DOES SLEEPTIGHT WORK? A BEHAVIORAL ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SLEEPTIGHT FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF INFANT COLIC

We evaluated the effectiveness of SleepTight in the management of infant colic. SleepTight is a device that vibrates the infant's crib to simulate the action of a car traveling at 55 mph. A multiple baseline design across 6 infants was used. Data were collected on infant crying, parental use of SleepTight, and parental satisfaction. The application of SleepTight was associated with reduction in crying in 4 of the 6 infants. These outcome data notwithstanding, consideration of reported nonrecording of severe episodes and mixed reports of satisfaction suggests that SleepTight may not be a viable means of managing infant colic.     

Perceived control,causality, expectations and help-seeking behaviour

Undergraduates recruited from an introductory psychology course who were currently not seeking professional help (n=81) were compared with a comparable sample seeking professional help at a university psychological services centre (n=53). Participants answered an assessment instrument with reference to the problem currently upsetting them most. As hypothesized, those students seeking help tended to internalize causality, report lower levels of perceived control over their problems, and consider themselves more likely to expend time and energy in resolving their problem. Contrary to expectations, the groups did not differ in optimism about problem resolution. Results from an exploratory analysis of perceptions about the nature of professional and non-professional help are also reported. The findings, consistent with previous research, underscore the importance of differentiating the constructs of locus of control, causal attributions, and perceived control in studying mediators of help-seeking behaviour.     

ERRORLESS LEARNING: REINFORCEMENT CONTINGENCIES AND STIMULUS CONTROL TRANSFER IN DELAYED PROMPTING

Delayed prompting can produce errorless discrimination learning. There is inherent in the procedure a disparity in reinforcement density which favors unprompted over prompted responses. We used three schedules of reinforcement to investigate the impact of reinforcement probability on transfer of stimulus control. One schedule of reinforcement was equal prior to and following a prompt (CRF/CRF), the second favored unprompted responses (CRF/FR3), and the third favored responses following the prompt (FR3/CRF). Experimental questions concerned the probability of errors, the probability of transfer, and the rate of transfer in the context of delayed prompting. Transfer was accelerated when reinforcement probability favored anticipatory responding. The schedule that favored prompted responses did not prevent a shift to unprompted responding. Errors were infrequent across procedures. Reinforcement probability contributes to but does not entirely determine transfer of stimulus control from a delayed prompt.     

Implications of positive and negative sociometric status for assessing the social competence of young children

Positive and negative sociometric status were examined with reference to observed classroom behavior and performance on two laboratory measures of social skills: decoding emotion from facial expression and referential communication. Based on a sample of 38 preschool children, results indicated different patterns of correlations for liked (positive nomination) and disliked (negative nomination) scores. High-liked children were observed to spend more time in positive interaction with peers and less time in solitary play or alone with an adult. High-disliked children scored less well on both laboratory measures. Using median splits on the liked and disliked dimensions, results indicated that children who were rated by their peers as Low-Liked/High-Disliked were the most deviant with respect to both classroom behaviors and task scores. The importance of obtaining both positive and negative nominations in investigations of social competence is stressed. Implications of the results for the identification of preschool children with social problems and the planning of intervention strategies for these children are discussed.     

Environmental control of independent and dependent behaviors in preschool girls and boys: A model for early independence training

Differential adult response to the dependent behaviors of young girls and boys has been widely reported in the literature. The present study was an experimental investigation of the role of adult response patterns in shaping and maintaining independent behavior in preschoolers. A two-group design using random assignment was used to examine environmental control of independent and dependent behaviors, defined as task persistence and exploration, and proximity-seeking and socialization of attention, respectively. Subjects were 20 3- and 4-year-olds, 11 females and 9 males. Results indicated that independent and dependent behaviors are both strongly under the control of environmental contingencies in both boys and girls. Implications of these results for the theoretical understanding of sex-role development and women's mental health problems are discussed.     

