Louis H. Janda

Neuropsychological performance of adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): Diagnostic classification estimates for measures of frontal lobe/executive functioning

ADHD adults (N = 26) were compared to normal controls (N = 26) on 6 neuropsychological measures believed sensitive to frontal lobe-executive functioning. MANOVA analyses and subsequent univariate tests indicated that most of the neuropsychological measures discriminated between the two groups. To address clinical significance diagnostic classification rates were also generated for each measure individually, and for the battery as a whole. Levels of positive predictive power (PPP) for each of the 6 measures (83-100%) indicated that abnormal scores on these tests were good predictors of ADHD. However, estimates of negative predictive power (NPP) suggested that normal scores poorly predicted the absence of ADHD. When classification rates were calculated for the overall battery classification accuracy improved substantially. Thus, neuropsychological tests can differentiate adults suffering from ADHD from adults without ADHD, while also providing good classification accuracy. Finally, the pattern of neurobehavioral impairments exemplified through the Summary Index scores was interpreted as consistent with conceptualizations of ADHD depicting mild neurologic dysfunction in networks associated with the frontal lobes.

An exploratory investigation of the origin and maintenance of phobias

Abstract Phobies were asked to relate past events which they believed caused or contributed to their fear, and to describe cognitive events experienced while imagining phobic interactions. Approximately half the subjects were able to recall relevant learning experiences, with direct experiences far more common than vicarious experiences or learning based on verbal instruction. Almost all of the subjects reported self-verbalizations while imagining the phobic situation, in every case phobic relevant. However, in a minority of instances were the verbalizations ‘catastrophic’ in nature. In only about half the cases did the phobies report that, in vivo, thoughts preceeded fear in the phobic situation (in contrast to a comparison group of less fearful subjects for which thoughts did preceed fear to a significant degree). Results are discussed in terms of possible limitations of a cognitive interpretation of phobic behavior.

Fear of success in males and females in sex-linked occupations

Two experiments were reported which examined “fear of success” imagery in men and women in response to three sex-linked occupations. The occupations were engineer, child psychologist, and nurse. Both experiments found clear differences for perceived male dominance. It was also found that engineer and child psychologist did not differ in terms of perceived status, while nurse was significantly lower than the other two occupations. With regard to fear of success imagery the results of both studies indicated an interaction effect for sex of subject and occupations. Males exhibited the most fear of success imagery to the nurse cue, while females exhibited the most to the engineer cue. It was concluded that male dominance of occupations was an important factor in relation to fear of success imagery.

The Revised Mosher Sex-Guilt Scale: its psychometric properties and a proposed ten-item version.

Mosher introduced his Forced-Choice Guilt Inventory some 40 years ago and, over the following decades, his subscale measuring sex guilt has been the most widely used measure of this construct. Mosher revised his instrument in 1998, but he did not provide data regarding the reliability of the scale, its construct validity, or its overlap with the original scale. In this study, a sample of 272 undergraduate college students (95 men and 177 women) were administered both the original Mosher Forced-Choice Guilt Inventory and the Revised Mosher Sex-Guilt Scale, a Non-Acceptance of Sexuality Scale, and several items regarding their sexual experiences. Results of this study provide support for the psychometric soundness of the 50-item Revised Mosher Sex-Guilt Scale. Results also revealed that the 50-item scale had a high degree of overlap with the original forced-choice version, and that it had statistically significant correlations in the predicted directions with the sexual experiences items. This study also proposes a brief 10-item version of Moshers 50-item scale, which has similar psychometric characteristics and could serve as an efficient substitute for the longer scale.

Effects of sexual attitudes and physical attractiveness on person perception of men and women

A sample of 180 males and 180 females completed person perception measures for stimulus women who varied in physical attractiveness and permissiveness of sexual attitudes. The results indicated that both physical attractiveness and sexual attitudes had strong effects on peson perception. Physically attractive stimulus women were rated higher than the unattractive stimulus women on a physical appeal factor and an item measuring interpersonal attraction. The sexually conservative women were rated higher on an evaluative factor, lower on a personability factor, and higher on the interpersonal attraction item than the sexually permissive stimulus women. It was also found that the effects of physical attractiveness were greater for males than for females and that women rated the sexually permissive stimulus women less favorably than did men.

