bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effectiveness of Stimulant Drug Treatment for Attention Problems
Authors: Clark Elaine , Baker Beverly K. , Gardner Michael K. , Pompa Janiece L. , Tait Frances V.
Published: March 2007

Using a within-subject, repeated measure, double-blind design, methylphenidate was shown to be effective in treating the attention deficits of children with head injuries. Eight head-injured children, ages 7-15, meeting DSM III-R criteria for ADHD, were placed on a 2-week trial of methylphenidate (Ritalin), and similar 2-week trial of placebo. During the methylphenidate trial, all eight children were rated by parents as improved in their attentional capacities, and all but one, a child diagnosed as ADHD prior to injury and described as conduct-disordered, showed a pattern of general improvement across most attentional measures. Measures which showed less consistent results were the attentional tasks comprised of more complex stimuli requiring greater memory capacity. Implications for school psychologists working with head-injured children are discussed.
Neuropsychology in the Schools: Does It belong?
Authors: Riccio Cynthia A. , Hynd George W. , Cohen Morris J.
Published: March 2007

Many neuropsychological paradigms were initially based on adults with documented brain damage. In the past two decades, interest in pediatric neuropsychology has increased. This has been motivated by the belief that more comprehensive evaluation and subsequent differential diagnosis would lead to better treatment and educational programs for children. There continues to be conflicting views in school psychology regarding the appropriateness and usefulness of neuropsychological assessment in conjunction with the traditional psychoeducational battery used in the schools. Issues relating to this controversy, including validity and reliability of neuropsychological measures, information gained from neuropsychological assessment, and the relevancy of this information to specific populations, are discussed. Implications for future research related to the limits of neuropsychological assessment in the schools are highlighted.
Specific Learning Difficulties
Authors: Mclean-Thorne D. R.
Published: March 2007

This study is an exploration of some of the implications for educational practice which arise from an approach to specific learning difficulties derived from human cognitive neuropsychology. The study attempts to provide an overview of recent findings and to place them in a coherent contextual framework through the presentation of a theory driven, hypothetical, working model of the internal lexicon (John Morton's 1979 'Logogen Model'). In order to make this study meaningful to educational practice, pertinent strategies for educational intervention are abstracted from the theoretical model and presented within the context of a single case study. The case study explores language processing in terms of oral reading and the role of the internal lexicon through the perspective of Morton's Logogen Model. The case study seeks to integrate an information processing account of the encoding and retrieving of representations of stimuli (in their respective logogen systems) with more 'traditional' aspects of educational psychological practice. Finally, in the conclusion, using the evidence in the study, I state the case for a greater acknowledgement of the contribution that cognitive psychology and cognitive neuropsychology can make to the 'informed' practice of the educational psychologist.
Quality Assurance in an Educational Psychology Service
Authors: Cline Tony
Published: March 2007

The primary aim of this review of evaluation studies is to analyse what strategies a team of educational psychologists can use to assure the quality of their service to the public. The review covers methods of record keeping, strategies of evaluation and methods of data collection. The article ends by discussing the implications of this experience of service evaluation for the new approaches to quality assurance that are now being imposed on educational psychologists, approaches such as contract monitoring, audit and inspection. It is argued that the quality assurance process itself has to be costeffective. Previous reviews of this subject have focused on the North American literature. A secondary aim of this article is to introduce readers to developments reported in the UK.
Dynamic Assessment and the Legacy of L.S. Vygotsky
Authors: Lidz Carol S.
Published: March 2007

This article discusses the relevance of Vygotsky's ideas to the development of the dynamic assessment model. The article first describes the dynamic approach to assessment, outlining its definitive characteristics of pretest-intervene-post-test, focus on cognitive and meta-cognitive processing, and relatedness to instructional practices. The primary models of dynamic assessment are briefly reviewed. Vygotsky's ideas regarding the Zone of Proximal Development and the need to interact and to try to produce change as a means of understanding the learner have influenced development of the dynamic assessment model.
A Vygotskian Perspective on Literacy Development
Authors: McNamee Gillian Dowley
Published: March 2007

L.S. Vygotsky's theory of the sociocultural approach to development is examined in relation to a school-aged child's learning to write in an inner city after-school computer program. Case study material on an 8-year-old African American girl and the variety of people she interacted with in writing is presented in order to trace how the arrangements of relationships in the activity setting made possible the development of new forms of skill and expertise for her and the adults facilitating her efforts. The case study documents Vygotsky's concept of 'transformation' (1978) as a function of the dynamics in the significant relationships supporting her over time.
International School Psychology Association Definition of School Psychology
Authors: Oakland Thomas , Cunningham Jacqueline
Published: March 2007

