Stimulus overselectiv1ty of autistic children in a two stimulus situation

Autistic and normal children were trained to respond to a complex stimulus involving an auditory component (white noise) and a visual component (red floodlight). After the Ss had acquired this discrimination, the individual components were presented singly to assess their control over the Ss' behavior. The autistic Ss' unlike the normals, demonstrated stimulus overselectivity in that seven out of nine Ss responded to only one of the components. These results were consistent with those of a previous study where autistics showed stimulus overselectivity in an experiment involving three modalities. In both experiments, the previously non-functional stimulus was made functional when trained separately.     

The relationship of attributional style to agoraphobia severity, depression, and treatment outcome

The present study examined the relationship of attributional style, as measured with a revised version of the Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ) and measures of agoraphobia severity, depression, and treatment outcome in 73 Ss who met DSM-III criteria for agoraphobia with panic attacks and participated in one of three 13-week treatment conditions: paradoxical intention, graduated exposure, or progressive deep muscle relaxation training. Subjects completed assessments at four periods: pretreatment, midtreatment, posttreatment, and at 3 month follow-up. In addition to the three dimensions typically examined on the ASQ, this revised version also measured Ss' estimates of the perceived importance, and future likelihood for both positive and negative events. Congruent with previous research, moderate but somewhat inconsistent associations were observed between attributional style and depression both within and across assessment periods. Predictions about associations between attributional style and agoraphobic severity were not supported; however, an interaction was observed between depression and attributional style with respect to severity of agoraphobia. There was no evidence of group differences across treatment types, although there were several significant changes in attributional style across time. Attributions for health related events were also examined. Conceptual, clinical, and research issues related to the findings are discussed.     

Ways of acquiring phobias and outcome of behavioral treatments

The way of acquisition of phobias was studied in relation to different behavioral treatments for phobias. Ss (N = 183) were clinical patients belonging to six different phobic groups (agoraphobics, claustrophobics, social phobics, animal phobics, blood phobics and dental phobics), and the treatments were categorized as behaviorally focused (exposure in vivo and social-skills training), physiologically focused (systematic desensitization and applied relaxation) and cognitively focused (self-instruction training and fading). Results showed that both for patients with direct conditioning experiences and indirect acquisition those treated with behavioral and physiological methods improved more than those receiving cognitive methods when looking at the change-score data. Regarding the proportion of clinically improved patients there was no difference between treatments among the Ss with a background of conditioning experiences. In the group with indirect acquisition, on the other hand, the cognitive methods were more effective.     

Motor and cognitive relaxation in the desensitization of anger

Three procedures were assessed to determine their effectiveness in reducing anger. The procedures were: desensitization, desensitization with cognitive relaxation, and desensitization with the absence of relaxation training. Anger was aroused by exposing white males, selected for their reports of anger toward blacks, to black racial stimuli. The desensitization group reported reductions in anxiety and disgust relative to a no-treatment control group. Therapist ratings indicated reductions in anger for Ss in both the desensitization and desensitization with cognitive relaxation groups. In addition the latter group reported reductions in anger concurrently with increases in diastolic and systolic blood pressure. Post-hoc analyses indicated that Ss for whom desensitization was most effective reported less anger after the pretreatment anger arousal procedure, greater depth of relaxation during treatment, and were liked more by their therapists. These Ss also reported a greater reduction in ethnocentrism and a trend toward lower overt hostility following treatment.     

Acceptability of aversive procedures and medication as treatment alternatives for deviant child behavior

The present investigation evaluated the acceptability of alternative treatments for deviant child behavior. Clinical cases of children who displayed severe behavioral problems at home and at school were described along with three different treatments. The treatments, time-out from reinforcement, locked seclusion, and medication, were rated by psychiatric inpatient children and parents in a 3 × 3 replicated Latin-square design. The investigation also evaluated whether acceptability ratings were influenced by the clinical effectiveness of treatment in altering behavior. Although children and parents did not differ overall in acceptability ratings, they differed in their ranking of different treatments. Children viewed medication as the most acceptable treatment, whereas parents viewed time out as the most acceptable treatment. For both children and parents, treatments described as producing marked effects were rated as more acceptable than treatments producing weaker effects. The results indicated that disturbed children and their parents can readily distinguish the acceptability of alternative treatments. The implications of treatment acceptability for clinical applications of treatment are discussed.Completion of this investigation was facilitated by a Research Scientist Development Award (MH00353) and a grant (MH35408) from the National Institute of Mental Health. The author is grateful for the assistance of the clinical research team of the Child Psychiatric Treatment Service, especially that of Irene Heidish, M.A., who assisted with the data analyses.     

