Reaction time and intelligence in the mentally retarted

Mildly retarted young adults were given simple and choice reaction time (RT) tests. Scores were also obtained on the Raven Progressive Matrices and the Figure Copying Test. Subjects' RTs increased as a function of stimulus complexity, and they were consistently subjects' intraindividual variability of response time was also markedly greater than that of non-retarded subjects. A number of RT parameters were found to be related to the measures of intelligence. Subjects seen on ten successive days showed low day-to-day stability of RT but no practice or fatigue effect.     

Humanistic behaviorism: A tool for creating healthy learning environments

Behavior modification techniques have been both highly revered and highly criticized by educators. Unfortunately, both viewpoints have often been based on a superficial understanding of theory and research. More significantly, the application of behavioristic principles has frequently failed to integrate techniques derived from research in the areas of personality development and communication (much of which is currently incorporated under the term humanistic psychology). This article presents a school-based model for creating a synthesis of behavioristic and humanistic technologies. Examples from the author's work as a teacher and consultant are combined with an examination of associated research findings to demonstrate the practical application of such a synthesis.     

Myth-conceptions concerning death-related behavior

Summary The discussion here has suggested that it is likely that the following beliefs are myth conceptions: Living is always prefarable to dying. It is possible for people not to play God. We can be sure that what happens biologically is willed by God. God speaks to us only through our biology. Dying occurs only at one point in time-at the end of the terminal period. Death or dead are more accurate labels than passed on. Persons who are dying know without being told that they are dying. Biological death is the most important thing happening when a person dies.The goal of achieving understanding of our death-related behavior can be facilitated by recognition of myth-conceptions such as these and the previously identified myths the acceptance of which may have an impact upon both biological and mental or spiritual health of those involved.He is the author ofSociology of Death and other books and articles.     

Visual acuity improvement following fading and feedback training—II. Relationship to changes in refractive error

The present study evaluated the effects of behavioral training on visual acuity and refractive error in myopic adults. Twenty volunteers were matched on the basis of refractive error and one member of each matched pair was randomly assigned to either Fading and Feedback training or a no-treatment control condition. Visual acuity was measured with both recognition and resolution measures. Refractive error was measured subjectively using the LaserSpec optometer, and objectively by two retinoscopic examinations performed by an ophthalmologist with and without cycloplegia. The results indicated significant increases in recognition visual acuity, but not resolution visual acuity for trained subjects compared to the no-treatment controls. Trained subjects did not show improvement in refractive error on any measure, and refractive error changes were not correlated with changes in either measure of visual acuity. These data suggest that the visual acuity improvements typically found with behavioral training are not associated with changes in refractive error.     

Assessments of the treatability of forensic patients

The treatment of mentally disordered offenders receives very little attention in the literature both by itself and in comparison to other psychological issues such as the insanity defense and the prediction of dangerousness. It is argued that the treatment of mentally disordered offenders should be seen as the more central issue and that the development of an effective technology of change can, in principle, resolve certain problems with the insanity defense and the prediction of dangerousness. From this viewpoint, assessments of treatability should be seen as more practically relevant to dispositional decisions than assessments of criminal responsibility, and improvements in the effectiveness of treatment a better approach to the problem of dangerousness than attempts to improve predictive methods.     

Reaction time correlations with intelligence test scores obtained under either timed or untimed conditions

One hundred and thirteen high school students were randomly assigned to one of two groups that were administered an intelligence test (the Multidimensional Aptitude Battery) under either timed or untimed conditions. Subsequently, all subjects were given a battery of 8 reaction time tests. Multiple regression analyses showed that combinations of RTs were approximately equally good predictors of IQ scores in both groups. Zero-order correlations between each RT test and IQ scores were also approximately equal for timed and untimed Verbal and Full-Scale scores but correlations with Performance scores were higher in the timed condition. The extent to which the different RT tests correlated with timed scores was quite highly related to the tests' loadings on a general speed factor but these loadings were not related to the tests' correlations with untimed scores. Rather, the relative complexity of the RT tests had a stronger influence on their correlations with IQ scores in the untimed condition. It is concluded that timed and untimed intelligence tests impose different information-processing demands on subjects but that the speed with which subjects can cope with these demands is equally important in both conditions.     

Maintaining interpersonal and organizational relations through electronic mail by men and women

E-mail is used to maintain two primary human relationships, interaction between individuals and preserving relationships with organizations. 278 participants from a medium-size university in the southwest completed two measures developed to assess the quantity of e-mail used to maintain interpersonal and organizational relationships. Analysis indicated that men (M = 5.8, SD = 2.7) and women (M = 6.6, SD = 2.5) significantly differed in frequency of e-mail used to maintain interpersonal relationships, but not in reference to organizational maintenance.     

A Jamaican Response to the Call to Act Together

This article is an exploration of following the way of Jesus regarding apologies and restitution for slavery. Three stories of good practice from the North American Jesuits, the United Reformed Church, and the Church of England are contrasted with stories of the abuse of children from First Nations people in Canada, poor families in Ireland, and the transportation of allegedly indigent children from Britain to Australia. These accounts are used to examine critically how far the church is following the call of Jesus to care for the vulnerable and identify with the marginalized in interactions with those sexually abused in churches, in engagement with sex workers, and the treatment of the LGBTQ+ community. A poetic reflection from the voice of the man who lived outside his community of the Gadarenes concludes the article.     

The overjustification effect: A meta-analysis

This article reports the results of a meta-analysis using 50 experimental studies (256 effect sizes) of the overjustification effect. In general, we found support for the effect across age, dependent measure, and design type in specific situations where it is predicted to occur. Findings are less supportive of the theory for situations where there should be no difference between experimental and control groups (e. g. non-contingent or unexpected reward). Suggestions for future research are made.