Guidelines that define the specialty of school psychology are described. The guidelines have been approved by the International School Psychology Association. The guidelines discuss the academic preparation, professional membership and the nature of their services. They include assessment, intervention, consultation, organizational and program development, supervision and research. Issues important to the efficient and effective delivery of services, public policy and ethics ai e also discussed.
The Effect of Mathematics Self-Concept on Girls' and Boys' Mathematical Achievement
Authors: Manger Terje , Eikeland Ole-Johan
Published: March 2007

Norwegian elementary schoolboys showed significantly higher mathematics self-concept than girls. Boys also had a significantly higher mathematical achievement score than girls. However, controlling for mathematics self-concept produced several interesting results. First, there was no significant effect of gender on overall mathematical achievement. Second, although the gender difference in achievement favouring boys increased with increasing task difficulty, no significant effects of gender were found in subsamples of difficult tasks. Finally, a significant effect of gender favouring girls appeared in subsamples of easy tasks and in routinizing well-defined procedural tasks. These results indicate that mathematics self-concept is an important variable accounting for differences in elementary schoolgirls' and boys' mathematical achievement.
Audit Expectations in Works Councils
Authors: de Beelde Ignace , Leydens Helmut
Published: March 2007

Many industrialized countries have introduced mechanisms to institutionalize communication between employers and labour. One such mechanism is the creation of works councils. In many countries, these works councils receive information about the company, often including accounting data. In Belgium, official regulations require that works councils should receive extensive financial and nonfinancial data. To guarantee the reliability of this information, the law provides for the intervention of an auditor to certify the information and to guarantee its completeness. However, this auditor usually also serves as the commissaire, the statutory auditor who certifies the financial statements on behalf of the shareholders. This raises the question whether the labour representatives in the works councils have faith in the auditor's impartiality. This article reports how the employees' representatives in the works council view the role of auditors and their performance. The article also concludes that cultural differences and company size both have a significant impact on industrial relations.
Bridging the Division of Labour? The Case of China
Authors: Lockett, Martin
Published: March 2007

The work of Marx (and subsequent marxists) provides both a critique of the division of labour in capitalist societies and a fairly clear idea of the trends he expected in a transition to a communist society. China is a society in which there have been a variety of attempts to put these ideas into practice during this century and, at certain stages, to develop an alternative to the forms of work organization in both the West and the USSR as part of a more general 'Maoist' strategy for economic development. These organizational innovations are outlined, as are the conflicts over their implementation. Finally, some conclusions are drawn regarding the specific features of Chinese development and the extent to which such policies are more generally applicable.
'The Industrialization of Building' and Contradictions between Site Workers'
Authors: Karisson Jan Ch.
Published: March 2007

The building industry is approaching manufacturing industry when it comes to technology and work organization. This is a process commonly called 'the industrialization of building'. With this development the contradictions between site workers are changing. The traditional craft hierarchy is becoming less rigid and a new hierarchy of the best paid jobs is taking shape. Against this background I analyze the consequences of these changes for the site workers' main social weapons in their contradiction to management: the trade unions and work cultures.
Organization of Work by Participation? A French-German Comparson
Authors: Jansen Peter , Kissler Leo
Published: March 2007

'Le travailleur est le seul veritable expert en ce qui concerne son travail' (The worker is the only true expert with regard to his work). (Edmond Maire, General Secretary of the CFDT, 1977) Within the last few years participation has become a widespread word. But what does it stand for? In this article we try to highlight the meaning of the term participation and its political implications for the organization of work. Following the presentation of our theoretical approach, we undertake a limited comparative analysis of the state-controlled measures aiming at the introduction of forms of participation in the Federal Republic of Germany and in France. The main question is: how can direct participation be implemented?
Age-dependence and Historical Effects on the Failure Rates of Worker Cooperatives: An Event-history Analysis
Authors: Staber Udo
Published: March 2007

This paper tests a number of hypotheses about the failure rates of worker cooperatives created in Atlantic Canada between 1940 and 1987. The event-history analysis shows that failure rates vary significantly by organizational age, sectoral location, and period of organizational founding, reflecting the effects of the business cycle and organizational population dynamics. In contrast to most conventional business organizations, worker cooperatives are not likely to fail during their early years of existence, but are most vulnerable in their fifth year.
The Incidence and Control of Technical Change in the Australian Printing Industry
Authors: Frenkel Stephen J.
Published: March 2007

