Job-finding club: A group-assisted program for obtaining employment

Although joblessness is a major problem, no method of job-counseling has been demonstrated to be superior to usual job-finding practices. The present study describes a new type of program, which has now been evaluated experimentally in a matched-control design. The new program was conducted in a group and stressed such distinctive techniques as mutual-assistance among job-seekers, a ‘buddy’ system, family support, and sharing of job leads. In addition, the program arranged special ways of using such common practices as searching want-ads, role-playing, telephoning, motivating the job-seeker, constructing a resume and contacting friends. Within 2 months 90 per cent of the counseled job-seekers had obtained employment vs. 55 per cent of the non-counseled job-seekers. All clients who attended the program regularly obtained employment. After 3 months, 40 per cent of the non-counseled job-seekers were still unemployed. The average starting salary was about a third higher for the counseled job-seekers. The present procedure appears to be an effective method of assisting a greater proportion of the unemployed to obtain jobs and more quickly, and at a higher salary than they could obtain when they used the usual job finding procedures.     

A study of position habits induced by reward and “frustration”

Predictions from Maier's theory of “frustration”-instigated behaviour have been tested in an experimental situation differing significantly from that in which the theory was propounded yet containing the central element of “frustration”—the insoluble problem.

A water discrimination unit was employed in which the performance of rats would be observed during attacks on insoluble problems, position problems or symbol problems.

Two groups, each containing ten Wistar albino rats, served as subjects. The research design consisted of the following phases: preliminary training, development of position responses, exposure to a symbol-reward problem with 50 per cent, punishment and exposure to a symbol-reward problem with 100 per cent, punishment. The design differed for the two groups only at the phase in which the position responses were established. During this phase one group was exposed to a position-reward problem and the other to an insoluble problem.

Position responses were established as frequently under position-“frustration” (position stereotypes) as under position-reward (position habits) conditions. Position stereotypes were more rigid—more resistant to extinction—than position habits under conditions of 50 per cent, punishment. Position stereotypes were as readily extinguished under 100 per cent, punishment as were position habits under 30 per cent, punishment.

The first two observations conform to predictions made from Maier's theory. The third does not. That is to say, not all situations containing the basic elements of “frustration” give rise to stereotyped behaviour patterns which are as rigid or “fixated” as Maier's theory would predict. It is a reasonable hypothesis that the characteristics of stereotyped responses established in certain “frustration” situations may be described adequately in terms of conventional learning principles without the necessity of resorting to a distinction between “goal-motivated” and “frustration-instigated” behaviour.     

Personal Values and Intended Self‐Presentation during Job Interviews: A Cross‐Cultural Comparison

This study examined the impact of personal values on intended self‐presentation during job interviews among German, Ghanaian, Norwegian, and Turkish students (total N= 1,474). We also sought to explain cultural differences in self‐presentation among these groups. The Cultural Impression Management Scale for applicants (CIM‐A) and the Portrait Values Questionnaire were administered. A multigroup MIMIC model with invariant measurement and structural weights was supported, in which achievement, security, and benevolence values predicted a latent impression management factor. Intended impression management scores were significantly higher in the Ghanaian and Turkish samples than in the Norwegian and German samples. Values (achievement and security) accounted for 19.6 per cent of the cross‐cultural differences in self‐presentation. Adding acquiescence as an additional predictor (interpreted here as a measure of communication style) decreased the cross‐cultural differences by 52.8 per cent. It is concluded that values are similarly related to intended self‐presentation across these four groups, even though the cross‐cultural differences in mean scores in both sets of variables were considerable.     

Ageing and the misplacing of objects

A lost and found questionnaire was administered to 281 young and 153 old subjects to examine incidents in which objects were misplaced and recovered. Incidents were reported by 31·3 per cent of the young and 26·1 per cent of the old subjects, a difference that was not significant. Subjects reporting an incident rated themselves as more absentminded than subjects not reporting an incident. The roles of absentmindedness and perceptual problems in creating these incidents were examined. Only the latter showed significant differences with age. More old than young subjects reported finding the object in plain sight, in its proper place, and in a place already searched, suggesting a tendency with age to overlook objects in obvious places.     

