Indirect personality assessment of the violent true believer

The violent true believer is an individual committed to an ideology or belief system which advances homicide and suicide as a legitimate means to further a particular goal. The author explores useful sources of evidence for an indirect personality assessment of such individuals. He illustrates both idiographic and nomothetic approaches to indirect personality assessment through comparative analyses of Timothy McVeigh, an American who bombed the federal building in Oklahoma City in 1995, and Mohamed Atta, an Egyptian who led the airplane attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001. The risks of indirect personality assessment and ethical concerns are identified.     

An outcome management program for extending advances in choice research into choice opportunities for supported workers with severe multiple disabilities

We evaluated an outcome management program for increasing choice opportunities provided by 2 job coaches for 5 supported workers with severe multiple disabilities in a community job. The program involved specifying and monitoring behavioral outcomes among workers and staff, training staff, and supportive and corrective feedback. Increased choice provision occurred for both job coaches across a 1-year period. Results indicate how outcome management can help translate advances in choice research into routine practice.     

Task-set reconfiguration with predictable and unpredictable task switches

Participants switched frequently between high/low and odd/even classification of a digit. The interval between a task cue and the next digit varied between blocks. In Experiment 1, the task switched predictably every two, four, or eight trials. In Experiment 2, switching predictably every four trials was compared with random switching. With predictable switching, the cost was limited to the first trial of a run. Random switching produced a more gradual approach to asymptotic performance. After one performance, control processes attenuate the resulting change in task-set bias if a further switch is likely, but this strategic modulation is soon overwhelmed by task-set priming through further performances. Preparation reduced switch costs but not interference from the irrelevant attribute: Control of interference appears to be reactive, not proactive. Switch costs did not increase with run length, suggesting that retrieval of the task set last associated with the stimulus did not contribute to switch costs.     

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ANTECEDENT FACTORS DIFFERENTIATING WOMEN AND MEN IN SCIENCE/ NONSCIENCE CAREERS

Factors that differentiate women and men who choose a science career from those who do not were investigated using longitudinal data from 1980 and 1990. The participants (N = 459) were ninth or twelfth graders at six midwestern high schools in 1980. Women in science compared to women in other careers were significantly more likely to value math and science for their future career goals, whereas men in science compared to men in other careers had significantly higher high school grade point averages in natural science and higher career aspirations. Not unexpectedly, both women and men in science careers compared to those in nonscience careers took more high school elective science courses because they wanted to, aspired to higher prestige careers as young adults, and attributed their math successes more to their ability. The male model accounted for more than twice the variance accounted for by the female model, and context variables were not predictive for either model. Suggestions for revising the model and improving the assessment of context influences are made. Implications for research and practice include designing and evaluating programs to increase the number of intellectually able girls valuing math and science as these relate to their future goals.     

Perception of coherent motion in random dot displays by pigeons and humans

Pigeons and humans were required to discriminate coherent from random motion in dynamic random dot displays. Coherence and velocity thresholds were determined for both species, and both thresholds were found to be substantially higher for pigeons than for humans. The results are discussed with reference to differences in motion processing in mammals and birds. It is suggested that the inferior motion sensitivity of pigeons can be attributed to poorer spatiotemporal motion integration.     

Reducing indices of unhappiness among individuals with profound multiple disabilities during therapeutic exercise routines.

A program was developed to reduce indices of unhappiness that accompanied therapeutic exercise routines among people with profound multiple disabilities. Indices of unhappiness were recorded, using an observation system that had been validated through previous research involving happiness-related variables, while support personnel conducted exercises with 3 participants. A multicomponent program was then implemented that involved presenting highly preferred stimuli before, during, and after each exercise session. Results indicated that the program was accompanied by reduced indices of unhappiness for each participant relative to the traditional method of conducting the exercises, although changes in the preferred stimuli used with 1 participant were required before consistent reductions occurred. Results are discussed regarding the importance of reducing unhappiness indices as a means of enhancing aspects of the daily quality of life for people with profound multiple disabilities. Areas for future research are also discussed, focusing on expanding the unhappiness-reduction procedures to other routine events that may occasion indices of unhappiness.     

The role of warning behaviors in threat assessment: an exploration and suggested typology

The concept of warning behaviors offers an additional perspective in threat assessment. Warning behaviors are acts which constitute evidence of increasing or accelerating risk. They are acute, dynamic, and particularly toxic changes in patterns of behavior which may aid in structuring a professional's judgment that an individual of concern now poses a threat - whether the actual target has been identified or not. They require an operational response. A typology of eight warning behaviors for assessing the threat of intended violence is proposed: pathway, fixation, identification, novel aggression, energy burst, leakage, directly communicated threat, and last resort warning behaviors. Previous research on risk factors associated with such warning behaviors is reviewed, and examples of each warning behavior from various intended violence cases are presented, including public figure assassination, adolescent and adult mass murder, corporate celebrity stalking, and both domestic and foreign acts of terrorism. Practical applications and future research into warning behaviors are suggested.