Testing hypotheses on specific environmental causal effects on behavior

There have been strong critiques of the notion that environmental influences can have an important effect on psychological functioning. The substance of these criticisms is considered in order to infer the methodological challenges that have to be met. Concepts of cause and of the testing of causal effects are discussed with a particular focus on the need to consider sample selection and the value (and limitations) of longitudinal data. The designs that may be used to test hypotheses on specific environmental risk mechanisms for psychopathology are discussed in relation to a range of adoption strategies, twin designs, various types of "natural experiments," migration designs, the study of secular change, and intervention designs. In each case, consideration is given to the need for samples that "pull-apart" variables that ordinarily go together, specific hypotheses on possible causal processes, and the specification and testing of key assumptions. It is concluded that environmental risk hypotheses can be (and have been) put to the test but that it is usually necessary to use a combination of research strategies.     

Connections between reading disability and behavior problems: Testing temporal and causal hypotheses

In this study of children's reading and behavior problem status from Grade 2 to Grade 4 of elementary school, we tested hypotheses concerned with the temporal and causal connections between these two closely associated disorders. Children with both, either, or neither kinds of problems were followed up over 2 years. While reading disability remained stable over time, there was greater variability in behavior problem status. Our data did not support the claim that reading problems lead to the development of behavior problems. Children who were comorbid had the worst outcome at follow-up, suggesting that behavior problems may exacerbate reading delay. Reading-disabled children were lower (albeit in the normal range) on intelligence, but when IQ was controlled, large group differences on reading and spelling were still evident. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) type behavior problems significantly differentiated children with comorbid problems from children with behavior problems alone. Sex differences were noted in the association, with two-thirds of reading-disabled boys also having behavior problems and two-thirds of reading-disabled girls having no behavior problems, suggesting that pathways to reading disability may be gender specific.This research was supported by a grant from the Australian Research Council. Our thanks to the children, families and teachers for their support of our project.     

Toward a construct validation of the Rorschach

The debate over the validity of the Rorschach has been lengthy but unresolved. Major reasons for the lack of consensus and conclusion are the absence of agreement about, how validation research should be conducted and the failure to identify appropriate criteria for subsequent evaluation. A construct validation model for the Rorschach is presented, with guidelines for proper implementation. The difficulties in establishing the optimal relationship between theory, research design, and clinical practice arc discussed. Recommendations for a resolution of these difficulties are presented.     

Psychological tests don't think: an appreciation of Schafer's Psychoanalytic Interpretation in Rorschach Testing

Roy Schafer 's Psychoanalytic Interpretation in Rorschach Testing has, for nearly 40 years, represented a hallmark of psychodynamically informed psychological assessment. In this article, Schafer's contribution is reviewed in light of recent contributions to the Rorschach literature. Following a summary of the main sections of the work, Schafer's approach to the Rorschach is critically re-examined from the perspective of modem assessment practice. Differences between the epistemological bases of psychoanalytic and empirical methods of Rorschach interpretation are highlighted, and the prospects for an integration of these two approaches are considered. It is concluded that Schafer's contribution remains as fresh today as when written 40 years ago.     

Personality correlates of Rorschach scoring determinants: hypotheses derived from structural analysis

A paradigm was presented whereby the meaning of some major Rorschach scoring determinants could be explicated in terms of a classification system based on Structural Analysis which indicates whether a response is intellectually or emotionally oriented and where it is located on a behavior-fantasy continuum. Implications of this analysis for resolving some interpretive issues and generating behavioral predictions were discussed.     

Person-organization fit: Testing socialization and attraction-selection-attrition hypotheses

Using the socialization and attraction-selection-attrition (ASA) frameworks, this study examined the relation between employees’ work values and their organization’s values (person-organization fit). With a two year time interval, 140 respondents participated in a longitudinal study. After entry, socialization served to enhance homogeneity. The work values underwent small changes and the perception of fit with the organization grew. Despite high retention rates results confirmed the attrition effect. Results indicated that the lower the perceived match between own and organizational values at entry, the more likely it was that someone left the organization over time. We concluded that socialization as well as attrition mechanisms were present at the same time.     

