Parent-Child Interaction Therapy for Toddlers: A Pilot Study

Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is an evidence-based program used to treat behavioral disorders in early childhood (2–7 years; Eyberg, 1988 Eyberg , S. ( 1988 ). Parent-Child Interaction Therapy: Integration of traditional and behavioral concerns . Child Family Behavior Therapy , 10 ( 1 ), 33 – 46 .[Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]). This article describes a modified version of PCIT for young toddlers (PCIT-T) adapted to meet the developmental needs of children aged 12–24 months. A pilot study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of PCIT-T with 29 parent-toddler dyads (children aged <2 years) presenting with significant behavior problems, assessed pretreatment and posttreatment. Outcomes for two groups of older children who participated in PCIT (Group 1: 2–3 years, n = 29; Group 2: 3–4 years, n = 29) were also assessed. Results showed PCIT-T to be associated with a range of positive child and parental outcomes including decreased intensity of disruptive child behaviors, increased parental utilization of PCIT parenting skills, decreased parental depressive symptoms, and high levels of consumer satisfaction with the program. This study provides early evidence that a modified version of PCIT can be successfully used to treat behavior disorders in children aged less than 2 years.     

Infant imitation and the self—A response to Welsh

Talia Welsh (2006 Welsh, T. 2006. Do neonates display innate self-awareness? Why neonatal imitation fails to provide sufficient grounds for innate self and other awareness. Philosophical Psychology, 19: 221–238. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) argues that Shaun Gallagher and Andrew Meltzoff's (1996) application of neonatal imitation research is insufficient grounds for their claim that neonates are born with a primitive body image and thus an innate self-awareness. Drawing upon an understanding of the self that is founded upon a “theory of mind,” Welsh challenges the notion that neonates have the capacity for self-awareness and charges the supposition with an essentialism which threatens to disrupt more social constructionist understandings of the self. In this paper, I initially defend Gallagher and Meltzoff's (1996) application of infant imitation to understandings of neonatal self-awareness by explaining how body image schemas can be understood as non-representational embodied cognitive phenomena that challenge “theory of mind” theory. I then further develop the claim that neonates are born self-aware with reference to my own work in fetal development. I conclude that Welsh's political concerns are unfounded by showing how the conclusion that a neonate is self-aware does not signal a return to an essentialist understanding of self-awareness, but rather introduces into philosophical and psychological discourse possible alternate understandings of an embodied sense of self that are embedded within intersubjective contexts.     

“I'm Sorry,Please Don't Hurt Me”: Effectiveness of Apologies on Aggression Control

ABSTRACT

The author attempted to replicate Ohbuchi, Kameda, and Agarie's (1989 Ohbuchi, K., Kameda, M and Agarie, N. 1989. Apology as aggression control: Its role in mediating appraisal of and response to harm. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56: 219–227. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) study which found that giving an apology, with or without harm removal, reduced aggressive responses among a sample of Japanese college women. The author found similiar results with a U.S. sample of college women. The results provide evidence for cross-cultural similiarity in the effectiveness of apologies in reducing aggressive responses.     

The Relationships Among Sensory Processing Styles,Personality Traits,and Body Mass Index: A Pilot Study

The purpose of the authors in this study is to explore the possible relationships among sensory processing styles, possible sensory processing disorders, personality traits, and body mass index. There is research on the relationship between obesity as defined by body mass index and temperament, and sensory processing and temperament; however, no information could be found on the relationship between body mass index and sensory processing styles, or the role that temperament and personality styles may play in these relationships. The 50 female participants were recruited from the University of New England community. The sample included women between the ages of 19 and 59 years, and of various weights. None of the participants had a history of thyroid problems, diabetes, or any physical disabilities that would limit daily physical activity. None had been diagnosed with sensory processing disorder. All participants filled out two self-reports and a demographic questionnaire. The Adult/Adolescent Sensory Profile (Brown &; Dunn, 2002 Brown , C. E. , &; Dunn , W. ( 2002 ). Adult/Adolescent Sensory Profile . San Antonio , TX : The Psychological Corporation . [Google Scholar]) determines a person's sensory processing style and possible sensory processing disorder, and the Basic Personality Inventory (Jackson, 1996 Jackson , D. N. ( 1996 ). Basic Personality Inventory Manual , (2nd ed.) . Port Huron , MI : Sigma Assessment  [Google Scholar]) focuses on everyday behaviors to describe temperament and “adult behavioral syndromes” (p. 5). Through this study the authors show only tentative relationships between body mass index and sensory processing styles and personality traits. The data could be interpreted to support both discriminant and convergent validity between the Adult/Adolescent Sensory Profile and the Basic Personality Inventory. There were, however, significant correlations between aspects of sensory processing and aspects of personality that appeared to strengthen the idea that differences in sensory processing result in predictable types of behavior, indicating that sensory processing disorders are a separate diagnostic category.     

