Development of abbreviated nine-item forms of the Raven's standard progressive matrices test

The Raven's standard progressive matrices (RSPM) is a 60-item test for measuring abstract reasoning, considered a nonverbal estimate of fluid intelligence, and often included in clinical assessment batteries and research on patients with cognitive deficits. The goal was to develop and apply a predictive model approach to reduce the number of items necessary to yield a score equivalent to that derived from the full scale. The approach is based on a Poisson predictive model. A parsimonious subset of items that accurately predicts the total score was sought, as was a second nonoverlapping alternate form for repeated administrations. A split sample was used for model fitting and validation, with cross-validation to verify results. Using nine RSPM items as predictors, correlations of .9836 and .9782 were achieved for the reduced forms and .9063 and .8978 for the validation data. Thus, a 9-item subset of RSPM predicts the total score for the 60-item scale with good accuracy. A comparison of psychometric properties between 9-item forms, a published 30-item form, and the 60-item set is presented. The two 9-item forms provide a 75% administration time savings compared with the 30-item form, while achieving similar item- and test-level characteristics and equal correlations to 60-item based scores.     

Action production influences 12-month-old infants' attention to others' actions

Recent work implicates a link between action control systems and action understanding. In this study, we investigated the role of the motor system in the development of visual anticipation of others' actions. Twelve-month-olds engaged in behavioral and observation tasks. Containment activity, infants' spontaneous engagement in producing containment actions; and gaze latency, how quickly they shifted gaze to the goal object of another's containment actions, were measured. Findings revealed a positive relationship: infants who received the behavior task first evidenced a strong correlation between their own actions and their subsequent gaze latency of another's actions. Learning over the course of trials was not evident. These findings demonstrate a direct influence of the motor system on online visual attention to others' actions early in development.     

Cosmetic surgery in inpatients with eating disorders: attitudes and experience

Body image disturbance is frequent among individuals undergoing cosmetic surgery and core to the pathology of eating disorders (ED); however, there is little research examining cosmetic surgery in ED. This study examined body image related measures, ED behaviors, and depression as predictors of attitudes toward cosmetic surgery in 129 women with ED. Patients who had undergone surgery (n = 16, 12%) were compared to those who had not. Having a purging diagnosis, linking success to appearance, and making physical appearance comparisons were predictive of more favorable cosmetic surgery attitudes. All of those who had undergone surgery had purging diagnoses and, on average, were older, had higher BMIs, and were more likely to make physical appearance comparisons and know someone who had undergone surgery. In ED, acceptance and pursuit of cosmetic surgery appears to be related to social group influences more than weight and shape disturbance, media influences, or mood.     

APPLICATIONS OF A SEQUENTIAL ALTERNATING TREATMENTS DESIGN

We propose the use of a combined version of the alternating treatments and multiple baseline designs in situations in which a traditional baseline (no treatment) condition either does not provide an adequate contrast condition or is not feasible or practical due to clinical constraints. We refer to this design as a sequential alternating treatments design because two treatments are initially implemented in a random or counterbalanced fashion and are followed by a sequential change in one or both treatments across settings, subjects, or tasks. The effects of the independent variables are assessed first by analyzing the two series of data points representing the different treatments (relative effects) and then by assessing changes in one or both series, as application of the alternative treatment is introduced sequentially. The sequential application of treatment provides an analysis of control in the same manner as the multiple baseline design; the initial alternating treatments phase provides a contrast condition in much the same manner as a baseline condition. Applications of this design to the assessment of peer training and self-injurious behavior are described.     

Reversible operations in the balance scale task

The development of two types of reversible operations was examined in three tasks involving a two-armed balance scale. The first type of reversible operation, compensation between dimensions, was shown to undergo considerable development between eighth grade and college. Even eighth graders were inconsistent in applying compensation to those versions of the balance scale task that required it. Some subjects, primarily preschoolers, used the given information in a way that was the opposite of that required for correct answers, a result that has been reported for other tasks requiring compensation. A second type of reversible operation, termed “correspondence of patterns”, was also tested and it was tentatively concluded that the responses of the modal college student are not fully reversible in this sense. This finding is also similar to results obtained in judgments of time, speed, and distance and in social judgment studies with college students.     

Prejudice against women: Who,when, and why?

Three experiments were undertaken to comment upon the nature of devaluation of women, in general, and, more specifically, to examine the influence of sex and status of the assessor on the differential appraisals of males and females. Utilizing the Goldberg design in separate studies, males and females were asked to read and evaluate a psychological article, half allegedly male authored and half female authored. While there was no tendency for female works to be appraised less favorably on quality (style, content, persuasiveness, professionalism, and profundity), there was a marked tendency for males to denigrate the female author per se (status and competence in the field). This was not apparent in women. In a third study, art students and university students critically appraised a modern painting. No obvious devaluation of women was apparent by university students, but art students tended to less favorably appraise works attributed to females. These latter results suggest that the devaluation may be induced by exploitative advantage rather than covert influences of stereotypes.This paper was presented in a slightly altered form at the British Psychological Society, Social Psychology Division, Annual Conference, Durham, September 1977.The author is currently at School of Comparative Social Science, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Minden, Penang, Malaysia.     

Developing conceptions of racism among young white adults in the context of cultural diversity coursework

Despite substantial research on racial attitudes and racial identity development among young white adults, little is known about the development of their conceptions about racism. The present study assessed a five-step, empirically based contextualist model of the development of conceptions about racism in young white adults, adapted from the research of Perry (1970), Kitchener and Fischer (1990), and others. A total of 55 young white adults participating in cultural diversity coursework responded to questionnaires about the nature and causes of racism and responses were classified according to the five-step model. Results indicated that many first-year white college students think about racism in dualistic terms, comparable to those described by Perry (1970) in some first-year students' epistemological concepts. Over a semester, many students showed transitions to higher steps, conceptually integrating more dimensions of the problem. Such developmental transitions may be highly context-specific. Implications for educational interventions are discussed.     

Reasoning about curvilinear motion: Using principles or analogy

People possess implicit theories about the motion of objects, theories that are often incorrect. When asked to predict the path of an object emerging from a curved tube, for example, people often say that the object will continue to follow a curved path. However, when solving a problem that reminds them of a familiar previous instance, people often reason by analogy to the instance. In this study, we show that a previous instance must be very superficially similar to a problem in order to be used as an analogy; otherwise, people will use their implicit theories as the basis of their reasoning.     

Coping Effectiveness: A Path Analysis of Self-Efficacy,Control, Coping,and Performance in Sport Competitions1

We examined a model of coping effectiveness based on Lazarus and Folkman's (1984) stress and coping theory and Bandura's (1986) social cognitive theory. Female athletes (n= 178) aged 16 to 28 were studied over two rounds of a sport event. Path analysis (LISREL VI) revealed that higher levels of self-efficacy and control appraisals were associated with better performance. As expected, performance and performance satisfaction in Round 1 influenced appraisals and coping during the second performance. In addition, control appraisal was associated with disengagement coping, and both engagement and disengagement coping were related to performance and performance satisfaction. Self-efficacy mediated the performance/control relationship for Round 1, but not the performance satisfaction relationship.     

The Management of Personal and Professional Boundaries in Marriage and Family Therapy Training Programs

The authors review the function of boundaries within teaching and supervisory relationships and identify patterns that create vulnerability to boundary infringement. Boundary violations are conceptualized as a process that that is more likely to develop when teachers and supervisors are isolated and under stress. Suggestions are made for a personal check up that focus on self-care, student care, and care of the professional group.