Microstructure of eating behavior associated with Rorschach characteristics in obesity

The relationship between the microstructure of eating behavior and personality aspects according to the Rorschach Comprehensive System (Exner, 1991, 1993) was investigated among obese participants (N = 32). Eating behavior was measured using a computerized eating monitor, VIKTOR (Cabmek, Stockholm, Sweden), calculating initial eating rate and the eating curve. A higher initial eating rate reflecting eating drive was associated with Rorschach signs of stress overload according to the D Score and higher affective responsiveness to external stimuli seen in the Affective ratio. The stress overload may prompt eating, and affective responsiveness may be linked to appetite through a higher sensitivity to food stimuli, thus increasing eating drive. An accelerating rate of consumption during the meal was associated with intense emotionality and oral dependency, suggested by Pure C and Food responses.     

Historical comparisons: Testing psychological hypotheses with cross-era data (1)

Cross-era research, an approach which involves developing and testing social science hypotheses in terms of historical time-series data, is first discussed as regards its relationship to other comparative research approaches. Some examples of cross-era research in psychology are described. Special problems that arise in cross-era research, and proposed methods of coping with them, are discussed as regards each of the three successive phases of research: creative hypothesis formation problems; difficulties that arise in the hypothesis-testing phase; and problems that emerge during the phase of communicating and utilizing the findings.     

Race differences in sexual behavior: Testing an evolutionary hypothesis

Population differences exist in personality and sexual behavior such that, in terms of restraint, Orientals > whites > blacks. This ordering is predicted from an evolutionary theory of r/K reproductive strategies in which a tradeoff occurs between gamete production and parental care. Literature is reviewed on differences between the three groups in rate of ovulation, intercourse frequencies, sexual attitudes, developmental precocity, size of genitalia, secondary sexual characteristics, and biologic control of behavior that accord with this formulation. Novel analyses of data from the Institute for Sex Research are also carried out, indicating that American blacks, compared to American whites, are more precocious and less restrained. Their parents were younger when they were born, had more children, and had an earlier mortality. Blacks left home earlier, experienced a variety of premarital, marital, and extramarital sexual events earlier, had a greater number of premarital and extramarital partners, had a greater frequency of marital intercourse, used fewer contraceptives, and had a greater incidence of pregnancy, at a faster rate. The men had larger penises, at a different angle of erection, and maintained intromission longer, while the women had shorter menstrual cycles, more periodicity of sexual response, and a greater number of orgasms per act of coitus. Whites varied their sexual activity more, both with spouses and with prostitutes, although blacks consorted with prostitutes more frequently. Finally, blacks had a shorter duration of marriage and more permissive sexual attitudes.     

Construct validation of scales derived from the Rorschach method: a review of issues and introduction to the Rorschach rating scale

I suggest the main goal of Rorschach validation should be a refined understanding of what each score means. Toward this end, I review general issues in construct validity, hurdles unique to the Rorschach, and general limitations with validation criteria. I then recommend two approaches for improving criteria so they can begin approximating the gold standards that are necessary for a refined understanding of what scores actually measure. The first is a method for improving expert clinical judgment, and the second is a method for aggregating data across diverse judges. Finally, the Rorschach Rating Scale (RRS) is presented as a criterion tool to be used with either of these approaches to validation. The RRS is a fairly comprehensive summary of the constructs thought to be measured by various Rorschach scoring systems. The utility of the RRS for research and training are discussed, as are other practical, theoretical, and psychometric issues in its application.     

