The responsibilities of counsellor supervisors: A qualitative study

A study was carried out to investigate whether supervisors of counsellors considered themselves to be clinically responsible for the work of their supervisees, what responsibilities they considered themselves to have for the counsellors' work, and how they managed their responsibilities. The purpose of the study was to enhance the counselling profession's understanding of the responsibility of supervisors and of the supervisory relationship. The study was confined to supervisors working in private practice. Ten experts in the field of counselling and supervision were interviewed, using a semi-structured questionnaire. The interviews were analysed using the 'constant comparative method'. They revealed that the participants would not use the term 'clinical responsibility' to describe their responsibilities. There were mixed views about the nature of the responsibility of the supervisor when supervising counsellors practising independently. The participants indicated a preference to supervise only the most experienced counsellors, with whose practice they were already familiar and in whose work they already had considerable confidence. None of the supervisors interviewed considered themselves to be legally responsible for the counsellors' work. All the participants were aware that the risks associated with counselling in private practice could be considerable and had an acute sense of responsibility for the content of the work. Reluctance to take action against supervisees who were in breach of the code of ethics was expressed. There was scepticism about the requirement for them to have supervision for their supervisory work. Implications for the practice of counselling supervision and for the profession are discussed.     

The Role of General and Specific Psychomotor Tracking Ability in Validity

A study of 1,099 males and females in pilot training was conducted to investigate the relative importance of general and specific factors of psychomotor tracking ability in the prediction of several pilot training criteria. Measures of psychomotor tracking ability were derived from the Basic Attributes Test (Carretta and Ree 1994). The criteria were the dichotomous passing or failing pilot training and the average of six flying work samples. Comparisons of linear models indicated that general psychomotor tracking ability was the source of most of the validity and that only the specific measure of reaction time was incremental. Reaction time, although part of the psychomotor taxonomy, has frequently been identified as a measure of cognitive ability.     

Self-Recording of Everyday Life Events: Origins, Types, and Uses

ABSTRACT In this article we review the history of the scientific use of self-recording and conclude that there are three basic methods: ( a ) interval-contingent, in which respondents report on their experiences at regular intervals, ( b ) signal-contingent, in which respondents report when signaled, and ( c ) event-contingent, in which respondents report whenever a defined event occurs. We then discuss the relative merits of these techniques for answering different questions. Finally, we note that self-recording of small events is a departure from the science of psychology as typically practiced, requiring an acceptance of reality as defined by respondents.     

The effects of a laughing versus a nonlaughing model on humor responses in preschool children

Three groups of preschool children, 2–4 years old, were observed individually as they listened to a humorous tape recording either alone (Group 1), or after they had observed a nonlaughing (Group 2) or laughing peer model (Group 3) listen to the tape and then leave. There was a significant difference between the laughing model group and the nonlaughing model group in time spent smiling as well as significant differences in time spent laughing among the no model group, the nonlaughing model group, and the laughing model group. It was concluded that imitation learning plays a role in determining whether or not children will laugh or smile in a humorous situation.     

Test-induced anxiety with children.

Thirty-five elementary school children received the WISC, Rorschach, CAT, and Sentence Completion Test in counterbalanced order with a test-test interval of approximately 24 hours. State and trait anxiety measures were assessed immediately prior to and immediately following each test administration. Results indicated that state anxiety measures increased significantly following administration of the more ambigious and school related assessment tests, namely the Rorschach and WISC. In contrast, the more structured, less amorphous CAT and Sentence Completion Test, did not induce any significant changes in state anxiety. In all cases, trait anxiety measures remained relatively stable. Implications for assessment techniques with children were discussed.     

Evaluation of a nonintellectual assessment procedure for the early screening of exceptionality

Using a battery of nonintellectual measures with demonstrated validity for the screening of learning disabled and emotionally handicapped pupils, this study evaluated the feasibility of screening for potential educable mentally retarded (EMR) and gifted candidates. The criterion measure used to establish evidence of potential EMR and gifted eligibility was an individually-administered intelligence test. Teacher nominations of pupils they would refer for learning disabled (LD), EMR and gifted evaluation were obtained prior to administration of the screening instruments in a subsample of the participating districts in order to compare IQ criterion groups and screening results with teacher referrals. Results showed that the group of pupils screened by the nonintellectual measures contained 91% of those in the low IQ group (potential EMR) and 86% of those in the high IQ group (potential gifted). By contrast, teacher referrals failed to screen any of those deemed potentially eligible based on IQ criterion scores. The evidence suggests that reliance on conventional methods of teacher referral is inadequate for screening of EMR and gifted pupils, but that screening with the nonintellectual measures demonstrates a promise worthy of wider consideration.     

Individual Differences, Situational Constraints, and Police Shooting Incidents

Differences in the personal nature of police officers as well as differences among the situational constraints due to assignments are considered in an examination of the occurrences of police involvement in shooting incidents. The Poisson and negative binomial models used in accident research are considered for representing the occurrence of shooting incidents. Data were gathered from incidents in a large metropolitan police department over a 34-month period and used to test the two models. Various analyses indicate a good Poisson fit. Implications of the data are discussed.     

Operant training and generalization of a verbal response form in a speech-deficient child

A subject who spoke essentially in "telegraphic" English, leaving out most articles and auxiliary verbs, was trained to use a particular sentence form that included the articles and verbs to describe a set of standardized pictures. The subject used the trained sentence form to describe the trained pictures, and in addition, use of the sentence form generalized to sets of untrained and novel stimuli. When the trained sentence form was changed, the subject used the new form to describe both training and generalization stimuli. When the original correct form of response was retrained, the subject once again used the trained sentence form to respond to both training and generalization trials.     

Philosophy as a missing link between values and behavior

Despite the persistence of social scientists, evaluating the relationship between values and behavior has not yielded clear results. Here, a model is proposed to conceptualize and measure a person's operating philosophy. This assesses a different level of the value structure within personality from separate values or clusters of values; it is the evaluative structure within which a person's values exist. Building on major philosophies, such as utilitarianism or humanism, the model assumes that a person has a predominant Pragmatic, Intellectual, or Human Operating Philosophy. In a sample of 801 subjects, each of these operating philosophies had significant associations with a variety of the expected behaviors evident in work and graduate school, such as initiative and empathy, as well as learning styles, skills, and flexibility. Interpretation of the results is offered as a way to understand the relationship between people's values or beliefs and their behavior and approach to learning.