Motivation concepts and sexual identity

The association dimension of the Picture Identification Test (PIT) was used to investigate the motivation concepts of male and female university students classified as Declared Homosexual, Sexually Uncertain, Clinical Control, and Normal Control. The t test was used to identify Need Association Dyads which discriminated (p < .01) groups. Greater than chance numbers of variables discriminated each of the pairs of groups within each sex except the Sexually Uncertain versus Clinical Control Male groups, the Declared Homosexual versus Clinical Control Female groups, and the Declared Homosexual versus Normal Control Female groups. PIT Need Association Dyads were discussed as a type of implicit personality theory assessment with emphasis on the beliefs subjects hold about the simultaneous expression of needs.     

Fear,faith, and movement

This paper describes the intra-psychic dynamics associated with faith development. Using James Fowler's stages of faith theory, the author attempts to demonstrate that growth in faith requires courage in order to confront the loss of self experienced in faith development. Using the work of Hartmann, Mahler, and Kegan in conjunction with the thought of Tillich regarding fear and faith, the article presents a process for transition from Fowler's stage four to stage five which relies heavily upon the interaction of the self and others for successful movement.Beth Causey is a student in the Master of Divinity Program at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago and a candidate for ordination in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The author acknowledges with gratitude the cogent comments of Homer U. Ashby, Jr., Ph.D., in the preparation of this article.     

Explorations of individual differences relevant to high level skill

Past research has uncovered few broad abilities that underlie high skill. In this paper, attempts to isolate three different abilities of potential relevance to skill are described. No evidence was found for a general time-sharing ability in common to different kinds of tasks. Modest evidence was found for a trait of attentional flexibility. That trait could potentially be of use in predicting success for skills that require rapid shifts of attention because of rapidly changing task demands. Finally, the rate of repetitive activity is correlated across different muscle groups. For example, finger tapping speed is correlated with foot tapping speed, suggesting a common rate limiting factor. In turn, those rates predict handwriting speed and, according to Book (1924), championship typing.     

INDUSTRIAL SAFETY HAZARD REDUCTION THROUGH PERFORMANCE FEEDBACK

A “feedback package” system, designed to prevent occupational accidents and to fit directly into the normal operations of an industrial organization, was analyzed. Eighteen hazardous conditions in six production departments were assessed during seven observation sessions over a 12-week period, plus four follow-up observations over 4 months. The “feedback package” was presented in multiple baseline fashion, across subjects (department supervisors). It consisted of presenting the supervisor with copies of observational data, accompanied by a note which congratulated good practices and suggested ways for improving safety conditions, along with occasional comments from a senior executive. The results indicated that during the feedback phase, hazard rates were lower and less variable than during the baseline phase. Baseline data were highly variable with peaks ranging from 20 to 55 hazards per department. Following intervention, hazard frequencies dropped by 60%, averaged across departments, with decreases ranging from 29% to 88%. During treatment, data stabilized, with the highest frequency reaching 33. A modified feedback system was implemented by the organization following termination of the study, validating the assumption that such a system would tend to maintain.     

An elementary student as a behavioral engineer

Four first-grade public school students exhibited non-study behaviors during a period when all children were to study individually. A fifth-grade student modified the maladaptive behaviors of the four first-grade students. Lights on the four students' desks, which were associated with opportunity for reinforcement, rapidly brought study behavior under stimulus control. Differential reinforcement of other behaviors dramatically decreased studying. Reinforcement was reinstituted and studying returned to a high and stable rate. Surreptitious post-experimental observation using closed-circuit TV indicated that the behavioral changes effected during the experimental phases were partially maintained by the regular classroom environment. A replication of the baseline phase with the observer in the classroom produced an increase in the rate of study behavior, indicating that the observer's presence acted as a discriminative stimulus for studying. An additional contingency requiring improved academic behavior was imposed before the fifth grader was given the opportunity to engage in the behavior modification experiment.