SHORT REPORT Rhyme Attenuates the Auditory Suffix Effect: Alliteration Does Not

Two experiments are reported in each of which subjects were required to recall spoken consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) syllable lists serially. Both experiments contrasted the effects of a rhyming suffix and an alliterative suffix on recall of the terminal list item. A rhyming suffix reliably attenuated the normally robust suffix effect; an alliterative suffix did not. The finding points to the importance of the location rather than the quantity of phonological repetition in determining the size of the suffix effect. In line with Treiman and Danis (1988), it is argued that the onset (C) and rime (VC) components of CVC syllables may exist as separate entites within short-term acoustic memory. This, coupled with the superior durability of the rime component within acoustic memory, affords the subject a greater probability of recalling correctly the terminal list item in the rhyming suffix condition.     

Thematic review of family therapy journals in 2005

In this paper the principal English‐language family therapy journals published in 2005 are reviewed under the following headings: research in family therapy, couples, families and wider systems, parental alimentation syndrome, diversity, training, and deaths.     

Developing stimulus control of the high-rate social-approach responses of an adult with mental retardation: a multiple-schedule evaluation

We evaluated a multiple schedule in which the extinction (S-) components were signaled overtly by a black lanyard and the reinforcement (S+) components were not correlated with any programmed stimuli in developing stimulus control over the high-rate social-approach responses of an adult with mental retardation. Responding was consistently low in the presence of the S- and consistently high when the lanyard was absent (i.e., the S+ condition). Component durations were thinned successfully to a level that was manageable for caregivers.     

Psychosocial mediation of fruit and vegetable consumption in the body and soul effectiveness trial.

In this study the authors examined psychosocial variables as mediators for fruit and vegetable (FV) intake in a clustered, randomized effectiveness trial conducted in African American churches. The study sample included 14 churches (8 intervention and 6 control) with 470 participants from the intervention churches and 285 participants from the control churches. The outcome of FV intake and the proposed mediators were measured at baseline and at 6-month follow-up. Structural equation modeling indicated that the intervention had direct effects on social support, self-efficacy, and autonomous motivation; these variables also had direct effects on FV intake. Applying the M. E. Sobel (1982) formula to test significant mediated effects, the authors confirmed that social support and self-efficacy were significant mediators but that autonomous motivation was not. Social support and self-efficacy partially mediated 20.9% of the total effect of the intervention on changes in FV intake. The results support the use of strategies to increase social support and self-efficacy in dietary intervention programs.     

Live training versus e‐learning to teach implementation of listener response programs

Discrete‐trial teaching is an effective teaching procedure that must be implemented with high integrity to produce optimal learning. Behavioral Skills Training (BST) has proven effective for staff training; however, BST is time and labor intensive. Computer‐based instruction (CBI) programs may provide a more efficient and cost‐effective alternative to live training if the CBI program is as effective as BST in producing accurate implementation. The current study compared CBI to BST to train novice undergraduate students to conduct discrete‐trial teaching. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the two conditions and assessed prior to and after the completion of training. Results indicated that although both BST and CBI were effective at training participants to implement discrete‐trial teaching, BST was slightly but significantly more effective whereas CBI quickly created a return on the investment of product development.