Comments on “markovian processes with identifiable states: General considerations and applications to all-or-none learning”

When knowledge of the response sequence permits one to specify the sequence of theoretical states that occurred, we propose to say that the theory has observable states. Our earlier usage of identifiable conflicts with established usage in econometrics. We also present a revised definition of implication between theories that avoids a technical flaw in the earlier definition, and we correct a mistake in an example in our earlier paper.     

Order effects in Rokeach's Value Survey

Two-hundred-twelve sociology students completed a version of Rokeach's Value Survey in which the presentation order of the values was randomized. Each respondent received a unique randomization pattern. Spearman's correlations were computed between the presentation order and the order of ranking done by the respondent. The magnitude of the correlations obtained was such that the amount of bias created by presentation order was sufficiently small as to suggest that order effects are not a problem in the instrument.     

The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale: a pilot study to examine its latent structure and the link between psychological state and symptom severity in transient ischaemic attack patients

Transient ischaemic attack (TIA) is often associated with anxiety and depression, which may precipitate secondary stroke and interfere with treatment. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) is widely used to assess these states and to inform the management of any associated psychological problems, but there is considerable debate about what it actually measures. The HADS scores from a range of different clinical groups have been reviewed in order to assess its psychometric properties, but so far, no research has examined either its latent structure when used with TIA patients, or the association between symptom severity and the test’s validity. The aims of this study, therefore, were to investigate: (a) the underlying structure of the HADS when used with TIA patients; and (b) the impact of symptom severity on the validity of the HADS. The HADS and a functional capacity measure were administered by post to a sample of 542 confirmed TIA patients. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted on the HADS scores to establish its underlying structure for this clinical group, and then, sub-sample correlations were undertaken between the anxiety/depression scores for different levels of functional capacity. Two factors emerged, with 13 of the 14 HADS items loading significantly on both, suggesting there is a common affective state underlying the standard anxiety and depression scales. Further data-exploration indicated that convergence between these affective states increased as functional capacity deteriorated. The results suggest firstly that the HADS measures general subjective distress when used with TIA patients, and secondly that the higher reported symptom severity in this clinical group may be associated with reduced affective differentiation. As the ability to retain clear affective discrimination is associated with health and well-being, this could provide a focus for post-TIA rehabilitation.     

Age and Gender Role Conflict: A Cross-Sectional Study of Australian Men

A total of 221 educated middle-class Australian males across three age groups (18–24, 36–45, and 60-plus years), responded to O'Neil et al.'s Gender Role Conflict Scales and a set of measures for psychological well-being. A MANCOVA design, with psychological well-being as the covariate, found significant age differences on two gender-role conflict scales. Results suggest that certain conflicts in a man's life to do with ambition, career, and family may be seen as developmentally functional rather than dysfunctional. No age differences were found on the Gender Role Conflict variables for emotional expressiveness and intimacy between males. These two variables are discussed as a function of mood rather than indices of dysfunction.     

Emotional Intelligence in the Collection of Debt

Two studies are reported which compare more and less successful account officers (debt collectors) in terms of their emotional intelligence, measured using the BarOn Emotional Quotient Inventory. The findings support the view that higher levels of emotional intelligence lead to enhanced job performance. Implications for selection are considered in the conclusion.     

False memories of having said the unsaid: some new demonstrations

In a series of four studies, subjects who were naive as to the true purpose of the research were asked if they had said aloud things that, at most, they had only intended to say. Often, subjects reported (incorrectly) that they had said them. Specifically, the procedures involved: showing a series of phrases, each being followed by a command to say it aloud or not (Study 1); asking a series of questions, each being followed by a request to answer it aloud or not (Study 2); asking a series of questions in a public polling situation and interrupting the subject before one of the questions was answered (Study 3); and having each subject participate in a debate, during the course of which the participant was induced to plan to use a particular point, but was prevented from doing so (Study 4). Subjects were confident of such erroneous reports; they had a lower tendency to make such errors for material that had not actually been presented, and such errors depended upon certain details of the manner in which such ‘source-monitoring’ searches were initiated. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.