What mediates the impact of response alternatives on frequency reports of mundane behaviors?

Previous research demonstrated that respondents assume that the range of precoded response alternatives reflects the researcher's knowledge of the distribution of opinions or behaviours in the population. This assumption may influence respondents' reports in two ways: respondents may either use the range of the response alternatives as a frame of reference in estimating their own behavioural frequencies, or they may be reluctant to report frequencies that appear extreme in the context of the scale. Three experiments using reports of mundane behaviours, namely watching TV and drinking beer, were conducted to differentiate between the frame of reference and the self-presentation hypothesis. The results of all studies favour the frame of reference hypothesis, and suggest that the impact of response alternatives is the more pronounced the less episodic information about the behaviour is accessible in memory. Specifically, proxy-reports were found to be more affected by the range of response alternatives than self-reports (Experiments 1 and 2), and respondents with dispositionally low access to self-related information were found to be more affected than respondents with dispositionally high access to self-related information (Experiment 3). Implications for questionnaire construction are discussed.     

Locus of control and achievement in child psychiatric inpatients

The relationship between the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale for Children (Nowicki & Strickland, 1973) and academic achievement was examined in a sample of 66 child psychiatric inpatients. Previous studies had suggested that this measure correlated with achievement in normal samples (Nowicki & Strickland, 1973) but not in populations of male juvenile offenders (Little & Kendall, 1978). The product-moment correlation between the Nowicki-Strickland Scale and the Peabody Individual Achievement Test was significant. However, when the effect of IQ was controlled for in a partial correlation, there was no significant correlation. Discussion focuses on the relationship between these results and other findings in the area of locus of control, intelligence, and achievement.     

Completeness of instruction and strategy transfer

Three experiments assessed the effects on strategy transfer of supplements to keyword method instruction. One supplement consisted of more comprehensive instructions regarding how, when, why, and where to apply the strategy. A second supplement involved additional practice with the strategy during instruction. The combined effects of more elaborate directions and practice were also examined. With grade-school children, the supplements generally increased transfer of the keyword strategy, but transfer was most successful when training included comprehensive information about the strategy. In contrast, with adults high transfer was obtained regardless of keyword instructional variation. The results are related to other developmental data and are particularly germane to claims that with more complete instruction younger children are capable of intellectual feats carried out by older individuals given minimal prompting.     

The hidden grief of abortion

This article explores the possibility of dealing with grief reaction when counseling a woman who has undergone an abortion. It first defines what is meant by a grief reaction in this context, then proposes a model for understanding various degrees of grief reaction, and finally examines some of the factors which determine the severity of a grief reaction in the case of abortion.     

Girls' and Boys' Enrollments in Theoretical Math Courses: A Longitudinal Study

Students (n = 331) extensively tested in their first year of high school were followed up as seniors to see what courses in theoretical mathematics they had elected. Discriminant analyses for girls and boys were performed on the test scores, postdicting those who elected two, three or four years of theoretical math. Scores included math achievement (Test of Academic Progress), vocabulary (Quick Word Test), and the Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitudes Scales. For girls, the standardized weights of the discriminant function were highest for spatial visualization, vocabulary, perceived Usefulness of Mathematics, and Confidence in Learning Mathematics; for boys, Confidence in Learning Mathematics, math achievement, stereotyping Math as a Male Domain and Effectance Motivation in Mathematics were highest in discriminating those who had elected two, three, or four years of theoretical math.     

Prediction of school attendance problems

Predictions of school attendance problems were made for 262 14-yr-old school children on the basis of intelligence, social class and personality (extraversion-introversion) differences. The overall success of prediction was highly significant, though this was achieved largely by one school group alone. The results are discussed in terms of future early identification and therefore prevention of problems.     

Single-Session Brief Counseling in a High School

Counseling designed to be time-limited is a valuable tool for counselors in school settings. Three approaches to brief counseling were investigated in this naturalistic study: problem-focused with task, problem-focused without task, and solution-focused with task. Quantitative and qualitative measures were used to explore aspects of single-session brief counseling. High school students made significant changes from the second-week follow-up to the sixth-week follow-up in alleviating their concerns and increasing the percentage of goal achieved. Students dramatically decreased the intensity of undesired feelings from before the counseling session through the second follow-up. Solution-focused counseling was as effective as the other two approaches, while taking less time.     

Human taste contrast and self-reported measures of anxiety.

Successive negative taste contrast in humans was demonstrated with a common taste stimulus, i.e., cherry-flavored Kool-Aid. A total of 31 male and female college-aged participants rated a 7% sucrose solution which was cherry-flavored as less sweet when it was preceded by a 28% rather than a 7% sucrose solution which was cherry-flavored. Because drugs such as the benzodiazepines affect taste contrast in rats and act as anxiolytics in humans, the present experiment also examined whether several self-reported measures of anxiety were related to taste contrast in humans. Neither scores on Taylor's Manifest Anxiety Survey nor those on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory were related to "sweetness" ratings or contrast effects.