Barry Bricklin

Perception-of-Relationships Test and Bricklin Perceptual Scales: Validity and Reliability Issues, Part II of Two Parts

In Part I we considered the requirements of a paradigm that could generate child custody data in a scientifically acceptable manner. Part II presents test-retest data obtained over an eight-month interval from the PORT (n = 127) and the BPS (n = 93). We address when concurrent validity data will be similar to future validity data, and the desirability of distinguishing errors of measurement from true changes in measured variables. We also present system-specific validity data for the PORT.

Can Child Custody Data be Generated Scientifically? Part I

Existing and new validity data on 3,880 cases from the Bricklin Perceptual Scales and Perception-of-Relationships Test address the assertion that custody data cannot be generated scientifically. Reliability (93 percent stability over 8 months) and validity data (90 percent agreement with multiple independent criteria) are presented, but without a fully explicated chain linking evidence to conclusions, one ends up with unresolvable, typically all-or-none, disputations about the adequacy of ones evidence. This chain includes, among others, the (confusing) role of values in science and how system complexities affect the choice of measurement units as well as measurement relevance. We also consider the value of information to a specific decision-maker. Psychometric indices, the usual source of such arguments, cannot alone address any of these areas.

The Changing School Scene

The author who attempts to write a book with multiple purposes for readers of different backgrounds and levels of sophistication has taken on a difficult, i f not impossible, assignment. This book i s intended to be useful to practicing psychologists, especially those who work with children and families in schools, clinics, and in the community. It i s written, also, for educators and special education staff, parents, community and government leaders. The author also wants the book to be useful to undergraduate and graduate students in psychology and in education. I t s stated purpose is: “ . . . to explore the innovative, experimental, and compensatory programs in the public schools with special attention to the changes in schools in deprived areas and the challenges these present to psychologists serving the schools” (p. xiv). In i t s 13 chapters, the book attempts to cover the development of the specialty of school psychology and some of i t s present dilemmas, especially those related to problems of the distribution of power in public schools. It includes sections on the nature-nurture controversy and the nature of school learning. A review of most of the major compensatory and experimental education programs of the 1960s i s presented along with descriptions of a number of research programs in which the author has been involved. Sections on the use of paraprofessions and trends in multilevel training including paraprofessions are presented. There are chapters which give useful information & Sons, 1974,314pp. about working with mentally retarded, brain damaged, emotionally disturbed, and gifted children. Behavior modification principles and methods with emphasis on their use in the classroom are also presented. There are detailed appendices in this short book devoted to background and technical information about the author’s research studies, cited in the text. School psychologists need all the help they can get, as do all specialists and educators working in urban schools. Unfortunately, the book i s less useful than the author and the reviewer would have liked. Some of the sections and chapters, by themselves, ‘are good essays dealing with topics of interest to many speciali s t s and educators. Especially useful are an excellent, but too brief, overview of the development of school psychology to mid-century; a review, program by program, of most of the compensatory and experimental education programs of the 1960s and sections, here and there, which reflect the author’s varied and extensive background with children, schools, and community agencies. However, the pieces o f the book are not integrated into a cohesive whole. The impression i s given that the author brought together a number of different ideas about which she was thinking and tried to find an integrating theme in order to put them al l in one book. In some areas there are glaring omissions. Especially noteworthy i s omission of the extensive work of Emory L. Cowen and his associates over the past 18 years on early detection and prevention of educational and socioemotional problems using nonprofessional child aides. This book can be recommended as a sup-

Eidetic Parents Test Analysis, by Akhter Ahsen, Ph.D. New York: Brandon House, 1972. 255 pp.

Eidetic Parents Test Analysis. by Akhter Ahsen, Ph.D. New York: Brandon House, 1972. 255 pp.

17.50.:

1 7.50. Sometimes i t i s possible to diagnose and help children whose language facility i s weak by a judicious use of imagery. In our own practices we have found i t possible to utilize Rorschachbased imagery with a wide assortment of learning disabled children. They are asked to role play, that is, to assume and speak for, the imagined characteristics of their own image creations. This brings to light aspects of their personalities otherwise hard to reach, and perhaps more significantly, involves them in their own therapy. (The description of this technique with a learning disabled child will appear in the Journal of Personality Assessment.) Akhter Ahsen has produced a technique which (with minor editing to adapt the stimulus situations and the instructions to the particular child) could be used similarly. “Eidetic” comes from the German “Eidetisch,” meaning “clear visual image.” Traditionally, the term has been used in connection with people, usually children, whose visual recall i s so complete it could almost be called “perfect.” Ahsen aims for this clarity with his patients, but there i s no way to tell i f he achieves it. Briefly, he asks them to visualize a number of standard situations. They are then asked to report on the inner experiences which follow these instructions. Observable behavior also is recorded by the examiner. An extremely lengthy first chapter i s written by A.T. Dolen, M.D., who maps out Ahsen’s main points and theoretical rationales. In trying to differentiate an “eidetic” from “an ordinary image” he points out that the latter does not manifest a perceptual quality, as does an eidetic. Additionally, an eidetic i s more accurate in its reproduction of detail. An eidetic i s assumed to show a greater degree of coherence in terms of the background against which i t i s seen. A memory image i s reported to be two-dimensional in nature, lacking any clear background. (No real evidence i s offered to support any of these assertions.) Ahsen believes that very specific traumata are “stored” in the central nervous system, “in the form of eidetics . . . (p. 18).” There are three aspects to an eidetic: an image, a related somatic state, and the meaning attached to the image. If an emotionally upsetting event i s not brought to a resolution, this structure can break down. A situation comes about in which you may have stored in isolation either the image, the somatic state, or the “meaning.” This set-up determines how symptoms are manifested, e.g., psychosomatic, phobic, obsessional, etc. Reuniting the eidetic i s part of the therapeutic process. The test consists of 30 situations which the subject i s requested to image. During the first exposure, the patient i s not pushed, nor i s the resulting material explored. These are the situa-

