Comparing Idiothetic, Ipsative, and Normative Indices of Consistency

ABSTRACT Lamiell's (1981) “idiothetic” index has been praised for raising significant conceptual and methodological issues, but Paunonen and Jackson (1986a) indicated that it might not provide any unique information The current study demonstrates that the unique value of the idiothetic index relative to the ipsative, normative, and normative-ipsative indices is dependent in part upon what information is collected and how it is analyzed Subjects completed inventories on three occasions that assessed seven dispositional variables Interindividual analyses indicated a high correlation between the idiothetic method and two of the other models, whereas intra-individual analyses indicated a much lower degree of correlation Intra-individual analyses indicated that the idiothetic method produced higher temporal stability coefficients The idiothetic index provides information not contained in a normative index and it may be more useful to personality researchers for the assessment of temporal stability and for the assessment of traits with extreme base rates     

A Q-methodological study of lesbian identities

A Q-methodological study of lesbian identities is reported, which reveals substantive factors representing identity account clusters explicated as the ‘Personal Fulfilment’ identity, the ‘Special Person’ identity, the ‘Individualistic’ identity, the ‘Radical Feminist’ identity, and the ‘Traditional’ identity. These identities are supported and illuminated by the use of accounts given by the same respondents in tape-recorded interviews and are related to the rather limited previous literature in the field. Further developments in the investigation of accounts of identity are proposed.     

Ethical dilemmas in forensic evaluations

Ethical issues emerging from forensic assessments are addressed from clinical and research perspectives. The relevance of agency, forensic identification, and attitudes toward defendants are explored within the framework of ethical practice. Finally, the ethical role of mental health professionals in the courtroom, the scope and basis of their testimony, and the rendering of conclusory opinions are discussed within a psycholegal context.     

Manual performance in the cold with gloves and bare hands

Previous research aimed at quantifying and reducing the decrements encountered in performing manual tasks in cold weather has not described the relationships between task characteristics and cold-induced impairments. The amount of decrement and, often times, the optimal means for reducing the decrement, appear to be task-specific. The research reported here is one in a series of studies formulated to explore those relationships. The strategy is to use tasks from the battery developed by Fleishman (1967) to measure the factorially 'pure' abilities needed to perform all manual tasks. 24 U.S. Marines performed this battery of nine tasks across a range of cold temperatures. To determine if the decrement due to wearing gloves might be less than the decrement due to cold hands as the air temperature decreased, performance on the battery of tasks was measured with and without gloves. Only three of the tasks (abilities) were affected by cold temperatures, and the amount of decrement increased as the air temperature decreased. Three tasks deteriorated due to wearing of gloves, two of those affected by cold and one other. Temperature affected performance independently of the glove effect. Half of the subjects did not complete bare-handed testing at -18 degrees C (approximately 20 min.), indicating this is the lower end of the temperature range in which bare-handed performance for more than a few minutes is practical.     

NIMBYism and Legitimate Expectations

An increasing portion of contemporary politics revolves around a set of claims made by those (typically derisively) referred to as NIMBYs. Despite its practical significance, NIMBYism has not received significant attention in academic philosophy. I attempt a charitable but limited reconstruction of NIMBYism in terms of legitimate expectations. I argue that, despite NIMBY expectations being somewhat vague and at least moderately unjust, they may be legitimate. This does not imply that they are decisive, or entail a conclusion about their overall normative force. I close by developing some tentative details in institutional design, focusing on the possibility of monetary compensation as a way of recognizing, but limiting the force of, NIMBY expectations.