Introduction to Special Issue: A Creative Collaboration

The Psychological Record -     

Type of stimulus mediates the relationship between working-memory performance and type of precocity

The relationship between type of stimulus (numeric and verbal) and type of precocity (mathematical and verbal) was examined in tasks designed to tap three aspects of working memory: encoding, capacity, and manipulation of information. The tasks included semantic categorization, odd-even categorization, recall of five-item lists after semantic categorization, and recall of items in a continuous paired-associates task. Correlations between task performance and the mathematical and verbal portions of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT-M and SAT-V) were computed for gifted youth. There were no sex differences in the performance measures or in the pattern of correlations between performance and SAT scores. The analysis revealed positive relationships between SAT-M scores and numeric categorization latency, recall in the continuous paired-associate task with words and digits, and recall of digit lists. SAT-V scores were related only to word recall in the continuous paired-associate task and recall of word lists. In the working-memory tasks used, mathematical precocity is more strongly related to performance than is verbal precocity. The relationship is especially strong with numeric stimuli, even when the numeric stimuli are simply items to be remembered. The relationship between type of stimulus and type of precocity suggests underlying differences between verbally and mathematically precocious youth in how different types of stimuli are represented in memory.     

Reactions to job transfer by job type and career stage

In American industry, job transfer has been a common technique for staffing organizations and cross-training employees. Increasingly, employees have become reluctant to accept job transfers because of the potential for disruptions to their personal and family lives. In response, applied researchers have attempted to identify reliable employee reactions to job transfers. Empirical results have been inconsistent, however. These inconsistencies may be due, in part, to differences in the measurement of transfer and job types studied, and to a general atheoretical orientation. In this study, these two methodological problems were resolved empirically. Although a formal theory was not proposed, the concept of career stage showed promise as a new research direction. Implications are discussed.We thank Marilyn Gist, Terry Mitchell and Craig Pinder for comments on earlier drafts. Partial support for this study was provided by the National Park Service, Cooperative Park Studies Unit, University of Washington.     

Recent and emerging trends in marital and family therapy regulation

The number of states in the United States that formally credential marital and family therapists has tripled to 31 during the last decade. This paper reviews and compares the basic licensure and certification requirements in these states, and explores a number of broad issues currently confronting the field of marital and family therapy regulation. Several recommendations for improving the quality of MFT regulation are also provided.president of the Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Boards.