Very long-term retention of a first language without rehearsal: A case study

A case study is presented of an American sign language-using deaf woman whose life circumstances were such that she had no opportunities to use her sign language over nearly 40 years, but whose recall of its lexicon and syntax were almost unimpaired when she resumed its use after that period. Implications for the role of memory in first language learning are compared with results for second languages, and the role of rehearsal and interference in remembering over very long periods is considered.     

Looking for two targets at the same time: One search or two?

A considerable amount of evidence suggests that, under conditions of high discriminability, subjects are able to process multiple elements in a visual display simultaneously when searching for a single target among distractors. Relatively little emphasis, however, has been placed on the question of whether subjects can search for and detect multiple targets simultaneously. This latter question is the focus of the present report. In two experiments, we compare performance in single-target and multiple-target detection tasks in order to investigate whether or not multiple targets can be detected simultaneously. In Experiment 1, subjects searched for one or two targets that were defined by color. In Experiment 2, subjects searched for a color and/or a letter target. When the two targets were presented in the same location (e.g., a red X when Target 1 was red and Target 2 was an X), they seemed to be detected simultaneously. Implications for object-based processing of visual information are discussed.     

Heart-rate Reactivity and the Type A Behaviour Pattern in Three Age Groups of Australian Children

The relationship between the Type A Behaviour Pattern and heart-rate reactivity to the onset of a typical stressor was investigated with a sample of Australian boys and girls from three age-grade levels: preschool, middle-elementary, and upper-elementary. Behaviour Pattern was measured with the Matthews Youth Test for Health (Matthews & Angulo, 1980), and data were collected on children's second-by-second heart rate during rest and the stressor tasks. Reactivity to the onset of the stressor task (a puzzle game or mental arithmetic), was assessed. Results indicated that there were expected age differences in resting and stressor task heart rates, but that there was no significant difference in heart-rate reactivity between children classified as Type A or B Behaviour Pattern, either for the entire sample, for two extreme subsamples, or within each of the three age groups.     

FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT AND TREATMENT OF LIFE-THREATENING DRUG INGESTION IN A DUALLY DIAGNOSED YOUTH

Few data exist on operant mechanisms associated with drug overdose. In this investigation, a functional analysis indicated that life-threatening drug ingestion exhibited by a dually diagnosed youth was maintained by negative reinforcement. An operant intervention, derived from behavioral assessment data, reduced drug ingestion to near-zero levels.     

Trends in married couples' time use: Evidence from 1977–78 and 1987–88

Conflicting evidence regarding married couples' time use trends has recently emerged in the literature. A critical review of this literature suggests that variations in data quality and methodological approaches may be responsible for many of the observed differences. Capitalizing on the insights gained from this review, a trend analysis of couples' time use is presented in this paper. The analysis is based on two cross-sections of time diary data collected from two-parent, two-child households. The results suggest that the relationships between socioeconomic variables and couples' time use changed during the period from 1977–78 to 1987–88. On average, these changes lead to an increase of over seven hours per week in married women's productive work time (i.e., market work plus household work). Correspondingly, the productive work time of husbands increased by an average of three and one-half hours per week. Both increases came at the expense of time that was formerly spent in more leisure-oriented activities.Financial support for the collection of the data used in this study was provided by the Utah State Agricultural Experiment Station and the University of Utah Research Committee. A grant of computer time from the Utah Supercomputing Institute, which is funded by the State of Utah and the IBM Corporation, is greatfully acknowledged. Additional support has been provided by the Department of Home Economics and Consumer Education at Utah State University where Dr. Zick was on leave during the 1989–90 academic year. W. Keith Bryant, Ken R. Smith, and an anonymous reviewer each gave helpful comments on an earlier draft of this article.     

FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS AND TREATMENT OF MULTIPLY CONTROLLED INAPPROPRIATE MEALTIME BEHAVIOR

Functional analyses identified children whose inappropriate mealtime behavior was maintained by escape and adult attention. Function‐based extinction procedures were tested individually and in combination. Attention extinction alone did not result in decreases in inappropriate mealtime behavior or a significant increase in acceptance. By contrast, escape extinction alone resulted in a decrease in inappropriate mealtime behavior and an increase in acceptance. However, inappropriate mealtime behavior did not decrease to clinically acceptable levels. A combined extinction technique (i.e., escape and attention extinction) resulted in a decrease in inappropriate mealtime behavior to clinically acceptable levels and high and stable acceptance.     

Assessing Children's Homework Performance: Development of Multi-Dimensional, Multi-Informant Rating Scales

Efforts to develop interventions to improve homework performance have been impeded by limitations in the measurement of homework performance. This study was conducted to develop rating scales for assessing homework performance among students in elementary and middle school. Items on the scales were intended to assess student strengths as well as deficits in homework performance. The sample included 163 students attending two school districts in the Northeast. Parents completed the 36-item Homework Performance Questionnaire — Parent Scale (HPQ-PS). Teachers completed the 22-item teacher scale (HPQ-TS) for each student for whom the HPQ-PS had been completed. A common factor analysis with principal axis extraction and promax rotation was used to analyze the findings. The results of the factor analysis of the HPQ-PS revealed three salient and meaningful factors: student task orientation/efficiency, student competence, and teacher support. The factor analysis of the HPQ-TS uncovered two salient and substantive factors: student responsibility and student competence. The findings of this study suggest that the HPQ is a promising set of measures for assessing student homework functioning and contextual factors that may influence performance. Directions for future research are presented.     

Emotion-specific and emotion-non-specific components of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD): implications for a taxonomy of related psychopathology

Many cognitive theories of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), including our own SPAARS model, propose that one basis of the disorder is the cognitive system's persistent failure to resolve discrepancies between trauma-related information and the content of pre-existing mental representations, such as schemas. This leads to the characteristic PTSD symptom pattern of re-experiencing and avoidance of trauma-related material. Furthermore, the nature of this unresolved discrepancy revolves around appraisals of threat and the corresponding emotion profile in PTSD is therefore predominantly intense fear and anxiety. This paper argues that this general framework can be extended to discrepancies around other appraisal dimensions such as loss, and consequently to other emotions such as sadness. A localized taxonomy is therefore proposed comprising emotional disorders that resemble PTSD in their basic patterns of re-experiencing and avoidance symptoms--what we call their 'emotion-non-specific component'--but that differ from PTSD in terms of the core emotions involved--what we call their 'emotion-specific component'. The clinical and nosological implications of this argument are discussed.     

On the relative contributions of noncontingent reinforcement and escape extinction in the treatment of food refusal

In the current investigation, we evaluated the relative effects of noncontingent reinforcement (NCR), escape extinction, and a combination of NCR and escape extinction as treatment for the feeding problems exhibited by 4 children. For each participant, consumption increased only when escape extinction was implemented, independent of whether NCR was present or absent. These results were consistent with prior research suggesting that positive reinforcement alone is insufficient for increasing consumption, and that escape extinction often is necessary to increase and maintain food acceptance. However, NCR appeared to decrease inappropriate behavior for some participants.