Reliability and validity of the Self-Reflection and Insight Scale for psychologists and the development and validation of the revised short version.

Self-reflection is broadly considered a core competency for psychologists; however, there is an absence of measures of self-reflection, limiting the extent to which self-reflection can be assessed in both research and practice contexts. Whilst the Self-Reflection and Insight Scale (Grant et al., 2002) has been validated in a range of formats with different populations, it has not yet been validated with psychologists. Further, the psychometric properties of a short version of the scale (Silvia, 2021) have not been examined for use with psychologists. This study tested the factor structure, internal consistency and convergent and divergent validity of the Self-Reflection and Insight Scale with registered psychologists (N = 123), finding both the full scale and short version to have sound psychometrics. However, as there were low loading items across both versions of the measure, and the short version also excluded high-loading items, the SRIS-Revised (SRIS-R) was formed through model improvement, retaining a total of 14 items. This revised version of the scale captures high loading items without redundancy of low-loading items, resulting in a measure that parsimoniously captures the construct of self-reflection as relevant to psychologists. The SRIS-R demonstrated good internal consistency (α = .882), convergent, divergent and construct validity. Scores on the SRIS-R were used to test whether there was a correlation between self-reflection and years of professional registration, with this not being significant.

TBMaLT, a flexible toolkit for combining tight-binding and machine learning.

Tight-binding approaches, especially the Density Functional Tight-Binding (DFTB) and the extended tight-binding schemes, allow for efficient quantum mechanical simulations of large systems and long-time scales. They are derived from ab initio density functional theory using pragmatic approximations and some empirical terms, ensuring a fine balance between speed and accuracy. Their accuracy can be improved by tuning the empirical parameters using machine learning techniques, especially when information about the local environment of the atoms is incorporated. As the significant quantum mechanical contributions are still provided by the tight-binding models, and only short-ranged corrections are fitted, the learning procedure is typically shorter and more transferable as it were with predicting the quantum mechanical properties directly with machine learning without an underlying physically motivated model. As a further advantage, derived quantum mechanical quantities can be calculated based on the tight-binding model without the need for additional learning. We have developed the open-source framework-Tight-Binding Machine Learning Toolkit-which allows the easy implementation of such combined approaches. The toolkit currently contains layers for the DFTB method and an interface to the GFN1-xTB Hamiltonian, but due to its modular structure and its well-defined interfaces, additional atom-based schemes can be implemented easily. We are discussing the general structure of the framework, some essential implementation details, and several proof-of-concept applications demonstrating the perspectives of the combined methods and the functionality of the toolkit.

Emotional intelligence and interpersonal relations.

In 7 studies, the authors examined the link between emotional intelligence and interpersonal relations. In Studies 1 and 2, the participants with higher scores for emotional intelligence had higher scores for empathic perspective taking and self-monitoring in social situations. In Study 3, the participants with higher scores for emotional intelligence had higher scores for social skills. In Study 4, the participants with higher scores for emotional intelligence displayed more cooperative responses toward partners. In Study 5, the participants with higher scores for emotional intelligence had higher scores for close and affectionate relationships. In Study 6, the participants' scores for marital satisfaction were higher when they rated their marital partners higher for emotional intelligence. In Study 7, the participants anticipated greater satisfaction in relationships with partners described as having emotional intelligence.

Important characteristics of warning displays on alcohol containers.

Four studies examined the federally mandated warning on alcohol containers, which is required by law to be "located in a conspicuous and prominent place." In all four studies few of the drinkers could recall the main parts of the warnings, even though the warning had been required on all alcohol containers for over two years. In Study 1, 44 adults looked at the warning on various beer containers and 77% thought that the warning was not conspicuous but could be made conspicuous through various changes, such as by printing the warning horizontally (parallel to the brand name) rather than vertically. In Study 2, 50 adults looked at the warning placed horizontally on one beer can and vertically on a similar can and rated the horizontal warning significantly more conspicuous. In Study 3, 44 adults spent several minutes in a simulated drinking atmosphere. Half the subjects had beer cans with a horizontal warning and half had a vertical warning. The subjects with the horizontal warning later showed significantly better awareness/recall of the warning. In Study 4, with 75 adult subjects in a bar, the half of the subjects prompted to notice the alcohol warning drank less thereafter in the bar than the other subjects. The findings of the series of studies suggest that the conspicuousness of health warnings on alcohol containers tends to influence their possible effectiveness.

