R. Frank Falk

University of Akron · Department of Sociology

The construct of overexcitability originated from the condition known as “nervousness.” Dąbrowski differentiated it into types many years before publishing the first outline of his theory of positive disintegration. In this paper, we establish the origins of psychic overexcitability (OE), tracing its evolution in Dąbrowski’s work prior to developin...

The latent variable path analysis program LVPLS was based on Herman Wold’s nonlinear iterative partial least squares (NIPALS) approach to theory construction and data analysis. Current developments derived from NIPALS have formed partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Both serve as appropriate techniques for data analysis und...

Traditional sex-based categories are giving way to more expanded notions of gender among young men and women today. Along with feminine and masculine personalities, some individuals combine both for a more androgynous persona, whereas others exhibit few distinctly feminine or masculine characteristics. In a study of 118 gifted college students, the...

Attributions of responsibility (AR) are of interest to sociologists and psychologists. However, the measurement of AR has been inconsistent both within and across the disciplines. The present study tests whether AR is a multidimensional or unidimensional concept. Data for study 1 were collected from 201 undergraduate students at a large, midwestern...

Whenever a new version of an IQ test is released, it is necessary to determine its effectiveness in identifying gifted students. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fourth Edition (WISC- IV), released in August of 2003, is structured in a significantly different manner from its predecessor, the WISC-III. The Verbal and Performance section...

This study examines the relationship among giftedness, gender, and overexcitability. Previous studies examining these relationships were based on an open-ended questionnaire and small samples. This study uses a new self-rating questionnaire to assess overexcitabilities, the Overexcitability Questionnaire II, and findings are based on a large sample...

In this paper, we propose a methodology to study the scale effectand zoning effect of the modifiable areal unit problem (MAUP). Insteadof aggregating basic spatial units by the neighborhood criterion, we suggestplacing a square lattice over the centroids representing the enumerationunits in the study area. Areal units are aggregated if their centro...

The ability to reflect and consider who one is in relation to others is described as the reflexive self. From a sociological perspective, the reflexive self develops in the interaction with others through a process that includes a person's self‐efficacy, self‐image, self‐concept, and self‐esteem. Operating to control incompatible views, self‐decept...

By comparing the overexcitability scores of 27 Venezuelan and 23 American artists, support was found for the hypothesis that creative individuals show a high degree of animistic, intuitive, and emotional thinking. Overexcitability refers to heightened mental functioning in Dabrowski's (1964) theory of emotional development. Along with other special...

Dabrowski's Theory of Emotional Development provides the framework for investigating the dynamic interplay of emotion and cognition in the personality development of a group of intellectually gifted adults and a group of graduate students. When the gifted adults were compared to the graduate students on developmental potential, as measured by their...

Computer-based testing is introduced as an alternative or supplement to regular classroom testing in introductory sociology. With computer-based testing, each student takes course examinations directly on a computer outside the classroom. We present information on how to develop and implement such a system, and report results of an evaluation of co...

This study provides a longitudinal analysis of the influences of health, age, gender, and socioeconomic status on family contacts and family feelings in a sample of 62 members of the Berkeley Older Generation Study. Stability in family contacts and in family feelings was observed over 14 years of advanced old age. Of the four predictor variables, h...

"A Primer for Soft Modeling" is a guide to the 'soft modeling' approach to structural equation modeling that relies on a computer application strategy. The theoretical as well as practical requirements for soft modeling (partial least squares estimation procedures) are different from those of other modeling procedures because the basic assumptions...

Compared overexcitability profiles in (1) 23 18–59 yr olds active in art, music, literature, or other artistic fields; (2) 37 intellectually gifted 22–55 yr olds; and (3) 42 22–50 yr old graduate students, using a 21-item, free-response questionnaire. Five broadly defined areas of psychic life were measured by the instrument: personal level of ener...

Wylie (1974) points out that there is a lack of adequate theoretical development in the investigation of the self‐concept. The result is a proliferation of operational definitions with no clear understanding of the relationship between operations, between constructs, and between the constructs and their operationalizations. In this article we make...

The process of developing an adequate measure of segregation occupied the literature for over a decade and culminated in the widespread use of the Index of Dissimilarity. The inadequacies of this index, although identified by the Duncans (1955), remain with us and largely have come to be ignored. This research further explores the difficulties pert...

This research note presents data regarding differences in student responses to value statements and shows that the pattern of "change" differs depending on the major and the number of courses taken in that major. Sociology and business majors are compared since they typically differ along a conservative-liberal social values continuum. This allows...

Typescript. Thesis (M.A.)--San Francisco State College. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 76-78).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Minnesota, 1969. Includes bibliographical references leaves 80-83). Microfilm. s