FACTOR ANALYSES OF AN INVENTORY OF BEHAVIOR IN SOCIAL SITUATION

Two samples of 178 boys and 238 girls answered a questionnaire dealing with nervous behavior in social situations. Factor analyses gave five factors in the study of boys and four in the study of girls. Rotation to a common structure showed at most four common congruent factors, which are interpreted and discussed.     

SYNTHESIS OF FACTOR ANALYSES: III Interbattery methods of synthesis of factor analyses

W erdelin , I. Synthesis of factor analyses. III. Interbattery methods of synthesis of factor analyses. Scand. J. Psyehol ., 1962, 3 , 196–204.—Methods of performing several factor analyses on a common sample, so that we arrive at invariant structures, are discussed. A method of rotating a factorial solution to a structure given by a previous study, and a method of checking whether two studies performed on the same sample are congruent, are given.     

THE EFFECTIVENESS AND TRANSFER VALUE OF TWO METHODS OF CONCEPT LEARNING

WERDELIN, I., BONDESSON, E. & LARSSON, G.-B. The effectiveness and transfer value of two methods of concept learning. Scand. J. Psychol. , 1971, 12, 198–204.–Two methods of learning are compared as to their effectiveness and transfer value, the "direction method", where principles are presented and exemplified, and the "discovery method", where the learner discovers the principles from examples. In an experiment with 12a pupils in grade five it was found that the direction method was superior to the discovery method in these learning situations, that the methods are differently effective with different materials, and that experience with one of the methods may transfer to the ability to learn new materials with either method. The connections between concept, method and previous experience are very complex, however.     

FACTOR ANALYSES OF QUESTIONNAIRES OF ATTITUDES TOWARDS SCHOOL WORK

W erdelin , I. Factor analyses of questionnaires of attitudes towards school work. Scand. J. Psychol ., 1968, g, 117–128.—Two studies were carried out. (I) A questionnaire of 35 items was given to 178 boys and 238 girls in the ninth grade of American high schools. (2) A questionnaire of 52 items was given to 405 boys and 405 girls in the seventh grade of Swedish elementary schools. Factor analysis revealed a large number of factors. Some of these measured preference for a certain school subject, others attitudes towards school work across the domain of subjects. One measuring emotional reaction to school work and the individual subjects is particularly important. Two factors, which measured attitudes towards teachers and classmates, were found to be independent of factors measuring attitudes towards school work.     

ON THE NATURE OF THE PERCEPTUAL SPEED FACTOR

W erdelin , I. & S tjernberg , G. On the nature of the perceptual speed factor. Scand. J. Psychol ., 1969, 10, 185–192.–149 subjects, about 15 years old, were given 25 psychological tests. Some of these defined the reference factors R, S, N , and P , others were designed to study the nature of the P factor. It was found that certain visual tests showed successively higher loadings in the P and N factors the more they were practiced. This effect of practice is probably restricted to tests of a certain kind. Very simple visual tests showed high loadings in the P factor. Hypotheses as to the nature of the P factor are suggested.     

THE VALUE OF EXTERNAL DIRECTION AND INDIVIDUAL DISCOVERY IN LEARNING SITUATIONS: The learning of a fwen alphabet

W erdelin , I. The value of external direction and individual discovery in learning situations. II. The learning of a foreign alphabet. Scand J. Psychol ., 1968, 9, 248–251.—Three samples (A, B, C), selected at random from seven eighth grade classes and matched with respect to scholastic achievement, line of study, and sex, were taught a foreign alphabet differently. A was told the principles of the alphabet and applied it on examples; B was given most examples first, then told the principles, and given additional examples; C was given the examples only. There was a clear tendency that A learned the principles best as measured by the ability to apply them immediately but C was comparatively better on tests which measured retention and transfer.     

Sustainable Pressure for "Women-Friendliness" in Sweden

This paper describes how Swedish women argue and act in order to improve their quality of life. It is based on a citizen survey and on interviews with leaders of a broadly defined women's movement. The thesis is that women are in the process of developing their own democratic practice. They thereby challenge the assumption that general suffrage and numerical equality of representation are sufficient conditions for transforming the contemporary gender power order into one characterized by equality of power between women and men. The empirical data show that there is a great deal of variation in perceptions of problems and ways of accomplishing change. The existence of somewhat different priorities and plural feminist strategies for change—state feminist, interest group–based, civil, and segregated—are interpreted as speaking in favor of the sustainability of such pressure for "women-friendliness" in Sweden.     

Placebo effect and randomized clinical trials

The achievement of optimal therapeutic results presupposes the use of appropriate treatment combined with maximal utilization of placebo effects. These aims may sometimes be difficult to satisfy in randomized clinical trials (RCTs). The question thus arises whether there is a conflict between the goals of therapy and those of experimental research; and if so, to what extent, and how is it handled in practice by clinicians and researchers. Various ethical problems have been discussed in several reports connected with RCTs. But we have found no discussion concerning the conflict between obtaining informed consent and promoting optimal placebo effects. Information about RCTs can be given in various ways. Sometimes appropriate information about RCTs to patients involves non-optimal utilization of placebo effects. This gives rise to ethical and methodological problems, which are discussed in this article.