The effects of self-management of school attendance by problem adolescents.

Self-management of attendance by problem adolescents was shown to improve attendance in an alternative school. The use of biased measures to investigate change is discussed as well as the utility of frequent measures. The effect of improved attendance on academics is presented and future research in this area is suggested.     

The impact of violations on uncertainty and the consequences for attractiveness

This investigation aimed at extending past research on expectation violations by arguing that violations vary both in valance and in their influence on uncertainty and that the combination of valence and uncertainty states conjointly influences judgments of a violator's social attractiveness. In explaining the predicted variance in uncertainty following violations, a distinction is proposed between congruent violations (i.e., behaviors that are more intense instantiations of a previously displayed message) and incongruent violations (i.e., behaviors that are opposite in meaning from previously displayed messages). Five models for explaining violation effects are contrasted. Results (a) confirm that violations differ in their impact on uncertainty, (b) generally support the validity of the proposed distinction between congruent and incongruent violations, and show that the inclusion of uncertainty and valence in models of violation outcomes accounts for greater variance in social attraction than either one separately.     

The effects of discussion on group and individual choices among bets

The effects of discussion on subsequent group and individual choices are studied in a situation where subjects choose between a sure gain of varying amount and five probability levels associated with larger gains of expected value equal to that of the sure gain. At the end of the experiment, a single bet, chosen at random, is played for money. Before discussion, subjects have to guess the percentage of similar, more risky and more cautious choices made by their peers for each of the six bets. As predicted by a majority-rule decision-making model significant risky shifts were observed for relatively low values of sure gain. For higher values, however, groups tended to be more cautious than individuals. The final private choices of individuals were significantly more risky than their initial decisions. Most individuals apparently thought they were at least as risky as most others. This finding was due, however, primarily to the responses of subjects who chose the highest risk-level (the ceiling effect) and, secondly, to the consistent tendency of most individuals to guess that others make the same choices as they themselves. It is concluded that majority influence seems a satisfactory explanation of group risky shifts observed in the present study, but it cannot account for modifications of group and individual choices in all risk-taking situations.     

Good behavior game: effects of individual contingencies for group consequences on disruptive behavior in a classroom

Out-of-seat and talking-out behaviors were studied in a regular fourth-grade class that included several "problem children". After baseline rates of the inappropriate behaviors were obtained, the class was divided into two teams "to play a game". Each out-of-seat and talking-out response by an individual child resulted in a mark being placed on the chalkboard, which meant a possible loss of privileges by all members of the student's team. In this manner a contingency was arranged for the inappropriate behavior of each child while the consequence (possible loss of privileges) of the child's behavior was shared by all members of this team as a group. The privileges were events which are available in almost every classroom, such as extra recess, first to line up for lunch, time for special projects, stars and name tags, as well as winning the game. The individual contingencies for the group consequences were successfully applied first during math period and then during reading period. The experimental analysis involved elements of both reversal and multiple baseline designs.     

The effects of safety knowledge and psychological factors on self-reported risky driving behaviors including group violations for e-bike riders in China

ObjectivesIt is unknown that how safety knowledge and psychological factors affect e-bike rider safety. Also, group violation behaviors, which are commonly observed in the field, have been rarely examined for e-bike riders in China. In this paper, the effects of safety knowledge and psychological factors on self-reported risky driving behaviors including group violations were examined.MethodsA questionnaire was developed to acquire information of e-bike riders in Guilin, Guangxi Province. Explanatory factor analysis was used to examine the reliability of the questionnaire and exclude redundant measurement items. Then, a Structure Equation Model was developed to examine the relationships among safety knowledge, safety attitude, risk perception and risky driving behaviors. After that, multiple regression models were fitted to examine the effect of safety knowledge on each type of risky driving behavior, as well as factors associated with group violations. At last, ANOVA tests were conducted to identify significant differences among e-bike rider groups in safety knowledge, safety attitude, and risk perception.ResultsSafety knowledge was found significantly associated with risky driving behaviors for e-bike riders in China, including aggressive driving, erroneous driving, and group violations. E-bike riders severely lack safety knowledge, especially that of traffic rules, including unmarried riders, under-educated riders, riders without driver’s license, younger riders, and riders with little riding experience. Group violations were largely found among e-bike riders, and to be associated with safety knowledge of traffic rules, risk-taking attitude, and riding experience of e-bike riders.ConclusionsThe findings could add some new safety implication and be beneficial for developing safety policies and interventions for e-bikes.     

From individual preference construction to group decisions: Framing effects and group processes

Two choice tasks known to produce framing effects in individual decisions were used to test group sensitivity to framing, relative to that of individuals, and to examine the effect of prior, individual consideration of a decision on group choice. Written post-decision reasons and pre-decision group discussions were analyzed to investigate process explanations of choices made by preexisting, naturalistic groups. For a risky choice problem, a similar framing effect was observed for groups and individuals. For an intertemporal choice task where consumption was either delayed or accelerated, naïve groups (whose members had not preconsidered the decision) showed a framing effect, less discounting in the delay frame, opposite to that observed in individuals. Predecided groups showed a non-significant effect in the other, expected direction. In all cases, process measures better explained variability in choices across conditions than frame alone. Implications for group decision research and design considerations for committee decisions are addressed.     

