Mental age and cognitive stage in young handicapped and at-risk children

This research addressed the question of whether stage-related patterns of early cognitive development, reported for normally developing children in the first two and a half years of life, may also characterize the development of at-risk and handicapped children when mental age rather than chronological age is used to organize the data. Performance on a psychometric infant test and two neo-Piagetian-based stage measures was assessed for 95 at-risk and handicapped children. Mental age predicted cognitive level of performance for levels 1 to 3, representing the first year and a half of development, but did not predict the highest level, symbolic functioning. In addition, transition points between levels were observed at mental ages similar to the chronological ages when these transitions have been reported for normally developing infants, for all but the last level. The significance of the correspondence between the psychometric measure and the stage measures is discussed and several alternatives for the breakdown at the highest level are considered.     

Effects and aftereffects of continuous noise and computation work on risk and effort choices

Choices between risk and effort, in a format (COPE) previously shown to reflect fatigue, were obtained from subjects in noise or quiet. Both sexes were used in the experiment, half the subjects working at the Norinder arithmetic task while half rested. The COPE test took a computational form, offering choices between digit lists of differing lengths in which target sums were imbedded. The baseline choice levels were established in quiet, but half the subjects were exposed to noise during the posttest. As previously found in comparable conditions, the Norinder task showed no effect of noise. Pretest-posttest comparisons on the COPE test showed that exposure to noise, like computation work, had the predicted effect of decreasing the choice of high-probability, high-effort alternatives. The presence of noise during posttest had no overall effect on risk effort choices, although there were indications that changes of any kind in the test conditions might be a factor. The data seem difficult to explain in an arousal framework, but may be simply interpreted as showing that exposure to noise produces real fatigue.     

Interactive effects of item content and ethnic group membership on performance on the McCarthy scales

The study investigated cultural bias in the 46 verbal items of the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities (MSCA). The verbal items of the MSCA were administered to 59 Anglo and 59 Mexican-American subjects matched for age and sex. The responses of two groups of subjects on these items were analyzed by log-linear technique using the likelihood ratio chi-square statistic. The analysis of the data revealed that the majority of the verbal items of the MSCA are free from cultural bias. Only three items of the MSCA V-scale reflected systematic cultural bias. Two of these items are from the Word Knowledge II Subtest and the third one is from the Opposite Analogies Subtest. Suggestions for the use of the MSCA with children from minority cultures are made.     

Occupational classification in terms of interest patterns

This study was designed to identify the important clusters of occupational groups identifiable from an analysis of the dimensions accounting for similarity in profile shapes among a set of 28 new vocational interest measures. A total of over 47,000 individuals belonging to 189 particular occupational groups have completed the Strong Vocational Interest Blank and had their data summarized in the form of group profiles. The matrix of 189 occupational group profiles of the 22 SVIB Basic Scales was analyzed by a series of multivariate procedures designed to predict group profiles on the Jackson Vocational Interest Survey (JVIS). Predicted JVIS profiles were obtained using an intercorrelation matrix of 548 males who had completed both the SVIB and the JVIS. Predicted JVIS profiles were subjected to a form of transpose factor analysis to obtain clusters of similar occupations. A total of 23 distinct occupational clusters were obtained, ranging from military officers to salesmen, and were interpreted as representing the major groupings of occupations defined by similar patterns of vocational interest.     

Oral stereognosis: Effect of varying form set,answer type,and retention time

The oral stereognosis abilities of 40 young adults were investigated as a function of oral stereognosis form sets (four sets), retention time (unlimited and 5 sec), and response type (oral discrimination and visual recognition). Results showed that the Penn State forms were the easiest for the subjects under all conditions and that the Ringel form set was the most difficult under all conditions. A significant interaction between oral form sets and answer type indicated that the visual recognition task, rather than the discrimination task, was primarily responsible for the differences between the oral form sets. A three-way interaction revealed that the retention times had a significant effect on the two form sets of medium difficulty (NIDR-10 and NIDR-20) for the visual recognition condition. The results are discussed in view of their research and clinical implications.     

The Papago Psychology Service: A community mental health program on an American Indian reservation

A community psychology service run by the Papago Indian tribe and staffed largely by Papago Indians who have been trained as mental health workers is described. This service is unique among mental health services for Indians in that the tribe has complete control of the funds for the service and sets its own policies. It was developed for a rather traditional Indian group, and the culture, the traditions, and the wishes of the Papago community were respected. Consultation with medicine men was built into the program from the start, and adaptation of mental health techniques to fit the culture is stressed. Before this clinic was established, few mental health resources were directly available to the reservation. Similar to other Indian tribes, the Papagos are economically disadvantaged, with an unemployment rate of over 50%, low educational attainment, and very high rates of alcoholism, suicide, and vehicular accidents. The topics covered are the tribe's view of health programs for its people, the present Papago community and traditional means of treatment, traditional psychotherapy adapted to Papago culture, the indigenous Papago mental health worker, and the non-Indian professional consultant.