BEHAVIORAL GERONTOLOGY: APPLICATION OF BEHAVIORAL METHODS TO THE PROBLEMS OF OLDER ADULTS

Elderly persons are under-represented in research and clinical applied behavior analysis, in spite of data suggesting that behavior problems are quite prevalent in both community dwelling and institutionalized elderly. Preliminary investigations suggest that behavioral procedures can be used effectively in treating various geriatric behavior problems. We discuss a number of areas within behavioral gerontology that would profit from additional research, including basic field study, self-management, community caregiver training, institutional staff training and management, and geriatric behavioral pharmacology. Special considerations for adapting behavioral procedures are discussed, and suggestions for expanding the role of behavior analysis in geriatric care are offered.     

BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT AND TREATMENT OF CHRONIC FOOD REFUSAL IN HANDICAPPED CHILDREN

In this study, we examined the eating behavior of four handicapped children, none of whom exhibited self-feeding skills. All children had a history of food refusal and were nutritionally at risk; one child received all nourishment by way of a gastrostomy tube. Baseline data taken during mealtimes indicated that all children accepted very little food, expelled food frequently, and engaged in a number of disruptive behaviors. Treatments consisted of one or more of the following contingent events: social praise, access to preferred foods, brief periods of toy play, and forced feeding. Results of multiple-baseline and reversal designs showed marked behavioral improvement for each child and increases in the amount of food consumed. Further improvements were noted at follow-up, which ranged from 7 to 30 months posttreatment.     

CLINICAL BEHAVIORAL PHARMACOLOGY: METHODS FOR EVALUATING MEDICATIONS AND CONTINGENCY MANAGEMENT

We evaluated methods for comparing the effects of dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine), thioridazine (Mellaril), and contingency management in the control of severe behavior problems. A reversal design was used in which medications were systematically titrated and assessed in unstructured as well as structured settings with three clients. Subsequently, behavioral procedures including timeout, differential reinforcement of other behavior, and visual screening, were used in a multiple-baseline design across settings. The assessment and design methods were useful in comparing the interventions. Dextroamphetamine decreased inappropriate behaviors and improved academic behaviors in one client, but no reliable effects were observed in the other two clients. Thioridazine was variable across clients, settings, behaviors, and dosages. Contingency management produced consistent decreases in inappropriate behaviors and small improvements in academic performance.     

Behavioral analysis of clinical cases

The behavior-analytic approach to clinical phenomena is presented. An operationalized framework for conducting behavioral analysis with clinical cases is provided. Idiographic analysis and treatment innovation are conceptualized and conducted within the framework of the experimental method. Differences between technological and behavior-analytic approaches are illustrated.     

EFFECTS OF HIGH-PROBABILITY REQUESTS ON THE ACQUISITION AND GENERALIZATION OF RESPONSES TO REQUESTS IN YOUNG CHILDREN WITH BEHAVIOR DISORDERS

The failure to respond to requests in young children often is maintained by the reactions of the adults that encounter this behavior. This failure to respond to requests has been identified as a primary reason for the children's exclusion from community, social, and instructional opportunities. Numerous interventions that target the failure to respond have consisted of punishment and reinforcement procedures. More recently, antecedent interventions have focused on changing the context in which a request is delivered. In the current study, high-probability requests were provided as an antecedent to delivering a low-probability request. The requests were delivered by multiple trainers in an attempt to produce generalized appropriate responding to adults who did not use the high-probability sequence. Results showed an immediate increase in appropriate responding in 2 children when the intervention was delivered. In addition, when the intervention was implemented by more than one adult, spontaneous increases in responding also were observed toward adults who had never implemented the request sequence. Improvements in responding to requests were maintained after the intervention was discontinued.     

两岁儿童的行为抑制-非抑制特征

行为的抑制和非抑制是气质的一个重要维度,对儿童个性、社会性发展具有重要意义。该研究采用实验室观察法,设计了翻斗车、机器人、面具三种实验情境,测查随机抽样的１２２名两岁儿童的行为抑制－非抑制特征。结果表明：（１）按照Ｋａｇａｎ的划分指标,中国两岁儿童的抑制－非抑制行为呈负偏态分布,其中抑制型儿童约占２０％,非抑制型儿童约占１０％,其余为中间型;（２）在三种实验情境中,两岁儿童的抑制－非抑制行为具有中     

敬畏对亲环境行为意向的影响

采用回忆书写、视频和阅读书写范式启动敬畏,考察了敬畏与亲环境行为意向的关系。结果显示,相较于中性控制组,敬畏情绪回忆书写组（实验1）、视频启动组（实验2）和阅读书写组（实验3）的亲环境行为意向更高。结果表明,敬畏有助于促进个体的亲环境行为意向。     

