Methodological issues in the quantitative analysis of dream content

Reviews measurement approaches applied to dream reports and proposes some methodological cautions that may result in more effective utilization of the dream report in research and assessment. Standardization of dream collection techniques and controls for variability in the length of dream reports are suggested. Further investigation of the intraindividual consistency of dream report measures is seen as necessary for a discussion of their validity. Though there are indications that a variety of dream report measures are potentially valid for psychological assessment, measures based on general dream report characteristics show greater promise than specific content analysis. Research on the differences between normal and disturbed subjects highlights the potential, and the problems, inherent in the use of dream reports as tools of psychological inquiry.     

The effect of thematic content on the ‘Wason selection task’

This paper concerns the differential effects of use of ‘thematic’, rather than abstract (symbolic), content on the ‘Wason selection task’. An effect of thematic content has been reported several times, originally by Wason & Shapiro (1971), but Manktelow & Evans (1979) report five experiments that failed to obtain an effect and argue against the validity of the content effect in general. However, it is pointed out that four of their experiments use a novel content and that there are previous reports of non-effective content in the literature. It is concluded that a particular type of thematic content cannot be treated as a ‘random sample’ of thematic content in general, and that their argument thus rests upon their failure to produce an effect of the specific (’towns and transport’) content used by Wason and Shapiro. This produces an essentially empirical controversy which is settled in two ways. First, Manktelow and Evans’s criticisms of two previous replications are shown to be misleading. Second, an experiment is reported that exactly copies the Wason and Shapiro design and produces a significant effect of content. It is concluded that the Manktelow and Evans result most probably was due to a Type 2 error. Finally, a hypothesis is developed to account for both the effect of certain types of content and the lack of effect of others, including that used in Manktelow and Evans’s first four experiments.     

The Use of Multitrait–Multimethod Data for Detecting Nonlinear Relationships: The Case of Psychological Climate and Job Satisfaction

Previous monomethod research has found mixed support for nonlinear effects between certain job characteristics (e.g., job autonomy, job complexity) and outcome variables (e.g., job performance). We hypothesized that these weak nonlinear findings may be due to the prevalence of monomethod research that can lead to a lack of complete measurement and/or introduce common methods variance, either of which may mask the true shape of relationships. Using hierarchical regression analyses and a multitrait–multimethod (MTMM) research design, we found strikingly different results between monomethod and MTMM data when considering the relationships between three psychological climate variables and job satisfaction. While the monomethod results mirrored earlier inconclusive findings, the MTMM data indicated that nonlinear equations explained significantly more of the relationship between all three climate dimensions and job satisfaction. These results suggest that the use of MTMM data allows one to more effectively test for nonlinear effects. Furthermore, these nonlinear results suggest that the format of employee questionnaires should probably change from asking how much an employee has of certain constructs to asking does the employee want more or less of these constructs.     

An examination of the response styles theory of depression in third- and seventh-grade children: a short-term longitudinal study

The goal of this study was to test the response styles theory of depression in a sample of 3rd- and 7th-grade children. In addition, we examined whether the relationship between rumination and increases in depressive symptoms is mediated by hopelessness and low self-esteem. The procedure involved an initial assessment in which depressive symptoms, response styles, hopelessness, and self-esteem were assessed. The procedure also involved a follow-up assessment, 6 weeks later, in which depressive symptoms, hopelessness, and self-esteem were reassessed. Children with a ruminative response style exhibited increases in depressive symptoms over the 6-week period. In addition, the relationship between rumination and increases in depressive symptoms was mediated by both hopelessness and low self-esteem. Last, contrary to our hypotheses, neither distraction nor problem-solving response styles predicted decreases in depressive symptoms over the course of the study.     

Harming Consent

I argue that Nafsika Athanassoulis fails to establish the main contention of her paper (“The Role of Consent in Sado-MasochisticPractices”, Res Publica 8, 2 (2002)), namely that, given liberalism, consent should be a defence to a charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm even when the harm is a consequence of a sado-masochistic encounter. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Patterns of friendship among girls with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Examined patterns of friendship participation, stability, and quality among previously unfamiliar, ethnically diverse girls with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; n = 140) and comparison (n = 88) girls, aged 6–12 years, who attended 5-week naturalistic summer camps. Each girl completed sociometric nominations during Weeks 1, 3, and 5 of the camps; friendships were indexed by examining patterns of reciprocal nominations. At each assessment point, girls with ADHD had fewer mutual friends and were more likely to have no friends. Girls with Combined-type ADHD exhibited difficulties maintaining friendships from the beginning to middle of camp, whereas girls with Inattentive-type ADHD demonstrated poor friendship stability from the middle to end of camp. In general, girls with ADHD had higher levels of negative relationship features—including conflict and relational aggression—than did comparison girls, but levels of positive relationship features did not differ across subgroups. Friendship status predicted positive and negative peer regard, controlling for Verbal IQ and diagnostic status. Overall, although girls with ADHD were able to make friends to some extent, they differed from comparison girls in terms of the likelihood of doing so, the ability to maintain the friendships that they did form, and the levels of negative features found in their friendships.     

Marital History and Current Marital Satisfaction in Chronic Depression

Marital functioning is an important consideration in the treatment of depression. Although there are several studies of the marriages of depressed individuals, there is little data on the marital lives of those with chronic depression. In this article, we compare the marital history and marital satisfaction in a sample of carefully diagnosed outpatients with chronic depression compared to those with nonchronic depression. The groups were similar in terms of a history of divorce and for the percentage who had ever been married. However, the chronic group had significantly lower levels of marital satisfaction. Increased attention to marital functioning in this group may be beneficial during treatment.     

Long-term retention of a theatrical script by repertory actors: the role of context.

Four actors were requested to perform Sartre's No Exit after a retention interval of more than 5 months. Their recall of the play was studied either with the spatial and visual contextual cues normally available during a performance or without such cues. Total recall was still considerable, equalling 85%. The number of paraphrases of, and inferences on, the original text was however quite large (32%), suggesting that the actors had learned their lines according to their meaning rather than as a result of rote memorisation. The context manipulation showed that actors' recall is facilitated by the availability of spatial-visual information, but only to a limited extent. The relative importance of textual and contextual cues in the long-term retention of a play is discussed.