavior Ratings: Revised Vineland and AAMD ABS-SE

Although the assessment of adaptive behavior is a mandated component of many school assessments, concerns have been raised about the measurement of the construct and related professional practices. Estimates of adaptive behavior have been shown sometimes to vary by instruments and raters and therefore may influence placement decisions in unknown ways. This study examined the agreement among teachers and parents on the revised Vineland and the AAMD Adaptive Behavior Scale-School Edition for a sample of developmentally handicapped children. A sample of learning disabled children was also included in order to explore the effects of a restricted range on the correlations. Also, the potential effects of estimates of adaptive behavior on placement decisions were analyzed. The results suggest that serious discrepancies could occur that would directly affect placement decisions.     

Preferences and Children's Use of Gender-Stereotyped Knowledge About Musical Instruments: Making Judgments About Other Children's Preferences

A developmental model of gender-stereotype acquisition (Martin, 1989) proposes that by the age of 8 years children draw upon information about gender-stereotyped interests as well as other children's sex when deciding how much other children would like different activities; younger children rely on sex only when making such decisions. We examined whether the judgments that children made about other children's preferences were different from those that they made about their own preferences for masculine and feminine musical instruments. Three hundred twelve children aged 8–9 years ranked 6 instruments in order of preference, and rated on a 4-point scale how much they would like to play each one. Children were then asked to decide how much other children would like to play each instrument. Only girls' own preferences for feminine instruments differed according to the gender-stereotyping of their most-preferred instrument. Judgments about how much other children would like masculine and feminine instruments did not differ according to those children's gender-stereotyped interest. Children made stereotypical predictions about the preferences of children of unknown sex who played either a masculine or feminine instrument. Implications for a theoretical account of the development of children's gender-stereotypes are discussed.     

An accountability model for counselors

A sound counselor accountability system would collate counselor accomplishments with costs. Better decisions could then be made about effective methods, staffing, student needs, and training. The system would define the domain of counselor responsibilities, use student behavior changes as evidence of counselor accomplishments, state counselor activities as costs, promote self-improvement, permit reports of failures and unknown outcomes, be designed by users, and be subject to revision. An illustrative accountability report shows how the cost, but not the value, of an outcome can be estimated. Experimentation is needed in order to answer the practical implementation problems of the system.     

Factorial Analysis of the Relation of the Press to Voting in Chicago

Abstract

Clinical literature has had speculations concerning the attitudes of rapists toward women, but only a few studies have tested attitudinal hypotheses with psychometric instruments. The present investigation used the Attitudes Toward Women Scale (AWS) to study and compare the attitudes of 20 incarcerated rapists, 20 nonsex-related violent offenders, and 20 matched subjects in a contemporary control group. The results confirmed the general hypothesis that the rapist group would show different and more conservative attitudes toward women, especially in areas relating to sexual behavior. More specific analysis of subscale differences was used to further compare the groups on precise attitudinal variables. The findings were discussed in terms of the possible relationship between rape behavior and stereotypic conservative attitudes toward women.     

Clinical applications of analogue behavioral observation: dimensions of psychometric evaluation

Clinical assessment applications of analogue behavioral observation are discussed in the context of psychometric principles. Analogue behavioral observation involves the measurement of a client's overt behavior in a contrived situation that is analogous to situations that the client is likely to encounter in his or her natural environment. The goal of analogue behavioral observation is to derive valid estimates of the client's behavior in a current or future natural environment. Analogue behavioral observation instruments are often developed with insufficient attention to their psychometric properties, particularly content validity. Psychometric evaluative dimensions vary in their importance, as a function of the goals of the assessment. Although analogue behavioral observation instruments can be sensitive to change, their validity can erode over time and is affected by numerous sources of variance. Analogue behavioral observation assessment may be especially useful in detecting important functional relations in clinical assessment.     

Lateralization of hand-movements in patients with affective psychoses during an interview situation: An attempt at a physiological interpretation

Summary The results of video analysis of non-verbal interview behavior of patients with affective psychoses were discussed. Characteristic differences were shown for the left-right distribution of certain hand movement types in studies of normal subjects by Kimura (1973) with an essentially comparable technique. A neurodynamic interpretation of such findings was attempted. First we discussed the shortcomings of current neuropsychological interpretations and concluded that they present a challenge to establish a conceptual framework, which would permit the resolution of both neurodynamic and developmental points of view. Finally, we examined the heuristic value of such a conceptual framework. We noted that it is marked by the concept of inter-hemispheric coordination, and applied this concept to our findings as well as to hypotheses in depression research obtained by other methods.     

Behavioral history: A definition and some common findings from two areas of research

Behavioral history research includes studies that (a) permit assessment of a prior experimental condition on a subsequent one, (b) show either short-lived or permanent effects, and (c) produce effects that are observable in ongoing behavior or that may be unobservable until special test conditions are introduced. We review experiments within both the conventional experimental analysis of behavior and behavioral pharmacology in order to identify commonalities and differences in the outcomes of conceptually similar experiments. We suggest that a deeper understanding of the necessary and sufficient conditions for producing history effects will emerge from these complementary research efforts.     

