Getting an on-line departmental teaching laboratory on-line

The major problems faced in building a department-wide undergraduate, computer-based teaching laboratory are discussed: selling the concept of the “ultimate dry lab,” assembling the hardware, motivating and rewarding faculty and staff effort, devising a systems approach for curriculum design, and program evaluation.     

PROPERTIES OF THE HOLLEY-GUILFORD 'G INDEX OF AGREEMENT' IN R AND Q FACTOR ANALYSIS

The Holley-Guilford G index for 2×2 contingency tables has spatial properties which suggest that, as with other such indices, problems may arise in factor analysis of G matrices. Two response models—Guttman's Simplex and the Coombs-Kao conjunctive case—are used to provide data for exploring the behaviour of G. In particular, the claim that G equates person means and variances in Q analysis is not substantiated.     

Therapeutic strategy and psychoanalytic technique

The role of therapeutic strategy within psychoanalytic technique is described. An antistrategic bias inherent in certain aspects of the "classical" technique is explored in relation to the historical development of psychoanalysis. Clinical expertise, which includes the making of strategic or tactical choices, is relegated to the "unofficial," due in part to this negative bias impeding the study of technical differences in favor of general agreement about a theory of technique that may differ considerably from actual clinical work. A case is presented that illustrates strategic choices in the management of a severe character resistance in a supervised analysis. Some consequences of a negative bias against therapeutic strategy as it relates to psychoanalytic training is described.     

Israeli adolescents and military service: encounters

Problems of mental health during combat activities are well documented in Israel (Dasberg, 1976). Much less attention has been paid to the problems of the young soldier who enters army life in Israel. This paper delineates some areas of friction and vulnerability between the worlds of the youth and the military. These encounters are systematized into groups, creating the "Binary Model." This model, based on the authors' experience as clinicians in the I.D.F. Central Mental Health Clinic, helps in locating and treating young soldiers in crisis situations.     

Experimental Tests of Normative Group Influence and Representation Effects in Computer‐Mediated Communication

Two experiments addressed the questions of if and how normative social influence operates in anonymous computer‐mediated communication (CMC) and human‐computer interaction (HCI). In Experiment 1, a 2 (public response vs. private response) × 2 (one interactant vs. four interactants) × 3 (textbox vs. stick figure vs. animated character) mixed‐design experiment (N = 72), we investigated how conformity pressure operates in a simulated CMC setting. Each participant was asked to make a decision in hypothetical social dilemmas after being presented with a unanimous opinion by other (ostensible) participants. The experiment examined how the visual representation of interaction partners on the screen moderates this social influence process. Group conformity effects were shown to be more salient when the participant's responses were allegedly seen by others, compared to when the responses were given in private. In addition, participants attributed greater competence, social attractiveness, and trustworthiness to partners represented by anthropomorphic characters than those represented by textboxes or stick figures. Experiment 2 replicated Experiment 1, replacing interaction with a computer(s) rather than (ostensible) people, to create an interaction setting in which no normative pressure was expected to occur. The perception of interaction partner (human vs. computer) moderated the group conformity effect such that people expressed greater public agreement with human partners than with computers. No such difference was found for the private expression of opinion. As expected, the number of computer agents did not affect participants' opinions whether the responses were given in private or in public, while visual representation had a significant impact on both conformity measures and source perception variables.