Values and Valences: Variables Relating to the Attractiveness and Choice of Food in Different Contexts1

This study investigated relations between values and the attractiveness and choice of food in different contexts for a sample of 464 participants who completed a mail survey distributed in 12 supermarkets in metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia. Participants responded to 5 hypothetical scenarios describing situations, each of which presented 2 alternatives relating to the presentation or consumption of different foods. Participants also completed the Schwartz Value Survey (Schwartz, 1992). Results showed that measures of the attractiveness (or valence) of each alternative and choice of alternative were related to specified value types for some scenarios, depending on context and structural relations among the value types engaged by each alternative. Results also implied that choice of alternative was mediated by the valences.     

Aggression Observation Scale for Group Psychotherapy

An observational scale to record aggressive behaviors, defenses, and interventions that occur during a psychotherapy group has been developed. Content and process items were included. The content items focus on the spoken material and are on a continuum of increasing group members' awareness of and responsibility for their anger. The process items are directed to underlying psychodynamic issues on a continuum from avoiding anger, to indirect and then expression of anger. Leader interventions (responses) are also included. The development of the scale, the Aggression Observation Scale for Group Psychotherapy (AOSGP), is described including pilot testing and reliability and validity findings.     

A Psychometric Evaluation of the Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Scale

A thorough psychometric evaluation of the Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Scale (CDMSES; Taylor & Betz, 1983) is provided. The construct of career decision-making self-efficacy, stemming from Bandura's (1977) self-efficacy theory, is discussed. A summary of the initial construction and development of the scale is provided, followed by a comprehensive review of the results of various investigations on the reliability and validity of the CDMSES. An overall evaluation of the CDMSES's psychometric strengths and weaknesses is given. The article concludes with ideas for additional psychometric research of the CDMSES and discusses the usefulness of the scale in career counseling and career development research.     

S&T indicators for strategic planning and assessment of public research institutions

This article presents an approach we have developed for the assessment of public research institutions in the natural sciences and engineering. The method consists in the exploitation of available S&T databases and indicators, including bibliometrics (databases of scientific as well as technical literature), patents, and internal data. Results are therefore derived through multiple databases. The objective is to profile a specific national R&D community in order to assess the positioning of a public institution or program within the community to which it belongs. It involves obtaining the profile of the evolution of an R&D area, the R&D performers, the financing and support institutions, the users of R&D results, and the interactions between all these actors. A case-study of Canadian research in polymers is presented. Part of this research was financed by the National Research Council of Canada, and by a strategic grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. The research benefited from the expertise of Robert Letellier, Robert H. Marchessault, Jacques Martel, and Marielle Piché, and from the technical assistance of Maryse Prud’homme, Marcel Parent, and Benoit Longpré.     

From dialectic to organization: Bogdanov’s contribution to social theory

This paper situates Bogdanov in the context of social theory generally and socialist theory in particular. It outlines briefly the principal characteristics of his mature system, and assesses the strengths and weaknesses of his approach to the fundamental problems of social thought. The paper devotes particular attention to the problem of just how systems develop from less complex to more complex forms of organization, and evaluates Bogdanov’s solution to this problem against the background of populist, social democratic, and Leninist alternatives.     

Using computer-mediated conferencing to facilitate group projects in an educational psychology course

A course design is presented as a model for incorporating computer-mediated conferencing (CMC) in support of administering, organizing, and evaluating group projects in a psychology course. Students in an educational psychology course use e-mail and an electronic bulletin board system to communicate within and between student groups as well as with the instructor. Critical elements for the implementation of CMC are discussed, and suggestions for ways to avoid problems are offered.     

The psychologist's role in assessing and facilitating patients' knowledge of advance directives in medical settings: A preliminary investigation

In a time of budgetary shortfalls in the medical industry, an aging population, and an increased emphasis on health care choices, psychologists are being called upon to administer advance medical directive programs to patients. This study reports preliminary findings from a program to assess and facilitate patients' knowledge of advance directives (ADs) by the Psychology Service at the Ann Arbor VA Medical Center. The participant pool included 243 male veteran patients admitted to medical and surgical wards at the hospital. The intervention included the use of a computer-generated prompt for consultation, which was sent to the psychology staff in response to a patient inquiry regarding ADs. It also involved an increased emphasis on the delivery of written material on ADs by the admissions clerks. The intervention appeared to result in a modest increase in patients' knowledge of advance directives. Suggestions are offered for areas that should be emphasized in future attempts to increase patients' knowledge and utilization of advance directives.     

The pain behavior scale: Modification and validation for outpatient use

The present study investigated the validity of an inpatient pain behavior rating scale modified for outpatient use. A series of 43 consecutive outpatients referred for evaluation of chronic pain was examined using the Pain Behavior Scale (PBS) and other psychometric instruments. Analyses revealed significantly higher Pain Behavior Scale scores for low back and multiple pain-site groups. The results also indicated a high degree of internal consistency of the scale. A multiple regression analysis, predicting observed pain behavior from reported pain behavior, indicated that decreased activity accounted for 32% of the variance in the PBS score. A similar regression for pain experience found that the pain level and the sensory scale score on the McGill Pain Questionnaire accounted for 39% of the PBS variance. Psychological characteristics including disease conviction, self-control, depression, and anxiety explained 45% of the variability in the PBS score. Thus, the scale is related to pain intensity, interference with activities, and a variety of psychological characteristics. The scale provides a measure of observable pain behavior that is also relatively independent of these clinical data sources. The Pain Behavior Scale as modified for outpatient use provides a brief index of pain behavior with potential use in the comprehensive evaluation of the pain patient.     

On doing research: the dream and the reality

The principal concern of this essay is to offer practical and personal guidance to professional therapists who wish to engage in research in family therapy. It is not a paper about research design or experimental/observational/survey methods; rather the focus is upon the experience of engaging in research. It attempts to destroy a few common myths about researchers, research, and the motives of researchers and those whom they research. Research is seen as a continuing and evolving process (rather than a product) which can intrude in many aspects of the individual's life; it can affect motives, working relationships, organizational composure, personal family life, and personal self-esteem. Research is thus like most other forms of employment. Research, as an activity, must be seen in terms of systems dynamics, resistance to change, and hopefully, in terms also, of self-actualization and the refreshment of professional parts that other addictions cannot reach.
Recommendations are made for the structuring of research activity, in the light of the research model presented.