Experimental evidence for a causal relationship between smoking lapse and relapse

In this study, the authors prospectively evaluated the impact of a smoking lapse on relapse probability. After 4 days of smoking abstinence, 60 smokers were randomly assigned to smoke 5 nicotine-containing or 5 denicotinized cigarettes, or to remain abstinent (no lapse) during a 4-hr time period. Afterward, smoking abstinence was encouraged with monetary incentives, and smoking behavior was tracked for 6 days. Relative to the no-lapse condition, exposure to either of the cigarette types more than doubled the probability of subsequent smoking. Smoking outcomes did not differ between nicotine-containing and denicotinized cigarettes. The data suggest that stimulus factors may play an important role in lapse to relapse processes.     

Cancer Problems in Living and Quality of Life After Bone Marrow Transplantation

This study was conducted to develop an objective problems-in-living scale to identify the needs of cancer survivors after a demanding treatment such as bone marrow transplantation (BMT). A total of 99 adult BMT survivors completed questionnaires containing the 29 items included in the Cancer Problems-In-Living Scale (CPILS). These BMT survivors were most concerned about return of their illness or relapsing, the future, fatigue, not physically being able to have sexual intercourse, changes in their physical appearance, being concerned about infection and crowds, difficulty in obtaining adequate insurance, losing health insurance by changing jobs, and difficulty in meeting medical expenses. The CPILS showed a good level of internal consistency ( = .91). The hypothesis that BMT survivors who had lower levels of physical functioning would experience more problems with living was supported by correlation (.48, p < .001) of the CPILS with the Self-Rated Karnofsky Performance Scale. The construct validity of the CPILS was further supported by a significant negative correlation (–.66, p < .002) with the scores of BMT survivors on a quality-of-life measure, the Satisfaction with Life Domains Scale for BMT.     

Counselling at a distance: Challenges and new initiatives

Traditional views of the possibilities of counselling at a distance, mediated by telecommunications technology, are challenged. The current status of telephone counselling is reviewed- it is proposed that the telephone is a vibrant innovative medium for therapeutic work. Computer involvement in therapeutic work is defined, and the issues confronting computer-mediated therapy are contrasted with developments in computer-supported co-operative work. It is concluded that active collaboration between therapists, social scientists and computer scientists is required to develop therapy-specific computer applications to mediate in therapy-at-a-distance.     

Discovering corporate consciousness

This paper attempts to first define the concept of corporate consciousness and to locate it within a nomological net of related concepts. It is found that corporate consciousness may be an identifiable concept, but its differentiation from such related constructs as corporate social responsibility is unclear. Second, some methodological issues related to the study of corporate consciousness are discussed such as level of analysis, measurement, and discriminant validity. Third, to help researchers decide if corporate consciousness should be studied, a general set of criteria for selecting research topics is presented, and corporate consciousness is evaluated briefly within that context.This paper is based on Michael A. Campion's keynote address delivered at the Fifteenth Annual Industrial/Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior (IOOB) Graduate Student Conference, Chicago IL, March 4 to March 6, 1994.The authors would like to extend special thanks for ideas and suggestions to the Executive Committee of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology at their Spring, 1994 meeting, and to the following doctoral students at the Krannert Graduate School of Management, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN: Lynda Aiman-Smith, Richard Davies, Ken Harding, Carl Maertz, Stan Malos, and Hwee Hoon Tan. The authors also wish to acknowledge the helpful and insightful comments of two anonymous reviewers regarding an earlier draft of this paper, as well as the editorial assistance and comment of Dale Rose.     

The impact of four missing data techniques on validity estimates in human resource management

While missing data are a commo problem in field settings, there is relatively little information in human Resource Management to guide researchers when they conduct analyses with incomplete data. This article discusses four techniques to deal wih missing data. The implications of using listwise deletion, pariwise deletion, mean substitution, and regression estimation are demonstrated in an applied selection situation. The importance of the manner in which data were missing is analyzed and discussed.The authors would like to thank Patricia G. Roth and Tim Summers (bot of Clemson University) as well as Joe Ward (University of Texas-Sa Antonio) for substantive comments on drafts of this article. The authors also appreciate the comments of Rich Arvey on the field of missing data. Diane Segal deserves thanks for her help conducting analyses. Their efforts have greatly enhanced the quality of this article.     

BEHAVIORAL COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY: ENCOURAGING LOW-INCOME PARENTS TO SEEK DENTAL CARE FOR THEIR CHILDREN1

The present study examined the effectiveness and cost efficiency of three different techniques to encourage low-income rural parents to seek dental care for their children. The families of 51 children who needed immediate dental care (determined by dental screening at a local school) were placed into three matched groups and randomly assigned to the treatment conditions: One Prompt (Note Only), Three Prompt (Note, Telephone Contact, Home Visit), and One Prompt plus $5 Incentive. The Three Prompt and One Prompt plus $5 Incentive were significantly more effective in initiating dental visits than the Note-Only procedure. Not only was the One Prompt plus $5 Incentive technique effective in producing a slightly larger percentage of initial dental visits compared to the Three-Prompt technique, it also produced a significantly larger number of followup visits. Furthermore, the cost-effectiveness analysis showed the Incentive condition to be less costly than the Three-Prompt condition in encouraging initial dental visits.     

Modification of an impulsive cognitive tempo in emotionally disturbed boys

In order to determine the relative effectiveness of verbal self-instructions and training to delay before responding in modifying an impulsive cognitive style, 15 impulsive emotionally disturbed boys were assigned to one of three groups. The cognitive-training group was given practice in verbal self-instructions, the delay-training group received practice in delaying before responding, and the control group received no training. Posttreatment scores on the Matching Familiar Figures Test showed a significant increase in latencies for both the cognitive and delay-training groups. However, only the cognitive-training group, which had recieved practice in verbal self-instructions, made fewer errors following training. Implications for future research and potential treatment strategies for verbal self-instructions are discussed.     

The contribution of Kleinian psychotherapy to the treatment of a disturbed five-year-old girl and her family

The theories of Melanie Klein are incorporated into many family therapy 'models' in regular use, although a detailed understanding of these theories is not an essential part of the repertoire of family therapists. In the present case, however, Klein's theories provided essential insight into the personality development of a five-year-old girl with severely disordered behaviour, as well as a foundation for the treatment offered to her and to her family.     

Effects of a Motivational Inducement on the Psychometric Properties of a Cognitive Ability Test

College students are often used in the development stages of cognitive ability tests that are designed to be used in business settings. One criticism of this strategy is that there are important motivational differences between these two settings that may limit generalization from one setting to the other. Research has not investigated the degree to which motivational inducements may enhance the psychometric properties of the tests with this population. In the present study, a 162-item cognitive ability test was administered to 320 undergraduate students, 160 of whom were given experimental credit for their participation (control group) and 160 of whom were given experimental credit but were also told that the top 25% of scorers each would receive $20 (experimental group). Results of differential item functioning and confirmatory analytic analyses suggested that the cognitive ability test was essentially equivalent across the two groups. Implications for cognitive ability test development and future research are discussed.