Showing papers in "Journal of Counseling Psychology in 1987"

Multivariate analysis of variance.

Abstract: We provide an expository presentation of multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) for both consumers of research and investigators by capitalizing on its relation to univariate analysis of variance models. We address several questions: (a) Why should one use MANOVA. 9 (b) What is the structure of MANOVA? (C) How are MANOVA test statistics obtained and interpreted? (d) How are MANOVA follow-up tests obtained and interpreted? (e) How is strength of association assessed in MANOVA. 9 (f) HOW should the results of MANOVA be presented? (g) Are there any alternatives to MANOVA. 9 We use an example data set throughout the article to illustrate these points.

Applying Cluster Analysis in Counseling Psychology Research.

Abstract: As a research technique that has grown rapidly in applications in many scientific disciplines, cluster analysis has potential for wider use in counseling psychology research. We begin with a simple example illustrating the clustering approach. Topics covered include the variety of approaches in clustering, the times when cluster analysis may be a choice for analysis, the steps in cluster analysis, the data features, such as level, shape, and scatter, that affect cluster results, alternate clustering methods and evidence indicating which are most effective, and examples of clustering applications in counseling research. Although we make an attempt to provide a comprehensive overview of major issues, the reader is encouraged to consult several good recent publications on the topic that are especially relevant for psychologists. Cluster analysis is a classification technique for forming homogeneous groups within complex data sets. Both the clustering methods and the ways of applying them are extremely diverse. Our purpose in writing this article is to provide an introduction and a road map for applying these techniques productively to research in counseling psychology. The cluster analysis literature is huge, is scattered among many diverse disciplines, and is often arcane. We have made an attempt to cull those aspects most relevant and useful to psychologists from this literature. Most of the discussion in the psychological community about how best to apply cluster analysis to obtain robust, valid, and useful results has taken place within the past 5 years. We seem to be on the verge of a consensus, which has long been needed in an often bewildering field. In the past 30 years, a number of clustering methods, often with their own vocabulary and approaches, have sprouted within a wide variety of scientific disciplines. The earliest sustained applications were in problems of biological classification, within the field called numerical taxonomy (Sokal & Sneath, 1963). Today, clustering is applied to problems as different as the grouping of chemical structures (Massart & Kaufman, 1983) and the classification of helpful and nonhelpful events in counseling (Elliott, 1985). Computerized methods for generating clusters have been developed and made increasingly available over the last decade. Applications of clustering have mushroomed in many disciplines, including the social sciences. In an annual bibliographic search performed by the Classification Society (Day, 1986) 1,166 entries are shown for the 1985 scientific literature alone.

Use of Discriminant Analysis in Counseling Psychology Research

Abstract: Discriminant analysis is a technique for the multivariate study of group differences. More specifically, it provides a method of examining the extent to which multiple predictor variables are related to a categorical criterion, that is, group membership. Situations in which the technique is particularly useful include those in which the researcher wishes to assess which of a number of continuous variables best differentiates groups of individuals or in which he or she wishes to predict group membership on the basis of the discriminant function (analogous to a multiple regression equation) yielded by the analysis. The method is also useful as a follow-up to a significant analysis of variance. In this article, I describe the method of discriminant analysis, including the concept of discriminant function, discriminant score, group centroid, and discriminant weights and Ioadings. I discuss methods for testing the statistical significance of a function, methods of using the function in classification, and the concept of rotating functions. The use of discriminant analysis in both the two-group case and the multigroup case is illustrated. Finally, I provide a number of illustrative examples of use of the method in the counseling literature. I conclude with cautions regarding the use of the method and with the provision of resources for further study. The technique ofdiscriminant analysis, developed by R. A. Fisher (1936), is one method for the multivariate study of group differences. When used for explanatory purposes, discriminant analysis is particularly appropriate when one wishes (a) to describe, summarize, and understand the differences between or among groups, (b) to determine which of a set of continuous variables best captures or characterizes group differences, (c) to describe the dimensionality of group differences (much like factor analysis describes the dimensionality of a set of continuous variables), (d) to test theories that use stage concepts or taxonomies, and (e) to examine the nature of group differences following a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA; Borgen & Seling, 1978). Probably the most frequent applications of discriminant analysis are for predictive purposes, that is, for situations in which it is necessary or desirable to classify subjects into groups or categories. The results of a discriminant analysis allow the prediction of group membership based on the best linear composite or combination of predictor scores. Discriminant analysis is analogous to multiple regression in that both involve prediction from a set of continuous predictor variables (sometimes designated independent variables) to a criterion. The major difference between them is that multiple regression predicts to a continuous criterion variable (sometimes designated the dependent variable), whereas discriminant analysis predicts to a categorical criterion, that is, group membership. Thus, given multiple predictor variables, multiple regression would be the appropriate method of analysis if the dependent variable were continuous, and discriminant analysis would be appropriate if the dependent variable were categorical, with two or more levels.

