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I. INTRODUCTION The United States indicted Jamal Yousef with one count of narco-terrorism conspiracy in July of 2009 following his arrest in New York City. (1) Yousef had allegedly been [...]

The adequacy of current paper-and-pencil measures of ophidiophobia (fear of snakes) was analyzed by reviewing the subject selection procedures in 24 published articles with the restriction that the procedures involve some form of self-report. The sample characteristics and selection procedures of these studies were reviewed in detail. We conclude that the recommendations and conclusions of these studies should not be accepted due to limited generalizability. Paper-and-pencil measures are excellent initial selection devices, but cannot stand alone in selecting ophidiophobics from the general population.

A handheld pressure algometer is described for the measurement of pain-pressure thresholds. This instrument has a range of measurement of 0 to 16 N/cm² and can be modified by changing contact points or springs. Technical specifications, a schematic diagram, application examples, and information concerning construction material availability are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study examined the utility of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) validity scales in a sample of incarcerated offenders. Utilizing an analogue simulation design, we compared a group of 36 inmates instructed to feign symptoms of mental illness with 56 inmates who had been referred for psychiatric treatment and completed the test under standard instructions. We also had a group of 63 inmates with no history of mental illness who completed the test under standard instructions. Our results indicated large effect sizes between the feigning and comparison groups for all the validity scales. Infrequent Responses (F-r) exhibited utility in discriminating between feigning and control inmates, whereas Infrequent Psychopathology Responses (Fp-r) and Infrequent Somatic Responses (Fs) exhibited the largest effect size in discriminating between the feigning and psychiatric inmate groups. Classification accuracy generally revealed greater specificity than sensitivity for the MMPI-2-RF validity scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]