The factor analytic structure of the Roberts Apperception Test for Children: a comparison of the standardization sample with a sample of chronically ill children

A confirmatory principal component factor analysis of the Roberts Apperception Test for Children was conducted using the standardization sample and a sample of chronically ill children. An interpretation of three- and four-factor solutions identified the three-factor solution as superior to the four-factor solution as measured by chi-square goodness of fit and coefficients of convergence. A cluster analysis using Ward's minimum variance method was calculated to determine the typical profiles that best describe the chronically ill sample. Results of this analysis reveal two distinct profiles that differ primarily on the level of adaptive psychological functioning.     

MMPI characteristics of drug abusers with and without histories of suicide attempts

Compared to drug addicts without histories of suicidal attempt (n = 50), drug addicts who have attempted suicide (n = 50) were characterized by higher levels of maladjustment--particularly in the areas of depression, feelings of alienation, and use of projection and externalization--and were more emotionally withdrawn. Certain Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) codetypes appeared in the attempt group that were not present in the no history group. Drug addicts with suicidal ideation but no history of attempt (n = 13) were not significantly different from the other two groups, and their inclusion as a comparison group masked the real differences between the other two groups. The MMPI results suggest it may be possible to identify a suicide attempt group in substance abusers but not when contrasted with a suicidal ideation group. Treatment implications are considered.     

Auditory basis of maternal attachment in ducklings (Anas platyrhynchos) under simulated naturalistic imprinting conditions

The presence of broodmates during the imprinting process results in peer imprinting that interrupts a visually mediated maternal attachment. We sought to determine the conditions in which group-trained mallard ducklings (Anas platyrhynchos) acquire a maternal attachment. At 48 hr of age, ducklings were allowed to follow a vocal, stuffed mallard hen individually or in groups of 4. Individual ducklings showed a preference for the silent, familiar mallard over an unfamiliar pintail. Ducklings trained in groups did not show a preference. When the mallard maternal call was present during testing, group-trained ducklings overwhelmingly responded to it regardless of whether it came from the familiar mallard or an unfamiliar pintail. Training ducklings in groups, which simulates the natural social context of imprinting, results in peer imprinting. Thus, early in development the young become visually imprinted to each other, and the maternal call mediates attachment to the mother.     

Rater agreements in assigning stanford-binet items to Guilford's structure of intellect operations categories

Nineteen school psychologists assigned the 142 items in the Form L-M of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale to the five Operations categories of Guilford's Structure of Intellect model, following flow charts prepared for this purpose by Meeker (1965). On the average, one rater agreed with another on about half the items, and their modal assignments agreed with Meeker's (1969) assignments on only 81 (57%) of the items. These levels of agreement are judged not to be high enough to justify classifying Stanford-Binet items in accordance with the Structure of Intellect Operations categories.     

Allocation of attention and the locus of adaptation to displaced vision.

Experimental subjects were exposed to prism-induced visual displacement of a target whose location was correctly given by proprioceptive-kinesthetic information. Control subjects were exposed alternately to visual displacement or proprioceptive-kinesthetic location information. During the adaptation period, experimental subjects in the visual attention condition performed a localization task that directed them to attend selectively to the visual modality; experimental subjects in the proprioceptive attention condition attended selectively to the proprioceptive modaltiy; control subjects performed the task on the basis of the available modality. Measures of adaptation and aftereffect were secured separately in each of the two modalities. These confirmed the predictions that the shifts in the experimental conditions would be confirmed to localization tests dependent on the unattended modality and that control subjects would not exhibit adaptation. We proposed that allocation of attention determines situational dominance and that dominance determines the locus of adaptation. The findings were compared to those reported by Canon (1970) and were applied to a reassessment of the "visual capture" phenomenon.     

Needed Changes to Sweeten the Impact of Testing

Ignorance on the part of educators about the effects of testing on pupils has an adverse effect on the uses of tests. Two approaches for correcting the situation are proposed: (a) paying more attention to the pupil performance that produces the test scores, and (b) developing closer integration between the testing process and the total educational process. A contrast is drawn between what Piaget calls a measure of “yield” and what he calls “constructive operations,” and the suggestion is made that the latter type of information is accessible from testing. Lip service paid to the idea that “testing is an integral part of education” is insufficient. Testing must be perceived by the test consumer as a form of continuous feedback that is indispensable to the management of learning here and now.     

Counseling with Elementary School Children: An Experimental Study

An attempt was made to assess results of counseling with fourth-grade students, using sociometric status as the criterion. A sociometric device was administered to four fourth-grade classrooms. Students of low sociometric status were randomly assigned by classrooms to one of three treatment conditions: (1) counseling, (2) teacher guidance, and (3) control. When treatment conditions were compared, the evidence seemed to indicate significant differences in the relative frequency with which subjects increased or decreased in sociometric status, that the differences favored the counseling condition, and that these differences persisted over a period of seven months. The possibility of a temporary teacher influence on the sociometric criterion was indicated.     

Reliability of the Wraparound Observation Form: An Instrument to Measure the Wraparound Process

Within the past decade, the wraparound approach has gained significant popularity in providing services to children with challenging social and family needs. While a plethora of wraparound programs have been developed and studies have been conducted to assess their effectiveness, the need to develop instruments that measure the implementation of wraparound services is clear. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the reliability of a scale that measures wraparound services. In this study, the Wraparound Observation Form (WOF), was developed to evaluate the implementation of the wraparound process in treatment planning meetings. The WOF includes 34 closed-ended items that requires the respondent to note the occurrence or non-occurrence of specific events or behaviors at treatment planning meetings. In the present study, two data collectors attended planning meetings and independently completed the WOF. The inter-rater reliability was 95%. The WOF appears to be a reliable instrument and be appropriate in evaluating wraparound services.