A Comparison of Least-to-Most Prompts and Progressive Time Delay on the Disruptive Behavior of Students with Autism

We compared the effects of two instructional strategies on the frequency of errors and episodes of disruptive behavior of 4 students with autism. In Phase I, easy and difficult tasks were presented to determine whether the tasks were associated with differential rates of disruptive behavior. Phase II compared the effects of a least-to-most prompting procedure (LTM) to a progressive time delay procedure (PTD) on errors and disruptive behavior when difficult tasks were presented. Observers sequentially recorded instructor instructions, response prompts, prompts for appropriate sitting, and feedback statements; and student disruptive, correct, error, and no responses during 1:1 sessions. Results showed PTD produced fewer errors than LTM for all 4 students, and lower rates of disruptive behavior for 2 students. When PTD was implemented as the final phase with 2 of the students, rates of disruptive behavior associated with the task previously taught with LTM immediately decreased. Conditional probability statements indicated that disruptive behavior occurred infrequently with all 4 students when effective response prompts were used.     

Case study: Reinforcement control of severe aggression exhibited by a child with autism in a family home

This clinical case study describes in-home treatment of severe aggression and tantrum behavior exhibited by an 11 -year-old child with autism, using methods of differential reinforcement comparable to those of a case study by Luiselli (1990). No significant reductions in problem conduct occurred when a parent implemented differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) in conjunction with publicly posted ‘good behavior rules,’ physical management training, and redirection to relaxation. Control was established when the child was reinforced for compliance with task demands in conjunction with extinction, implemented directly by professional support staff working in the home. Despite demonstrable parental consistency, systematic training, and fading of supports, results were not maintained at follow-up. The generality of differential reinforcement as a practical intervention for severe aggression in family homes is questioned.     

Gender Traits and Self-Concept as Indicators of Problem Eating and Body Dissatisfaction Among Children

The present study was designed to examine the role of gender traits, body mass index (BMI), and self-concept in predicting levels of problem eating and body dissatisfaction among both girls and boys aged between 8 and 10 (85% were Anglo-Australian Caucasian, 15% were Caucasians from non-English backgrounds). Two hundred and two children completed questionnaires, which examined problem-eating attitudes and behaviors, body dissatisfaction, gender traits, and self-concept. Children's height and weight were measured to determine children's BMI. Gender traits predicted problem eating for boys but not for girls. Self-concept was found to predict problem eating for both boys and girls. BMI was also a predictor of problems for girls. The only predictor of body dissatisfaction for boys and girls was BMI. The findings are discussed in light of previous research, which has been conducted, on adolescents. Further studies are needed to understand more fully the development of problem eating and body dissatisfaction before the onset of puberty and adolescence.     

Conceptual clusters in figurative language production

Although most prior research on figurative language examines comprehension, several recent studies on the production of such language have proved to be informative. One of the most noticeable traits of figurative language production is that it is produced at a somewhat random rate with occasional bursts of highly figurative speech (e.g., Corts & Pollio, 1999). The present article seeks to extend these findings by observing production during speech that involves a very high base rate of figurative language, making statistically defined bursts difficult to detect. In an analysis of three Baptist sermons, burst-like clusters of figurative language were identified. Further study indicated that these clusters largely involve a central root metaphor that represents the topic under consideration. An interaction of the coherence, along with a conceptual understanding of a topic and the relative importance of the topic to the purpose of the speech, is offered as the most likely explanation for the clustering of figurative language in natural speech.     

TAS-20 alexithymia in obesity, and its links to personality

We studied the association between alexithymia (20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale, TAS-20) and obesity, and also assessed the construct validity of the TAS-20 in terms of personality dimensions in obese patients. The TAS-20 and its subscales were analysed for their correlations with the NEO Personality Inventory - Revised (NEO PI-R) in an obese sample of 259 patients. Obesity was associated with higher scores on the TAS-20 than a Swedish reference sample. Obese men furthermore scored higher on Externally Oriented Thinking than the obese women. TAS-20 scores correlated with elevated Neuroticism and lower levels of Extraversion and Openness, in agreement with most previous research, but also somewhat unexpectedly with lower Conscientiousness and for women also with lower Agreeableness. The TAS-20 subscales showed divergent associations with personality variables, largely in accordance with previous findings. The associations were more prominent for the women, and some gender-specific patterns not previously reported were also revealed.     

Koan Zen and Wittgenstein's Only Correct Method in Philosophy

Koan Zen is a philosophical practice that bears a strong family resemblance to Wittgenstein's approach to philosophy. In this paper I hope to show that this resemblance is especially evident when we compare the Zen method of koan with Wittgenstein's suggestion, towards the end of his Tractatus, about what would constitute the only correct method in philosophy. Both koan Zen and Wittgenstein's method set limits to the reach of philosophical discourse. Each rules metaphysical speculation out of bounds. Neither, however, represents a rejection of the metaphysical. Where Wittgenstein enjoins silence in the face of the unsayable, a silence that allows the metaphysical to show itself, koan Zen calls for concrete demonstrations of that which cannot be captured in rational discourse. I attempt to illustrate this through discussion of a number of koans that serve as reminders that the philosopher (and Zen master) should say nothing except what can be said.