WAIS picture arrangement and premorbid social competence among process schizophrenics.

A study with male process schizophrenics suggested that the Picture Arrangement (PA) subtest of the WAIS was related to a measure of social competence. There was evidence that the PA subtest may measure an entity such as social intelligence which is different from overall intelligence.     

Gender, social competence, and symptomatology in schizophrenia: a longitudinal analysis

The relationship between gender and social skill measured by performance on a role play test was examined in a sample of 57 schizophrenics, 33 affective disorder patients, and 20 nonpatient controls. Female schizophrenics were more skilled than male schizophrenics, but no gender differences were present in the affective patients or the controls. Longitudinal analyses conducted on the schizophrenic group indicated that the superior social skill of women was stable over the year following a symptom exacerbation. Symptoms and social adjustment improved for both men and women over the year, but did not differ according to gender. The implications of the results for gender differences in the long-term outcome of schizophrenia are discussed.     

Dimensions of premorbid functioning in schizophrenia: a review of neuromotor, cognitive, social, and behavioral domains

After a brief discussion of methods for studying the premorbid period in schizophrenia, the authors review relevant experimental literature to assess the validity of current theories. A critical review is provided that includes representative empirical investigations on premorbid functioning in schizophrenia in the domains of neuromotor, intellectual, academic, cognitive, social, emotional, and behavioral functioning. Limitations of past research, such as lack of specificity to schizophrenia populations, high incidences of false positives, questionable definitions of the premorbid period, inconsistent measures of premorbid functioning, and problems with the current method of DSM classification are discussed. Alternative approaches to studying early functioning in schizophrenia are highlighted.     

Recall versus recognition: a methodological note

Some current investigators have made direct comparisons of recognition performance with cued recall. In other instances, indirect comparisons of recognition and recall have been made by observing the difference in recognition performance with different types of target material, for example, high- and low-frequency words; this difference has been then compared with the difference obtained when recall is used to measure retention of the same type of target materials. Finally, some experimenters have examined how recognition performance is related to the type of target material that is used, for example, words, pictures, and so on. The results obtained from all of these studies have been used to make inferences about the nature of the memorial process. We have attempted to call attention to the generally accepted but neglected finding that performance on any recognition test can be manipulated by changing the characteristics of the distractors, thus casting doubt on the generality of the experimental findings as well as their theoretical implications.     

Measurement of field-independence-dependence in children: a methodological note.

Three techniques for assessment of field-independence-dependence were found feasible and appropriate for use with primary grade children in a school setting. Ss were readily able to understand directions and to manage the apparatus. They appeared interested and highly motivated to perform well. Findings must be interpreted cautiously, however. Small size of samples, especially in the test-retest reliability analyses, makes generalizability limited. Importantly, too, strength of relationship between the three measures varied; r between the two rod-and-frame techniques was statistically significant, but only the Nickel apparatus related significantly to the Children's Embedded-figures Test. Questions must be raised as to the comparability of techniques in assessment of field-independence-dependence, at least for primary grade children. Finally, these Ss were from middle socioeconomic backgrounds and were pupils in a stable and achievement-oriented school. Feasibility of using the techniques with children from markedly different social and economic backgrounds is uncertain.     

Social reinforcement of operant behavior in rats: a methodological note.

An apparatus was developed to study social reinforcement in the rat. Four Long-Evans female rats were trained to press a lever via shaping, with the reinforcer being access to a castrated male rat. Responding under a fixed-ratio schedule and in extinction was also observed. Social access was found to be an effective reinforcer. When social reinforcement was compared with food reinforcement under similar conditions of deprivation and reinforcer duration, no significant differences were observed.     

Alternative measures of expressed emotion: a methodological and cautionary note

Undergraduate raters listened to Camberwell Family Interviews that had been conducted with the spouses of depressed patients and then rated each relative with a rating-scale assessment of expressed emotion (EE). Students' ratings of relatives' criticism, hostility, emotional overinvolvement, and warmth were significantly correlated with trained raters' EE assessments obtained in the conventional manner. Despite this correspondence, further analyses revealed that undergraduates' assessments of relatives did not predict 9-month relapse rates in patients. These results highlight the importance of establishing both the concurrent and predictive validity of any alternative measure of EE. They also emphasize the dangers of assuming that significant correlates of EE are necessarily significant predictors of relapse.     

Emerging technologies and corporate culture at Microsoft: a methodological note

This article explores factors important in the study and examination of corporate culture and change. The particular focus is on the technological methods used to conduct a study of accessible technology and corporate culture at Microsoft Corporation. Reasons for particular approaches are explained. Advantages and challenges of emerging technologies that store and retrieve information in the study of corporate culture are reviewed.     

A methodological note on evaluating performance in a sustained-attention-to-response task

We evaluated the influence of speed–accuracy trade-offs on performance in the sustained attention to response task (SART), a task often used to evaluate the effectiveness of techniques designed to improve sustained attention. In the present study, we experimentally manipulated response delay in a variation of the SART and found that commission errors, which are commonly used as an index of lapses in sustained attention, were a systematic function of manipulated differences in response delay. Delaying responses to roughly 800 ms after stimulus onset reduced commission errors substantially. We suggest the possibility that any technique that affects response speed will indirectly alter error rates independently of improvements in sustained attention. Investigators therefore need to carefully explore, report, and correct for changes in response speed that accompany improvements in performance or, alternatively, to employ tasks that control for response speed.