David J. Pittenger

The Utility of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

An evaluation of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is made using a “unified view” of test validity (e.g., Messick, 1981). The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is an assessment of personality based on Jung’s theory of types. During the past decade, the test has received considerable attention and use in a variety of applied settings. The unified view of validation requires that validity be considered as an approach that requires many sources of corroboration. This procedure contrasts with previous procedures that tended to focus on single validation procedures (e.g., construct validation). A review of the available literature suggests that there is insufficient evidence to support the tenets of and claims about the utility of the test.

Cautionary comments regarding the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI; K. C. Briggs & I. B. Myers, 1998) is a popular measure of normal personality that its promoters claim has many applications. M. H. McCaulley (2000) offered an optimistic and enthusiastic account of how counselors can use this instrument in corporate settings. The present article evaluates several of the psychometric limitations and criticisms of the MBTI that warrant considerable caution when making inferences from its 4-letter type formula. The author concludes that the MBTI, while offering much intuitive appeal, may not yet be able to support the claims its promoters make.

Internet Research: An Opportunity to Revisit Classic Ethical Problems in Behavioral Research

The Internet offers many new opportunities for behavioral researchers to conduct quantitative and qualitative research. Although the ethical guidelines of the American Psychological Association generalize, in part, to research conducted through the Internet, several matters related to Internet research require further analysis. This article reviews several fundamental ethical issues related to Internet research, namely the preservation of privacy, the issuance of informed consent, the use of deception and false feedback, and research methods. In essence, the Internet offers unique challenges to behavioral researchers. Among these are the need to better define the distinction between private and public behavior performed through the Internet, ensure mechanisms for obtaining valid informed consent from participants and performing debriefing exercises, and verify the validity of data collected through the Internet.

Analysis of the Partial Reinforcement Extinction Effect in Humans Using Absolute and Relative Comparisons of Schedules

The partial reinforcement extinction effect (PREE) was analyzed in humans using a quasi-multiple schedule of reinforcement with two discrete trial tasks. The first task was a videogame analog of a shuttle box. Using a joystick, subjects were required to move a cue in one of four directions for reinforcement. The second was a simple concept-formation task consisting of two binary dimensions; responding to one of the four alternatives was reinforced. All subjects were trained on the two tasks on a randomly alternating basis. Two groups were trained on the tasks using either continuous or partial reinforcement schedules for both tasks. An additional two groups received both schedules of reinforcement with continuous reinforcement on

A protocol for assessment of risk in wheelchair driving within a healthcare facility

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to describe how a skilled nursing facility with significant wheelchair traffic developed a protocol for the multidisciplinary assessment and intervention management of patients whose wheelchair use represents a risk to self and others. This article describes the procedure and two case studies illustrating the utility of the protocol. Method: Staff of the facility developed a protocol for responding to sentinel events related to patients hurting themselves and others while using a wheelchair or observed using the wheelchair in an unsafe manner. The goal of the protocol is to determine the cause of the event, identify the necessary multidisciplinary interventions, and the evaluation of the effectiveness of the interventions. Results: Case study analysis of the interventions indicated that a multidisciplinary evaluation and treatment plan leads to treatment interventions that suit the patients medical condition while affording the patient the greatest amount of independence. Conclusion: Many patients who live in a long-term skilled nursing facility must use either a manual or a power wheelchair for mobility. For these patients, the wheelchair may represent one of the last forms of independence they enjoy. The implementation of the protocol helped staff respond to important changes to the patients condition and prepare a coordinated intervention. The patients found the protocol to be a helpful component of their treatment.

Deception in Research: Distinctions and Solutions From the Perspective of Utilitarianism

The use of deception in psychological research continues to be a controversial topic. Using Rawlss explication of utilitarianism, I attempt to demonstrate how professional organizations, such as the American Psychological Association, can provide more specific standards that determine the permissibility of deception in research. Specifically, I argue that researchers should examine the costs and benefits of creating and applying specific rules governing deception. To that end, I offer 3 recommendations. First, that researchers who use deception provide detailed accounts of the procedures they used to minimize the harm created by deception in their research reports. Second, that the American Psychological Association offer a definition of deception that describes techniques commonly used in research. Finally, I recommend that the informed consent procedure be revised to indicate that the researcher may use deception as a part of the study.

