Cardiac change scale: A brief, self-report research measure

The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate a brief, self-report measure of the degree of perceived change resulting from cardiac illness. Life change has been widely recognized as stressful, but it is usually assessed with generic checklists of events which have been found wanting in terms of reliability and validity. The proposed measure was designed to assess life change in factors commonly reported to be important in recovery from cardiac illness. The Cardiac Change Scale was found to have very good internal consistency and acceptable test-retest reliability. The construct and criterion validity of the Cardiac Change Scale were supported.     

Cardiac change scale: A brief,self-report research measure

The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate a brief, self-report measure of the degree of perceived change resulting from cardiac illness. Life change has been widely recognized as stressful, but it is usually assessed with generic checklists of events which have been found wanting in terms of reliability and validity. The proposed measure was designed to assess life change in factors commonly reported to be important in recovery from cardiac illness. The Cardiac Change Scale was found to have very good internal consistency and acceptable test-retest reliability. The construct and criterion validity of the Cardiac Change Scale were supported.     

A modified proportional change model of attitude change by group discussion

The data of two experiments of dyadic group discussion have been reanalysed. An extended proportional change model was designed to explain the actual process of attitude change. The model is defined by two parameters. The first represents the impact of single pro-arguments and single con-arguments on the attitude or decision preference. The second describes the resistance to further change that increases with the distance from the initial position. It was hypothesized that the first parameter should be higher and the second lower, with a similar partner than with a dissimilar one. The prediction was confirmed for the first parameter only. A comparison of the extended proportional change model to related models concludes the report.     

JEAB Research Over Time: Species Used,Experimental Designs,Statistical Analyses,and Sex of Subjects

We examined the species used as subjects in every article published in the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior (JEAB) from 1958 through 2013. We also determined the sex of subjects in every article with human subjects (N = 524) and in an equal number of randomly selected articles with nonhuman subjects, as well as the general type of experimental designs used. Finally, the percentage of articles reporting an inferential statistic was determined at 5-year intervals. In all, 35,317 subjects were studied in 3,084 articles; pigeons ranked first and humans second in number used. Within-subject experimental designs were more popular than between-subjects designs regardless of whether human or nonhuman subjects were studied but were used in a higher percentage of articles with nonhumans (75.4 %) than in articles with humans (68.2 %). The percentage of articles reporting an inferential statistic has increased over time, and more than half of the articles published in 2005 and 2010 reported one. Researchers who publish in JEAB frequently depart from Skinner’s preferred research strategy, but it is not clear whether such departures are harmful. Finally, the sex of subjects was not reported in a sizable percentage of articles with both human and nonhuman subjects. This is an unfortunate oversight.     

Do people change behind the wheel? A comparison of anger and aggression on and off the road

The question of whether “we drive as we live” or whether “we are transformed behind the wheel” generates discussion at all levels from the scholarly to the popular. To shed light on this issue, this study measured the personality traits of general anger and driving anger and four modes of expression common to both contexts (verbal, physical, displaced and adaptive) in a sample of 198 drivers. The results showed a moderate correlation between the two measured traits and indicated that each mode of expression correlated better with its equivalent mode in the other context than it did with the other modes of expression. Next, three hypotheses about the multivariate relationship were tested through five path models. These models confirmed that general anger and driving anger, although related to each other, are two different traits: a propensity to general anger and a propensity to driving anger. However, it was observed that when someone experiences anger, either on or off the road, it is expressed in the same way, given that each mode of expression behind the wheel is associated to both the propensity to driving anger and the equivalent mode of expression in a general context. Finally, the study’s implications are discussed.     

Essential readings for graduate students in behavior analysis: A survey of the JEAB and JABA boards of editors

We surveyed the editorial boards of the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior and the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis in an attempt to construct an essential reading list for graduate students in behavior analysis. Respondents were asked to list up to 10 behavior-analytic journal articles, 10 behavior-analytic books, and 5 non-behavior-analytic books or journal articles that they felt were essential readings. Several behavior-analytic books were listed by members of both editorial boards, suggesting that an understanding of the philosophy of radical behaviorism and its basic principles are essential for graduate students. In contrast, a number of disparities point to differences in training and a lack of integration that may exist between basic and applied researchers. However, these disparities might also be indicative of the strength of behavior analysis. Finally, several non-behavior-analytic readings draw attention to the convergence of behavior analysis and other fields of study.     

Stuttering theory,research, and therapy: A five-year retrospective and look ahead

This article reviews events in stuttering theory, research, and therapy that have transpired during the past 5 years. After the retrospective review, current work in the area of stuttering is examined. This analysis of the past and present was conducted in an effort to give clearer direction to future efforts to understand the disorder, and to study and treat it more effectively.     

History,philosophy, and science teaching: A brief review

School science education is currently the subject of much debate. Historians and philosophers of science should play a role in this debate. Since the late nineteenth century there has been a persistent, if minor, tradition arguing for the incorporation of historical and philosophical dimensions in the teaching of school science. With the current crisis in science teaching, there are encouraging signs that more attention is being paid to this tradition. What is required is much greater collaboration between philosophers, historians, and science educators, particularly in the training of teachers.This article is a shortened version of my 1988, A Role for History and Philosophy in Science Teaching, inEducational Philosophy and Theory 20 (2). All references are to the following History, Philosophy, and Science Teaching: A Bibliography.This special number ofSynthese is part of a large international project on the place of history and philosophy in science teaching. Special issues ofEducational Philosophy and Theory, Interchange, andStudies in Philosophy and Education are being produced. An international conference on the subject will be held at Florida State University in November 1989. Details of the journals and the conference can be obtained from the author.The project commenced while the author was on leave at Florida State University in 1987. It began with a gracious invitation from Jaakko Hintikka to guest edit this number, and was furthered with the support and encouragement of David Gruender. I thank them both, and also the Philosophy Department for its hospitality. Special appreciation is due to the nearly 30 authors who have contributed papers to the project. I hope that their efforts will re-open the needed dialogue between historians, philosophers, and science educators.     