Cyberbullying assessment instruments: A systematic review

Although several instruments to assess cyberbullying have been developed, there is nevertheless a lack of knowledge about their psychometric properties. The aim of the present systematic review is to provide a representative overview of the current instruments designed to assess cyberbullying. Further, emphasis will be placed on the structural and psychometric properties of cyberbullying instruments, such as validity and reliability, as well as their conceptual and definitional bases. It will also provide criteria for readers to evaluate and choose instruments according to their own aims. A systematic literature review, limited to publications published prior to October 2010, generated 636 citations. A total of 61 publications fulfilled the delineated selection criteria and were included in the review, resulting in 44 instruments. Following a rater training, relevant information was coded by using a structured coding manual. The raters were the nine authors of this review. Almost half of the instruments included in this review do not use the concept of cyberbullying. The constructs measured by the instruments range from internet harassment behavior to electronic bullying behavior to cyberbullying. Even though many of the authors use other concepts than cyberbullying they claim that their instruments do measure it. For the purpose of this systematic review, we have chosen to categorize them as two different groups, cyberbullying instruments and related instruments. Additionally, most of the included instruments had limited reports of reliability and validity testing. The systematic review reveals a need for investigating the validity and reliability of most of the existing instruments, and resolving the conceptual and definitional fluctuations related to cyberbullying.     

Developmental Pragmatics in Normal and Abnormal Children

We propose a critical review of current theories of developmental pragmatics. The underlying assumption is that such a theory ought to account for both normal and abnormal development. From a clinical point of view, we are concerned with the effects of brain damage on the emergence of pragmatic competence. In particular, the paper deals with direct speech acts, indirect speech acts, irony, and deceit in children with head injury, closed head injury, hydrocephalus, focal brain damage, and autism. Since no single theory covers systematically the emergence of pragmatic capacity in normal children, it is not surprising that we have not found a systematic account of deficits in the communicative performance of brain injured children. In our view, the challenge for a pragmatic theory is the determination of the normal developmental pattern within which different pragmatic phenomena may find a precise role. Such a framework of normal behavior would then permit the systematic study of abnormal pragmatic development.     

Motives and social evaluation: Actor-observer differences in the delineation of motives for a beneficial act

Adequate social evaluation of an intentional act depends on a specification of the actor's motives, that is, the consequences he or she anticipated when performing the purposeful behavior. Prior work in experimental social psychology has often underestimated the important social functions served by motive statements, including how they influence and regulate social conduct, permit adequate social analysis of purposeful behavior, and project desired identities. Two experiments examined actor-observer differences in the delineation of motives for the positive act of helping another person. In both studies, it was found that actors attributed their behavior largely to positive motives (e.g., to help the other) and minimized nonpositive ones (e.g., to make a favorable impression), while observers' attributions showed little or no differentiation as a function of the valence of the motives. Actors' self-enhancing attributions were somewhat more pronounced when the consequences were large, and occurred under private as well as public assessment conditions. Also, a reversal of the “typical” actor-observer effect was found in that actors attributed more personal than situational responsibility, while observers did the opposite. This pattern occurred under private assessment conditions and was even more pronounced when the actors' interpretations would be public. The results suggest the presence of motivational biases in the interpretation of social events, and are difficult to explain through recourse to the standard “logical” information processing alternatives.     

A factorial study of the multiphasic,strong, kuder,and bell inventories using a population of adult males

In a centroid factor analysis of the Multiphasic, Strong, Kuder, and Bell inventories using a population of 400 adult males, eight common factors dealing with aspects of personality as measured by these instruments were isolated. Seven of the factors were meaningful and one was a residual. This study indicates little overlap between the two personality and the two interest inventories. It would appear that factors found in these instruments measuring aspects of personality are dichotomous in nature and are not common to the two types of instruments included in this study. That is, two of the factors were common to the two personality inventories, and five of the factors were common to the two interest inventories.Abstract of dissertation submitted at Syracuse University, January, 1949, in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education.     

Measuring the person-centeredness of caregivers working with nursing home residents with dementia

There is increasing interest in promoting person-centered caregiving within gerontology. However, few observational instruments have been developed to measure person-centered caregiving behaviors. In the present study, two innovative coding instruments—the Person-Centered Behavior Inventory (PCBI) and the Global Behavior Scale (GBS)—were used to test the hypothesis that caregivers’ person-centeredness would be negatively correlated with residents’ resistiveness to care. The study hypothesis was based on the need-driven dementia-compromised theory of behavior. It was expected that person-centered caregiving would better meet residents’ needs and be associated with less resistiveness to care. This hypothesis was tested by coding 70 videotaped interactions between 54 caregivers and 20 residents diagnosed with dementia. Resistiveness to care was measured by behaviorally coding residents’ resistive behaviors based on the Resistiveness to Care scale. The study hypothesis was supported when the GBS was used to measure person-centeredness, but not when the PCBI was used. The findings provide preliminary support for the predictive and construct validity of the GBS and the PCBI.