On the need for negative local item dependence

While negative local item dependence (LID) has been discussed in numerous articles, its occurrence and effects often go unrecognized. This is due in part to confusion over what unidimensional latent trait is being utilized in evaluating the LID of multidimensional testing data. This article addresses this confusion by using an appropriately chosen latent variable to condition on. It then provides a proof that negative LID must occur when unidimensional ability estimates (such as number right score) are obtained from data which follow a very general class of multidimensional item response theory models. The importance of specifying what unidimensional latent trait is used, and its effect on the sign of the LIDs are shown to have implications in regard to a variety of foundational theoretical arguments, to the simulation of LID data sets, and to the use of testlet scoring for removing LID.This paper is based in part on a chapter in the first author's doctoral dissertation, written at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign under the supervision of William Stout. Part of this research has been presented at the annual meeting of the National Council on Measurement in Education, San Diego, California, April 14–16, 1998.The research of the first author was partially supported by a Harold Gulliksen Psychometric fellowship through Educational Testing Service and by a Research and Productive Scholarship award from the University of South Carolina.     

Are Some Psychotherapies Much More Effective Than Others?

In a previous paper we had reported on the examination of comparisons of 18 metaanalyses of active treatments with each other (Luborsky, Rosenthal, Diguer, et al., 2001). These metaanalyses gave a small and nonsignificant mean level of difference between types of treatments. The smallness of this correlation confirms Rosenzweig's (1936) expectation that because of the large overlap in effective ingredients of different psychotherapies, comparative studies of psychotherapies would show little difference. Such a comparison that includes psychoanalyses seems a long way off, but if outcomes of psychoanalyses are defined similarly to those in the other psychotherapies, the expected differences in outcomes may also be small.     

Spatial learning in the 5-HT1B receptor knockout mouse: selective facilitation/impairment depending on the cognitive demand

Age-related memory decline is associated with a combined dysfunction of the cholinergic and serotonergic systems in the hippocampus and frontal cortex, in particular. The 5-HT1B receptor occupies strategic cellular and subcellular locations in these structures, where it plays a role in the modulation of ACh release. In an attempt to characterize the contribution of this receptor to memory functions, 5-HT1B receptor knockout (KO) mice were submitted to various behavioral paradigms carried out in the same experimental context (water maze), which were aimed at exposing mice to various levels of memory demand. 5-HT1BKO mice exhibited a facilitation in the acquisition of a hippocampal-dependent spatial reference memory task in the Morris water maze. This facilitation was selective of task difficulty, showing thus that the genetic inactivation of the 5-HT1B receptor is associated with facilitation when the complexity of the task is increased, and reveals a protective effect on age-related hippocampal-dependent memory decline. Young-adult and aged KO and wild-type (WT) mice were equally able to learn a delayed spatial matching-to-sample working memory task in a radial-arm water maze with short (0 or 5 min) delays. However, 5-HT1BKO mice, only, exhibited a selective memory impairment at intermediate and long (15, 30, and 60 min) delays. Treatment by scopolamine induced the same pattern of performance in wild type as did the mutation for short (5 min, no impairment) and long (60 min, impairment) delays. Taken together, these studies revealed a beneficial effect of the mutation on the acquisition of a spatial reference memory task, but a deleterious effect on a working memory task for long delays. This 5-HT1BKO mouse story highlights the problem of the potential existence of "global memory enhancers."     

Self-consciousness,role discrepancy,and depressive affect

Abstract

Two studies were conducted to test the hypothesis that depressive affect is a joint function of private self-consciousness and the extent to which an individual's self-concept is discrepant from the requirements of a significant role. In the first study, the role of college student was empirically defined using a technique developed by Burke and Tully (1977). As predicted, the discrepancy between this role definition and subjects' self-ratings was a more significant predictor of depressive affect among high than low private self-conscious individuals. In the second study, measurements were taken at two time periods that were spaced six weeks apart. In a replication of the results of Study 1, the discrepancy between the role definition and subjects' self-ratings was a more significant predictor of depressive affect at Time 1 among high than low self-conscious individuals. In addition, discrepancy at Time 1 was a significant predictor of depression at Time 2 among high but not low self-conscious individuals. On the other hand, depression at Time 1 was unrelated to discrepancy at Time 2 among high self-conscious subjects. On the basis of these results, it is concluded that high private self-consciousness combined with role-identity discrepancy is associated with increased risk of depression. Finally, additional analyses suggested that depression may itself function to increase subsequent self-consciousness.     

