SETTING CUTOFF SCORES: LEGAL, PSYCHOMETRIC, AND PROFESSIONAL ISSUES AND GUIDELINES

Cutoff scores are used in a variety of settings to help managers make personnel decisions. Although cutoff scores are used widely, information about their derivation and appropriate use is scattered in the legal, psychometric, and professional literatures. The purpose of this paper is to analyze critically and to integrate these diverse literatures, to summarize what is known and what is unknown about the use and misuse of cutoff scores. Alternative methods are examined in relation to legal precedents set by the courts, to psychometric principles, and to the various sets of professional guidelines. Directions for future research are suggested, and we conclude with a set of recommendations regarding acceptable professional practice in this area.     

Psychophysiology of analysis of connotative decodification: the role of thermic and somesthetic systems in decodification of chromatic stimuli

We hypothesized that in the decodification of connotative aspects of visual chromatic stimuli the periphery of the body plays an important role. In particular we hypothesized that the decodification process of so called "warm" and "cold" colours is related to a real modification of the temperature of the body which is the basis of the "subjective feeling" and of the attribution of the "emotional meaning" to the stimulus. So we have measured the temperature of the body of 36 female psychology students while they were looking at a luminous screen through spectacles in which filters (coloured lenses) of different colours were placed. Analysis indicated that during the perception of so called "warm" colours a statistically significant increase in the temperature of the body appeared. We observed an enhancement of temperature on the left side of the body during the perception with red and yellow filters and a small increase in temperature on the right side of the body with orange and yellow filters. In the discussion of the results we considered also the role of the cerebral dominance in decodification process of the connotative components of stimuli.     

Fixation accuracy and perceptual asymmetry for consonants

Fixation accuracy was related to perception of laterally presented consonants. Small left-eye fixation inaccuracy influenced perceptual performance of 8 men and 8 women.     

Relation between musical aptitude and intelligence among mentally retarded, advantaged, and disadvantaged subjects

The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in scores of 59 mentally retarded adults (mild, moderate, severe, or profound), 133 advantaged, and 130 disadvantaged (low income) children in Grades 1, 2, 3 on the Primary Measures of Music Audiation. Test-retest reliabilities for the Tonal and Rhythm subtests were .81 and .86, respectively, for the retarded group. Analysis of variance indicated that the mildly retarded children performed significantly better than other groups of retarded children on these two tests. 2 x 3 analyses of variance indicated that third graders from both advantaged and disadvantaged groups performed significantly better than the first or second graders on both subtests and that advantaged children performed significantly better than the disadvantaged. However, disadvantaged children made greater gains, especially for third graders, than the advantaged.     

The status of epileptic patients in a developing African country: northwest Ethiopia

Of 1240 first-time consultations in the neuropsychiatric clinic of the Gondar College of Medical Sciences in an eleven-month period during 1985 and 1986, 152 patients came seeking relief from seizures. This paper deals with the origins and background of diagnostic, differential diagnostic, and therapeutic problems, and with problems of social rehabilitation. While in such a tradition-bound society certain hypotheses continue to have an unfavorable effect, there are unmistakable signs of positive change against a background of rapid social change. Conclusions are drawn for the better management of epileptic patients in developing countries.     

Self-esteem of adolescent girls as related to weight

The Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale was administered to 550 14- and 16-yr.-old (+/- 6 mo.) girls. Self-esteem scores were categorized by weight and weight by height. Scores on the Quetelet Index for obesity were correlated with self-esteem scores. Mean self-esteem of the low- and middle-weight by height group was significantly higher than the mean of the high-weight by height group. In analyzing weight alone, the self-esteem of the middle-weight group was significantly higher than the self-esteem of the high-weight group. The correlation of the obesity index and self-esteem indicated that as weight increased self-esteem decreased.