Assessing Diagnostic Expertise of Counselors Using the Cochran–Weiss–Shanteau (CWS) Index

Counseling studies have shown that increasing experience is not always associated with better judgments. However, in such studies performance is assessed against external criteria, which may lack validity. The authors applied the Cochran–Weiss–Shanteau (CWS) index, which assesses the ability to consistently discriminate. Results showed that novice counselors performed almost on the same level as very experienced counselors. The authors thus replicated earlier findings with a novel approach: applying an internal coherence criterion.     

A comparison of methods for estimating quadratic effects in nonlinear structural equation models

Two Monte Carlo simulations were performed to compare methods for estimating and testing hypotheses of quadratic effects in latent variable regression models. The methods considered in the current study were (a) a 2-stage moderated regression approach using latent variable scores, (b) an unconstrained product indicator approach, (c) a latent moderated structural equation method, (d) a fully Bayesian approach, and (e) marginal maximum likelihood estimation. Of the 5 estimation methods, it was found that overall the methods based on maximum likelihood estimation and the Bayesian approach performed best in terms of bias, root-mean-square error, standard error ratios, power, and Type I error control, although key differences were observed. Similarities as well as disparities among methods are highlight and general recommendations articulated. As a point of comparison, all 5 approaches were fit to a reparameterized version of the latent quadratic model to educational reading data.     

Motor planning in primates

Vaesen asks whether goal maintenance and planning ahead are critical for innovative tool use. We suggest that these aptitudes may have an evolutionary foundation in motor planning abilities that span all primate species. Anticipatory effects evidenced in the reaching behaviors of lemurs, tamarins, and rhesus monkeys similarly bear on the evolutionary origins of foresight as it pertains to tool use.     

Development of Clinical Psychology and Mental Health Resources in Vietnam

In this paper, we discuss development of the Vietnam National University graduate Clinical Psychology Program, which has the goal of training both Vietnamese researchers who will develop and evaluate culturally appropriate mental health treatments, as well as Vietnamese clinicians who will implement and help disseminate these evidence-based treatments. We first review the background situation in Vietnam regarding mental health, and its infrastructure and training needs, and discuss the process through which the decision was made to develop a graduate program in clinical psychology as the best approach to address these needs. We then review the development process for the program and its current status, and our focus on the schools as a site for service provision and mental health task shifting. Finally, we outline future goals and plans for the program, and discuss the various challenges that the program has faced and our attempts to resolve them.     

Stereotype threat: Antecedents and consequences for working women

Three studies investigated antecedents and consequences of stereotype threat for female employees. The results of Studies 1 and 2 suggest that social comparisons with men are associated with feelings of stereotype threat whereas social comparisons with women are not. Stereotype threat, in turn, was associated with conflict surrounding women's identity as female employees and with decreased perceived likelihood of achieving career goals. Study 3 extended these findings by demonstrating that feelings of stereotype threat are also negatively related to workplace attitudes and turnover intentions. Furthermore, the effect of stereotype threat on these job attitudes and intentions was itself mediated by identity conflict and perceived likelihood of achieving career goals. Implications and limitations of these findings are discussed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Snitching versus reporting: A qualitative analysis of barriers and facilitators to addressing safety concerns among high school students

Social Psychology of Education - Creating effective school-wide safety mechanisms depends on understanding students' previous experiences of reporting, however, students may also be...     

Young children's understanding of displaced aggression

According to previous research, young children do not understand displaced aggression. The present study examines the early phases of the understanding of the causes of moderately and extremely displaced aggression. Preschool and kindergarten children (3 to 5 years of age) viewed eight videotaped episodes of displaced aggression. Their comprehension of this aggression was assessed by means of open ended questions and forced choice picture selections. By age 5 most children had some understanding of displaced aggression, but this understanding was not complete. The early understanding revealed in the present study may be due to the use of short, simple realistic videotaped episodes appropriate for the limited processing abilities of young children. Extreme displacement was not more difficult to understand than moderate displacement.     

Associations between violence,criminality, and cognitive control deficits among young men living in low resource communities in South Africa

Despite empirical support for “Self-control theory” in criminology, there is controversy about how self-control should be operationalized. Working within the framework of “self-control theory,” we investigated if violence and criminal behaviors are associated with nine distinct dimensions of cognitive control in a community sample of young men (n = 654) living in peri-urban townships in South Africa. Cognitive control was assessed using the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function. Multivariate statistical analysis was used, to identify associations between violence and criminality, and deaggregated measures of nine distinct components of cognitive control. Fifteen percent of the sample reported recent violence, 27% had been in physical fights with family/friends in the preceding 6 months, 10% reported being arrested, 4% reported forced sexual contact, and 26% reported intimate partner violence (IPV). Controlling for substance use and sociodemographic variables, contact with the criminal justice system and violence were associated with deficits in all domains of cognitive control. Forced sexual contact was associated with behavioral dysregulation. IPV was associated with behavior dysregulation and executive control dysfunction. Future studies might utilize deaggregated measures of self-control to provide further insight into links between particular components of cognitive control and various forms of offending and violence.