Cognitive complexity and career maturity among college students

The role of cognitive complexity in the career maturity of college students was investigated. Simple and multiple correlational analyses were performed upon data from 99 college students who were administered the Attitude Scale and Competence Test of the Career Maturity Inventory, the Bieri Repertory Test, and the Bodden Cognitive Differentiation Grid. Results generally supported the prediction that career maturity would be found to be positively associated with cognitive complexity.     

Effects of peer presence on sex-typing of children's play behavior

Effect of peer presence on the sex-typed toy choices of 3- and 4-year-olds was investigated in a repeated measures experimental design. Twenty-six girls and thirty-six boys were tested under three conditions: (a) alone; (b) in the presence of a same-sex peer; and (c) in the presence of an opposite-sex peer. Amount of time spent playing with three feminine- and three masculine-stereotyped toys was recorded. For both boys and girls, play with “sex role-inappropriate” toys was significantly lower in the presence of an opposite-sex peer than in the solitary condition. Across conditions boys exhibited less play with opposite-sex-typed toys than girls. Rate of play with opposite-sex-typed toys increased in successive trials for both sexes. These results indicate that the presence of an opposite-sex peer functions as a discriminative stimulus for avoidance of “sex role-inappropriate” play in preschoolers and suggests that preschoolers may have a history of differential reinforcement for sex-typed play in the presence of peers.     

MEMORY AND COGNITIVE ABILITIES IN UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS:

Abstract— Professors from the University of California at Berkeley were administered a 90-min test battery of cognitive performance that included measures of reaction time, paired-associate learning, working memory, and prose recall. Age effects among the professors were observed on tests of reaction time, paired-associate memory, and some aspects of working memory. Age effects were not observed on measures of proactive interference and prose recall, though age-related declines are generally observed in standard groups of elderly individuals. The findings suggest that age-related decrements in certain cognitive functions may be mitigated in intelligent, cognitively active individuals     

Diagnosis of psychological impairment in employment discrimination claims

The United States Supreme Court recently held that while psychological harm or injury is not a prerequisite to proof of liability in employment discrimination lawsuits, such harm or injury may be considered in determining employer liability. Other recent legal developments have also greatly expanded the opportunity for psychologists and other mental health professionals to contribute to determinations of both liability and damages in this legal context. This article briefly examines some of the aspects of workplace claims that evaluating mental health experts We need to address. Then the article focuses on the role of psychodiagnostic testing in the context of legal decisionmaking. Finally, the article points to gaps in knowledge regarding the role of psychodiagnostic testing in employment cases and suggests areas for future research on this timely but understudied topic.     

Attitudes toward male roles among adolescent males: A discriminant validity analysis

This study investigates the discriminant validity of a measure of attitudes toward male roles, i.e., beliefs about the importance of men adhering to cultural defined standards for masculinity. Using data from the 1988 National Survey of Adolescent Males, the Male Role Attitude Scale (MRAS) is evaluated in terms of (1) its independence from measures of attitudes toward female roles, and of attitudes toward gender roles and relationships, and (2) its differential correlates with and incremental ability to explain variance in criterion variables compared to measures of these two other gender-related attitudes. As predicted, the MRAS is unrelated to attitudes toward the female role, but is significantly associated with attitudes toward gender roles and relationships. As further predicted, the MRAS, but not attitudes toward women or attitudes toward gender roles and relationships, is associated with homophobic attitudes toward male homosexuality and with traditional male procreative attitudes. In addition, the MRAS explains significant incremental variance in these criterion measures when attitude toward female roles and attitude toward gender roles and relationships are controlled for. These results support the theoretical argument that attitudes toward male roles are conceptually distinct from the other gender-related attitudes examined here.This research was supported by grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and from the Office of Adolescent Pregnancy Programs. The authors wish to thank James Kershaw, Susan Wellington, and Elizabeth Crane for their assistance.