This article uses union survey data to examine the incidence and work- related consequences of technical change in the Australian printing industry during the mid-1980s. It attempts to explain inter-plant variations in the incidence of technical change and differences in union influence on technical-change issues. The finding that the union has not given technical change a great deal of attention is explained by the incremental and mainly benign effects that new technology has had on existing printing industry employees. However, this approach is questionable and is changing in the light of strategies developed by the Australian union movement in response to emerging problems.
Development of Human Resources in Internal Labour Markets: Implications for Swedish Labour Market Policy
Authors: Dahlberg Ake , Tuijnman Albert
Published: March 2007

There is a consensus in most industrial societies today about the role of employment training and human competence development in workplaces as part of a national development strategy that attempts to thwart excessive labour market segmentation and to create jobs for the unemployed and career opportunities for currently low-paid and unskilled workers. Not least in Sweden, internal training is increasingly being recognized as constituting an additional element of active labour market policy. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the development, role and consequences of employment training in internal labour markets for the Rehn-Meidner model of economic stabilization in general and implications for active labour market policy in particular.
The Role of Support Organizations in the Development of Cooperatives in Israel
Authors: Russell Raymond
Published: March 2007

This article offers a historical analysis of the development of producer, service and transportation cooperatives in Israel. It focuses particularly on the role played by Israel's central trade union federation, the Histadrut, and the support organizations it has sponsored in facilitating the growth of this cooperative sector. With the exception of two large bus cooperatives, which enjoy monopolies in their service areas, the growth of this population has not been impressive. The article argues that several defects in the support structures associated with this population help account for these disappointing results. For many decades, these support organizations sought more to control the Israeli cooperatives than to represent them, did more to distort the development of cooperatives in Israel than to facilitate it, and did more to expose the weaknesses of Israeli cooperatives than to correct them. Their net effect was more to discredit the idea of producers' cooperation in Israel than to promote it. These injurious policies were eventually abandoned, but not until after they had caused what may have been irreparable harm to the Israeli urban cooperative sector.
Social Policies and the Non-profit Sector in Italy: A Critique of the Ideologies of Contracting Out
Authors: Fazzi Luca
Published: March 2007

On the basis of analysis of the Italian situation, this article presents some general considerations on certain theoretical issues arising from the development of modern systems of welfare-mix. According to a conviction now institutionalized in numerous countries, the introduction of formalized contracts should play a crucial role in creating cooperation between the public and non-profit sectors in social services delivery, thereby enabling full advantage to be taken of the strategic-managerial abilities of non-profit agencies while allowing government apparatuses to conduct appropriate supervision. Contrary to expectations, however, it seems that the introduction of contracts has not revitalized the welfare system. Indeed, these contracts tend to give rise to the progressive cultural 'colonization' of solidarist organizations by the public bureaucracy. In order to launch an effective welfare-mix system, modernization is required not only of the forms of contracting but also of the mentality governing the entire bargaining process. The article analyses the reasons for this failure and proposes a number of solutions that might produce more efficient and effective policies.
Lean Production and Changing Employment Relations in the International Auto Industry
Authors: Kochan Thomas A. , Lansbury Russell D.
Published: March 2007

The auto industry provides a useful focus for examining the changing nature of employment relations around the world as new production systems are introduced. This article summarizes the results of an international project which analyzed the diffusion of lean production and associated employment patterns in different national contexts. It was found that despite the widespread application of lean production principles, significant variation existed in the way that management and unions adapted to change. There is a need to comprehend both the role of national institutions and local practices in the choices which parties make at the workplace level. These factors are significant in shaping employment relations in the auto industry despite the pervasive influence of new production systems.
Labour Market Restructuring and Polarization Processes: The Significance of Political-institutional Factors
Authors: Ellingsceter Anne Lise
Published: March 2007

Theories on the restructuring of post-industrial labour markets postulate that polarization processes induce a cleavage between those inside and those outside the labour market, or/and increasing differences between workers belonging to the core versus the periphery of the labour market. This article critically explores the polarization postulates and their potential consequences for gender and class divisions. It is argued that the effects of labour market restructuring must be understood in their specific political and institutional context, one in which the state and industrial relations influence the operation of labour markets and the organization of work. As the case for examining the impact of political-institutional factors on labour market restructuring, one of the Scandinavian countries, Norway, is selected. The focus is particularly on the impact of consensus-building institutions, social investment strategies and the balance between capital and labour.
The End of Institutional Stability: What Future for the 'German Model'?
Authors: Flecker Jorg , Schulten Thorsten
Published: March 2007

