AN ANALYSIS OF MAINTENANCE FOLLOWING FUNCTIONAL COMMUNICATION TRAINING

The multiple and long-term effects of functional communication training relative to a common reductive procedure (time-out from positive reinforcement) were evaluated. Twelve children participated in a functional analysis of their challenging behaviors (Study 1), which implicated adult attention as a maintaining variable. The children were then matched for chronological age, mental age, and language age and assigned to two groups. One group received functional communication training as an intervention for their challenging behavior, and the second group received time-out as a contrast. Both interventions were initially successful (Study 2), but durable results were achieved only with the group that received functional communication training across different stimulus conditions (Study 3). Students whose challenging behaviors were previously reduced with time-out resumed these behaviors in the presence of naive teachers unaware of the children's intervention history. The value of teaching communicative responses to promote maintenance is discussed as it relates to the concept of functional equivalence.     

The construction of the self: An evolutionary view

Contemporary research on the construction of the self emphasizes the products rather than the process of self-development. Borrowing from the writings of William James and contemporary views of natural selection, we propose a model ofevolutionary self-construction. Grounded in the principles of evolution and the philosophy of pragmatism, evolutionary self-construction proposes a process that guides the seeking of “truth” inpossible selves. According to this view, the self develops in response to uncertainty reduction with the “correct” self identified via the “sentiment of rationality.” Selves presently identified as correct are considered to be “instruments of action” that facilitate the interaction between an individual and the environment. Selected selves can then be developed to one’s best advantage and presented in an optimal fashion. This model helps organize contemporary frameworks around a common theme and embraces affect as a central component in the development of the self. A previous version of this paper was presented at the 98th annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Boston, MA.     

Environmental context-dependent eyewitness recognition

The present study helped resolve the apparent conflict between many laboratory list-learning studies, which have not found environmental context-dependent recognition memory, and staged field studies (e.g. Malpass and Devine, 1981), whose results with ‘guided memory’ techniques suggest that eyewitness face recognition should depend upon environmental context reinstatement. It was found in two different experiments that, relative to testing in a new place, returning participants to the environment where a live staged event had occurred improved performance on identification of a confederate's face (i.e., hit rate). Although physical reinstatement improved identification performance in Experiment 1, mental reinstatement instructions to subjects tested in a new environment did not improve identification performance over an uninstructed group. The environmental reinstatement effect did not interact with test delay or confederate. In Experiment 2 it was found that environmental reinstatement improved accuracy (hit rate and foil identification rate) when the correct target was present in the test line-up, and that false identifications were not significantly affected by contextual manipulations when the correct target was absent from the line-up. The results provide an empirical basis for the hypothesis that returning to the scene of an event improves eyewitness face recognition.     

Reducing problem behaviors in a residential unit using structural analysis and staff management procedures: A preliminary study

A structural analysis of the problem behaviors of 32 adults with mental retardation living together in a residential facility showed that a disproportionate number of these behaviors were associated with a period of time scheduled for leisure activities. A staff management program was implemented during this time which included activity and staff scheduling, staff inservice training, and staff performance monitoring and feedback. The results showed an 83% decrease in problem behaviors when the program was implemented during the leisure period and no decrease in problem behaviors during adjacent time periods where the program was not utilized. Follow-up assessments indicated maintenance of these decreased levels of behavior at 3 and 6 months. It was concluded that this approach of combining a structural analysis with staff management procedures was effective in reducing a high level of problem behavior in a residential setting. The results are discussed with regard to pragmatic strategies for the pretreatment analysis of problem behaviors in residential settings, and the role of organizational behavior management techniques in habilitative programing for individuals with behavior disorders.     

Convergent methods in psychomusical research based on integrated,interactive computer control

Much of what we learn from an experiment depends on what we ask of the subjects and how we ask it. Most music perception and cognition research is implemented using a single methodology. Recently, questions have been raised about the validity and generalizability of such a limited approach, particularly regarding such complicated theoretical constructs as musical tonality. We propose that a useful technique is to converge on the answer to experimental questions by applying multiple methods, in essence, simultaneously investigating the central research question as well as ancillary questions of method. Such an approach is facilitated by a computer hardware and software system that integrates experimental design, data collection, data analysis, and data dissemination, linking off-the-shelf components through standard file formats and data-exchange protocols. The list-based system, using an IBM-type PC running Windows 3.0, handles real-time natural sound sampling and playback, signal synthesis and analysis, MIDI input and output, digitized picture display, and various subject-response mechanisms. On the basis of graphical icons, the integrated system can be used to build custom experimental designs. Examples of convergent psychomusical experiments that were designed, implemented, and analyzed using the system are discussed.     

The validity of verbal protocols

The reactivity of a "think aloud" verbal protocol and the veridicality of different retrospective protocols were tested over four dissimilar tasks. Generating a concurrent protocol altered accuracy in two tasks, simple addition and a choice between two gambles, and generally prolonged response times. Such reactivity partially qualifies the dominant theory of protocol generation (Ericsson & Simon, 1984). Retrospective protocols yielded substantial forgetting or fabrication in all tasks, supporting the consensus on the nonveridicality of these methods. It is concluded that protocol validity should be based on an empirical check rather than on theory-based assurances.     

PROMOTING SAFETY BELT USE WITH TRAFFIC SIGNS AND PROMPTERS

Two studies were conducted examining the stimulus-control effects of conventional traffic signs as prompts for motor vehicle driver safety belt use. Following pilot research which suggested that a traffic sign reading “Fasten Safety Belt” posted at a parking lot exit was effective in producing small increases in safety belt use, Study I demonstrated the superiority of having human prompters display such signs compared to simply posting the signs. Study II replicated the findings of Study I and found that posted signs became more effective in prompting safety belt use if simple posting was preceded by a period involving human prompters who displayed the signs. The results bear upon the development of more effective use of traffic signs in promoting safety belt use and in viewing such use as an instance of rule-governed behavior.