The Role of Conditional Likelihoods in Latent Variable Modeling

Psychometrika - In psychometrics, the canonical use of conditional likelihoods is for the Rasch model in measurement. Whilst not disputing the utility of conditional likelihoods in measurement, we...     

Has Plantinga “buried” Mackie’s logical argument from evil?

In seeking to undermine Mackie’s logical argument from evil, Plantinga assumes that Mackie’s argument regards it as a necessary truth that a wholly good God would eliminate all evil that he could eliminate. I argue that this is an interpretative mistake, and that Mackie is merely assuming that the theist believes that God’s goodness entails that God would eliminate all evil that he could eliminate. Once the difference between these two assumptions, and the implausibility of Plantinga’s assumption, are brought out, Plantinga’s celebrated critique of Mackie’s argument can be seen to be far less compelling than is often assumed to be the case.     

Ambulante Psychotherapie der Substanzstörungen

Background

The revision of the psychotherapy guidelines in 2011 broadened the options for treating substance use disorders (SUD) in outpatient psychotherapy (OP).

Aim

The aims of this study were to answer the following questions: how frequently are SUDs treated in OP? What opinions do psychotherapists (PT) hold concerning the new treatment possibilities?

Material and methods

In this study the frequency of OP for patients with SUD, e.g. harmful use and abuse of as well as dependence on psychotropic substances according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) and the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10), by private practice PTs as well as their attitude towards the treatment of patients with these diagnoses were investigated. Private practice PTs in five states in East Germany were asked to participate in a postal survey.

Results

Of the 1,382 PTs contacted, 229 (16.6 %) participated in the study. Of the respondents 94.3 % had treated at least one patient with SUD (4-week prevalence including nicotine dependence). These rates ranged from 3.1 % to 26.6 % depending on the substance and diagnosis (SUD as primary reason for treatment). The highest rates of strong affirmation for OP of approximately 20?% were found for disorders related to alcohol, tobacco and medication.

Conclusion

Most PTs treated at least one patient with SUD in OP. However, this particular type of treatment offer should be further extended. Information about the options of treating SUD in OP should be further disseminated and conducting such treatment should be supported by (e.g.) therapist training.     

Erziehungsfähigkeit in familienrechtlichen Begutachtungen

Parental competence describes the multidimensional ability of parents to take responsibility for their children and to bring them up. There is a multitude of criteria and guidelines for the assessment of parental competence in the context of family court procedures, when a child’s well-being is at risk or in the case of divorce and separation. However, little is known about what forensic experts in Germany understand by the term parental competence. In a nationwide study  600 forensic experts were questioned about the contents and their methods of assessment concerning parental competence. Of the 104 participating psychologists and doctors (response rate 17.3 %) 90 % follow a schema while assessing parental competence and include the factors interaction and communication skills, care and nurturing, relationship skills, attachment capabilities, teaching rules and complying with them, and the ability to foster a child. While 99 % conduct a talk with the mother, 98 % conduct at least one talk with the father; 27 % talk to both parents together, 94% talk to the child systematically, 84 % use free play and 78 % combine playing and talking. The most frequently mentioned third persons include social workers, new partners, nursery school teachers and child protective services. Approximately 77 % use standardized tests. Although the study revealed a large heterogeneity in the procedures used by forensic experts, there is more accordance concerning the understanding of the term parental competence and the assessment procedure. Possibilities to assess parental competence in more general and standardized terms are discussed.     

The Effects of Emotionality on Concept Formation

The effects of three levels of cognitive tuning (transmission, reception, and no-set) on the free recall of clustered and unclustered word lists were investigated with the use of three ratio measures: proportion of words correctly recalled, number of runs of clusters out of the number of possible runs, and number of clusters utilized over the number of words recalled. Subjects included 99 female undergraduates enrolled in an introductory psychology course. The results supported a cognitive structure as opposed to a motivational interpretation of the tuning set phenomenon. Receivers, being tuned for sorting information into broad categories, recalled a greater number of words, scored lower on the ratio of runs, and used smaller ratios of clusters to words than transmitters who tuned in cognitive structures designed to process discrete bits of information.     

Brain potentials during language production in children and adults: An ERP study of the English past tense

The current study examines the neural correlates of 8-to-12-year-old children and adults producing inflected word forms, specifically regular vs. irregular past-tense forms in English, using a silent production paradigm. ERPs were time-locked to a visual cue for silent production of either a regular or irregular past-tense form or a 3rd person singular present tense form of a given verb (e.g., walked/sang vs. walks/sings). Subsequently, another visual stimulus cued participants for an overt vocalization of their response. ERP results for the adult group revealed a negativity 300–450 ms after the silent-production cue for regular compared to irregular past-tense forms. There was no difference in the present form condition. Children’s brain potentials revealed developmental changes, with the older children demonstrating more adult-like ERP responses than the younger ones. We interpret the observed ERP responses as reflecting combinatorial processing involved in regular (but not irregular) past-tense formation.     

Testing the Work Environment Hypothesis of Bullying on a Group Level of Analysis: Psychosocial Factors as Precursors of Observed Workplace Bullying

The present paper scrutinises the work environment hypothesis of bullying by examining relationships between psychosocial factors at work and bullying within departments on a group level of analysis, as compared to the many studies executed on an individual level of analysis. Relationships between quantitative demands, job control, role demands, leadership behaviour and social climate, and observed bullying were studied in a convenience sample consisting of 276 departments with a total of 4,064 respondents. Between‐group bivariate correlations showed relatively strong relationships (r > .52) between the predictors social climate, leadership behaviour, and role demands, respectively, and observed bullying in the department. A two‐factor higher‐level model was formulated for the independent variables yielding two latent factors reflecting an interpersonal domain and a task‐oriented domain, where the former was strongly associated with observed bullying at a group level of analysis (Beta =?.73), while the last factor yielded an insignificant contribution. The results confirm that a poor social work environment exists within departments in which bullying takes place, hence, yielding further support to the work environment hypothesis. In line with the present results, future studies on workplace bullying should include a group level of analysis.     

Computerized Testing in Neurobehavioural Toxicology

Cet article décrit quelques-uns des avantages que peut procurer l'informatisation du testing par rapport à l'administration manuelle traditionnelle. On dresse une liste des principales batteries de tests informatisées utilisées dans le champ de la toxicologie comportementale. Les conséquences éventuelles des progrès réalisés dans le software et le hardware sont traitées. On parle aussi de l'absence relative de guides théoriques pour l'élaboration de tests en toxicologie comportementale et l'on présente enfin des recommandations pour le développement à venir et I'utilisation de batteries de tests neurocomportementaux informatisées.
This paper discusses some of the advantages that may be gained from using computerized performance testing, as compared to traditional manual testing. A list of the major computerized test batteries used in the field of behavioural toxicology is presented, and possible implications of advances in computer hardware and software are discussed. The implications of the relative lack of theoretical guidelines for the development of tests within behavioural toxicology are discussed, and recommendations for the future development and use of computerized neurobehavioural test batteries are also presented.