Preventing smoking: evaluating the potential effectiveness of cigarette warnings.

We examined the potential effectiveness of U.S. government cigarette warnings in preventing adolescent smoking. In Study 1, 112 seventh graders rated the effectiveness of four currently required warnings and four possible other warnings and answered questions about the meaning of certain words in the warnings. In Study 2, 115 seventh graders attempted to recall the four current warnings; in Study 3, 103 eighth and ninth graders read all eight warnings one day and tried to recall them the next day. In Study 4, 25 seventh graders participated in a focus session in which they discussed the effectiveness of each of the eight warnings. The results of the studies showed that the four different evaluation strategies had convergent validity and that two current warnings and two proposed warnings are significantly more potentially effective than the other two current warnings. Our results also provided information about why some warnings are more potentially effective than others.

Negative social effects of being a smoker.

Three studies were done to examine the social effects of being a tobacco smoker. In Study 1, 135 subjects rated target persons as dating and marriage prospects. All else being equal, the nonsmoker subjects showed consistent preference for nonsmokers. The subjects' personal preference for nonsmokers was significantly greater than their estimates of the preference of people in general. In Study 2, thirty-five subjects who preferred nonsmokers for marriage provided their reasons. All together, they gave eleven different reasons. In Study 3, which involved sixty-two subjects, the belief underlying each of the eleven preference reasons was found to predict degree of preference for nonsmokers. The results of the three studies are discussed as providing potentially useful information for smoking prevention interventions.

The employment disadvantage of being a smoker.

Three studies were done to examine the effects of being a tobacco smoker on employment prospects. In Study 1, thirty-two subjects reviewed application forms and rated four applicants as prospective employees. The subjects rated the nonsmoker version of the job applicants significantly more highly for hiring. In Study 2, forty-four subjects stated whether they preferred to hire smokers or nonsmokers and estimated the preference of employers generally. Those who stated a personal preference gave their reasons. Seven personal reasons for preferring a nonsmoker were mentioned by at least two subjects. The reasons ranged from dislike of tobacco smoke to concern about smokers taking more sick leave. In Study 3, which involved forty-six subjects, degree of endorsement of the attitudes underlying four of the seven preference reasons were found to be associated with degree of preference for non-smokers. The results of the three studies provide potentially useful information for job applicants and for individuals who design smoking prevention interventions.

Incompetency and insanity: feasibility of community evaluation and treatment.

In order to examine the feasibility of doing more sanity and competency evaluations and treatment on an outpatient basis rather than at a state hospital, we gave a feasibility questionnaire to 288 CMHC and state hospital administrators and treatment staff members. The respondents indicated that, given enhanced community evaluation and treatment programs for forensic clients, (a) 41 percent of the sanity evaluations and 45 percent of the competency evaluations done at the hospital could be done in local communities, (b) 35 percent to 38 percent of the clients found incompetent could be treated in local communities, and (c) 39 percent to 50 percent of the clients found insane could be released to outpatient treatment six months earlier than presently. Other findings indicated several specific improvements needed in the community mental health system before it can properly handle more forensic clients.

Evaluation of a short form of the POMS-Depression scale.

This study evaluated Shacham's 8-item short form of the original 15-item POMS-Depression scale (N = 131). The study found that the short form did not have significantly lower concurrent validity than the original form; had only slightly lower internal consistency; and had a mean and a standard deviation close enough to those of the original form to allow prorating of short-form scores for interpretation with original form norms. It was concluded that the short form is roughly equivalent psychometrically to the previously validated original form. The short form of the POMS-Depression scale was identified as apparently the shortest available validated measure of depression.