The focus of this article is on institutions that, from a comparative perspective, have usually been perceived as contributing both to Germany's economic success and social integration: the vocational training and the industrial relations systems. The traditional institutional arrangements are being undermined by the consequences of German unification, persistence, mass unemployment and the disappearance of long-term perspectives on the part of capital. Of course, the 'German model' was never as consistent as the stylized accounts presented it to be, but recent changes in power relations have partly paralysed institutional enforcement processes and thereby have led to the fragmentation of institutional settings.
Increasing Appropriate Behavior of Explosive Chronic Psychiatric Patients with a Social-Skills Training Package
Authors: Matson Johnny L. , Stephens Ronald M.
Published: March 2007

Social-skills training was used with four long-term chronic psychiatric female inpatients. Targeted behaviors within training sessions were tailored for each subject on the basis of pretreatment observations. Training involved instructions, modeling, role-playing, and feedback, and was effective with behaviors assessed within a multiple-baseline design. Trained skills generalized to the ward setting, and arguing and fighting of these patients were markedly reduced. Treatment effects maintained during postchecks up to three months.
Treating Public Speaking Problems
Authors: Marshall W. L. , Parker Liane , Hayes Bonnie Jean
Published: March 2007

Two studies are reported that examine the value of various components of a skills training program for ineffective public-speakers. The first study demonstrated the value of prolonged practice (flooding) in the reduction of the anxiety associated with speaking, while the second study showed that there were few differences between instructions plus modeling, on the one hand, and videotape feedback plus discussion, on the other. Only in terms of appropriate speaking behaviors was performance feedback superior to instructions and modeling. Both studies indicated that the combination of all elements was the most effective procedure, with the replacement, in the present series, of desensitization by flooding producing the most powerful and time-efficient program yet evaluated.
Behavioral Approaches to the Treatment of Aggressive Disorders
Authors: Fehrenbach Peter A. , Thelen Mark H.
Published: March 2007

Behavioral approaches to the treatment of aggression and hostility in children, adolescents, and adults are reviewed. The major theoretical approaches and definitions are presented, and a number -of classification variables that may facilitate the research in the area are recommended. It is suggested that the three major theoretical approaches emphasize reinforcement processes, social learning, or cognitive-emotional factors, and that each theory has different implications for assessment and treatment. Studies relevant to each paradigm are reviewed. The need for theory-based assessment and treatment strategies as a guide in future research is emphasized.
Faking "Turn-Ons" and "Turn-Offs"
Authors: Alford Geary S. , Wedding Dan , Jones Stanton
Published: March 2007

This report describes a single-case study of the differential effects of neutral, moderately aversive, or highly aversive covert images used in covert sensitization on physiological arousal to homosexual stimuli in a bisexual male. During the experiment, data became confounded after it was revealed that the patient had begun using aversive scenes from treatment sessions to block his sexual arousal in assessment sessions. Subsequent investigation determined that this patient could block sexual arousal to extrinsic stimuli presented in laboratory assessment by covertly attending to neutral or aversive stimuli. He could attain sexual arousal with 90% or greater erection in the presence of sexually neutral stimuli by covertly attending to sexually evocative imagery. Implications for treatment and assessment of sexual deviation are discussed.
Children with Diabetes
Authors: Gross Alan M. , Heimann Lisa , Shapiro Richard , Schultz Robert M.
Published: March 2007

In a multiple baseline design across behaviors with a control group component, insulin-dependent diabetic children were administered social skills training. Additionally, a metabolic measure of diabetic control was administered at baseline and follow-up assessments. When compared with control subjects, youngsters who received social skills training exhibited large improvements on a role-play test in their abilities to cope with stressful disease-related social situations. No changes were observed, however, on the metabolic measure of diabetic control. The implications of these findings are discussed.
Physiological and Cognitive Assessment of a Fire-Setting Child
Authors: Last Cynthia G. , Griest Douglas , Kazdin Alan E.
Published: March 2007

Physiological and cognitive responses were assessed in a 12-year-old fire-setting child during exposure to slides depicting both fire-setting and nonfire-setting scenes. Results from physiological measures (heart rate and skin potential) were useful in establishing a hierarchy of responses to different aspects of fire-setting activities. Cognitive data indicated that thoughts of negative evaluation tended to be associated with fire-setting scenes, whereas thoughts of positive evaluation were associated with nonfire-setting stimuli. The potential utility of a multidimensional approach to assessing fire-setting is discussed.
Parents' Acceptability Ratings of Alternative Treatments for Use with Mentally Retarded Children
Authors: Singh Nirbhay N. , Watson Janine E. , Winton Alan S. W.
Published: March 2007