Business owner-managers' descriptions of entrepreneurship: A content analysis

Abstract

Entrepreneurship is one of the most researched topics in business research. Findings have been mixed regarding the traits of entrepreneurs, and interest has grown in examining the behavioral aspects and business operations elements necessary for effective entrepreneurship, branching out from the focus on personality traits that has dominated the literature. We explored the area of entrepreneurship with the goal of developing a useful framework for viewing this domain. Content analysis was used to build the framework from business owner-managers' observations of entrepreneurial effectiveness. The construct categories and the overall dimensions and their relationships to entrepreneurship are reported. The result is the beginning of a process to describe an entrepreneurship system. Suggestions for future research and the continuation of entrepreneurship model development are offered.     

DECISION MAKING ABOUT ADVANCE DIRECTIVES BY MARRIED WOMEN

One goal of this exploratory study was to describe the experiences of 41 wives engaged in a congregationally based educational program promoting the discussion of advance directives (ADs). Other goals were to explore whether marital commitment was an antecedent for engaging in AD discussions, as well as whether it was positively associated with wives' increased trust that their husbands would carry out their AD preferences. Eighty percent of the wives discussed ADs with their husbands, and 44% revised/signed an AD. Slightly over half of the couples discussed ADs for 1 hour or less.There was marginal support for the hypothesis that there would be a positive association between wives' discussing ADs with their husbands and marital commitment. There was strong support for the hypothesis that wives' level of commitment would be positively associated with their trust that their husbands would carry out their AD preferences.     

Alive and well: the state of behavioral gerontology in 2011

In this paper, the authors present a brief personal account of the senior author's 30 years of exploration in behavioral gerontology. The main thesis of the paper is that behavioral methods and interventions have found a home both in mainstream gerontology and at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). There are three sections: (a) a personal vignette discussing the problems inherent in using operant terminology in a nonoperant world; (b) a discussion, with examples from NIH sources, of the Institutes' views on behavior change; and (c) using Burgio and Burgio (1986) as a reference point, the authors show evidence of progress and vitality of behavioral gerontology in 2011.     

Test-retest reliability of the Frankfurt Complaint Questionnaire

Long-term reliability of the Frankfurt Complaint Questionnaire (FCQ) was investigated in two follow-up studies of participants with psychosis using a test-retest method. In the first study (N = 56), the duration of the follow-up ranged from 6 months to 2 years; Spearman rho was .62 for the abridged (18 items) Spanish version of the questionnaire. In Study 2 (N = 21), in participants with stable schizophrenia, the follow-up ranged from 8 to 11 years; test-retest Spearman rho was .83 for the French version of the questionnaire. Subjective experiences could constitute, in psychosis-prone people, traits or markers of psychotic vulnerability.     

Validity of the inventory of interpersonal problems for predicting treatment outcome: an investigation with the Pennsylvania Practice Research Network

In this study, we examined the relationship between treatment outcome and variables from the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems Circumplex scales (IIP-C; Horowitz, Alden, Wiggins, & Pincus, 2000) in the Pennsylvania Psychological Association's Practice Research Network (PRN; Borkovec, Echemendia, Ragusea, & Ruiz, 2001). The PRN was a naturalistic observation treatment outcome study conducted with clinicians who were providing outpatient therapy. Assessment instruments, including the Compass Assessment System (Howard, Brill, Lueger, O'Mahoney, & Grissom, 1993; Sperry, Brill, Howard, & Grissom, 1996) and the IIP-C, were used to assess outcome at the 7th session (N=73) and at termination (N=42). Significant associations were identified between seventh-session outcome and most of the IIP variables. Only IIP elevation and amplitude were related to termination outcome. Elevation, amplitude, and hostile submissive problems were related to treatment length. Ad hoc analyses indicated that the IIP elevation fully mediated the relationships between interpersonal problems and seventh-session outcome but not the relationship between amplitude and outcome. We discuss the results in relation to the external validity of the IIP.