Evidence for a reciprocal model of language development

A reciprocal model of language development is proposed analogous to Bowlby's model for the development of attachment, a control system model. The hypothesis for the research reported is that a reciprocal behavioral system operates between the language-developing infant-child and the competent language user in a socializing-teaching-nurturing role vis-à-vis the language-developing child. Findings are from a longitudinal study of four infant-mother dyads, videotaped in the home from the time the infants were 3 months until they were 2 years old. The mother's linguistic behavior following vocalizing and verbalizing by her infant is analyzed for evidence that it is language-teaching behavior appropriate to the infant's level of linguistic development and, in the terms of the control system model, elicited by the infant's linguistic behavior.Research for this article has been supported by Tufts University Faculty Research Grants. Walt Wolfram and Donna Christian gave me interesting ideas concerning the topic of this article.     

Reciprocal Associations between Boys’ Externalizing Problems and Mothers’ Depressive Symptoms

Although much has been written about the utility of applying transactional models to the study of parenting practices, relatively few researchers have used such an approach to examine how children influence maternal well-being throughout their development. Using a sample of males from predominantly low-income families, the current study explored reciprocal relations between boys' overt disruptive behavior (boys' ages 5 to 10 years) and maternal depressive symptoms. We then examined this model with youth-reported antisocial behaviors (ASB) and maternal depressive symptoms when the boys were older, ages 10 to 15. In middle childhood, evidence was found for both maternal and child effects from boys' ages 5 to 6 using both maternal and alternative caregiver report of child aggressive behavior. In the early adolescence model, consistent maternal effects were found, and child effects were evident during the transition to adolescence (boys' ages 11 to 12). The findings are discussed in reference to reciprocal models of child development and prevention efforts to reduce both maternal depression and the prevalence of child antisocial behavior.     

Hierarchical simulation: Two case studies of stuttering modification using systematic desensitization

The use of behavior therapy techniques to alleviate stuttering is being extensively applied. Two cases illustrating hierarchical simulation are presented. In the first, a technique incorporating systematic desensitization and reciprocal inhibition was used to reduce the stuttering behavior of a 13-year-old boy while speaking in a classroom situation. The procedure involved the use of color slides to simulate speaking before an actual classroom as an adjunct to systematic desensitization and reciprocal inhibition. Results indicated a reduction in classroom stuttering as reported by the client and his teacher. In the second case, a 5-year-old boy used forceful muscular activity as being reciprocal to anxiety. This procedure involved the use of videotapes to hierarchically simulate anxiety producing classroom situations. Measures of stuttering indicated a mean reduction of 18%. One year after therapy indicated stuttering had been eliminated.     

Genetic analysis of “Spontaneous” intermale aggression in mice

“Spontaneous” intermale aggression was investigated in seven inbred strains of mice. A positive interstrain correlation and cross-correlation was found for two indices of fighting intensity, ie, accumulated attacking time and number of attacks. The strain aggressiveness level (percent of mice fighting in each strain) does not correlate with the intensity of aggressive behavior. It has been shown by using a genetical analysis performed on C57BL/6 and BALB/c strains, their reciprocal F₁ hybrids, and back-crosses that these indices of intermale aggression are under different genetic control. Aggressive behavior intensity depends on the additive effects of genes. The control of strain aggressiveness level revealed that a high level of aggressiveness was dominant. No reciprocal effects were found. The level of aggressiveness and the intensity of fighting seem to represent different aspects of aggression and may be controlled by different genetic mechanisms.     

Diverse ontogenies of reciprocal and prosocial behavior: cooperative development in Fiji and the United States

Contingent reciprocity is an important foundation of human cooperation, but we know little about how reciprocal behavior develops across diverse societies, nor about how the development of reciprocal behavior is related to the development of prosocial behavior more broadly. Three‐ to 16‐year‐old children were presented with the opportunity to control the allocation of real food rewards in a binary‐choice cooperative dilemma. Within dyads children alternated making choices across multiple trials, and reciprocal behavior emerged in three diverse populations (rural Fijian villages, and urban communities in both Fiji and the United States) by age 7–8. There was more societal variation in prosocial behavior than in reciprocal behavior, and there were more substantial differences between Fijians and Americans than between rural and urban populations. This suggests that the development of prosocial behavior is not driven entirely by the development of reciprocity, and differences in prosocial behavior across rural Fijians and urban Americans may not be due only to differences across rural and urban populations.     

