The children of Mexican-American migrant workers: A population at risk?

The present study assessed intellectual, academic, and emotional strengths and weaknesses for a group of Mexican-American children of migrant farm workers. In order to test the vulnerability hypothesis, the test profiles of these children were contrasted with those of two groups of black children with similar demographic makeup. The children of one group (Clinical Black) had been referred previously for a psychological consultation while the children of the other (Nonreferred Black) had not. Across dependent measures, between-groups contrasts tended to describe the scores of the Migrant children as similar to those of the Clinical Black children and significantly below those of the Nonreferred Black children. The findings suggested specific intellectual, academic, and emotional vulnerabilities of the Migrant children and demonstrated the need to develop ameliorative programs for these children.The authors wish to thank the staff of C & Y, University of Virginia Hospital, especially Ms. Deborah Johnson and Ms. Suzanne Canale, whose cooperation and assistance made this project possible.     

REM motivation induced by brief REM deprivation: the influence of cognition, gender, and personality.

Prominence of the brain's right-hemisphere information processing and intensity of dream experience are two theoretically related constructs that have been proposed as important psychological aspects of REM sleep. Either view is consistent with the prediction that the effect of REM deprivation will depend in part on the nature of cognitive activity that is initiated at the onset of each REM period and that "substitutes" for the interrupted REM process. In the present study, the effect of REM deprivation was more striking for female subjects given a digits task than for female subjects given a fantasy-reporting task during awakening used to induce REM deprivation for the first 6 hours of the night. High neuroticism appeared to exaggerate the effect. No corresponding pattern was observed for the male subjects. These preliminary finding may be exaggerated by cognitive activity that is functionally incongruent with those processes. The results also raise interesting questions about individual differences.     

Completely nonmetric multidimensional scaling

Most of the distance models underlying multidimensional scaling assume that if a stimulus y is between the stimuli x and z on each dimension, then x and z should be the farthest apart of the three stimuli. An iterative algorithm is described that uses only this betweenness prediction to infer the ordering of a set of stimuli on each of one or two dimensions. Applied to previously published semantic similarity data, this algorithm produced two-dimensional configurations that were similar in appearance to Euclidean configurations but generally involved fewer violations of the betweenness prediction.     

A measure of autonomy

This article reports the development of a measure of indicidual differences in autonomous rule compliance. The autonomy scale (a short, easily administered CPI based test) was developed within the framework of a multidimensional, role-theoretical model of moral development. Five samples were used in the construction of the scale. Two of the samples (total n = 111) were used to derive the autonomy scale. The items for the scale were derived through the sequential use of two common item selection stategies: criterion keying and factor analysis. An initial set of 55 CPI items were derived using an "ideal" autonomy Q-sort profile as a selection criterion, and an Alpha factor solution was used to reduce this initial pool to a final set of 25 items. Several analyses were conducted using three additional samples (total n = 245) to estimate the reliability of the scale and determine its validity. The results of these analyses provide initial evidence for the content, criterion-realted, and construct validity of the scale and indicate that the measure has an adequate reliability.     

The relationship between frontalis muscle activity and self-reports of headache pain

The relationship between levels of frontalis muscle activity and self-reports of pain was evaluated in two studies. In Study I frontalis muscle activity and self-reports of pain collected during biofeedback treatment of muscular contraction headache clients were correlated. In Study II frontalis EMG activity was increased and decreased using biofeedback techniques while concurrent reports of headache pain were recorded. The results of Study I indicated a significant relationship between EMG activity and reported headache pain for only two of the five subjects studied. The biofeedback procedures in Study II were associated with reliable increases and decreases in EMG activity. Concordance between EMG and pain reports occurred only during the EMG increase condition. Overall correlations were significant for one of the 2 subjects. The results suggest that EMG activity may not be sufficient to account for pain reports in all chronic headache clients, and variables other than EMG activity may be influencing reports of pain in some patients.     

An ecological study of the reliability of clinical judgment in executive appraisal

This research was a study of the reliability of clinical judgment findings (multitrait) across three different information sources (psychometric tests, structured interview, and psychometric tests and interview). Subjects (N = 74) were middle and senior executives of Western Canadian technical companies; clinicians (N = 3) were trained and experienced industrial psychologists. The study investigated the similarity of clinical evaluation of personological characteristics (based on an 18-factor multitrait paradigm) across the three different information sources. Subjects were independently rated by a single clinician on 18 criterion factors in each of the three information source categories. Test information source categories required the administration of approximately 12 hrs of standardized psychological assessment questionnaires to each of the 74 subjects. Interview source category involved a 1.5-hr structured interview per subject. Combined condition pooled both test and interview conditions. Generalizability of the findings was maximized by the undertaking of the experiment in a natural situation thus increasing ecological validity. Statistical treatments used were designed to assess the similarity of a clinician's evaluation of a subject based on the different category of information available about that client. Convergence (intrarater reliability) indexes range from a high of .64 to a low of .05. Results indicate a varying degree of convergence of multitrait clinical ratings dependent on clinician and trait being rated. Results are discussed in terms of implications for practitioners involved in executive personnel selection.     

Police evaluation research: an experimental and cost-benefit analysis of a helicopter patrol in a high crime area

The significance of a helicopter patrol procedure directed toward prevention of home burglaries was evaluated from experimental and cost-benefit perspectives. The helicopter patrolled one city zone from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for two 12-day periods. Each 12-day period was separated by a baseline period in which only normal patrol-car levels were maintained. Significantly reduced burglary levels during the intervention periods, compared to baseline periods, documented the experimental significance of the helicopter procedure. The cash costs of implementing the patrol procedure were compared to two estimates of the resulting cash benefits. This latter cost-benefit analysis was supplemented by a discussion of the intangible costs and benefits of the helicopter procedure. Taken together, these analyses documented that the marginal costs of the helicopter intervention were exceeded by all estimates of benefits.