A comparison of response cost and differential reinforcement of other behavior to reduce disruptive behavior in a preschool classroom

This study investigated the effectiveness of response cost and differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) in reducing the disruptive behaviors of 25 children in a preschool classroom. Using an alternating treatments design, disruptive behavior was reduced when the participants earned tokens for the absence of disruptive behavior (DRO) or lost tokens for the occurrence of disruptive behavior (response cost). Initially, DRO was more successful in reducing the number of disruptive behaviors; however, over time, response cost proved to be more effective.     

Ethical considerations and proposed guidelines for the use of radio frequency identification: Especially concerning its use for promoting public safety and national security

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is quickly growing in its applications. A variety of uses for the technology are beginning to be developed, including chips which can be used in identification cards, in individual items, and for human applications, allowing a chip to be embedded under the skin. Such chips could provide numerous benefits ranging from day-to-day convenience to the increased ability of the federal government to adequately ensure the safety of its citizens. However, there are also valid concerns about the potential of this technology to infringe on privacy, creating fears of a surveillance society. These are concerns that must be addressed quickly, with sensitivity to individual interests and societal welfare, allowing humanity to reap the benefits of convenience and safety without paying an unacceptable price in the loss of privacy. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 2005 conference, Ethics and Social Responsibility in Engineering and Technology, Linking Workplace Ethics and Education, co-hosted by Gonzaga University and Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA, USA, 9–10 June 2005.     

Perceived attributes of health-promoting laughter: a cross-generational comparison

A small but growing body of empirical data support the popular belief that laughter benefits health. However, there are many varieties of laughter and no reason to assume all varieties should be, or would be, perceived as equally beneficial. The authors examined which types of laughter and which characteristics of laughter people associate with health and whether there are generational differences in this perception. Young adults and older participants rated 12 laughter terms (e.g., chuckle, giggle, belly laugh) on their contribution to health and assessed various aspects of each laughter type on 11 scales. The young adults characterized health-promoting laughter as strong, active, uninhibited, and involving movement; the older participants characterized it as socially appropriate. Both groups associated health-promoting laughter strongly with positive emotion and absence of malice. Implications for placebo effects in laughter interventions are discussed. Differences between humor and laughter and among the proposed mechanisms by which they affect health are clarified.     

Discerning the role of optimism in persuasion: the valence-enhancement hypothesis

The valence-enhancement hypothesis argues that because of their active coping strategies, optimists are especially likely to elaborate on valenced information that is of high personal relevance. The hypothesis predicts that as a result, optimists will be more persuaded by personally relevant positive messages and less persuaded by personally relevant negative messages than pessimists. It also predicts that when the message is not personally relevant, optimism and persuasion will not be related in this manner. The results of 3 studies support these predictions and supply evidence against several alternative hypotheses. The possibility that the observed effects are not due to optimism but to the confounding influence of 7 additional variables is also addressed and ruled out. Implications are discussed.     

Further reflections on Freud and his writing

As we broaden our frames of reference, Freud's genius looms larger. An adequate appreciation of Freud accordingly necessitates an examination of how he read and wrote and how Strachey translated him. Despite the enormous amount of psychoanalytic commentary, the subject of his writing qua writing still remains untapped to a considerable extent. By deepening our awareness of the nuances and implications of the manner in which Freud wrote, we correspondingly increase our knowledge of his original mind and the way he understood psychoanalysis.     

A note on the reliability of subjective judgment in discerning when the mouth is clear of salt taste stimuli

The ability of Ss to judge by taste when they had expectorated exogenous NaCl from the mouth was tested using 10 Ss. It was found that, after a 1-M salt mouthrinse, Ss judged its taste to have vanished while there were still residuals remaining in the mouth, which would have been detected by taste at preexperimental adaptation levels. This means that Ss are unable to judge for them selves when the mouth is clear of exogenous stimuli and that intertrial procedures requiring Ss to do this are suspect.     

The effect of interstimulus procedures on salt taste intensity functions

Taste intensity functions were constructed for the salt taste, using variations of the method of direct magnitude estimation, to study the effects of adaptation to residuals from prior tastings. The prediction that mouthrinsing would reduce residuals, lower the level of adaptation, and thus yield lower exponents was confirmed. The effect of the residuals tended to be reduced, tiowever, when the power functions were adjusted for such threshold changes. Power function deviations from linearity were also discussed. The literature on intensity scaling for the salt taste was examined and seen to support these findings. It was concluded that the interstimulus procedure, by altering residual stimulus levels, played a major role in determining salt taste intensity functions.     

The effect of interstimulus procedures

NaCl detection and recognition thresholds were measured with and without a prior artificial raising of the level of adaptation by a molar salt mouthrinse. In both cases, it was found that an interstimulus procedure involving water mouthrinses yielded lower thresholds than a procedure with no rinses. These results were seen to be predicted from adaptation level changes. The literature was seen to confirm these results, while difficulties in threshold measurement were discussed.     

Racial‐ethnic Identity in Context: Examining Mediation of Neighborhood Factors on Children's Academic Adjustment

Research consistently shows that neighborhood socio‐demographic characteristics and residents’ neighborhood perceptions matter for youth well‐being, including a positive sense of racial‐ethnic identity. Although elementary‐school children are likely in the earlier phases of identity formation, the authors examined whether objective and subjective neighborhood characteristics are related to their racial‐ethnic identity and, in turn, their academic adjustment. A diverse sample (30.4% African American, 35.2% White, 12.3% Latino, & 22.0% Other) of 227 children in Grades 2 through 5 were surveyed in afterschool programs. Bivariate correlations showed that youth living in disadvantaged neighborhoods reported more barriers due to their race‐ethnicity, but these barriers were not related to their sense of academic efficacy. Residing in a disadvantaged neighborhood was unrelated to youth's academic self‐efficacy. However, path analyses showed that positive neighborhood perceptions were associated with a stronger sense of race‐ethnicity (i.e., affirmation and belonging), which was in turn related to greater academic efficacy. These results suggest that neighborhood connection provides a source of affirmation and value for young children, helping them to understand who they are as part of a racial‐ethnic group and helping to foster a sense of future achievement opportunities. This study provides additional evidence that along with other important proximal contexts (e.g., family, school), young children's neighborhood context is important for development. Results are discussed to highlight environmental influences on young children's awareness of race‐ethnicity and the implications of the combined impact of neighborhood and racial‐ethnic identity on psychosocial adjustment.     

Assessing the efficacy of pictorial preference assessments for children with developmental disabilities

Past research has demonstrated that pictorial preference assessments can predict subsequent reinforcement effects for individuals with developmental disabilities only when access to the selected stimulus is provided contingent on a pictorial selection. The purpose of the present investigation was to assess more comprehensively the feasibility of the pictorial format with children with developmental disabilities. In Experiment 1, prerequisite skill assessments were conducted, and the role of a contingent reinforcer was assessed by comparing the results from the pictorial assessment without contingent access to a reinforcer assessment. If contingent access was found to be necessary, the effects of schedule thinning were evaluated to determine whether a pictorial format could be made more practical in Experiment 2. The pictorial format without contingent access was successful with only some participants. However, schedule thinning was found to be an effective method to establish conditioned reinforcement properties for pictorial stimuli to create a more practical assessment for a subset of participants.