Effects of stress and retesting on role play tests of social skill

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of stress in performance on role play tests of social skill. Chronic psychiatric patients were tested in a formal videotape studio or in an informal consulting room setting. Motoric and physiological measures were secured. In addition, one-half of the subjects were retested one week later. In contrast to previous studies, results indicated that the assessment was not stressful. The two groups were not different on any measure, and the mean heart rates ranged from only 80 to 84 b.p.m. The effects of retesting were difficult to interpret. There were reductions in motoric indices of anxiety (speech disruptions) but not on physiological indices. Overall, testretest reliability was quite high. The results raise several questions which affect interpretation of many social skills studies in the literature.     

Deep dysphasia: An analog of deep dyslexia in the auditory modality

A right-handed patient, with two left hemisphere lesions, a small one in the prefrontal lobe and a larger one in the temporal, presents an unusual syndrome: a massive deficit for oral language (expression and comprehension) contrasting with a fairly good preservation of written language (expression and comprehension). The processing of isolated words and sentences has been extensively tested with repetition and dictation tasks. The patient performs rather well with nouns, verbs, and adjectives, poorly with adverbs and function words, and completely fails with nonsense words. A remarkable feature of his repetition is the frequency of semantic paraphasias. Thus, this patient exhibits a behavior rather similar to deep dyslexia, hence the possible label "deep dysphasia." The paper presents a "preunderstanding" hypothesis to account for such behaviors.     

An analysis of the role and trait components of sex-biased occupational beliefs

This study investigated the role and trait components of sex-biased occupational beliefs. A repeated-measures analysis of variance design was used to assess the agreement patterns of 198 female and male undergraduates to three types of sentences: (1) traits necessary for a variety of occupations (job requisites); (2) the relative possession of these traits by men and women (traits); and (3) the relative suitability of women or men for these occupations (roles). A significant sex of subject by sentence type interaction was found, indicating that the sex of the subjects as well as the type of sentence (job, role, or trait) contributed to overall occupational beliefs. Moreover, tests of the simple main effects revealed that sentence type was significant for both females and males, and that sex was significant within two of the three levels of sentence type: job requisites and role statements. The results indicated that greater understanding of occupational stereotyping may be attained through research aimed at distinguishing between role and trait components of job stereotypes.This research was completed as part of the first author's doctoral dissertation research while supported by an NIMH Traineeship at Michigan State University. Use of the Michigan State University computer facilities was made possible in part through support from the National Science Foundation.     

The interrelationships and reliability of a multilevel behavior-based assessment package for distressed couples

Twenty-six couples interested in improving their marital relationships participated in a multi-level behavior based assessment battery. The measures included self-reported, self-monitored, and observed components, all of which were examined for their interrelationships. Test-retest reliability was carried out with six of the couples. Self-reported measures, self-monitored pleasing behaviors, observed positive nonverbal and some negative verbal interactions were found to be consistent. In general, the various levels of measurement were found to be significantly related to each other. Some of the findings were applied to coercion and reciprocity formulations of marital interactions.     

SOCIAL-SKILLS TRAINING FOR UNASSERTIVE CHILDREN: A MULTIPLE-BASELINE ANALYSIS1

The effects of social-skills training consisting of instructions, feedback, behavior rehearsal, and modelling were examined in a multiple-baseline analysis in four unassertive children. The treatment was effective in that the behaviors selected for modification changed markedly. The effects of treatment generalized from trained to untrained items (interpersonal situations requiring assertive responding) and gains were maintained at the two- and four-week followup probe sessions. In addition, overall assertiveness in all subjects increased from baseline assessment to the conclusion of treatment and into followup.