Unit management of depression of patients with multiple sclerosis using cognitive remediation strategies: a preliminary study.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, often progressive neurologic disorder char acterized by cerebral and spinal cord lesions. Patients with advanced MS often re quire continuous supervision in a long-term skilled nursing facility. Many of these pa tients experience clinical levels of depression. For this experiment, we randomly assigned MS patients living in a skilled nursing facility to either a control condition or an extended treatment protocol. The protocol consisted of assigning individual cer tified nursing assistants (CNAs) to each patient, in-service training for the CNAs, and the use of memory notebooks. All patients completed the short version of the Beck Depression Inventory and several measures of cognitive functioning at the start and end of the study. The results indicate statistically and clinically significant improve ments in the depression of patients in the treatment but not in the control condi tion. These results led to recommendations for the treatment of MS patients living in long-term skilled nursing facilities and for additional research. Key Words: Multiple sclerosis—Long—term care—Depression—Memory notebooks—Cognition.

Analysis of the Partial Reinforcement Extinction Effect in Humans as a Function of Sequence of Reinforcement Schedules

The present experiment was conducted to investigate the effects that changes in reinforcement schedule have on the persistence of learned responses. Human subjects learned two simple tasks concurrently, both tasks being under either continuous reinforcement (CRF) or partial reinforcement (PRF). After 50 acquisition trials on both tasks, half the subjects in each schedule condition received an additional 50 acquisition trials with the same reinforcement schedules on the two tasks. The remaining subjects received 50 additional trials with the opposite reinforcement schedule on both tasks. All subjects then received 50 extinction trials on both tasks. The extinction data were biphasic, consisting of a short-term phase of declining performance in which group differences were clear, followed by a long-term phase in which the groups converged to a uniform high level of persistence. A conventional partial reinforcement effect was observed during the short-term phase, but only in terms of the most recently experienced schedule, that is, the first schedule experienced appeared to have no effect upon persistence, contrary to some current theories of the partial reinforcement effect. The role of task demands in this type of research is discussed.

Understanding and conducting research in the health sciences

Preface ix Part One Overview of the Research Process 1 Behavioral and Social Research in the Health Sciences 3 2 Ethics and Research 25 3 The Foundations of Research 45 4 An Overview of Empirical Methods 79 Part Two Nuts and Bolts of Research 5 Writing the Research Report 113 6 Reviewing the Literature 139 7 Sampling 161 8 Assessments, Surveys, and Objective Measurement 191 9 A Model for Research Design 225 Part Three Common Research Designs 10 Correlational Research 255 11 Between-Subjects Designs 285 12 Single-Variable Between-Subjects Research 315 13 Between-Subjects Factorial Designs 345 14 Correlated-Groups Designs 367 Part Four Special Research Designs 15 Single-Participant Experiments, Longitudinal Studies, and Quasi-Experimental Designs 393 16 Research with Categorical Data 415 17 Qualitative and Mixed-Methods Research 439 Appendix A Reviewing the Statistics behind the Research 461 Appendix B Statistical Tables 479 Index 521

The persistence of learned behaviors in humans as a function of changes in reinforcement schedule and response

Abstract The present experiments were conducted to investigate the effects which changes in reinforcement schedule and criterion response have on the persistence of learned responses. In Experiment 1, subjects were required to learn concurrently two tasks. Both tasks involved making one of four possible responses for reinforcement. During the first acquisition phase subjects received either continuous (CRF) or partial (PRF) reinforcement for both tasks. At the start of the second acquisition phase, the criterion response for both tasks was changed. In addition, reinforcement schedules were altered such that some subjects experienced (a) the same schedule of reinforcement as in Phase 1 on both tasks, (b) the alternate schedule of reinforcement on both tasks (i.e., CRF to PRF, and PRF to CRF), or (c) a change in schedule of only one task (e.g., CRF on one task and PRF on the other) during Phase 2. Following Phase 2 all reinforcement was withheld, and the persistence of the most recently learned response was monitored. It was found that subjects who had received CRF during Phase 1 evidenced a conventional partial reinforcement extinction effect (PREE) when they received only CRF or PRF during Phase 2, whereas subjects receiving both schedules evidenced a generalized PREE. However, there were no significant differences among groups receiving PRF during Phase 1. In the second experiment, a comparison of resistance to extinction was made between continuous and partial reinforcement schedules with and without a change in the criterion response. The results demonstrate that a change in criterion response diminished the level of persistence of the most recently learned response. The data are reviewed with reference to current theories of persistence and to the extinction-induced resurgence phenomenon.