The detection of malingering in neuropsychological assessment

Although malingering, or the manipulation of data by the patient, is a problem commonly faced by neuropsychologists, there has been little systematic investigation of this problem. This paper reviews the literature on the detection of malingering in assessment instruments commonly used by clinical neuropsychologists. Criticism of previous research is discussed, and suggestions are made both for future research and for clinical practice.     

Effects of decision strategy and number of openings on employment selection decisions

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of two factors—decision strategy and the number of openings—on selection decisions. Two hundred graduate and undergraduate students participated in a human resource employment screening simulation. Decision strategy was varied by having candidates evaluate resumes and letters of application for 20 candidates one-at-a-time (sequentially) or all at once (simultaneously). The number of position openings was either one or three. Decision strategy affected the number of candidates accepted, acceptance threshold, and decision time. The number of openings affected selection decisions in the simultaneous but not the sequential context. Implications of these results for selection processes are discussed.     

Social uncertainty and interdependence: A study of resource allocation decisions in groups

Social uncertainty about the behavior of others with whom one is interdependent for rewards is hypothesized to encourage self-interested behavior and inhibit behavioral commitment to the group. This paper examines the roles of uncertainty, expectations, and feedback about other group members' contributions to the group in interdependent decision making. In the absence of feedback, resources tend to be divided between individual and group interests. Resource allocations to the group are found to increase significantly if group members receive feedback about other members' allocations, particularly if that feedback is at the individual level, not an aggregated group level. However, the effects of feedback presence and type are eliminated when group members state their expectations about other members' future contributions to the group. Implications for expectancy value theories of motivation and commitment to groups in organizations are discussed.     

Forgetting the lessons of history

While a great deal of behavior analytic research has focussed on studying current contingencies, the amount of work done in the area of conditioning history is spotty, at best. Weiner (1964, 1969) conducted history research with human subjects, but little has followed in either the human or the nonhuman literature. Some direction can also be found in the literature studying the effects of conditioning on drug effects (e.g., Barrett, 1977; Urbain, Poling, Millam, & Thompson, 1978). However, "behavioral history" or "conditioning history" has not been a fully-developed area within behavior analysis. It is suggested that empirical work on history effects might have implications for (a) better understanding human-nonhuman behavioral differences and similarities, (b) clinical applications, especially where clients are resistant to behavioral change, and (c) theoretical assumptions in behavior analysis in relation to both basic and applied concerns.     

Acoustic classification of alarm calls by vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops) and humans (Homo sapiens): I. Natural calls

A 2-choice, operant-conditioning-based classification procedure was developed in which vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops) categorized species-typical snake and eagle alarm calls recorded from individually identified free-ranging animals. After preliminary training with a pair of calls from a single animal, 2 vervets were tested with novel exemplars produced by a variety of callers. Experiment 1 combined testing with continued training in routine classification of 14 new calls. In Experiment 2, the subjects were tested with 48 novel calls in rapid succession. Human (Homo sapiens) control subjects participated in the first study without extended preliminary training. Monkey and human subjects both showed immediate transfer to classification of unfamiliar alarm calls, despite variations both in voice characteristics and reproduction quality.     

Hand preference and performance on unimanual and bimanual tasks in capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella)

Patterns of manual preference and the extent to which preference provided a benefit in performance (movement time) were evaluated in 7 young adult capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella). Directions of preference were inconsistent within individual animals across home-cage activities, unimanual, and bimanual experimental tasks. Preferences were more strongly expressed in the experimental tasks than in the home cage. A left bias in the population for prehension, predicted by recent theories, was not evident in any setting. Movement time was moderately negatively correlated with degree of preference within experimental tasks. The benefit to performance conferred by lateral preference was not dependent on whether the right or left hand was preferred. Lateralization of prehension appears to be a flexible process in these monkeys, which can result in quickly realized benefits in some conditions.     

Counseling psychology and employee assistance programs: Previous obstacles and potential contributions

In the last two decades, an important new therapeutic delivery system has been emerging to serve the needs of the American workforce. Known as Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), these company and community based programs were created to provide mental health services to workers whose job performance is impaired due to substance abuse or other difficulties. Although there are obvious similarities between the mission espoused by EAPs and traditions of the counseling psychology profession, many members of our discipline have only recently become involved in these programs. This paper discusses various reasons why counseling psychologists have not become involved with EAPs. It also presents some ways that counseling psychologists may contribute to these programs and it highlights the similarities in the philosophies and the activities of EAP and counseling psychology practitioners and scientists. Additionally, some suggestions for how to prepare counseling psychologists for entrance into the EAP profession are offered. Finally, a brief research agenda designed to guide counseling psychologists who are interested in the study of EAP related variables is presented.We are appreciative of Karen Novak's and Marilyn Bayer's editorial assistance on this paper.     

Overt integrity tests versus personality-based measures of delinquency: An empirical comparis

Erratum

Overt integrity tests versus personality-based measures of delinquency: An empirical comparis