The Reluctance to Expose Dangerous Lies1

Three studies examined a hypothesized inhibition against exposing a lie. In Experiment 1, 21 men and 27 women were placed in conditions in which their nonexposure of another's lie resulted either in the risk of an experimenter's data being contaminated (impersonal consequence), or in the risk of the subject contracting pinkeye (personal consequence). Each person was given the opportunity to expose the lie, first in a group setting, and later in a private setting. Eighty-three percent of the subjects in the impersonal condition and 77% of the subjects in the personal condition failed to expose the lie. Experiment 2 explored the phenomenon further by assessing whether subjects not in the presence of individuals other than the liar would be more likely to confront the lie. As in Experiment 1, it was found that most subjects did not reveal the lie, regardless of consequence condition of setting. In Experiment 3, it was anticipated that objective self-awareness would interact with consequence information to produce more exposing behavior in the personal-consequence condition, but not in the impersonal condition. Results generally confirmed the hypothesis; a significant interaction of Consequence x Self-Awareness Condition was found.     

The Effects of Reading Racetracks on the Sight Word Acquisition and Fluency of Elementary Students

The effectiveness of using the reading racetrack drill and practice intervention on the sight word acquisition and fluency of 15 elementary students was examined in two separate experiments. A multiple baseline design across participants was used. The participants were 15 third and fourth-grade students attending a public (n =10) or parochial (n =5) elementary school. Participants included children receiving special education services in a resource room, services for learning difficulties, and those in a general classroom setting. Reading racetracks IS a novel approach which employ error correction, timing, and drill and practice procedures. This strategy also utilized drill and practice probe sheets that resemble an automotive racetrack. The results indicated that during the reading racetrack intervention all of the participants more than doubled their correct rate in oral reading. There was also a marked decrease in the number of errors made by each of the participants in this study. The implications of employing reading racetrack procedures for practitioners are outlined.     

Cover, Copy, and Compare: A Self-Managed Academic Intervention Effective Across Skills, Students, and Settings

Cover, Copy, and Compare (CCC) is a simple, efficient, self-managed academic intervention that can be used to improve accuracy, fluency, and maintenance across students, curricula objectives, academic skill domains, and settings. In it's simplest form CCC requires students to look at an academic stimulus (e.g., for spelling the stimulus would be a written a word) cover the stimulus, respond by copying the stimulus (e.g., writing the word), and evaluate the responses by comparing it to the original stimulus. The CCC procedure and research that supports the generalizability and ecological validity of this procedure is described and analyzed. Following this analysis, recommendations for implementing Cover, Copy, and Compare in educational settings are provided.     

Development of children's ability to judge relative numerosity

Three- to seven-year-old chilren were trained through reinforcement to select either the more or less numerous of two rows of squares. One group was shown rows in which number covaried with row length, one group saw rows in which number covaried with row density, and a third group saw rows in which number did not covary with other dimensions. The children's operational stage was assessed by a number conservation test. All children successfully judged relative numerosity when number covaried with length or with density, but only concrete operational children were successful when number did not covary with other dimensions. Preoperational children are thus not able to base judgments of relative numerosity solely on number.     

Factors associated with parenting among incarcerated juvenile offenders

In regard to the injured offender, research indicates that violent victimization represents only one facet of a constellation of associated risks and consequences, including promiscuity and adolescent parenthood. A relationship between firearm injuries and self-reported promiscuity among incarcerated juvenile offenders has previously been noted. The present study was an attempt to gain additional insight into the larger consequences of violent injuries. Information pertaining to the fathering of children was collected from 258 incarcerated male adolescents from the Richmond, Virginia, metropolitan area during a two-year period. It was hypothesized that adolescent parenting would be associated with firearm injuries. The results indicated that 20% of the juvenile offenders fathered at least one child. Analyses revealed a significant relationship between firearm injuries and increased prevalence of adolescent parenting. Continued involvement in illegal activities, as indicated by a second commitment to a juvenile correctional center, also was associated with increased prevalence of adolescent parenting, while race and involvement in drug selling or violent offending were not. The social and economic implications of these findings, particularly in terms of the health care and social service delivery systems, are discussed.     

An analysis and replication of the Add-A-Word Spelling Program with mildly handicapped middle school students

The effects of the Add-A-Word Spelling Program was examined in two experiments with mildly handicapped middle school students. In Experiment I, the Add-A-Word program with daily testing of small word lists; drill through the copy, cover, and compare method; a high level of mastery before words were removed from the student's list; and reappearance of mastered words, was evaluated with a multiple baseline design across three students. The data indicated improved performance on daily spelling tests when the Add-A-Word system was implemented. The purpose of Experiment II was to compare the Add-A-Word spelling program to the more traditional Monday Pre- and end of the week Posttest spelling procedures found in most classrooms. The comparisons were made in a counterbalanced multiple baseline design across six students. The students' overall accuracy in spelling was higher during the Add-A-Word Program than during either Baseline (daily testing) or the Preand Posttest systems. However, student's spelling scores were also higher during the Pre-Posttest procedure than during the Baseline condition. Benefits of the Add-A-Word spelling program for middle school students were discussed.     

A homeostatic adaptive response to alpha-methyl-dopa in conscious dogs

Repeated daily administration of an oral dose of 1000 mg of alpha-methyl-dopa (methyl dopa) to conscious dogs produced a conditioned adaptive hypertensive systolic and diastolic arterial pressure response along with the direct hypotensive pharmacological effect. The lower dose of 500 mg/day appeared to be devoid of direct or adaptive response effects, while the higher dose of 2000 mg/day only produced a blood pressure lowering response. The abrupt drug withdrawal unmasking the homeostatic state resulted in a marked systolic and diastolic pressor response which endured for about 10-days with peak effect reached at 17-days after termination of drug treatment. Comparable results were obtained whether the dogs were evaluated while in their normal horizontal body position or in a repositioned upright condition.     

Functional illness and family functioning: a comparison of healthy and somaticizing adolescents

This study examined the usefulness of the Circumplex Model of Marital and Family Functioning for discriminating between families of healthy adolescents and families of adolescents with functional somatic complaints. The findings did not support the expected curvilinear relationship between symptomatology and the FACES II family dimensions of cohesion and adaptability. Questions are raised regarding the degree of correspondence between the constructs of enmeshment and rigidity as assessed clinically and as measured by the Circumplex Model.