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This study investigated test-retest stability of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fourth Edition, in 43 elementary/middle school students tested on two occasions approximately 11 months apart. Subtest stability coefficients ranged from .26 (Picture Concepts) to .84 (Vocabulary [VC]). Composite stabilities ranged from .54 (Processing Speed Index) to .88 (Full Scale Intelligence Quotient [FSIQ]). On 11 subtests and three indexes, the standardization sample stability coefficients were significantly larger than those of the present sample, with only the VC subtest and FSIQ having high levels of test-retest stability. Mean practice effects were not significant, but range of gain or loss for some individuals was large. On the FSIQ, 42% changed > +/-5 points on retest. The FSIQ is less stable than one might infer from the large stability coefficient and small mean practice effect.

The present content analysis examines the coverage of theoretical and methodological problems with the Stanford prison experiment (SPE) in a sample of introductory psychology textbooks. Categories included the interpretation and replication of the study, variance in guard behavior, participant selection bias, the presence of demand characteristics including the contribution of the guard orientation, and the ecological validity of the prison. In general, results revealed minimal coverage of problems with the study, with only two of the 14 textbooks citing any critical articles. The majority of textbooks presented the study in a fashion consistent with a ''power of the situation'' interpretation with no account of a more theoretically robust study, namely the BBC prison study, nor mention of methodological shortcomings. A review of the post-SPE criticisms and suggestions for addressing the landmark study in introductory textbooks are included.

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The goal was to examine the relationship between the number of psychology courses students have taken and their perceptions of psychology as a science. Additionally, differences in perceptions of psychology among psychology, education, and natural science majors were examined. Results indicated that students who had taken four or more psychology courses had more favorable perceptions of psychology as a science compared to those who had taken no courses or one course and those who had taken two to three courses. No significant differences in overall perceptions of psychology emerged among students in the three majors.