A road less traveled: Vocation,sex, and religion

This chronicle of embodied experience charts the pilgrim's progress of a qualitative researcher during a research trip to New Mexico. The story traces a path from his spiritual awakening as a teenager, through his painful coming out in his thirties as a gay man, to an eventual collision of conflicting issues in his fifties while traveling on the road to a healing shrine with a group of Hispanic Roman Catholics. His participation as a researcher forces him to come to grips with the events of his life as he realizes the vital connection between body and soul in the long journey home.     

Team change climate: A group-level analysis of the relationships among change information and change participation,role stressors,and well-being

We explored whether teams develop shared perceptions regarding the quantity and quality of information and the extent of participation in decision making provided in an environment of continuous change. In addition, we examined whether change climate strength moderated relationships between change climate level and team outcomes. We examined relationships among aggregated change information and change participation and aggregated team outcomes, including two role stressors (i.e., role ambiguity and role overload) and two indicators of well-being (i.e., quality of worklife and distress). Questionnaires were distributed in an Australian law enforcement agency and data were used from 178 teams. Structural equation modelling analyses, controlling for a marker variable, were conducted to examine the main effects of aggregated change information and aggregated change participation on aggregated team outcomes. Results provided support for a model that included method effects due to a marker variable. In this model, change information climate was significantly negatively associated with role ambiguity, role overload, and distress, and significantly positively associated with quality of worklife. Change participation climate was significantly positively associated with quality of worklife. Change climate strength did not moderate relationships among change climate level and team outcomes.     

The type A behavior pattern and immune reactivity to brief stress: change of volume of secretory immunoglobulin A in saliva

This article presents findings of a laboratory experiment on the association of the Type A behavior pattern with reactivity of secretory immune functioning to brief stress. 38 female undergraduate students classified as Type A (n = 19) or as Type B (n = 19) on the basis of their scores on the Kwansei Gakuin Type A scale performed a continuous arithmetic task in a situation in which they were exposed to aversive loud noise. Secretory immunoglobulin A (s-IgA) in saliva and autonomic measures (heart rate and frequency of eyeblink) were evaluated before and after the manipulation of stress. The volume of s-IgA at baseline was significantly higher for the Type A group than for the Type B group, suggesting that the former relative to the latter might be chronically higher in mucosal immune functioning. Also, the volume of s-IgA significantly increased after exposure to a brief stress for the Type B group but did not change for the Type A group, a finding which might indicate that the Type A group may have less immune reactivity to a brief stress.     

Collusion after a collision: Witnesses' reports of a road accident with and without discussion

In a study of the accuracy of recall of witnesses to a road accident, subjects watched a video recording of a natural scene for a few minutes. Two vehicles collided, and reports from the witnesses were taken using a version of the report form used by officers investigating road accidents in the UK. Witnesses were asked questions about the scene of the accident, about each of the two vehicles, and about the timing of the collision relative to a traffic signal. Does the accuracy of report depend upon the isolation of the witness? The study investigated this question by having some witnesses watch the video recording and complete the questionnaire alone, while other witnesses were encouraged to discuss their perceptions and recollections both while watching the recording and during an interval of a few minutes prior to administration of the questionnaire. All witnesses completed their reports in isolation. As a check on witnesses' expectancies, some of them, both individual and group witnesses, were informed prior to seeing the video recording that they would see a road accident and that they would be asked about it. The ‘uninformed’ witnesses were told to expect questions about the road scene. There was no overall difference between the recall accuracy of individual and group witnesses, but there was an interaction between groups and expectancy. When expecting to see a collision the group witnesses were more accurate than the individuals. Social facilitation in recall was restricted to occasions when the witnesses could anticipate the focus of the questions to be asked.     

Positive psychology at work: A conceptual review,state-of-practice assessment,and a look ahead

Positive psychological principles have become increasingly prevalent in the workplace in recent years. However, the field still lacks a comprehensive and practice-based overview of this important trend. The present article focuses on reviewing recent research in positive psychology as it relates to the workplace, including research regarding constructs such as resilience, appreciative inquiry, empowerment, gratitude, psychological capital, work engagement, supervisor and organizational support, positive teamwork and co-worker relations, and positive leadership. For each, we synthesize research examining the nature of the construct itself, its nomological network, individual- and organizational-level outcomes, and how organizations can enhance each within their employees for increased organizational success and enhanced employee experience. Finally, we discuss gaps in the relevant literature and make specific recommendations regarding how to ameliorate such oversights in order to enhance the rigor of positive workplace research as well as the frequency and efficacy of relevant organizational interventions.     

A discussion of the mind-brain problem

In this paper Popper formulates and discusses a new aspect of the theory of mind. This theory is partly based on his earlier developed interactionistic theory. It takes as its point of departure the observation that mind and physical forces have several properties in common, at least the following six: both are (i) located, (ii) unextended, (iii) incorporeal, (iv) capable of acting on bodies, (v) dependent upon body, (vi) capable of being influenced by bodies. Other properties such as intensity and extension in time may be added. It is argued that a fuller understanding of the nature of forces is essential for the analysis of the mind-brain problem. The relative autonomy and indeterministic nature of mind is stressed. Indeterminism is treated in relation to a theorem of Hadamard. The computer theory of mind and the Turing test are criticized. Finally the evolution of mind is discussed.