A reconsideration of testing for competence rather than for intelligence.

David C. McClelland's 1973 article has deeply influenced both professional and public opinion. In it, he presented five major themes: (a) Grades in school did not predict occupational success, (b) intelligence tests and aptitude tests did not predict occupational success or other important life outcomes, (c) tests and academic performance only predicted job performance because of an underlying relationship with social status, (d) such tests were unfair to minorities, and (e) "competencies" would be better able to predict important behaviors than would more traditional tests. Despite the pervasive influence of these assertions, this review of the literature showed only limited support for these claims.     

Psychometric detection of schizotypy: perceptual aberration and physical anhedonia in relatives of schizophrenics.

We administered scales of Perceptual Aberration (PERAB) and Physical Anhedonia (PHYSAN), traits that may be related to risk for schizophrenia, to 54 schizophrenics, 146 of their first-degree relatives (evaluated for schizophrenia-related disorders), and 178 normal subjects (screened for psychotic disorders in them or their relatives). For both scales, there was a significant effect of group membership. For the PERAB scale, the schizophrenics had higher scores than the normal subjects, who had higher scores than the relatives. For the PHYSAN scale, schizophrenics had higher scores than their relatives, who had higher scores than the normal subjects. Patterns of familial correlations also suggested that physical anhedonia, but not perceptual aberration, may be familial among schizophrenics and their relatives. The PHYSAN scale, but not the PERAB one, may be a useful indicator of liability for schizophrenia among the relatives of affected probands.     

Changes in degree of sclerosis as a function of prophylactic treatment in cancer-prone and CHD-prone probands

One-hundred and ninety-two probands were selected on the basis of personality questionnaires as being cancer-prone (100) or CHD-prone (92). They were then randomly divided into a control and a treatment group, the latter receiving a special kind of behaviour therapy attempting to change the personality patterns in the direction of a healthier, more autonomous personality. Follow-up after 10 and 13 years disclosed significantly lower death rates in probands receiving prophylactic treatment than in controls. Of special interest was the degree of sclerosis in the fundus of the eye, rateds on a 3-point scale. This was significantly higher prior to therapy in the CHD-prone group than in the cancer-prone group. Treatment reduced the degree of sclerosis, particularly in the CHD group; lack of treatment was followed by an increase in sclerosis. Similar but less marked changes were found in the cancer-prone group. Clearly psychological treatment affects significantly bodily functions associated with CHD. Other risk factors considered were systolic and diastolic blood pressure, blood cholesterol and blood sugar, all of which, together with personality, influenced the degree of sclerosis observed.     

Visual palatability of food in patients with eating disorders and dieting women

The effects of 19 meals of different caloric content on slides on palatability and hypothetical duration of consumption were investigated in 7 patients with anorexia nervosa, 17 patients with bulimia nervosa at the beginning and after 8 weeks of hospital treatment. Nine healthy females served as controls. At the beginning of treatment, palatability of low caloric food was significantly higher and hypothetical duration of consumption of high caloric food was significantly longer in patients when compared to controls. After 8 weeks, in the patients palatability of low caloric food had decreased. Dislike for high caloric food remained stable in anorexics.     

A Social Learning Approach to Increasing Blood Donations1

A field experiment conducted in high schools throughout the country was aimed at increasing the number of high school students who donate blood. Special interventions that emphasized psychological or educational approaches to heightening motivation to donate, as well as a combined intervention, were compared with the usual approach taken at blood drives. Psychological interventions in which social learning principles (modeling, perceptions of social norms) played important roles either alone or in combination with an educational (informational) approach were more successful in stimulating blood donations than either an educational approach alone or the approaches traditionally followed by the participating local blood centers. The results demonstrated that use of social learning principles in designing interventions to strengthen socially relevant altruistic behavior could be valuable both practically and theoretically.     

TEACHING SELF-ADMINISTRATION OF SUCTIONING TO CHILDREN WITH TRACHEOSTOMIES

We examined the effectiveness of using dolls to teach young children with tracheostomies to self-administer a suctioning procedure. Four children between the ages of 5 and 8 years, who had had tracheostomies for 6 months or longer, participated. After skills were taught via doll-centered simulations, in vivo skills were evaluated. All of the training and probe sessions were conducted in the participants' classrooms or homes. Results of a multiple baseline design across subjects and skill components indicated that the performance of all children improved as a function of training. Skill maintenance was demonstrated by all participants during follow-up assessments conducted 2 to 6 weeks posttraining. Results of a questionnaire completed by caregivers and interviews with the children revealed high levels of satisfaction with the training procedures and outcomes.     

Social influence processes affecting adolescent substance use

Social influence is central to models of adolescent substance use. Nonetheless, researchers fail to delineate the various forms of social influence. A framework that distinguishes between active (explicit drug offers) and passive (social modeling and overestimation of friends' use) social pressure was tested. The effect of these processes on alcohol and cigarette use was examined with 526 seventh graders taking part in an alcohol prevention program. Hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated that pretest measures of alcohol use, offers, modeling, and overestimation each accounted for unique variance in posttest alcohol use. Similar results were obtained for cigarette smoking. The general model was not significantly different for boys and girls, or for prior users and prior nonusers, supporting the generalizability of the framework. Implications for intervention programs are discussed.     

COMMUNITY INTERVENTION TO DETER ILLEGAL PARKING IN SPACES RESERVED FOR THE PHYSICALLY DISABLED

Illegal use of reserved parking spaces represents a major obstacle to the independence and mobility of people with physical disabilities. Using an ABACACA reversal design, the daily rates of illegal parking in four reserved spaces were examined across three types of sign displays: (a) a vertical sign alone or in combination with (b) a message sign that announced the possibility of public surveillance or (c) a message dispenser device that announced community involvement and dispensed politely worded reminder notes. The average rate of illegal parking dropped from 51.3% during the initial vertical sign phase to 37.3% under the message sign condition, followed by an increase to 50.4% when the message was removed. Illegal parking decreased to 24.5% when the message dispensers were first used (followed by an increase to 57.0% when they were removed) and to 23.7% when the message dispenser condition was repeated. Illegal parking in the final vertical sign condition failed to return to previous levels (M = 37.3%).     

Multiple role juggling and daily mood states in working mothers: an experience sampling study

The effects of multiple role juggling (i.e., simultaneously attending to demands of different roles) on daily mood states of employed mothers were examined. Ss completed activity and mood questionnaires 8 times a day for 8 days. Multiple role juggling had immediate negative effects on task enjoyment and mood. However, contrast effects and habituation to role juggling occurred when mood and satisfaction were examined over time. Furthermore, mood states tended to spill over from one episode to the next within a day, but contrast effects were found across days. These results reflect the complex nature of psychological adjustment to multiple role occupancy.