Flexible testing without programming

Test administration by computer has been available for some time, yet such procedures have been little more than electronic substitutes for conventional paper-and-peneil tests. The Flexible Tester allows the researcher to ask as many subquestions as desired and make all questions contingent upon subject response. The logic of questioning is created through a dialogue with the program rather than by direct programming. The program is suitable for any questioning procedure, including structured interviews expressible in the false/true format.     

Teaching boys with severe mental retardation to serve themselves during family-style meals

Three institutionalized adolescents with severe mental retardation were taught the socially valid skill of serving themselves during family-style meals. A nine-step task analysis was used as a guide for teaching the students, combined with verbal prompts, physical guidance, praise and correction. A multiple base-line design across three subjects was used to evaluate training. All three students successfully acquired the skill, which was seen as a step towards normalization and community placement.     

Assessing the impact of disasters on helpers

This paper compares the effectiveness of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-30) and the Impact of Event Scale (IES) for assessing the impact of disasters on volunteers involved in the rescue work following the Armenian earthquake. The IES gave fewer zero scores and so was less likely to result in helpers being labelled symptom-free when they were not. It was conclude that IES was a more sensitive instrument and a more effective means of assessing the psychological consequences of disaster work.