Report of the Working Group on Research

Prepared by the Working Group on Research from the November 1995 Georgetown conference sponsored by the Association of Medical School Psychologists, this paper focuses upon the challenges for psychologists who wish to maintain active research programs in academic medical settings. Six specific strategies are offered that, if followed, would increase opportunities and visibility of psychological research programs both within academic medical settings and within society at large.     

Sources of anxiety among pre-service teachers on field placement experience

This study examined pre-service students’ perceptions of their sources of anxiety during field experience. A sample of 85 undergraduate education students participated in the study (females = 52.9%). The students completed a survey on their perceptions of sources of anxiety during teaching practice. The results suggest students experience anxiety in four domains, namely preparation and execution of lesson plans, evaluation of lessons, classroom management, and relationship with host school staff. Evaluation of lessons ranked high as a source of anxiety for student teachers on field placement, followed by preparation, classroom control and relationship with the host school staff, respectively. Seeming inconsistencies between university and school-based supervisors in lesson plan formats compounded the pre-service teachers field placement-related anxieties Appropriately targeted student support interventions can help allay the fears and anxiety of pre-service teachers during teaching practice.     

Changing teachers' beliefs regarding autonomy support and structure: The role of experienced psychological need satisfaction in teacher training

ObjectivesGrounded in Self-Determination Theory, this study examined whether physical education (PE) teachers' psychological need satisfaction experienced during continuous professional development (CPD) on need-supportive teaching predicted changes in their effectiveness and feasibility beliefs regarding the proposed teaching approach, as well as their intentions to apply this approach and subsequent changes in their self-reported in-class behaviors.MethodsPrior to the training, a sample of 80 PE teachers (57.5% men, Mage = 42.70 ± 10.15 years) reported on their effectiveness and feasibility beliefs regarding autonomy-supportive and structuring teaching strategies and their in-class application of these strategies. Immediately following the training, these beliefs were assessed again and participants reported on their psychological need satisfaction experienced during the training and their intentions to apply the proposed strategies. Finally, two weeks after the training, participants' self-reported in-class application of the teaching strategies was measured for the second time.ResultsPsychological need satisfaction experienced during the training related to a change in effectiveness and feasibility beliefs regarding autonomy support and structure, and to teachers' intentions to apply the proposed strategies as reported immediately after receiving the training. In addition, teachers' intentions related to a change in their self-reported in-class application of structuring, but not autonomy-supportive, teaching strategies.ConclusionsExperiences of psychological need satisfaction during CPD can help to increase the likelihood that teachers become more convinced about the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed change and can produce greater intentions toward change, which may relate to actual (albeit) self-reported behavior change.     

The Curious Case of the De-ICD: Negotiating the Dynamics of Autonomy and Paternalism in Complex Clinical Relationships

This article discusses the response of our ethics consultation service to an exceptional request by a patient to have his implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) removed. Despite assurances that the device had saved his life on at least two occasions, and cautions that without it he would almost certainly suffer a potentially lethal cardiac event within 2 years, the patient would not be swayed. Although the patient was judged to be competent, our protracted consultation process lasted more than 8 months as we consulted, argued with, and otherwise cajoled him to change his mind, all to no avail. Justifying our at times aggressive paternalistic intervention helped us to reflect on the nature of autonomy and the dynamics of the legal, moral, and personal relationships in the clinical decision-making process.     

A Broader Understanding of Moral Distress

On the traditional view, moral distress arises only in cases where an individual believes she knows the morally right thing to do but fails to perform that action due to various constraints. We seek to motivate a broader understanding of moral distress. We begin by presenting six types of distress that fall outside the bounds of the traditional definition and explaining why they should be recognized as forms of moral distress. We then propose and defend a new and more expansive definition of moral distress and examine how it can enable the development of a taxonomy of moral distress.     

The relationship between hospital restructuring,anger, hostility and psychosomatics in nurses

This study examines the relationship between hospital restructuring, psychosomatic reactions, anger and hostility in nurses. Scales assessed extent of hospital restructuring. Anger was assessed using the State–Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI) Scales. Results suggested that restructuring is a stressful and anger‐provoking experience which increases with more restructuring initiatives. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Are demographic Variables Associated with Performance on the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP)?

The Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP) is a universal requirement for psychology licensure in the United States and much of Canada. However, in the 53?years of its use, many fundamental questions about this “high stakes” exam remain. Specifically, the EPPP relies exclusively upon content validity evidence, and it is unknown if scores are associated with relevant performance criteria. Limited evidence suggests that failure rates vary according to applicant demographics. To further assess the latter, a Freedom of Information Act request was submitted to a populous US state (N of applicants?=?4892). Significant differences in first-time failure rates were found according to ethnicity (i.e., Blacks?=?38.50%; Hispanics?=?35.60%; Asians?=?24.00%; Whites?=?14.07%). Men (18.85%) failed more often than women (15.82%) and PsyDs (20.07%) failed more often than PhDs (15.02%), but the magnitude of difference in these two analyses was relatively small. Meaningful interactions between ethnicity, gender, and degree type were not found, but given the ethnic performance discrepancies and limited validity evidence, additional psychometric investigation of the EPPP appears warranted (e.g., in terms of criterion and predictive validity testing). Further, it is recommended that the EPPP Step-2 should undergo similar assessments prior to implementation.     

Designing Translingual Pedagogies: Exploring Pedagogical Translation through a Classroom Teaching Experiment

This study examined how middle-grades language arts teachers learned to integrate a small-group collaborative translation activity into their teaching practice. We discuss what we call pedagogical translation as an emergent social practice, in which translation routines that are familiar to multilingual students may be leveraged toward instructional goals in a mainstream language arts class. The data were drawn from a classroom teaching experiment iteration of a larger design-based research study, whose goal is to create a fully developed instructional protocol useful to all teachers in linguistically diverse language arts classrooms, but especially teachers with limited or emerging proficiencies in languages other than English. We position pedagogical translation as a paradigm case of translingual pedagogy—instructional approaches designed to leverage the full range of emerging bilinguals’ linguistic resources—and we focus our analysis on the agentive participation of teachers as they integrate new translingual routines into their instructional practice. Using a conjecture mapping procedure, we describe the evolution of an instructional theory for how pedagogical translation can be leveraged toward literacy learning objectives. We present qualitative narratives describing how participating teachers made locally situated design choices that meshed new routines with existing instructional practice, documenting trajectories of teacher participation as agentive designers of translingual pedagogy.     

Trends in Ethical Complaints Leading to Professional Counseling Licensing Boards Disciplinary Actions

This article presents findings of a content analysis of the types of ethical violations that led to disciplinary actions (N = 936) across state counseling licensing boards for professional counselors during the time frame of 2010 to 2014. The most frequent types of ethical violations included failure to acquire the appropriate amount of continuing education, dual relationships (sexual and nonsexual), and misrepresentation of credentials. Implications of the findings and future research needs are discussed.