Parents of mentally retarded children rated the acceptability of four treatment techniques: differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior (DRI), over correction, time-out, and drug therapy. The treatments were described in a clinical case study of a mentally retarded child; acceptability was evaluated using the Treatment Evaluation Inventory and the Semantic Differential. The most acceptable treatment was DRI followed by overcorrection. Time-out and drug therapy proved least acceptable but were not rated significantly different from each other. This study extends findings from previous research on treatment accept- ability to parents of mentally retarded children, which is important because they are often involved in choices and implementation of treatment alternatives for their children.
Dating-Skills Groups for the Developmentally Disabled
Authors: Mueser Kim T. , Valenti-Hein Denise , Yarnold Paul R.
Published: March 2007

Efficacy of three different group treatment strategies for teaching dating skills to the developmentally disabled was examined for 41 outpatient adults. Clients were randomly assigned to one of three groups: traditional problem-solving training (TPS), flexible problem-solving training (FPS), and relaxation training (RT). Role-play assessments were conducted at pretreatment, posttreatment, and at a one-month follow-up. Ratings of social skills based on the role plays favored the TPS and FPS groups over the RT and dropout groups. Clients in the TPS group, but not the other groups, significantly increased in physical attractiveness. Changes in physical attractiveness were correlated primarily with changes in pleasantness of facial expression. Clients in the TPS group also maintained a higher rate of social interactions with opposite-sex peers during midsession breaks than did clients in the FPS and RT groups. Implications for teaching dating skills to the developmentally disabled, the merits of traditional over flexible problem-solving procedures for teaching social skills, and the impact of social skills on physical attractiveness are discussed.
Preschoolers' Goal Setting with Contracting to Facilitate Maintenance
Authors: Guevremont David C. , Osnes Pamela G. , Stokes Trevor F.
Published: March 2007

The effects of goal-setting and child-teacher contracting procedures on the academic performance of 3 preschool children were examined. Goal setting produced substantial improvements in the quantity and quality of the children's work, but did not facilitate maintenance when baselines were reinstated. When performance gains were not maintained following goal setting, a child-teacher contracting procedure was introduced sequentially across subjects using a multiple-baseline design. Contracting also led to improvements in work performance and resulted in children's use of higher self-determined goals and maintenance in subsequent baseline conditions for 2 children. Both interventions increased on-task behavior and generalized to performance during regular work periods. Contracting procedures, however, appear to be a useful transitional phase in goal-setting interventions designed to produce durable effects with young children.
Overcorrection as an Academic Remediation Procedure
Authors: Lenz Mark , Singh Nirbhay N. , Hewett Amy E.
Published: March 2007

Overcorrection procedures traditionally were designed to reduce the behavioral excesses of persons with mental retardation. However, beginning with a study of Foxx and Jones (1978), it became clear that variations of the procedure could be used to enhance academic proficiency in students with average intelligence, borderline intelligence, learning disabilities, and various levels of mental retardation. Studies were reviewed in this article that have used overcorrection procedures to enhance academic proficiency, and it was concluded (a) that overcorrection, alone or combined with positive reinforcement, significantly increased the academic proficiency of the students, and (b) that the label "overcorrection" is inappropriate, given that the procedures described in these studies did not meet the criteria for overcorrection procedures. It was suggested that overcorrection procedures used for academic remediation be called directed rehearsal in the future to reflect more accurately the procedures actually used.
Diagnostic and Assessment Issues Related to Pharmacotherapy for Children and Adolescents with Autism
Authors: Campbell Magda , Kafantaris Vivian , Malone Richard P. , Kowalik Sharon C. , Locascio Joseph J.
Published: March 2007

Autism involves not only developmental delays but also aberrant behavior, both of which change in nature over time. Rating instruments may be useful to assess maladaptive and adaptive behaviors of autistic children in a standardized way and, perhaps, to measure change due to treatment. With the expansion of basic science, knowledge, and technology, there is increasing evidence that autism is etiologically heterogeneous. Currently, there is no biological marker specific to autism, although hyperserotonemia is a consistent finding in one third of autistic children. An aim of basic science research has been to develop a rational pharmacotherapy based upon the underlying neurochemistry. However, at the present time, this approach has not always been successful. It is expected that the development and use of more restrictive criteria, delineation of subtypes of autism, and interaction of descriptive, behavioral, clinical, and basic research will lead to more effective planning for treatment. The relationship of assessment to treatment response is presented and discussed.
Effects of Unemployment on Mental Health in the Contemporary Family
Authors: Dew Mary Amanda , Penkower Lili , Bromet Evelyn J.
Published: March 2007

