A comparison of three predictors of an individual's memory performance: the individual's feeling of knowing versus the normative feeling of knowing versus base-rate item difficulty

Distinctions are drawn between different predictors of an individual's memory performance, with emphasis on the notion of privileged access to idiosyncratic knowledge. Research is reported in which undergraduates attempted to recall the answers to general-information questions, then made feeling-of-knowing judgments on nonrecalled items, and subsequently had a criterion test (relearning, perceptual identification, or one of two versions of recognition). For predicting an individual's criterion performance, the individual's own feeling-of-knowing predictions were intermediate between two kinds of normative predictions: The individual's feeling-of-knowing predictions were more accurate than predictions derived from normative feeling-of-knowing ratings but were less accurate than predictions derived from base-rate item difficulty (normative probabilities of correct recall). Subsidiary analyses showed that factors other than unreliability are responsible for the partial inaccuracy of the individual's feeling of knowing. Ramifications are discussed for possible ways to improve the accuracy of an individual's feeling-of-knowing predictions.     

Cue depreciation: when word fragment completion is undermined by prior exposure to lesser fragments

The ability to think of a previously studied item has often been shown to be impaired when, in one way or another, the extraitem context is changed from study to test. In a series of five experiments, such impairment is induced in a somewhat different way. A fragment (e.g. r-i--rop) of a just-studied word (raindrop) is shown to be less readily completed if it is presented bit by bit (r------p, r----r-p, r-i--r-p, r-i--rop) rather than all at once (Experiments 1, 3, 4, and 5). No such effect is found if the word has not been studied beforehand (Experiments 2, 3, 4, and 5). This pattern of results occurs even when fragments of studied and nonstudied words occur in the same test and under conditions in which subjects cannot tell whether a given fragment is of a studied or nonstudied word (Experiments 4 and 5). In addition, for words that have been studied beforehand, the impairment is shown to increase systematically with the number of steps involved in the presentation of the word fragment (Experiment 3) and also to persist when the time allowed for completion of the final version of the fragment is increased from 4 s to a full minute (Experiment 5).     

Evidence that fixation digits can contribute to visual field asymmetries in lateralized tachistoscopic tasks

Fixation point digits have been widely used in tachistoscopic laterality studies as a simple and convenient means of ensuring unihemispheric projection of stimulus materials to the hemispheres. Previous findings demonstrate that fixation digits do not influence asymmetries in recognition accuracy studies with adult Ss. Present results, comparing four conditions differing in their use of fixation digits, show that in the naming latency paradigm the requirement to remember and report fixation control digits significantly augments RVF superiority. Implications for other latency tasks are discussed.     

Cognitive, motivational, social, and environmental influences on children's food choices

This study tested the applicability of a cognitive-motivational model of health behavior to children's food choices. A sample of 107 elementary schoolchildren provided ratings of 15 foods in terms of possible choice criteria (e.g., how tasty or healthful specific foods were) and social or environmental influences (e.g., whether foods were eaten by friends or were easy to get). Several measures of food consumption were taken, and cognitive-developmental level was assessed. Within-person correlations were calculated between food choices and each choice criterion and social/environmental factor. These "correlational indices" of influences on food choice subsequently were used to identify five distinct subgroups in the sample. Children at the operational level of cognitive development tended to be in one of three groups characterized by health orientation in food choice, taste orientation, or multiple-motive orientation. Dietary quality was poorest in the taste-oriented group. Children at the preoperational level tended to have one of two undifferentiated patterns of values across the correlational indices. Results provide evidence of: the viability of cognitive-motivational models to explain children's food choices, the promise of within-person research methodology, and the potential for enhanced health behavior-change programs by use of population segmentation and tailored interventions.     

Relationship of physicians' nonverbal communication skill to patient satisfaction, appointment noncompliance, and physician workload

A field study of 28 residents in family practice was conducted. Physicians' self-reports of empathy, self-monitoring ability, and affective communication skill as well as their objectively measured nonverbal communication skills were examined as predictors of patient satisfaction, appointment noncompliance, and physician workload (schedule density). Physicians completed the Hogan Empathy Scale, Snyder Self-Monitoring Scale, Affective Communication Test, short form of the Profile of Nonverbal Sensitivity, and a nonverbal encoding task. Patient satisfaction with communication, affective care, and technical care was assessed using a 25-item, visit-specific satisfaction scale. Appointment records were used to determine the number of patients seen by each physician and the compliance of patients with scheduled appointments. Results indicated that the three self-report measures were unrelated to the measures of patient noncompliance and patient satisfaction, but self-reported affective communication ability was significantly correlated with physician workload. Objectively measured physician sensitivity to audio communication predicted patient compliance: More sensitive physicians experienced fewer unrescheduled appointment cancellations. Nonverbal encoding skill was significantly related to patient satisfaction with affective care and to physician workload.     

A University-Sponsored Career Development Center for Nonstudents

As colleges and universities grow increasingly more responsive to the communities in which they reside, programs are required that address the needs of the nonstudent. Georgia State University's program for nonstudents is reviewed after 5 years of operation, and recommendations are made for adapting it to other settings.     

Ten Years of Career Development: A Nationwide Study of High School Students

The authors summarize trends for several indicators of student career development collected in 1973 (when career education and career planning programs began to receive renewed emphasis) and again in 1983. The indicators, obtained for nationally representative samples of junior and senior high school students (N = 18,129 in 1973 and 15,432 in 1983), included career-related concerns, career planning involvement, and reactions to career planning services. Among the major trends was a 32% increase in the proportion of 11th graders who reported receiving “some” or “a lot” of career planning help from their schools. Moreover, the proportion of students involved in typical career exploration activities increased significantly over the 10 years of the study. In general, the 10-year trends indicate that schools are having a greater impact on student career development than they were in 1973.     

Counseling Clients with AIDS

The authors discuss issues and suggestions relative to counseling clients with AIDS. Several psychosocial issues are presented, and a psycho-educational model of treatment to meet the needs of AIDS clients is described.     

Some Arguments Against Analyzing Client Change Graphically

Although single-subject research techniques are relevant and valuable to counselors, analyzing change by graphs alone is open to major sources of error. The author discusses these sources and explores the issues of serial dependency, unreliability of graphs, interjudge disagreement on graphed data, and the use of a more reliable statistical procedure (the time-series statistic) with relevance to the counselor in the field.