Psychologists and linguists often suggest that empathy or role-taking ability is important in the communication process because it enables a speaker to consider in advance the informational demands of his audience. Despite the vintage of the empathy-effective communication hypothesis, it has never been directly tested. In this study, empathy was…

A comparative study of first-grade reading instructional methods was undertaken with the support of the Granite School District Exemplary Center for Reading Instruction. This study was conducted in 19 schools of the district and involved approximately 1,295 students. Nine hypotheses concerning the various approaches used in reading instruction…

The purposes of this paper are to: (1) describe some of the serious shortcomings in the current use of tests of statistical significance, (2) discuss how misuses are perpetuated in some widely used references, and (3) present an alternative significance testing model that overcomes some, but not all, of the shortcomings of the currently used…

A statistical test for cheating is developed. The case of a single examinee who has taken parallel forms of the same selection test on three occasions, obtaining scores x, y, z, is used to illustrate the development. It is assumed that each score is normally distributed with the same known variance, that is, the variance of the errors of…

Behavioral scientists often wish to determine if a sample has been taken from a symmetric population. Similarly, classroom teachers are interested in symmetry if they wish to grade on a "curve." Previously, the sign test, the Wilcoxon test and the t-test have been used to test a hypothesis concerning the symmetry of a distribution of…

A sample of 2,290 airmen who were eligible for promotion to grades E-4 through E-7 was used to field-test the proposed weighted Airman Promotion System. Data included scores on the Specialty Knowledge Test and the Promotion Fitness Examination, points credited for time in grade, time in service, decorations, and Airman Performance Report mean…

Statistical inference concerning the parameters of k multivariate normal populations is considered. Several models in which the parameters have certain hierarchical relationships are discussed, in particular as related to testing the hypothesis that k psychological tests are parallel forms of the same test. The report contains the following…

The inferences allowable with a significant F in regression analysis are discussed. Included in this discussion are the effects of specificity of the research hypothesis, incorporation of covariates, directional hypotheses, and the manipulation of variables on the interpretation of significance for such purposes as causal and directional…

When H. M. Johnson argued that all inductive reasoning is based on the fallacy of affirming the consequent and cannot therefore establish the 'truth' of scientific hypotheses, he posed a paradox for strict empiricists. Author examined Johnson's argument. (Editor/RK)

Illustrates a simple nonparametric alternative that can be used to test a hypothesis that two proximity matrices on the same set of variables or objects reflect a similar pattern of high and low entries. (RC)

Investigates the Tukey statistic for the empirical probability of a Type II error under numerous parametric specifications defined by Cohen (1969) as being representative of behavioral research data. For unequal numbers of observations per treatment group and for unequal population variancies, the Tukey test was simulated when sampling from a…

Monte Carlo procedures are used to develop stress distributions using Kruskal's second stress formula. These distributions can be used in multidimensional scaling procedures to determine whether a set of data has other than random structure. (Author/JKS)

Two experiments were designed to provide an empirical test of an attribution model of psychopathology and to extend it to the clinical problem of social anxiety. Specifically, the research examines the relation between social anxiety and attributions of success and failure in heterosexual interactions. (Author/RK)

Employing the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire and the Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire, this study investigates the relationship between the job satisfaction of Georgia school superintendents and perceived leader behavior of Georgia school board presidents. (JC)

Marascuilo's and Levin's use of the term "nesting" to describe a statistical model, and application of the Scheffe tests on restricted sets of contrasts, is opposed. Changing the model during analysis of a complex set of data is both necessary and desirable. (Author/CP)