Approaches to Adolescent Smoking Cessation and Education

The role of the school in the control of smoking among adolescents is explored. Incidence and trends of smoking among youth are discussed and health consequences of smoking are explored. The role of the school in smoking prevention, cessation, and regulation also is described. Innovative educational strategies to prevent smoking are reviewed and model programs are described. School-based smoking cessation programs are reviewed and suggstions are made for the development of local programs. School policies on smoking are given. Recommendations are given for a comprehensive school program to control smoking.     

CONDUCTING NONSEXIST RESEARCH, PREVENTION, AND TREATMENT WITH FATHERS AND MOTHERS:

In published research and in unpublished doctoral dissertation research, fathers are underrepresented in the investigation of child and family functioning. A number of possible explanations for this underrepresentation are discussed, including researchers'use of sexist theories that either directly or indirectly result in mother blaming, family demographics that suggest fathers are less present in the lives of their children when compared with mothers, and researchers'perceptions of fathers'unwillingness to participate in research. In order to encourage nonsexist family research that includes both mothers and fathers, recommendations are provided to increase the inclusion of fathers in child and family research. Specifically, researchers are encouraged to always provide parallel investigations of paternal factors when maternal factors are investigated. Researchers are also encouraged to investigate similarities as well as differences between mothers and fathers in relation to their children's functioning. Implications for the involvement of fathers in prevention and clinical interventions are discussed. In order to move beyond non-sexist research, feminist research issues are also raised.     

A Note on Formality and Logical Consequence

Logic is formal in the sense that all arguments of the same form as logically valid arguments are also logically valid and hence truth-preserving. However, it is not known whether all arguments that are valid in the usual model-theoretic sense are truth-preserving. Tarski claimed that it could be proved that all arguments that are valid (in the sense of validity he contemplated in his 1936 paper on logical consequence) are truth-preserving. But he did not offer the proof. The question arises whether the usual model-theoretic sense of validity and Tarski's 1936 sense are the same. I argue in this paper that they probably are not, and that the proof Tarski had in mind, although unusable to prove that model-theoretically valid arguments are truth-preserving, can be used to prove that arguments valid in Tarski's 1936 sense are truth-preserving.     

Recognition of affixed words and the word frequency effect

Three experiments are reported in which the word frequency effect is used as a diagnostic for determining whether affixed words coming from the same stem are stored together or separately in the lexicon. Prefixed words are examined in the first experiment, inflected words in the second and third. In the first two experiments, two types of word are compared where the words in each condition are matched on surface or presented frequency but are varied on the frequency of their stems or base frequency. It is found that lexical decision times are influenced by base frequency, thus indicating that words related by affixation are stored together in the lexicon. The third experiment, however, demonstrates that when base frequency is held constant and surface frequency is varied, lexical decision times are influenced by surface frequency. The results are accounted for by a model of word recognition whereby frequency has its effect at two different stages of the recognition process.     

Testing Event-Based Forms of Causality

Three fundamental types of causal relations are those of necessity, sufficiency, and necessity and sufficiency. These types are defined in contexts of categorical variables or events. Using statement calculus or Boolean algebra, one can determine which patterns of events are in support of a particular form of causal relation. In this article, we approach the analysis of these forms of causality taking the perspective of the analyst of empirical data. It is proposed using Configural Frequency Analysis (CFA) to test hypotheses about type of causal relation. Models are proposed for two-variable and multi-variable cases. Two CFA approaches are proposed. In the first, individual patterns (configurations) are examined under the question whether they are in support of a particular type of causal relation. In the second, patterns that are in support are compared with corresponding patterns that are not in support. In an empirical example, hypotheses are tested on the prediction of sustainability of change in dietary fat intake habits.     

Computational and statistical methods for analyzing event-related potential data

Some computational and statistical techniques that can be used in the analysis of event-related potential (ERP) data are demonstrated. The techniques are fairly elementary but go one step further than do simple area measurement or peak picking, which are most often used in ERP analysis. Both amplitude and latency measurement techniques are considered. Principal components analysis (PCA) and methods for electromyographic onset determination are presented in detail, and Woody filtering is discussed briefly. The techniques are introduced in a nontechnical, tutorial review style. One and the same existing data set is presented, to which the techniques are applied, and practical guidelines for their use are given. The methods are demonstrated against a background of theoretical notions that are related to the definition of ERP components.     

Structure and development of behavior systems

Behavior systems are particular organizations of cognitive structures that are called behavior mechanisms: perceptual, central, and motor. Thus, behavior systems are defined here in structural terms and not in terms of their functional characteristics. In young animals, behavior mechanisms often develop independently of functional experience, though specific types of experience are usually necessary for integrated systems to develop. These concepts are illustrated here by the dust-bathing, feeding, aggressive, and sexual systems of the fowl, which are considered to be typical of behavior systems in other species. Aspects of neural development are examined and found to facilitate our understanding of a wide range of developmental phenomena, such as critical periods and irreversibility. Finally, various examples of classical conditioning and instrumental learning are analyzed in terms of the type of structures involved, and they are related to general developmental processes.     

