Consistent occupational preferences and satisfaction,self concept,self acceptance and vocational maturity

This study explored the differences on variables of satisfaction, self-concept, self-acceptance, and vocational maturity between freshmen students who made congruent and incongruent occupational choices. The variables were operationally defined by the College Student Satisfaction Questionnaire, the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale, the Berger scales, and the Vocational Development Inventory. Congruent and incongruent current occupational choice groups were defined operationally using the Self Directed Search. The analysis of variance of the scale scores did not reveal the main effect of congruence to be significant. However, a second analysis using a more rigorous definition of congruence revealed the main effect of congruence to be significant for four satisfaction variables. Findings suggest that subjects in the congruent male group tend to report better maintenance of personal stability and greater satisfaction than subjects in the incongruent female group.     

An efficient procedure for selecting equal probability samples

FORTRAN code that implements an algorithm for selecting equal probability samples is given. The procedure is brief and decides to include or not include a record as it is called. Consequently, storage requirements are minimal. The procedure gives the exact number of values specified, with each record in the population having an equal probability for inclusion in the sample, including the last.     

The joint effect of forward and backward visual masking: Some comments on Uttal’s “Character in the hole” experiment

The joint effect of forward and backward visual masking appears to be more extended in time than that predicted from an algebraic summation of individual forward and backward masking effects. It is suggested that this apparent extension of the temporal range of masking arises from the summation of forward and backward masking effects which in themselves are insufficient to influence observed performance. Such latent masking effects are possible if it is not assumed that when stimulus identification reaches the 100% level the mask has no effect at all on the stimulus.     

Imagery ability and the identification of hands: A chronometric analysis

In a replication of Cooper and Shepard's (1975) study of hand recognition, it was found that individual differences in imagery ability had a significant influence on reaction times to such stimuli (Experiment 1). However, it was found (Experiment 2) that individual difference effects were only seen if prior instructions to use imagery were given to the subjects.     

Derived stimulus relations, semantic priming, and event-related potentials: testing a behavioral theory of semantic networks

Derived equivalence relations, it has been argued, provide a behavioral model of semantic or symbolic meaning in natural language, and thus equivalence relations should possess properties that are typically associated with semantic relations. The present study sought to test this basic postulate using semantic priming. Across three experiments, participants were trained and tested in two 4-member equivalence relations using word-like nonsense words. Participants also were exposed to a single- or two-word lexical decision task, and both direct (Experiment 1) and mediated (Experiments 2 and 3) priming effects for reaction times and event-related potentials were observed within but not across equivalence relations. The findings support the argument that derived equivalence relations provides a useful preliminary model of semantic relations.     

The Motivation Analysis Test: an historical and contemporary evaluation

This is an historical review and contemporary empirical evaluation of the Motivation Analysis Test (MAT), one of the first tests to take a psychometric approach to the assessment of motivation. Reviews were quite positive, but the test is now over 50 years old. Nevertheless, it employs innovations in measurement not widely used in objective measurement then or now: (1) subtests with different formats, (2) disguised items, (3) speeded administration procedures, and (4) ipsative format and scoring procedures. These issues are discussed and a contemporary sample (N = 360) obtained to evaluate the Motivation Analysis Test in light of its innovative characteristics.