Help seeking in aggressive and nonaggressive boys as a function of social or mechanical mediation of assistance

The behavior of preadolescent and adolescent boys, rated as aggressive and nonaggressive, was examined to test predictions from Bandura and Walters' social-learning theory and from Weiss and Miller's punishment model of audience-observation effects. The subjects were given a bogus motor task, actually insoluble, with help available on each trial. For half the subjects, help was given through the mediation of a social agent; for the rest, help was on a nonsocial, mechanically mediated basis. The groups for whom help was socially mediated made fewer help-seeking responses and decreased the number of such responses over successive trial blocks. The predictions from Bandura and Walters' theory were not supported, since neither age nor degree of aggressiveness had an effect on help-seeking responses. The results were, however, consistent with the punishment model of audience effects.The preparation of this report was supported by U.S. Public Health Service, Maternal and Child Health Service Project No. 916, and by Grant HD-03110 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Appreciation is expressed to Miss Sydney Silverstein, who served as experimenter; to Mr. James Blank and Mr. William Blecker of the Iowa City Public School System; and to Dr. Jane E. Anderson, Dr. Dee W. Norton, Dr. A. L. Benton, and Dr. David A. Parton of the University of Iowa.     

Application of the quartimax method of rotation to Thurstone's primary mental abilities study

This study compares a quartimax rotation of the centroid factor loadings for Thurstone's Primary Mental Abilities Test Battery with factorings of the same correlation matrix by Thurstone (simple structure), Zimmerman (revised simple structure), Holzinger and Harman (bi-factor analysis), and Eysenck (group factor analysis). The quartimax results agree very closely with the solutions of Holzinger and Harman and of Eysenck, and reasonably well with the two simple structure analyses. The principal difference is the general factor provided by the quartimax solution. Reproduction of the factorial structure is sufficiently good to justify its use at least as the first stage of rotation. More extensive trial of the method will be needed with more varied data before it will be possible to decide whether quartimax factors meet psychological requirements sufficiently well without further rotation.We wish to thank Professor L. G. Henyey and the University of California Computer Center for making the IBM 701 electronic computer available for this study, and the National Science Foundation for its support of the work of the Computer Center. Professor H. F. Kaiser of the University of Illinois has made helpful criticisms of the paper, and Mr. Louis S. Davis of the University of California has assisted with preparation of the tables. The research was supported in part by the United States Air Force under Contract No. AF 33 (038)-25726 monitored by the Air Force Personnel and Training Research Center. Permission is granted for reproduction, translation, publication, use and disposal in whole and in part by or for the United States Government.A 701 program for calculation of the quartimax and varimax loadings, prepared by Professor H. F. Kaiser, is available in the library of computer programs held by the Computer Center at the University of California (Program No. 464). Mr. J. O. Neuhaus and Mr. K. W. Dickman have prepared a quartimax program for Illiac at the University of Illinois. This Illiac program will be usable on three other computers recently built or under construction: Mistic (Michigan State University), Silliac (University of Sydney), and the machine being constructed by Iowa State College.     

Woman and athlete: Toward role consistency

The purpose of this study was to examine the attitudes of a general population toward female participation in sports and to replicate a previous study. The two areas investigated were (1) the perception of enhancement or detraction of femininity by girls' participation in athletics, and (2) whether different sports elicited different attitudes towards female participation in athletics. A town in Iowa was sampled. The results indicated that, in general, participation in sports neither detracted from nor enhanced femininity. Furthermore, most of the people wanted their daughters to play basketball, even though it neither detracted from nor enhanced femininity. The data suggest that traditional, rigid sex-role stereotypes were transcended and the opportunity set was dominant.This study was partially funded by a grant from the University of Iowa Graduate School. Appreciation is expressed to Dr. Eldon Snyder for graciously sharing his instrument and recent work.     