The effect of normative models on individual and group choice

Studied the effect of a normative model (maximization of expected value) upon group and individual choice. 109 MBA students in a Lain square research design chose between two alternatives differing in expected value and in range of outcomes. Group choices were significantly (p < .05) closer to those predicted by the normative model than were individual choices. This difference was not due only to information about the presence and applicability of the normative model but rather it was due to the persuasiveness of the model in a group as a cogent and correct solution to the choice dilemma. Task instructions emphasizing the rewards from risk taking produced significantly more choices (p < .05) of the riskier alternative, particularly by individuals as opposed to groups, than did instructions emphasizing the penalties of risk taking. ‘Risky’ and ‘conservative’ shifts in choice between groups and individuals were explicable through knowledge of the influence of the normative model in individual and group choice.     

The effects of anger management groups in a day school for emotionally disturbed adolescents

Drawn from a day school for emotionally disturbed adolescents, seven students who scored in the clinical range on the Conduct subscale of the Conners Teacher Rating Scale took part in an anger management program. The program included psychoeducation, anger discrimination training, logging incidents of anger, and training in prosocial responses to anger. Pre-post assessments provided evidence of positive effects. The adolescents showed significant improvement on both the teacher (p<.03) and the parent (p<.04) versions of the Conduct subscale. They also exhibited a trend toward fewer incidents of physical aggression (p<.06). The implications of these findings for future research are discussed.     

Differences in nonshared individual, school, and family variables between delinquent and nondelinquent Hmong adolescents

The purpose of the current study was to determine whether there were differences between Hmong immigrant siblings on multiple nonshared individual, school, and family variables. Participants were 58 sibling pairs (29 delinquent pairs and 29 nondelinquent pairs), who ranged in age from 13 to 21 years. There were 11 pairs of boys, 3 pairs of girls, and 15 pairs of opposite-sex siblings. Results of a multivariate analysis of variance indicated that delinquent and nondelinquent sibling groups were significantly different in participation in organized activities, antisocial attitudes, delinquent behaviors, school truancy, school performance, and parents' labeling. The findings have implications for future research on sibling delinquency in Hmong immigrant families and for program development and delivery.     

Natural experiments and the educational context: The environment and effects of an alternative inner-city public school on adolescents

The 1-year impact of attending a public alternative high school on two cohorts of adolescents who gained entrance to the school through a lottery was studied. Adolescents who had applied to the school but were not selected in the lottery served as a control group. The nature of the alternative high school environment is described, and the outcome of this natural experiment defined in terms of reactions to school, attitude change, and student achievement. In general, the alternative school positively affected student satisfaction with a variety of aspects of school life and induced some positive change in interracial attitudes while not harming student achievement. Race effects were found in the areas of achievement and interracial attitudes. Implications for the study of natural experiments in general and the specific data in particular are drawn.     

Executive functioning: Developmental consequences on adolescents with histories of maltreatment

Research suggests that children exposed to maltreatment have deficits in executive functioning (EF) but few studies have focused on the adolescent age group. We investigated whether maltreated adolescents had lower EF abilities compared to a group of non‐maltreated adolescents. Forty adolescents with histories of child maltreatment, together with a comparison group of 40 non‐maltreated adolescents matched for age, completed a comprehensive battery of EF tasks. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses, controlling for IQ, were carried out using each of the EF measures as dependent variables to examine group differences. Maltreated adolescents had significantly lower performance than non‐maltreated adolescents on tasks assessing executive loaded working memory, fluency, and inhibition, although switching was not impaired. Emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD) were included in additional regression analyses to examine whether these variables would explain the group differences. The inclusion of EBD variables had some effect on group differences, as expected, but did not eliminate them. These findings support the theory that impairments in EF may be one underlying reason why adolescents with histories of maltreatment struggle to cope both inside and outside the classroom.     

Affective influences on individual and group judgments

Do emotional states influence the social judgments made by groups and individuals? Based on affect-cognition theories and research on group judgmental shifts, we predicted that group discussion will enhance positive mood effects on judgments, but inhibit affectively-based distortions in dysphoric moods. Positive, neutral and negative moods were induced using audiovisual presentations. Individual and group consensus judgments of nine person categories on three judgmental dimensions (evaluation, competence and self-confidence) were obtained in two experimental sessions separated by a two-week interval. Results showed that individuals made more positive judgments when happy, and more negative judgments when sad than did controls. Group discussion resulted in a further polarization of positive judgments, and the attenuation of negative judgments. The findings are interpreted as evidence for the important role affect plays in mediating both individual cognitive processes and interactive social behaviours. The implications of the results for contemporary affect-cognition theories and models of group behaviour are considered.     

The ghost in the group room: countertransferential pressures associated with conjoint individual and group psychotherapy

Conjoint individual and group therapy is a commonly used, effective psychotherapeutic treatment. The relationship between the conjoint therapists significantly influences the treatment. This article examines countertransference dilemmas of the group and individual therapists arising from the real and fantasied conjoint relationship. Case examples illustrate specific countertransference dilemmas. Therapists are encouraged to consider the possibility of difficulties with each potential conjoint treatment. Consultation and supervision are recommended to help the conjoint therapists identify and manage countertransference pressures.