Counselling in Action: A multimodal assessment and rational emotive behavioural approach to stress counselling: a case study

This paper demonstrates how the multimodal approach, developed by Arnold Lazarus (1989 Lazarus A.A. 1989 The practice of multimodal therapy: systematic, comprehensive and effective psychotherapy Baltimore John Hopkins University Press  [Google Scholar]), can be used to aid assessment of a client suffering from the effects of chronic, work-related stress. A rationale is provided for integrating the multimodal approach with rational emotive behaviour therapy theory, techniques and strategies (Kwee & Ellis, 1997 Kwee M. Ellis A. 1997 Can multimodal and rational emotive therapy be reconciled? Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy 15 2 95 132 [Crossref] [Google Scholar]). A modality profile and a second order BASIC I.D. profile were developed and used as the link between assessment and the stress counselling programme (Palmer, 1992 Palmer, S. 1992. Multimodal assessment and therapy; a systematic, technically eclectic approach to counselling, psychotherapy and stress management. Counselling, 3(4): 220–224.  [Google Scholar]). A range of assessment tools were used to assess progress and a session by session report is provided.     

CBT for Children and Adolescents With High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders,edited by A. Scarpa,S. Williams White, & T. Attwood

ABSTRACT

Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is a manualized behavioral intervention originally developed by Eyberg (1988 Eyberg, S. (1988). Parent-child interaction therapy: Integration of traditional and behavioral concerns. Child &; Family Behavior Therapy, 10(1), 33–46. doi:10.1300/j019v10n01_04[Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]) to address disruptive behaviors in young children. Although previous research findings support the contention that components of PCIT would positively impact communication, behavior, and adaptive skills (Howard, Sparkman, Cohen, Green, &; Stanislaw, 2005; Lovaas, 1987 Lovaas, O. I. (1987). Behavioral treatment and normal educational and intellectual functioning in young autistic children. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55(1), 3–9. doi:10.1037/0022-006x.55.1.3[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Remington et al., 2007 Remington, B., Hastings, R. P., Kovshoff, H., Degli Espinosa, F., Jahr, E., Brown, T., &; Ward, N. (2007). Early intensive behavioral intervention: Outcomes for children with autism and their parents after two years. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 112(6), 418–438. doi:10.1352/0895-8017(2007)112[418:eibiof]2.0.co;2[Crossref], [PubMed] , [Google Scholar]) in children with developmental disabilities, few studies are shown in the literature. In a modified version of PCIT, caregivers completed two phases of intervention with their child diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). During the Child-Directed Interaction (CDI) phase, caregivers were taught to conduct mand training, follow-their child’s lead, provide attention for their child’s positive behaviors, and ignore their child’s negative behaviors. During the Parent-Directed Interaction (PDI) phase, caregivers were taught to give effective commands and follow through with demands. The goal of the current study was to determine whether children’s production of vocalizations increased after participation in a modified PCIT program. Data from two participants diagnosed with autism were included in the study. Outcomes of these two case studies show that both children displayed an increase in the total number of vocalizations emitted in the posttreatment observation relative to baseline. Additionally, caregivers of both participants displayed an increased number of positive behaviors in the posttreatment observation relative to baseline.     

A Polytomous Model of Cognitive Diagnostic Assessment for Graded Data

Pursuing the line of the difference models in IRT (Thissen &; Steinberg, 1986 Thissen, D., &; Steinberg, L. (1986). A taxonomy of item response models. Psychometrika, 51:567–577. doi:10.1007/BF02295596.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), this article proposed a new cognitive diagnostic model for graded/polytomous data based on the deterministic input, noisy, and gate (Haertel, 1989 Haertel, E. H. (1989). Using restricted latent class models to map the skill structure of achievement items. Journal of Educational Measurement, 26, 333–352. doi:10.1111/j.1745-3984.1989.tb00336.x.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Junker &; Sijtsma, 2001 Junker, B. W., &; Sijtsma, K. (2001). Cognitive assessment models with few assumptions, and connections with nonparametric item response theory. Applied Psychological Measurement, 25, 258–272. doi:10.1177/01466210122032064.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), which is named the DINA model for graded data (DINA-GD). We investigated the performance of a full Bayesian estimation of the proposed model. In the simulation, the classification accuracy and item recovery for the DINA-GD model were investigated. The results indicated that the proposed model had acceptable examinees' correct attribute classification rate and item parameter recovery. In addition, a real-data example was used to illustrate the application of this new model with the graded data or polytomously scored items.     