Fluorescent lighting: A purported source of hyperactive behavior

Seven first-grade children with conduct disorders and/or hyperactivity attended full-day sessions at a laboratory school classroom. During an 8- week period, the classroom lighting conditions alternated at the end of each week. During oddnumbered weeks, the classroom was illuminated by a standard coolwhite fluorescent system. On even-numbered weeks, illumination was a daylightsimulating fluorescent system of equal footcandles with controls for purported soft X rays and radio frequency (RF). There were no effects of lighting conditions on hyperactive behavior as assessed by (a) independent observations of task orientation or (b) ratings of activity level. A Critical Flicker Fusion (CFF) measure, a reported indicator of visual-sensory fatigue, indicated that the daylight-simulating condition was associated with a decreasing CFF across weeks.This research was a joint endeavor initiated by Alan Rosenbaum and directed by Dr. Daniel O'Leary. Dr. Philip Hughes and Mr. Frank LaGuisa and their associates at the General Electric Lighting Development Section consulted with us in all phases regarding lighting and electromagnetic radiation. We are very grateful to Dr. Susan O'Leary, director, and Marlene Schneider, head teacher, of the University Laboratory School, where this study was conducted. Special thanks go to Mark Durand, Ruth Shepard, and Michael Mignone, who contributed to variousphases of this study. The observers were Wilma Meyers and Frank Tucci. This research was supported in part by General Electric and in part by the State University of New York, Stony Brook. Detailed technical information concerning the lighting and measurement is available in a full text from the authors.     

Modification of the catastrophic cognitions questionnaire (CCQ-M) for normals and patients: Exploratory and LISREL analyses

The Recently developed Catastrophic Cognition Questionnaire (CCQ) was further investigated using both student and anxiety patient samples. LISREL confirmatory factor analyses was used. The results showed that the CCQ could be explained by a three-factor oblique solution. These are Emotional Catastrophes, Physical Catastrophes, and Mental Catastrophes. The modified version of CCQ (CCQ-M) revealed good internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and concurrent validity. It has also good discriminant validity. The CCQ-M can therefore be used with both normal and anxiety-disordered patients.We would like to thank the staff of the Anxiety Disorder clinic, in particular Dr. Larry Evans and Ms. Elly Staunton-McKenzie, for their assistance in data collection, and the subjects for their participation in this study. Dr. Khawaja was supported by a scholarship from the Government of Pakistan. She was on leave from the University of Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan. We would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their excellent suggestions.     

Multidimensional analysis of complex structure: Mixtures of class and quantitative variation

For certain kinds of structure consisting of quantitative dimensions superimposed on a discrete class structure, spatial representations can be viewed as being composed of two subspaces, the first of which reveals the discrete classes as isolated clusters and the second of which contains variation along the quantitative attributes. A numerical method is presented for rotating a multi-dimensional configuration or factor solution so that the first few axes span the space of classes and the remaining axes span the space of quantitative variation. The use of this method is then illustrated in the analysis of some experimental data.The author is particulary indebted to Dr. W. S. Torgerson for many valuable suggestions. In addition, Mr. M. David Todd and Mr. Joseph Young provided technical assistance in developing several assembly language routines, and Dr. James E. Deese made a number of helpful comments. This research was undertaken in partial fulfillment of the doctoral requirements at Johns Hopkins University, and was financed in part by the National Science Foundation.     

Aspects of Repetition in Bonobo–Human Conversation: Creating Cohesion in a Conversation Between Species

Ape language research has primarily focused on specific isolated language features. In contrast, in research into human language, traditions such as conversational analysis and discourse analysis propose to study language as actual discourse. Consequently, repetitions are seen as accomplishing various discursive and pragmatic functions in human conversations, while in apes, repetitions are seen as rote imitations and as proof that apes do not exhibit language. Tools from discourse analysis are applied in this study to a conversation between a language-competent bonobo, Pan paniscus and a human. The hypothesis is that the bonobo may exhibit even larger linguistic competency in ordinary conversation than in controlled experimental settings. Despite her limited productive means, the bonobo Panbanisha competently engages in co-constructing the conversational turns. She uses shared knowledge and repetitions to achieve compliance with a request. This reveals a knowledge about socio-linguistic interactions which goes beyond the pure informational content of words. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Response cost and impulsive word recognition errors in reading-disabled children

Subjects were 30 fourth grade children with average intellectual ability but reading achievement at least 1.5 years below grade level. Each child was given two word-recognition lists, the first one as a pretest and the second list under one of three different experimental conditions: control, positive reinforcement (1 nickel for each word read correctly), and response cost (1 of 40 nickels taken back for each word read incorrectly). Relative to the control condition, positive reinforcement led to a significant increase in response latency but no change in errors, while response cost led to both a significant increase in latency and a significant decrease in reading errors. The entire group was found to be impulsive on the Matching Familiar Figures test. The successful reduction in impulsive reading errors was interpreted as support for Kagan's hypothesis that the impulsive child evidences low concern about errors on such academic tasks.This report is based on a senior honors thesis by D. E. B., which was the 1977 winner of the Dashiell-Thurstone Prize for the best undergraduate honors thesis in psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Appreciation is expressed to the following persons for their assistance or comments: Dr. W. Anderson, Ms. D. Crew, Ms. C. Earp, Ms. N. Hardy, Dr. K. Jens, Dr. K. Fleishman, Dr. B. Martin, Dr. G. Mesibov, Mr. S. Muller, Ms. E. Pritchett, Mr. Wall, Ms. Wall, and Ms. M. Walton. The research was supported in part by U. S. Public Health Service, Maternal and Child Health Project No. 916, and by Grants HD-03110 and ES-01104 from the National Institutes of Health.     