This article summarizes research conducted in the past 20 years concerning mental health effects of involuntary job loss. The majority of studies and previous reviews focus on unemployment effects on men. Although these studies are also reviewed, this article highlights studies of (a) the involuntarily unemployed woman, (b) the spouse of the unemployed person, and (c) their children. Within each of these research areas, the authors consider studies grouped according to their methodological strength for drawing causal inferences about the impact of job loss on psychological status, ranging from cross-sectional to longitudinal to prospective studies. The implications of the unemployment literature not only for future research but also for clinical practice are addressed. Knowledge of family effects of this stressful life circumstance is critical to developing effective treatment plans for patients who, although perhaps not the direct victims of job loss themselves, may nevertheless present with problems indirectly caused or exacerbated by unemployment within the family.
Child, Adolescent, and Adult Victims of Residential Fire
Authors: Jones Russell T. , Ribbe David P.
Published: March 2007

Behavior of children, adolescents, and adults during and after a residential fire was objectively assessed. Antecedents, behaviors, and consequences of the nighttime residential fire immediately and 1 month following the fire were obtained. Also, the extent of agreement between children/adolescent and adult functioning was determined. Eight children and adolescents and 12 adults were individually interviewed. Results showed that individuals' reactions to residential fire could be assessed, and several PTSD-related symptoms were expressed. A follow-up study in which 25 adolescent boys whose dormitory had been totally destroyed by fire were compared to 13 boys who had not experienced the fire showed similar findings. These findings add to the dearth of literature concerning children and adolescents in fire-related disasters.
Reactions to Assertion in "Controlled" Naturalistic Relationships
Authors: Kern Jeffrey M. , Paquette Raymond J.
Published: March 2007

Although numerous studies have demonstrated that observers evaluate individuals portraying negative assertion as being more competent but less likable than nonassertive individuals, all of these studies have been experimental analogues. The present research examined the importance of negative assertion and its effects on long-term, naturalistic relationships. Fifty pairs of female undergraduate roommates, who had been nonsystematically assigned to live together, participated. One member of each pair completed self-report and idiographic role-play measures of negative assertion. The other member of each pair evaluated the general likability and social competency of her roommate and also completed self-report measures of assertion. The results yielded significant relationships between negative assertion and interpersonal attraction. Higher levels of assertive behavior were associated with perceptions of greater competency and likability. There also was a significant positive correlation between roommates' assertive behaviors. These results suggest that negative assertion exerts a significant effect on relationships and that the findings of previous research are probably not generalizable to longer-term, naturalistic relationships. The limitations and implications of these findings are discussed.
Using Independence Training to Teach Independent Living Skills to Children and Young Men with Visual Impairments
Authors: Taras Marie E. , Matson Johnny L. , Felps Jennifer N.
Published: March 2007

Two groups of students with visual impairments were taught various independent living skills. Of the 7 students, 5 also had a diagnosis of mental retardation. One group (3 first graders) was taught the tasks of folding a shirt, making an emergency telephone call, and spreading soft foods with a knife. The other group (4 young men) was taught to increase leisure skills through three different leather-work tasks. Independence training was conducted in a group format and included social learning components (e.g., self-evaluation, peer evaluation and reinforcement) in addition to traditional operant procedures (e.g., modeling, prompting). However, because of the presence of visual impairments, a physical and verbal modification of modeling was used, whereby the subject was physically guided through the steps and simultaneously provided with a narration of the steps. A multiple baseline design across behaviors demonstrated the efficacy of the comprehensive training package in training various independent living skills to the two groups of visually impaired and mentally retarded students. Social validity measures demon-strated the clinical significance of the subsequent changes in behavioral skills. Follow-up data collected 10 months after the completion of training indicated a good degree of maintenance. The current positive results show that training procedures used exclusively with persons with mental retardation can be modified and be effective with a different and younger population, while targeting different independent living skills.
Assessing and Enhancing Generalization and Social Validity of Social-Skills Interventions with Children and Adolescents
Authors: Fox James J. , McEvoy Mary A.
Published: March 2007

Generalization and social validity are necessary aspects of any applied behavior analytic endeavor. They are especially critical to social-sldlls training research and practice. Investigators have demonstrated the effectiveness of various leaming theory-based interventions in teaching social skills to and increasing peer interactions of children with and without disabilities. However, development of a technology for reliably transferring these changes across different situations or ensuring their persistence over time has proven to be more problematic. From both a conceptual and empirical standpoint, this article reviews progress in and barriers to assessing and enhancing generality of social behavior change and its relationship to social validity. If progress is to be made, then it will be necessary to (a) distinguish between generalization and generality in developing and evaluating social-skills interventions; (b) expand the concept of social validity to give more emphasis to objective measurement of social skills, interventions, and outcomes; and (c) pursue a systematic analysis of generality-and durability-programming tactics.
Operant Extinction in the Treatment of Severe Maladaptive Behavior
Authors: Ducharme Joseph M. , van Houten Ronald
Published: March 2007

