A renaissance in residential behavior analysis? A historical perspective and a better way to help people with challenging behavior

After a slow start, the popularity of applied behavior analysis for people with severe behavior problems peaked in the 1970s and was then battered down by the effects of methodological behaviorism, the aversives controversy, overregulation, and the inherent limitations of congregate living. Despite the ethical, technical, and conceptual advancements in behavior analysis, many people with challenging behavior live in futile environments in which the behavior analyst can only tinker. A radically behavioristic approach has become available that has the power to change these conditions, to restore the reciprocity necessary for new learning, and to bring residential behavior analysts more in contact with the contingencies of helping and teaching. The approach is consistent with alternatives that behaviorists have suggested for years to improve the image and effectiveness of applied behavior analysis, although it will take the behaviorist far from the usual patterns of practice. Finally, the approach promotes its own survival by promoting access to interlocking organizational contingencies, but its antithetical nature presents many conceptual and practical challenges to agency adoption.     

International publication trends in the experimental analysis of behavior

The present paper assessed international publication trends in the experimental analysis of behavior by recording the geographical origin of the first authors of articles in the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior (JEAB), the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (JABA), and The Behavior Analyst (TBA). Five international categories were identified: Australasia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and North America. A cooperative category was also employed to assess the number of publications with authors from different international categories. First, the percentage and number of international articles published in JEAB, JABA, and TBA are presented. Second, a more detailed analysis of the publication rates within the international categories is presented. The number and rate at which new authors from the categories appeared and the percentage of articles published by different authors are also presented. Some limitations of the review and suggestions for increasing international participation in behavior analysis are outlined.     

Sexuality education and young people's sexual behavior: a review of studies

Sexuality education for children and young adults is one of the most heavily debated issues facing policy-makers, national AIDS program planners, and educators, provoking arguments over how explicit education materials should be, how much of it there should be, how often it should be given, and at what age instruction should commence. In this context, the World Health Organization's Global Program on AIDS' Office of Intervention Development and Support commissioned a comprehensive literature review to assess the effects of HIV/AIDS and sexuality education upon young people's sexual behavior. 52 reports culled from a search of 12 literature databases were reviewed. The main purpose of the review is to inform policy-makers, program planners, and educators about the impact of HIV and/or sexuality education upon the sexual behavior of youth as described in the published literature. Of 47 studies which evaluated interventions, 25 reported that HIV/AIDS and sexuality education neither increased nor decreased sexual activity and attendant rates of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). 17 reported that HIV and/or sexuality education delayed the onset of sexual activity, reduced the number of sex partners, or reduced unplanned pregnancy and STD rates Only 3 studies found increases in sexual behavior associated with sexuality education. Inadequacies in study design, analytic techniques, outcome indicators, and the reporting of statistics are discussed.     

The effects of periodic visual occlusion on ball catching

Four experiments were conducted to examine the effects of periodic visual occlusion on one-handed ball catching. Tennis balls were projected one at a time over distances of 8-12 m, and liquid-crystal visual occlusion spectacles provided intermittent vision by opening and closing the lens shutters at different frequencies. As well as frequency, we manipulated duty cycle, or the proportion of time that the lenses were open. Generally, catching performance deteriorated as frequency was reduced. Although longer visual samples (i.e., increased duty cycle) mediated this effect to some extent, the most potent variable was the time between visual samples; performance deteriorated rapidly when this interval was greater than 80 ms (i.e., 10 Hz with 20-ms lens open times). Presumably this occurred because subjects had difficulty integrating visual information separated by longer temporal intervals.     

A transformation of self-discrimination response functions in accordance with the arbitrarily applicable relations of sameness, more than, and less than

In Experiment 1, 2 experimental subjects were given pretraining of nonarbitrary relations that brought their responses under the control of four contextual stimuli; same, opposite, more than, and less than. One control subject was not exposed to this pretraining. The 2 pretrained subjects and the 3rd nonpretrained subject then received training in six arbitrary relations, the following four relations being the most critical: same/A1-B1, same/A1-C1, less than/A1-B2, more than/A1-C2. All 3 subjects were then tested for seven derived relations, the following three relations being the most important: same/B1-C1, more than/B1-C2, less than/B1-B2. The 2 pretrained subjects, but not the nonpretrained subject, showed the derived relations. One of the stimuli (B1) from the relational network and two novel stimuli (X1 and X2) were then used to train three different self-discrimination responses on three complex schedules of reinforcement. That is, all 3 subjects were trained to pick X1 if they had not emitted a response, to pick B1 if they had emitted one response only, and to pick X2 if they had emitted two responses only. The 2 pretrained subjects, but not the nonpretrained subject, showed the predicted transformation of self-discrimination response functions in accordance with the relations of sameness, more than, and less than (i.e., no response, pick B2; one response only, pick C1; and two responses only, pick C2). In Experiment 2, 2 new subjects were employed, and the arbitrary relational training and testing phases were modified to control for a procedural artifact that may have contributed to the results of the first experiment. Experiment 2 replicated the findings of Experiment 1. The pattern of results support the utility of a relational frames approach to understanding derived stimulus relations.     

