BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT OF INFANT SLEEP DISTURBANCE

Using a nonconcurrent multiple baseline design, we evaluated the effects of extinction and stimulus control on nighttime sleep disturbances exhibited by 7 infants. Results showed that frequency and duration of night wakings decreased for all subjects, with corresponding improvements reflected through changes in responses to the sleep behavior scale. Observed improvements maintained at 3 and 24 months posttreatment.     

EFFECTS OF DIRECT,INTERMITTENT, AND VICARIOUS REINFORCEMENT PROCEDURES ON THE DEVELOPMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF INSTRUCTION-FOLLOWING BEHAVIORS IN A GROUP OF YOUNG CHILDREN1

A group of young children (mean age: 2.5 yr) were instructed to follow different requests by a teacher in a day-care setting. Experiment I verified that mean group instruction following was low (10%) despite the opportunity for “observational learning”, i.e., the group of 12 children could watch a nonreinforced adult comply with the teacher's request. In Experiment II, when positive consequences were provided contingent on the adult model's behavior, mean group instruction following was relatively unaffected (14%). When direct reinforcement was given to four peer models, each for several sessions, the individual performances of three of the four peer models was elevated (from 50% to 80%); however, the mean performance of the remaining nonreinforced children (N = 7) was only moderately affected (21%). When reinforcement contingencies were again changed, so that each group member was provided direct, but intermittent reinforcement, mean group performance increased substantially to levels of over 70%. Once instruction following was high, presentation of reinforcement only to one peer model sufficed to maintain performance whereas earlier, this same vicarious reinforcement procedure had failed to establish group compliance. The maintenance of instruction-following behavior when reinforcement was applied solely to one child was interpreted mainly in terms of a high resistance to extinction following a history of intermittent reinforcement rather than a “vicarious”- or “self”-reinforcement mechanism. Finally, removal and re-introduction of group intermittent reinforcement, respectively, lowered performance (to levels of 40%) and elevated (to levels of 65%) the group's performance.     

REVIEW OF ANTECEDENT CONTROL: INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO BEHAVIORAL SUPPORT,EDITED BY J. LUISELLI AND M. CAMERON

This review identifies antecedent manipulation and the role of establishing operations as primary themes of the book as well as crucial elements in the design of a broadly applicable behavior support technology. The discussion of the book's thematic treatment of these elements highlights the traditional importance of elaborate antecedent interactions within the field of behavior analysis and welcomes researchers' efforts to broaden their credibility and influence through comprehensive and durable applications of behavior support technologies in a variety of natural settings. The reviewers rate the book as representative of the most recent developments and directions within applied behavior support.     

TREATMENT OF CHILD ABUSE: A REVIEW OF THE BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTIONS

The problem of child abuse has become prominent in the past decade; this has led to increased research on its treatment. This paper describes the behavioral treatment approaches that have been used to alleviate abusive parenting practices, and it also discusses current issues and future directions for research in this area.     

OUTCOME EVALUATION OF BEHAVIORAL PARENT TRAINING AND CLIENT-CENTERED PARENT COUNSELING FOR CHILDREN WITH CONDUCT PROBLEMS1

The central question addressed was, how effective is parent training in reducing conduct problems in children in comparison to client-centered parent counseling? A secondary question was the relative effectiveness of the two treatment groups in comparison to a wait control group that when untreated during the 8-week period of treatment provided the other groups. Families of 36, 5- to 12-year-old conduct problem children were screened and assigned at random to treatment groups, but wait control group assignment depended upon therapist availability. Supervised graduate student therapists conducted 10 treatment sessions for each family. Parent reports and paper and pencil tests of child deviance and parent satisfaction showed a superior outcome for behavioral over the client-centered and wait control groups, and no differences between the latter two groups. At follow-up there was no maintenance of this superiority. Home observation data showed no advantage of behavioral over client-centered treatment, and these two groups did not improve significantly more than the wait control group. These results were discussed in the light of possible interactions between treatment and measurement, and methodological and sampling differences between this and other studies.     