ACCEPTABILITY OF ALTERNATIVE TREATMENTS FOR DEVIANT CHILD BEHAVIOR

The acceptability of alternative treatments for deviant child behavior was evaluated in two experiments. In each experiment, clinical cases were described to undergraduate students along with four different treatments in a Replicated Latin Square Design. The treatments included reinforcement of incompatible behavior, time out from reinforcement, drug therapy, and electric shock and the treatments were described as they were applied to children with problem behaviors. Experiment 1 developed an assessment device to evaluate treatment acceptability and examined whether treatments were rated as differentially acceptable. Experiment 2 replicated the first experiment and examined whether the severity of the presenting clinical problem influenced ratings of acceptability. The results indicated that treatments were sharply distinguished in overall acceptability. Reinforcement of incompatible behavior was more acceptable than other treatments which followed, in order, time out from reinforcement, drug therapy, and electric shock. Case severity influenced acceptability of alternative treatments with all treatments being rated as more acceptable with more severe cases. However, the strength of case severity was relatively small in relation to the different treatment conditions themselves which accounted for large portions of variance.     

The application of reinforcement and participant modeling procedures in the treatment of snake-phobic behavior

In Experiment I, one group of snake phobic Ss was reinforced (with tokens) for approaching a harmless snake. A second group received token reinforcement on a non-contingent basis, in the same setting, with a third group serving as non-treated controls. Although slight improvement was noted for all three groups, the groups did not differ significantly with respect to an increase in approach behavior or a reduction in subjective fear rating. A fourth group of snake phobic Ss was reinforced with money for approaching the snake, but showed no more improvement than the other three groups. In Experiment II. Ss who had participated in Experiment I were assigned to a participant modeling (P-M) group, in which they observed a fearless model interact with a snake and were subsequently guided through similar interactions with the snake, or to a non-treated control group. The P-M Ss showed a very marked decrement in snake phobic behavior (which generalized to a non-treatment snake) following the 40-min treatment, in contrast to control Ss who showed virtually no change.     

Acceptability of Time Out from Reinforcement Procedures for Disruptive Child Behavior:

Forty-eight teachers and forty-eight parents evaluated the effectiveness and acceptability of five behavioral procedures for reducing disruptive behavior in children. The results showed that teachers evaluated the procedures as being more effective and acceptable than did the parents. The treatment procedures rated as most effective and acceptable were reinforcement and isolation and contractual agreement. In additon, the procedures were rated as being more effective and acceptable for 5-year-olds than for 10-year-olds. The results of this study are compared to similiar studies reported by Kazdin.     

Experimental manipulations of responsibility: An analogue test for models of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Several authors attribute excessive responsibility a predominant role in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) [Salkovskis, P. M. (1985) Behaviour Research and Therapy, 23, 571–583; Rachman, S. (1993) Behaviour Research and Therapy, 31, 149–154; van Oppen, P. & Arntz, A. (1994) Behaviour Research and Therapy, 32, 79–87]. The present studies aimed at demonstrating the link between different levels of perceived responsibility and checking behaviors by experimentally manipulating responsibility in non-clinical Ss. In the first study, a sound recognition task was used to compare checking behaviors in Ss with high (HR) and low (LR) perceived responsibility. Only one variable was significantly different, Ss from the HR group reporting more anxiety during the task than Ss from the LR group. Results did not support a link between responsibility and checking behavior. In a second study HR and LR Ss were compared on a manual classification task. Subjects from the HR group hesitated and checked more, and reported more preoccupation with errors and anxiety during the task than Ss from the LR group. Since perceived severity of the outcome was the most variable affected by the manipulation, the implications for current models of OCD are discussed and an alternative explanation is attempted. Finally, clinical implications are examined and suggestions are made for future directions of research.     

Predicting and remembering recurrent pain

Two groups of Ss suffering from recurrent episodes of pain (headache or menstrual) were studied over a period of weeks in order to determine if they tend to over-predict aversive events (pain in this instance). The results are consistent with earlier findings on fear pain. Contrary to earlier findings, however, after an under-predicted pain the menstrual Ss decreased their following prediction—suggesting the operation of a superordinate predictive pattern in this group. The Ss in both groups successfully predicted the qualities of their pain episodes, but tended to recall the episodes as being more painful than they had reported at the time of the pain episode. The explanation for the erroneous magnifications of predictions and reports of pain is not obvious. Over-predicting a potential pain, and remembering an episode as having been more painful than it was, may serve a protective function, but if so, these are not the most economical ways of achieving protection. The Ss who used medication expected to obtain moderate relief and they were not disappointed.     