Adolescents' perceived ability to say "no" to unwanted sex

The authors examined the degree to which adolescents believe they can resist a dating partner's verbal pressure to have sex when they themselves really do not want to. 2472 10th-grade students of mean age 15.5 years from eight public high schools in Dade County, Florida, participated in the study. 49% were male, 27.8% White, 38.2% Hispanic, and 27.7% Black. 50.1% reported having ever experienced sexual intercourse. The female students were found to be more likely than males to believe that they could refuse unwanted sex. No consistent differences were found along ethnic and racial lines. The multivariate analysis identified the following as predictors of the ability to refuse sex: a less-permissive attitude toward sex, the low importance of peer influence, and, for females, a generalized sense of self-efficacy.     

The 90's: gender differences in AIDS-related sexual concerns and behaviors,condom use and subjective condom experiences

To evaluate gender differences in the subjective experience and use of condoms, 193 heterosexual patrons at 13 bars in New York City were interviewed on site in 1991. Most respondents were single, middle class, and White; their ages ranged from 18 to 51 years. The data analysis was restricted to the 155 men and women who had at least 1 new partner in the 3 years preceding the survey. Respondents worried most about acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) when engaging in sex with a new partner. 86% indicated concern about AIDS had affected their sexual behavior, most often by increasing their condom use and decreasing casual sex. 91% of women and 79% of men said that condoms give them greater peace of mind. Women worried more than men about AIDS when they had a new sexual partner and were more likely to limit their number of partners, work harder on an existing sexual relationship, give up casual sex, or give up sex with new partners. Men's subjective condom experiences were related to their penile functioning (erection and ejaculation) and the threat of loss of sexual pleasure. Multiple regression equations revealed that, among men, condom use with new partners was associated with worrying about AIDS and younger age; among women, peace of mind was a positive predictor. With casual partners, more partners led to increased condom use among women and worrying about AIDS was a predictor for men; peace of mind was predictive for both genders. 53% of men compared to 21% of women expected to meet a new sexual partner at the bar where they were interviewed, and 36% of men and 19% of women were carrying condoms with them.     

开放的中国──封闭的中国

禁地,亦即指由于地形原因而不可进入的地区,尤其是指出于政治、宗教或其他动机而作出的决策所禁止入内的区域（场所、城市、国家）。禁地往往蒙上了一种神秘的气氛．几乎必然会引起人们的好奇。到达拉萨曾是几代探险家的梦想。这一地区不仅对外人封闭,而且对“内部人”也封闭：任何人不得离开“外出”。德川幕府对日本实行的隔绝就是这样一种双向隔离。当然．地理条件也有助于这种隔离,因而使之轻易地付诸实行。有人指出（或许这种说法不够严肃）．举世闻名的中国长城不仅意味着防范匈奴入侵,更意味着防止中国人逃离。史料也表明中国过…     

Effects of test anxiety, ego stress, and attentional skills training on arithmetic reasoning: An experimental evaluation of a brief counseling strategy

Abstract Two hundred forty high school students (120 male and 120 female) in India performed a moderately difficult multiple choice Arithmetic Reasoning task after undergoing short-term (40 minutes) cognitive treatment in the form of Attentional Skills Training. A 2 × 2 × 2 (Test Anxiety x Attentional Skills Training x Stress) design with separate analysis for boys and girls indicated these results: with intervention the high anxiety subjects under ego stress conditions, compared to their high-anxious control, low-anxious ego stress, or low-anxious control counterparts, reported the maximum significant improvement in performance on the Arithmetic Reasoning test. The low-anxiety subjects performed consistently well with or without treatment or stress conditions. The findings shed new light on the attentional theory of test anxiety, and it was reasoned that long-term effects of cognitive treatment be studied by using varied performance tasks (difficulty level controlled) on different gender and age groups across cultures.