Comparing observational software with paper and pencil for time-sampled data: A field test of Interval Manager (INTMAN)

In this article, we describe the Interval Manager (INTMAN) software system for collecting timesampled observational data and present a preliminary application comparing the program with a traditional paper-and-pencil method. INTMAN is a computer-assisted alternative to traditional paper-and-pencil methods for collecting fixed interval time-sampled observational data. The INTMAN data collection software runs on Pocket PC handheld computers and includes a desktop application for Microsoft Windows that is used for data analysis. Standard analysis options include modified frequencies, percent of intervals, conditional probabilities, and kappa agreement matrices and values. INTMAN and a standardized paper-and-pencil method were compared under identical conditions on five dimensions: setup time, duration of data entry, duration of interobserver agreement calculations, accuracy, and cost. Overall, the computer-assisted program was a more efficient and accurate data collection system for time-sampled data than the traditional method.     

The Meta-Contrast Technique: relationships with personality traits and cognitive abilities in healthy women

The relationship between test results from the Meta-Contrast Technique (MCT) and self-reports from Karolinska Scales of Personality (KSP), or the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T), was investigated in 100 healthy women. Additionally, it was investigated whether age and cognitive abilities influenced the reports of picture recognition thresholds in the MCT. The results showed no agreement between the different ways to assess anxiety and defensiveness. However, age consistently predicted later reports of the perceptual recognition thresholds A1 (the car), A2 (the face) and C-phase. The WAIS-R Digit Symbol Score predicted earlier reporting of the recognition thresholds A1 and A2, but did not predict the final criteria for correct recognition (C-phase). The KSP aggression factor only predicted an earlier report of recognition threshold A2. The absence of a simple relationship between the different ways to assess anxiety and defensiveness, and the observed relationships regarding perceptual threshold levels, corroborates previous findings.     

Sex differences in physical,verbal, and indirect aggression: A review of recent research

In the present article, recent research on sex differences in aggressive styles is reviewed. The concept of indirect aggression is particularly presented and discussed. It is argued that it is incorrect, or rather, nonsensical, to claim that males are more aggressive than females. A theory regarding the development of styles of aggressive behavior is presented.     

Realism of confidence in sensory discrimination: The underconfidence phenomenon

This paper documents a very pervasive underconfidence bias in the area of sensory discrimination. In order to account for this phenomenon, a subjective distance theory of confidence in sensory discrimination is proposed. This theory, based on the law of comparative judgment and the assumption of confidence as an increasing function of the perceived distance between stimuli, predicts underconfidence—that is, that people should perform better than they express in their confidence assessments. Due to the fixed sensitivity of the sensory system, this underconfidence bias is practically impossible to avoid. The results of Experiment 1 confirmed the prediction of underconfidence with the help of present-day calibration methods and indkated-a-good quantitative fit of the theory. The results of Experiment 2 showed that prolonged experience of outcome feedback (160 trials) had no effect on underconfidence. It is concluded that the subjective distance theory provides a better explanation of the underconfidence phenomenon than-do previous accounts in terms of subconscious processes.     

Reaction time and movement time measured in a key-press and a key-release condition.

Reaction time (RT) and movement time (MT) are measured in two conditions, a key-press and a key-release condition. The latter makes a greater demand on perceptual feedback than the former. RT increases in the key-release condition and a fraction of MT denoted key-press time (KT) decreases in the key-press condition. It is argued that KT of a response button in the simple reaction-time experiment may serve as a proper measure of the motor component. The foreperiod prior to onset of the reacting stimulus affects RT, KT, and MT, suggesting that preparatory set or expectancy influences both the perceptual and motor components of simple human performance. The results indicate that the relation of RT and MT depends upon methodological conditions.     

Motivation and appraisal in perception of poorly specified speech

Normal-hearing students (n = 72) performed sentence, consonant, and word identification in either A (auditory), V (visual), or AV (audiovisual) modality. The auditory signal had difficult speech-to-noise relations. Talker (human vs. synthetic), topic (no cue vs. cue-words), and emotion (no cue vs. facially displayed vs. cue-words) were varied within groups. After the first block, effects of modality, face, topic, and emotion on initial appraisal and motivation were assessed. After the entire session, effects of modality on longer-term appraisal and motivation were assessed. The results from both assessments showed that V identification was more positively appraised than A identification. Correlations were tentatively interpreted such that evaluation of self-rated performance possibly depends on subjective standard and is reflected on motivation (if below subjective standard, AV group), or on appraisal (if above subjective standard, A group). Suggestions for further research are presented.     

The face you recognize may not be the one you saw: memory conjunction errors in individuals with or without learning disability

Memory conjunction errors, that is, when a combination of two previously presented stimuli is erroneously recognized as previously having been seen, were investigated in a face recognition task with drawings and photographs in 23 individuals with learning disability, and 18 chronologically age-matched controls without learning disability. Compared to the controls, individuals with learning disability committed significantly more conjunction errors, feature errors (one old and one new component), but had lower correct recognition, when the results were adjusted for different guessing levels. A dual-processing approach gained more support than a binding approach. However, neither of the approaches could explain all of the results. The results of the learning disability group were only partly related to non-verbal intelligence.     

Cross-system concordance of personality disorder diagnoses of DSM-IV and diagnostic criteria for research of ICD-10

The aim in this study was to examine the cross-system concordance between the personality disorders (PDs) of DSM-IV and Diagnostic Criteria for Research of ICD-10 Classification of Mental and Behavioral Disorders, 10th rev. (ICD-10) PD diagnoses were made by a structured interview in a clinical psychiatric sample of 138 individuals. Both categorical and dimensional scores for each PD were established. The frequency of patients with a PD diagnosis on either classification who were also positive on the other varied from 26% for the schizoid PDs to 88% for the histrionic PDs. The chance-corrected agreement (Cohen's kappa) ranged from .37 to .94. The dimensional correlation (Pearson's r) between pairs of PD criteria sets was in the range of .79 to .98. In conclusion, when analyzed categorically, some of the PDs of DSM-IV and ICD-10-DCR were only moderately concordant. The reasons appear to be different criteria formulations and arbitrary thresholds for diagnoses. In contrast to categorical diagnoses, dimensional agreement was high, implicating similar trait-concept definitions. The least concordant pair of PD was antisocial (DSM-IV)-dissocial (ICD-10).