Applying signal-detection theory to the study of observer accuracy and bias in behavioral assessment

We evaluated the feasibility and utility of a laboratory model for examining observer accuracy within the framework of signal-detection theory (SDT). Sixty-one individuals collected data on aggression while viewing videotaped segments of simulated teacher-child interactions. The purpose of Experiment 1 was to determine if brief feedback and contingencies for scoring accurately would bias responding reliably. Experiment 2 focused on one variable (specificity of the operational definition) that we hypothesized might decrease the likelihood of bias. The effects of social consequences and information about expected behavior change were examined in Experiment 3. Results indicated that feedback and contingencies reliably biased responding and that the clarity of the definition only moderately affected this outcome.     

A Match Made in Heaven or Down Under? The Effectiveness of Matching Visual and Verbal Horizons in Advertising

According to construal level theory, consumers’ processing styles become more abstract as psychological distance increases, but they grow more concrete when psychological distance decreases. This study provides evidence that panoramic pictures in which the horizon appears in the lower versus upper part of the frame trigger a different level of construal. As such, this study raises a novel source of construal. In addition, this study shows that when both visual (e.g., horizon height) and verbal (e.g., temporal benefit) advertising elements induce the same level of construal, advertising effectiveness increases. This work differs from previous research in that it focuses on the construal fit evoked by two advertisement features rather than a fit in construal between an external stimulus and the internal mindset of the consumer.     

Health at work in the British National Health Service: A counselling response

This article outlines the historical context that led to an employee counselling service in an NHS Trust in the North East of England being established. It describes the process of implementation and development of the Service. It evaluates the Service using data collated from those using the Service and also client evaluation reports. It critically analyses the data collated from use of the Service after two years. The paper concludes that one of the key issues of the 'Health at Work in the NHS' Initiative--that of staff support--is continuing to be appropriately addressed through the presence of the Service. Although the future of the service is uncertain due to mergers within the Health Trust, indicators still show that staff value and benefit from the Service.     

The visual perception of motion by observers with autism spectrum disorders: A review and synthesis

Traditionally, psychological research on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has focused on social and cognitive abilities. Vision provides an important input channel to both of these processes, and, increasingly, researchers are investigating whether observers with ASD differ from typical observers in their visual percepts. Recently, significant controversies have arisen over whether observers with ASD differ from typical observers in their visual analyses of movement. Initial studies suggested that observers with ASD experience significant deficits in their visual sensitivity to coherent motion in random dot displays but not to point-light displays of human motion. More recent evidence suggests exactly the opposite: that observers with ASD do not differ from typical observers in their visual sensitivity to coherent motion in random dot displays, but do differ from typical observers in their visual sensitivity to human motion. This review examines these apparently conflicting results, notes gaps in previous findings, suggests a potentially unifying hypothesis, and identifies areas ripe for future research.     

The Unity and Diversity of Inattention and Hyperactivity/Impulsivity in ADHD: Evidence for a General Factor with Separable Dimensions

To examine the unity and diversity of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity symptom domains of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in a clinical sample of adolescents with ADHD. Parents and adolescents were administered a semi-structured diagnostic interview, the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children — Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL), to assess adolescent ADHD. Data from 201 parent interviews and 189 adolescent interviews were examined. Four potential factor structures for the 18 ADHD symptoms were tested using confirmatory factor analysis: two models with correlated factors and two bifactor models. A bifactor model with two specific factors best accounted for adolescent symptoms, according to both parent and adolescents’ reports. Replication of these findings from behavioral rating scales completed for this sample by parents and teachers indicates that the findings are not method– or informant-specific. The results suggest that there is an important unitary component to ADHD symptoms and separable dimensional traits of Inattention and Hyperactivity/Impulsivity.     

Organization in audition by similarity in rate of change: Evidence from tracking individual frequency glides in mixtures

In audition, sound energy is assigned to separate auditory “streams” following principles of organization that closely parallel the visual gestalt principles that guide the perception of distinct forms or objects. Metzger (1934) provided evidence for organization in vision based on similarity in the velocity of moving forms. If two dots approach one another along one spatial dimension, they may appear to cross and continue beyond their meeting point if their velocities differ; otherwise, they usually appear to change direction abruptly and retrace their movements. If an analogous auditory principle exists, with rate of change in frequency substituted for velocity of movement, two frequency glides that sweep through the same frequency range in opposite directions should be able to perceptually cross if their rates of change differ; otherwise, they should usually appear to change direction and retrace the same frequency region. Four experiments provided data in support of this hypothesis, and the results were consistent across experiments with varying stimuli and methods of presentation. When properties of the stimuli favored organization according to a principle of frequency proximity, the effect of a principle of rate similarity was attenuated but still evident.     

A study of satisfactions and stresses of single women in midlife

Sixty single women 35 to 65 years old, previously married or never married, were interviewed about the satisfactions and stresses of the single status. Respondents were categorized as having high, medium, or low life satisfaction. Life satisfaction was found to be significantly correlated to such factors as good health, not being lonely, living with a female housemate, having many casual friends, and being invested in work. Half the women mentioned having sexual needs, which were or were not fulfilled. The other half stated that they did not have sexual needs. These two groups did not differ in life satisfaction. Regrets about not having had children occurred in one-quarter of the childless women, without necessarily implying low life satisfaction. Only 15% of the entire sample had low life satisfaction, a percentage similar to that found in the general population.The authors wish to express sincere appreciation to George Loewenstein for his aid with the computer analysis of the data.     

Stress and its perception in childhood

This paper examines how children may perceive events as stressful, and identifies some of the elements which may contribute to this perception, The proposition that this perception is dependant on individual phenomenology will be investigated. Various models that attempt to explain this phenomena will be presented and a synthesized paradigm offered.