Prediction and clinical inference: forty years later

The earlier controversy between clinical and statistical prediction has faded into the shadows. Few people today challenge the necessity for both approaches in seeking to develop and apply knowledge. In more contemporary terms, the issue of which prediction method should be preferred involves choosing between a quest for historical truth (i.e., correspondence demonstrated by statistical methods) and a quest for narrative truth (i.e., coherence achieved by clinical formulations).     

Models,computers and policies: Fifty years of Psychometrika

Mathematical models have been represented inPsychometrika first in biophysics, then in stochastic models of behavior, and later in computer simulations of behavior. Other specialized journals now attract many articles in these areas, butPsychometrika's policy of broad interest in all aspects of quantitative psychology remains sound. This paper reviewsPsychometrika's coverage of mathematical models and computation, and discusses some matters of editorial policy.     

The Hand Test: fifteen years later

The Hand Test, a projective device developed about 15 years ago, has gained rapidly in popularity among clinical and school psychologists. A variety of reliability and validity studies have been conducted with the instrument across a broad spectrum of clients and settings, A considerable amount of developmental work has been conducted on the Hand Test since its inception. Research on this test was reviewed and discussed with the conclusion that the Hand Test has merit in many clinical applications for children, adolescents and adults. The instrument has potential in diverse assessment situations and is used today by a wide spectrum of practitioners. Research points toward the Hand Test as being a valuable quantitative multidimensional instrument which predicts behaviors.     

Test anxiety inventory: 30 years later

Abstract Research suggests that test anxiety is associated with a number of maladaptive factors. The majority of test anxiety research includes the Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI) as a primary outcome variable. However, the TAI was normed on college undergraduates in 1980. The academic landscape has altered in a variety of ways in the past 30 years, which may result in out-of-date norms. This study examined changes in TAI scores in college undergraduates (n =437) as well as convergent validity with measures of trait anxiety and academic performance. Results indicated increases in TAI scores for females while holding constant for males. Additionally, females and males displayed positive correlations between the TAI and state-trait anxiety inventory, while only females displayed a significant negative correlation between the TAI and grade point average. Data provide evidence of changes in TAI scores. As a result, researchers should be careful when drawing conclusions based on original TAI norms, especially in the case of female undergraduates.     

Fifty years of child guidance: A psychologist's View

Abstract

MARTHA HARRIS, B.A.: Inside Information on Understanding Infants, (birth to 5 years). A paperback published by the Dickens Press, price 5s. Od.

MARY MILES?: Live and Learn. George Allen and Unwin Ltd., 18s.

DILYS DAWS: Your One Year Old; CHRISTOPHER DARE: Your Six Year Old; MARTHA HARRIS: Your Eleven Year Old, Your Twelve to Fourteen Year Old, Your Teenager; ELSIE L. OSBORNE: Your Four Year Old, Your Five Year Old, Your Seven Year Old; EDNA O'SHAUGHNESSY: Your Eight Year Old, Your Nine Year Old, Your Ten Year Old; DINA ROSENBLUTH: Your Baby, Your Two Year Old, Your Three Year Old, Corgi Books (1969), Cash Sales Department, P.O. Box 11, Falmouth, Cornwall. 3s. (15p).     

Psychotherapists and the mystical process

Spirituality is an often overlooked element in the therapeutic experience. The purpose of this paper is to document a well-recognized definition and framework for the mystical process. The author suggests some similarities between the mystical and psychotherapeutic processes. He asserts that psychotherapists who can recognize elements of the mystical process among their clients can serve as spiritual guides in psychotherapy.     

Handling greedy clergy roles: A dual clergy example

Striking changes have occurred in the number of women who have been ordained as clergy in the Protestant denominations in North America. With these changes has come a concomitant increase in the number of dual clergy couples. These couples are a new variant on the dual career theme. They share some of the same strains which have been identified for dual career couples in general; namely, identity issues, work and role overload, role cycling problems, social network dilemmas and discrepancies between personal and social norms. In addition, particular qualities of the clergy role create problems which these couples must address. One such problem is handling the ambivalent boundary between work and family roles. Two aspects of this issue are the absorptiveness of the role and the embeddedness of both work and family roles. The present paper discusses these boundary issues using data from a study of a population of dual clergy couples in two synods of the Lutheran church in two western Canadian provinces. Strategies for handling these issues are suggested for couples, church leaders and congregational representatives.Thanks are expressed to Les Vaala, Director of Student Life, Camrose Lutheran College, Camrose Alberta who was a cooperating researcher in the study.     

Fifty years of memory of college grades: accuracy and distortions

One to 54 years after graduating, 276 alumni correctly recalled 3,025 of 3,967 college grades. Omission errors increased with the retention interval, and better students made fewer errors. Accuracy of recall increased with confidence in recall. Eighty-one percent of commission errors inflated the actual grade. Distortions occur soon after graduation, remain constant during the retention interval, and are greater for better students and for courses students enjoyed most. Confidence in recall is unrelated to distortion. Courses that were not freely recalled, but had to be cued, were recalled less accurately and with less distortion. The data support a supplementary theory of memory distortion. The theory assumes that forgetting and distorting memory content are relatively independent processes, that relevant generic memories are used to fill in gaps after episodic memory fails, that systematic distortions affect autobiographical content that is emotionally and motivationally valenced, and that most individuals supplement with content that is emotionally more gratifying than the veridical content. The data conflict with dynamic displacement theories according to which screen memories actively block access to unpleasant veridical content.