Optimal choice of rater teams II: Applications

In a previous paper [Elashoff 1969], we derived optimal rater teams for a particular formulation of the dichotomous rater problem. Here, we describe a computer-based procedure for selecting good rater teams in practice; we apply the procedure to the selection of items for a psychological inventory. This research was supported in part by the author's predoctoral fellowship from the National Institutes of Health and by National Science Foundation Grant GS-341, and National Institutes of Health Grants FR-3 and FR-122.     

Changes in the visual threshold as a function of subception

In a previous paper (Dixon, 1958b) one of the authors reported an experiment which suggested that apparent changes in the threshold for one eye occur as a function of the emotionality of stimulus material presented below threshold to the other eye. The following experiment describes an attempt to investigate further the validity of this conclusion. The results are consistent with those from the previous research.     

MULTIPLE TREATMENT INTERFERENCE IN THE ALTERNATING TREATMENTS DESIGN AS A FUNCTION OF THE INTERCOMPONENT INTERVAL LENGTH

In experimental designs requiring the administration of more than one treatment to the same subject(s), the effect of one treatment may be influenced by the effect of another treatment (Campbell & Stanley, 1963), a phenomenon known as multiple treatment interference. We conducted two studies in which multiple treatment interference in an alternating treatments design was shown to be a function of the length of the intercomponent interval (ICI) separating treatment conditions. In the first study, we evaluated the effects of four different treatments on the mouthing of a severely retarded boy. Under a 1-min ICI no consistent differential responding to treatment was obtained. Differential responding emerged when the ICI was increased from 1 min to 120 min, thus suggesting multiple treatment interference in the lack of differential responding under a 1-min changeover interval. Functional control of the nondifferential and differential responding as a function of the ICI length was replicated in a reversal phase. In the second study, we compared two treatment procedures for the disruptive noncompliant behavior of a moderately retarded boy. Multiple treatment interference (i.e., the lack of differential responding) occurred with the 1-min intercomponent interval. An increase to a 120-min ICI again resulted in differential responding. A replication of multiple treatment interference by a reversal to a short interval phase was not achieved in the second subject. Results of this study support much of the basic literature on discrimination and multiple treatment interference. Major findings of this study are twofold: Multiple treatment interference can depend on the length of the changeover interval between treatments and multiple treatment interference can take the form of a lack of differential responding to various treatments. Implications for future research are discussed.     

Student outcomes after 1 year of front line staff implementation of the PEAK curriculum

Systems‐level interventions built by behavior analysts often rely on others to implement, and this may be especially true in public education settings where behavior analysts are scarce. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the Promoting the Emergence of Advanced Knowledge Direct Training (PEAK‐DT) curriculum when implemented by school teachers and direct care staff. Thirty‐nine children with autism took part in the study (19 PEAK, 15 control), where the experimental group received applied behavior analytic instruction through the PEAK‐DT curriculum, and the quasi‐randomized control group received training as usual. The PEAK‐DT assessment was first administered to the participants at the onset of the study and again following 1 year. Participants who received PEAK training gained more skills on the PEAK‐DT assessment compared to the control group (PEAK: M = 16.0, SD = 17.8; control: M = 6.1, SD = 14.4, F(1,33) = 10.66, p < .05), suggesting that systems level implementation of behavior analytic procedures can be effective in teaching language skills as prescribed in a packaged curriculum designed by behavior analysts.     

Feasibility of telephone-based cognitive behavioral therapy targeting major depression among urban dwelling African-American people with co-occurring HIV