Graphical and tabular aids for determining sample size when planning experiments which involve comparisons of percentages

When one knows in advance the minimum percentage difference which will be of practical interest in an investigation, principles of economy suggest the desirability of an accurate estimate of the size of the sample to be used. Charts are presented which eliminate any computation where the two groups involved are to be equal. A table is included for the case where one group will be from one to three times the size of the other. The charts are also useful for determining whether or not obtained differences are statistically significant at the 5 per cent or the 1 per cent level.     

Family–oriented treatment for people with alcohol problems in Ireland: a comparison of the effectiveness of residential and community–based programmes

Using a naturalistic design involving consecutive referrals self–selected for family–oriented treatment, forty–two participants from a residential programme and twenty–five participants from a community–based programme were assessed on a range of alcohol–use and psychosocial measures before treatment. A proportion of these cases were assessed after treatment and at six months'follow–up. At six months' follow–up 79 per cent of both the residential and community groups were either abstinent or drinking moderately. However, more members of the residential group (75 per cent) were abstinent at follow–up compared with the community group (36 per cent). In contrast, more members of the community group were moderate drinkers (43 per cent) at follow–up compared with the residential group (4 per cent). At six months' follow–up, compared with the community group, more members of the residential group showed a clinically significant reduction in recent negative consequences of drinking and psychological adjustment problems. Both groups made significant mean gains on indices of alcohol abuse and psychosocial adjustment but there were important intergroup differences. The residential group showed a greater mean reduction in recent negative consequences from drinking but the community group showed a greater mean reduction in the percentage of days' heavy drinking.     

A Survey of College Counseling Facilities

Of 1,136 senior colleges surveyed in the United States, 71 per cent of the 415 responding reported that they had student counseling facilities. The median ratio was 1 counselor per 770 students; 18 per cent make use of graduate students as assistants; 8 per cent exclude certain groups of students from these facilities. The majority of counseling services are connected with student personnel divisions, and more than half routinely test entering freshmen for academic aptitudes or achievement, personality factors, or vocational interests. Over three-quarters offer optional testing of intelligence, personality factors, vocational and academic aptitudes, and vocational interests. Over half limit counseling to “normal” problems, and the largest specific orientation is Rogerian; most, however, consider their approach “eclectic.”     

A comparison of simulated one-way and shuttle avoidance in an automated apparatus

The fully automated shuttle box employed in two experiments permitted the comparison within one apparatus of performance under a simulated one-way condition and the usual shuttle condition. Animals in the simulated one-way condition always ran from a white compartment into a black compartment, but alternated their direction of locomotion, as did the shuttle animals. In both experiments, animals run under the simulated one-way condition showed superior per cent avoidance performance relative to the shuttle animals. The results were compared with those obtained in other one-way avoidance and shuttle studies.     

A Big Five personality inventory in two non-Indo-European languages

In this study we report on two successful replications of a five-factor personality inventory in two non-Indo-European languages, Estonian and Finnish, which both belong to the group of Uralic languages. Costa and McCrae's (1985) NEO Personality Inventory was adapted to these two languages. By all relevant psychometric parameters neither developed construct differs from the original construct: the reliabilities of only 11 per cent for the Estonian and 36 per cent for the Finnish subscale were lower than those of the respective NEO-PI scales. The factor structure of both Estonian and Finnish inventories was very close to the five-factor structure of the NEO-PI, accounting for 71.7 per cent and 67.0 per cent of the variance, respectively. In spite of this generally good agreement, some language- or culture-dependent differences were observed. Both Estonian and Finnish women were more extroverted and conscientious than men, compared with their English-speaking counterparts. Also, some differences exist in the need for other people's company and excitement seeking. In the Balto-Fennic culture gregariousness appears to presuppose some emotional stability and openness and excitement seeking is conceptualized more as a tool of rescuing from anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. This study is considered as a step towards determination of which parts of the most popular instrument for the measurement of the Big Five personality dimensions are truly universal and which parts of it are specific to a particular language and culture.     