Numerical and nonnumerical estimation in children with and without mathematical learning disabilities

There are currently multiple explanations for mathematical learning disabilities (MLD). The present study focused on those assuming that MLD are due to a basic numerical deficit affecting the ability to represent and to manipulate number magnitude (Butterworth, 1999 Butterworth, B. 1999. The mathematical brain, London, , United Kingdom: Macmillan.  [Google Scholar], 2005 Butterworth, B. 2005. “Developmental dyscalculia”. In Handbook of mathematical cognition, Edited by: Campbell, J. I. D. 455–467. New York, NY: Psychology Press.  [Google Scholar]; A. J. Wilson &; Dehaene, 2007 Wilson, A. J. and Dehaene, S. 2007. “Number sense and developmental dyscalculia”. In Human behavior, learning, and the developing brain: Atypical development, 2nd, Edited by: Coch, D., Dawson, G. and Fischer, K. 212–237. New York, NY: Guilford Press.  [Google Scholar]) and/or to access that number magnitude representation from numerical symbols (Rousselle &; Noël, 2007 Rousselle, L. and Noël, M. P. 2007. Basic numerical skills in children with mathematics learning disabilities: A comparison of symbolic vs non-symbolic number magnitude processing. Cognition, 102(3): 361–395. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). The present study provides an original contribution to this issue by testing MLD children (carefully selected on the basis of preserved abilities in other domains) on numerical estimation tasks with contrasting symbolic (Arabic numerals) and nonsymbolic (collection of dots) numbers used as input or output. MLD children performed consistently less accurately than control children on all the estimation tasks. However, MLD children were even weaker when the task involved the mapping between symbolic and nonsymbolic numbers than when the task required a mapping between two nonsymbolic numerical formats. Moreover, in the estimation of nonsymbolic numerosities, MLD children relied more than control children on perceptual cues such as the cumulative area of the dots. Finally, the task requiring a mapping from a nonsymbolic format to a symbolic format was the best predictor of MLD. In order to explain these present results, as well as those reported in the literature, we propose that the impoverished number magnitude representation of MLD children may arise from an initial mapping deficit between number symbols and that magnitude representation.     

Cerebellar Tasks do not Distinguish Between Children with Developmental Dyslexia and Children with Intellectual Disability

This paper explored the claim that only children with developmental dyslexia, whose reading ability is discrepant from their average general reasoning ability show specific deficits in motor tasks assessing cerebellar functioning (Fawcett et al., 2001 Fawcett, A. J. and Nicolson, R. I. 2001. “Dyslexia: The role of the cerebellum”. In Dyslexia: Theory and good practice, Edited by: Fawcett, A. J. 89–105. London: Whurr.  [Google Scholar], Cerebellar tests differentiate between groups of poor readers with and without IQ discrepancy. J. Learning Disabilities, 34, 119) and rapid serial naming (RAN, Wolf & Bowers, 1999 Wolf, M. and Bowers, P. 1999. The double deficit hypothesis for the developmental dyslexias. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91: 1–24. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], The double deficit hypothesis for the developmental dyslexias. J. Educ. Psychol., 91, 1). All available children between the ages of 11 and 14 were recruited from two special schools for children with either (a) formally-diagnosed intellectual disabilities (N?=?18); or (b) formal diagnoses of developmental dyslexia (N?=?25). These two groups of children did not differ on gender, age, pseudoword decoding abilities, or on 7 of 8 literacy measures, but did differ significantly, as expected on verbal and non-verbal reasoning tasks. Importantly, there were no deficits in bead threading ability or postural stability in the children with developmental dyslexia compared to the children with intellectual disabilities. There were also no between-group differences in rapid naming measures. The present results therefore provide no support for the claim that cerebellar deficits or RAN distinguish between children with dyslexia and children with intellectual disabilities that include reading.     