Experimental evidence for serial models of lexical access: a judgment task

The hypothesis that the lemma and lexeme levels of lexical access are in a feed-forward serial relation is supported. Subjects judge the degree of semantic relatedness of pairs of words. Stimuli are all functionally synonymous; they are pairs of words implicated in natural word blends. Half the stimuli are phonologically related and the other half are not. In one experiment the pairs are presented in a sentential context and in the other no context is provided. In both the experiments the phonologically unrelated pairs are judged closer in meaning than the phonologically related pairs. This is interpreted as support for serial models of lexical access.     

Application scenarios for nonstandard log-linear models

In this article, the authors have 2 aims. First, hierarchical, nonhierarchical, and nonstandard log-linear models are defined. Second, application scenarios are presented for nonhierarchical and nonstandard models, with illustrations of where these scenarios can occur. Parameters can be interpreted in regard to their formal meaning and in regard to their magnitude. The interpretation of the meaning of parameters is the main focus of this article. Design matrices are used to describe the hypotheses tested in models and to illustrate cases in which parameters are interpretable. Also, design matrices are used to show where and how nonstandard models differ from standard hierarchical models. Coding schemes are discussed, in particular, dummy coding and effects coding. Data examples are given with data and models discussed in the literature.     

Visual and auditory choice reaction times

Choice reaction times are measured for three values of a priori signal probability with three well-practiced observers. Two sets of data are taken with the only difference being the modality of the reaction signal. In one set of conditions it is auditory, in the other, visual. The auditory reaction times are faster than the visual and in addition several other differences are noted. The latency of the errors and correct responses are nearly equal for the auditory data. Error latencies are nearly 30% faster for the visual data. Non-stationary effects, autocorrelation between successive latencies and non-homogeneous distribution of errors, are clearly evident in the visual data, but are small or non-existent in the auditory data. The data are compared with several models of the choice reaction time process but none of the models is completely adequate.     

The Counseling Service in the Administrative Setting: Problems and Possible Solutions

Friction between counseling personnel and administrators affects the work of each. Background reasons for difficulties in working together are explored. Four areas offering possible remedial measures are examined: the nature of compromise, problems in communication, emotional health, and a framework for understanding behavior. Aspects of a program model are provided. Suggestions are made for specific areas in which data are needed and proposals for method are offered.     

COST-BENEFIT CONSIDERATIONS IN CHOOSING AMONG CROSS-VALIDATION METHODS

There are two general methods of cross-validation: (a) empirical estimation, and (b) formula estimation. In choosing a specific cross-validation procedure, one should consider both costs (eg. inefficient use of available data in estimating regression parameters) and benefits (eg. accuracy in estimating population cross-validity). Empirical cross-validation methods involve significant costs, since they are typically laborious and wasteful of data, but under conditions represented in Monte Carlo studies, they are generally not more accurate than formula estimates. Consideration of costs and benefits suggests that empirical estimation methods are typically not worth the cost, except in a limited number of cases in which Monte Carlo sampling assumptions are not met in the derivation sample. Designs which use multiple samples to estimate the cross-validity of a single regression equation are clearly preferable to single-sample designs; the latter are never expected to be more accurate than formula estimates and thus are never worth the cost. Multi-equation designs are more accurate than single equation designs, but they appear to estimate the wrong parameter, and thus are difficult to interpret.     

Family Secrets:

Family secrets are examined in a two-part article. Part I explores the dynamics of secrets in the relational context. Terminology is proposed for different types of family secrets as well as for different roles within the relational context. Guidelines for identifying family secrets are presented, and typical patterns accompanying or underlying secrets are explored. Different stances toward secrets are discussed, with particular emphasis on ethical issues. Finally, individual and relational consequences of secrets are proposed. Part II extends this discussion to the management of family secrets in marital and family therapy. Ethical and strategic dilemmas facing the therapist are examined as are consequences of secrets in treatment. A particular therapeutic stance is recommended and illustrated with examples of both reparative and preventive applications.     

THE TRANSFER OF PSYCHOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE TO THE THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES AND ITS IMPACT ON DEVELOPMENT: THE CASE OF FIVE ARAB GULF OIL-PRODUCING STATES

Psychological knowledge transmitted by universities in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates is presented and some historical-cultural roots identified. Required courses for a B.A. are similar to those in the United States. Almost all courses are taught in Arabic and offered in the Faculties of Education. Four types of psychology books are identified. Laboratories are well equipped and libraries well stocked with Arabic and English books and periodicals. Research is primarily directed towards educational-psychological issues. Psychological tests are widely used but lack adequate standardization. Efforts are being made to develop tests locally. Psychology has not attracted enough top-quality students and expatriate professors are in the majority. Impact is mostly felt in Special Education and the media, but not enough in management and planning. Recommendations to ameliorate the situations are suggested.     

