Cooperative behavior as a function of interpersonal style in preschoolers

A study of the effectiveness of preschoolers interpersonal interactions was conducted based upon a circumplex model of interpersonal behavior and the corollary complementarity hypothesis developed by Leary (1957) and Carson (1969) The interpersonal styles of 92 preschoolers' interpersonal interactions was rated in a naturalistic free-play environment These ratings were used to obtain status and affiliation scores for each child which, in turn, were the basis for assigning subjects a complementary or an anticom-plementary partner It was predicted and found that complementary pairs performed a difficult puzzle task more efficiently than did anticomplementary pairs The usefulness of the complementarity hypothesis and implications for its use in future research were discussed     

Communication Patterns in an International Student Dormitory: A Modification of the “Small World” Method1

Milgram's “small world” method was modified to trace communication patterns in an international student dormitory containing 500 residents from 38 different countries. Eighteen residents served as “starters” for chain-booklets that circulated through the dormitory from friend to friend. Social networks were inferred from the circulation pattern of booklets. Sixteen chains progressed beyond their respective starters, and a total of 86 transactions were recorded. Four determinants of social relations were investigated: culture similarity, sex, organizational affiliation, and residential propinquity. The circulation pattern of the booklets showed that culture similarity was a major determinant of social interaction among the residents. The other main determinant was sex similarity. Organizational affiliation was less important, and proximity played only a minor role in determining communication patterns in the dormitory.     

Optic-flow and cognitive factors in time-to-collision estimates

Time-to-collision (Tc) estimates were obtained from twenty-four subjects who viewed film clips for varying lengths of time. The film clips showed the view from a moving car travelling towards a stationary target car, but ended 100 m before reaching the target. Viewing time varied from 2 to 6 s, approach velocity from 40 to 100 km h-1, and Tc from 3.6 to 9.0s. It was hypothesised that, if time were needed to calculate Tc, the accuracy of Tc estimates would increase with viewing time up to some maximum. However, the results showed no effect of viewing time, and this was taken to indicate that estimates were based upon information directly available from the changing optic array at the eye of the observer. A significant velocity effect was found, accuracy increasing with velocity. Since velocity was inversely correlated with Tc, this probably implies that accuracy decreases with increasing Tc. Sex differences were found, with males giving higher and more accurate estimates than females. The relevance of these findings to the nature of Tc information is discussed.     

Describing behavior in small groups with the Datamyte event recorder

A technology for coding and analyzing behavior in human groups is described. The behavior code is based on the scoring of verbal and physical contacts, emotional affect, and commands and complies. The code is reasonably valid and produces sufficiently high levels of observer agreement. Currently available computer programs for analyzing frequencies, rates, and proportions of behavior, as well as equity and reciprocity in behavioral transactions, are discussed. The development of programs for analyzing more microscopic features of interaction is also noted.     

Comparisons among the Holden Psychological Screening Inventory (HPSI), the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), and the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding (BIDR)

Issues of reliability, item latent structure, and faking on the Holden Psychological Screening Inventory (HPSI), the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), and the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding (BIDR) were examined with a sample of 300 university undergraduates. Reliability analyses indicated that scales from all inventories had acceptable internal consistency. Confirmatory item principal component analyses supported the structures and scoring keys of the HPSI and the BIDR, but not the BSI. Although all inventories were susceptible to faking, validity indices of the HPSI and the BIDR could correctly classify over two-thirds of test respondents as either responding honestly or as faking.     

A feasibility study of the systematic evaluation of client outcomes in a voluntary sector counselling agency

There is an increasing demand on voluntary sector counselling agencies to evaluate the effectiveness of their work with clients. A pilot study was carried out in a voluntary sector counselling agency to assess the feasibility of adopting a well‐established evaluation system (CORE) designed to measure client outcomes. The paper describes the issues and complexities involved in introducing such a system, and explores the impact of the evaluation on counsellors, staff and users of the service. It is suggested that evaluation can play an important role within voluntary organisations in enabling counsellors and staff to reflect on their work.     

Parent-Professional Alliance and Outcomes of Child,Parent, and Family Treatment: A Systematic Review

This review systematically explored research examining the relation between parent-professional alliance and outcomes of psychosocial treatments provided to children, and their parents and families. Study findings and methodological characteristics were reviewed to investigate the evidence linking the alliance between parents and professionals to outcomes of child, parent, and family treatment as well as to identify factors that may influence the alliance-outcome association. A systematic review of the literature was conducted that included a search of three electronic databases using specified search terms, followed by a hand search to identify relevant studies. A total of 46 studies (37 published articles and 9 unpublished dissertations) met inclusion criteria. Overall, the findings indicated that higher levels of parent-professional alliance were significantly associated with improved clinical outcomes and stronger treatment engagement. However, some studies found that the parent-professional alliance was not significantly related to clinical outcomes or treatment engagement, and a few studies showed that higher levels of alliance were related to less positive clinical outcomes and lower levels of treatment engagement. Several theoretical (problem type, child age, parent sex) and methodological (source and timing of alliance measurement, alliance-outcome informants, outcome domain, timing of outcome measurement) factors were identified that could influence the alliance-outcome association. Together, our findings emphasize the importance of alliance awareness when working with parents as well as a need for future studies to investigate factors influencing the quality of the parent-professional alliance and alliance-outcome association in child, parent, and family treatment.