The Effect of Psychological Skills Training (PST) on Self-Regulation Behavior,Self-Efficacy,and Psychological Skill Use in Military Pilot-Trainees

Set within B. J. Zimmerman’s (1989 Zimmerman, B. J. (1989). A social cognitive view of self-regulated academic learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 81, 329–339.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], A social cognitive view of self-regulated academic learning, Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol. 81, pp. 329–339; and B. J. Zimmerman, 2000 Zimmerman, B. J. (2000). Attaining self-regulation: A social–cognitive perspective. In M. Boekaerts, P. Pintrich, &; M. Seidner (Eds.), Self-regulation: Theory, research, and applications (pp. 13–39). Orlando, FL: Academic Press.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar], Attaining self-regulation: A social-cognitive perspective, in M. Boekaerts, P. Pintrich, &; M. Seidner, Eds., Self-Regulation: Theory, Research, and Applications, pp. 13–39, Orlando, Florida, Academic Press) cyclical model of self-regulation and social–cognitive theory, this study tested the hypothesis that multi-modal psychological skills training (PST) would increase self-regulation behavior, self-efficacy, and psychological skill use in military pilot-trainees experiencing course-related learning difficulties. From pre- to post-intervention, findings showed that specific self-regulation behavior increased linearly. Likewise, significant increases in self-efficacy and psychological skill use occurred, along with concomitant reductions in anxiety and worry. Changes were generally retained at 2-month follow-up. PST highlights potential in modifying pilot-trainee cognitive and behavioral strategies to underpin learning, improve individual/cohort responsiveness, and importantly, cost effectiveness in training provision.     

Sensitivity of the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline: An Application of Item Response Theory

ABSTRACT

The Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline (IQCODE) is a formal informant report instrument, originally developed by Jorm and Jacomb (1989 Jorm, A. F. and Jacomb, P. A. 1989. The Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE): Socio-demographic correlates, reliability, validity and some norms. Psychological Medicine, 19(4): 1015–1022. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Psychological Medicine, 19(4), 1015). The goal of the present study was to evaluate the range of cognitive decline in which the IQCODE is most sensitive, using item response theory (IRT). Existing data (N = 740) from a sample of community-dwelling older adults was used for this purpose. A 2-parameter model estimating item difficulty and discrimination fit the data best. Additionally, the IQCODE provided the most psychometric information in the range of ?0.5 < θ < 1.5, with peak information obtained at approximately θ = 0.4. Based on individuals' latent score (θ) estimates, items on the IQCODE are adequate for use as a screening tool for dementia. Results of the item calibration may be useful for targeted assessment needs, such as the development of short forms.     

Contemporary Neuroscience Humanizes: A Look at Cortical Bilateral Asymmetry and How It Got That Way

Exciting research that has surfaced from a host of neuroscience laboratories is presented, and the assumption that they have little to offer human science considered. This includes the sensory substitution work of Bach-y-Rita (1967 Bach-y-Rita , P. ( 1967 ). Sensory plasticity: Applications to a vision substitution system . Acta Neurologica Scandinavia , 43 , 417 – 426 .[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), as well as the phantom pain hypothesis of Ramachandran (2011 Ramachandran ( 2011 ). The tell-tale brain . New York , NY : Norton . [Google Scholar]). These studies are considered atop the theoretical and meta-analytical work in the field of neuropsychiatry by McGilchrist (2009 McGilchrist , I. ( 2009 ). The master and his emissary . New Haven , CT : Yale University Press . [Google Scholar]). McGilchrist's inquiry into split-brain patients has resuscitated the once-dubious debate regarding hemispheric differences in the brain. By considering the latter in light of the evidence of neuroplasticity, global differences in right- or left-brain preference may be understood as analogous and reciprocally influential to patterns of thinking. This dynamic relationship between experience and the brain requires a reconsideration of the status of neuroscience as an exclusively reductive enterprise. Indeed, the laboratories seem to be producing results that have become increasingly difficult to reconcile with their biologically reductive commitments. While the neuroscientists are busy sorting out their results, those who do not share said commitments are free to enjoy the implications these results suggest.     

Encoding in verbal,enacted and autobiographical tasks in young and older adults

Young and older adults participated in a task in which they were asked to say items printed on a card out loud (verbal condition), act out a command printed on a card (enactment condition), and retrieve memories associated with a theme or action printed on a card (autobiographical encoding condition). The results indicate that items in the subject-performed task and autobiographical memory condition were remembered equally well, and both were remembered better than verbal stimuli. Age differences were absent in the verbal condition, but present in both the enactment condition and the autobiographical encoding condition. We discuss the results in the context of earlier findings demonstrating a subject-performed task advantage in mixed-presentation lists (Engelkamp & Zimmer, 1997 Engelkamp, J. and Zimmer, H. D. 1997. Sensory factors in memory for subject-performed tasks. Acta Psychologica, 96: 43–60. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and age differences in enactment tasks (Kausler & Lichty, 1982 Kausler, D. H. 1982. Experimental psychology and human aging, New York: Wiley.  [Google Scholar]).     

