The present study evaluated the effects of two reinforcement contingencies on teacher use of behavior-specific praise (BSP) in the classroom. An alternating treatments design was used to compare the implementation of both an independent and interdependent contingency to increase frequency of BSP delivery. Four general education elementary school teachers and their students participated. Teachers’ use of BSP and general praise, as well as, behavior-specific and general reprimands were evaluated. Data were also collected on students’ levels of academically engaged and disruptive behaviors. Both the independent and interdependent conditions resulted in higher frequencies of BSP and reduced the use of both general and behavior-specific reprimands. Student levels of academic engagement increased while disruption decreased across both contingencies. Results of the present study are discussed in terms of related literature and implications for applied practice.
This study utilizes data from the National Survey of American Life to examine the sociodemographic and denominational correlates
of religious involvement and spirituality among older African Americans and Black Caribbeans. Eleven measures of non-organizational
religious participation, subjective religiosity, and spirituality are utilized. The findings indicate significant gender,
income, region, marital status, denominational, and immigration status differences in religiosity and spirituality. Among
older Black Caribbeans, income was a consistent correlate of religious participation and spirituality. The findings are discussed
in relation to prior work in the area of religious involvement among older adults. 相似文献
The indispensability argument is a method for showing that abstract mathematical objects exist (call this mathematical Platonism).
Various versions of this argument have been proposed (§1). Lately, commentators seem to have agreed that a holistic indispensability
argument (§2) will not work, and that an explanatory indispensability argument is the best candidate. In this paper I argue
that the dominant reasons for rejecting the holistic indispensability argument are mistaken. This is largely due to an overestimation
of the consequences that follow from evidential holism. Nevertheless, the holistic indispensability argument should be rejected,
but for a different reason (§3)—in order that an indispensability argument relying on holism can work, it must invoke an unmotivated
version of evidential holism. Such an argument will be unsound. Correcting the argument with a proper construal of evidential
holism means that it can no longer deliver mathematical Platonism as a conclusion: such an argument for Platonism will be
invalid. I then show how the reasons for rejecting the holistic indispensability argument importantly constrain what kind
of account of explanation will be permissible in explanatory versions (§4). 相似文献
By attenuating neural and perceptual responses to sustained stimulation, adaptation enhances the detection of new, transient stimuli. Disadaptation serves a similarly important role as a temporal filter for chemoreceptor cells, producing rapid recovery of sensitivity upon termination of the adapting odorant. Previous research from our laboratory indicated that a rapid form of odor adaptation can be measured using a novel, simultaneous-odorant paradigm. In the present study, we extended the earlier method by measuring recovery from adaptation. Perceptual odor adaptation was measured by estimating psychophysical detection thresholds in a group of college-aged student volunteers (N = 20; 12 females, eight males) for a self-adapting odorant, vanilla extract. To induce adaptation, the time between the onset of the adapting odorant and the onset of the target odorant was systematically varied. By first quantifying adaptation, recovery of sensitivity could therefore be investigated by using different time points following the termination of the adapting odorant. Consistent with our previous work, thresholds estimated in the presence of the simultaneous adapting odorant were significantly increased, reflecting a decrease in sensitivity due to adaptation. Conversely, approximately 100 ms following termination of the adapting stimulus (the briefest delay tested), sensitivity began to rapidly recover. Nevertheless, some residual adaptation was evident at the longest offset delay of 500 ms. These findings suggest that the recovery from adaptation proceeds at least as rapidly as the onset of adaptation, a finding that is consistent with physiological evidence from olfactory receptors. These data also suggest the effectiveness of this new odorant paradigm in characterizing the temporal characteristics underlying these critical olfactory mechanisms. 相似文献
Newborn screening for cystic fibrosis and sickle cell disease enables the early identification and treatment of affected children, prolonging and enhancing their quality of life. Screening, however, also identifies carriers. There are minimal or no health concerns for carriers. There are, however, potential implications when carriers reach reproductive age, and thus research attention has been given to how best to convey information about these implications in a meaningful, balanced way which does not raise undue anxieties. Most research focuses on the communication from health professional to parent, yet ultimately this information is of greatest significance to the child. This study examines parents’ intentions to inform their child of newborn screening carrier results. Semi-structured interviews with 67 family members explored their intentions to inform the child, and related views and support needs. Parents almost unanimously indicated they planned to inform the child themselves. Health professionals were expected, however, to provide guidance on this process either to parents through advice and provision of written materials, or directly to the child. Although parents initially stated that they would convey the result once their child had developed the ability to understand the information, many appeared to focus on discrete life events linked to informed reproductive decision making. The results highlight ways in which health care providers may assist parents, including providing written material suitable for intergenerational communication and ensuring that cascade screening is accessible for those seeking it. Priorities for further research are identified in light of the results. 相似文献
The question of whether computerized cognitive training leads to generalized improvements of intellectual abilities has been a popular, yet contentious, topic within both the psychological and neurocognitive literatures. Evidence for the effective transfer of cognitive training to nontrained measures of cognitive abilities is mixed, with some studies showing apparent successful transfer, while others have failed to obtain this effect. At the same time, several authors have made claims about both successful and unsuccessful transfer effects on the basis of a form of responder analysis, an analysis technique that shows that those who gain the most on training show the greatest gains on transfer tasks. Through a series of Monte Carlo experiments and mathematical analyses, we demonstrate that the apparent transfer effects observed through responder analysis are illusory and are independent of the effectiveness of cognitive training. We argue that responder analysis can be used neither to support nor to refute hypotheses related to whether cognitive training is a useful intervention to obtain generalized cognitive benefits. We end by discussing several proposed alternative analysis techniques that incorporate training gain scores and argue that none of these methods are appropriate for testing hypotheses regarding the effectiveness of cognitive training. 相似文献