HIV risk perceptions and first sexual intercourse among youth in Cape Town South Africa

CONTEXT: HIV prevalence is high among South African youth. Health behavior models posit that the perceived level of risk of HIV infection is associated with the level of HIV risk behavior; however, there has been limited research in Sub-Saharan Africa on factors associated with perceived risk or on the relationship between perceived risk and risk behaviors. METHODS: Longitudinal data collected in 2002 and 2005 from 3,017 black, colored and white youth in Cape Town, South Africa, were analyzed using multivariate regression to examine whether a reciprocal relationship exists between sexual experience and perceived HIV risk. Independent variables taken from the 2002 survey were used to predict dependent variables taken from the 2005 survey. RESULTS: In 2005, most youth (82% of males and 83% of females) viewed themselves as being at no or small risk of HIV infection. A reciprocal relationship in which higher perceived HIV risk was associated with a delay in sexual debut (odds ratio, 0.8) and sexual experience was associated with higher perceived risk (1.4) was found for females, but not for males. Knowing someone who had died of AIDS was associated with sexual debut and with an elevated perceived HIV risk among females (1.7 and 1.3, respectively). The associations between race and perceived risk of HIV infection varied by gender. CONCLUSIONS: HIV/AIDS education and prevention programs should consider more carefully how gender and race may intersect to influence risk perceptions and risk behaviors. In addition, possible reciprocal relationships between risk behaviors and risk perceptions should be considered in education and intervention programs.     

A cognitive behaviorist approach to the study of animal behavior

Traditional psychological approaches to animal learning and behavior have involved either the atheoretical behaviorist approach proposed by B. F. Skinner (1938), in which input-output relations are described in response to environmental manipulations, or the theoretical behaviorist approach offered by C. L Hull (1943), in which associations mediated by several hypothetical constructs and intervening variables are formed between stimuli and responses. Recently, the application of a cognitive behaviorist approach to animal learning and behavior has been found to have considerable value as a research tool. This perspective has grown out of E. C. Tolman's cognitive approach to learning in which behavior is mediated by mechanisms that are not directly observable but can be inferred from the results of critical experiments. In the present article, the author presents several examples of the successful application of the cognitive behaviorist approach. In each case, the experiments have been designed to distinguish between more traditional mechanisms and those mediated by hypothesized internal representations. These examples were selected because the evidence suggests that some form of active cognitive organization is needed to account for the behavioral results.     

Reciprocal unconditional-conditional organization of the fundamental emotions and paraadaptive personality reactions

Paraadaptive personality reactions (PPR) are modes of behavior and experience on the borderline of normal psychology and psychopathology. In them the thinking is overdetermined or obsessive. Overdetermined PPR are well illustrated in common proverbs. The people’s wisdom has also knowledge of the obsessive (or “magic”) paraadaptive rituals for prevention of possible misfortunes (such as touching wood, keeping away from a black cat,etc.). One part of the PPR is described in the psychoanalytical literature as defense mechanisms. The analysis of thought dissociation in schizophrenia shows that the reciprocal relations could be considered as a basic principle of functional organization on all levels of nervous and psychic activity. Proceeding from this assumption, the author proposes the conception of a reciprocal neuropsychological unconditional-conditional affect-behavioral system (ABS). It consists of ten subsystems corresponding to the basic emotions. Each subsystem stimulates the personality toward predetermined forms of thinking and behavior. In adequate conditions the reciprocal processes in the ABS are well counterweighted and integrated. In some persons and in situations of greater affective “loading” this reciprocal balance is disorganized, which leads to PPR. In this paper a neuropsychological analysis is made of the overdetermined PPR, reflected in such proverbs as “Not being able to beat the donkey, he beats the packsaddle” and “The thief cries catch the thief.”     

The role of frontal lobe functioning in the development of infant self-regulatory behavior.

In the last two decades, there has been tremendous growth in two fields of study related to human infant development: (1) the development of neural processes during the early postnatal years and (2) the development of self-regulatory behavior. In an attempt to stimulate research on the relation between early brain development and self-regulatory processes, several hypotheses pertaining to the role of frontal lobe functioning in the development of emotion regulation during infancy are proposed. The results of a study of the relation between frontal electroencephalographic (EEG) activity and emotional behavior of 21-month-old infants are reported. It was found that increases in frontal lobe activation were associated with increases in emotional arousal, while EEG activity recorded from the parietal region showed either a reciprocal pattern of activation or did not change as a function of level of emotional arousal. These results provide evidence for the specialized role of the frontal lobe in mediating emotional behavior during infancy.     