Sensitivity Analysis in Structural Equation Models: Cases and Their Influence

The detection of outliers and influential observations is routine practice in linear regression. Despite ongoing extensions and development of case diagnostics in structural equation models (SEM), their application has received limited attention and understanding in practice. The use of case diagnostics informs analysts of the uncertainty of model estimates under different subsets of the data and highlights unusual and important characteristics of certain cases. We present several measures of case influence applicable in SEM and illustrate their implementation, presentation, and interpretation with two empirical examples: (a) a common factor model on verbal and visual ability (Holzinger &; Swineford, 1939 Holzinger, K. and Swineford, F. 1939. A study in factor analysis: The stability of a bi-factor solution. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago..  [Google Scholar]) and (b) a general structural equation model assessing the effect of industrialization on democracy in a mediating model using country-level data (Bollen, 1989 Bollen, K. A. 1989. Structural equation models with latent variables New York, NY: Wiley.. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]; Bollen &; Arminger, 1991 Bollen, K. A. and Arminger, G. 1991. Observational residuals in factor analysis and structural equation models. Sociological Methodology, 21: 235–262. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Throughout these examples, three issues are emphasized. First, cases may impact different aspects of results as identified by different measures of influence. Second, the important distinction between outliers and influential cases is highlighted. Third, the concept of good and bad cases is introduced—these are influential cases that improve/worsen overall model fit based on their presence in the sample. We conclude with a discussion on the utility of detecting influential cases in SEM and present recommendations for the use of measures of case influence.     

Three decades of lay epistemics: The why,how, and who of knowledge formation

A conceptual integration and review are presented of three separate research programmes informed by the theory of lay epistemics (Kruglanski, 1989 Kruglanski, A. W. 1989. Lay epistemics and human knowledge: Cognitive and motivational bases, New York: Plenum. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). They respectively address the “why”, “how”, and “who” questions about human knowledge formation. The “why” question is treated in work on the need for cognitive closure that propels epistemic behaviour and affects individual, interpersonal, and group phenomena. The “how” question is addressed in work on the unimodel (Kruglanski, Pierro, Mannetti, Erb, & Chun, 2007 Kruglanski, A. W., Pierro, A., Mannetti, L., Erb, H. P. and Chun, W. Y. 2007. “On the parameters of social judgement”. In Advances in experimental social psychology, Edited by: Zanna, M. P. Vol. 39, 255–296. New York: Academic Press.  [Google Scholar]) depicting the process of drawing conclusions from the “information given”. The “who” question is addressed in work on “epistemic authority” highlighting the centrality of source effects (including oneself as a source) in human epistemic behaviour. These separate research paradigms explore facets of epistemic behaviour that jointly produce human knowledge, of essential significance to people's’ individual and social functioning.     

Application of Proportional Reduction Loss Formula to Distinguish Adaptive and Innovative Products and Services

This article describes a method for determining interrater reliability of adaptive and innovative products and services. Using Kirton's (1989 Kirton , M. J. ( 1989 ). A theory of cognitive style . In M. J. Kirton (Ed.), Adaptors and innovators Styles of creativity and problem-solving (pp. 56 – 78 ). London : Routledge . [Google Scholar]) A–I theory, judges rated 29 products and services using a 5-point Likert scale. Percentage of agreements and Proportional Reduction Loss (PRL) coefficients (Rust & Cooil, 1994 Rust , R. T. , & Cooil , B. ( 1994 ). Reliability measures for qualitative data Theory and implications . Journal of Marketing Research , 31 , 1 – 14 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) were calculated to identify products and services that were either clearly adaptive or clearly innovative. Judges consistently identified examples of A or I products and services.     

