Human Figure Drawings as Predictors of Admission to a Psychiatric Hospital

Blind predictions were made as to admission or non-admission as an overall rating and as to degree of pathology in eight areas of personality, based only on human figure drawings. These drawings were obtained from a sample of 105 individuals presenting for psychiatric hospital admission. The judgments were all in the predicted direction and significant for admission-non-admission, impulsivity, and severity of pathology. Cues utilized in the successful judgments were categorized as structural or content and scaled by degree of pathology. Structural cues predominated. We conclude that HFD's are a useful screening device for clinical judgment of degree of psychopathology. The basis of such judgments can be specified in terms of structural deviations rather than from symbolic content.     

Detecting Faking on the Rorschach: Computer Versus Expert Clinical Judgment: A Reply to Cohen

Cohen's contributions (this issue) to the dialogue through his critique of our study (Kahn, Fox, & Rhode, 1988) is confusing and Tends to cloud, rather than clarify the issues, The main problem with his analysis is that it is based on several inaccurate representations of what is stated in our study, resulting in spurious conclusions.     

Anxiety associated with money market dealers — sex and cultural differences

This study examines the predictors of two measures of anxiety, viz. free-floating anxiety and somatic anxiety (Crown & Crisp, 1979), in (a) male and female money market dealers, and (b) money market dealers working in organizations of differing national ownership, in the City of London. Previous research suggests that differences in anxiety may be sex-based, and also that takeovers and mergers, particularly by foreign-based organizations, result in particular anxieties. Following interviews, 225 questionnaires were completed by dealers in the City of London. Analysis of questionnaire data indicates that the sources of anxiety are different for the sexes; and that the sources of anxiety are different for dealers working in U.K.-owned and U.S.-owned financial institutions. The implications of the results and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Rule consequentialism and disasters

Rule consequentialism (RC) is the view that it is right for A to do F in C if and only if A’s doing F in C is in accordance with the set of rules which, if accepted by all, would have consequences which are better than any alternative set of rules (i.e., the ideal code). I defend RC from two related objections. The first objection claims that RC requires obedience to the ideal code even if doing so has disastrous results. Though some rule consequentialists embrace a disaster-clause which permits agents to disregard some of the rules in the ideal code as a necessary means of avoiding disasters, they have not adequately explained how this clause works. I offer such an explanation and show how it fits naturally with the rest of RC. The second disaster objection asserts that even if RC can legitimately invoke a disaster-clause, it lacks principled grounds from distinguishing disasters from non-disasters. In response, I explore Hooker’s suggestion that “disaster” is vague. I contend that every plausible ethical theory must invoke something similar to a disaster clause. So if “disaster” is vague, then every plausible ethical theory faces a difficulty with it. As a result, this vagueness is not a reason to prefer other theories to RC. However, I argue, contra Hooker, that the sense of “disaster” relevant to RC is not vague, and RC does indeed have principled grounds to distinguish disasters from non-disasters.     

Children's Definitions of Family Power and Cohesion Affect Scores on the Family System Test

This study examines assumptions underlying the Family System Test (FAST), a figure placement tool created to measure perceptions of family members' power and cohesion. Past research with this instrument has not addressed whether participants' definitions of the constructs might influence their depiction of family structure. In this investigation participants completed the standard protocol of the FAST and a structured interview to determine their definitions of power and cohesion. Participants were then categorized and placed into groups according to classification of their definitions. Results indicated that participants' definitions significantly affected both perceived family power scores and perceived family cohesion scores.     

Can fixed views of ability boost performance in the context of favorable stereotypes?

Prior research has demonstrated that stereotypes affect negatively stereotyped groups in part through the implied immutability of group members’ abilities. Accordingly, a belief that ability is malleable through effort and hard work has been shown to boost the performance of negatively stereotyped groups. We predicted, however, that among favorably stereotyped groups, a belief that ability is fixed would reinforce the immutability of the group differences upon which stereotype-induced social comparisons are made [Walton, G. M., & Cohen, G. L. (2003). Stereotype lift. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 39, 456–467] and result in enhanced performance. We found experimental support for these predictions in two favorably stereotyped groups in math: Asians (Study 1) and men (Study 2). Perceived difficulty of the math test helped explain the performance effects in Study 2. Implications of schooling emphasizing innate ability for exacerbating achievement gaps are discussed.     

Making Gender Comparisons More Meaningful: A Call for More Attention to Social Context

We challenge researchers to consider sex and gender as a marker for possible social contextual differences. Disappointed by both philosophical and empirical attempts to find coherence in research making gender comparisons, we selectively review studies showing both context-specific similarities between women and men where overall comparisons found differences as well as context-specific differences where general patterns of similarity existed. These examples cut across embedded levels of social context, ranging from those immediately proximal to the individual (interpersonal) to organizational and broad societal structures. They suggest that seemingly identical contexts can have sweepingly different impacts on women and men and that effective social interventions be gender-sensitive.