James V. Couch

Facilitating and Debilitating Test Anxiety and Academic Achievement

The Alpert-Haber Achievement Anxiety Test was administered to 426 college students. Of these students, 197 were given the Suinn Test Anxiety Behavior Scale and 229 were given the Test Anxiety Scale. The results in-dicate a significant sex of student effect for facilitating test anxiety as well as a different factor structure for male and female responses to the Achievement Anxiety Test. Classification of students into either facilitators or debilitators resulted in a significant sex of student effect for cumulative grade point average. Further analysis revealed that the type of test anxiety and the sex of the student were related. The results were discussed in the context of a continuing examination of variables underlying test anxiety.

Gender Perception of Professional Occupations

Students (181 women and 44 men in a southern university) were asked to indicate their perception of whether each of 105 professional occupations was predominately masculine or feminine. Analysis indicated that a majority of the occupations were perceived as masculine, i.e., those predominately power- or product-oriented, while feminine occupations were predominately caregiving. Results were discussed in terms of the influence of media on the perception of gender-specific roles and the implications of these perceptions for the status of a person holding a given occupation.

Another Psychometric Evaluation of the Just World Scale

The psychometric properties of the Just World Scale developed by Rubin and Peplau in 1975 has been debated in the literature as some results are conflicting. The present investigation provides another look at its factor structure and the presumed relation between scores of young men and women. The two factors extracted accounted for 24.45% of the variance and matched Rubin and Peplaus factors of “Just” and “Unjust.” For total scores and factor scores no effects for sex were observed.

A National Survey of Microcomputer Use by Academic Psychologists

A national survey of academic psychologists indicated increasing use of microcomputers for instructional purposes and that such use was unrelated to department size. Apple and IBM microcomputers, the predominant brands, were represented about equally. Software was used most frequently for statistical analysis and word processing. Microcomputers were used most often in research methods and statistics courses.

Computer use in psychology: A directory of software (2nd ed.).

This new and expanded version of the second edition has been designed to assist psychologists in identifying those software packages that best fit their needs. The directory provides impartial, non-evaluative summaries of over 800 software packages, allowing academics and clinicians to choose the software they need. The volume is divided into four sections: academic software - appropriate for use in psychology instruction; psychological testing software - for use in testing; other clinical software - for use in clinical practice (other than testing); and statistics and research software - for data analysis and presentation. Several indices are provided for ease of use. Each software listing is standardised and provides complete information on which to base the selection and purchasing decision.

Gender of an expert witness and the jury verdict

Can jurors separate their perception of the ideal gender for a profession from the testimony of an expert witness representing that profession? Mock jurors read about a civil case involving an automobile accident. Plaintiff’s evidence came from an automotive engineer depicted as either male or female. Individual juror response measures and jury responses indicated no significant effect of gender on the effectiveness of the expert witness. Results are discussed in terms of similar research and implications for civil trials.

Computer Use by Psychologists

During the last several years psychologists have made increasing use of computers in professional activities. Historically, psychologists have collected and analyzed data with them, most often with mainframes or minicomputers. Recently, the reduced cost of hardware and growing availability of quality software has made the use of microcomputers vital in the psychologist’s workplace. For example, clinical psychologists employ microcomputers in administering and interpreting psychological tests and preparing psychological reports. As it is in many other professions, the microcomputer revolution is leaving its mark in professional psychology. The authors have surveyed academic psychologists in Virginia (Stoloff & Couch, 1987) and nationally (Couch & Stoloff, 1986) to obtain an