Objective measurement of the independent variable: A neglected methodological aspect in community-based behavioral research

The importance of adequately measuring independent as well as dependent variables in studies evaluating therapeutic services provided to antisocial children is indicated. Data were obtained from a study in which 139 antisocial children were stratified according to age and then randomly placed into 14 groups. The children were randomly assigned to either of 2 treatment strategies or to a control treatment strategy. The effect of the treatments was evaluated by 2 pre-post selfrating scales, by a prepost inventory completed by therapists, and by behavioral observations of both children and their therapists. Measurements of the children's and therapists' behaviors were secured at each weekly 2-hr, meeting for approximately 30 weeks. Very few significant differences occurred between the treatment and control groups on the dependent variables. The findings indicated that independent checks are necessary to insure that therapeutic strategies are actually being implemented, thus providing for an adequate test of their effects on the dependent variables.     

An informational analysis of absolute judgments of torque

Five male Ss participated in seven experiments involving absolute judgments of stimuli selected from a continuum of torque. Experiment 1 required Ss to make judgments on the intensity of 16 stimuli separated by equal intervals. These results were used in the construction of individual scales of equal discriminability. These scales were then used to select the stimuli for the remaining six experiments, in which 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, or 16 stimuli, separated by subjectively equal intervals, were used. An informational analysis was performed to determine the capacity of the kinesthetic system to transmit information derived from the inducement of torque. Maximum values of 1.680, 2.050, and 2.524 bits of information transmitted were obtained when the response was considered the output, and the input variables were, respectively: the stimulus; the stimulus and the S; the stimulus, the S, and the previous stimulus. These results were discussed in relation to information theory and the use of torque information in closed-loop control of movement.     

WPPSI reliability and predictive validity with disadvantaged Mexican-American children

The reliability and predictive validity of the WPPSI was investigated with a sample of lower SES Mexican-American children. Reliability was determined using split-half procedures parallel to those reported in the test manual. Predictive validity was determined by correlating WPPSI scores with scores from the Metropolitan Reading Test. The results revealed that the WPPSI has high reliability, as determined by internal consistency procedures, but validity coefficients were not significant. These results suggest that the WPPSI may be inappropriate for special program placement purposes with this population.     

Distinctive feature control of decision time: Same-different judgments of simultaneously heard phonemes

Ss decided whether dichotically presented consonant or vowel phonemes were “same” or “different” in a reaction time (RT) task. Results indicated that “different” responses were made on the basis of a serial, self-terminating scan of distinctive feature differences between phonemes. “Same” responses were considered too fast to be accounted for by this process and were discussed as a separate parallel process. Recognition of dichotically presented syllables appears to involve a third process in which phonemes are also identified in terms of their distinctive features.