Residualanalysis in the polytomous rasch model

Residuals for check of model fit in the polytomous Rasch model are examined. Comparisons are made between using counts for all response pattern and using item totals for score groups for the construction of the residuals. Comparisons are also, for the residuals based on score group totals, made between using as basis the item totals, or using the estimated item parameters. The developed methods are illustrated by two examples, one from a psychiatric rating scale, one from a Danish Welfare Study.     

Reviews

Editor's note: The original edition of the book is (nearly) sold out, but a shortened, updated version will probably be published by Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks CA. Information can be obtained from: T.U.P., P.O. Box 90153, 5000 LE Tilburg, The Netherlands.     

New directions for the education of clinical psychologists: The primary care setting,the VA's PRIME program,and the in-depth generalist model

As part of this special issue on psychology in primary care settings, we describe the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA's) new approach to education for practice in the primary care setting and we concurrently address some general issues related to the education of clinical psychologists for practice in this setting. In this article we argue that the primary care psychologist, in parallel with the generalist in medicine, must have a strong generic background in clinical psychology in order to gain the broad range of clinical skills necessary to function effectively as an in-depth generalist (IDG) who is capable of addressing the variety of psychological issues that emerge in the primary care setting. The IDG model of professional practice, which we believe is best suited for primary care/managed care settings, requires extensive training in generic clinical skills and increased time devoted to its implementation at both the predoctoral and the postdoctoral levels.     

Active control in interrupted dynamic spatial orientation: The detection of orientation change

Gibson (1966, 1979) suggested that an important property of perception is that the observer is active. Two experiments were conducted to examine the benefits of active observation in determining dynamic spatial orientation. Subjects were presented with displays simulating locomotion through a three-dimensional environment. Active observers continuously controlled locomotion, whereas passive observers viewed the display. During the trial, the display was blacked out for a brief period, followed by a static image that was at either the correct or the incorrect orientation following the blackout. Subjects were required to indicate whether they were positioned at the correct extrapolated orientation. The presence or absence of orientation change, the type of change (changes in rotation about the depth axis [roll], horizontal axis [pitch], or forward translation), the duration of the blackout, and the consistency of change were varied. In addition, the experiments used either a compensatory or a pursuit tracking task. Active observers had greater sensitivity than did passive observers in detecting a change for both tracking tasks. Subjects in both experiments exhibited greater sensitivity in detecting inconsistent changes (relative to consistent changes), suggesting that the dynamics specified by optical flow were incorporated in extrapolated orientation. In addition, sensitivity decreased with an increase in blackout duration. The results are discussed in terms of an extrapolation model of perception that incorporates the responses executed by active observers.     

TRANSITIONS IN CHILDREN'S ROLES AND CAPABILITIES*

Stage theories and empirical studies have concentrated on a few periods of childhood (e.g., age 5 to 7 years) as important times of transition. On the basis of ethnographic suggestions that the age period 8 to 10 years also involves interesting changes, the authors carried out a search of published empirical studies for findings of transitions in capabilities at 8 to 10 years. An annotated bibliography is provided summarizing the studies found in a 5-year period in three journals. The authors discuss possibilities for characterizing the transition at age 8 to 10, as well as how such a transition meshes with the concept of stage.     

Recovery of 3-D shape from deforming contours

Three experiments were conducted to examine the accuracy of 3-D shape recovery from deforming-contour displays. The displays simulated silhouettes of ellipsoids rotating about a vertical axis. Subjects judged the horizontal cross-section of the ellipsoids. The shape of the ellipsoid, the position of the axis of rotation, and the type of projection were manipulated in Experiment 1. The results indicated relatively accurate shape recovery when the major axis of the ellipsoid was small. In Experiment 2, the shape of the ellipsoid and the velocity and curvature of the contour were manipulated. When the rate of deformation of curvature was decreased, more eccentric shapes were reported. In Experiment 3, the shape of the object and the amount of simulated rotation were manipulated. Subjects made both shape and extent of rotation judgments. The results showed that eccentricity of shape responses could be accurately predicted from rotation responses, suggesting that the recovery of 3-D shape from smooth, deforming contours is dependent on the perceived extent of rotation.     

Schreber'sMemoirs: Myth or personal lamentation

Lucy Bregman's approach to Schreber'sMemoirs is scrutinized and found to be based on a number of fallacious and contradictory assumptions that call her interpretation of the book as personal religious myth into question. A social constructionist approach to mythology maintained by Berger and Luckmann is advanced, suggesting that at best Schreber's work qualifies as a quasi-mythical attempt to explain the source of his personal sociopsychic suffering. The family and interpersonal dynamics of Schreber's quasi-myth are investigated. Similarities to other cases of psychotic quasi-myths are noted and a general relationship between oppressive socialization and psychotic communications is advanced, as well as a specific alternative interpretation of Schreber's work to that proposed by Bregman.Nathan Church, M.S., is currently teaching at Douglass College of Rutgers University, where he is nearing completion of his Ph.D. in sociology.