Concept of Agency in Educational and Career Development

Abstract: The present study was designed to develop and evaluate prototypical measures of behavioral competence and perceived self-efficacy with respect to a complex domain of behavior summarized as agency in educational and career pursuits. The domain, originally suggested to be important in a previous study of career competencies in professional women (Hackett, Betz, & Doty, 1985), referred to the tendency of the individual to respond proactively to situations representing educational and career opportunities. Subjects, 109 undergraduate students, were administered measures of competence and level and strength of perceived self-efficacy in response to 18 situations with potential to elicit agentic behaviors. Results indicated that, on the average, college students gave only minimally competent responses to the situations presented, although competence varied considerably across situations. Levels of perceived efficacy were relatively high, tint the strength of (or confidence in) efficacy beliefs was relatively weak. Male and female students were similar in both agentic competence and self-efficacy. Implications for further research and for using the concept of agency as a focus of counseling interventions are discussed. Bandura (1977) and others (Bandura & Adams, 1977; Bandura, Adams, & Beyer, 1977) developed a theoretical explanation of therapeutic change in which the concept of perceived self-efficacy plays the central mediational role. The concept of perceived self-efficacy refers to beliefs concerning one's capability of successfully engaging in a target behavior; strong perceived efficacy is postulated to lead to behavioral approach, and weak efficacy to lead to avoidance. Thus, the modification of perceived self-efficacy is thought to strongly

Comparison of interventions for women experiencing body image problems.

Abstract: In this study, we investigated the effects of three counseling interventions on women's body image and self-concept. The interventions used were cognitive therapy techniques, cognitive behavior therapy techniques, and reflective therapy techniques. Women experiencing body image problems (N = 79) completed Secord and Jourard's (1953) Body-Cathexis and Seif-Cathexis Scales and were classified into either moderate or severe body image disturbance groups. Participants were randomly assigned to a therapy or the control group. Those assigned to the therapies participated in three structured interviews and did homework. Cognitive techniques emphasized changing self-statements, and reflective techniques explored feelings. A double repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance was performed on preand postscores on the Body-Cathexis and Self-Cathexis Scales, which had been found to be correlated. All participants improved in body image and self-concept. Therapy was better than no therapy. Cognitive therapy techniques were most effective for body image, and cognitive therapy techniques and cognitive behavior therapy techniques were most effective for self-concept. Participants in both classifications improved significantly on body image.