Measuring the Mystique

A sample of 517 freshman women at a large state university was studied in order to learn whether differences might be discerned on the basis of rank on the SVIB Masculinity-Femininity (MF) Scale. This scale divided the sample so that 30 per cent ranked high, 55 per cent average, and 15 per cent low in MF. No differences were found among the three groups in college of enrollment, reason for finishing college, most important factor in choosing an occupation, or parental expectation of educational level. On the California Psychological Inventory scores, subjects in the high MF group scored high in Dominance, Capacity for Status, Sociability, and Femininity. The average MF group, as compared with the low MF group, tested high in Good Impression and Femininity and low in Psychological Mindedness and Responsibility. The high MF group scored higher on the CPI Femininity scale than did the low MF group.     

Rethinking speed theories of cognitive development. Increasing the rate of recall without affecting accuracy

Researchers have suggested that developmental improvements in immediate recall stem from increases in the speed of mental processes. However, that inference has depended on evidence from correlation, regression, and structural equation modeling. We provide counter-examples in two experiments in which the speed of spoken recall was manipulated. In one experiment, second-grade children and adults recalled lists of digits more quickly than usual when the lists were presented at a rapid rate of two items per second. In a second experiment, children received lists at a rate of one item per second; half the children were trained (successfully) to speak their responses more quickly than usual, at a rate similar to adults' usual rate. Recall accuracy was completely unaffected by either of these response-speed manipulations. Thus, although response rate is a strong marker of an individual's maturational level, it does not appear to determine the accuracy of immediate recall. These results have important methodological and theoretical implications for human development.     

Serum anticonvulsant levels in therapy-resistant epileptics

The continuous occurrence of particularly severe epileptic attacks represent a great stress for the patients. For this reason, we have conducted anticonvulsant blood-level studies particularly in these patients, this paper being based on 146 first determinations. Among the patients, most of whom are adults and are treated with combinations of drugs, only 24 per cent reached the assumed normal phenytoin range while 69 per cent remained below it. With the administration of phenobarbital, however, 50 per cent reached the therapeutic range and only 14 per cent reached the lower limiting value. It is only i the last-mentioned group that we assumed primarily an insufficient intake of the drugs while with DPH the problems of the determination of the plasma water range had to be discussed. In practice, blood level determinations have their special value for the detection of the intake of a wrong dosage of the drugs as well as bland anticonvulsant intoxications.     

Evaluating interobserver reliability of interval data

Previous recommendations to employ occurrence, nonoccurrence, and overall estimates of interobserver reliability for interval data are reviewed. A rationale for comparing obtained reliability to reliability that would result from a random-chance model is explained. Formulae and graphic functions are presented to allow for the determination of chance agreement for each of the three indices, given any obtained per cent of intervals in which a response is recorded to occur. All indices are interpretable throughout the range of possible obtained values for the per cent of intervals in which a response is recorded. The level of chance agreement simply changes with changing values. Statistical procedures that could be used to determine whether obtained reliability is significantly superior to chance reliability are reviewed. These procedures are rejected because they yield significance levels that are partly a function of sample sizes and because there are no general rules to govern acceptable significance levels depending on the sizes of samples employed.     

Schooling and intelligence: A Methodological and logitudinal study

A general account of the adjustment problem is given within the frame of pretest-posttest design, and analysis of covariance, change score analysis and standardized change score analysis are discussed with reference to models of selection and growth. A Norwegian longitudinal investigation of the relationship between schooling and intelligence is described, and the results, generated by several adjustment techniques, showed substantial schooling effects. Thus the difference in estimated effect between a higher and a lower educational group varied from 49 to 73 per cent of the pretest standard deviation. In addition, considerable changes from pretest to posttest were observed, the mean gain amounting to 114 per cent of the pretest standard deviation. A comparison with two Swedish studies yielded similar trends in estimated schooling effect in that one study had higher and the other lower estimates than the present one.     

Therapists' perceptions of multicultural assessment and therapy with immigrant families

This paper explores therapists'perceptions of their assessment and treatment of new immigrant families from two very distinct populations: the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia. Some 145 professionals, approximately 70 per cent of those who treat new immigrants in the northern part of Israel, were questioned about various aspects of their assessment and treatment process. The differences between therapists and client families regarding the client's similarity to or difference from the majority culture are discussed. Of particular concern is whether therapists favour personal rather than contextual formulations of client problems. The results indicate that the wider the gap between the cultural background of the therapist and the immigrant families, the more sensitive and contextual the therapist's assessment and intervention choices.     

