Stimulus presentation versus stimulus removal in the Good Behavior Game

The Good Behavior Game (GBG) is an effective intervention to reduce disruptive behavior. The GBG typically involves immediate stimulus presentation (e.g.., delivery of a token) following disruptions; however, experimenters have also removed tokens contingent upon disruptions. In the present study, we compared the effects of the GBG-stimulus presentation (P) and GBG-stimulus removal (R) on levels of disruptions in a 2nd-grade general education classroom. In addition, we measured student prompts, teacher praise and correctives, and student and teacher preference. The GBG-P and GBG-R versions of the game were similarly effective in reducing disruptions. However, the teacher chose to implement the GBG-R and the majority of students reported a preference for the GBG-R.     

Is Self‐Complexity Linked to Better Coping? A Review of the Literature

Initial theorizing depicted self-complexity as the number of nonoverlapping self-aspects, such as traits, roles, and behaviors, and proposed that greater self-complexity is linked to better coping in response to stress and negative events. A review of the literature, however, finds inconsistent results. The inconsistency apparently arises from variation in the measurement of self-complexity. The different measures stem from disagreement over the definition of self-complexity, and the various definitions apparently result from theoretical disagreement about how to conceptualize the structure of self-knowledge. The present paper reviews the self-complexity literature and suggests directions for future research. The present paper suggests a positive, moderating relationship between self-complexity and coping, and additional research that includes careful measurement and definition of self-complexity may provide stronger support for this relationship.     

The relation between dimensions of attachment and internalizing or externalizing problems during adolescence

The authors examined the relation between dimensions of attachment and internalizing and externalizing problems in 15- to 16-year-old adolescents (n = 62) who completed the Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ; J. Feeney, P. Noller, & M. Hanrahan, 1994) and the Youth Self-Report (YSR; T. M. Achenbach, 1991). In total, the ASQ dimensions accounted for 48% of the variance in scores on the broad YSR internalizing problem scale. Three ASQ dimensions (confidence, discomfort with closeness, preoccupation with relationships) accounted for unique variance. Girls exhibited higher problem scores than did boys even when the authors considered ASQ scores. The authors observed comparable results for the anxious/depressed subscales. The confidence, discomfort, and preoccupation dimensions predicted scores on the withdrawn subscale. The authors observed weak relations or no relations between results on the ASQ and the externalizing problems scale. In conclusion, dimensions of attachment are powerful predictors of internalizing problems in adolescents. The authors discussed the potential cause and effect relationship between attachment variables and self-reported problems.     

Changes in functional status among older adults in Japan: successful and usual aging

This research aimed to chart the trajectories of functional status in old age in Japan and to assess how self-rated health and cognitive functioning differentiate these trajectories and account for interpersonal differences. Data came from a 5-wave panel study of a national sample of 2,200 Japanese older adults between 1987 and 1999. The sample as a whole showed an accelerated increase in functional limitations with age. approximated by a quadratic function. More important, 3 major trajectories of functional change were identified: (a) minimal functional decrement, (b) early onset of functional impairment. and (c) late onset of functional impairment. These findings may serve as useful benchmarks for observations derived from other developed nations.     

Influences of preclinical dementia and impending death on the magnitude of age-related cognitive deficits

The authors examined the influence of preclinical dementia and impending death on the cross-sectional relationship between age and performance in tasks assessing episodic memory, visuospatial skill, and verbal fluency. Increasing age was associated with a general decrease in cognitive performance. In addition, those who were to be diagnosed with dementia or had died by a 3-year follow-up, were older, and performed at a lower level than the remaining sample across all cognitive tasks at baseline. Nevertheless, removal of the preclinical dementia and impending death groups from the original sample affected the cross-sectional age-cognition relations relatively little. This pattern of findings suggests that the biological aging process exerts negative influences on cognitive functioning beyond those resulting from disease and mortality.     

On Being Poor and Feeling Poor: Low Socioeconomic Status and the Moral Self

Persons of low socioeconomic status generallyexperience worse health and shorter lives thantheir better off counterparts. They alsosuffer a greater incidence of adversepsychosocial characteristics, such as lowself-esteem, self-efficacy, and self-masteryand increased cynicism and hostility. Thesepopulation data suggest another category ofharm to persons: diminished moral agency. Chronic socioeconomic deprivation can createenvironments that undermine the development ofself and capacities constitutive to moralagency – i.e., the capacity forself-determination and crafting a life of one'sown. The harm affects not only the choicesa person makes, but the chooser herself. Thismoral harm is particularly salient in modernWestern societies, especially in the UnitedStates, where success and failure is attributedto the individual, with little notice of thelarger social and political realities thatinform an individual's circumstances and choices.     

Disappointment for others

Two studies examined when and why people experience disappointment for others. Study 1 demonstrated that participants reported disappointment for another's outcome only when the outcome had strong personal implications. Study 2 demonstrated that self-image concerns rather than empathy or resource concerns mediated the experience of disappointment for others. Collectively, these findings suggest that people experience disappointment for others when those outcomes implicate the self-image.     

Tracing Leadership in Gifted Children

The aim of this study was to determine whether characteristics of leadership identified among adults also exist among young gifted children. The study was conducted in Israel among 63 gifted children aged 10 to 14 who completed the Leadership Questionnaire, constructed especially for this study. The characteristics found to distinguish between high and low scorers on leadership were responsibility, desire to dominate, consistency, physical energy, achievement orientation, expressive and persuasive powers, cooperation, adaptability, daring, self-confidence, and emotional equilibrium. The results confirmed our hypothesis that the characteristics of leadership identified in adults do exist among gifted children.