Withdrawal Aversion and the Equivalence Test

If a doctor is trying to decide whether or not to provide a medical treatment, does it matter ethically whether that treatment has already been started? Health professionals sometimes find it harder to stop a treatment (withdraw) than to refrain from starting the treatment (withhold). But does that feeling correspond to an ethical difference? In this article, we defend equivalence—the view that withholding and withdrawal of treatment are ethically equivalent when all other factors are equal. We argue that preference for withholding over withdrawal could represent a form of cognitive bias—withdrawal aversion. Nevertheless, we consider whether there could be circumstances in which there is a moral difference. We identify four examples of conditional nonequivalence. Finally, we reflect on the moral significance of diverging intuitions and the implications for policy. We propose a set of practical strategies for helping to reduce bias in end-of-life decision making, including the equivalence test.     

Personality correlates of Benton's visual retention test

Bivariate correlations revealed that only L was highly significantly (negatively) correlated with the ability to retain and reproduce geometrical figures (Benton Visual Retention Test). Personality groups were generated using extreme cut-offs for E and N, as well as P and L. Extraverts produced similar error profiles to introverts. High trait N Ss tended to emit more errors of omission compared to low trait N persons, otherwise the performance profiles were not statistically different. Several E × N interactions emerged however, with stable introverts yielding significantly more correct reproductions and a lower error frequency than the other groups, with dysthymics (introverted neurotics) performing worst, the latter group further characterised by a greater number of perseveration and mislocation errors. High and low P-scoring Ss did not differ significantly in their ability to reproduce figures, with the exception of perseveration errors which were more common amongst P + Ss. L + individuals displayed inferior performance compared to L− Ss. An analysis of error categories revealed that L + emitted more distortion, left- and right-handed errors. There was no indication of any P × L interaction effect.     

Commission error rates on a continuous performance test are related to deficits measured by the Benton Visual Retention Test

This study is one in a series investigating the relationship between impulsive behavior on a Continuous Performance Test (i.e., the Immediate and Delayed Memory Task) and other cognitive deficits measured by clinical instruments. Forty-two adolescents were selected for two groups, controls and hospitalized patients with disruptive behavior disorders. Each adolescent completed the Immediate and Delayed Memory Task and the Benton Visual Retention Test. Our main findings were that, even when controlling for IQ, the Immediate and Delayed Memory Task commission errors were associated with adverse Benton performance, but only in the patient group. These results may be explained by a shared association between processes of impulsivity and other deficits of executive control that may interfere with successful performance of the Benton.     

Visual judgments of kinship: an alternative perspective

Following other researchers, we investigated the premise that visual judgment of kinship might be modelled as a signal-detection task, strictly related to similar facial features. We measured subjects' response times to face-pair stimuli while they performed visual judgments of kinship, similarity, or dissimilarity, and examined some priming effects involved. Our results show that kinship judgment takes longer on average than either similarity or dissimilarity judgment-which is compatible with existing models, yet might also suggest that kinship judgments are of a more complex character. In our priming study we observed selective suppression/enhancement of the efficacy of dissimilarity judgments whenever they followed similarity and kinship judgments. This finding confounds the notion, inherent in previous models, of resemblance cues signalling for kinship, since similarity and dissimilarity cannot be considered just as opposite concepts, and observed priming effects need to be explicitly modelled, including dissimilarity cues. To model kinship judgments across faces that are perceived as dissimilar, a new framework may be required, perhaps accepting the perspective of a task-driven use of the visual cues, modulated by experience and cultural conditioning.     

Retention and Recall: Incidental Learning of Visual and Auditory Material

This study examined the effect on observer agreement of switching from a system of overt reliability assessment to two successive systems of covert reliability measurement. A primary purpose was to see whether agreement obtained with the use of covert data checks would improve over time if observers were provided with accurate feedback regarding their level of agreement. Seventeen undergraduate psychology students served as Ss. They observed instructional interactions between preschool children and their teachers. During the two week “overt” check period (Phase I), observers were aware of when their observations were being “checked” by a previously designated reliability assessor. In the subsequent covert phases (weeks 3–7) this information was not available to them during the observational sessions. When covert monitoring was implemented, agreement rates initially dropped significantly below the “overt” measurement phase. Gradually agreement rates improved until, in weeks 6 and 7, they were not significantly different from the initial overt measures. Es should be aware that an overt check on observer agreement may not reflect the true reliability of an observational system. However, when observers are given accurate feedback on their level of agreement, they are able significantly to improve their vigilance and consistency in the use of the observational system.     

The predictive efficacy of three MMPI short forms

Summary: In order to investigate the predictive efficacy of three MMPI short forms, the standard form answer sheets of 50 inmate volunteers and 44 clinic outpatients were scored separately for Faschingbauer's, Hugo's and Mini-Mult scales. T-score correlations and t tests between the standard form and each short form, as well as comparisons using Lacks' criteria were reported. Results indicated that the Faschingbauer form w;ls superior to the other two forms. Results were discussed in terms of the populations tested and in reference to the different methodologies used in developing each of the short forms.     

Visual dissociation: an illusory conjunction of pictures and forms

Undergraduates viewed rapidly presented series of color photographs (9/s) and were required to indicate which photograph appeared within a black outline rectangle (the "frame"). Experiment 1 demonstrated that subjects were often confident and wrong, reporting the immediately preceding or following picture in the sequence. Experiment 2 showed that migration of the frame to other pictures cannot be attributed to spatial separation, because the same effect occurred when a small frame was presented in the center of the picture itself. Experiment 3 ruled out masking of the "framed" picture as the cause of the illusion by showing that the framed picture is indeed identified on those trials where the frame appears to be elsewhere. Experiment 4 showed that when simpler, more familiar stimuli (numbers) were presented, a more rapid presentation rate (18/s) was required to obtain the effect. It is proposed that the illusion reflects the action of integrative processes in a very short-term buffer and that it may provide a new tool with which to study the integration of features within scenes.     