The Psyche as a Process

This paper is about my experiences with psychoanalysis in Uruguay and Argentina during the upheaval of the 1960s and 1970s. It reflects the interweaving of personal, professional, and social factors at a given historical moment. During those years some psychoanalysts tried to expand the area of psychoanalysis to the larger community. This implied changes in praxis and training. The work was done in “operative groups” as a way of reaching a greater number of people. Some case examples show how this work was carried out. Eventually these changes were squelched by the military takeover in what became known as the “Dirty War.” All dissent was seen by the authorities as threatening to the social order and was eradicated with brutality and impunity. My experiences as participant/outsider during that time exemplified some of the personal adaptations and professional cost for advocating change.     

母亲元情绪理念与学前儿童社会适应的相互作用关系

采用追踪设计对438名学前儿童母亲进行问卷调查研究,主要探讨了母亲元情绪理念与学前儿童社会适应的相互作用关系。交叉滞后分析结果表明：（1）相邻两次测量的母亲各元情绪理念之间,社会适应各指标之间均具有中等程度的稳定性;（2）同一时间点的母亲各元情绪理念与儿童社会适应各指标之间均显著相关;（3）母亲元情绪理念与儿童社会适应之间部分存在着相互作用关系：控制了变量自身的连续性后,前测的母亲情绪教导显著正向预测后测的儿童敏感合作;前测的母亲情绪不干涉显著正向预测后测的儿童愤怒攻击、焦虑退缩行为;反过来,前测的儿童敏感合作能正向预测后测的母亲情绪教导,显著负向预测情绪不干涉、情绪摒除和情绪紊乱;前测的焦虑退缩能显著正向预测后测的母亲情绪摒除和情绪紊乱。     

物质主义对双元孝道的影响探讨——基于代际传递的视角

基于代际传递的视角,入户配对调查了439户亲子被试,构建并检验了物质主义对双元孝道直接和间接的影响模型。结果显示：(1)亲子的物质主义都显著负向预测子女的权威性孝道和互惠性孝道;(2)物质主义存在较强的代际传递效应,且父母物质主义以子女物质主义为中介变量间接负向预测子女的权威性孝道和互惠性孝道;(3)权威性孝道和互惠性孝道都存在较强的代际传递效应,子女物质主义在其中起了显著的负向调节作用,但父母物质主义的调节效应未达显著水平。据此结果,揭示亲子的物质主义对权威性孝道和互惠性孝道的多重负面影响路径,这对学校和家庭的孝道教育具有一定的启示作用。     

An astable multivibrator model of binocular rivalry

The behavior of a neural network model for binocular rivalry is explored through the development of an analogy between it and an electronic astable multivibrator circuit. The model incorporates reciprocal feedback inhibition between signals from the left and the right eyes prior to binocular convergence. The strength of inhibitory coupling determines whether the system undergoes rivalrous oscillations or remains in stable fusion: strong coupling leads to oscillations, weak coupling to fusion. This implies that correlation between spatial patterns presented to the two eyes can affect the strength of binocular inhibition. Finally, computer simulations are presented which show that a reciprocal inhibition model can reproduce the stochastic behavior of rivalry. The model described is a counterexample to claims that reciprocal inhibition models as a class cannot exhibit many of the experimentally observed properties of rivalry.     

The effects of reciprocal reactivity on positively and negatively valenced self-rated behaviors

Reactivity refers to behavioral changes that occur in a target behavior when some assessment procedure is used to record that behavior (Webb. Campbell. Schwanz and Sechrest, 1966). One example of these reactive effects is the change in response frequency that occurs when individuals are asked to self-record their own behavior. Several studies have demonstrated that self-recorded behaviors will increase or decrease in frequency (Ciminero. Nelson and Lipinski. 1977). Kanfer (1970) speculated that the direction of this reactive behavior change is related to the social norms or valence of the response. Thus, appropriate or positively valenced behaviors are likely to increase when they are self-monitored whereas inappropriate or negatively valenced behaviors would be more likely to decrease (e.g. Broden. Hall and Mitts. 1971).Cavior and Marabotto (1976) directly examined the effects of behavior valence on the direction of change due to self-monitoring. They used heterosexual dyads to compare the effects of various monitoring procedures on behaviors that were selected by subjects as having one of three valences: High social desirability, neutral social desirability, or low social desirability. They found that the valence of a target behavior was important in determining the direction of change: positive verbal behaviors increased whereas negative verbal behaviors decreased during the dyadic interactions.Reactive effects other than those found in self-monitoring have also received some attention. In an examination of the parameters of reactivity Ciminero. Graham and Jackson (1977) studied a phenomenon they labelled reciprocal reactivity. This term describes the behavior changes that occur in individuals who are asked to record the behavior of others. Ciminero et al. reported four single-case designs in which parameters of reciprocal reactivity were examined in female dyads. In the first three experiments, various motor responses (e.g. leg-kicking, head-nodding, or face-touching) decreased in subjects when they were asked to monitor those behaviors in their partners. The fourth experiment showed that self-monitoring resulted in greater decreases in response rate than did the reciprocal reactivity.As with self-monitoring, the valence of the target behavior may have an important influence on the direction of the behavior change due to reciprocal reactivity. Since the valence of behaviors targeted in the study by Cimineroet al. (1977) were not specifically evaluated the effects of valence could not be established. Therefore, the present study was designed to replicate the effects of reciprocal reactivity and to examine the influence of the valence of the target behaviors.     