Oliver Bloodstein: reflections on a career. Interview by Mark Onslow

Oliver Bloodstein arrived at the University of Iowa in 1941 to study under Wendell Johnson. There he began an influential career that included a seminal documentation of the development of stuttering, the development of the continuity hypothesis and the anticipatory struggle hypothesis, and the writing of five editions of the influential text “A Handbook on Stuttering.” In this interview Dr. Bloodstein reflects on his remarkable and inspiring career, which continues today with his involvement in the preparation of a sixth edition of this text.

Educational objectives: The reader will; (1) describe the contribution to the field of stuttering made by Dr. Bloodstein; (2) discuss the career influences that led to his achievements; (3) know Dr. Bloodstein's current views on the cause of stuttering; and (4) identify the locations at which he worked during his career.     

Some contributions to maximum likelihood factor analysis

A new computational method for the maximum likelihood solution in factor analysis is presented. This method takes into account the fact that the likelihood function may not have a maximum in a point of the parameter space where all unique variances are positive. Instead, the maximum may be attained on the boundary of the parameter space where one or more of the unique variances are zero. It is demonstrated that suchimproper (Heywood) solutions occur more often than is usually expected. A general procedure to deal with such improper solutions is proposed. The proposed methods are illustrated using two small sets of empirical data, and results obtained from the analyses of many other sets of data are reported. These analyses verify that the new computational method converges rapidly and that the maximum likelihood solution can be determined very accurately. A by-product obtained by the method is a large sample estimate of the variance-covariance matrix of the estimated unique variances. This can be used to set up approximate confidence intervals for communalities and unique variances.The first part of this work was done at the University of Uppsala, Sweden and supported by the Swedish Council for Social Science Research. The second part was done at Educational Testing Service and supported by a grant (NSF-GB-1985) from National Science Foundation to Educational Testing Service.The author is deeply indebted to Dr. D. N. Lawley whose contributions amounted nearly to coauthorship. The author also wishes to thank Mr. G. Gruvaeus for much valuable assistance in constructing the computer program.     

Bias and runs in dice throwing and recording: A few million throws

An experimenter threw individually 219 different dice of four different brands and recorded even and odd outcomes for one block of 20,000 trials for each die—4,380,000 throws in all. The resulting data on runs offer a basis for comparing the observed properties of such a physical randomizing process with theory and with simulations based on pseudo-random numbers and RAND Corporation random numbers. Although generally the results are close to those forecast by theory, some notable exceptions raise questions about the surprise value that should be associated with occurrences two standard deviations from the mean. These data suggest that the usual significance level may well actually be running from 7 to 15 percent instead of the theoretical 5 percent.The data base is the largest of its kind. A set generated by one brand of dice contains 2,000,000 bits and is the first handmade empirical data of such size to fail to show a significant departure from ideal theory in either location or scale.The analysis was facilitated by a National Science Foundation grant GS-341 and and its continuation GS-2044X. It forms part of a larger study of data analysis.Mr. Longcor is from Waukegan, Illinois; the other authors are from Harvard University. Dr. Iversen has moved to the University of Michigan.     

A general approach to nonlinear factor analysis

The method presented attempts to allow for nonlinear, possibly nonmonotonic relations between manifest and latent variates. An attempt is made to provide a workable criterion for choosing between alternative models on the basis of observable data as well as for constructing the appropriate function. An idealized numerical example is given.The author is indebted to Mr. E. J. Burr of the Department of Mathematics, University of New England, and to Dr. J. A. Keats of the University of Queensland, for their advice and criticism.     