The effects of inhaling a 35 per cent CO2-65 per cent O2 mixture upon anxiety level in neurotic patients

Wolpe has reported the use of a 35 per cent CO₂-65 per cent O₂ mixture to relax patients who cannot otherwise be relaxed sufficiently to allow desensitization. In this investigation, the anxiety-reducing effects of single inhalations of a 35 per cent CO₂-65 per cent O₂ were studied on twelve patients, all of whom had been diagnosed by their doctors as having a high level of anxiety. On the basis of the subjects' ratings, this mixture was more effective than was an equal volume of air which was breathed through the same apparatus as was the experimental mixture. Evidence is offered which suggests that the decrement in anxiety which followed administration of the 35 per cent CO₂-65 per cent O₂ mixture was due to some effect of the gas other than the hyperventilation which it induces.     

THE SUSCEPTIBILITY OF INTELLECTUAL FUNCTIONS TO A DEPRESSANT DRUG

F rankenhaeuser , M., and B eckman , M. The susceptibility of intellectual functions to a depressant drug. Scand. J. Psychol ., 1961, 2 , 93–99.—The performance of 32 subjects in tests on four intellectual factors (verbal, numerical, inductive and spatial) during the inhalation of nitrous oxide (30 per cent N₂O and 70 per cent O₂) and a control mixture (30 per cent N₂ and 70 per cent O₂) were compared . The drug caused a highly significant deterioration in the performance of all four tests. Both speed and accuracy of performance were impaired. The problem of a possible differential susceptibility to the drug of the various intellectual functions wag attacked by a statistical analysis of the differences between the tests with regard to changes in performance during drug inhalation. No reliable differences in extent of impairment between the four tests could be demonstrated.     

IgG determination in the cerebrospinal fluid--correlation of these results with other cerebrospinal fluid values

IgG determined by means of quantitative radial immunodiffusion in the cerebrospinal fluid of 225 neurological patients correlates in a statistically significant manner (p less than 0.001) with the gamma-globulin determined by the acetate foil electrophoresis. The indication of the IgG as a percentage of the total protein (limiting value of 10 per cent) is suitable for an orientating assessment in the diagnosis of inflammatory-immunoreactive diseases of the central nervous system. The IgG-values exceeding 10 per cent of the total protein correlate in 260 fluids examined in the respect with the percental value of the lymphocyte content which also lies above the reference range (p less than 0.001). For the assessment of the presence of a barrier disturbance, a comparison with the serum values should be carried out, either in the form of the frequently used fluid/serum quotients of the immunglobulin or the electrophoretically separated protein fraction.     

Change in interpersonal problems after cognitive agoraphobia and schema-focused therapy versus psychodynamic treatment as usual of inpatients with agoraphobia and Cluster C personality disorders

The aim was to study whether patients with panic disorder with agoraphobia and co-occurring Cluster C traits would respond differently regarding change in interpersonal problems as part of their personality functioning when receiving two different treatment modalities. Two cohorts of patients were followed through three months' in-patient treatment programs and assessed at follow-up one year after end of treatment. The one cohort comprised 18 patients treated with "treatment as usual" according to psychodynamic principles, the second comprised 24 patients treated in a cognitive agoraphobia and schema-focused therapy program. Patients in the cognitive condition showed greater improvement in interpersonal problems than patients in the treatment as usual condition. Although this quasi-experimental study has serious limitations, the results may indicate that agoraphobic patients with Cluster C traits should be treated in cognitive agoraphobia and schema-focused programs rather than in psychodynamic treatment as usual programs in order to reduce their level of interpersonal problems.     

EEG findings in 130 enuretics with special reference to spike potentials

As a result of an one time electroencephalographic transversal examination of 130 patients with enuresis aged from 3 to 18 years a back ground activity that was too slow for their age was found as the most frequent abnormal finding (31,5%). Focal sharp waves and spikes were observed in 20 per cent; they seem to be more frequent in enuretics than in other children and adolescents with disorders of behaviour. Their frequency is dependent on age. They are of small use for proving an epilepsy as possible cause of enuresis.