Equivalence Class Formation in Accuracy or Speed Conditions: Immediate Emergence,Adduction, and Retention

The Psychological Record - Six pairs of participants were matched from a pool of 26 participants based on their performance in pretraining for conditional discrimination. One participant from each...     

Random Walker Test: A computerized alternative to the Road-Map Test

The Road-Map Test (RMT) is a popular neurological assessment of left-right orientation, using a simplified road map. Inspired by the RMT, we developed a new computerized navigation test, the Random Walker Test (RWT), for further quantitative assessment of left-right orientation ability. RWT provides verbal or nonverbal instructions for the direction (left, right, or front) in which to proceed, and participants must judge the spatially correct direction. Perspectives rotate by 90° during navigation. Verbal judgments demand verbal-to-spatial mapping of left/right/front and, if necessary, egocentric perspective rotation. Using the RWT, we evaluated the left-right orientation of normal male participants. The RWT reliably recorded the response times and error rates for participant performance and also revealed egocentric perspective rotation as an unreliable mental process with large intra- and interpersonal variability. These results indicate that the RWT may be useful in investigating left-right orientation and/or egocentric perspective rotation in both normal participants and neuropathological patients.     

A Function Acquisition Speed Test for Equivalence relations (Faster)

The Psychological Record - The current study employed a stimulus equivalence paradigm to assess the ability of the recently developed Function Acquisition Speed Test (FAST) to measure the existence...     

Psychometric analysis of the Visual Form Discrimination Test

The Visual Form Discrimination Test is a matching-to-sample test involving visual discrimination. Although normative information has been presented, limited psychometric data have been available. The current study estimated the internal consistency and additional psychometric properties of the test in a sample of 66 persons with acute traumatic brain injury. Internal consistency as measured by alpha was .66. A homogeneous sample and a restricted range of scores likely attenuated this estimate. Using the standard cutoff score, only 32% of the sample showed impaired performance. Visual form discrimination as measured by this test may be affected less by traumatic brain injury than other cognitive processes such as attention and memory.     

Psychometric properties of the Hooper Visual Organization Test

The psychometric properties of the Hooper Vsual Organization Test (VOT) have not been well investigated Here the authors present internal consistency and interrater reliability coefficients, and an item analysis, using data from a sample (N = 281) of "cognitively impaired" and "cognitively intact" patients, and patients with undetermined cognitive status. Coefficient alpha for the VOT total sample was .882. An item analysis found that 26 of the 30 items were good at discriminating among patients. Also, the interrater reliabilities for three raters (.992), two raters (.988), and one rater (.977) were excellent. Therefore, the judgmental scoring of the VOT does not interfere significantly with its clinical utility. The authors conclude that the VOT is a psychometrically sound test.     

Content validity of the Visual Similes Test II

This study examined the content validity of the Visual Similes Test II, designed to measure affective and cognitive arousal in individuals 5 to 21 years of age. The 54 participants were asked to rate the affective and cognitive content of unoccluded stimuli from the Visual Similes Test II. The participants, whose mean age was 27.0 yr. (SD=8.6), included 1 (2%) man and 53 (98%) women who were enrolled in undergraduate and graduate special education courses. Paired-sample t tests comparing the affective and cognitive ratings for each item were significant for 53 of the 55 stimuli. The mean effect size (Cohen d) was 1.49 (range = .08 to 1.9).     

Visual decentration: from stereometric points to planeometric forms.

19 3-yr.-olds chose to put blocks together to produce good continuation across stereometric edges. 4 mo. later they began to produce good continuation across planeometric edges. A group of 15 4-yr.-olds chose to produce symmetrical forms rather than simply to align edges. Symmetrical form was produced across planeometric surfaces but not across stereometric contours. These data suggest that visual decentration is first a shift from looking at single points touched to single points displaced from touch and, at a still later age, a shift to the organization of many points. The failure of the older group to produce a symmetrical form across stereometric contours could have resulted from the cultural press to attend to planeometric information.     

Measuring dissociation: comparison of alternative forms of the dissociative experiences scale

The dissociative experiences scale (DES), developed by Bernstein and Putnam (1986), is commonly used to measure dissociation in clinical populations. It is often used with nonclinical populations to assess how levels of dissociation covary with other psychometric measures. When it is used with nonclinical populations, problems arise because the resulting scores can show severe floor effects and often are highly skewed. To remedy these problems, we developed alternative ways of measuring self-reported dissociative experiences. A form of the DES in which people were required to rate how often they have each of 28 experiences compared with other people was superior in avoiding problems of floor effects and skewness. We discuss situations in which this alternative, which we call DES C, is preferred.     

Validity of the Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration Supplemental Developmental Test of Visual Perception

Visual perceptual skills of school-age children are often assessed using the Supplemental Developmental Test of Visual Perception of the Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration. The study purpose was to consider the construct validity of this test by evaluating its scalability (interval level measurement), unidimensionality, differential item functioning, and hierarchical ordering of its items. Visual perceptual performance scores from a sample of 356 typically developing children (171 boys and 185 girls ages 5 to 11 years) were used to complete a Rasch analysis of the test. Seven items were discarded for poor fit, while none of the items exhibited differential item functioning by sex. The construct validity, scalability, hierarchical ordering, and lack of differential item functioning requirements were met by the final test version. Since 7 test items did not fit the Rasch analysis specifications, the clinical value of the test is questionable and limited.