Cognitive Barriers to Successful Weight Management: 7 Stymie Beasts

This paper focuses on one of the most significant barriers, especially for teenagers and their families, to the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for weight management: high rates of attrition. Cognitive barriers contribute to attrition and to decreasing commitment to full engagement in the process (deliberate practice). Excuses capture the essence of one type of those cognitive barriers. Excuses are defined as shifts in attribution from self-focused causes of struggles to achieve goals to more externally-focused causes—resulting in decreasing full engagement. Those excuses (shifts in attribution) do not just happen. People make decisions to implement those shifts away from personal responsibility. Ten cognitive biases lie at the heart of such problematic delusional decision making. This paper identifies seven excuses created by that biased decision making as anthropomorphisms called Stymie Beasts. Such unique simply worded visually distinctive creatures may help improve recall and focus on these powerful antagonists to successful weight control. Then, the use of two CBT techniques, Therapeutic Understanding of Science (TUS) and Rational Emotive Therapy (RET), illustrated with examples for all seven Stymie Beasts, shows how CBT may prevent and dismantle those Beasts (excuses). Ideas for future research using randomized controlled trials to test these notions are also presented.     

强化敏感性人格理论述评

Gray的强化敏感性理论尝试从人类神经生理机制的角度来解释人格差异。该理论认为,在中枢神经系统内存在一些子系统,分别对奖励和惩罚的刺激信号敏感,并通过强化效应调节人们的行为和动机。目前研究者已开发出强化敏感性的测量方法,并进行了一系列实证研究。但随着研究的深入,该理论的局限逐渐暴露出来。针对这些局限,未来的研究应致力于：（1）用生理指标来验证理论假设;（2）探讨反映强化敏感性的特质;（3）考察认知因素与生物因素的交互作用     

The Type A Structured Interview: A behavioral assessment in the rough

The Type A behavior pattern is the focus of considerable research in behavioral medicine because of its causal relevance to coronary heart disease. The primary assessment of Type A behavior is a global rating made from a structured interview. From the perspective of behavioral assessment, this Structured Interview (SI) is important for two reasons. First, it provides an example of the superiority of an observed behavioral measure compared to self-report questionnaires for the assessment of an overt behavior pattern. Second, it provides a unique opportunity for the application of behavioral assessment technology. However, while the SI has demonstrated its clinical and research utility as a diagnostic procedure, its usefulness could be further enhanced in the areas of treatment selection and evaluation. The historical relationship between behavior and coronary heart disease is described. The development of the SI and the strengths of this assessment relative to other measurement approaches are reviewed. The standard questions and administration procedures for the interview are presented, along with several variations and modifications. Following this overview, the SI is discussed from the perspective of behavioral assessment.     

Effects of Prevent-Teach-Reinforce on Academic Engagement and Disruptive Behavior

This study assessed the effectiveness of prevent-teach-reinforce (P-T-R), a functional behavioral assessment-based intervention for students with behavior problems, using an A-B-A-B design with follow-up. Participants included three students in kindergarten, fourth grade, and fifth grade in a rural Midwestern school district. P-T-R interventions were implemented with fidelity by all teachers and P-T-R was associated with mean decreases in disruptive behavior for all participants with Tau-U effect sizes ranging from minimal to strong. All three participants demonstrated mean increases in academic engagement with strong effect sizes. P-T-R interventions were associated with moderate to high levels of perceived social validity. Implications for consistent and efficient FBA-based interventions in schools are discussed.     

Utilization and predicted trends of behavioral inventories

Published articles (N=1703) during the period 1975 to 1982 in three behavioral journals (Behavior Therapy, Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, andJournal of Applied Behavior Analysis) were reviewed for the utilization of preintervention and categories of behavioral inventories. Results revealed that (a) the three forms of the Fear Survey Schedule (FSS) and the Social Avoidance and Distress Scale (SADS) were the most utilized traditional behavioral measures, (b) new self-developed inventories were reported with significantly (p<.05) different frequencies across the three journals, (c) numerous published inventories beyond the traditional FSS and SADS were reported, and (d) an expanded use of IQ measures in preintervention behavioral assessment was also found. Trends regarding the nature of behavioral inventories among the three journals and a discussion on advances in behavioral assessments are presented.     

Utility of teacher behavior ratings for identifying special needs students

The purpose of this study was to explore the efficacy of a teacher behavior rating instrument for identifying special needs students. Using a modified form of theDevereux Elementary School Behavior Rating (DESB)Scale 35 kindergarten through grade 6 regular classroom teachers completed ratings on all of their 876 students. Subsequently, extensive aptitude, academic, social, and behavioral assessment was conducted and those students were identified who were in need of supportive educational programming to function adequately within the regular class setting. Analysis of the teacher behavior ratings indicated a highly significant difference between those students identified for special supportive services and their regular classroom peers on 9 of 11 behavioral factors. The findings lend clear support for the use of classroom teachers' behavior ratings in the identification process.     