Personally relevant intrusions outside the laboratory: Long-term suppression increases intrusion

It has been suggested that the suppression of unwanted thoughts may increase their frequency and that this effect may contribute to some psychological problems. Previous studies have examined this over a period of minutes, in an artificial setting. Suppression over a four day period was evaluated in the present study. Each S was asked to identify a negative intrusive thought which he or she experienced and to record each occurrence of it in conditions designed to maximise the similarity to those experienced by obsessional patients. Ss were randomly allocated to one of three groups. One group was asked to suppress their thoughts whenever they occurred, another group was asked to think about their thoughts whenever they occurred and the third group just recorded the thoughts whenever they occurred. This design allowed experimental control of both attention to and manipulation of the target thoughts in contrast to attention and active suppression. It was found that Ss who suppressed their thoughts experienced more thoughts and found them more uncomfortable than Ss in the other two groups. This is consistent with the theory that suppression increases thought frequency and may be important in the development and maintenance of some disorders.     

Evaluating the influence of problem function on treatment acceptability

Direct care staff from community agencies serving individuals with developmental disabilities rated the acceptability of two treatments, time out and guided compliance, applied to a problem behavior maintained by attention or escape. The results showed that time out was significantly more acceptable than guided compliance regardless of problem function. The results indicate that the less restrictive treatment was rated as more acceptable. However, the functional treatment was not rated as more acceptable than the nonfunctional treatment. ©1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Using drugs to modify the effect of response prevention on avoidance extinction

Amobarbital and chlordiazepoxide were administered during avoidance response prevention and the effect evaluated in the nondrugged state in a subsequent test for avoidance extinction. It was found that Ss administered 15 mg/kg and 30 mg/kg amobarbital, and 30 mg/kg chlordiazepoxide during response prevention differed significantly from the control Ss in extinction performance. Rather than showing either reduced avoidance performance or no difference with the nondrugged Ss, the Ss drugged during response prevention showed increased avoidance performance in the subsequent test of avoidance extinction. That is, preventing avoidance responding under a drugged (versus nondrugged) state produced increased resistance to extinction of the avoidance response.     

A short duration group treatment of smoking behavior by stimulus saturation

Two saturation procedures of different lengths were administered to Ss who desired to quit smoking. Ss chain-smoked for either 20 hr (group E₁) or 10 hr (E₂). Total abstinence was the main dependent measure. Both groups experienced relatively equal success on a short-term basis. Long-term abstinence was noted for group E₁ only. Sixty per cent of the E₁ Ss were not smoking 4 months after treatment.     

Effects of endorphin blocking on conditioned SCR in humans

In order to test the hypothesis that low levels of endogenous opioids (endorphins) predispose to strong conditioning effects, female Ss (N = 36) were assigned to a placebo group, a low-dose naltrexone group, or a high-dose naltrexone group and then underwent a classical conditioning procedure. This procedure consisted of an acquisition phase in which all Ss received 5 pairings of a CS+ (neutral picture) and a UCS (100 dB white noise). The CS− (neutral picture) was never followed by a UCS. During extinction, Ss received 4 unreinforced presentations of CS+ and CS−. Throughout the experiment, skin conductance responses (SCRs) to the CSs and UCSs were recorded. Acquisition was successful in that CS+ slides elicited stronger SCRs than CS − slides. However, during acquisition, there was no interaction between drug and differential response (CS+ vs CS−). During extinction, there was no overall remaining effect of conditioning. Again, no evidence was found to suggest that (remaining) effects of conditioning were stronger in the naltrexone treated Ss than in the placebo S's. If anything, the opposite seemed to be true with especially high-dose naltrexone Ss showing relatively weak conditioning effects.     

Paradoxical intention in the treatment of chronic insomnia: six case studies illustrating variability in therapeutic response

The relatively small behavioural literature available contains a number of encouraging reports evidencing the effectiveness of paradoxical intention therapy as a treatment for sleep onset insomnia. This present paper contributes a further six case studies of chronic insomniacs, referred for treatment within the context of a major treatment comparison study, who were randomly allocated to receive paradoxical intention. Therapy typically lasted for 8 weeks, consisting of two 4-week phases, the first of which involved a counterdemand manipulation designed to control for demand and expectancy factors. Considerable variability in response to therapy was observed, with 3 patients obtaining a rapid reduction in sleep onset latency while the sleep pattern of the 3 other Ss was significantly exacerbated. Although 1 S from this latter group did improve after several weeks treatment, the other 2 Ss were ultimately successfully treated with progressive relaxation training having been unable to persevere with paradoxical intention. These results are discussed with reference to previous research and the consideration of individual patient characteristics.     

Behavior therapy for drug abuse: A controlled treatment outcome study

82 Ss were studied in a comparative evaluation of a behavioral vs supportive treatment for illegal drug use. Behavioral treatment included stimulus control, urge control, contracting/family support and competing response procedures for an average of 19 sessions. 37% of Ss in the behavioral condition were drug-free at 2 months, 54% at 6 months, and 65% at 12 months vs 20 ± 6% for the alternative treatment during all 12 months. The behavioral treatment was more effective across sex, age, educational level, marital status and type of drug (hard-drugs, cocaine, and marijuana). Greater improvement for this condition was also noted on measures of employment/school attendance, family relationships, depression, institutionalization and alcohol use.