Developing probability limits for longitudinal physiological data

The objective of this study was to determine what amount of change in heart electrophysiology is necessary to yield a significant difference between a baseline condition and an experimental treatment condition. In a single-subject longitudinal design, a modification of at test was applied to baseline data, and the performance levels for both .05 and .01 probability levels were obtained. It was concluded that it is both ethically sound and physiologically safe to permit a subject in this type of experiment to physiologically respond at levels that would reach both the .05 and the .01 levels of significance.     

Type a behavior,field dependence,and hypervigilance: Toward increased Type A specificity

Field dependence and hypervigilance are two modes of sensory information processing that have been related to cardiovascular functioning. Two studies examined the relationship between these variables and Type A behavior. In both studies, Jenkins Activity Survey-defined Type A and B subjects were assessed for field dependence by the Embedded Figures Test (EFT) and then performed a size estimation task—the measure of hypervigilance. Results indicated that field-dependent Type A's were most hypervigilant. The possible contribution that perceptual style might make to the greater predictive specificity of Type A measures was discussed.Portions of this research were presented at the meeting of the American Psychological Association, Toronto, Canada, August 1984. The authors express their appreciation to Lois Haggard for the design of materials for Study II, and to Rick Smith and Kathy Connell for assistance in conducting Study II.     

The use of a resident daily scheduling procedure to increase appropriate social,ward, and scheduling behavior in adult psychiatric residents (patients)

The purpose of the present experiment was to investigate the efficacy of a goal orientation procedure in their treatment of apathy, isolation, and insufficient goal setting skills in chronic psychiatric residents. The experiment was conducted in a behaviorally-oriented deinstitutionalization program in a state psychiatric hospital. Three male and four female chronic psychiatric residents served as research participants. A group repeated measures design with four within-participant phases (ABA‘B’) was utilized. The goal orientation procedure included a written schedule that was completed by each research participant daily. This Daily Living Schedule required that a behavior be specified by the participant for every half-hour period during the day (8:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.). During all four phases of the experiment, research participants were observed on the ward from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. for engagement in scheduled target behaviors. The daily scheduling procedure produced substantial increases in appropriate behavior such as social activities, ward jobs, and participation in treatment programs, whereas decrease were produced in inappropriate behavior such as isolation and day time sleeping.     

Data transfer concepts and strategies in a psychological research environment

In this paper, we discuss the importance and problems of data transfer in psychological research environments. Discussion includes how simple text file transfer systems meet researchers’ needs. The systems’ shortcomings are also analyzed. Strategies for customizing systems, using pre-prepared software packages, point-to-point systems, and “networked” systems, are carefully analyzed.     

On the relationship of hardiness to the Type A behavior pattern: Perception of life events versus coping with life events

A correlational study examined the relationship between perceptions of life events and psychological distress with regard to the moderating effects of personality. Subjects assessed for both hardiness (S. C. Kobasa, 1979, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 1–11) and Type A behavior (M. Friedman & R. Rosenman, 1974, Type A Behavior and Your Heart, New York: Knopf) completed the Langner psychiatric symptom inventory, reported life events for the previous year, and rated each event for its desirability, controllability, and foreseeability. Results indicated that an accumulation of events perceived as undesirable was associated with distress for subjects low in hardiness. In contrast, events perceived as moderately controllable or uncontrollable, regardless of their desirability, were associated with increased distress for Type A's. The likelihood of experiencing any given event was not related to any personality type. However, hardy individuals differed from their low hardy counterparts in that, on average, they were more likely to perceive an event as desirable and controllable. No such perceptual biases were observed between Type A and B subjects. The discussion focuses on the combination of personality variables and the moderating effects of perceiving events versus coping with events in the stress-health relationship.     

Beliefs about and experiences with battering: Women and men in two populations

A questionnaire was developed to measure beliefs about and experiences with violence in the family. Two groups of persons in two different states who had attended conferences on battered women participated in this research. Of the 177 subjects (84% women, 16% men), none of the men had been battered, yet over one-third of the women had been; more older women reported having been adult battering victims than did younger women; the women had less formal education than the men; the women in the lower educational groups were more likely to have been battered and to report fear of becoming victims; and the social service workers reported little fear of battering.     

Social science involvement in voir dire: Preliminary data on the effectiveness of “scientific jury selection”

The validity of what has been termed “scientific” or “systematic” jury selection (SJS) techniques is addressed using data from two actual cases; one criminal and one civil. Data from the highly publicized Joan Little trial indicated that where validity data were available for the survey approach and in-court rating of authoritarianism, these techniques measured what they purported to measure. Validation data were not available for a third technique—in-court rating of nonverbal communication. Data from the civil case indicated that the survey approach could successfully predict verdicts of mock jurors. It is concluded that while these data are suggestive of the validity of two of the techniques used in SJS, more rigorous tests are essential before conclusions can be drawn.     

A general structural equation model with dichotomous,ordered categorical,and continuous latent variable indicators

A structural equation model is proposed with a generalized measurement part, allowing for dichotomous and ordered categorical variables (indicators) in addition to continuous ones. A computationally feasible three-stage estimator is proposed for any combination of observed variable types. This approach provides large-sample chi-square tests of fit and standard errors of estimates for situations not previously covered. Two multiple-indicator modeling examples are given. One is a simultaneous analysis of two groups with a structural equation model underlying skewed Likert variables. The second is a longitudinal model with a structural model for multivariate probit regressions.This research was supported by Grant No. 81-IJ-CX-0015 from the National Institute of Justice, by Grant No. DA 01070 from the U.S. Public Health Service, and by Grant No. SES-8312583 from the National Science Foundation. I thank Julie Honig for drawing the figures. Requests for reprints should be sent to Bengt Muthén, Graduate School of Education, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90024.