John O'Gorman

Effects of severe traumatic brain injury on visual memory

The study aimed to clarify the effects of severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) on visual memory. Three groups of participants (14 late-recovery and 14 early-recovery TBI individuals and 18 controls) were administered the following: The Shum Visual Learning Test (SVLT), a test that measures the ability to remember visual patterns, an electronic maze test, a test that measures the ability to remember spatial positions, and the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT), a test of verbal memory and learning. The individuals with TBI (late- and early-recovery) were found to be impaired on the SVLT and the RAVLT but not on the electronic maze. Specifically, on the SVLT, they were found to learn at a slower rate and make more false-positive errors than the controls. The advantages of the SVLT over visual memory tests used in previous studies and the significance of findings of the present study were discussed.

Self-control as a personality measure

Abstract The study examined the interrelationships of a self-report measure of self-control, based in the General Theory of Crime advanced by Gottfredson and Hirschi [Gottfredson, M. R., & Hirschi, T. (1990). A general theory of crime. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.], the Conscientiousness scale from the Five Factor model of personality, the BIS/BAS scales of Carver and White [Carver, D. S., & White, T. L. (1994). Behavioural inhibition, behavioural activation and affective responses to impending reward and punishment: the BIS/BAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67(2), 319–333.], and self-report measures of imprudent behaviour and criminal intent. The Self-Control scale showed some overlap with the Conscientiousness and BAS scales, but no significant relationship with the BIS measure. Conscientiousness predicted both imprudent behaviour and criminal intent and the Self-Control scale and BIS predicted criminal intent. The results indicate similarity between the self-control measure and existing personality scales as well as some unique variance in self-control of predictive value.

The Scientist-Practitioner Model and Its Critics

The scientist-practitioner model has been a major influence in professional training in psychology in English-speaking countries since its formulation almost half a century ago. The model aims to integrate science and practice to provide a uniquely qualified professional to work in a range of health, human service, organisational, and educational settings. The model, although widely accepted, has been criticised on the grounds (a) that the philosophy of science that underpins it is now out of date, (b) that it fails to pay due regard to the tacit knowledge of the practitioner, (c) that there is a dearth of suable knowledge provided by psychological science, and (d) that professionals trained in programs applying the model do not perform as scientists, as indicated by their low publication rates. These criticism and counter claims are discussed.

Extending the utility of the Depression Anxiety Stress scale by examining its psychometric properties in Chinese settings

The Depression Anxiety Stress scale (DASS) is a widely used instrument for assessing mental health status, but the construct validity of the Chinese version of the test has not been demonstrated. The current study recruited three independent samples of Chinese participants to examine its reliability, factor structure, and utility in differentiating groups expected to show high and low scores on the scales. The first sample comprised 605 undergraduate student volunteers from Beijing, the second sample comprised 138 residents from the Sichuan Province who had experienced the 2008 earthquake there, and the third sample comprised 86 Beijing residents. Cronbachs alpha values in excess of 0.80 were found for all samples and all scales. Confirmatory factor analysis with the student sample supported a three-factor latent structure for the DASS (depression, anxiety, and stress). Substantially higher scores on all scales were found for the Sichuan earthquake sample compared with the Beijing residents sample. Implications of these findings for the assessment of mental status using the DASS in China are discussed.

The psychology of work and unemployment in Australia today: an Australian Psychological Society Discussion Paper

This paper reviews recent literature on psychological aspects of work, unemployment, and underemployment in Australia at the beginning of the 21st century. It examines different notions of “work”, including paid employment and unpaid work (e.g., emotional work, volunteer work). It draws attention to the fact that, in our society, most of the important emotional work is carried out by women (caring for children, disabled relatives, and elderly dependent parents). It discusses the well-documented negative effects of unemployment and underemployment and the corresponding benefits of having work, focusing on young people, middle-aged people, and retired people. Finally, it discusses the psychological and health costs of being employed, in the light of the changes in the workplace that have occurred in the last decade: increased work pressures, less job security, increasing needs for retraining, increased income inequality, and an inequitable distribution of paid work.

Construct validity of the Revised Collett-Lester Fear of Death and Dying Scale

The construct validity of the Revised Collett-Lester Fear of Death and Dying Scale was examined in three separate studies. Study 1 (N=106) found substantial relationships between the Collett-Lester subscales and the subscales of the Multidimensional Fear of Death and Dying Scale. High test-retest reliabilities of the subscales over a six-week period were also observed. Study 2 (N=268) examined the sensitivity of the subscales to an intervention designed to change attitudes to death and dying. Statistically significant changes in three of the four subscales were found over a 14-week period. Study 3 examined the factor structure of the scale using exploratory and confirmatory techniques. Two of the subscales could be recovered from analyses at the item level but there was little support for the four factor model that guided test construction.

Performance of children with traumatic brain injury on a 4-disk version of the Tower of London and the Porteus Maze

Motivation and the presence of mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) were crossed to determine whether individuals with MTBI could overcome attention deficits many years after injury. Contrary to prediction, university students with self-reported MTBI (average time since injury 5 6.4 years) performed no differently from controls on a short but demanding set of neurocognitive tasks. As predicted, however, motivation differentially affected these groups by elevating controls’ performance while leaving the MTBI group’s performance unaffected. This finding was mainly due to individuals with more than one MTBI. These results suggest that university students who have sustained more than one MTBI may demonstrate subtle, longterm neurocognitive impairment. Additionally, motivation may be an important variable to consider in MTBI research.  2000 Academic Press

A test of remote memory for use in Australia

Abstract Two studies are reported on the development and validation of a test of remote memory for use in Australia. On the basis of a pilot study, 54 photographs of famous faces and 54 public-event questions spanning the six decades from the 1930s to the 1980s were selected to assess ability to recall and recognise people and events remote from the present. In Study 1 (N = 60), the test was administered to three groups ranging in age from 21 to 77 years who had no history of neurological or psychiatric disorder. In Study 2 (N = 36), the test was administered to two clinical groups with diagnoses of Alzheimers disease or Korsakoffs syndrome and to two groups of matched controls. Results indicated (a) memory for faces and events in the remote past was poorer than that for faces and events in the recent past but, importantly, this effect interacted with age of participant, with the older age group showing better memory for the remote past; (b) performance in the recognition condition was significantly bet...

Undergraduate education in psychology: Training the practitioner as well as the scientist

Currently, skills training in psychology in Australian universities is restricted to the postgraduate level. The present paper argues that there is a set of skills forming part of the core of professional psychology that could be taught at the undergraduate level to provide a more balanced implementation of the scientist-practitioner model. The skills proposed involve interpersonal processes, testing and assessment, applied research and evaluation, and behavioural analysis. A number of difficulties in introducing skills training of this sort to the undergraduate curriculum are noted.

Personal Stigma in Suicide Attempters

The aim of this study was to explore suicide attempters’ experiences of personal stigma. This qualitative study included a focus group of 7 experienced clinicians and semi-structured interviews with 8 suicide attempters. Thematic analysis of the data yielded four main themes: seriousness, care, “badness,” and avoidance. Experiences of stigma pervaded all contexts, but were most emotionally upsetting to the participants in interpersonal relationships. The findings show the importance of evaluating stigma for suicide attempters during suicide risk assessment and the need for specifically tailored interventions to combat suicide stigma at the individual level.