The False Consensus Effect in Unfavorable (Suicide) and Favorable (Honor) Events1

According to the false consensus effect (FCE), people view their own judgments, choices, and characteristics as common; judgments, choices, and characteristics which are not their own are viewed as uncommon and deviant. To test the FCE both for unfavorable and favorable characteristics and for positive and negative events, 135 undergraduate subjects were divided into four groups based on median splits of their self-attributions of intelligence and psychological disturbance. They then read a history about a 19-year old youth who either committed suicide or received an honor and they rated the youth and both parents on psychological disturbance and intelligence. Subjects who viewed themselves as relatively intelligent viewed others as relatively intelligent, whereas subjects who viewed themselves as relatively psychologically disturbed viewed others as relatively disturbed. These results partially support the FCE as opposed to attributive projection. It may be helpful to explain these results to bereaved families so that they can better understand and anticipate the reactions of others.     

A set of 254 Snodgrass-Vanderwart pictures standardized for Spanish: Norms for name agreement,image agreement,familiarity, and visual complexity

The Snodgrass and Vanderwart (1980) picture set was standardized for a Spanish sample (N = 261). The present article shows the main results, but more explicitly, it shows the differences between English and Spanish data. This evidence justifies the statement that normative data of cognitive stimuli cannot be taken into another language directly, because object names that are very common in one language may not be so in another, or objects that have a specific name in one language may have a generic name in another, and so on. Finally, because of the potential usefulness of the data for bilingualism studies, the Spanish data are presented jointly with the English data.     

A problem with the EQS V3.0 simulator

The structural equations program EQS V3.0 has proved to be an important tool for research in the field of Monte Carlo simulations. However, when used to replicate a simulation experiment, the simulator has been found to contain a serious flaw which makes it unusable for particularly complex models. This functional anomaly stems from the fact that, from a given replication onward, none of the remaining replications offer adequate and convergent solutions.     

The logic of delusion

Piagetian concepts explaining normal mental development are applied to delusion, a major psychiatric disorder of thought which can result in bizarre conduct. Piaget constructed problems in which the errors of six to eight year old children fit the standard textbook definition of delusion surprisingly well. When we examined cases of delusional individuals, we concluded that their apparent irrational and bizarre conduct could be explained as problem-solving errors like those of Piaget's young children. In contradistinction to existing theories, we define delusion as a regression under stress to the logic of children of a particular age range, and that what appears bizarre and irrational is the result of an adult attempting to filter experience through a child's logic.Under a different title this paper was presented at the Biennial Congress of the World Federation for Mental Health in Mexico City in August, 1991.     

The behavior analyst consulting model: Identifying and validating naturally effective instructional models

Increasingly, behavior analysts are attempting to develop interventions based on precision assessments of the situational factors surrounding a behavior of interest, those requiring reduction (as in functional analysis) or those requiring acceleration (as in ecobehavioral analysis). Using ecobehavioral assessments of naturalistic classroom instruction, we sought to identify a set of potentially effective procedures and to test their function. Using as selection criteria students' gains in academic achievement, and their observed academic behavior, we identified potentially effective versus ineffective instructional procedures used to teach language arts skills to students with learning disabilities (Study I). Subsequently, we sought to test and replicate the functionality of the identified procedures within a series of single-subject experiments. Results from a resource room application (Study II) indicated that the targeted effective procedure surpassed the targeted ineffective procedure in terms of both content mastery and the quality of students' written language samples. Results from a regular classroom application (Study III) indicated that the targeted effective procedure was also more effective than the conventional instructional procedure employed naturally by the regular education teacher. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Components of quantitative reasoning: General and group ability factors

In this study we tested the hypothesis that quantitative reasoning performance is a function of specific processing components as well as general cognitive abilities such as working memory capacity, reasoning, and verbal comprehension. Subjects were administered tests of these three ability factors as well as tests designed to measure three components thought to underlie algebra word problem solving: problem-type identification, decomposition and sequencing, and problem translation. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated good fits for our models of the general ability factors and the word-problem-solving components. Further analyses indicated that the word-problem-solving components added substantially to the more general cognitive abilities in explaining variance in arithmetic reasoning and math knowledge test scores obtained from the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery. We conclude that although general cognitive ability and/or working memory are certainly important ingredients of quantitative reasoning, specific processing components suggested by cognitive theory are at least as important determinants of performance.     

Development and validation of an inventory to measure satisfaction of users of family medicine clinics in Mexico.

The object of this study was to construct and validate an inventory to measure the satisfaction of users of Family Medicine Clinics. The satisfaction construct was theoretically developed, then the semantic network technique was applied to write 45 items with a dichotomized response. The scale was validated for 4,134 users. Cronbach coefficient alpha was .78. In a factor analysis, 8 factors were obtained, which explained 43.3% of the variance. The content of the first factor referred to the Family Physician dimension, Factors 3, 4, and 5 to the Family Medicine Clinic, and Factors 2, 6, 7, and 8 to Other Services of the Clinic. The questionnaire is being integrated to the Quality of Care Evaluation System to assess satisfaction of users. It may be useful in other venues to assess cultural and organizational aspects of satisfaction with health care.     

A high-level language program to obtain the bootstrap corrected ADF test statistic

A high-level language program to obtain the bootstrap-corrected asymptotic distribution-free (ADF) test statistic proposed by Yung and Bentler (1994) is reviewed. The program uses the Gauss-Newton algorithm, first to obtain the ADF test statistic from the raw data, and second, to achieve the corrected test statistic from 500 independent bootstrap samples. A generator of nonnormal random samples was also implemented, according to the algorithms of Fleishman (1978) and Vale and Maurelli (1983), which permits the realization of Monte Carlo simulations. Furthermore, the open nature of the program facilitates the inclusion of new procedures as well as the possibility of increased control of the procedures, variables, and equations.     

Generalized Break Equivalence II: Contextual Control Over A Generalized Pattern of Stimulus Relations

The Psychological Record - In an earlier work (Gomez, Barnes-Holmes, & Luciano, 2001), it was found that although generalized break equivalence was achieved for 3 subjects (i.e., responding...     

A Model of Ethical Decision Making From a Multicultural Perspective

Because shifts in the world's ethnic and racial demographics mean that the majority of the world's population is non‐White (M. D'Andrea & P. Arredondo, 1997), it is imperative that counselors develop a means for working ethically with a diverse clientele. In this article, the authors argue that the current Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice of the American Counseling Association (1995) does not adequately address the demands of working with non‐White, non‐Western clients. Using a universalist philosophy, an ethic of care (C. Gilligan, 1982; R. M. Kidder, 1995; J. G. Ponterotto & J. M. Casas, 1991), the context of power (M. Hill, K. Glaser, & J. Harden, 1995), and the process of acculturation, the authors offer a model for ethical decision making from a multicultural perspective.