Putting evidence‐based claims to the test: A multi‐site classroom study of retrieval practice and spaced practice

Retrieval practice and spacing out studying help increase learning. Introductory Psychology students at nine colleges/universities took quizzes with more (RP+) or less (RP?) retrieval practice and more (SP+) or less (SP?) spacing between quizzes. We compared (N = 351) scores on class exams and on a standardized test. We also measured key student variables (e.g., depth of processing). GPA predicted a significant portion of variance in exam scores, R² = 0.05, F(1, 204) = 10.84, p = 0.001. We found a main effect for retrieval practice and a significant retrieval by spacing practice interaction, R² = 0.28, F(3, 201) = 27.38, p < 0.001. Students using SP+, as well as those with SP? and RP?, scored higher than students using SP? and RP+. In practice, closer attention needs to be paid to quiz and exam content overlap and the duration within which repetition is used.     

The educational boundary1

In this contribution, the authors defi ne and discuss the educational boundary in analytic training, which they believe is an often neglected and useful concept in psychoanalytic education. The framework on which their discussion rests includes the recent attention of psychoanalysts to issues of boundaries and ethics. Their understanding of how clinical work affects the mind of the analyst educator, as well as the ways the personalities of various analysts affect their dealings with faculty peers and students, are the other cornerstones of their discussion. The authors contend that many of the institutional problems encountered in the training of analysts can be better understood when viewed through the prism of the educational boundary. They present examples which illustrate several of the ways psychoanalytic educators complicate the training experience of candidates, offer specifi c explanations as to why analysts struggle as they try to manage their educational interventions, and indicate in a discussion of potential remedies that those behaviors might be avoided if the educational boundary is in focus. They also provide an example of how the educational boundary can be more effectively managed.     

Seemingly Anomalous WISC-IV Full Scale IQ Scores in the American and Canadian Standardization Samples

The American and Canadian standardization samples for the fourth edition of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children were used to ascertain the prevalence of “seemingly anomalous” Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) scores for all possible sums of scaled scores combinations of the Verbal Comprehension Index, Perceptual Reasoning Index, Working Memory Index, and Processing Speed Index. About 1% of FSIQ scores in both samples were anomalous (that is, fell outside the range of the four indices). Interestingly, the prevalence of anomalous scores was higher at the extremes of the FSIQ distribution. Moreover, anomalous FSIQ scores occurring above or below the mean of the FSIQ distribution (that is, 100) were larger or smaller, respectively, than any of the four indices. Furthermore, if the range of the four indices did contain the FSIQ (the non-anomalous case), when the FSIQ was below or above 100 it tended to be located distally in the half-segment of the range furthest below or above 100, respectively. A non-technical intuitive analogy from Olympic sports and a statistical explanation for the findings are provided. Important implications for practitioners are also presented. Portions of this paper were presented March 17, 2006 at the 20th annual Joseph R. Royce Research Conference, Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta.     

Psychological Follow-up of Presymptomatic Genetic Testing for Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 2 (SCA2) in Cuba

Presymptomatic testing for spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 (SCA2) in Cuba started five years ago. We have now investigated the psychological impact of test results on 150 individuals at 50% risk for SCA2. In a prospective study, psychological instruments were used to evaluate depression, anxiety and family functioning (1) before testing and (2) one year after disclosure of the test result. One year after, anxiety and depression levels decreased both in carriers and non-carriers, but anxiety decreased significantly more in carriers. Pathological levels of anxiety were seen mostly in members of dysfunctional families, but decreased more in them than in other consultands. Presymptomatic testing thus seems to have been especially beneficial for these testees, possibly due to a greater gain from the psychosocial support received. It would be pertinent to evaluate now the impact of other psychosocial variables and perform longer-term longitudinal studies.     

贵州省高师本科大学生学业自我效能感与心理健康水平的研究

运用大学生学业自我效能感量表和SCL-90症状自评量表对高师本科大学生进行调查,探讨其学业自我效能感与心理健康水平的关系。结果表明：1、在学习能力自我效能感上,大一至大四学生无年级、性别、专业的显著差异;在学习行为自我效能感上,大三、大四差异显著;2、大四与其他各年级学生在自评症状各因子上存在极显著差异,男女生在自评症状的强迫和偏执两因子上存在显著差异;3、学业自我效能感高的学生与学业自我效能感低的学生在人际关系敏感、抑郁因子上差异显著;4、自我效能感与心理健康水平存在较高相关。     

Military Enlistment Selection and Classification: Moving Forward

This article places the articles included in this special issue within the larger context of the objectives of a selection and classification system. It examines the full range of individual differences and how, until relatively recently, a focus on training success has led to an emphasis on the cognitive subset of these differences within the military. It describes how, consistent with a greater recognition of the importance of job performance, the research described in this issue has opened the door to expanded coverage of both cognitive and noncognitive attributes. It summarizes the methodological advances that have contributed to the efficacy of new noncognitive measures. It explores how popular approaches to the measurement of classification efficiency have led to unwarranted pessimism regarding the classification potential of multiattribute measures and discusses research indicating how much greater classification efficiency is possible with existing measures. Finally, it examines potentially fruitful areas of future research to better meet military objectives. These include development of an approach to performance measurement and validity transportation that makes future military classification research feasible; exploration of currently untapped individual-difference domains, particularly those that might differentially predict across job groupings; exploration of the interaction between cognitive and noncognitive attributes; and exploration of alternative measurement techniques.     

Promoting “Healthy Futures” to Reduce Risk Behaviors in Urban Youth: A Randomized Controlled Trial

There is increasing evidence of the interconnection between educational and health outcomes. Unfortunately wide disparities exist by both socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity in educational and vocational success. This study sought to promote urban youths’ career readiness as a way to reduce involvement in risk behaviors. Two hundred primarily African‐American youth (ages 14–21) were recruited from a pediatric primary care clinic. Youth randomized to the intervention received three motivational interviewing sessions focused around expectations and planning for the future. Baseline and 6‐month follow‐up assessments included measures of career readiness and risk behavior involvement (i.e., physical fighting, alcohol and marijuana use). At 6‐months, youth randomized to the intervention condition showed increased confidence in their ability to perform the behaviors needed to reach their college/career goals. Additionally, youth randomized to the intervention arm showed decreased fighting behavior (adjusted rate ratio: .27) and marijuana use (adjusted rate ratio: .61). Assisting urban youth in thinking and planning about their future holds promise as a way to reduce their involvement in risk behaviors. This study also demonstrated that motivational interviewing could be used to promote positive behaviors (i.e., career readiness).     

The relationship between dynamic strain aging and serrated flow behaviour in magnesium alloy

The relationship between dynamic strain ageing (DSA) and serrated flow has been investigated via alternately switching strain rates at various temperatures in a Mg–3Nd–1Zn alloy. The results reveal that serrated flow is enhanced with decreasing strain rate and increasing temperature and tends to vanish, while the DSA continually intensifies as revealed by a higher flow stress even after the serration flow disappears. A mechanism is proposed, which could explain some abnormal deformation behaviour, such as a negative strain rate sensitivity and thermal hardening.     

对我国高等医学教育学制与学位改革和发展的思考

通过对国内外医学教育学制与学位的比较,以及对我国目前试行的住院医师培训制度存在问题的分析,提出我国六年制培养医学硕士的模式;认为这有利于提高中国高等医学教育层次,有利于统一医学教育学制和学位,有利于国际交流;也为毕业生衔接新体制留下了接口。