A comparison of English and Spanish (Nuñez) translation of the MMPI

As more Hispanics seek help in mental health centers, the need arises for a reliable Spanish translation of the MMPI. This present research is a preliminary attempt to study the validity of the Nu?ez translation of the MMPI, the translation most widely used in Latin America. This translation and the English MMPI were administered to a volunteer sample of 18 teenaged bilingual Hispanic women. A split-plot factorial ANOVA with one between-subjects factor(form of test) was used to analyze the K-corrected T scorns from each scale separately. On scales F, K, Hs, Pa,.and Sc, the Spanish means were significantly (p < .05) higher than the English means. Order of administration had no significant effect, and there was no significant interaction effect. These findings demonstrate that the Nu?ez translation cannot be used interchangeably with the English form of the MMPI.     

Visual-motor ability of children with articulation disorders

The present study was done to assess differences between children with diagnosed functional articulation disorders and a control group on the variable of visual-motor ability. A group of 34 elementary children with articulation problems were matched with a control group of 34 for sex, age, and grade. Both groups were administered the Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation and the Minnesota Percepto-Diagnostic Test--Revised. Analysis indicated that children with articulation problems performed significantly lower on visual-motor skills.     

Septal lesions and behavior: effects of presurgical rearing and strain of mouse.

Male mice (C57BL/10J or SJL/J strains) were reared in either enriched social cages or restricted individual cages from 25 days of age until they underwent septal or control surgery 1 mo later. Enrichment differentially altered septal or control behavior as measured by: fluid consumption of water, saccharin, and quinine; performance on a rotorod; and the acquisition of an active avoidance task. The interactions of presurgical history with brain damage were manifested differently in the two strains of mice. The importance of attending more to genetic and presurgical history in attempts to define the effects of brain damage on behavior and to determine the function of brain structures is discussed.     

Coin value and perceived size: a longitudinal study.

Decimalization of the Irish currency presented an opportunity to study the perceived size of coins as they were introduced or withdrawn and to examine the accentuation of differences between coins. Estimates were obtained of the sizes of 4 coins from 478 subjects in 3 groups tested at different times: just after decimalization, 2, or 3 yr. later. A newly introduced coin was significantly underestimated in size at first but came to be significantly overestimated later, while all familiar coins were always significantly overestimated. The amount of overestimation of a coin depended on its value, not its size, leading to an accentuation of the difference between any two coins if the larger coin was also the more valuable but sometimes to the opposite if the smaller coin were of higher value than the larger member of the pair.     

Visual summation and its relation to processing and memory

An experiment is reported in which the interval between two presentations of the same item was systematically varied. The results indicate summation occurs only while the two stimulations are in the neural mode of storage. No interaction of input is observed if one of the items has already been stored when the second arrives. Some implications of the relation of processing to memory are discussed.     

Clothing: Communication, Compliance, and Choice

This study looks at some effects of five different styles of women's clothing: Formal Skirt, Formal Pants, Casual Skirt, Casual Pants, and Jeans. There were no significant differences in compliance to a request to fill out a questionnaire made by experimenters dressed in the five clothing styles, although experimenter age and sex effects were found. Ratings of photographs of the five dress styles indicate that a model was viewed by both male and female subjects as most happy, successful, feminine, interesting, attractive, intelligent, and wanted as a friend when wearing a Formal Skirt outfit and as least so when wearing Jeans. She was also seen as more active when wearing pants as compared with a skirt. Subjects' reasons for choosing what clothing to wear did not indicate that how one will appear to others is the major factor in clothing selection. It appears that clothing does communicate something about the wearer but may influence behavior toward her primarily in the absence of other information about her status.     

The role of planning for intention-behavior consistency

Two studies investigated how planning affects intention-behavior consistency. In Study 1 an experimental group and control group which each consisted of 14 undergraduates were requested in computerized interviews to indicate which activities they intended to perform on the following day. Subjects in the experimental group were also requested in a second phase of the interviews to specify when and where they intended to perform the activities. The results showed that activities for which time and place had been specified were more likely to be performed. In Study 2 another 75 undergraduates volunteered to participate in an experiment in which they were requested to perform an activity (reporting mood effects of reading a prose excerpt) by themselves on one of three following days. One group of subjects only agreed to perform the activity, another group agreed to perform the activity as well as indicated when and where they would do it, and a third group in addition to this indicated which other activities they would perform on the same day. In support of the hypothesis that planning an activity increases the likelihood that it will be performed, the results showed that subjects who indicated other activities more frequently performed the target activity. More efficient time management resulting from planning may account for the findings, although further research is needed to show this conclusively.