A BASIC program for computing Cronbach’s accuracy components

Accuracy is a measure of the extent of agreement between a rater’s ratings and the ratings of experts or the responses of ratees. Cronbach (1955) argued that accuracy research should focus on components of accuracy rather than on an overall measure. However, complex calculations are required to compute Cronbach’s accuracy components. A program is presented that provides a convenient way of computing all four components of accuracy (elevation, differential elevation, stereotype accuracy, and differential accuracy), as well as the associated correlation components, on an Apple Macintosh computer. The standard Macintosh interface is used to obtain all necessary information. The program will read data in a standard text file and will run faster on computers with math coprocessors.     

Law and antipsychotic medications

This article reviews the origin and development of recent legal concepts surrounding use of antipsychotic medications. Complications (side effects) of certain psychiatric medications are seen as fueling the right to refuse treatment doctrine in the law. The leading cases in right to refuse treatment and right to object to treatment are presented and analyzed. The impact of Supreme Court actions on these concepts is evaluated. The influence of the various legal interpretations of right to refuse treatment on standards of psychiatric practice is explored. Have these laws made a difference on the standard of care in public mental institutions?     

Status Seeking and Manipulative Self‐presentation

Three studies examine the relation of dispositional status‐seeking with workplace self‐presentation behaviors. The first study showed that the status‐seeking motive provided incremental prediction, over and above narcissism and self‐monitoring, in self‐reported exaggerating, faking, and fabricating in job search. The second study showed that, after controlling for the traits from the five factor model of personality, status‐seeking predicted the undesirable job‐search behaviors, as well as use of impression‐management tactics at work. A field study showed that employee status seeking explained supervisor impressions of employee supplication and ingratiation, even after controlling for task and contextual performance. Male status‐seekers were also more likely to engage in intimidation. Status‐seeking appears to be an important motive for understanding manipulative self‐presentation at work.     

How One Unitarian Universalist Integrates Evolution into his Theology and Religion

Evolution can be a "weasel word" unless circumscribed to mean only a morphological change over time. When this is done, the fact of what can be distinguished from the faith of how . I believe that evolution is purely a natural process, but recognizing that everyone creates his or her own God, I feel justified in giving the name God to that mysterious presence in every interaction that causes transformation, since this is what gives the universe its dynamism. I relate how this God concept informs my religious and ethical life and gives my life meaning and purpose.     

Marital satisfaction and conventionalization examined dyadically

Edmonds (1967) developed the Marital Conventionalization Scale to measure an apparent social desirability bias in marital quality measurement at the individual level. The original conceptualization of marital conventionalization has not been supported by subsequent research and conventionalization appears to represent another aspect of marital quality. This study investigated whether marital satisfaction and conventionalization are best conceptualized at the individual or couple level. A series of analyses suggest that these constructs must be interpreted as dyadic variables rather than simply as individual perceptions of marriage. Husbands and wives tend to report similar levels of marital satisfaction and conventionalization, especially among dissatisfied couples and couples with a high level of satisfaction.     

Factors affecting incidence of infanticide and discrimination of related and unrelated neonates in male Mus musculus

Infanticide by males was examined in two strains (C57B1 and DBA) of the house mouse (Mus musculus). Males that had contact with a female within the previous 2-3 weeks rarely committed infanticide when introduced to the home cage of a female and her 1-day-old neonates, even when the female and neonates were of a different strain and from a different colony. In contrast, 90% of C57B1 males that had no contact with a female for more than 7 weeks killed pups when placed in the female's home cage, and 60% killed when a 1-day-old pup was introduced to the male's home cage. No difference in levels of infanticide occurred when grouped males were compared to isolated males. These results indicate that infanticide is not dependent upon recognition of the pups or the female, but depends on the male's previous exposure to females. Infanticidal behavior is not directly determined by genetic relationship, but the factors that inhibit this behavior reduce the probability that a male will kill his own offspring.     

Interview training with adolescents—A controlled group study incorporating generalization and social validation

Ten school-leavers were allocated either to an interview-training group (E) or a discussion control group (C) for three sessions. For E group a combination of modelling, coaching, roleplay, feedback and discussion was used to train both verbal and non-verbal interview skills. An attempt was made to programme generalization of treatment effect into training and subjective evaluations of interview skill were made by an experienced Personnel Officer to assess the social importance of the skills trained. After C group had completed three sessions to control for the non-specific effects of being in therapy, they received the same training as E group. Subjects were assessed using videotaped roleplayed interviews at the beginning and end of each training phase. After training E group showed significant improvements on both global and specific ratings of interview skill compared to C group; there was evidence of generalization and maintenance of treatment effect and the social importance of the skills trained was substantiated by the subjective evaluation data. C group then went on to replicate the changes in E group.     

Unusual cleaning behavior in the luteal phase.

18 undergraduate women recorded episodes of unusual cleaning, defined as excessive cleaning or cleaning of things not usually cleaned, and the dates of their menstruation over a 2-mo. period. Unusual cleaning was significantly more likely to occur during the luteal phase than at any other time in women not using oral contraceptives. Possible links between changes in progesterone levels and obsessive compulsive disorders are suggested.     

Exploring a Predictive Model

The purposes of this study were (a) to explore the utility of a model for predicting reporting of sexual harassment and (b) to collect data on the incidence of sexual harassment using the Sexual Experiences Questionnaire (SEQ; Fitzgerald et al., 1988). The sample included 214 tenuretrack faculty women and 276 women graduate students. The full model postulated that age, marital status, feminist ideology, and frequency of behavior would be directly related to perceived offensiveness at the behavior. In turn, perceived offensiveness, normative expectations for reporting, and perceived outcomes of reporting would directly influence reporting. As predicted, perceived offensiveness showed a direct influence on reporting, and feminist ideology and frequency of behavior were significant predictors of perceived offensiveness. Incidence data showed that the most frequently experienced situations involved gender harassment and seductive behaviors. Results suggest that educating women about the offensiveness of sexual harassment might increase frequency of reporting. Also, further exploration of the model seems warranted.