Training public-speaking behavior: an experimental analysis and social validation

The effect of an instructional package on public-speaking behaviors was analyzed in two experiments. The instructional package was designed to teach public-speaking trainees to look at the audience, make gestures, and perform a number of speaking behaviors. The results of Experiment I, with a university student serving as the trainee, showed that the percentage of each category of public-speaking target behavior increased only after the instructional package was introduced for that category. The results of Experiment 2, with three low-income paraprofessional staff members of a neighborhood service center serving as trainees, showed that the percentage of target behaviors increased after the instructional package was introduced for the respective trainee. Audience ratings of public-speaking performance were correlated with direct observations of target responses. All trainees showed marked improvements in audience ratings from pretraining to posttraining. This study demonstrated an effective procedure for training public-speaking behaviors.     

Testing hypotheses about the self: Assessments of job suitability1

This investigation examined the strategies employed by individuals when testing hypotheses about the self. Participants known to possess masculine, feminine, or androgynous sex role identities tested hypotheses about their suitability for one of two jobs: either a job characterized in terms of the attributes and aptitudes typically associated with a “masculine” personality, or one characterized in terms of those typically associated with a “feminine” personality. When testing these hypotheses about themselves, participants preferentially reported those aspects of themselves that would suggest their suitedness rather than their unsuitedness for the job under consideration regardless of their sex role identity. Moreover, subsequent judgments of job suitability were positively related to the amount of suitedness evidence reported, but unrelated to the amount of unsuitedness evidence reported. Some consequences of these strategies for testing hypotheses about the self are discussed.     

Further exploration of the Rorschach Aggressive Content (AgC) variable

Based on the recommendations of Baity and Hilsenroth (1999), this study further investigated the reliability and validity of the Rorschach Aggressive Content (AgC) variable developed by Gacono and Meloy (1994). Eighty-five aggressive objects identified by Gacono and Meloy, 19 potentially aggressive objects and 22 neutral (nonaggressive) objects were rated for aggressiveness based on the definition of AgC. Two hundred seventy-six participants rated objects on the Object Rating Scale (0-6), where a score of 0 indicates that an object does not fit the definition of AgC. In addition, objects rated a 4 (moderately aggressive) or higher were then classified into 5 qualitative groupings (weapons, animal/part of animal, environmental danger, fictional creature, and other). Analysis of the results indicates that the AgC list can be replicated and that objects rated as at least moderately aggressive (4) can be reliably classified into distinct categories. One-month test-retest reliability (r = .99) suggests that objects can be scored consistently using the definition of AgC and provides support for the utility of the AgC variable. Based on the results of this study, recommendations for the addition of the AgC variable to the list of content categories of Exner's (1993) Comprehensive System are presented and discussed along with scoring examples.     

A conceptual validation study of the texture response on the Rorschach.

This study addresses the Rorschach texture response (T). The authors proposed a developmental line incorporating tactile self-soothing functions and tactile aspects of interpersonal closeness and related it to T. It was hypothesized that T would be linearly related to one's reliance on tactile cues cognitively by categorizing objects according to texture and behaviorally by touching and stroking. Subjects were 81 women, between the ages of 18 and 30. The results confirm the notion that T is related to both cognitive and behavioral reliance on tactile cues. It was also hypothesized that high T subjects, more than others, would increase their use of tactile cues and touching when stressed, but this hypothesis was not supported. The results were considered to be consistent with the proposed developmental line but not for differential regression along the line. They also supported T as being related to a tactile mode of information processing.     

Rorschach personality predictors of weight loss with behavior modification in obesity treatment

Weight loss outcome for 49 obese patients after 6 months treatment in a behavior modification program was related to Rorschach personality characteristics according to the Comprehensive System (Exner, 2003), also including the Rorschach Oral Dependency Scale (Bornstein, 1996; Masling & Rabie, 1967). Less weight loss was predicted by signs of perceptual and cognitive distortions indicated by the Schizophrenia Index. More weight loss was predicted by Food Contents, suggesting a food preoccupation and possibly a benign dependency orientation. Patients with a focus on food and dependent needs could benefit above all from the treatment program implying learning how to handle food and eating in a supportive setting, as evidenced by more weight loss. Distortions in perception and cognition could constitute more profound difficulties in weight reduction important to recognize in obesity treatment.