The Bender-Gestalt test in differential diagnosis of adolescents with learning difficulties

This study assessed the efficiency of the Haine and Koppitz scoring systems used with the Bender-Gestalt Test (B-G) in terms of their ability to differentiate between adolescents with and without central nervous system (CNS) impairment who were achieving below age-expectations. Utilizing a population of 84 adolescents enrolled in a residential treatment center, both the Haine and Koppitz systems with the Bender-Gestalt differentiated 25 Ss with CNS impairment from 59 Ss wihout such impairment. The results indicated, however, that neither scoring system was useful in individual classification when the B-G was used alone or in combination with intelligence test results.     

Individual Quality of Life Among at Risk Indigenous Youth in Australia

This paper reports the findings from a pilot study in which the Schedule for Individual Quality of Life (SEIQoL-DW) was used to determine how 15 at-risk Indigenous Australian male youths aged between 14 and 19 conceptualised their quality of life. The youths, who were referred with problems associated with drug and alcohol misuse and criminal activity, were attending a diversionary program run by an Indigenous organisation in the Northern Territory, Australia. Quality of life was measured before and at the end of the nine-day programme in order to evaluate outcomes. Program staff found the SEIQoL-DW to be particularly useful in identifying culturally specific quality of life domains, allowing interventions to focus on improving the life areas that were of particular value to individuals as well as recognizing any deficits in their understanding the options available to them. While a control group was not used, mean SEIQoL-DW scores increased significantly over the course of the program.     

Recognizing one's own face

We report two studies of facial self-perception using individually tailored, standardized facial photographs of a group of volunteers and their partners. A computerized morphing procedure was used to merge each target face with an unknown control face. In the first set of experiments, a discrimination task revealed a delayed response time for the more extensively morphed self-face stimuli. In a second set of experiments, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to measure brain activation while subjects viewed morphed versions of either their own or their partner's face, alternating in blocks with presentation of an unknown face. When subjects viewed themselves (minus activation for viewing an unknown face), increased blood oxygenation was detected in right limbic (hippocampal formation, insula, anterior cingulate), left prefrontal cortex and superior temporal cortex. In the partner (versus unknown) experiment, only the right insula was activated. We suggest that a neural network involving the right hemisphere in conjunction with left-sided associative and executive regions underlies the process of visual self-recognition. Together, this combination produces the unique experience of self-awareness.     

An investigation into the perception of dominance from schematic faces: A study using the World-Wide Web

The World-Wide Web (WWW) is considered to be a viable tool for scientific research, and several investigators have already made use of it in their studies. Although the WWW allows researchers to access a vast subject pool, questions of reliability and validity need to be addressed before it is incorporated into mainstream research. By replicating, on the Internet, an existing study (Keating, Mazur, & Segall, 1977) on the perception of schematic faces, we were able to conclude that experimental work carried out in this manner is not necessarily biased by the medium. One difference from previous work was the effect of a smiling versus a nonsmiling face on the perception of dominance, given an identical brow position for the two faces. This was replicated on a different occasion with different subjects, which may represent a shift in attitudes to this facial configuration since the original study was conducted. Young North American males were overrepresented in our sample, but comparison with other surveys indicates that the population sampled by the Internet is becoming more representative.     

A Comparison of the Belbin Self Perception Inventory and Observer’s Assessment Sheet as Measures of an Individual’s Team Roles

The Belbin Team Role Self-Perception Inventory (SPI) is a well-known and well-used measure for identifying an individual’s team roles. Less well-known is Belbin’s Observer’s Assessment Sheet (OAS) which can also be used by colleagues of the individual concerned or, at least, those who know him or her well. To assess team role this study compared these two different team role measures when applied to a sample of 65 members of 11 different management teams. The results showed that only 35 of the 65 observer sets agreed amongst themselves about the team roles of the individual they observed and only seven of these 35 sets showed good agreement between the observers’ assessments and those of the individuals themselves. Positive correlations between the SPI scores and the OAS scores were found for only five of the nine team roles. The findings are discussed in terms of inter-rater problems and the reliability of the instruments.     

Utility of telephone assessments in an older adult population

Telephone assessments are commonly used in mental health research and may be especially beneficial in older populations. The current study assessed the psychometric properties of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (T. J. Meyer, M. L. Miller, R. L. Metzger, & T. D. Borkovec, 1990) and the Beck Depression Inventory--II (A. T. Beck, R. A. Steer, & G. K. Brown, 1996), when administered over the telephone in an older adult population. Results indicate no differences in mean symptom level or internal consistency across two modes of administration. Correlations between the in-person and telephone-administered measures and diagnostic categories suggest adequate validity of the telephone-administered measures. With this demonstrated evidence, the telephone assessment method can be applied in a variety of research and clinical settings.