Personality correlates of the Matching Familiar Figures Test in adults

The Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFFT) measures a dimension of cognitive style known as reflection-impulsivity. Interpretations of the MFFT sometimes supplement its cognitive implications with one of two personality models, impulsivity and/or ego-resilience. Both models have received some research support from studies that used preadolescent subjects. The applicability of these two personality models to adults was evaluated in this research. In three studies on college students, one personality characteristic within the ego-resilience position, independent-oriented achievement, was found to differentiate between impulsive and reflective scorers on the MFFT. No support was found for the impulsivity position. Implications were drawn for the influence of personality on the MFFT.     

Stress and Control-Related Problems at Three Mile Island1

The relationship between stress and control for residents at Three Mile Island (TMI) was examined. TMI was studied because of the technological nature of the accident there. Residents of Frederick, Maryland, more than 80 miles from TMI, were used as a comparison group. Control-related problems were measured using questionnaires and a behavioral task. Stress levels were determined using self-report, behavioral, and biochemical measures. Residents at TMI reported more loss of control and performed more poorly on the behavioral task than did comparison subjects. Subjects at TMI reporting more loss of control had more stress-associated symptoms than did comparison subjects and subjects at TMI not experiencing as many control-related problems.     

Stimulus and response contributions to the children's reaction-time repetition effect

Adults and 8-, 10-, 12-, and 14-year olds completed a serial reaction-time task with two stimuli mapped to each of two responses and 100-, 500-, and 1000-msec response-stimulus intervals (RSIs). Trials were classified as (1) identical (same stimulus and same response on two consecutive trials), (2) response equivalent (different stimulus but same response on two consecutive trials), or (3) different (different stimulus and different response on two consecutive trials). Identical and different trials were compared as a general indication of repetition effects. Response-equivalent minus identical reaction time identified stimulus contributions, and different minus response-equivalent reaction time identified response contributions. Adults received a repetition advantage at all RSIs and children received a repetition advantage at 500- and 1000- but not 100-msec RSIs. Stimulus contributions accounted for the repetition effect for both adults and children. At the 500- and 1000-msec RSIs, both the overall repetition effect and stimulus contribution were positive and decreased in magnitude as age increased. The response contribution was independent of RSI and was negative for 8- and 10-year-olds and near zero or positive for older performers. At the longer RSIs, positive stimulus contributions were sufficient to overcome the negative response contributions present for younger children.     

A rotating buffer system for on-line collection of eye monitor data

Eye movement research often requires the rapid collection and handling of large amounts of data. Such collection would be impossible without the laboratory computer. This paper describes an eye movement data collection system developed for the DEC PDP-11/03 computer. The two central features of the system are a rotating buffer, which saves eye movement data in memory, and direct memory access routines for writing the data to disk. The paper also describes a procedure for testing this or any data collection system, provided the data sampling rate is known. The system presented here is sufficiently general that with slight modifications, it could be used for collecting a wide range of physiological responses, including evoked potentials.     

Individual differences in long-term memory access

In a study of individual differences in long-term memory access, university undergraduates verified (1) whether an item was a member of a category, (2) whether two items belonged to the same category, and (3) whether two words had the same name. Reaction times from these tasks were correlated with verbal ability, as measured by performance on a standardized test of vocabulary and reading comprehension. A relationship was found between verbal ability and reaction time in the verification tasks. These results are contrasted with those of Hogaboam and Pellegrino (1978), who failed to find such a relationship. The results indicated that the various reaction time measures form a single factor that bears a moderate relationship to reading and vocabulary measures.     

A Theory of Natural Change Revisited: Theology,Psychology, and Pastoral Counseling

To whatever school of psychology we lay claim, it makes modest sense as pastors engaging in counseling as an act of faithfulness to the God who created the creature with the capacity to change, that we remain first and foremost the theologians we are called to be. We may lament that legions of priests and priestesses from the pantheon of classical and popular psychology have bowed the knee to an unknown God as though there were no God, and turned Psyche herself into a fragmented oracle. This reflects the pride of human achievement and the limitation of human learning. Nonetheless, it is this believer's persuasion that from cradle to grave, at the crossroads of suffering and thresholds of pain, at the heights of development and depths of regression, the beginning of wisdom is the confession of faith in the living God. Any thoroughgoing psychological theory of natural change encompasses more than psychology. Nature, including human nature, is never bereft of the forming and transforming presence of the Holy. is adjunct in philosophy and theology at     

Treatment of juvenile offenders: Study outcomes since 1980

Past reviews of the treatment of juvenile offenders have concluded that “nothing works.” More recently, some reviewers have concluded that treatment concepts are not necessarily ineffective, but, instead, research methodology and treatment integrity have been inadequate. The present review looks at the treatment of adjudicated juvenile offenders from a computer-data-based search of the literature published from 1980 to 1987. Research outcome and methodology are summarized and critiqued. The conclusions are that treatment outcomes were positive, but that serious methodological weaknesses still exist in the literature. Improvements still need to be made in sample sizes, use of appropriate and multiple measures of recidivism, random assignment and/or use of appropriate control groups, and long-term follow-up assessment.