Dual scaling for the analysis of categorical data

Dual scaling is a set of related techniques for the analysis of a wide assortment of categorical data types including contingency tables and multiple-choice, rank order, and paired comparison data. When applied to a contingency table, dual scaling also goes by the name "correspondence analysis," and when applied to multiple-choice data in which there are more than 2 items, "optimal scaling" and "multiple correspondence analysis. " Our aim of this article was to explain in nontechnical terms what dual scaling offers to an analysis of contingency table and multiple-choice data.     

Perfectionism and the five-factor model of personality

In this study of the discriminant, convergent, and incremental validity of the Almost Perfect Scale-Revised (APS-R), university students completed the APS-R, additional measures of perfectionism, the NEO Five-Factor Inventory-Form S, and measures of self-esteem and depression. The results revealed expected significant, but not completely overlapping, associations between the APS-R Discrepancy subscale scores and the Five-Factor Model of Personality (FFM) dimension of Neuroticism, and between the APS-R High Standards and Order subscales and the FFM dimension of Conscientiousness. The incremental validity of APS-R scores over FFM dimensions was supported in analyses of self-esteem but not depression. The implications of these findings for further psychometric and clinical studies of perfectionism and facets of FFM dimensions are discussed.     

Career indecision in adult women: A comparative and descriptive study

This study compared 66 high-school women, 66 first-year college women, and 66 adult women on four measures of career indecision, the Satisfaction with Career Scale, the Occupational Alternatives Question, the Vocational Decision Making Difficulty Scale, and the Career Decision Scale. The results consistently suggested that the adult women were experiencing more career indecision than the high-school and college women. Intercorrelations among the scales were generally moderate to somewhat low and raised some questions about the use of the Career Decision Scale with adult women. Additional data were gathered on the adult women in an attempt to delineate the sample. Variables included were: marital status, present work experience, the career-related goals and the reasons for pursuing these goals, and possible impediments to reaching the goals. These results are presented and the implications for future research and counseling with adult women are examined.     

Sentential constants in systems near R

An Ackermann constant is a formula of sentential logic built up from the sentential constant t by closing under connectives. It is known that there are only finitely many non-equivalent Ackermann constants in the relevant logic R. In this paper it is shown that the most natural systems close to R but weaker than it-in particular the non-distributive system LR and the modalised system NR-allow infinitely many Ackermann constants to be distinguished. The argument in each case proceeds by construction of an algebraic model, infinite in the case of LR and of arbitrary finite size in the case of NR. The search for these models was aided by the computer program MaGIC (Matrix Generator for Implication Connectives) developed by the author at the Australian National University.     

Perfectionism in African American students: relationship to racial identity, GPA, self-esteem, and depression

This study examined 219 African American college students at predominantly White universities using the constructs of perfectionism, academic achievement, self-esteem, depression, and racial identity. Cluster analysis was performed using the Almost Perfect Scale-Revised (APS-R), which yielded three clusters that represented adaptive perfectionists, maladaptive perfectionists, and nonperfectionists. These three groups were compared on their scores on the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D), the Cross Racial Identity Scale (CRIS), and Grade Point Average (GPA). Adaptive perfectionists reported higher self-esteem and lower depression scores than both the nonperfectionists and maladaptive perfectionists. Adaptive perfectionists had higher GPAs than nonperfectionists. On the racial identity scales, maladaptive perfectionists had higher scores on Pre-Encounter Self Hatred and Immersion-Emersion Anti-White subscales than adaptive perfectionists. The cultural and counseling implications of this study are discussed and integrated. Finally, recommendations are made for future studies of African American college students and perfectionism.     

The influence of chance and contingency factors on the vocational choice process of nonprofessional workers

The present study investigated the perceived influence of chance and contingency factors on the career choices of nonprofessional workers. The sample was composed of 447 female workers and 470 male workers. As part of a larger study the workers listed the factors that had influenced their choice of their first job, their present job, and their most satisfying job. They were also asked to consider their entire work history and note events, people, or personal inclinations which influenced their vocational decisions. The workers then rated each of 27 chance or contingency factors concerning the extent of influence (great, some, none) on their career choices. The results are examined and discussed relative to the perceived importance of chance and contingency factors on the career choices of nonprofessional workers. The implications of the results for vocational theory and career counseling are considered.     

An investigation of racial differences on vocational variables among college women

This study used a sample of black and white college women matched on Duncan's (1961) socioeconomic indicator ratings to explore possible racial differences on vocationally relevant variables. There were no differences between the groups on age or educational level. The distribution of the parents' occupations by Holland type and the distribution of the subjects by their VPI type appeared to be quite similar. There were no significant differences based on: the relationship of the parents' occupational types to the subjects' VPIs: the relationship between the subjects' VPI types and their occupational choice or college major; the estimated likelihood of reaching the career goal; satisfaction with career choice or college major; and scores on two recent scales designed to measure vocational indecision. While no differences were found on the number of possible factors listed that might impede career goals, the distribution of the most important of these factors indicated there were differences between the two groups. These findings are discussed relative to their implications for interpreting previous research and carrying out future studies.     

What makes a hypothetical construct “hypothetical”? Tracing the origins and uses of the ‘hypothetical construct’ concept in psychological science

The “hypothetical construct” has been an important concept in philosophy of science for the past half century. References to the concept date as far back as 1943 (Loomba, 1943). Inconsistencies in the use of the term and the related ‘intervening variable’ concept prompted MacCorquodale and Meehl (1948) to distinguish the two concepts and propose conventions for their employment in psychological discourse. They recommended that ‘hypothetical construct’ designates theoretical concepts that “refer to processes or entities that are not directly observed” and, thus, fail to meet the requirements of intervening variables (p. 104). It is interesting to speculate what makes a hypothetical construct “hypothetical.” The motivation for attaching “hypothetical” to constructs is not always immediately apparent. The aim of this paper is to trace the origins of the expression ‘hypothetical construct’, delineate its employment in psychology, and explore the ontological and epistemological presuppositions that underlie conceptions of hypothetical constructs.