Seven sins in the study of emotion: correctives from affective neuroscience

This brief commentary highlights seven sins in the study of emotion that are explicitly treated in contemporary affective neuroscience. These sins are (1) Affect and cognition are subserved by separate and independent neural circuits; (2) Affect is subcortical; (3) Emotions are in the head; (4) Emotions can be studied from a purely psychological perspective; (5) Emotions are similar in structure across age and species; (6) Specific emotions are instantiated in discrete locations in the brain; and (7) Emotions are conscious feeling states. Each of these is briefly discussed and evidence from affective neuroscience that bears on these sins is noted. The articles in this Special Issue underscore the vitality of research in affective neuroscience and illustrate how some of these sins can be addressed and rectified using concepts and methods from affective neuroscience.     

Isolating Change And Invariance In Patterns Of Behavior

General approaches which may be taken in the study of change and in- variance in patterns of behavior are presented and compared. These are classified according to whether data are gathered by "ideal" means, in which the same entities are assessed with the same measuring devices on several occasions, or data are gathered by "less-than-ideal" means, in which change of occasion is confounded with change in the sample of entities or is confounded with change in the sample of measuring devices. Several estimation and hypothesis-testing procedures are presented as appropriate for use with data gathered in one or the other of these ways. These include Tucker's multi-mode factoring technique, his inter-battery factoring procedure, Meredith's methods for rotating to achieve factorial invariance and various techniques of use in evaluating the significance of difference of vectors and matrices. Newly developed least-squares techniques, based in part upon discriminant function principles, are presented in some detail. The various study-design and statistical-method possibilities are evaluated for the amount and kind of information they could provide about stable and dynamic patterns of behavior.     

Habit and persistence

Voluntary behaviors (operants) can come in two varieties: Goal-directed actions, which are emitted based on the remembered value of the reinforcer, and habits, which are evoked by antecedent cues and performed without the reinforcer's value in active memory. The two are perhaps most clearly distinguished with the reinforcer-devaluation test: Goal-directed actions are suppressed when the reinforcer is separately devalued and responding is tested in extinction, and habitual behaviors are not. But what is the function of habit learning? Habits are often thought to be strong and unusually persistent. The present selective review examines this idea by asking whether habits identified by the reinforcer-devaluation test are more resistant to extinction, resistant to the effects of other contingency change, vulnerable to relapse, resistant to the weakening effects of context change, or permanently in place once they are learned. Surprisingly little evidence supports the idea that habits are permanent or more persistent. Habits are more context-specific than goal-directed actions are. Methods that make behavior persistent do not necessarily work by encouraging habit. The function of habit learning may not be to make a behavior strong or more persistent but to make it automatic and efficient in a particular context.     

Prophetic Revelations in Near-Death Experiences

Prophetic revelations in near-death experiences (NDEs) are a fourth type of flashforwards. Prophetic revelations are similar to another type of flashforward called the prophetic vision, which was identified in 1982 by Kenneth Ring. Like prophetic visions, prophetic revelations are a phenomenon in which NDErs are given a knowledge of the earth's future; they have a global or world focus. Prophetic revelations differ from prophetic visions in that events in the earth's future are told or revealed to the NDEr by a deceased relative or some otherworld person during their NDE, rather than in a visual display, and they are less detailed. Four categories of flashforwards have now been identified. In addition to the prophetic revelation and the prophetic vision are the other flashforwards, the personal flashforward and the otherworld personal future revelation (OPFR). The major features that distinguish these different flashforwards are their focus (global or personal), method of delivery, and detail. All flashforward types occur in a small number of cases and during deep NDEs.     

Generational and age-based differences in attitudes towards jury service

Analysis of surveys of jurors, potential jurors, and the general public show significant differences in attitudes towards jury service by the age of the respondent. This study analyzes the degree to which these differences are the result of generational effects, in which younger citizens are likely to continue in their beliefs about jury service as they age, and the degree to which they are a result of a respondent's life circumstances-income, employment status, or family status-and are thus not likely to be carried with jurors as they age. The article shows that, while there are differences in confidence in the courts by age group, younger jurors are more confident in their own abilities to serve well as jurors but more skeptical of the court as a whole; most differences in attitudes towards jury service are linked to life-cycle phenomena. As such, courts should work to provide assistance to particular age groups within the jury pool, including child care and appropriate compensation, if they are to attract jurors who are representative by age of the general public.     

Deterministic probability: neither chance nor credence

Some have argued that chance and determinism are compatible in order to account for the objectivity of probabilities in theories that are compatible with determinism, like Classical Statistical Mechanics (CSM) and Evolutionary Theory (ET). Contrarily, some have argued that chance and determinism are incompatible, and so such probabilities are subjective. In this paper, I argue that both of these positions are unsatisfactory. I argue that the probabilities of theories like CSM and ET are not chances, but also that they are not subjective probabilities either. Rather, they are a third type of probability, which I call counterfactual probability. The main distinguishing feature of counterfactual-probability is the role it plays in conveying important counterfactual information in explanations. This distinguishes counterfactual probability from chance as a second concept of objective probability.