公平--精神道德观念还是互利合作机制?

公平概念一直都是儿童道德发展研究的一个重要课题。传统上认为公平作为一个道德概念,属于人类精神层面,指导人类行为,是高于社会物质生活的。然而进一步研究关注,公平,作为人类生活中的一个重要而普遍的现象,是如何产生的,又为何能保持在人类社会生活中的。结果表明,公平在是人们在互利的目的下表现出来的一种策略,受到社会信息透明度的影响。一个社会中信息越透明,个体的名声越容易形成,则公平越成为一种最优的策略。     

Establishing operations, cognition, and emotion

In this paper we argue that behavior analysts have tended to neglect the study of important aspects of complex human behavior, including cognition and emotion. This relative neglect has been costly in terms of mainstream psychology's perception of the field of behavior analysis and in terms of our ability to provide a more thorough account of human behavior. Observations and findings from the clinical context are offered as examples of behavior that are not readily explained by the three-term contingency, and we argue that an adequate account of these behaviors must include principles derived from recent behavior-analytic work, in particular a better understanding of the short- and long-term effects of establishing operations. The concept of the establishing operation and its implications for understanding complex human behavior are discussed.     

Reciprocal models of child behavior and depressive symptoms in mothers and fathers in a sample of children at risk for early conduct problems

Although much has been written about transactional models in the study of parenting practices, relatively few researchers have used this approach to examine how child behavior might be related to parental well-being. This study used latent growth curve modeling to test transactional models of age 2 child noncompliance, parental depressive symptoms, and age 4 internalizing and externalizing behaviors using a subsample of families in the Early Steps Multisite Study. In unconditional models, maternal depressive symptoms showed a linear decrease from child ages 2 to 4, whereas paternal depression did not show significant change. Observed child noncompliance at age 2 showed significant associations with concurrent reports of maternal depressive symptoms and trend-level associations with paternal depressive symptoms. For both parents, higher levels of initial depressive symptoms were related to increased age 4 child internalizing behaviors. The findings provide support for reciprocal process models of parental depression and child behavior, and this study is one of the first to present empirical evidence that fathers' depressive symptoms have bidirectional associations with their children's behavior in early childhood.     

Long-term memory for calls of relatives in cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus)

Recognition of relatives is important for dispersing animals to avoid inbreeding and possibly for developing cooperative, reciprocal relationships between individuals after dispersal. We demonstrate under controlled captive conditions that cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) have a long-term memory for long calls of relatives from which they had been separated for periods ranging from 4 to 55 months. Tamarins responded with lower levels of arousal behavior to playbacks of long calls from current mates and from separated relatives compared to calls of unfamiliar, unrelated tamarins. Four tamarins had been out of contact with relatives for more than 4 years and still showed recognition as evidenced by low levels of arousal. Results could not be explained in terms of proximity to former relatives. Long-term memory for vocal signatures of relatives is adaptive and may be much more common than has been demonstrated.     

Twin imitation for antisocial behavior: implications for genetic and family environment research.

When twin pairs influence each other's behavior, observed variance is greater for MZ twins than for DZ twins under at least 1 of 2 conditions: (a) the trait has some heritability and (b) MZ twins influence each other more than do DZ twins. Applied to a trait that has an underlying continuous distribution but is measured as a dichotomy, the presence of reciprocal twin influence predicts that if the base rate for the trait is not exactly 50%, then the prevalence of the trait should differ in MZ and DZ twin pairs. This prediction held for registered criminality in a large twin cohort. Methods of analysis that permit reciprocal twin interaction not only provide better statistical fits to the data but also yield estimates of heritability that agree with adoption data. The results suggest that the genetic influence on registered criminality may be more modest than previously thought.