Advanced Research and Training Seminars (ARTS) Report on ARTS 2002

This article reports on the Advanced Research and Training Seminars (ARTS) program that was held in Singapore during July, 2002. The seminars were sponsored jointly by the three international psychology associations—the International Union of Psychological Science (IUPsyS), the International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP), and the International Association for Cross‐Cultural Psychology (IACCP). ARTS is an educational program for psychologists from low‐income (developing and in‐transition) countries. The seminars are held in proximity of the international congresses each even‐numbered year to enable participants to attend one or more congresses in addition to receiving specialized instruction. Also, it is expected that the educational benefits to participants will extend to their students and colleagues with whom they interact on return to their home countries.     

Counsellor actions needed for the new career perspective

The perspective of a self-reliant 'new career' can be seen as a positive stimulus for career counsellors to reform their profession. Recommended actions include: (1) making life satisfaction the major goal; (2) advocating open-mindedness rather than decisiveness; (3) assuming a broad role in dealing with client concerns; (4) normalising unplanned events; (5) teaching clients to create beneficial unplanned events; and (6) using increased learning and life satisfaction as outcome measures.     

身体与艺术：对于身体美学的需求

一 我们人文知识分子往往将身体视做理所当然,因为我们是如此热衷于精神生活以及表达我们的人性和精神渴望的创造性艺术。但是,身体并不仅仅是我们人性的一个根本维度（表达着人性中的一切模糊性）;它也是我们生活的基本媒介以及所有表现的基础手段,我们使用工具的工具,我们的一切知觉、行动甚至思想的一个必要条件。     

A SURVEY OF WRITING INSTRUCTION IN ELEMENTARY LANGUAGE ARTS CLASSROOMS

Abstract

The purpose of the study was (1) to determine to what extent children, in a large southern state, are given opportunities to engage in process writing, and (2) to determine whether teachers have incorporated activities and strategies supported by current research findings on process writing into their language arts programs. A survey of teachers in randomly selected counties was conducted to determine and analyze the following information: 1. sources of content and instructional materials used in the language arts curriculum.

2. organizational patterns used in language arts instruction.

3. time spent in various types of writing.

4. time spent in each of the stages of process writing.

Data collected from the surveys indicated a textbook orientation to language instruction, small amounts of time spent in prewriting or writing activities, and a preference for teacher-controlled writing processes, such as teacher selection of writing topics and teacher editing of student writing. Factors that mitigate for or against the change process and models for teacher inservice that facilitate new instructional practices are discussed.     

Basic research needed for stimulating the development of behavioral technologies

The costs of disconnection between the basic and applied sectors of behavior analysis are reviewed, and some solutions to these problems are proposed. Central to these solutions are collaborations between basic and applied behavioral scientists in programmatic research that addresses the behavioral basis and solution of human behavior problems. This kind of collaboration parallels the deliberate interactions between basic and applied researchers that have proven to be so profitable in other scientific fields, such as medicine. Basic research questions of particular relevance to the development of behavioral technologies are posed in the following areas: response allocation, resistance to change, countercontrol, formation and differentiation/discrimination of stimulus and response classes, analysis of low-rate behavior, and rule-governed behavior. Three interrelated strategies to build connections between the basic and applied analysis of behavior are identified: (a) the development of nonhuman animal models of human behavior problems using operations that parallel plausible human circumstances, (b) replication of the modeled relations with human subjects in the operant laboratory, and (c) tests of the generality of the model with actual human problems in natural settings.     

Radical behaviorism: A productive and needed philosophy for education

Radical behaviorism is the philosophy of the science of behavior originating in the work of B. F. Skinner and elaborated over the years by a community of researchers, scholars, and practitioners. Radical behaviorism is a complete, or thoroughgoing behaviorism in that all human behavior, public and private, is explained in terms of its functional relations with environmental events. Radical behaviorism is often misrepresented in the literatures of education and psychology. Two fundamental misconceptions of radical behaviorism are that its followers (1) are logical positivists who require that a phenomenon be observed by two or more people before it qualifies for scientific analysis, and (2) either will not or cannot incorporate private events (e.g., thoughts, feelings) into their analyses of human behavior. This paper offers an advocacy perspective on contemporary radical behaviorism. In particular, we define radical behaviorism and briefly outline the history of the term's use in psychological literature, discuss the scientific practice of behavior analysts, explain the intolerance exhibited by radical behaviorists, and comment on the use of popularity as a criterion for good science. The paper concludes with a discussion of the recent shift in educational research and practice from empiricism and outcome-oriented intervention toward a holistic/constructivist philosophy described by its advocates as incompatible with behaviorally-based instruction.