Much Ado About Nothing: Critical Realism Examined

Critical realism is the view that fictional characters arecontingent, actual, abstract individuals, ontologically on a par with such things as plots and rhyme schemes, andquantified over in statements such as A character inHamlet is a prince. A strong contender for thecorrect account of fictional characters, critical realismnevertheless has difficulty satisfying all that we intuitivelyrequire of such an account.     

The irrelevant sound effect under articulatory suppression is a suffix effect even with five-item lists

The relationship between the suffix effect and the effect of irrelevant sound on serial recall of auditorily presented lists is investigated in this study. Contrary to the predictions of the phonological loop model, Hanley and Hayes (2012) reported that the irrelevant sound effect was abolished under articulatory suppression when a spoken suffix was added at the end of the list. The experiment reported in this paper uses a shorter list length (five items per list) than that employed by Hanley and Hayes. This is because it cannot realistically be argued that participants will abandon the use of phonological codes to retain the list items with sequences as short as this. Results replicated those of Hanley and Hayes (2012). There was a significant effect of irrelevant sound under articulatory suppression when the list items were followed by an auditory tone. Crucially, however, the effect of irrelevant sound under articulatory suppression was abolished when the list items were followed by a spoken suffix.     

EFFECTS OF RESPONDING TO A NAME AND GROUP CALL ON PRESCHOOLERS' COMPLIANCE

We assessed teacher—child relations with respect to children's name calls, instructions, and compliance in a preschool classroom. The most frequent consequence to a child's name being called was the provision of instructions. We also observed a higher probability of compliance when children attended to a name call. Next, we evaluated the effects of teaching preschoolers to attend to their names and a group call on their compliance with typical instructions. We used a multiple baseline design across subjects and a control‐group design to evaluate whether gains in compliance were a function of treatment or routine experience in preschool. Results showed that compliance increased as a function of teaching precursors for all children in the experimental group, and the effects on compliance were maintained despite a reduction of the occurrence of precursors. Moreover, it appeared that precursor teaching, not routine preschool experience, was responsible for the changes in compliance.     

An evaluation of computer-based programmed instruction for promoting teachers' greetings of parents by name

Although greeting parents by name facilitates subsequent parent-teacher communication, baseline measures revealed that 4 preschool teachers never or rarely greeted parents by name during morning check-in. To promote frequent and accurate use of parents' names by teachers, the effects of a fully automated computerized assessment and programmed instruction (CAPI) intervention were evaluated in a multiple baseline design. The CAPI intervention involved assessment and training of relations among parents' and children's pictures and names, and produced rapid learning of parent names. The CAPI intervention also resulted in substantial improvements in the classroom use of parents' names for 3 of the 4 teachers; however, a supervisor-mediated feedback package (consisting of instructions, differential reinforcement, and error correction) was necessary to maintain name use for 2 of those teachers. The practical strengths and limitations of computer-based teacher training are discussed.     

Work strain and the post-discharge adjustment of patients following a heart attack

Abstract

The role of work characteristics in determining return to work after an acute coronary event was examined. One hundred and forty nine patients were enrolled. One year post-discharge, 74 had returned to work. Work characteristics (decision latitude, and opportunity for social interaction at work), together with age, depression, and medical prognosis, correctly classified work status in 78% of cases. At 12 months post-discharge, patients who had not returned to work recorded significantly poorer levels of adjustment compared to those who had returned to work. A better quality of life is associated with a lower level of depression pre-hospitalization, ownership of a larger home, being male, and having a more positive work environment. The findings suggest that the pre-illness work environment of the patient is a factor influencing return to work, which needs to be considered in rehabilitation programmes.     

Psychometric Properties and Norms of the Family Needs Scale

We studied 205 low-income families, using the Family Needs Scale (FNS). Factor analysis of the FNS data resulted on a 7-factor solution with high internal consistency within the various subscales. We provide normative scores based on the factor structure of the FNS. A total of 53 parents completed the FNS on two occasions with an average of four weeks between these two ratings. In general, the test-retest reliabilities were low to moderate. A total of 61 pairs of parents independently rated their families with the FNS. Again, agreement between raters was low to moderate. Several factors that may have detracted from better test-retest and interrater reliability were identified. Our data point to the need for more psychometric studies with the FNS.     

Psychometric Properties of the Family Support Scale with Head Start Families

Social support systems can have either a beneficial or adverse effect when a family faces stress. Hence, support perceived by family members is an important construct. We studied the psychometric properties of the Family Support Scale (FSS) with a sample of 244 low-income families of children in a Head Start program, and we conducted an exploratory factor analysis with the scale. We obtained a 5-factor solution for the FSS when assessing the family support of low-income families. The internal consistency and test-retest reliability were moderately high for the 5 proposed subscales. The factor structure obtained may prove more valid for Head Start families than structures from previous studies, although there is still a need for further psychometric study of the FSS.     

A note on the up-and-down method

Objections to the use of the original version of the up-and-down method in psychology, as exaggerating individual differences and yielding discrepant results, overlook statistical, psychometric, and logical factors. When the method is applied incorrectly, the standard error of SD is largeand apparent differences in estimates of SD are not statistically significant. Psychometrically, a singletrial procedure should give less reliable, hence more variable. PSEs than one using multiple trials. But this effect increases standard error of the mean. thus significant mean differences found with the method are not attributable to greater variability in PSEs. Explanations of discrepancies in results from up-and-down and traditional methods in the study of perceptual development fail to account for numerous similarities. Finally, a novel method ought to produce some novelty, if it is to make a contribution to psychology,