Internet resources in applied behavior analysis

Internet communication is becoming an important tool for both academic and clinical areas in psychology and behavior analysis. The Internet, a confederation of thousands of computer systems covering the entire globe (Plaud, 1996b), can significantly enhance behavior analysis in at least three major areas: (a) information exchange and communication among behavior analysts through list servers, (b) dissemination of empirical data and commentary through on-line journals and information servers, and (c) promotion of programs and services in behavior analysis. This commentary provides specific examples in each of these areas and addresses the basics of connecting to the Internet.     

Detection of faking on the MMPI-2: differentiation among faking-bad, denial, and claiming extreme virtue

The purpose of this study was (a) to evaluate the ability of the existing validity indices of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2) in detecting faking. bad and faking-good profiles, (b) to differentiate between two strategies for faking-good (denial and claiming extreme virtue), (c) to determine the effectiveness of the new MMPI-2 validity scale, the S scale, in detecting people's tendency to present themselves in a superlative manner, and (d) to explore the response strategy under conditions in which individuals we known to be distorting their responses to the MMPI-2 Participants were 167 undergraduate, college students who were administered the test under different conditions, and 50 hospitalized, psychiatric patients. Mean profile configurations and optimal cutoff scores obtained in this study were similar to those reported in previous studies. Accurate identification of faked profiles was achieved. The new S scale and its subscales, especially S2 (Serenity), S3 (Contentment With Life), and S5 (Denial of Moral Flaws), showed particular promise in detecting faking-good (denial and claiming extreme virtue) profiles, Participant's debriefing provided valuable information about the participants' understanding of the instructions and their deception strategies. The attempts to differentiate between two strategies for faking-good, denial and claiming extreme virtue, were not successful, However, these results should not be taken to indicate that the particular strategies assessed in this study cannot be differentiated. Methodological issues reviewed suggest that further research might yield more understanding of the nature of any deception efforts made by respondents. In addition, future, research is needed to discover if the findings from this study generalize to other clinical settings and populations.     

Response Timing Accuracy as a Function of Movement Velocity and Distance

In two experiments, patterns of response error during a timing accuracy task were investigated. In Experiment 1, these patterns were examined across a full range of movement velocities, which provided a test of the hypothesis that as movement velocity increases, constant error (CE) shifts from a negative to a positive response bias, with the zero CE point occurring at approximately 50% of maximum movement velocity (Hancock & Newell, 1985). Additionally, by examining variable error (VE), timing error variability patterns over a full range of movement velocities were established. Subjects (N = 6) performed a series of forearm flexion movements requiring 19 different movement velocities. Results corroborated previous observations that variability of timing error primarily decreased as movement velocity increased from 6 to 42% of maximum velocity. Additionally, CE data across the velocity spectrum did not support the proposed timing error function. In Experiment 2, the effect(s) of responding at 3 movement distances with 6 movement velocities on response timing error were investigated. VE was significantly lower for the 3 high-velocity movements than for the 3 low-velocity movements. Additionally, when MT was mathematically factored out, VE was less at the long movement distance than at the short distance. As in Experiment 1, CE was unaffected by distance or velocity effects and the predicted CE timing error function was not evident.     

Resistance To Change As A Function Of Stimulus-reinforcer And Location-reinforcer Contingencies

Pigeons responded on two keys in each component of a multiple concurrent schedule. In one series of conditions the distribution of reinforcers between keys within one component was varied so as to produce changes in ratios of reinforcer totals for key locations when summed across components. In a second series, reinforcer allocation between components was varied so as to produce changes in ratios of reinforcer totals for components, summed across key locations. In each condition, resistance to change was assessed by presenting response-independent reinforcers during intercomponent blackouts and (for the first series) by extinction of responding on both keys in both components. Resistance to change for response totals within a component was always greater for the component with the larger total reinforcer rate. However, resistance to change for response totals at a key location was not a positive function of total reinforcement for pecking that key; indeed, relative resistance to extinction for the two locations showed a weak negative relation to ratios of reinforcer totals for key location. These results confirm the determination of resistance to change by stimulus—reinforcer contingencies.