IMPROVING THE PEER INTERACTIONS OF STUDENTS WITH EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS THROUGH SELF-EVALUATION PROCEDURES: A COMPONENT ANALYSIS AND GROUP APPLICATION

We conducted two experiments examining the effects of a self-evaluation package on the peer interactions of students described as emotionally or behaviorally disordered. Experiment 1 assessed the additive effects of various components of a self-evaluation package on the frequency of inappropriate and appropriate peer interactions. The components assessed were rewards alone, rewards plus discussion, and self-evaluation plus rewards. Results showed limited effectiveness when rewards alone and rewards plus discussion were implemented. However, substantial improvements in peer interactions were observed when the self-evaluation component was added. Experiment 2 examined the efficacy and feasibility of the procedures when implemented in a group setting. Students in three classrooms served as participants. Direct observation data collected for 8 of the participants showed the procedures to be effective in improving peer interactions when implemented in a group context.     

Effects of attention manipulation on judgments of duration and of intensity in the visual modality

The “attentional model” of time estimation assumes that temporal judgments depend on the amount of attention allocated to the temporal processor (the timer). One of the main predictions of this model is that an interval will be judged shorter when attention is not allocated to the temporal parameters of the task. Previous studies combining temporal and nontemporal tasks (dual-task method) have suggested that the time spent processing the target duration might be a key factor: The less time devoted by the subject to the temporal task, the shorter the judged duration. In the two experiments presented here, subjects were asked to judge both the duration of a visual stimulus and an increment in intensity occurring at any time during this stimulus. In the second experiment, trials without intensity increments were added. The main result is that the judged duration was shorter when the increment occurred later in the stimulus or did not occur. In those cases, subjects had been expecting increment occurrence during most part of the stimulus and thus had focused for a shorter time on stimulus duration. We propose that attention shifts related to expectancy and to detection of the increment reduce subjective duration.     

When “reliability” fails,must a measure be discarded?—The case of Kinesthetic Aftereffect

Critics of Kinesthetic Aftereffect (KAE) recommend abandoning it as a personality measure largely because of poor test-retest reliability. Although no test can be valid if lacking true reliability, to discard a measure because of poor retest reliability is an oversimplification of validation procedures. This pitfall is exemplified here by a reexamination of KAE. KAE scores involve measures before (pretest) and after (test) aftereffect induction. Internal analysis of a KAE study showed: Differential bias is present; its locus is the second session pretest; its form makes second-session pretest scores functionally more similar to first- and second-session test scores and functionally more dissimilar to first-session pretest scores. Given this second session bias, the retest correlation tells us nothing about the true reliability of a one-session KAE score. However, if a measure possesses external validity, it must to some degree show true reliability. Based upon a literature review of one-session KAE validity studies, we conclude that one-session KAE scores are valid and hence show true reliability. KAE remains a promising personality measure.     

A demonstration of shape constancy

In order to compare the recognition of objective (defined in three dimensions) and projective (on the frontal-parallel plane) shapes, subjects were asked to identify angles (either objective or projective) on random polygons that were displayed in complex and meaningful photographic slides in the frontal-parallel plane. The subjects’ judgments corresponded much more closely to the objective than to the projective shapes, almost independently of which of the two shapes they were asked to judge and of whether the slides were presented in a normal upright orientation or were rotated 180 deg. The results are incompatible with the strong form of the shape-slant hypothesis, which assumes that the primary perceptual information concerns the properties of the projective retinal image. The results indicate, instead, that a tacit conception of three-dimensional space is primary in the perceptual process.     

Heidegger's Nietzsche interpretation

Continental Philosophy Review -     

Classroom-based functional and adjunctive assessments: proactive approaches to intervention selection for adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

The present investigation evaluated the utility of classroom-based functional and adjunctive assessments of problem behaviors for 2 adolescents who met diagnostic criteria for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and comorbid oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). For children with ADHD-ODD, environmental classroom variables, when systematically manipulated by teachers, were related to the occurrence and nonoccurrence of problem behaviors. Classroom interventions derived from information that was obtained during functional and adjunctive assessments and from subsequent analyses resulted in substantial reductions in problem behaviors. Teacher and student consumer satisfaction ratings indicated that the interventions were effective and feasible in the classroom setting.     

A COMPARISON OF SIMULTANEOUS AND DELAYED REINFORCEMENT AS TREATMENTS FOR FOOD SELECTIVITY

This study compared the relative efficacy of providing simultaneous or delayed reinforcement on food acceptance during meals. The participant was a 7-year-old boy with pervasive developmental disorder and a history of food selectivity. Results indicated that both procedures were effective in increasing acceptance; however, the simultaneous reinforcement procedure produced more rapid behavior change and a higher overall percentage of food acceptance.