Type a behavior,field dependence,and hypervigilance: Toward increased Type A specificity

Field dependence and hypervigilance are two modes of sensory information processing that have been related to cardiovascular functioning. Two studies examined the relationship between these variables and Type A behavior. In both studies, Jenkins Activity Survey-defined Type A and B subjects were assessed for field dependence by the Embedded Figures Test (EFT) and then performed a size estimation task—the measure of hypervigilance. Results indicated that field-dependent Type A's were most hypervigilant. The possible contribution that perceptual style might make to the greater predictive specificity of Type A measures was discussed.Portions of this research were presented at the meeting of the American Psychological Association, Toronto, Canada, August 1984. The authors express their appreciation to Lois Haggard for the design of materials for Study II, and to Rick Smith and Kathy Connell for assistance in conducting Study II.     

Assessing depression in community samples of children using self-report inventories: Ethical considerations

Although the methodological problems associated with the use of children's self-report depression inventories have previously been discussed in detail, the ethical problems related to the use of these instruments have been largely ignored. The primary purpose of this survey study was to determine how childhood depression researchers have prepared for and responded to children from community (i.e., nonclinic) samples whose nonanonymous scores on self-report depression inventories have indicated that they might be severely depressed or suicidal. Several recommendations, based upon (a) the results of this survey study, (b) the existing literature relevant to the ethical responsibilities of investigators who conduct research with children, and (c) our own experiences with these instruments and populations, are made to assist researchers in their attempts to use these inventories in an ethical manner.The authors would like to thank those childhood depression researchers who were kind enough to return completed surveys.     

Duration of negative practice and the reduction of leg pounding of a traumatically brain-injured adult

This study evaluated the relative efficacy of long (1 minute) and short (15 seconds) durations of negative practice for reducing self-stimulatory leg pounding of a traumatically brain-injured adult. In individual social skill training classes, long negative practice and short negative practice were administered concurrently in an alternating treatments design. Generalization of treatment effects outside of training sessions was assessed during the client's lunch period. The results revealed that both durations of negative practice were equally effective in reducing leg pounding during training sessions. However, the effects of training did not generalize to settings in which the practice contingency was not enforced. Pounding was more frequent and negative practice somewhat less effective during periods of high social stimulation.     

Differential facilitation by pictures of children’s retention of written texts: A review

Investigation of the role of pictures in children’s comprehension and retention of written texts has produced reports of very different levels of facilitation. This article reviews the literature with respect to a proposed explanatory model that relates the differential pictorial facilitation to the type of material used and the children’s strategy in approaching it. It is suggested that the reported enhancement of factual texts results from the utilization of pictorial adjuncts to promote encoding of a distinct and unique conceptual unit, the subsequent retrieval of which is thereby improved. With story text, the effectiveness of pictures as encoding aids is limited by the predominance of the story schema in determining encoding and retrieval.     

The relationship of self and occupational concepts to the occupational preferences of adolescents

This study tested aspects of Super's self-concept theory of career development with a sample of British schoolchildren. Findings suggested that self-concepts and concepts of occupational preferences do have a role in career development, though there were some indications that the theory is more applicable to more able youngsters and to those high in self-esteem, than to others. Agreement between ideal-self-concepts and occupational preference concepts was significantly greater than that between actual-self-concepts and occupational preference concepts. This finding was interpreted as reflecting the youngsters' greater concern for the future and the possible, rather than the present and the given, and it suggested that refinements are needed in Super's theory.     

Diverse middle school students’ future career autobiographies and socioeconomic status factors: A content analysis

The future career autobiography (FCA) is a narrative, discovery-based career intervention designed to assess individuals’ career hopes and dreams. In total, 134 low-income, ethnically and racially diverse middle school students participated in an FCA intervention through a yearlong grant-funded career development initiative. Using content analysis, we analyzed participants’ FCAs for socioeconomic status factors and lifestyle indicators. We found that participants articulated occupational and lifestyle factors more than education and income, and that there were differences based on biological sex, race, and ethnicity. We present pertinent results and discuss implications for counseling practice and future research.     

RESPONSIBLE AGENCY: A HUMAN DISTINCTIVE?

While agent responsibility appears to be one of the clearest examples of a human distinctive, practices of holding responsible are bound up with social expectations and emotional reactions, many of which are shared with other social animals. This essay attends to the ways in which what Peter Strawson first identified as the reactive emotions, including notably anger, resentment, and indignation, are key to making sense of both the shared and distinctive features of responsible human agency. Like human beings, other social animals express a range of reactive emotions in response to others’ conformity with or violation of implicit social expectations and norms; human beings sometimes reflect on these reactive attitudes and their justifiability, asking whether and when it is appropriate to hold others accountable, blame, and/or punish them. We should recognize that we often praise and blame others for attitudes and desires which they have not chosen and over which they have no direct control, and that this is appropriate.     

Systematic review of interruption and redirection procedures for autistic individuals

Interruption and redirection (IR) procedures involve systematically disrupting an undesirable behavior and prompting an individual to engage in an alternative behavior. These procedures have been frequently assessed for reducing repetitive behaviors for autistic individuals. The primary purpose of this review was to assess IR interventions to determine whether outcomes vary according to intervention characteristics, dependent variable types, design quality, or publication status. A secondary purpose was to assess the extent to which generalization and maintenance outcomes were measured and whether characteristics of these conditions were related to outcomes. IR interventions were moderately successful for reducing repetitive behaviors but less effective for improving corollary variables such as appropriate vocalizations and functional engagement. Generalization and maintenance outcomes, when measured, were poor. Results indicate the need for alternative or augmentative procedures that focus on engagement in meaningful interactions and activities.     

Comparison of two video prompting interventions to teach daily living skills to adolescents with autism

The present study used an adapted alternating treatment design to evaluate and compare the effects of video prompting (VP) and video prompting plus frequency building (VP + FB) to teach daily living skills to three adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Results demonstrated all three students made substantial improvements over their baseline performance using VP and VP + FB. Furthermore, a strong intervention effect emerged for VP and VP + FB conditions when compared to the control task. However, in terms of one intervention proving superior to the other (e.g., VP to VP + FB), the data offer a mixed interpretation with VP + FB affecting changes better for two of the three students. The FB component in the VP + FB produced strong, consistent gains for all students in terms of retention.