Readability of prescription drug labels by older and younger adults

This experiment investigated the readability of medication labels using various combinations of fonts, sizes, and weights of print. Older and younger adult reading speeds and error rates for different print types were compared for both bottle and flat labels. Findings of the study indicated significant differences in reading speed, error rates, and subjective evaluations for print characteristics investigated. Furthermore, the effects of these print characteristics varied for different age groups. Implications of these findings for the design of medication labels for older adults are discussed.     

Familiar/interactive raters are not always best: The influence of sampling schedules and class of behavior

Retrospective rating scales are widely used for formal assessment of typical performance. Raters who are the most familiar/interactive with ratees are routinely recommended to maximize the quality of ratings. This caveat to use the most familiar/interactive raters fails to distinguish sampling parameters of the observations on which ratings are based that may be important to assessing different classes of behavior. We hypothesized that systematic observational schedules would be of greater importance to ratings of public events than familiarity/interaction, per se, while the caveat would hold for ratings of private events. We used the Psychotic Inpatient Profile (PIP), which provides separate factor scores for ratings of public and private events, to examine these hypotheses in a quasi-experimental study with adult inpatients of mental hospitals. A large multiinstitutional data set provided retrospective PIP ratings by two types of raters. The most familiar/interactive local clinical staff for each client completed the PIP after observing on an ad lib schedule, along with ongoing job duties. Unfamiliar, noninteractive raters completed the PIP for each client after observing on a systematic time-sampling schedule for purposes of coding an entirely different instrument. Data were selected so that each of 189 clients received PIP scores from four raters, reflecting functioning during the same time period based on day-shift observations by one rater of each type and evening-shift observations by one rater of each type. Analyses of variance, consistency/discriminability of ratings, and prediction of social-action outcomes all supported the hypotheses. We discuss alternative strategies that are better for assessing typical performance in most circumstances. We also provide recommendations for improving the adequacy of observations for those circumstances in which the standardized retrospective rating scale could be a cost-effective assessment strategy.This study was the basis of a master's thesis at the University of Houston by the senior author under the direction of the junior authors. Richard M. Rozelle served on the examination committee. This study was partially supported by grants to Gordon L. Paul from the National Institute of Mental Health, Public Health Service (MH-15353; MH-25464); the Illinois Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities; the Joyce Foundation; the MacArthur Foundation; the Owsley Foundation; the Cullen Foundation; and the Center for Public Policy of the University of Houston.     

Sex differences in response to the odor of alpha androstenone

Additional analyses of ratings by 98 male and 102 female college students assigned to one of four odor conditions showed no significant correlations for the methyl anthranilate or skatole odor conditions, but the pattern of correlations for men and women was different in the alpha androstenone condition, e.g., if men found alpha androstenone pleasant they tended to rate the target male positively.     

Consistency of seizure frequency estimates across time, methods, and observers

Assessed the consistency of seizure frequency reports across observers, time, and methods. Thirty-two persons with intractable, partial seizures and 17 observers participated in a two-phase assessment procedure. During the first phase, subjects and observers provided retrospective seizure frequency estimates for two consecutive 30-day intervals. During the second phase, subjects and observers completed a daily seizure diary for 30 days. Patients' and observers' retrospective estimates were highly stable over a 2-month period. Substantial consistency was also found between two different recording methods (recall vs. diary) for subjects with epilepsy. In contrast, the observers' retrospective estimates were only moderately correlated with their prospective diary counts. Agreement between subjects' and observers' retrospective reports was also high. However, no significant association was found between their diary counts. Contrary to expectation, seizure frequency reports of patients with partial epilepsy showed moderately high consistency across time and between patient and observer pairs.     

Contingent aftereffects: lateral interactions between color and motion

A randomly dotted yellow disk was rotated at a speed of 5 rpm, alternating in direction every 10 sec. Its change in direction of rotation was paired with a change in surround color, which was either red or green. After 15 min of exposure, observers reported vivid motion aftereffects contingent on the color of both the stationary disk and the surround, even though during adaptation only motion or color was associated with either alone. In further experiments, it was established that a change in color (or direction of motion) of the disk could be associated with a change in direction of motion (or color) of the surround. Such lateral effects were found even when a wide (5 degree) annulus was introduced between the disk and the surround during adaptation and testing. Furthermore, the aftereffects generalized to the annulus, which was not associated with either color or motion during adaptation. However, when the disk alone was adapted to color and motion, no generalization to the surround was found (and vice versa), suggesting that the effects are not produced by adaptation of large receptive fields or by scatter of light within the eye. The results appear to conflict with the ideas that contingent aftereffects are confined to the adapted area of the retina and that they are built up by links between single-duty neurones, and with an extreme view of the segregation of color and motion early in human vision.     

Accessing the Eternal: Dreaming "The Dreaming" and Ceremonial Performance

Australian Aboriginal cosmology is centered on The Dreaming, which has an eternal nature. It has been referred to as “everywhen” to articulate its timelessness. Starting with the assumption that “waking” reality is only one type of experienced reality, we investigate the concept of timelessness as it pertains to the Aboriginal worldview. We begin by questioning whether in fact “Dreaming” is an appropriate translation of a complex Aboriginal concept, then discuss whether there is any relationship between dreaming and The Dreaming. We then discuss Aboriginal ceremonial performance, during which actors are said to become Dreaming Ancestors, using as a frame of reference the “flow” experience explicated by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi together with Alfred Schutz's “mutual tuning‐in relationship.”     

A Model of Ethical Decision Making From a Multicultural Perspective

Because shifts in the world's ethnic and racial demographics mean that the majority of the world's population is non‐White (M. D'Andrea & P. Arredondo, 1997), it is imperative that counselors develop a means for working ethically with a diverse clientele. In this article, the authors argue that the current Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice of the American Counseling Association (1995) does not adequately address the demands of working with non‐White, non‐Western clients. Using a universalist philosophy, an ethic of care (C. Gilligan, 1982; R. M. Kidder, 1995; J. G. Ponterotto & J. M. Casas, 1991), the context of power (M. Hill, K. Glaser, & J. Harden, 1995), and the process of acculturation, the authors offer a model for ethical decision making from a multicultural perspective.     

Managed Mental Health Care: Intentional Misdiagnosis of Mental Disorders

Managed health care regulations affect the manner in which counselors provide and deliver services. Counselors are challenged by ethical and legal dilemmas when diagnostic codes in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 2000) are not honored for insurance reimbursement. In this article, the authors examine violations of codes of ethics and legal statutes and the consequences related to intentional misdiagnosis of mental disorders for reimbursement. They explore implications for counselors and offer suggestions for professional conduct.