An MS-DOS-compatible data logger for recording subjects’ self-ratings

Some research designs require subjects to make ratings of their own internal cognitive or affective states or the behavior of other subjects. An ideal device for this purpose should allow for electronic data storage and be easy to use for research subjects. The communication box (Markman & Poltrock, 1982) has been popular for this purpose but consists of dated technology. Other data-logging devices are too complicated for subjects’ use. This paper describes an electronic data logger which uses readily available hardware. A dual-tone multiple-frequency (DTMF) telephone keypad encoder is used to generate unique tones that are stored on the audio track of a videotape or on an audio tape. A DTMF receiver decoder IC is used to decode the audio signals. The decoded signals can be read on a light-emitting diode display or entered directly into a personal computer file via an RS-232 serial interface.     

‘So you did what you wanted then’: Discourse analysis,personal agency,and psychotherapy

This paper explores issues concerning personal agency in discursive psychology and discourse analysis, with a particular emphasis on agency in terms of motivational accounts of the person. Issues are discussed in relation to the efficacy, acceptability, and accessibility of discourse analytic research for the practising psychotherapist. We suggest that such an approach may raise problems in four areas. First, we argue that without explicit theorization of the subject as language user, discourse analysis may be vulnerable to the charge of determinism. Second, theorization of the subject as language user may be required to account successfully for individual consistency and continuity of identity. Third, although claiming to critique commonsense notions of subjectivity, implicit dualist assumptions facilitate a reading of discursive psychology that is compatible with a motivational model of the person. Finally, we argue that discursive psychology itself implies a particular model of the strategically motivated language user. We conclude that, although these issues require clarification, discursive psychology and discourse analysis have much to offer psychotherapy research.     

A model for teaching research ethics

A model is described for implementing a program in research ethics education in the face of federal and institutional mandates and current resource, disciplinary, and infrastructure limitations. Also discussed are the historical background, content and evaluation process of the workshop at the heart of the program, which reaches a diverse group of over 250 students per year—from first-year graduate students in basic research labs to clinical fellows. The workshop addresses central issues in both everyday laboratory ethics and in larger societal questions. Goals include improving overall awareness of ethics guidelines and philosophy and enhancing skills in identifying and then analyzing the ethical components of situations. Pedagogies used and their effectiveness and that of the overall workshop and extended program are addressed. Programs like these have initiated a shift in the culture of basic research, which is a critical need given the current atmosphere.     

Alexia without agraphia: An experimental case study

A 51-year-old right-handed male experienced reading difficulty and an upper right visual field cut after a head injury. The patient's letter naming was impaired and word naming was painstakingly slow. Words were decoded in a letter by letter sequence and performance varied directly with word length. Apart from his reading difficulties the patient was linguistically competent. He was sensitive to manipulations of word frequency and orthographic regularity. He wrote spontaneously and could identify the written counterpart to a spoken word with relative ease. Computerized axial tomography revealed damage to the posterior temporal-parietal region of the left hemisphere.     

Modeling,tuition, and sanction effects on self-control at different ages

The effects of age, modeling, tuition, and sanctions on self-control of motor behavior were examined. Children 6, 7, 9, and 11 years of age individually participated. A male model either: (a) instructed and performed “Simon Says” in the traditional manner, (b) introduced the sanction “Don't” on the inhibition trials, (c) performed an action that differed from the instruction, or (d) gave instructions only. Activation latency and inhibition error were influenced most greatly by the actions of the model and the introduction of a negative sanction, whereas tuition was less effective. Age differences were present for inhibition errors as well as activation latency and error. The discussion focused on the differential effects of modeling and tuition on deviant responding.     

The effect of affirmative action on attributions about minority group members

In the first study subjects were given information about an applicant to graduate school and asked to rate his qualifications. The information experimentally varied (a) whether the school had an affirmative action policy, (b) the ethnicity of the applicant, and (c) whether the applicant was accepted or rejected. Based on Kelley's discussion of the discounting and augmentation principles, it was predicted that the minority applicant would be rated as less qualified when the university was committed to an affirmative action program. The reverse pattern was predicted for the non-minority applicant. The results supported the first prediction but not the second. Experiment 2 was designed to eliminate alternative interpretations of the data and the same results were found. Possible interpretations for the failure of affirmative action in affecting the ratings of nonminority applicants are discussed.     

Psychological effects of a suicide prevention unit on adolescents' levels of stress,anxiety and hopelessness: Implications for counselling psychologists

This study examined the effects of a senior high school suicide prevention unit on students' levels of stress, anxiety, and hopelessness. An experimental group that received instruction in suicide prevention, and that demonstrated special needs, i.e. low social support, high stress, high anxiety, and/or high degrees of hopelessness, was compared with an experimental group that did not demonstrate special needs, and with two control groups that received no instruction, one with, and one without, special needs. Results indicated that both the experimental group with special needs and the experimental group without special needs showed significant increases in factual knowledge; the experimental group with special needs showed significant change on psychological variables, while the control group with special needs did not. No significant differential changes were noted between the experimental group with special needs and the control group with special needs. Implications for counselling psychologists are considered.     

Auditory pattern perception: The effect of tone location on the discrimination of tonal sequences

This study examined the effect of tonal location on the discrimination of sequences differing in the order of the tones and on their perceived grouping. The frequency range between the sequential tones was held constant. When all tones came from the same location, the sequence was rated as integrated, but when the higher frequency tones came from a different location than the lower frequency tones, the sequence was rated as segregated. Listeners discriminated the sequences in a 3EFC task. Discrimination performance was impaired when the sequence was split between two locations and tonal order was changed in only one location, even though the order of tones in different locations was changed. This result suggests that listeners have difficulty relating tones across locations or in different perceptual groups. Performance in this experiment is generally better than that observed by Barsz (1988), and it is suggested that the level of stimulus uncertainty explains this difference.     

Teachers' perceptions of the frequency and seriousness of violations of ethical standards

Despite nationwide efforts to professionalize public-school teaching, little attention has been given to the matter of standards of professional conduct for teachers. The authors examined teachers' perceptions of the frequency and seriousness of different categories of teacher misconduct. They administered a 34-item questionnaire to 235 school professionals in northwestern South Carolina. For each item, respondents rated the extent to which they agreed or disagreed that the behavior occurred frequently and represented a serious violation of professional ethics. Factor analysis of the ratings of seriousness yielded 3 domains of ethical concerns: (a) student-teacher boundary violations, (b) carelessness in behavior, and (c) subjectivity in grading and instruction. Teachers rated boundary violations as the most serious but least common violations and carelessness in behavior as the most frequent but least serious violation. Problems of subjectivity in grading were rated as moderately frequent and moderately serious. The authors found no differences between male and female teachers or between elementary and secondary teachers in their ratings of the seriousness or frequency of any of the 3 groups of ethical concerns. The authors discuss implications for development of a national code of teacher conduct.