A computer-controlled administration of the matching familiar figures test

The Kagan Matching Familiar Figures Test of Impulsivity/Reflectivity was modified to allow computer control of stimulus presentation and data acquisition via IBM-compatible systems. The comparability of computer administration and traditional hand administration was examined in a split-half study with a sample of 58 students (ages, 18–39 years). Analyses of variance revealed no significant differences between the administration techniques for latency and a small but significant difference for accuracy. Correlations between the two administration techniques were .61 for latency and .40 for error scores. Internal consistency coefficients for computer administration exceeded those for hand administration on both latency and accuracy. These data compare favorably with results reported by others and suggest that computer administration offers a viable alternative to traditional hand administration of the MFFT in research applications.     

The relationship between religiosity and health-risk factors in geriatrics

Background: This study investigates the relationship between religion and alcohol use, sedentary life style, and tobacco use. A survey of 990 noninstitutionalized persons 62 years of age and older was completed. Five life-style questions, three religious questions, and patient demographic information were studied. Results and conclusions were clear. Persons who are married, above the poverty level, non-white, and male are more likely to use alcohol. Subjects with sedentary life styles are more likely to be older, single, non-white, and female. Smokers are more likely to be below the poverty line and non-white. Finally, the relationship between religion and health risks seems minimal, possibly because of a selection bias.     

RELATIVISM AND ANTI-REALISM

I characterise a relativist account of truth as one according to which the truth value of a sentence can vary without its meaning changing. Relativism is to be contrasted with absolutism, which states that the truth values of sentences cannot change, so long as their meanings remain constant. I argue that absolutism follows from the realist account of meaning and truth conditions. According to realism, the meaning of a sentence consists in objective truth conditions and sentences are true if and only if certain objective conditions obtain. Relativism is a consequence of anti-realism. Anti-realists believe that the meanings of sentences consist in recognisable conditions and that sentences are true if and only if certain recognisable conditions obtain. I contrast the sorts of relativism which results from partial, empiricism-based anti-realisms, and global anti-realism, which is linked to a coherence theory of knowledge. I offer a few remarks on how global anti-realists can restrict the scope of their relativism.     

Interpersonal determinants of attitude change following counterattitudinal behavior

In a test of predictions derived from an identity-analytic model of self-presentational behavior, individuals who privately endorsed positive or negative attitudes about sexual behavior were asked to deliver a prosexuality speech while alone, while watched by observers, or while being watched by observers who questioned the morality of the subject’s actions. Subsequent attitude measures indicated that the subjects who initially adopted negative attitudes justified their behavior by expressing more favorable attitudes about sexuality, but only when no audience witnessed their speech. When an audience was present, these individuals emphasized their lack of choice. In contrast, subjects who privately endorsed positive attitudes publicly expressed less favorable attitudes when their morality was challenged by the observers. These findings suggest that attitude change following counterattitudinal behavior (a) stems from private image-maintenance needs as well as public self-presentational concerns, and (b) is sometimes designed to secure an image of morality as well as an image of consistency.     

Efficacy of delayed auditory feedback for treating cluttering: Two case studies

Two clutterers were treated with similar preplanned delayed auditory feedback (DAF) procedures, using probe samples in which the DAF was not present to measure treatment efficacy. Whereas both clients met established fluency criteria during treatment, both clutterers had difficulty transferring gains to probe sessions—one more than the other. Differences in results of DAF treatment are discussed from the perspectives of differences in cluttering severity, coexisting disorders, and supplementary clinical techniques.     

A tabular summary of cluttering subjects in the special edition

Tables summarizing results of questionnaires, completed by authors, for each cluttering subject are presented. The first table summarizes symptoms and abnomalities manifested by the 29 clutterers. The second table summarizes the targets, procedures, and results of therapy for 15 of the clutterers for whom knowledge of therapy was available.     

Supervisory styles index: Examining supervisees' perceptions of Supervisory Style

The goal of this research was to develop an instrument, the Supervisory Styles Index (SSI), that would examine supervisory style. Style has been described as the way in which the personality and convictions of the supervisor are demonstrated in the supervisory relationship (Leighton, 1991). This study focuses on the interplay between supervisory style and the influence of sex and gender. The findings of this study reveal that female supervisees discern their supervisors to be more self-disclosing than do male supervisees. Implications of the findings and utilization of the index are discussed.Portions of this paper were presented at the 52nd annual conference of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, Chicago, Illinois, November, 1994.     

Family therapy and outcome: Relationships between therapist and family styles

This study examined therapeutic outcome for a group of 175 clinic families divided into levels of family competence and style, and, later, into seven clinical groupings. The division into these groups was based on the level of rated Competence and Style determined by using the Beavers Systems Model. Therapists also rated their level of Openness/Sharing Strategy, Power Differential, and Partnership with the family at the third session. Results indicate that more competent families who fared well in therapy had therapists who formed a partnership, disclosed strategy, and employed a minimal power differential with the family. The most disturbed families, and those with a Centrifugal style, did better with therapists employing a high power differential and lower levels of openness and partnership. The study also presented the distribution of individual diagnoses by family groups. Implications for family therapists, including the value of family assessment, are provided.