Stanley H. Cohen

Package: a System of Computer Routines for the Analysis of Correlational Data

IN this period of large capacity, high-speed computers, there can be found at almost every computer installation a program library containing an assortment of routines to analyze correlational data. However, few offer a program system composed of several, linked routines. And usually either the system is not transportable because some of its elements are written in machine or assembly code or the system consists of a complex group of control cards that prevent the novice from fully utilizing it. Moreover, modifying programs within the system or expanding the program selection requires a large investment of time, money, and energy. The present writers believed a system of correlational analysis programs could be developed that was (1) transportable from installation to installation, (2) made up of a relatively simple set of

Effects of intellectual variables, age, and gender on divergent thinking in adulthood

Divergent thinking was assessed in 400 adult women and men with tests of word association (associational ‘ uency) and alternate uses (production ‘ uency, ‘ exibility, and originality). The participants were from four age cohorts: young (17-22 years old), middle-aged (40-50), young-old (60-70), and old-old (75+). The test battery also included two intellectual “process” variables (inductive reasoning, memory span), one “dynamic resource variable” (intellectual speediness), one “structural resource variable” (vocabulary), and two moderator variables (depression, education). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that divergent thinking was significantly, linearly, positively, and moderately related to all of these variables except depression, which was not significantly related to divergent thinking. Effects of age group and gender were assessed in analyses of variance (alpha = .01). The age groups did not differ significantly in associational ‘ uency, but the middle-aged group was the best on production ‘ uency, ‘ exibility, and originality. Gender had a significant effect on only one variable: Women had higher depression scores than men.

Impact of aftercare services on recidivism of mental hospital patients.

The subjects in this study were 129 patients released within a 2-year period from a large state hospital to a three-county area. Patient information on demographic, inhospital, and posthospital variables and the extent of participation in an aftercare program was collected from existing records. The relationship between the community support system available to the patient and recidivism was determined. Three criteria of recidivism were used: readmission within 1 year following discharge, number of days in the community within 1 year following discharge, and number of days to first readmission. No single predictor was adequate in predicting hospital readmission. When the effects of confounding variables were eliminated using multiple-regression techniques, the amount of aftercare received was an important factor in predicting recidivism. However, current situational factors appeared to be more important predictors of recidivism than receipt of aftercare services.

Fashion in the classroom III: Effects of instructor attire and immediacy in natural classroom interactions

This is the third of three studies using complementary designs to investigate the effects of teacher attire on student perceptions of instructors and instruction in contemporary college classrooms. In line with Studies One and Two, modest effects of attire on perceptions of extroversion and competence were found; however, previous conclusions that instructor attire has little meaningful, predictable effect on ratings of attributes related to either approachability or credibility were reinforced. Student judgements of such attributes were influenced far more by teacher use of immediacy behaviors than by attire. In particular, positive effects resulting from teachers’ choice of formal professional attire were not supported. This is the final study in a three‐part series designed to investigate the implications of instructor attire in the contemporary college classroom. Interest in this topic was sparked by collegial conversations regarding advice for new teaching assistants: What can they do to enhance cred...

Student perspectives on training in gay, lesbian, and bisexual issues: A survey of behavioral clinical psychology programs

Practicing psychologists frequently are asked to provide services to individuals whose backgrounds may differ from their own. Education in multicultural issues increasingly is being considered an important component of doctoral training programs. This article discusses the results of a survey of behavioral doctoral students concerning their graduate training on gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) issues. The results indicate that participants (a) have received minimal training in GLB issues, (b) feel inadequate in working with GLB individuals, and (c) express significantly more favorable attitudes toward gay men than a sample from the general population. Included are recommendations for improving training in sexual orientation issues in behavioral clinical psychology programs.

Fashion in the Classroom II: Instructor Immediacy and Attire.

Results of a 2 (immediacy conditions) X 3 (attire conditions) experimental study indicated lesser effects of attire on person perceptions when studied in a live interaction context as opposed to responses to photographs, as has been typical in previous studies. Influence of attire was largely limited to ratings of instructor extroversion, while immediacy influenced perceptions of extroversion, composure, character, competence, homophily, and learning. There was no statistically significant interaction between attire and immediacy; i.e., there was no indication that strategic choice of attire bolsters student ratings of non‐immediate instructors, or that “non professional” attire hurts judgements of immediate instructors.

Evaluative Research: Perspectives from a Corrections Setting

This paper examines issues related to the process and product requirements of evaluative research in a corrections setting. Process requirements include the relationship of the evaluator to management and line staff, methods for encouraging accurate reporting of data, and the implications of the evaluators position in the organizational structure. Product requirements include distinguishing between in-program and post-program outcome measures, defining adequate post-program measures, and the validity of measures, in particular recidivism. Various methodological problems that are discussed include evaluating dynamic programs with dynamic populations, the selection of comparison groups, and the effects of differential post-release experiences on outcome.

Toward a model of person-environment congruence: Development of the EPPIS

The Person Environment (P-E) Congruence model represents an approach to understanding the impact of the environment on the well-being and adjustment of elderly which may also provide information for the development of intervention programs at individual, group and/or institutional levels. Assessment of P-E congruence, or fit between the person and his/her environment, was operationalized in two studies through the development of the Environmental Perception, Preference and Importance Scale (EPPIS). the EPPIS provides scales to assess environmental perceptions, individual environmental preferences and the important or salience of the environment on 15 empirically derived, commensurate dimensions. In a third study, the four-month test-retest reliability of the overall P-E congruence score of the EPPIS, defined as the absolute difference between the perceived and preferred environment weighted by importance, was .78 while the unweighted model reliability was .76. Also, the 15 dimensions of the EPPIS were observed to be significant predictors of well-being. It was proposed that the EPPIS may be used both to determine areas of intervention which the elderly themselves feel are important and as a means to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions intended to reduce P-E incongruence and increase psychological well-being.

Correcting for unreliability in nonlinear models of attitude change

The paper opens with a brief discussion of the problems in testing nonlinear models of attitude change. The regression artifacts produced by unreliability are shown in both the linear and nonlinear case. Classical solutions for the linear case are quickly reviewed. A “new” solution to the linear case is presented and applied to the nonlinear case. It is shown to work well under a broad set of conditions. Regression artifacts in bivariate regression are then discussed. If the predictors are independent, then the univariate correction procedure can be applied to each predictor separately. But if the predictors are correlated, a joint correction procedure must be used. One such procedure is defined and shown to work perfectly in the case of linear regression and reasonably well in a broad set of conditions in which the regression is nonlinear.

New ways of looking at management information systems in human service delivery

The functional aspects of management information systems (MISs) in human-service delivery agencies are critically examined from the viewpoint of a behavioral systems analysis model. This model distinguishes between MIS as an information-gatherer and as a system to control agency behavior and administrative decision-making. The choice of a particular MIS involves the consideration of the agency s informational objectives, the extent to which the MIS exerts control over the decision-making process, and its cost-effectiveness. The behavior-analytic approach to MIS requires an evaluation of the way in which the system affects the behavior of agency personnel and, ultimately the clients.