Research in Infant Assessment, edited by Natalie W. Paul. White Plains, NY: March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation. 1989. 168 pp.

ing Disabilities. The purpose was to explore work in progress aimed at identifying, from infancy, children who might later have learning or behavioral problems. The result is a collection of articles by an esteemed group of researchers and represents a wide spectrum of approaches. There are 10 papers, each of which summarizes a different approach. The first, by Molfese and Holcomb, reviews the literature related to the prediction of learning disorders from the assessment of &dquo;reproductive and caretaking variables:’ They present a theoretical basis for this perspective and discuss approaches that have been used. Fifteen stud-

20.00

Gerald Leisman is a professor in the Department of Health Science at Brooklyn College and coordinator of the Clinical Neurophysiology Laboratory in the Department of Neurosciences at the Veterans’ Administration Hospital in East Orange, New Jersey. Basic Visual Processes and Learning Disability. Gerald Leisman (end.). Springfield: Charles C Thomas, 1976, 439 pp. Price:

Leisman/Basic Visual Processes and Learning Disability

27.50. Learning processes and visual processes bear a good deal of overlapping, and this book is designed to relate a variety of dysfunctions to learning disabilities. Emphasis is on the &dquo;total problem,&dquo; with extensive discussion on underlying physiological and behavioral functions. Attempts to outline some specific visual disorders hint at diagnostic and treatment possibilities. The format and content are most appropriate for scientists; for example, the majority of the chapters are concerned with research, especially on the central nervous system. The book is written for readers in the disciplines of visual science, neurophysiology, and experimental psychology, with just enough to tantalize the neurologist, pediatrician, optometrist, ophthalmologist, clinical psychologist, and educator. The contributors include eight visual scientists, a neurologist, three pediatricians, three optometrists, one ophthalmologist, and others. The book includes some new theories which

Understanding and Living with Brain Damage. Patrick E. Logue. Springfield, III.: Charles C Thomas, 1975, 106 pp.,

report of their large group of more than a thousand patients. Chemotherapy i s related to EEG studies clearly and definitively, so the reader can draw his own conclusions. Dosage and administration of medications are discussed and are related to the authors’ overall plan of presentation. This i s an important chapter, and is one of an almost negligible few in world literature to deal with this controversial problem. Unfortunately there i s a letdown after this fine piece of writing when the authors get to a brief theoretical discussion and to their conclusions. Chapter 6, however, i s a contribution to the literature. bVilliam M. Cruickshank, PhD, University of hlichigan, Ann Arbor, hlich.

8.50 cloth,

how and to what degree they affect the child, and whether and how such problems should be remediated . . . .While any selection of articles can b e arbitrary and based o n the interests of the compiler, the editor wishes to point ou t that he is relatively new to the field and has n o particular axe to grind.” T h e book is intended as a supplementary text for introductory courses concerned with problems in perceptual-motor development. The articles are divided into six sections: overview, major issues, reading and perceptual training controversy, assessment, remedial techniques, and unresolved problems and research needs. In t h e section relating to major issues, several interesting points are raised. Wedell’s article question whether there is a relationship(s) between visual attention span, tactual exploration and learning disabilities. He suggests a possible relationship between visual fixation ability and short attention span. The Rosner study suggests a relationship between reading achievement and auditory perception and between arithmetic achievement and visual perception. The research findings of Morency and Wepman make a strong case for the inclusion of perceptual functioning training when planning early education. Hammill, Goodman and Wiederholt seriously question the validity of “attractively packaged materials” used for perceptual-motor enhancement. Hartman and Hartman raise the issue of whether a taskoriented reading approach is better than socalled “process” remediation. An interesting response to this question was prepared by Solan , Artificial Dichotomy (The Reading Teacher, 1973, Vol. 27). Unfortunately, Solan’s response was not included in this work. The section on assessment provides theory and rationale for diagnosis, as well as an outline of questions (Aliberto) relating to perceptualmotor functioning for the classroom teacher. Similarly, t h e section o n remedial techniques includes a number of articles which provide the reader with an overview o f the philosophy of treatment procedures. The Silver article reviews “acceptable and controversial approaches in treatment.” The response to this article by Seiderman (Pediatrics, 1976, 57, 980-981) does not appear in this volume since it was published before the response. This text nicely fulfills its goal of acquainting the reader with the area of perceptualmotor development and the learning disabled child. It could be used as an auxiliary textbook for the graduate student or as an introduction of this field t o the professional who lacks background but desires to learn about perceptualmotor functioning. The editor’s selection of materials is excellent and gives the reader a well-rounded basis for understanding a t an introductory level. On the negative side, the book lacks an index and the papers have not been worked into a unified whole but appear in their original form. Arthur S. Seiderman, 81 7 7 Old York Road, Elkins Park, Pa. 191 7 7.