Factor analysis and the index of clustering

The initial problem of factor analysis is described as a search for clustering of the test vectors. Curves are developed which give a visual picture of the clustering tendency, and an index of clustering is derived which provides a simple estimate for the number of factors.Based, in part, on a paper Matrix Approximation Criteria read at the District meeting of the Psychometric Society, Chicago, April 3, 1937. The author wishes to acknowledge suggestions gained in conversations with Dr. A. S. Householder and Mr. Clyde Coombs, of the University of Chicago.     

Some statistical considerations in multidimensional scaling

Some shortcomings of current methods of estimating the magnitude of perceived difference are considered. A statistical model for perceived difference is derived which avoids these difficulties and employs judgments of ratios of differences as data. Three estimators of squared difference are developed.This study was conducted while the author was a Psychometric Fellow at Princeton University and Educational Testing Service and is part of a dissertation presented in candidacy for the degree of doctor of philosophy. This research was supported by Office of Naval Research Contract Nonr 1858 and by National Science Foundation Grant GB3402. Extensive use was made of the computing facilities of Princeton University supported in part by National Science Foundation Grant NSF-GP579. The author wishes to express his appreciation to Prof. H. Gulliksen, Prof. F. Geldard, Dr. C. Helm, and Dr. F. Lord for their comments and encouragement.     

LES DIMENSIONS DE LA DETRESSE PSYCHOLOGIQUE: ANALYSE FACTORIELLE CONFIRMATOIRE DE TYPE HIERARCHIQUE*

The study of the hierarchical organization of psychological distress dimensions is plagued by numerous theoretical and methodological problems. The researcher must take into account the respective value of unidimensional and multidimensional conceptualizations and the complex debates between factor analysis experts. The main purpose of the present study is to demonstrate the construct validity of a hierarchical model of psychological distress. The sample consisted of 150 outpatients of the University of Montreal Psychology Clinic which completed the Psychiatric Symptoms Inventory. The results of first-order and second-order confirmatory factor analyses show the value of a hierarchical conceptualization of psychological distress. However, an examination of normalized residuals, total direct effects and modification indexes reveals the inadequacy of some items from the anxiety and cognitive problems subscales. The theoretical implications of these results are discussed.     

Evaluation of the diagnostic interview for children and adolescents for use in general population samples

This article presents evaluative data on the use of the Diagnostic Interview for Children and AdolescentsRevised (DICAR) to classify DSM-IIIR disorders in the general population. Data for the analyses came from a probability sample (N=251) of parentchild/adolescent dyads aged 6 to 16 separately administered the DICAR on two occasions, 10 to 20 days apart, by trained lay interviewers and child psychiatrists. Data are presented on prevalence,testretest reliability, parentchild/adolescent agreement, and trained lay interviewerchild psychiatrist agreement. High prevalences of oppositional defiant disorder derived from parent assessments and overanxious disorder and dysthymia derived from adolescent assessments suggest that these disorders may be overidentified. Interview data provided by 6 to 11year olds to classify the internalizing disorders were too unreliable to be useful. Agreement between parentchild/adolescent dyads was generally low while agreement between trained lay interviewerschild psychiatrists was generally high.This work was supported by funds from the National Health Research and Development Program (grant number 6606-3760-42) and the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services, and was carried out by the Child Epidemiology Unit, Department of Psychiatry, McMaster University and the Child and Family Centre, Chedoke-McMaster Hospitals, Hamilton, Ontario. Dr. Boyle is supported by a William T. Grant Foundation Faculty Scholar Award; Dr. Offord by a National Health Scientist Award, Health and Welfare Canada; Dr. Szatmari by a Research Fellowship, Ontario Mental Health Foundation; and Dr. Fleming by a NARSAD Young Investigator Award. The authors wish to thank the Hamilton Board of Education, particularly Mr. Keith Reilly and Mr. Owen Jackson; principals and teachers of the Board; and parents and students for their help on this project. Our appreciation also extends to Ms. Barb Hall who assisted in the analysis of the data.     

The brief Reasons for Living Inventory for adolescents (BRFL-A)

This study modified and evaluated the psychometric properties of the Reasons for Living Inventory (RFL) in samples of adolescents. Internal consistency reliability, corrected item-total scale correlation, and exploratory factor analysis procedures were used with a mixed sample of 260 adolescents to identify 14 items for the brief version of the RFL (BRFL-A). Confirmatory factor analyses provided support for the five-factor oblique structure of the BRFL-A in a psychiatric inpatient sample with a range of suicidal behaviors. Reliabilities of the BRFL-A subscales were satisfactory. Four of the five subscales differentiated between suicidal and nonsuicidal adolescents. Significant correlations were found between three BRFL-A subscales and several suicide indices. Convergent-discriminant validity was examined by correlating the BRFL-A subscales with the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory—Adolescents (MMPI-A) Content Scales. Limitations of the study are discussed.This study was supported in part by a Project Grant from the Graduate College, The University of Northern Iowa.     

