A multiple-schedule evaluation of immediate and subsequent effects of fixed-time food presentation on automatically maintained mouthing

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the immediate and subsequent effects of fixed-time (FT) food presentations on mouthing. The effects of FT food presentations were analyzed within a three-component multiple schedule in which baseline conditions were implemented during the first and third components and treatment conditions were implemented during the second component. Results indicated that FT food reduced mouthing and that levels of mouthing during post-FT components were reliably lower than pre-FT components. Behavioral mechanisms responsible for treatment effects are discussed.     

Inhibition and anticipation in visual search: evidence from effects of color foreknowledge on preview search

We present four experiments in which we examined the effects of color mixing and prior target color knowledge on preview search (Watson & Humphreys, 1997). The task was to detect a target letter (an N or a Z) that appeared along with other new letters, when old distractors remained in the visual field. In some conditions, participants were told the target's color, in others, they were not. Foreknowledge of the target's color produced large improvements in search for both baseline and preview presentations (Experiment 1). For preview presentations, the magnitude of this effect was reduced if the target shared its color with a single colored set of previewed letters (Experiment 2). Removing this similarity across the displays greatly improved search efficiency (Experiment 3). In Experiment 4, we assessed and rejected the proposal that the effects reflected the probability that the target was carried by a particular color. We discuss the results in terms of separate effects of (1) inhibitory carryover from a preview color group and (2) an anticipatory set for a known target color.     

Effects of problem format on division and multiplication performance: division facts are mediated via multiplication-based representations

In 2 experiments participants solved division problems presented in multiplication-based formats (e.g., 8 x _ = 72) more quickly than division problems presented in division-based formats (e.g., 72 / 8 = _). In contrast, participants solved multiplication problems presented in a division-based format (e.g., _ / 8 = 9) slowly and made many errors. In both experiments, the advantage for multiplication-based formats on division problems was found only for large problems (i.e., those with products or dividends greater than 25). These findings provide support for the view that large single-digit division facts are mediated via multiplication-based representations and that multiplication is the primary mode of representation for both division and multiplication facts.     

How much memory does oculomotor search have?

Research has demonstrated that oculomotor visual search is guided by memory for which items or locations within a display have already been inspected. In the study reported here, we used a gaze-contingent search paradigm to examine properties of this memory. Data revealed a memory buffer for search history of three to four items. This buffer was effected in part by a space-based trace attached to a location independently of whether the object that had been seen at that position remained visible, and was subject to interference from other stimuli seen in the course of a trial.     

Evaluation of a vocal mand assessment and vocal mand training procedures

A common deficiency in the verbal repertoires of individuals with autism and related disorders is the absence of socially appropriate vocal mands. The vocal mand repertoires of these individuals may be lacking in several respects: (a) The individual might engage in no mands whatsoever, (b) the mand might be topographically dissimilar to an appropriate response, (c) the mand might be only partially topographically similar to an appropriate response, and (d) the mand might occur only after prompting. Depending on specific deficiencies in an individual's repertoire, different procedures for establishing appropriate mands may be needed. The purpose of Study 1 was to evaluate an assessment prior to teaching vocal mands for 3 individuals with developmental disabilities. The assessment showed that 1 individual displayed partial utterances of mands, 1 displayed vocal mands after mands had been reinforced, and 1 displayed vocal mands when prompted. Thus, in Study 2, a different teaching strategy was tested for each individual. Results showed that the assessment information could be linked directly to mand training for all 3 participants.     

Adolescents' emotion expectancies regarding aggressive and nonaggressive events: connections with behavior problems

A total of 50 behaviorally disruptive (conduct-disordered or oppositional defiant-disordered) adolescents and 50 comparison adolescents assessed how they expected to feel following both aggressive and nonaggressive situations. Compared with their peers, behaviorally disruptive adolescents expected fewer normative emotions and exhibited somewhat more of an anger emphasis in their nonaggressive emotion attributions, and they expected to feel happier following acts of instrumental/proactive aggression. These patterns of emotion expectancies were linked more closely with teacher ratings of adolescents' proactive aggression than with ratings of reactive aggression. Regression analyses indicated that both nonaggression emotion expectancies and proactive aggression happiness made independent contributions to predicting adolescents' externalizing tendencies. Discussion focused on the contributions of different types of self-attributed emotion expectancies to adolescents' social understanding and behavior.     

A new measure of perfectionism: the Perfectionism Inventory

In this investigation, we produced a new 8-scale measure of perfectionism called the Perfectionism Inventory (PI) that is designed to capture the important constructs provided by 2 existing Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS; Frost, Marten, Lahart, & Rosenblate, 1990; Hewitt & Flett, 1991b) measures, along with new perfectionism scales. In the results from 3 studies, we describe scale development, scale psychometric properties, and criterion-related validity evidence for the 8 PI scales: Concern Over Mistakes, High Standards for Others, Need for Approval, Organization, Parental Pressure, Planfulness, Rumination, and Striving for Excellence. We present relationships between the 8 PI scales, relevant MPS scales, and other criterion measures. Second-order exploratory and confirmatory analyses provide support for the 8-scale PI model as well as support for 2 composite PI factors labeled Conscientious Perfectionism and Self-Evaluative Perfectionism.     

Strength of religious faith and psychological adjustment in intercollegiate athletes

In light of recent research examining the distress buffering properties of religion in intercollegiate athletes' lives, the present study investigated associations among religious faith and depressive symptoms, trait anxiety, and loneliness. Using self-report questionnaires, religious faith was not correlated with depressive symptoms, trait anxiety, and loneliness in 57 intercollegiate athletes.     

Using stimulus equivalence‐based instruction to teach young children their caregivers' contact information

Stimulus equivalence‐based instruction (EBI) was used to teach young children of typical development three 4‐member equivalence classes containing contact information from three caregivers (e.g., mother, father, and grandmother). Each class comprised the caregiver's (a) photograph, (b) printed name, (c) printed phone number, and (d) printed name of employer. A pretest‐train‐posttest‐maintenance design with a nontreatment control group comparison was used. Pretests and posttests assessed the degree to which class‐consistent responding occurred across both visual–visual matching tasks and intraverbals. Intraverbal responding was also probed with a novel instructor. Overall, EBI participants scored significantly higher during the posttests than the control participants across both the derived relations and intraverbal tests. These differences maintained 2 weeks later. Thus, responding generalized to (a) a different topography (i.e., intraverbal), (b) auditory versions of the stimuli, and (c) in the presence of a novel instructor. How such procedures may benefit lost children are discussed.