Daily Events and Mood State Among Individuals Living With HIV: Examination of the Within-Persons Approach to Data Collection Using Daily Diary Methodology

Studies examining the link between stressful events and coping with HIV have relied on a between-persons approach focusing on how individuals differ on some characteristics. Although the between-subjects approach has yielded important information, our goal was to use a within-persons approach, making repeated measurements of the same persons over many days, to examine the impact of changing circumstances on the mood states of those with HIV. A second goal was to determine if asking participants to report their daily experiences via a computerized interactive voice system is a viable way to collect such information. This study collected a variety of trait measures for seven HIV patients and subsequently used a computerized telephone system to collect information regarding daily events and mood states over 21 consecutive days. Several daily measures, including self-esteem, optimism, and positive social interactions were significantly related to daily mood states. Trait measures, with the exception of symptom distress, were ineffective in predicting variations in daily mood states. It was concluded that a computerized telephone system is a viable means of collecting information from HIV patients on a daily basis and within-persons methodology may provide useful information about daily events affecting mood states beyond that generated by a between-persons approach.

IVR Test & Survey: a computer program to collect data via computerized telephonic applications.

Several studies have demonstrated the advantages of using interactive voice response (IVR) technology to collect self-report data from research participants and recipients of psychological/medical services. IVR allows participants to phone a computer and respond to recorded questions by pressing the appropriate touch-tone keys on their telephone. Because this technology offers substantial benefits in terms of cost and efficiency, it is surprising that it has not been more widely utilized by researchers and practitioners. Along with the automation of the administration and scoring of tests or surveys, IVR provides for questioning to be adapted to the participants’ responses. One possible explanation for the failure to exploit this technology is the absence of easy-to-use software that does not require programming knowledge. This article describes IVR Test & Survey, a program to facilitate the administration, scoring, and analysis of information collected with the use of IVR technology.

Effects of guilt and response modality upon associative sexual responses

Abstract Two experiments were conducted to test two conceptualizations of guilt. These were Moshers social learning view and an avoidant-anxiety view suggested by Galbraith. Both experiments examined the effects of sexual guilt and response modality upon associative sexual responses. The results indicated that anonymity of responding increased the number of sexual responses of low guilt women but not that of high guilt women. The results were interpreted as supporting Moshers preservation of self-esteem view of guilt.

Effects of Relaxation Training upon Physiological and Self-Report Indices

Relaxation training, as developed by Jacobsen ( 2 ) , is widely used by behavior therapists often as part of desensitization. Although there is little doubt that the relaxation procedure does reduce physiological indices of arousal (1, 3 ) , therapists generally rely on the clients verbal report of his level of relaxation. The present study assessed whether verbal reports of tension and relaxation correspond to physiological indices. Five male and five female college students served as subjects. Upon the subjects arrival at the experimental laboratory, he was informed that the study was intended to explore the physiological correlates of relaxation. Electrodes from a Grass Instrument Company Model Polygraph Data Recording System were then attached to the subject. After a 5-min. adaptation period, pulse rate (from the upper arm) and EMG (from the forehead) were recorded for 60 sec. The subject was then asked to estimate his degree of relaxation on a scale from 1 to 100, with a score of 100 representing extreme tension and anxiety. At this time each subject was administered Jacobsens relaxation exercises ( 4 ) for approximately 30 min. Following these exercises while the subject sat quietly for 60 sec., pulse rate and F.MG measures were again taken, and the subject was asked to rate his level of relaxation on the 100-point scale. The preand post-training pulse rate measure was total beats in each 60-sec. interval. The EMG measure was obtained by equally dividing each 60-sec. interval into six points, measuring the EMG level in pv at each of the points and calculating the mean. To the preand post-training means and standard deviations for pulse rare, EMG, and verbal report (cf. table) a t test for correlated samples was applied. The preand post-training scores were significantly different for pulse rate ( h = 3.27, p < .01), for EMG (k = 2.29, p < .05), and for verbal report (k, = 8.08, p < .001). To determine if physiological changes in tension corresponded to self-reported changes, correlations were calculated with pre-post difference scores for each pair of the measures-between pulse rate and verbal report (rs = -31, p > . l o ) , between EMG and verbal report (re = .11, p > . l o ) , and between EMG and pulse rate ( 7 s = -.58, p < . lo ) .

The effects of anonymity and dissimulation on the differential emotions scale

Abstract The effects of anonimity and dissimulation on responding to the Differential Emotions Scale was investigated in 100 college students, who completed the scale three times each after listening to three brief passages. The passages were intended to elicit sexy, heartwarming, and depressing feelings. Subjects were instructed to answer honestly, ‘fake bad’, and ‘fake good’. Anonimity was manipulated by asking half the subjects to put their names on all materials. The remaining subjects were told it was important for their responses to remain anonymous. A multiple-groups profile analysis was conducted on the data. Results suggest two cautions to users of the Differential Emotions Scale and similar measures: (1) it is subject to dissimulation; and, (2) the effects of a motive to dissimulate and anonymity of responding may interact with the gender of the respondent and the nature of the mood state induced in determining scores.