Operant extinction involves termination of reinforcement for a previously reinforced response. As a clinical intervention for severe maladaptive behavior, operant extinction is often repudiated because of intensity of side effects, length of treatment time required, and implementation difficulties. This article discusses both theoretical and practical aspects of extinction, including components of the extinction process and the importance of functional assessment to its effective use. Potential strategies for increasing the effectiveness of extinction while diminishing intrusiveness are recommended. Based on recent research innovations, a technology is emerging for effective use of operant extinction in the treatment of severe maladaptive behavior.
Comparing Activity Measurements and Ratings
Authors: Tryon Waren W. , Pinto Lawrence P.
Published: March 2007

The purpose of this article is to examine the relationship between rated and measured activity in children. Activity level is a theoretical component of temperament, and empirical studies of child behavior disorder consistently reveal hyperactivity as a behavior disorder. This article demonstrates that the Conners Teacher Rating Scale, Motor Excess subscale of the Revised Behavior Problem Checklist, and the Nervous-Overactive subscale of the Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Rating Form are significantly and substantially intercorrelated, thereby supporting their construct validity. Additional large significant correlations between all three ratings and measured activity (steps per hour) further support the concurrent validity of activity ratings by teachers. However, important discrepancies exist between rated and measured activity for a substantial proportion of the boys. This finding strongly suggests that a second opinion be obtained through a 2-week behavioral sample using an activity measuring instrument, especially when concemn exists over excessive activity prior to reaching diagnostic and/or treatment conclusions.
The Use of the Anxiety Meter to Reduce Anxiety
Authors: Cautela Joseph R.
Published: March 2007

The use of the Anxiety Meter (AM) is taught to clients to reduce anxiety. At first the AM is used as part of the self-control triad. It is then used alone to reduce anxiety. A rationale for the use of the AM is presented together with a description of the procedure. The AM is a self-control strategy for use in treating agoraphobia and panic reaction. A case example is also presented.
Cognitive Distortions and Adolescent Affective Disorder
Authors: Messer Stephen C. , Kempton Tracy , Van Hasselt Vincent B. , Null Jane A. , Bukstein Oscar G.
Published: March 2007

Despite a proliferation of recent research examining childhood and adolescent depression, the area still lags behind the adult depression field, particularly in the investigation of cognitive correlates of affective psychopathology. To advance cognitive research with youth, the Children's Negative Cognitive Error Questionnaire (CNCEQ) was developed to provide a measure of cognitive distortions or errors in children and adolescents. Yet, few studies have employed the CNCEQ and no evidence exists supporting the validity of its four component cognitive error scales. The purpose of the present study was to examine the construct validity of the CNCEQ and its constituent scales through the use of factor analysis and criterion-group comparisons. Groups of adolescent psychiatric inpatients, diagnosed as affective or disruptive disordered, completed the CNCEQ following admission. Results failed to support the implicit four-factor structure of the CNCEQ, instead suggesting the appropriateness of a single-factor solution labeled "negative thinking." Despite no diagnostic group differences on the CNCEQ total or other scale scores, affective disordered patients evinced more cognitive errors on the Overgeneralizing scale. Findings suggest that the CNCEQ in its current stage of development holds promise, yet requires refinement to produce a valid measure of cognitive functioning in youth.
Relaxation to Assist Sleep Medication Withdrawal
Authors: Lichstein Kenneth L. , Peterson Britt Ann , Riedel Brant W. , Means Melanie K. , Epperson Michael T. , Aguillard R. Neal
Published: March 2007

This study explores the usefulness of relaxation and gradual medication withdrawal in weaning insomniacs from sleep (hypnotic) medication.We recruited 40 volunteers from the community who had insomnia, half of whom were chronic users of hypnotics while the other half were nonmedicated. Half of all participants (10 medicated and 10 nonmedicated) received progressive relaxation. All medicated participants received a standard gradual drug withdrawal program. Medicated participants reduced sleep medication consumption by nearly 80%. Participants who received relaxation obtained additional benefits in sleep efficiency, rated quality of sleep, and reduced withdrawal symptoms. Medicated and nonmedicated participants attained comparable, improved sleep by posttreatment and follow-up. Hypnotic withdrawalwas accompanied by serious worsening of insomnia, but this dissipated by the end of the withdrawal period. The psychological treatment of hypnotic-dependent insomnia has high potential for making an important clinical contribution.
Depression, School Performance, and the Veridicality of Perceived Grades and Causal Attributions
Authors: Försterling Friedrich , Binser Martin J.
Published: March 2007

