Vocational Preference Inventory High Point Codes and Educational Preferences

This study reports normative data describing the combinations of various VPI high point codes associated with educational preferences classified into one of six of Holland's occupational environments and an undecided category. Eight hundred thirty-one male and 129 female college freshmen were queried regarding their educational preferences and were administered the VPI directly prior to college enrollment. The comparisons between preferences and VPI combinations revealed that Intellectual and Realistic, Social and Enterprising, Conventional and Enterprising, and Social and Artistic, seem to go together frequently for male students. The female sample revealed that Social and Artistic VPI codes were common.     

A computer-controlled system for training and testing primates

The hardware and software for a computer-controlled training and testing system for primates are described. The computer (DDP-116 in the Computer-Controlled Psychology Laboratory at Carnegie-Mellon University) controls all stimulus presentation, reinforcement, and records data in a form ready for analysis on a larger computer.     

Shorter articles and notes noise and the shifting of attention

An experiment was carried out to test the hypothesis that performance on a task which involves a shift of attention between spatially separated sources would be lower under noise conditions than one which involved no such shift. The results indicated that the hypothesis was not proved; rather they showed that the subject's performance on the shift of attention task was better under noise than under quiet. An attempt is made to put forward possible reasons for this occurrence.     

Mathematical analysis of the durations of reinforced inter-response times during variable interval reinforcement

In a free-responding situation in which reinforcements are scheduled by a variable interval program, the durations of reinforced inter-response times are shown to be a function of the durations of all inter-response times produced by S and of the frequency of reinforcement.Based on a portion of the author's doctoral dissertation, and supported in part by an NIMH predoctoral research fellowship. Suggestions by W. K. Estes increased the intelligibility of this paper.     

Religion and Public Opinion Toward Same‐Sex Relations,Marriage, and Adoption: Does the Type of Practice Matter?

This study examines how religion's impact on Americans’ attitudes toward same‐sex practices varies by the type of practice being considered. We theorize that same‐sex romantic and family practices such as sexual relations, marriage, and adoption represent distinct practice types, differing in degrees of legality, cultural legitimacy, and in their internal power dynamics. Consequently, we expect that Americans view each practice type somewhat differently and their opinions on each may be influenced by religion in distinctive ways. Drawing upon national‐level data, we estimate and compare the relative net effects of a comprehensive battery of religious measures on support for gay sex, marriage, and adoption, both for the full sample and across religious traditions. Analyses demonstrate that public opinion toward gay sexual relations is more strongly related to religious practice and theological conservatism compared to attitudes regarding same‐sex marriage or adoption. Moreover, frequent religious practice and conservative theological beliefs about the Bible tend to be more strongly associated with attitudes toward same‐sex relationships for evangelicals, compared to mainline Protestants and, to a lesser extent, Catholics. Findings ultimately affirm that the type of same‐sex practice being considered (sex, marriage, or adoption) serves to moderate religions’ impact on Americans’ support for such practices.     

Family Formation and Returning to Institutional Religion in Young Adulthood

Institutional religious involvement wanes during young adulthood, but evidence suggests life‐course factors such as family formation bring people back to religion. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Waves 1, 3, and 4), we examine how often young adults who were involved in institutional religion as adolescents return—measured by religious service attendance and religious affiliation—after leaving in emerging adulthood, and how this return is patterned by family formation. The majority of young adults who leave do not return to regular religious service attendance, regardless of their family formation. But single parents, married parents, and childless married individuals are more likely, and childless cohabiting couples less likely, to return to religious communities than those who are both single and childless. Only married parents are more likely than childless singles to reaffiliate, though there is marginal evidence that childless married adults may also be more likely. Thus, the institutions of religion and family are still linked, even though overall levels of religious return are not as high as expected.     

Joint Maximum Likelihood Estimation for Diagnostic Classification Models

Joint maximum likelihood estimation (JMLE) is developed for diagnostic classification models (DCMs). JMLE has been barely used in Psychometrics because JMLE parameter estimators typically lack statistical consistency. The JMLE procedure presented here resolves the consistency issue by incorporating an external, statistically consistent estimator of examinees’ proficiency class membership into the joint likelihood function, which subsequently allows for the construction of item parameter estimators that also have the consistency property. Consistency of the JMLE parameter estimators is established within the framework of general DCMs: The JMLE parameter estimators are derived for the Loglinear Cognitive Diagnosis Model (LCDM). Two consistency theorems are proven for the LCDM. Using the framework of general DCMs makes the results and proofs also applicable to DCMs that can be expressed as submodels of the LCDM. Simulation studies are reported for evaluating the performance of JMLE when used with tests of varying length and different numbers of attributes. As a practical application, JMLE is also used with “real world” educational data collected with a language proficiency test.     

Maternal Depression and Parent Management Training Outcomes

This study examines the impact of maternal depression on reductions in children’s behavior problems severity following implementation of the Brief Behavioral Intervention—a brief, manualized parent management training treatment. The parents of 87 children aged 2–6 years of age received parent management training at a metropolitan hospital. Parents of participants completed measures of externalizing behavior and maternal depression. The association between pre-post treatment change in externalizing behavior and maternal depression was examined using an autoregressive cross-lagged model. Results showed that self-reported maternal depressive symptoms at pre-treatment negatively influenced the overall magnitude of reduction of reported externalizing behaviors in children following treatment. Results indicate that aspects of family functioning not specifically targeted by parent management training, such as maternal depression, significantly affect treatment outcomes. Clinicians providing parent management training may benefit from assessing for maternal depression and modifying treatment as indicated.     

俄罗斯个性心理学的新近发展与动向

本文把俄罗斯个性心理学的新近发展与动向概括为六个方面1)转向现实中个性的研究;2)由重视方法论转向问题化研究;3)个性类型学的研究;4)越来越重视个性积极性的研究;5)转向交往和发展中个性的研究;6)主体研究的复兴.     

高师生心理健康教育实验研究

本文采用自然教学实验的研究方法,探讨心理健康教育对高师生健康信念、健康行为和健康水平的影响,以高师９５级大学三年级学生１２６个为实验组,进行５４个课时的心理健康课程教学,并以同校同级学生１０９个对照组。采用健康信念和健康行为调查表和Ｃａｗｔｅ健康量表,对实验组和控制组被试进行调查和测试。结果表明,心理健康教育不仅明显改善了高师生的健康信念和健康行为,而且提高了他们的身心健康水平。