Assessing the Unidimensionality of Trait Reactance Using a Multifaceted Model Assessment Approach

This study employed a multifaceted model assessment approach to investigate the dimensionality and nomological network of a popular measure of trait reactance, the Hong Psychological Reactance Scale (HPRS; Hong &; Page, 1989 Hong, S.-M., &; Page, S. (1989). A psychological reactance scale: Development, factor structure and reliability. Psychological Reports, 64, 1323–1326.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). To address confusion regarding the scoring and modeling of the HPRS as well as its limited external validity evidence, we tested competing factor models, diagnosed model–data misfit, examined relationships between competing factor models and key personality traits, and cross-validated the results. Confirmatory factor analytic results supported modeling the HPRS via a bifactor model and, when this model was applied, trait reactance was negatively related to agreeableness, conscientiousness, and conformity, and positively related to entitlement, as expected. However, we also demonstrated the consequences of championing a 1-factor model by highlighting differences in relationships with external variables. Specifically, although modeling the HPRS scores with the bifactor model resulted in greater model–data fit than the 1-factor model, relationships with external variables based on the 2 models differed negligibly. Moreover, bifactor statistical indexes indicted that scores were essentially unidimensional, providing some support that HPRS scores can be treated as unidimensional in structure. Implications for using and scoring the HPRS are discussed.     

Exploring the Relationship Between Interrater Correlations and Validity of Peer Ratings

A field study was conducted to investigate the relationship between interrater correlations and validity estimates of peer ratings. Validity coefficients and interrater correlations were calculated for 281 work units in a large law enforcement organization in Israel. The main result was a weak positive linear relationship between these two variables. Furthermore, in some of the analyses conducted, a nonlinear quadratic component in the relationship between these measures was evident. Validity was low only when interrater correlation was very low (r = .4 and less). Above this level, validity was stable and almost did not change as interrater correlation increased. This finding, together with other studies (Borman, 1975 Borman, W. C. 1975. Effects of instructions to avoid halo error on reliability and validity of performance evaluation ratings. Journal of Applied Psychology, 60: 556–560. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Buckner, 1959 Buckner, D. N. 1959. The predictability of ratings as a function of interrater agreement. Journal of Applied Psychology, 43: 60–64.  [Google Scholar]; Freeberg, 1969 Freeberg, N. E. 1969. Relevance of rater-ratee acquaintance in the validity and reliability of ratings. Journal of Applied Psychology, 53: 518–524.  [Google Scholar]; Weekley & Gier, 1989 Weekley, J. A. and Gier, J. A. 1989. Ceilings in the reliability and validity of performance ratings: The case of expert raters. Academy of Management Review, 32: 213–222.  [Google Scholar]), cast doubt on the assertion that interrater correlation in the field of performance rating is a proper measurement of reliability.     

Executive function and memory in children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

A complex relation exists between memory and executive functioning (EF), particularly when learning and recalling multifaceted or extensive information (Moscovitch &; Winocur, 2002 Moscovitch, M. and Winocur, G. 2002. “The frontal cortex and working with memory”. In Principles of frontal lobe functioning, Edited by: Stuss, D. T. and Knight, R. T. 188–209. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.  [Google Scholar]). A common instrument for evaluating this relationship is the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure (ROCF; Rey, 1941 Rey, A. 1941. L'examen psychologique dans le cas d'encephalopathie traumatique [Psychological examination of traumatic encephalopathy]. Archives de Psychologie, 28: 286–340.  [Google Scholar]; Osterrieth, 1944 Osterrieth, P. A. 1944. Le test de copie d'une figure complexe: Contribution à l’étude de la perception et de la mémoire [The test of copying a complex figure: A contribution to the study of perception and memory]. Archives de Psychologie, 30: 286–350.  [Google Scholar]). The ROCF has proved particularly useful in pediatric research; however, little research has been conducted among children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD).

Seventy children (35 FASD, 35 control), aged 6 to 12 years, were tested using the ROCF. All participants with FASD had received a diagnosis according to the Canadian guidelines for FASD (Chudley et al., 2005 Chudley, A. E., Conry, J., Cook, J. L., Loock, C., Rosales, T. and LeBlanc, N. 2005. Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder: Canadian guidelines for diagnosis. The Canadian Medical Association Journal, 172: 1–21. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) using the 4-digit diagnostic code (Astley, 2004 Astley, S. J. 2004. Diagnostic guide for fetal alcohol spectrum disorders: The 4-digit diagnostic code, 3rd, Seattle, WA: University of Washington.  [Google Scholar]). Significant group differences were revealed with children with FASD demonstrating substantial difficulties in organization, accuracy, and memory. Among children with FASD, a distinctive profile emerged, lending support to the argument that children with FASD experience deficits in EF and memory throughout their development. Information from the present study will not only help to improve understanding of functioning in this population but also provide insight into how to deal with EF and memory deficits in terms of testing, treatment, and intervention.