An external criterion was assessed to test whether depressives have distorted perceptions of covariation information and whether their attributions are consistent with this information. Students’ actual and self-perceived grades, depression status, and attributions for failures were assessed. Furthermore, partici pants estimated average grades. Generally, self-perceived own past grades were inflated. Depressed students and those with low grades distorted their own grades (but not the average grade) more to their favor than individuals low in depression and those with high grades. Depression went along with lower actual grades and with internal, stable, and global failure attributions. Mood differences in attributions were not due to differences in previous grades. Depressed individuals drew (unrealistically) more depressogenic causal inferences when they perceived average grades to be low than when average grades were perceived to be high. However, they (realistically) attributed failure more in a depressogenic fashion than did nondepressives when their own grade history was low.
When Bad Things Turn Good and Good Things Turn Bad: Sequences of Redemption and Contamination in Life Narrative and their Relation to Psychosocial Adaptation in Midlife Adults and in Students
Authors: McAdams Dan P. , Reynolds Jeffrey , Lewis Martha , Patten Allison H. , Bowman Phillip J.
Published: March 2007

Midlife adults (age 35 to 65) and college undergraduates provided lengthy, open-ended narrative accounts of personally meaningful episodes from the past, such as life-story high points, low points, turning points, and earliest memories. The oral (adult) and written (student) narratives were coded for redemption and contamination imagery. In the midlife sample, adults scoring high on self-report measures of generativity showed significantly higher levels of redemption and lower levels of contamination sequences. In both samples, redemption sequences in life narrative accounts were positively associated with self-report measures of psychological well-being, whereas contamination sequences predicted low levels of well-being among midlife adults. In addition, redemption sequence scores were a stronger predictor of well-being than were ratings of the overall affective quality of life-narrative accounts. The results are discussed with respect to the empirical literature of benefit-finding in the face of adversity and in the context of the recent upsurge of interest in the collection and interpretation of life narratives.
Perceiving Value in Obligations and Goals: Wanting to Do What Should Be Done
Authors: Berg Michael B. , Janoff-Bulman Ronnie , Cotter Justin
Published: March 2007

Four studies investigated the perception of autonomous motives for obligations—of “wants” in activities regarded as “shoulds.” In Study 1, respondents provided their reasons for engaging in self-generated obligations, whereas in Study 2, the experimenter provided the obligations. In both studies, participants spontaneously gave few autonomous motives, but their frequency was associated with respondents’ life satisfaction, and virtually all were able to generate autonomous motives when these were elicited. Study 3 found a strong positive correlation between perceptions of wants and shoulds in participants’ goals. A mediational model found that both wants and shoulds had direct, but opposite, effects on life satisfaction but only wants predicted goal success, the strongest path to life satisfaction. In Study 4, an appreciation-focus (vs. a resentment-focus or no specific emotion-focus) led to the perception of shoulds as wants in goal conflict situations; open-ended responses provided some clues to this transformation process.
The Role of Interpersonal Competence in Memory for Conversation
Authors: Miller Judi Beinstein , de Winstanley Patricia Ann
Published: March 2007

The role of interpersonal competence in memory for conversation was investigated by comparing evidence for two mechanisms of competence effects: (a) organization of social knowledge in memory and (b) use of interaction management skills. In Study 1, undergraduates acted as participants or observers in conversations with scripted confederates and afterward took a cued recall test. Interpersonal competence was positively correlated with recall of the confederate’s ideas among participants with same-sex confederates. In Study 2, undergraduates acted as participants in similar conversations with friends or strangers, and the effect of competence was replicated. Results are interpreted as evidence for an interaction management skills explanation of competence effects.
Vigilance for Differences: Heightened Impact of Differences on Surprise
Authors: Olson James M. , Janes Leslie M.
Published: March 2007

Two experiments tested the hypothesis that humans are vigilant for differences between stimuli in the environment by comparing the amount of surprise elicited by unexpected differences versus unexpected similarities. In Experiment 1, participants performed a weight judgment task where their implicit expectancies about the relative sizes of two wooden blocks were violated. For some participants, the unexpected event was that the two blocks differed in size when participants expected them to be similar in size; for other participants, the unexpected event was that the two blocks were the same size when participants expected them to differ in size. Unexpected differences in size produced greater spontaneous expressions of surprise and mirth than did unexpected similarities in size. Experiment 2 replicated the surprise finding when participants’ expectancies about weight were violated, rather than size. These findings are consistent with the idea that people are more attuned to differences between stimuli in the environment than to similarities.