Evaluation of evidence for sufficiency, for necessity, and for necessity-and-sufficiency

We report two experiments with 120 undergraduate subjects. The tasks presented clearly articulated hypotheses concerning necessity, sufficiency, and necessity-and-sufficiency, together with possible combinations of treatment conditions, and required subjects to judge whether, according to the hypotheses, the relevant outcomes will occur, will not occur, or might occur. The patterns of responses reveal how subjects understand the extensions of the concepts, i.e. what each hypothesis permits, requires, and excludes. Only necessity-and-sufficiency hypotheses generally led to logically adequate responses, and the most typical error for both necessity hypotheses and sufficiency hypotheses was to treat them as extensionally equivalent to necessity-and-sufficiency. This error tendency was more evident for necessity than for sufficiency hypotheses. Further, although responses to both necessity hypotheses and sufficiency hypotheses were affected by the complexity of the hypothesized conditions, responses to necessity-and-sufficiency hypotheses were not. We argue that the results are not a function of a response bias but reflect differences in the way the hypotheses are understood. Implications for the causal attribution literature are discussed.     

Matching methods for selection of subjects for follow-up

This work examines ways to make the best use of limited resources when selecting individuals to follow up in a longitudinal study estimating causal effects. In the setting under consideration, covariate information is available for all individuals but outcomes have not yet been collected and may be expensive to gather, and thus only a subset of the comparison subjects will be followed. Expressions in Rubin and Thomas (1996, 2000) show the benefits that can be obtained, in terms of reduced bias and variance of the estimated treatment effect, of selecting comparison individuals well-matched to those in the treated group, as compared to a random sample of comparison individuals. We primarily consider non-experimental settings but also consider implications for randomized trials. The methods are illustrated using data from the Johns Hopkins University Baltimore Prevention Program, which included data collection from age 6 to young adulthood of participants in an evaluation of two early elementary-school based universal prevention programs.     

Matching Methods for Selection of Participants for Follow-Up

This work examines ways to make the best use of limited resources when selecting individuals to follow up in a longitudinal study estimating causal effects. In the setting under consideration, covariate information is available for all individuals but outcomes have not yet been collected and may be expensive to gather, and thus only a subset of the comparison participants are followed. Expressions in Rubin and Thomas (1996) Rubin, D. B. and Thomas, N. 1996. Matching using estimated propensity scores, relating theory to practice.. Biometrics, 52: 249–264. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] show the benefits that can be obtained, in terms of reduced bias and variance of the estimated treatment effect, of selecting comparison individuals well matched to those in the treated group compared with a random sample of comparison individuals. We primarily consider nonexperimental settings but also consider implications for randomized trials. The methods are illustrated using data from the Johns Hopkins University Baltimore Prevention Program, which included data collection from age 6 to young adulthood of participants in an evaluation of 2 early elementary-school-based universal prevention programs.     

Norms for grip agreement for 296 photographs of objects

An increasing number of studies are investigating the cognitive processes underlying human–object interactions. For instance, several researchers have manipulated the type of grip associated with objects in order to study the role of the objects’ motor affordances in cognition. The objective of the present study was to develop norms for the types of grip employed when grasping and using objects, with a set of 296 photographs of objects. On the basis of these ratings, we computed measures of agreement to evaluate the extent to which participants agreed about the grip used to interact with these objects. We also collected ratings on the dissimilarity between the grips employed for grasping and for using objects, as well as the number of actions that can typically be performed with the objects. Our results showed grip agreements of 67 % for grasping and of 65 % for using objects. Moreover, our pattern of correlations is highly consistent with the idea that the grips for grasping and using objects represent two different motor dimensions of the objects.     

Proposal for Centers for the Study of Biblical Psychotherapy

This paper describes the need for a Biblically based psychotherapy to replace a psychotherapy dominated by Greek mythology. Centers for Biblical Psychotherapy are proposed and sample curriculae are discussed.     

Procedures for performing meta-analyses of the accuracy of tools for binary classification

The assessment of accuracy in binary classification tools must take into account two non-independent rates: true positives and false positives. A variety of indices have been proposed. They have been estimated for tests employed for early detection or screening purposes. We summarize and review the main methods proposed for performing a meta-analysis that assesses the accuracy of this type of tools. They are applied to the results from 14 studies that report estimates of the accuracy of the AUDIT. The method of direct aggregation does not allow the use of meta-analytic procedures; the separate estimation of sensitivity and specificity does not acknowledge that they are not independent; the SROC method treats accuracy and threshold as fixed effects and has limitations to deal with the potential role of covariates. The Normal Bivariate (NB) model and the Hierarchical Summary ROC (HSROC) model are statistically rigorous and can deal with the covariates properly. They allowed analyzing the association between the gender composition of the sample and the way the test AUDIT behaves in the example.     