Gray's Reinforcement Sensitivity Model and Child Psychopathology: Laboratory and Questionnaire Assessment of the BAS and BIS

The Behavioral Approach System (BAS) and Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS) are widely studied components of Gray's sensitivity to reinforcement model. There is growing interest in integrating the BAS and BIS into models of risk for psychopathology, however, few measures assess BAS and BIS functioning in children. We adapted a questionnaire measure and reaction time task from adult studies to assess the BAS and BIS in a sample of 9-12 year olds (N = 63; 42% female). A continuous performance task was also administered to assess physiological correlates of the BAS and BIS. Factor analysis supported 3 subdimensions of the BAS (Drive, Reward Responsivity, and Impulsivity/Fun seeking), and one dimension of the BIS (sensitivity to punishment). Results supported the utility of the questionnaire measures and reaction time task as assessments of BAS and BIS functioning. Moreover, these measures were associated with internalizing and externalizing problem behavior as expected. High levels of impulsivity/fun seeking, but not drive or reward responsivity, were associated with high levels of externalizing problems, whereas high levels of sensitivity to punishment were associated with high levels of internalizing behavior problems. The relation between physiological indices and caregiver reports of the BAS, BIS, and problem behavior were complex and not consistent with expectation.     

Facing fear-provoking stimuli: The role of courage and influence of task-importance

ABSTRACT

Courage research is emerging, although there is little empirical literature on task-importance, and morality or nobility within courage. This experimental study assessed courage, persistence despite fear, in the relationship between anxiety, behavioral approach and task-importance. Twenty-eight participants with elevated spider fear were randomly assigned to high or low importance conditions. Participants undertook a behavioral approach test where they moved their hand alongside a ruler to as close as they felt comfortable to a non-living spider display. In partial support of the first hypothesis, courage scores predicted behavioral approach distance above-and-beyond spider fear when task-importance was not experimentally augmented. Supporting the second hypothesis, experimentally induced task-importance significantly moderated the relationship between courage and behavioral approach distance such that high importance participants moved closer to the spiders at all levels of courage. This study provides foundational evidence that 1) self-report measures can predict behavioral courage above-and-beyond fear 2) perceived task-importance influences behaviour.     

自恋与行为抑制/激活系统的关系：元分析

运用元分析方法探讨自恋与行为抑制/激活系统的关系。经过文献检索和筛选, 纳入原始文献19篇, 包含25个独立样本, 共7702名被试。根据同质性检验结果, 选用随机效应模型。结果发现, 自恋与行为抑制系统存在中度负相关(r = -0.27, 95% CI为[-0.34, -0.21]), 自恋测量工具在两者间起显著的调节作用; 自恋与行为激活系统存在高度正相关(r = 0.46, 95% CI为[0.40, 0.52]), 被试类型在两者间起显著的调节作用。自恋与行为抑制/激活系统的密切关系支持了自恋的主体性理论和人格强化敏感性理论。     

Comprehensive school-based behavioral assessment of the effects of methylphenidate.

Individualized assessments of the effects of three doses of methylphenidate (MPH) were conducted for 2 students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder within each child's classroom using behavioral, academic, and social measures. A double-blind, placebo-controlled, multielement design was used to evaluate the results. Results suggested that at least one or more dosages of MPH were associated with some degree of improvement for both children in each area of functioning as compared to placebo. However, the degree of improvement at times varied substantially across dosage and area of functioning. Results suggest that MPH dosage and area of child functioning are critical assessment parameters and that controlled clinical trials are necessary to optimize the effectiveness of treatment with MPH for the individual child.     

Sequential evaluation of behavioral treatments and methylphenidate dosage for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

We used a sequential approach to evaluate the relative and combined effects of different types of behavioral treatments, as well as dosage of methylphenidate (MPH), on the disruptive behavior of 3 students who had been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Results showed that individualized behavioral treatments produced decreases in disruptive behavior equivalent to MPH for all 3 participants and demonstrated the need to evaluate behavioral treatments and medication dosage on an individual basis.     

Responsiveness to Threat and Incentive in Bipolar Disorder: Relations of the BIS/BAS Scales with Symptoms

Over the past 10 years, theorists have suggested that bipolar disorder symptoms result from increases and decreases in the activity of the Behavioral Activation or Facilitation System (BAS or BFS) and the Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS). These neurobehavioral systems are thought to determine the intensity of affective and behavioral responses to incentives and threats. This study examined cross-sectional and prospective associations of self-reported BIS and BAS with mania and depression in a sample of 59 individuals diagnosed with Bipolar I disorder. Depression was tied to BIS, pointing to the importance of sensitivity to threats in depression. However, links between BIS and depression appeared state-dependent. BAS subscales did not correlate with manic symptoms in a state-dependent manner; however, BAS (total scale and reward responsiveness subscale) predicted relative intensification of manic symptoms over time. Thus, evidence suggests that BAS sensitivity may constitute a vulnerability to mania among persons diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Discussion focuses on the integrative potential of the BIS/BAS constructs for linking psychosocial and biological research on bipolar disorder.