Given the burden of depression among those with HIV, and the impact of HIV on urban minority communities there is an urgent need to assess innovative treatment interventions that not only treat depression but do so in a way that allows for increased access to mental health care. This single site, uncontrolled, pilot study sought to determine the feasibility and depression outcomes of an 11-session telephone-based cognitive behavioral therapy intervention delivered over 14 weeks targeting low-income, urban-dwelling, HIV-infected African-American people with major depression. The diagnosis of major depression was made using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview. The primary outcome was the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) and the secondary outcome was the Quick Inventory of Depression Symptomatology-Self Report (QIDS-SR). Feasibility and satisfaction were also assessed. Assessments occurred at baseline, midpoint and at study conclusion (14 weeks). Fifteen people were screened for the study. Six HIV-infected, low-income, African-American people individuals (five females and one male) were eligible and participated in the study. All patients finished the study. On average, participants completed nine sessions. The sessions lasted for an average of 48 min (SD = 11.5). Compared to mean HAM-D score at baseline (HAM-D = 22.8 (SD = 3.1), the mean HAM-D score was significantly reduced at study conclusion (HAM-D = 9.8 (SD = 7.4); (t (5) = 4.6, p = 0.006); (Cohen d = 1.9)). Compared to the mean QIDS-SR score at baseline (QIDS-SR = 15.5 (SD = 4.2) the mean QIDS score was significantly reduced at study conclusion (QIDS = 7.0 (SD = 5.4);(t (5) = 3.2, p = 0.02); (Cohen d = 1.3)).The mean satisfaction scores across all participants at post-treatment was 5.7 (SD = 0.3) with of a maximum score of 6. Telephone-based CBT can be delivered to low-income, urban-dwelling ethnic minority HIV-infected people resulting in significant reductions in depression symptoms with high satisfaction. The efficacy of this intervention will be assessed in a planned randomized control trial.     

The logic of interpreting evidence of developmental ordering: strong inference and categorical measures

Developmental ordering is a fundamental prediction of developmental theories and a central issue in developmental research. However, logically sound evidence of developmental ordering is difficult to obtain. This article analyzes the logical basis of testing developmental order hypotheses with categorical measures. Depending on whether saltatory (i.e., discrete) or continuous developmental changes are being assessed, the observed relationship between categorical measures yields very different types of information about developmental ordering. When change is continuous, the relationship between the measures does not confirm any one ordering hypothesis, but rather, disconfirms one or more hypotheses. Whether an underlying variable undergoes saltatory or continuous development has long been recognized as an important theoretical issue, but its impact on the interpretation of developmental ordering has not previously been explicated.     

The use of reaction time measures to evaluate nonword reading in primary progressive aphasia

We reported on a subject with nonfluent primary progressive aphasia (PPA), NL, who demonstrated an impaired ability to make rhyme judgments (Dowhaniuk, Dixon, Roy, Black, & Square, in press). Our hypothesis was that these deficits represent a precursor to phonological alexia. However, no definitive evidence supported the existence of a phonological reading impairment as NL made relatively few errors reading nonwords. To further evaluate NL's nonword reading, nonword and real word reaction times were compared. NL's reaction times were significantly longer for only nonwords compared to the slowest control subject. We then assessed the first two stages of processing involved in nonword reading (Coltheart, 1996). NL did not demonstrate deficits with graphemic parsing or phoneme assignment. His continuing problems with auditory rhyme judgments support the presence of a phonological processing deficit not specific to reading. We conclude that reaction time measures allow for the detection of subtle nonword reading deficits.     

The ties that keep us bound: Top-down influences on the persistence of shape-from-motion

The phenomenon of perceptual persistence after the motion stops in shape-from-motion displays (SFM) was used to study the influence of prior knowledge on the maintenance of a percept in awareness. In SFM displays an object composed of discontinuous line segments are embedded in a background of randomly oriented lines. The object only becomes perceptible when the line segments that compose the object and the lines that compose the background move in counterphase. Critically, once the movement of the line segments stops, the percept of the object persists for a short period of time. In the present study, perceptual persistence for digits exceeded that reported for nonsense shapes composed of the same line segments. This result is taken as evidence that the processes involved in the persistence of SFM, and therefore sustained perception, are sensitive to top-down influences.     

Attitudes in the fiber of everyday life: the discourse of racial evaluation and the lived experience of desegregation

This article critically reviews the social-psychological literature on race attitudes, which has assumed that the prejudicial status of any expression is determined by the underlying psychological attitude that motivated it. Variation and inconsistency in individuals' attitudinal expressions and disagreement over how to measure prejudice have bedeviled attitude research. Contemporary theories of racial attitudes (symbolic racism, self-presentation, aversive racism) have responded to this problem by explaining how, when, and why attitudes vary and by proposing research paradigms for isolating prejudiced from nonprejudiced expressions. The authors argue that research in this area may be enhanced by the use of qualitative methods that place fewer constraints on the expression of racial attitudes and variability than quantitative methods do. Using empirical materials from a South African case study, the authors show that a focus on attitudinal discourse and the lived experience of desegregation allow researchers to investigate attitudes as social practices.