The measurement of psychological states requires an entirely different technology from the classical personality inventory assessments of psychological traits. Differences in the requirements of state v trait measurement are discussed. Problems of naming, labelling, describing, defining, and interpretation are discussed in relation to…

Faschingbauer offered guidelines in selecting MMPI short forms as substitutes for the MMPI. This reviews empirical studies of the clinical validity of MMPI short forms and discusses MMPI-168, not considered in Faschingbauer's earlier article. Empirical evidence favors the Faschingbauer Abbreviated MMPI and the MMPI-168 over others. (Author)

Comments are offered on a recent article by Leonard on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) as a suicide predictor. Her appraisal of former studies and her consideration of the differences among individuals with different suicidal behaviors are critically evaluated. A response from Leonard follows. (Author/BEF)

Although differences in composite Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children--Revised (WISC-R) measures were exhibited by children with mental retardation, learning disabilities, and psychological or behavioral disorders, few significant group differences were exhibited. Caution is necessary in making diagnostic statements based on WISC-R profile…

Two new techniques that were used with a group of seven blind, multiply handicapped young adults in a half-way house are described. Structured learning therapy is a social skills training technique and group assessment is a method of averaging psychological data on a group of clients to facilitate program planning based on client needs.…

Three major limiting factors are outlined: the lack of appropriate psychological tests, the dearth of properly trained psychologists, and the failure to obtain complete case histories. Several methods of overcoming these drawbacks are described. (Author/DLS)

A table which describes the four categories of human figure drawings of learning disabled children along with their characteristics and an illustration of each are presented. The four categories examined include developmental immaturity, aggression/withdrawal tendencies, neurological impairments, and grotesqueness or bizarreness. (PHR)

The issue of maintenance of changes in behavior produced by token programs is unquestionably important. This paper raises methodological considerations relating to the evaluation of such maintenance and offers suggestions for appropriate methodology. (Author)

Interviews based on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression and the Research Diagnostic Criteria for Affective Disorders indicated that although depression was transitory for half of the students, many had diagnosable depressive disorders. (Author)

Questions are raised regarding the appropriateness of testing children for school readiness from both a conceptual standpoint and in terms of the negative reactions created in both children and parents. (JD)

The "Barnum effect" is the phenomenon whereby people willingly give their approval and acceptance of personality interpretations purportedly derived from the results of assessment procedures. The research generated over the last 25 years relative to this acceptance phenomenon is reviewed. (Author)

Fifty children (20 girls and 30 boys), ranging in age from 6 to 16 years, and mothers were interviewed using the same structured interview, which in its content follows the usual psychiatric examination of a child. (Author)

Reviews criticism of research on judgmental biases in cognitive psychology and recommends using caution in applying the findings of this research to research in school psychology. Provides suggestions regarding the potential of theory in cognitive psychology to reconcile discrepant findings in selected research on special education decision…

An introduction to the special section on dual diagnosis comments on the prevalence of dual diagnosis. A study is then reported in which 205 people with mental retardation were administered the Reiss Screen for Maladaptive Behavior. Fifty-nine subjects were then evaluated by clinical psychologists, and a dual diagnosis rate of 39 percent was…