Self as an Organized System of Valuations: Toward a Dialogue With the Person

Abstract: In describing the self as an organized system of valuations, the concept valuation refers to anything a person finds important in his or her everyday situation. A self-confrontation method is described in detail as a means of making a person's system of valuations explicit, with due regard to its affective properties. The method shows how the system is organized and reorganized over the course of time. This procedure is illustrated in a longitudinal case study of a person with an identity problem who spontaneously changed her name in the process of solving this problem. Essential for the proposed method of investigation is that the person has the position of selfinvestigator and reflects on his or her experiences in a dialogical relationship with the psychologist. In his essay "The Ego in Contemporary Psychology," Allport (1960) argued that the concept of self must be given a prominent position in psychological theory: "For only with its aid can psychologists reconcile the human nature that they study and the human nature that they serve" (p. 90). For the present article, the inspiration was to reconcile "studying the person" and "contributing to the person's life" by exploring the midpoint between measurement and treatment. The aim was to describe a new theory about the self and to derive an assessment method from it. The parts of the article will be presented in the following order: (a) description of valuation theory in terms of its constituent elements, processes, and relations; (b) presentation of the self-confrontation method; and (c) illustration of the method by its application to an actual case.

Cognitive-Relaxation and Social Skills Interventions in the Treatment of General Anger.

Abstract: VioLit summary: OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study by Deffenbacher et al. was to ascertain if social skills interventions might benefit from greater attention to training in communication skills designed to foster interpersonal understanding. METHODOLOGY: This study was quasi-experimental. Subjects were gathered through a screening instrument questionnaire administered to introductory psychology classes ranging in size from 85 to 210 students. Subjects meeting inclusion criteria that focused on admissions of inabilities to control anger and wanting intervention were assigned into groups of 10-20 by one of the authors. The students were randomly assigned to conditions for cognitive-relaxation therapy (CRT) (14 students), for social skills training (SST) (17 students), and 18 students were placed in the control condition of no intervention aside from taking assessment tests. One student was dropped from the study for not attending pretreatment assessment. All participants were rewarded with 3 hours of university laboratory credit. Treatments consisted of eight weekly, 1-hour group sessions led by two advanced graduate students who had extensive training in cognitive, relaxation, and social skills interventions. Content and procedures for each session followed a written outline and were discussed and role played in weekly 1 1/2 hour supervised sessions. Those students who received CRT intervention attended sessions devoted to cognitive-relaxation coping rationale, progressive relaxation training, and received training in various relaxation coping skills. The students who received SST intervention attended sessions focused on the development of positive, cross-situational skills and interpersonal strategies for minimizing interpersonal antagonism and anger. General anger was assessed by Likert-type scales, in which increasing scores reflected greater self-reported anger and anger across a range of situations. General-anger expression style, or the ability to suppress anger when provoked, was also measured by a Likert-type scale. Person-specific anger, or anger unique to the individual was assessed by self-reported data, which was later rated by the severity of anger symptoms. State anger and coping were analyzed by a Likert-type scale and a 6-item Coping questionnaire following the presentation of a social provocation through imagery. Lastly, perceived treatment implementation and impact were assessed by evaluation questionnaires drawn from the authors. FINDINGS/DISCUSSION: The authors found that generally, CRT and SST intervention subjects showed significant anger reduction compared with the control conditions but did not differ significantly from one another. Thus, both interventions appeared effective. However, the authors also noted that the CRT intervention subjects felt that their program was more helpful than did the SST subjects though the basis of that difference was not clear. AUTHORS' RECOMMENDATIONS: The authors noted that the cognitive-relaxation condition appeared appropriate for general aspects of anger control, though it may have had some social skills deficits. The authors therefore recommended using the broader cognitive-relaxation condition as a primary treatment and targeting social and other skill deficits toward the end of the treatment as needed. (CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado)

Multidimensional scaling: Some possibilities for counseling psychology.

Abstract: Although counseling psychologists conduct a great deal of research that attempts to reveal the structure of a given data set, rarely if ever do they utilize scaling procedures, preferring instead to rely on factor analytic strategies. In this article, we give a short introduction to the use of multidimensional scaling (MDS), with specific emphasis on applications in counseling and vocational psychology, including an example of one standard nonmetric scaling method. We conclude with a discussion of some conceptual and practical considerations associated with the use of MDS, along with a description of its possible applications to a variety of substantive issues in counseling and vocational psychology.