Effect of Persuasive Appeals in AIDS PSAs and Condom Commercials on Intentions to Use Condoms1

The study compared the effect of five persuasive appeals used in AIDS PSAs and condom commercials (fear arousal-no sex/condom theme; fear arousal-sex/condom theme; erotic; humorous; factual) on 122 male and 114 female college students' i]ntentions to use and taking of condoms. Results showed that the two fear appeals were more effective than other appeals in increasing intentions to use condoms with a new partner. The fear appeal–no sex/condom theme was more effective than other appeals for increasing intentions to use condoms with a steady partner. Compared to men, women rated commercials as more effective for increasing intentions to use condoms with a new partner. Persuasive appeals had no effect on the taking of free condoms. The best predictor of commercial effectiveness was the degree to which a commercial evoked a high fear of AIDS. Other significant predictors were subjects' a]ttitude toward condom use and commercial qualities of being humorous, romantic, credible, and factual. Implications are that all five types of appeals are potentially effective for use in AIDS PSAs. Recommendations include combining appeals (e.g. fear with erotic) and emphasizing the positive features of condom use.     

A follow up study of a behavioral program for young people with learning disabilities and challenging behavior

This paper describes a pilot follow-up study of a behavioral program for 20 young people with learning disabilities and challenging behavior. Eighteen participants made good overall improvement during the treatment period, and this was partially maintained at follow-up. Eight had continued to improve, eight had deteriorated slightly and four had deteriorated markedly. Adaptive skills were generally maintained. The reemergence of challenging behaviors explained the difference between the Good and Poor Outcome groups. Those participants in the Good Outcome group were younger on admission, scored lower on adaptive skills and higher on challenging behaviors. In addition they had remained on the treatment programme for 12–18 months and had been discharged from the Unit for longer. The overall level of independent living had increased from preadmission and the majority of participants were living in less restrictive placements. These results confirm and extend the findings of previous research. The paper concludes by highlighting the need for more detailed longitudinal follow-up studies in this area.     

Teaching the Rescorla-Wagner model using STELLA-II

Although the Rescorla-Wagner model is widely taught in learning courses, most textbooks present a simplified version that does not contain all of its parameters. On the basis of Rescorla and Wagner 1972) and the Turbo PASCAL program by Lachnit, Schneider, Lipp, and Kimme! (1988), we created a simulation using STELLA-II, an icon-based program by High Performance Systems, Inc. We argue that this simulation facilitates teaching the complete Rescorla-Wagner model. Using trans-switching (Kimmel & Ray, 1978; Lachnit, 1986; Murrin & Kimmel, 1986) as an example, we demonstrate the effectiveness of the STELLA-II version of the Rescorla-Wagner model as a heuristic tool.     

The Impact of Procedural Justice on Opinions of Public Policy: Solid Waste Management as an Example1

This study assessed the applicability of Tyler and Lind's (1992) relational model of authority to the context of local government policies on solid waste management. Tests of the hypothesized relations proposed by Tyler and Lind, accomplished through structural equation modeling, revealed that our data supported the relations between the various constructs of the model. Perceptions of both process control and relational process were found to be positively related to procedural fairness judgments, while procedural fairness judgments were weakly related to evaluations of government entities. Contrary to our expectations, a similar structural equation model test of an extension of the Tyler and Lind model showed that the model constructs were unrelated to respondents' opinions of public policies. The results also indicated that respondents living in communities with different infrastructures and political climates differed slightly in their perceptions of procedural justice and related constructs, but did not differ in their endorsement of the various solid waste management policies.     

A SUPERVISORY STRATEGY TO IMPROVE WORK PERFORMANCE FOR LOWER FUNCTIONING RETARDED CLIENTS IN A SHELTERED WORKSHOP

A multiple component strategy was investigated for aiding staff responsible for supervising production of lower functioning retarded clients on contract tasks in an institution-based sheltered workshop. The strategy was assessed in a combined multi-element, multiple baseline across groups design with a reversal component. Production performance increased during the production supervisory strategy with all 16 clients, with the range of increase varying from a few percentage points to 150% of baseline production. Both the clients and staff (responsible for conducting the research) preferred working under experimental conditions rather than under baseline conditions which approximated those found in “typical” sheltered workshops.     

Syntactic and semantic processes in aphasic deficits: The availability of prepositions

The availability of a specific category of closed class items (prepositions) was examined in Broca's and Wernicke's aphasia. The role of prepositions was varied (syntactic/semantic) in two tasks: one requiring production of prepositions and the other acceptability judgments. Overall, it was easier to perform the acceptability task than to produce the target item. In the judgment task, Wernicke's aphasics more accurately determined the acceptability of prepositions in their syntactic role than in their semantic role, but Broca's aphasics showed no such difference. In the production task, Wernicke's aphasics again were more likely to produce prepositions which were in a primarily syntactic role. Broca's aphasics, however, failed to produce such syntactically based prepositions. The results suggest that the availability of a given closed class vocabulary form is not merely a function of its class membership but also of its functional role, and this fact serves to distinguish aspects of Broca's and Wernicke's aphasics' deficit.     

Neighborhood Risk and Interpersonal Support as Predictors of Parents’ Sense of Community

Parents’ sense of community (SOC) may ease the impact of neighborhood risk on children’s outcomes, but not all parents feel part of a trusted community. In this study, we examined whether parents’ ratings of neighborhood risk and interpersonal support were related to their SOC, and whether interpersonal support moderated the relationship between neighborhood risk and parents’ SOC. Participants included 161 parents (M?=?40.25 years; 92.3% female) of minor children who were enrolled in youth mentoring programs. Results indicated that greater interpersonal support and less neighborhood risk was associated with parents’ SOC. Post-hoc analyses showed that living in a neighborhood with gangs and illegal drugs, but not residential instability or living in public housing, was a salient risk factor for lower SOC. Contrary to our prediction, interpersonal support did not moderate the link between neighborhood risk and parents’ SOC. These findings may inform interventions designed to bolster parents’ connectedness to community and ability to promote children’s positive development.

     

Continuum between Relational and Therapeutic Models of Self-help in Mental Health: A Qualitative Approach

Self-help groups are generally described as “group[s] composed of individuals who meet on a regular basis to help one another cope with a life problem” (APA, 2019). Yet, it is challenging to find a univocal definition of self-help groups. Scholars usually use different labels to highlight various features of self-help groups, suggesting the need for further inquiry regarding commonalities and differences. The level of professional involvement is one of the most disputed factors influencing whether a group is considered to belong to the “self-help family.” The present qualitative study aimed to understand how professional support in Tuscany, Italy can influence the organizational choices of these groups (place for meetings, admission criteria, timing, etc.), as well as the personal beliefs of members. The study included 17 self-help groups. During 13 focus groups meetings, 92 participants were interviewed; then, we individually interviewed 19 facilitators and six additional key informants from mental health settings. We used a grounded theory approach, and we discussed the emerging models with participants at a public event. Results show the emergence of two theoretical models to define self-help groups, not to be interpreted as mutually exclusive. The “relational model” refers to self-help groups whose main feature is to guarantee the acquisition of specific skills (social comparison skills, active listening, and empathy), while the “therapeutic model” seems to represent a kind of assimilation of other types of interventions.