Efficient estimation and local identification in latent class analysis

Estimators which are efficient in the sense of having minimum asymptotic variance are obtained for the structural parameters of Lazarsfeld's latent class model of latent structure analysis. Sufficient conditions for the local identification of the structural parameters are also presented. The writer wishes to acknowledge with appreciation the helpful advice of Professors Leonid Hurwicz and Jacob Bearman of the University of Minnesota. Dr. John Gurland of Iowa State College assisted the author in clarifying certain points in this article.     

Note on the selection of a panel of judges so as to maximize panel efficiency

Attempts to develop improved methods of selecting a panel of judges for psychometric work are presented. The applications reported are in the sensory field and are limited to the assumption of a unidimensional ability underlying the judgments in question. Some aspects of cost efficiency are also considered.The writers wish to acknowledge the value of a discussion with Dr. Harold Gulliksen of Princeton University and the Educational Testing Service, Princeton; Dr. Frederic Lord, also of the Educational Testing Service, contributed some valuable criticisms. The writers' thanks are also due Mr. George Bosy, at the Research Laboratories, Kraft Foods Company, where the senior author is currently employed.     

Psychiatry under tyranny: A report on the political abuse of Romanian psychiatry during the ceausescu years

Romanians suffered incredible deprivations of every sort during the decades of Communist dictatorship. Most of the country’s 1,000 psychiatrists, and most of their patients, were victimized by the political system. A few psychiatrists actively engaged in practices amounting to torture. Many, however, became willing or unwilling participants in the political abuse of their profession. Such political abuses were fostered by abusive legislation and abusive law enforcement by the secret police. Abuses included: mass detentions in psychiatric hospitals of dissidents and political undesirables; abusive interpretation of the laws in detaining persons not suffering from mental illness; false, politically motivated diagnoses and treatment; and detention in secret facilities. While there are honest efforts to come to grips with the past, to compensate victims of psychiatric abuse, and to institute proceedings against abusers, there is also much resistance to reform. Reform-minded Romanian psychiatrists deserve the support of their western colleagues in the effort to restore Romanian psychiatry. In particular, professional colleagues all over the world are asked to comment on the draft law currently pending before the Romanian parliament, which is intended to restore the rule of law to the practice of psychiatry in Romania. Report of a consultative mission to Bucharest, on behalf of the Geneva Initiave on Psychiatry, 7 June to 12 June 1992, by Nanci Adler, Historian-Sovietologist, Geneva Initiative on Psychiatry, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; G.O.W. Mueller, Distinguished Professor of Criminal Justice, Rutgers — The State University of New Jersey, U.S.A.; Mohammed Ayat, Professor of Criminology and Penal Law, Université de Fes, Faculté des Sciences Juridiques, Economiques et Sociales, FEs, Morocco. The Geneva Initiative on Psychiatry is a nongovernmental, nonprofit organization, dedicated to the introduction and preservation of ethical practices in the psychiatric profession, in accordance with medical ethics, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and U.N. standards and guidelines. Headquartered in Amsterdam, the organization is currently providing technical and financial assistance to the newly established free, independent, democratic psychiatric associations in Russia, Ukraine, Romania, and other countries. The General Secretary of the organization is Robert van Voren; the board is composed of professionals from some twenty countries. This article was based on meetings at governmental and parliamentary offices, nongovernmental organizations, and embassies as well psychiatric institutions with, among others, the following persons: Dr. Lucian Alexandrescu, V-P Radu Ciuceanu, Mr. Comsa, Proc. Gen’l. Ulpiu Cereceanu, Mr. Nistor Cristea, Mr. Dinu Ianculescu, Prof. Dr. George Ionescu, Miss Cristina Luzoscu, Dr. Zaharia Nicolae, Mr. Iancu Petrescu, Dr. Dan Prelipcianu, Min. Mircea Ionescu-Quintus, Dr. Aurel Romila, Av. Nicolae Stefanescu-Draganesti, Dir. Dr. Tomescu, Dr. Alexandru Trifan, Dr. Valeriu Tuculescu, and numerous victims, diplomats, and Romanian citizens.