Smoking behavior as a function of social cues and sex: A naturalistic study

The purpose of the study was to investigate the hypotheses that the smoking behavior of both females and males is affected by social cues and that the smoking behavior of females is more affected by social cues than is the smoking behavior of males. The smoking behaviors of 313 females and 487 males walking on public streets and of 154 females and 146 males waiting in public waiting rooms were recorded. Both sexes smoked more often in the waiting room situation than in the street situation; females' smoking was influenced to a greater degree by the same social context. The presence of a nearby smoker, particularly a male, increased the rate of smoking in female, but not male, subjects. The findings have implications for programs designed to modify the smoking behavior of women and men.The research was partially supported by the University Research Council of Fordham University. The authors wish to express their gratitude to Gerard Donohue for his assistance with data collection.     

Counseling Expectations Among Students in an Opportunity Program: Dispositional and Cultural Influences

College students (N = 102) from African American and Latino backgrounds who participated in an opportunity program completed H. E. A. Tinsley's (1982) Expectations About Counseling‐Brief Form (EAC‐B) and measures of self‐esteem, attributional style, problem‐solving appraisal, acculturation, and cultural congruity. Lower self‐esteem and a more depressive attributional style were linked to lower counseling expectations. All 3 dispositional variables were more strongly related to counseling expectations among students reporting higher levels of immersion in their ethnic group of origin. Implications for help‐seeking and the counseling relationship are discussed.     

Client attractiveness as related to the concept of engagement in therapy

The study examined the relationship between client attractiveness and return for a second appointment using 163 clients and their 10 therapists. Clients rated as more attractive were more likely to return after intake. A further investigation showed that both therapists with a history of higher percentages of returning clients and more-attractive clients have a facilitative effect on therapeutic involvement or engagement.     

Beliefs about male and female competence held by kindergartners and second graders

The study investigated the beliefs of kindergarten and second-grade children of both sexes about the competence of boys versus girls. The children appeared to have clearly defined beliefs about who would use certain objects, and their beliefs coincide with stereotypic sex-role behaviors in society at large. There was no support for the development of a more generalized expectation of competence in males. There was no significant sex difference in response; there was, however, a grade difference. Second graders' views of competence were more closely aligned with sex-appropriateness ratings than were the kindergartners.This article is based upon the author's doctoral dissertation, presented to the School of Education of Syracuse University. The author would like to express her thanks to the chairperson of her committee, Margaret Lay, and to the committee members, Berj Harootunian and Patricia Crook.     

A SIMPLIFIED TIME-SERIES ANALYSIS FOR EVALUATING TREATMENT INTERVENTIONS

Time-series analysis procedures for analyzing behavioral data are receiving increasing support. However, several authorities strongly recommend using at least 50–100 points per experimental phase. A complex mathematical model must then be empirically developed using computer programs to extract serial dependency from the data before the effects of treatment interventions can be evaluated. The present discussion provides a simple method of evaluating intervention effects that can be used with as few as 8 points per experimental phase. The calculations are easy enough to do by hand.     

Counseling dropout relative to client attractiveness,disturbance, and expected number of sessions

Participants were 12 counseling center psychologist and thir 257 college-student clients. Immediately after intake, clients indicated whether or not they would make an additional appointment, their reasons for not making another appointment, and the estimated number of sessions they would attend. Counselors rated clients' attractiveness and disturbance and estimated the number of sessions they would have with each client. Clients who did not make a second appointment were generally satisfied with the help they received in one session. Client estimates were more predictive than counselor estimates of actual number of sessions. Relative to less attractive and disturbed clients, more attractive and disturbed clients made and kept post-intake appointments.     

An inferential confidence interval method of establishing statistical equivalence that corrects Tryon's (2001) reduction factor

Evidence of group matching frequently takes the form of a nonsignificant test of statistical difference. Theoretical hypotheses of no difference are also tested in this way. These practices are flawed in that null hypothesis statistical testing provides evidence against the null hypothesis and failing to reject H-sub-0 is not evidence supportive of it. Tests of statistical equivalence are needed. This article corrects the inferential confidence interval (ICI) reduction factor introduced by W. W. Tryon (2001) and uses it to extend his discussion of statistical equivalence. This method is shown to be algebraically equivalent with D. J. Schuirmann's (1987) use of 2 one-sided t tests, a highly regarded and accepted method of testing for statistical equivalence. The ICI method provides an intuitive graphic method for inferring statistical difference as well as equivalence. Trivial difference occurs when a test of difference and a test of equivalence are both passed. Statistical indeterminacy results when both tests are failed. Hybrid confidence intervals are introduced that impose ICI limits on standard confidence intervals. These intervals are recommended as replacements for error bars because they facilitate inferences.