An empirical application of confirmatory factor analysis to the multitrait-multimethod matrix

Though most social psychologists are aware of the use of factor analysis as an exploratory method to uncover latent dimensions, factor analysis can also be used in a confirmatory mode to test specific hypotheses. A confirmatory solution is unique and cannot be rotated. One possible use of confirmatory factor analysis is with the multitrait-multimethod matrix. Jaccard, Weber, and Lundmark's (1975) multitrait-multimethod matrix of two traits and four methods is analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis. Given the very small sample size the analysis is primarily illustrative. A simple two factor model with errors of measurement correlated across measures using the same method satisfactorily fits the data. Both discriminant and convergent validity are high and none of the methods has higher reliability or less correlated measurement error. The reliability of measures estimated by maximum likelihood factor analysis is lower than the test-retest reliability since method variance is subtracted out. Confirmatory factor analysis is recommended over the Campbell-Fiske criteria.     

Assertive training versus rehearsal and the importance of making an assertive response

This study dealt with whether mere practice would enhance assertion, and whether assertive training would reduce negative effect in simulated target situations, even when subjects (Ss) made no overt response. Males reporting difficulty with authority figures received either rehearsal alone or the complete assertive training package; in a subsequent behavioral test half in each group were told to make a response, with the remainder instructed to remain silent. Objective ratings revealed marked improvement following assertive training, while the effects of practice alone were negligible. For Ss receiving assertive training, reduction in selfreported negative affect in the target situations appeared to be independent of whether or not they engaged in overt verbalization, suggesting that assertive training, per se may enhance feelings of well-being.     

Cognitive and behavioral self-control strategies: Applications for the clinical management of adult stutterers

A model of therapy for adult stutterers which emphasizes the role of cognition in mediating the conditions for behavioral change is described. The philosophy of the program along with the specific forms and effects of several self-control strategies are discussed in relation to: (1) expectancy formation and the attainment of goals; (2) speech modification procedures; (3) transference of clinical gains; and (4) assessment of results. The use of cognitive restructuring procedures, self-instructional strategies, imagery and other coping skills for the management of speech-related stress is outlined. The importance of developing self-management and self-monitoring programs that clients may use in ongoing confrontations with real-life problems is emphasized in defining responsible behavior and the responsibility for change.     

Patterns of desynchrony in agoraphobia: A preliminary report

Changes in heart rate in three moderate to severe agoraphobic women were monitored by a Holter Recorder, used for obtaining portable EKGs. These data were collected before, half-way through, and at the end of a 12 session, group therapy program consisting of exposure and cognitive restructuring while subjects walked, or in one case, were driven along a standard 1.2 km course leading away from the treatment setting. Self-reports of anxiety were collected simultaneously. Despite substantial behavioral improvement in all cases, markedly different patterns of synchrony or desynchrony were noted between heart rate and self-reports of anxiety and substantial increases in heart rate were noted in one subject.     

A note on the analysis of designs in which subjects receive each stimulus only once

In social psychological experiments, the manipulations of interest are often presented to subjects along with, or as part of, some stimulus. An example would be a manipulation of the verbal label associated with a stimulus photograph, in a person perception study. Ordinarily it is not possible for stimuli to be completely crossed with treatments because subjects cannot be exposed to any stimulus more than once. In such designs it is wise to counterbalance the assignment of stimuli to treatment conditions, but this gives rise to difficulties in the analysis of the experimental data. Data from such designs have frequently been misanalyzed in the published literature. This paper presents a method of constructing a counter-balancing scheme to simplify the analysis, and appropriate methods of analysis for both the simplified and the general case. It is emphasized that stimuli are generally best treated as a random factor in such designs, permitting increased generalizability, but the case where the stimulus factor is fixed is also considered.     

Language performance on visual processing tasks in right hemisphere lesion cases

Seven language tests were constructed or adapted to assess the performance of three groups of 10 right-handed adult subjects: a right hemisphere lesion (RHL) group, a left hemisphere lesion (LHL) group, and a neurologically normal (NN) control group. Both the LHL and RHL groups produced poorer scores than the NN group on six of the seven tests. On two of the six significant tests, the RHL performed more poorly than the NN group. Analyses of words uttered during an oral story telling test indicated that the RHL group told significantly fewer complete stories using significantly more nouns, adjectives, and conjunctions than the NN group. On a 7-point scale, three judges rated the overall communication abilities of the RHL group as having “mild problems,” a significantly different rating than the ratings of the LHL and NN groups. The findings suggest that underlying visual spatial and perceptual deficits may be accompanied by clearly recognizable language differences in certain subjects.     

Developmental changes in attention-deployment skills

The ability to efficiently allocate attention between two tasks differing in payoff was investigated developmentally. Ten subjects from each of three grade levels (second, fourth, and college) performed an auditory and a visual memory task simultaneously. Modality of the primary task, difficulty of the primary task, and difficulty of the secondary task were varied factorially within subjects. The difference between primary and secondary performances increased with age: All college students, about half of the fourth graders, and none of the second graders showed a meaningful degree of differentiation between primary and secondary tasks.     

On a conceptual hierarchy of time,space, and other dimensions

Several observations about the way humans conceive of attributes, changes and covariation of stimuli are presented as indications for the existence of a conceptual hierarchy of dimensions in which time dominates space, and space dominates every other dimension.     

An empirical test of the covariation analysis in causal attribution

The present investigation was designed to reveal the cognitive inference processes associated with both detection and utilization of covariation information in causal attribution. Male undergraduates were (a) informed that a test was easy or difficult and shown a videotape in which (b) the test-taker's performance was high or low, and (c) covariation between the test-taker's effort expenditure and trial-by-trial outcome was present or absent. High performance was attributed to the test-taker's effort and ability, whereas low performance was attributed to the difficulty of the test. However, recognition of the covariance relationship decreased the attribution of high performance to ability and of low performance to test difficulty and increased the attribution of low performance to effort. Effort attribution in the high performance condition was independent of covariation information. The results are discussed in terms of the relationship between covariation information and typical beliefs about the causes of achievement outcomes.