Mixed group validation: a method to address the limitations of criterion group validation in research on malingering detection

Mixed group validation (MGV) is offered as an alternative to criterion group validation (CGV) to estimate the true positive and false positive rates of tests and other diagnostic signs. CGV requires perfect confidence about each research participant's status with respect to the presence or absence of pathology. MGV determines diagnostic efficiencies based on group data; knowing an individual's status with respect to pathology is not required. MGV can use relatively weak indicators to validate better diagnostic signs, whereas CGV requires perfect diagnostic signs to avoid error in computing true positive and false positive rates. The process of MGV is explained, and a computer simulation demonstrates the soundness of the procedure. MGV of the Rey 15-Item Memory Test (Rey, 1958) for 723 pre-trial criminal defendants resulted in higher estimates of true positive rates and lower estimates of false positive rates as compared with prior research conducted with CGV. The author demonstrates how MGV addresses all the criticisms Rogers (1997b) outlined for differential prevalence designs in malingering detection research.     

Psychological collectivism: a measurement validation and linkage to group member performance

The 3 studies presented here introduce a new measure of the individual-difference form of collectivism. Psychological collectivism is conceptualized as a multidimensional construct with the following 5 facets: preference for in-groups, reliance on in-groups, concern for in-groups, acceptance of in-group norms, and prioritization of in-group goals. Study 1 developed and tested the new measure in a sample of consultants. Study 2 cross-validated the measure using an alumni sample of a Southeastern university, assessing its convergent validity with other collectivism measures. Study 3 linked scores on the measure to 4 dimensions of group member performance (task performance, citizenship behavior, counterproductive behavior, and withdrawal behavior) in a computer software firm and assessed discriminant validity using the Big Five. The results of the studies support the construct validity of the measure and illustrate the potential value of collectivism as a predictor of group member performance.     

Concept empiricism: a methodological critique

Thanks to Barsalou's, Damasio's, Glenberg's, Prinz' and others' work, neo-empiricism is gaining a deserved recognition in the psychology and philosophy of concepts. I argue, however, that neo-empiricists have underestimated the difficulty of providing evidence against the amodal approach to concepts and higher cognition. I highlight three key problems: the difficulty of sorting out amodal predictions from neo-empiricist predictions, the difficulty of finding experimental tasks that are not best solved by imagery and the difficulty of generalizing findings concerning a given cognitive process in a given context to other cognitive processes or other contexts. Finally, solutions to these three problems are considered.     

Salkovskis on obsessional-compulsive neurosis: a critique

Salkovskis (Behav. Res. Ther. 23, 571–583. 1985) offers of cognitive-behavioural analysis of obsessional-compulsive disorder and the treatment implications of the analysis are discussed by Salkovskis (1985) and Salkovskis and Warwick (Behav. Psychother. 13, 243–255, 1985). A number of criticisms and objections to this work are set out.     

Kohut's method of interpretation: a critique

To cope with the obscure, complexly overdetermined, and unstable nature of unconscious meanings, Freud developed a pluralistic methodology that employs a wide variety of interpretive strategies and procedures. Conversely, Kohut proposed a radically abbreviated interpretive approach based on the single, subjective method of empathy. This report reevaluates Kohut's monistic interpretive methodology: (1) The principal features of Kohut's interpretive method are reviewed and evaluated. (2) Case material and interpretations from Kohut's final book are used to compare his unidimensional approach with the pluralistic methodology of traditional interpretation. (3) The epistemologic liabilities of Kohut's interpretive method are delineated and discussed. (4) Methodologically more appropriate strategies for improving clinical interpretation are presented.     

MMPI-2 assessment of malingered emotional distress related to a workplace injury: a mixed group validation

In this study, we examined the capacity of MMPI-2 (Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 2001) validity indexes to identify malingered depression associated with a workplace injury. We compared 27 graduate students simulating depression with archival records of 33 inpatients diagnosed with major depressive disorder. We employed a mixed-group validation design to generate true positive rates (TPR) and false positive rates (FPR) for the various MMPI-2 validity scales [F, FB, F(p), FBS, F - K, Ds2] while we accounted for base rates of malingering in each sample. The Fake Bad scale (FBS) was the only validity measure that produced acceptable TPR and FPR or a significant correlation with malingering status.     

A validation study of a transferred group intelligence test(1)

The purpose of the research was to conduct a validation study of a transferred group intelligence test. The Lorge-Thorndike Intelligence Test, Level A, Form 1 was translated to Hebrew and administered to an Israeli sample comparable to the original norming group. The results obtained were concerned with variability, reliability, validity, item analysis, intercorrelations among subtests, and factor analysis. While few comparisons of the Israeli sample with the original data were made, the validation of the transferred test was examined in the light of other criteria for evaluating a new test. The suitability of the transferred test for Israeli high achievers from high-status families was supported by the results. The major conclusions were: (1) the total mean IQ scores of Israeli students were approximately the same as the American mean; (2) mean raw scores increased with age; (3) relative difficulty of individual items remained stable through translation and administration in Israeli culture, in three out of five subtests; (4) it appears reasonable to suggest that the factor structure of the translated test is consistent with the intent of the original.     

Reduction and emergence: a critique of Kim

In a recent critique of the doctrine of emergentism championed by its classic advocates up to C. D. Broad, Jaegwon Kim (Philosophical Studies 63:31–47, 1999) challenges their view about its applicability to the sciences and proposes a new account of how the opposing notion of reduction should be understood. Kim is critical of the classic conception advanced by Nagel and uses his new account in his criticism of emergentism. I question his claims about the successful reduction achieved in the sciences and argue that his new account has not improved on Nagel’s and that the critique of emergentism he bases on it is question-begging in important respects.     

Acute stress disorder: a synthesis and critique

The diagnosis of acute stress disorder (ASD) was introduced to describe initial trauma reactions that predict chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This review outlines and critiques the rationales underpinning the ASD diagnosis and highlights conceptual and empirical problems inherent in this diagnosis. The authors conclude that there is little justification for the ASD diagnosis in its present form. The evidence for and against the current emphasis on peritraumatic dissociation is discussed, and the range of biological and cognitive mechanisms that potentially mediate acute trauma response are reviewed. The available evidence indicates that alternative means of conceptualizing acute trauma reactions and identifying acutely traumatized people who are at risk of developing PTSD need to be considered.