A component analysis of dry-bed training for treatment for bedwetting

The major components of Dry-Bed Training (DBT) (Azrin et al., 1974), in addition to the urine-alarm device, were identified as; (i) the waking schedule; (ii) retention control training; and (iii) positive practice and cleanliness training. Combinations of these components yielded six treatment groups. Together with an alarm-only group and a DBT group from a previous study (Bollard and Nettelbeck, 1981) these groups were compared for effectiveness in arresting bedwetting. Bedwetting frequency was reduced slightly below levels achieved with alarm-only treatment, by the addition of either retention control training, or positive practice and cleanliness training. A more substantial decrease in bedwetting resulted from the addition of the waking schedule, although none of the effects of the single components was statistically significant. The effects of the three components were cumulative, so that the more components added to the alarm-only procedure, the better the therapeutic response. Thus, the combination of waking, positive practice and cleanliness training with the alarm and the combination of all three components with the alarm (i.e. the complete DBT programme) did result in a significant reduction in bedwetting frequency compared with the alarm-only procedure. The practical and theoretical implications of these results are discussed.     

Validation of Assessment for Learning Questionnaires for teachers and students

Background. Assessment can be a powerful force in promoting student learning. Still, few measures exist to gauge Assessment for Learning (AFL) in the classroom. Literature on AFL suggests that it encompasses both a monitor to track student progress as well as a scaffold to show or help students recognize in what areas they need to improve. Aims. Based on a review of recent attempts to measure the AFL, we constructed Assessment for Learning Questionnaires for Teachers (TAFL‐Q) and for students (SAFL‐Q) for evaluating perceptions regarding AFL practices in classrooms using matching items. Sample. The total sample included 1,422 students (49% girls, 51% boys) and 237 teachers (43% females, 57% males) in lower vocational secondary education. Methods. The 28‐item questionnaires were examined by means of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using EQS on one random half of the sample. The CFA was cross‐validated on the second half. Measurement invariance tests were conducted to compare the students and teacher versions of the questionnaires. Results. CFA revealed a stable second‐order two‐factor structure that was cross‐validated: perceived monitoring, and perceived scaffolding subsumed under a common factor: AFL. Tests for measurement invariance showed that the parallel constructs were measured similarly for both students and teachers. Conclusion. The TAFL‐Q and SAFL‐Q capture the construct AFL in two subscales: Monitoring and Scaffolding, and allows for comparisons between teacher and student perceptions. The instruments can be useful tools for teachers and students alike to identify and scrutinize assessment practices in classroom.     

A comparison of methods for assessing preference for social interactions

Researchers have evaluated a variety of methods for assessing preference for social interactions, and generally have found that such assessments accurately identify differentially reinforcing, preferred interactions. However, few researchers have compared methods for assessing preference for social interactions, and none have done so with participants across different skill levels. The current study compared the stability and validity of hierarchies produced by social interaction preference assessments (SIPA) and picture-based multiple stimulus without replacement preference assessments (MSWO) with 8 individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The MSWO most often produced valid hierarchies for participants who could match, identify, and tact pictures of social interactions and that the SIPA most often produced valid hierarchies for participants who could not identify or tact pictures of social interactions. A vocal paired-stimulus preference assessment (PSPA) was also conducted with a subset of participants who communicated vocally, and it produced valid hierarchies. Considerations and recommendations for selecting a method of assessing preference for social interactions are discussed.     

Identification times for phonemic components of graded complexity and for spelling of speech

Identification time was measured for targets in speech in terms of the number of phonemes occurring between the target and response. Auditory targets in the mam experiment were at three levels of phonetic complexity; (1) monosyllabic words or nonsense syllables, each containing four phonemes; (2) clusters (vowel + consonant) consisting of the second and third phonemes within these syllables; (3) individual phonemes within these clusters. Identification time was always shorter for (1) than for (2) or (3). The effect of semantic and grammatical context upon identification was small. Plosive consonants which did not begin a syllable generally could not be identified as isolated phonemic targets, although they could be identified readily as part of a cluster. Letter targets corresponding to the spelling of the auditory stimulus permitted identification of plosive consonants, and in general followed different rules than the phonemic targets. Additional observations concerning individual targets were made.     