复合刺激潜意识知觉的属性分离

通过四种复合刺激的属性分离实验,检验刺激不同属性在潜意识知觉中的差异。结果表明,刺激的不同属性在刺激材料潜意识知觉中具有不同的作用。验证了潜意识知觉心理加工的部分优先理论。检验了基于控制迫选任务中比较刺激所建立的复合刺激潜意识知觉属性分离模型的有效性。     

繁殖群中婴幼川金丝猴社会关系发展的个案研究

使用瞬时取样法,对繁殖笼内出生的两只婴幼川金丝猴进行连续22个月的行为记录。结果表明,川金丝猴婴猴断乳大约在19—20月龄;断乳表现为母婴之间矛盾冲突的过程;群内其他雌性对初生婴儿表现出明显的抢婴、护婴和育婴行为;父亲对婴幼猴表现出接纳和容忍的态度;婴儿在断乳前是群内全体成员保护和爱护的对象,以后开始进入社会关系网,受到成年个体的责备,但很轻微;雌性幼猴在32月龄时尚未被记录到对群内成员表现威胁、蜷缩和匍伏等行为模式。     

A FADED BEDTIME WITH RESPONSE COST PROTOCOL FOR TREATMENT OF MULTIPLE SLEEP PROBLEMS IN CHILDREN

The sleep-wake cycles of 4 developmentally delayed individuals with longstanding severe sleep disturbances were regulated using a faded bedtime procedure with response cost. Bedtimes were systematically delayed for each individual, thus increasing the probability of short latency to sleep onset. The response cost component, consisting of removing the individual from bed for 1 hour, was implemented when an individual did not experience short latency to sleep onset. A fading procedure was then applied successfully to advance the bedtimes and to gradually increase durations of sleep. Specifically, all 4 individuals had decreased amounts of nighttime sleep that increased following treatment. Two of the 4 individuals showed excessive daytime sleep that decreased following treatment. Three of the 4 individuals experienced decreases in night wakings following treatment. Both environmental and biological manipulations of the sleep-wake cycle are hypothesized as mechanisms of treatment. The relative advantages of this procedure over other procedures for the treatment of pediatric sleep disorders are discussed, as are directions for future research.     

THE DISCRIMINATION OF OBJECT NAMES AND OBJECT SOUNDS IN CHILDREN WITH AUTISM: A PROCEDURE FOR TEACHING VERBAL COMPREHENSION

We assessed whether 2 preschoolers with autism learned to discriminate between the sounds of musical instruments more rapidly than the spoken names of the instruments. After the children learned the sound‐object relations more rapidly than the name‐object relations, we then evaluated a prompt‐delay procedure for transferring stimulus control from the sounds to the names of the instruments. The prompt‐delay procedure facilitated the acquisition of name—object relations for both children.     

THE ROLE OF REFERENTIAL SPEECH IN SIGN LEARNING BY MENTALLY RETARDED CHILDREN: A COMPARISON OF TOTAL COMMUNICATION AND SIGN-ALONE TRAINING

We conducted two experiments to assess the role of referential speech during sign training in which the spoken words corresponding to signs were receptively known to the participants. An alternating treatments design was used to compare sign acquisition across two teaching conditions in which referents were presented either with or without the corresponding verbal label. During the first experiment, signs were taught concurrently; during the second experiment, signs within each of the respective conditions were taught in a serial fashion. In both experiments, signs taught by total communication were acquired faster than those taught by sign-alone training.     

THE USE OF STIMULUS CONTROL OVER LITTERING IN A NATURAL SETTING

A conventional litter receptacle (55-gallon drum) and a specially designed receptacle consisting of a 55-gallon drum adorned with a plywood “hat” were alternated in two areas of a football stadium over a period of four games. A frequency count of several types of litter articles showed that more than twice as many items were deposited within the experimental container than the conventional one (an average of 52.5 and 21.5 items per game, respectively). The weight of litter deposited within each container showed a similar relationship. An average of 0.65 kg of litter per game were deposited within the conventional receptacle compared with an average of 1.3 kg per game for the experimental receptacle.     

A FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS OF PHOTO-OBJECT MATCHING SKILLS OF SEVERELY RETARDED ADOLESCENTS

Matching-to-sample procedures were used to assess picture representation skills of severely retarded, nonverbal adolescents. Identity matching within the classes of objects and life-size, full-color photos of the objects was first used to assess visual discrimination, a necessary condition for picture representation. Picture representation was then assessed through photo-object matching tasks. Five students demonstrated visual discrimination (identity matching) within the two classes of photos and the objects. Only one student demonstrated photo-object matching. The results of the four students who failed to demonstrate photo-object matching suggested that physical properties of photos (flat, rectangular) and depth dimensions of objects may exert more control over matching than the similarities of the objects and images within the photos. An analysis of figure-ground variables was conducted to provide an empirical basis for program development in the use of pictures. In one series of tests, rectangular shape and background were removed by cutting out the figures in the photos. The edge shape of the photo and the edge shape of the image were then identical. The results suggest that photo-object matching may be facilitated by using cut-out figures rather than the complete rectangular photo.     

STIMULUS CONTROL IN THE CLASSROOM AS A FUNCTION OF THE BEHAVIOR REINFORCED

Eight fifth- and sixth-grade children with behavior problems performed in a classroom under three conditions: (1) unreinforced baseline, (2) reinforcement for being on task, and (3) reinforcement for the accuracy and rate of math problems solved. The teacher was absent for a portion of the class session under each of these conditions. In the teacher's absence, on-task behavior declined markedly and disruption markedly increased, regardless of the reinforcement condition in operation. In addition, the teacher's absence resulted in fewer problems attempted and decreased accuracy. However, the extent to which the children became disruptive was reduced and the number of problems attempted increased when reinforcement was contingent on academic accuracy and rate, instead of being contingent on being on task. The results suggest that by providing contingencies for the products of a child's classroom activities, rather than for being on task, the child will become more independent of the teacher's presence, and more under the control of the academic materials.     

A SCATTER PLOT FOR IDENTIFYING STIMULUS CONTROL OF PROBLEM BEHAVIOR

Line graphs that average response frequency over long periods obscure the major rate changes that indicate sources of behavioral control. A scatter plot can make patterns of responding identifiable and, in turn, suggest environmental features that occasion undesirable behavior. Use of scatter diagrams is illustrated in three cases.     

ASSESSMENT OF STIMULI CONTROLLING THE REQUESTS OF STUDENTS WITH SEVERE MENTAL RETARDATION DURING A SNACK ROUTINE

This study assessed stimuli controlling requests during a snack routine after extensive request training with a delayed prompt procedure. During training sessions, one of three three-item snack groups was presented to 3 subjects with severe mental retardation. Assessment sessions involved (a) training conditions (all items were visible), (b) presenting two of three items from a particular group, or (c) presenting no items. One subject requested food items when no food items were present, 2 frequently requested a missing item when the two other items were visible, and all subjects requested visible items. Procedures for assessing stimulus control, such as those described in the current paper, should lead to a better understanding of the variables controlling behaviors that initially appear perplexing and unpredictable.     

心理控制源期望的认知－知识系统模型

在总结了有关心理控制源期望的理论与实证证据的基础上,结合作者近年来在责备、辩解、生活事件知觉与心身健康关系方面的研究,将心理控制源期望重新界定为一种“认知－知识系统模型”：个体的心理控制源期望既在总体上表现为一种一般性的内控或外控的倾向性,又受对情境特点的认知的影响,两者有交互作用,而且社会文化环境的特点也起重要的作用。这一模型总结了中国被试的研究结果,并且在人格、社会心理及临床心理学的有关理论和研究方面也有重要的参考价值。