Science and behavior therapy: A survey of research in the 1970s

A representative sample of a decade of contributors to the journals Behavior Therapy, Behaviour Research and Therapy, Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis and the Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry was asked to report on their motivations for conducting studies that had been published in that journal. Results indicated that the primary motivation of behavioral researchers was to build on prior research through gathering and analysis of data to illuminate applied-clinical issues and validate treatment procedures. Few researchers reported consultation arrangements or efforts to replicate as their motivation for research. Most respondents described the training model in which they had received their doctoral education as oriented toward a scientist-practitioner approach rather than one that focused primarily on research, therapy or assessment training. Most respondents noted that their philosophy of behavior therapy at the time of the study in question to be applied behavior analysis or social-learning theory with far less being affiliated with a neobehavioristic mediational S-R model or cognitive behavior modification. These results are discussed within the context of the relevance of clinical research in behavior therapy and professional psychology.     

The prediction of delinquency: a correlation between a measure of personality and classroom behaviour

In a study of (N = 120) children exhibiting classroom behaviour problems, a significant correlation was found between the ‘criminal propensity’ (‘C’ score) of a self-report questionnaire and the ‘delinquency predictor’ (‘DP’ score) of a teacher-administered questionnaire. Since the delinquency predictor score has previously been found to be a reliable predictor of later delinquency, the criminal propensity score appears to be worthy of further study.     

Problems in assessment of vividness and control of imagery.

Difficulties in assessing individual differences in vividness and control of mental imagery hinder understanding of the role of of imagery in various phenomena. This study examined the relationships among the Gordon test of imagery control, the Betts questionnaire on imagery vividness, and a research questionnaire on control of imagery developed for this study. The research questionnaire demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency and scores were more widely distributed than were those on the Gordon test. Correlations among the instruments ranged from .47 to .57, suggesting that vividness and control of imagery are not clearly differentiated in practice. Discussion of these results suggests that further empirical work is needed to establish the differential validity of the two constructs.     

Empathy and socialization in first and repeat juvenile offenders and normals

The present study examined empathy and socialization in delinquent and non-delinquent juveniles. From 32 first offenders, 16 repeat offenders, and 19 normals who were administered Hogan's empathy scale and the socialization scale of the California Psychological Inventory, groups of 16 subjects matched on age and race were compared. Results indicated that the three groups did not differ on empathy but that each of the three groups differed on socialization. Results are discussed in terms of potentially identifying recidivists and the efficacy of therapist-trained empathy.     

Quantitative difference in the experience of state-trait anxiety in emotionally disturbed and normal children

In order to investigate the state-trait anxiety distinction in emotionally disturbed and normal children, the responses of 120 emotionally disturbed children and 126 normal children to the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (Spielberger, 1973) were factor analyzed separately. For the emotionally disturbed group two A-State and two A-Trait factors were found with the A-State factors accounting for significantly more of the variance than did A-Trait factors. For the normal group four A-State and two A-Trait factors were found, but there was not a significant difference between the amount of variance accounted for by A-State and A-Trait factors. Results were discussed as supporting the state-trait distinction and as having several implications for future research on anxiety.     

Development of Body Modification and Excessive Exercise Scales for adolescents

The present study was designed to develop a Body Modification Scale (BMS) to measure body change among adolescents and to modify an Excessive Exercise Scale (EES) into a shorter form for adolescents. Two hundred and twenty-one girls and 192 boys from Grades 7 to 10 completed the BMS and the EES. Factor analysis revealed three identical factors for the BMS for girls and boys: weight loss, weight gain, and muscle mass. Two identical factors for girls and boys were also revealed for the EES. Both factor structures were further validated on a separate sample of 286 adolescents (140 girls, 146 boys). The BMS and EES demonstrated excellent reliability (alpha > .86) and high test-retest reliability (alpha > .82) over 1 month. Good concurrent validity was also found for the weight loss factor of the BMS. These findings demonstrate the utility of these two scales for use with adolescents.