An assessment of preference for caregivers and antecedents for problem behavior

A young boy's problem behavior (e.g., hand biting, jumping) was evaluated in two experiments. In Experiment 1, the participant's relative preference for three caregivers was assessed using a concurrent operants procedure. During each session, only one individual in the pair provided attention contingent on physical proximity. The results indicated that the participant had a relative preference for attention from his mother. In Experiment 2, the participant's behavior was evaluated during antecedent conditions involving noncontingent maternal attention and no maternal attention. The results showed that problem behavior was displayed almost exclusively when noncontingent attention was provided. The potential role of adventitious reinforcement is briefly discussed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Preliminary Evidence for the Effectiveness of Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Adolescents

This meta‐analysis evaluated the effectiveness of dialectical behavior therapy for adolescents in reducing symptoms of depression, anxiety, self‐injury, and suicide risk. Twelve between‐group studies (N = 834) were chosen that met the inclusion criteria. Results revealed small‐to‐medium Hedges's g effect sizes for all 4 symptoms compared with control and alternative treatment groups. However, the small number of effect sizes available for each analysis limited the generalizability of the findings. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Memory for the locations of pictures: evidence for hierarchical clustering

The role of similarity in memory for location of pictures was examined. Undergraduates memorized the locations of 10 pictures situated within a map. The similarity of the pictures was manipulated. Two days later, subjects were tested for their memory of the locations. The results indicated that subjects clustered the locations of the pictures on the basis of pictorial similarity, such that locations of similar pictures were judged as closer than equidistant locations of dissimilar pictures. The results are discussed in the framework of a hierarchical model of spatial memory.     

Search for multiple targets: Evidence for memory-based control of attention

There are two opposing models with regard to the function of memory in visual search: a memorydriven model and a memory-free model. Recently, Horowitz and Wolfe (2001) investigated a multipletarget search task. Participants were required to decide whether or not there were at leastn targets present. They demonstrated that the reaction time ×n function has a positive and accelerated curve. They argued that the memory-free model predicts this curve, whereas the memory-driven model predicts a linear function. In this study, I varied the total set sizes of a multiple-target search task and fitted the models separately for eachn condition. The model fit indicated that the memory-driven model is more appropriate than the memory-free model in eachn condition. These results suggest that an amnesic process does not cause the positive accelerated curve of the reaction time ×n function but that it is the result of the time needed to examine each additionaln item.     

Preparing Families for Evidence-Based Treatment of ADHD: Development of Bootcamp for ADHD

Objective: Many families of children with attention-deficit/hyperactive disorder (ADHD) do not initiate evidence-based treatments (EBTs), placing these children at risk for poor outcomes. Bootcamp for ADHD (BC-ADHD) is a novel, four-session, group intervention designed to prepare parents as informed consumers to engage in multimodal EBTs for ADHD. This paper describes the theory of change and the development of BC-ADHD, outlines its components, and provides an initial proof of concept of the program. Method: Participants were 11 families of children with ADHD (ages 5–11; 55% male; 91% non-Hispanic; 55% White, 27% Black, 18% more than one race) who were the initial participants receiving BC-ADHD during a small-scale, randomized controlled trial. Parent-report outcome measures assessed parental empowerment, treatment preferences, affiliate stigma, intention to pursue treatment, and treatment initiation at baseline, posttreatment, and 6-week follow-up. Results: Parent engagement was high, as indicated by an 86% session attendance rate and high ratings of program satisfaction. Parents reported an increase in empowerment to access systems of care. Ratings of acceptability for behavior therapy increased at posttreatment and follow-up with minimal or no concerns about feasibility. The acceptability of medication was high at each assessment, although parents expressed increased concerns about stigma and adverse effects of medication at posttreatment and follow-up. Nonetheless, there was a marked increase in parental intention to use medication at posttreatment and follow-up. Accounting for ceiling effects, parents reported substantial increases in intention to use medication, behavioral parent training (BPT), and school services. Changes in treatment initiation were in the expected direction. Conclusions: BC-ADHD has the potential to promote family empowerment in seeking services and increase their intent to initiate EBTs, as well as actual initiation of these treatments.