The evaluation of stress management services by Canadian organizations

Although there is a recognition that evaluation plays an important role in organizational programs to manage stress in the workplace, the literature shows that few evaluations are conducted and that many suffer from serious methodological inadequacies. A mail survey was conducted with a random sample of 500 Canadian organizations having at least 500 employees. Results from the 210 responding organizations revealed that only about 16% of organizations evaluate such programs and services and even at that major methodological weaknesses are apparent. Results are also presented by industry group and organizational size. Finally, several recommendations are offered to enhance the evaluation role in organizations.This study was supported by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. An earlier version of the paper was presented at the annual conference of the Canadian Psychological Association in Calgary, June 1991.     

Attitudes Toward Women's Roles in Society: A Replication After 20 Years

In many parts of the world, attitudes towardwomen's roles in society have been changing over the pastseveral decades due to changes in laws regarding womenand educational systems among other significant factors. The present study provides a 20-yearreplication, using the full version of Spence andHelmreich's (1972) well-known Attitudes toward WomenScale (AWS) with samples of mainly white undergraduates including nursing undergraduates at WesternCanadian universities in the mid-1970s and mid-1990s.Results based upon the full and subscale scores show asignificant liberalization in attitudes for both genders since the mid-1970s and a narrowing ofthe gender gap in the 1990s. Finally, the utility of theAWS after some 20-odd years is challenged.     

Cautionary note on the use of short state-anxiety measures

The report noted that the use of high item-remainder coefficients as the sole criterion in the selection of items for short state-anxiety scales from full scales can lead to inaccurate interpretation of results. It was demonstrated that the use of a four-item state-anxiety scale from the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory A-State scale based on high item-remainder coefficients changed relationships in a previously reported study which used full-scale scores. It was proposed that such changes in relationships were the result of selecting four items which happen to load on only one of three dimensions of the A-State scale. The criterion of high item-remainder coefficents alone may be inadequate in the formation of short state-anxiety scales.     

NEO-PAVLOVIAN PROPERTIES OF HIGHER NERVOUS ACTIVITY AND EYSENCK'S PERSONALITY DIMENSIONS

An hierarchical multivariate approach was used to examine the relationships between the neo-Pavlovian properties of higher nervous activity, strength, dynamism, and mobility, as measured by motor reaction-time tasks and Eysenck's personality model as measured by the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. Eighty subjects, 40 of each sex, completed tasks measuring strength, dynamism, and mobility followed by completion of the questionnaire. Standardized composite estimates of the six primary factors extracted from the measures of the three properties and of the 16 primary factors from the questionnaire were subjected to hierarchical factor analyses. Four orthogonal second-order factors were extracted which showed meaningful relationships involving the Pavlovian and Eysenckian constructs.     

Confirmatory factor analyses of the full and short versions of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale

Over the years, researchers have developed various short versions of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (D. P. Crowne & D. Marlowe, 1960). The authors used confirmatory factor analyses (J. L. Arbuckle, 1997) as well as item and scale analyses to evaluate the adequacy of the full version and various short versions. Overall, the results from 232 Canadian undergraduates showed (a) that all the short versions in the present study are a significant improvement in fit over the 33-item full scale and (b) that W. M. Reynolds's (1982) Forms A and B are the best fitting short versions. No gender differences were found for the full scale or any of the short versions. The results show that the full scale could be improved psychometrically and that the psychometrically sound short versions should be available because they require less administration time than the full scale.     

Relationships between critical thinking and attitudes toward women's roles in society

This exploratory study is the first examination of the relationships between critical thinking--as measured by subscales on the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Form S (WGCTA Form S; G. B. Watson & E. M. Glaser, 1994)-and attitudes toward women's roles in society--as measured by subscales on the Attitudes Toward Women Scale (AWS: J. T. Spence & R. L. Helmreich, 1972). The authors hypothesized that greater critical thinking skills would be associated with more liberal attitudes toward women's roles in society. Results from a sample of 90 nursing and management undergraduates supported the hypothesis. There were moderate correlations between scores from the WGCTA Form S Inference (.24 to .37) and Deduction (.19 to .26) subtests and scores from the AWS Freedom and Independence; Marital Relationships and Obligation; and Vocational, Educational, and Intellectual Roles subscales. These findings suggest that further research with larger samples and cross-cultural samples is warranted.     

Reducing stereotype threat in order to facilitate learning

Recent stereotype threat research has demonstrated that negative stereotypes about women's math ability can impair their mathematical learning. This experiment extends this research by examining whether presenting “gender fair” information can reduce learning decrements (on a focal and transfer task) and if the timing of this information matters. Women (N = 140) and men (N = 60) were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: control, stereotype threat only, stereotype threat removed before learning, and stereotype threat removed after learning. Compared with women in the control condition and women who had stereotype threat removed before learning, learning and transfer were poorer for women in the stereotype threat only condition and women who had stereotype threat removed after learning but before learning assessment. Men's learning and transfer were unaffected by condition. These findings suggest that a manipulation that can reduce performance deficits can also reduce learning decrements if it is presented before learning occurs. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Self-Puzzle©: A Diagnostic and Therapeutic Tool

This article considers the uses, procedures, and analysis of a new diagnostic and therapeutic tool called the Self-Puzzle. The Self-Puzzle is a drawing of the patient's Self in puzzle form by the patient which serves a dual function of being therapeutic for the patient as well as diagnostic for the therapist. The patient collaborates in the assessment process by depicting his perception of himself and his relationship to his environment. Examples are provided to illustrate some of the uses of the Self-Puzzle in therapy.     

Does Therapeutic Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Cause Cognitive Enhancing Effects in Patients with Neuropsychiatric Conditions? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is increasingly used as a therapeutic intervention for neuropsychiatric illnesses and has demonstrated efficacy for treatment of major depression. However, an unresolved question is whether a course of rTMS treatment results in effects on cognitive functioning. In this systematic review and meta-analysis we aimed to quantitatively determine whether a course of rTMS has cognitive enhancing effects. We examined cognitive outcomes from randomised, sham-controlled studies conducted in patients with neuropsychiatric conditions where rTMS was administered to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) across repeated sessions, searched from PubMed/MEDLINE and other databases up until October 2015. Thirty studies met our inclusion criteria. Cognitive outcomes were pooled and examined across the following domains: Global cognitive function, executive function, attention, working memory, processing speed, visual memory, verbal memory and visuospatial ability. Active rTMS treatment was unassociated with generalised gains across the majority of domains of cognitive functioning examined. Secondary analyses revealed a moderate sized positive effect for improved working memory in a small number of studies in patients with schizophrenia (k = 3, g = 0.507, 95 % CI = [0.183–0.831], p < .01). Therapeutic rTMS when administered to the DLPFC in patients with neuropsychiatric conditions does not result in robust cognitive enhancing effects.