Structural contingency theory and individual differences: examination of external and internal person-team fit

This article develops and tests a structurally based, integrated theory of person-team fit. The theory developed is an extension of structural contingency theory and considers issues of external fit simultaneously with its examination of internal fit at the team level. Results from 80 teams working on an interdependent team task indicate that divisional structures demand high levels of cognitive ability on the part of teammembers. However, the advantages of high cognitive ability in divisional structures are neutralized when there is poor external fit between the structure and the environment. Instead, emotional stability becomes a critical factor among teammembers when a divisional structure is out of alignment with its environment. Individual differences seem to play little or no role in functional structures, regardless of the degree of external fit.     

Two-subtest estimations of WAIS-III factor index scores

The reliability and validity of various short forms of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition (WAIS-III; D. Wechsler, 1997) were evaluated in a sample of 100 patients with traumatic brain injury and in a demographically matched subgroup from the standardization sample. All short forms were based on 2-subtest estimations of the respective factor indexes. Although acceptable estimates could be obtained from all short forms for Verbal Comprehension, none of the possible short forms for Perceptual Organization consistently met the minimum criterion regarding the percentage of cases that fell within the 90% confidence interval of the full-length index. It is concluded that short-form estimates of the WAIS-III are not appropriate for clinical use when the goal is to obtain factor indexes.     

Counseling and Values Publication Patterns From 1990 to 2009

The authors reviewed publication patterns for articles published from 1990 to 2009 in the journal Counseling and Values. Article content and author demographic characteristics (i.e., sex of authors, nation of domicile, employment setting of authors, frequently contributing individuals and universities) were analyzed by 5‐year periods for trends over time. Specific attention was given to periodic changes in characteristics of research articles, including types of research designs, quantitative/qualitative approach, participant types, random assignment, sample size, intervention/nonintervention focus, and statistical procedures used.     

Factor Structure and Construct Validity of the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (LSRP): A Replication and Extension in Dutch Nonclinical Participants

Abstract

The Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy (LSRP) scale is widely used to assess psychopathic traits in noninstitutionalized samples. Recent studies suggest that a three-factor structure measuring Egocentricity, Callousness, and Antisocial factors outperformed the original two-factor structure of the LSRP. This study replicated and extended these findings by examining the factor structure and construct validity of a Dutch version of the LSRP in a community sample (N?=?856, subsamples ranging between 140 and 572 participants). Confirmatory factor analysis results corroborated the superiority of the three-factor model of the LSRP, using 19 of the 26 LSRP items. Limitations included the need to specify correlated residuals for some indicators, although these were largely in line with prior studies. Across three subsamples, we found evidence for construct validity of the LSRP subscales. Egocentricity and Antisocial showed a pattern of differential associations with external correlates in accordance with theoretical expectations. Callousness shared some correlates with Egocentricity, others with Antisocial, and uniquely predicted low morality and high physical aggression. Few exceptions to the hypothesized associations were observed, mostly concerning Callousness. Overall, the LSRP three-factor model received further support in a Dutch sample, and is thus recommended in future research, possibly adding items to improve the performance of the Callousness factor.     

Laterality of Champion Athletes

Certain experimental designs are based upon the assumption that performance level becomes stabilized after a prolonged period of practice. This assumption was tested by taking a long series of repeated measurements upon a single S for the performance of each of several constant tasks, each task being tested singly in a separate series of measurements. Results showed that after thousands of practice trials on a simple task S may still be learning or showing other sequential effects in performance. These effects may disappear on one day only to reappear on the next. Therefore it is extremely doubtful that “practice to an asymptote” should be regarded as either an efficient or an effective method of eliminating sequential effects from an experiment proper.     

Exploration of an adaptive training regimen that can target the secondary memory component of working memory capacity

The dual-component model contends that working memory (WM) capacity consists of two components. The first is a flexible attention component that involves the active maintenance of a limited amount of information in primary memory (PM), and the second is a controlled retrieval component that involves a cue-dependent search of secondary memory (SM) for information that has been lost from PM. Recent evidence has suggested that the adaptive WM training regimen known as “Cogmed-RM” is not optimally designed, because it only targets PM abilities, not SM abilities. The present study was conducted to investigate whether Cogmed-RM could be modified to target SM abilities by decreasing the recall accuracy threshold that defines individual ability during training. The main findings suggested that the SM component of WM capacity could be targeted by lowering the recall accuracy threshold. The present findings are important because they suggest that adaptive training regimens can be designed that selectively target specific components of WM capacity, and they raise the possibility that the potency of existing training regimens can be increased.     

“In search of pure stone”: Psychotherapy with a sexually assaulted boy

Jeremy Holmes, John Bowlby and Attachment Tbeoq London: Routledge, 1993, 249 pp., £12.99.

Valerie Sinason (ed.)., Treating Survivors of Satanist Abuse, London and New York: Routledge, 1994, 320 pp., £14.99.

A. Erskine and D. Judd The Imaginative Body: Psychodynamic Therapy in Health Care, London: Whurr Publishers, 244 pp. £15.00.

R.D. Hinshelwood, Clinical Klein, London: Free Association Books, 1994, 260 pp., £16.95.     

Alzheimer's Disease Patients' Cognitive Status and Course Years Prior to Symptom Recognition

This is a prospective examination of the cognitive performance and cognitive course of persons in an asymptomatic “preclinical” phase who eventually developed Alzheimer's disease (AD). We compared performances on the Mayo Cognitive Factor Scales (MCFS) of 20 persons in a neurologically normal cohort who subsequently developed AD to the performances of 60 persons who remained free of dementia symptoms. For the AD patients, exams occurred prior to the appearance of dementia symptoms (an average of 4.2 and 1.5 years prior to symptom onset). Results reveal strong group differences on learning and retention, with eventual AD patients scoring lower than controls years prior to reporting symptoms of the disease. There was no significant interaction effect (group × testing session) for memory retention, suggesting that memory decline in this preclinical period may be too slow to be a useful indicator of future AD. A significant interaction (but no group effect) was seen for verbal comprehension.     

Asymmetries in Benefiting, Harming and Creating

It is often said that while we have a strong reason not to create someone who will be badly off, we have no strong reason for creating someone who will be well off. In this paper I argue that this asymmetry is incompatible with a plausible principle of independence of irrelevant alternatives, and that a more general asymmetry between harming and benefiting is difficult to defend. I then argue that, contrary to what many have claimed, it is possible to harm or benefit someone by bringing her into existence.     

Posttraumatic growth after childbirth: A prospective study

A growing body of research has examined the potential for positive change following challenging and traumatic events, this is known as posttraumatic growth (PTG). Childbirth is a valuable opportunity to extend previous work on PTG as it allows the role of different variables to be considered prospectively. The aim of this study was to prospectively examine correlates of PTG after birth, including sociodemographic and obstetric variables, social support and psychological distress, using a prospective, longitudinal design. A total of 125 women completed questionnaires during their third trimester of pregnancy and 8 weeks after birth. At least a small degree of positive change following childbirth was reported by 47.9% of women; however, average levels of growth were lower than generally reported in other studies. A regression model of age, type of delivery, posttraumatic stress symptoms during pregnancy and general distress after birth significantly predicted 32% of the variance in growth after childbirth. The strongest predictors of growth were operative delivery (β 0.23–0.30) and posttraumatic stress symptoms in pregnancy (β 0.32). These findings emphasise the importance of assessing pre-event characteristics when considering the development of PTG after a challenging event.