Insulin and dextrose effects on fixed-interval behavioral thermoregulation in albino rats

This study is a systematic replication of the effects of insulin doses on operant behavior reinforced (in an earlier study) by fixed-ratio schedules of microwave (MW) reinforcement. In this study, insulin and dextrose doses were administered (ip) prior to fixed-interval 2-min. schedules of MW reinforcement in rats tested in a cold environment. Six Sprague-Dawley rats were conditioned to regulate their thermal environment with 5-sec. exposures of MW radiation (SAR = 0.34 Watts/kg/(mW/cm2) under the FI-2' schedules. Humulin-regular insulin and 50% solutions of dextrose were administered (ip) alternately with saline control sessions for 8-hr. durations. A within-subjects, repeated-measures 4 x 8 x 3 factorial analysis of variance design showed that insulin doses suppressed operant responding for heat, which confirmed the results of the earlier study under a different schedule. In addition, high doses of dextrose had similar suppressing effects on operant responding for heat. The data are interpreted in terms of the discriminative properties of increased thermogenesis produced by the insulin and dextrose doses. The suppressing effects were more pronounced for the first two hours, yet they persisted for approximately six hours of the 8-hr. sessions.     

RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF IN-BASKET PERFORMANCE MEASURES

The in-basket test is a frequently used assessment tool for predicting job performance and, to a lesser extent, as a technique for research and development in various human resource applications. While the in-basket test has obvious attractive features for application in the business setting, there is a great degree of uniqueness in each application and relatively little research focusing on critical issues involved in construction or evaluation. In this paper, the literature focusing on the psychometric properties of in-basket measures of performance are reviewed and evaluated. The compiled evidence provides only modest support of the usefulness of the in-basket test as a measurement tool.     

SCALING PERFORMANCE UTILITY TO ENHANCE SELECTION/CLASSIFICATION DECISIONS

For purposes of selection and classification there are two general reasons for scaling the mean and variance of the utility of performance across jobs. First, if differential utility across jobs does exist, then the payoff from a selection and classification system will be enhanced to the extent that accurate utility values are incorporated in the assignment system. Second, a valid utility metric would permit a more meaningful comparison of the gains achieved by alternative selection and classification procedures. It is argued in this paper that the Army context, and perhaps others, precludes using the dollar metric and estimates of SD_y in dollars. Consequently, Project A conducted a relatively long series of exploratory workshops with Army personnel to (a) define the utility issue, (b) pilot test a wide variety of possible scaling methods, and (c) evaluate the methods that seemed most appropriate. On the basis of exploratory analysis, a combined procedure incorporating both an interval estimation and a ratio estimation method was used to estimate the utility of five different performance levels for each of 276 jobs (MOS) in the enlisted personnel system. The psychometric properties of the resulting scale values are analyzed and discussed.     

MODELING JOB PERFORMANCE IN A POPULATION OF JOBS

The Army Selection and Classification Project has produced a comprehensive examination of job performance in 19 entry-level Army jobs (Military Occupational Specialties) sampled from the existing population of entry-level positions. Multiple methods of job analysis and criterion measurement were utilized in a subsample of nine jobs to generate over 200 performance indicators, which were then used to assess performance in a combined sample of 9,430 job incumbents. An iterative procedure involving a series of content analyses and principal components analyses was used to develop a basic array of up to 32 criterion scores for each job. This basic set of scores formed the starting point of an attempt to model the latent structure of performance in this population of jobs. After alternative models were proposed for the latent structure, the models were submitted to a goodness-of-fit test via LIS-REL VI. After accounting for two components of method variance, a five-factor solution was judged as the best fit. The implications of the results and the modeling procedure for future personnel research are discussed.     

Automaticity in spelling competence

Two studies examined the speed with which good spellers and poor spellers spell easy and difficult words. At both the elementary school (Grades 3 and 4) and undergraduate levels, good spellers spelled words more quickly than poor spellers. This difference appeared even for very easy words that all subjects could spell. Implications for the importance of automaticity in spelling competence are discussed.     

Behavior at 10 and 13 years of age for children with low birth weight

This study was based on data from a longitudinal research program. The cohort consisted of 874 normal children in an entire school grade in a Swedish community. The aim of the study was to investigate the relation between birth weight and behavior at school, for all children and for each sex separately. The results identified specific aspects of behaviour disorder significantly related to low birth weight (LBW) for children at the age of 10 but not at the age of 13. When the sexes were separated, there were no relations between birth weight and deviant behaviour for boys of low birth weight as compared to boys of normal birth weight, while girls of low birth weight showed specific behavioural disorders at age 10 as compared to girls of normal birth weight. For girls reared in families of low parental socioeconomic status, aggressiveness and motor restlessness at age 10 but not at age 13 was also present. Further analyses showed that girls born small-for-gestational age showed lack of school motivation and concentration difficulties both at age 10 and age 13.     

Aspects of family-oriented diagnosis in compulsory legal family expert assessment

In forensic psychology, recommendations that courts request when granting one of the parents the right of child upbringing after a divorce pose a problem for the person who is required to give such expert judgment. The authors describe the difficult situation he faces when having to decide for and, at the same time, against one of the parents. A good knowledge of family psychology and pathopsychology is essential, and for drawing up the expertise and stating his reasons, the expert requires methodical resources. The authors describe four procedures of relational diagnosis and recommend the combined use of these in conjunction with methods that have been employed so far.     

Marital conflict and children's adjustment: a cognitive-contextual framework

Marital problems have been related to numerous indexes of maladjustment in children. Although several parameters of this association have been identified, the process by which exposure to interparental conflict gives rise to adjustment problems in children is largely unexplored. Research on the link between marital conflict and child maladjustment therefore is critically evaluated, and a framework is presented that organizes existing studies and suggests directions for future research on processes that may account for the association. According to the framework, the impact of marital conflict is mediated by children's understanding of the conflict, which is shaped by contextual, cognitive, and developmental factors. The implications of the framework for children's adjustment are discussed.     

Attributions in marriage: review and critique

The prevailing behavioral account of marriage must be expanded to include covert processes. This article therefore examines the attributions or explanations that spouses make for marital events. A review indicates that dissatisfied spouses, compared with satisfied spouses, make attributions for the partner's behavior that cast it in a negative light. Experimental, clinical outcome, and longitudinal data suggest further that attributions may influence marital satisfaction. Rival hypotheses for these findings are examined. Because continued empirical development in this domain depends on conceptual progress, a framework is presented that integrates attributions, behavior, and marital satisfaction. This framework points to several topics that require systematic study, and specific hypotheses are offered for research on these topics. It is concluded that the promising start made toward understanding marital attributions holds considerable potential for enriching behavioral conceptions of marriage.     

Low self-esteem in eating disordered patients in the absence of depression

Both low self-esteem and depression are well recognised as occurring in patients with eating disorders. 43 patients with eating disorders were studied to assess whether this low self-esteem occurred as part of an affective disorder or was independent of this. The patients, 23 with anorexia nervosa and 20 with bulimia nervosa, were assessed for low self-esteem, using the Rosenberg Self-esteem Questionnaire, and for depression, using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. The patients had low self-esteem, despite only a minority (33%) being depressed. This study demonstrates that low self-esteem occurs in patients with eating disorders in the absence of depression.