Damon Krug

MMPI differences for renal, psychiatric, and general medical patients.

Renal failure has both medical and psychological implications. Indeed, various psychiatric problems related to end-stage renal disease have been reported in the literature; however, the focus has been on anxiety and depression. While previous research has dealt with the comparisons of patients with renal failure, few studies have investigated the comparison of renal patients with psychiatric and general medical patients. The present study compared renal patients (N = 24) with a group of depressed psychiatric patients (N = 24) and a group of general medical patients (N = 24) on the MMPI. The results suggested that the renal group presented a psychological profile that more closely resembled that of the depressed psychiatric group than that of patients with other chronic medical conditions.

Factor analysis of the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery for Older Children.

Studies of the factor structure of the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery for Older Children (HRNB-C) have reported solutions ranging from 5 to 7 constructs. The current study examined the underlying factor structure of the HRNB-C using only tests from the Battery itself with 800 learning disabled children. The results showed a four factor solution to be the most heuristic. These dimensions were identified as Speed of Operation, Tactile-Motor Integration, Attention, and Visuo-Spatial Memory. When ancillary tests are excluded it is argued that four factors provide the best description of the underlying structure of the HRNB-C.

The “Testing” Effect and Restricted Retrieval Rehearsal

Four experiments examined two alternative views of retrieval events. The results of Experiment 1 were equivocal because of an apparent “ceiling effect.” The results of Experiments 2, 3, and 4, in which changes were made in basic procedures, seemed to indicate that the act of retrieval itself had an effect on the memorability of words.

The selective displaced rehearsal hypothesis and failure to obtain the generation effect

Following a series of four experiments in which the generation effect was not obtained, a selective displaced rehearsal hypothesis, as described by Slamecka and Katsaiti (1987), was tested. The results of the experiments based on this hypothesis agreed with Slamecka and Katsaiti’s predictions; that is, the generation effect appeared only in within-group designs that did not control subjects’ displacement of rehearsal.

NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL CLUSTERS WITHIN INTELLIGENCE LEVELS FOR LEARNING DISABLED CHILDREN

The present study assessed 1142 learning disabled children with the Halstead Reitan Neuropsychological Battery and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised. Subjects were divided into four groups based upon Full Scale IQ (i.e., 70–79; 80–89; 90–99 and 100–110). Subsequent clustering of the test data within each group suggested that while the students in the 70–79 IQ range were represented by a single Impaired Cluster, each of the other IQ groups had both an Impaired Cluster and a Non-Impaired Cluster.

“Advance” advance organizers

Two experiments were conducted in which subjects read and paraphrased an advance organizer under one of three conditions: (1) 48 h prior to reading organizer-relevant text, (2) 1 h prior to reading organizer-relevant text, and (3) immediately prior to reading organizer-relevant text. A fourth condition (4) was a control in which no organizer was available. The results of both experiments indicated that subjects in the experimental conditions recalled significantly more text content than subjects in the control conditions. Significant quadratic trends were observed among the experimental conditions in both experiments. The results support a knowledge activation and integration view of advance organizers.

The predictive validity of a neuropsychological screening measure

This study examined the efficacy of a neuropsychological screening measure in discriminating between neurologically impaired and nonimpaired subjects. It also examined the ability of this screening measure correctly to classify impaired subjects according to right and left hemisphere involvement. The results showed that some 96% of subjects could be correctly classified as impaired or nonimpaired. The measure was also found correctly to identify the hemisphere involved in 95% of the impaired cases. The value and limitations of neuropsychological screening instruments was discussed in terms of portability and ease of administration.