On the Consequences of Frequent Applicants in Adverse Impact Analyses: A demonstration study

Electronic résumés, online applications, and automated personnel systems have reduced the effort required for a candidate to apply for employment opportunities like selection and promotion. The nature of these systems may affect analyses of adverse impact. For example, candidates that can easily apply to many positions multiple times could strongly influence analyses of adverse impact under particular circumstances. This study demonstrates some potential consequences of including frequent applicants in adverse impact analyses. Using workforce simulation methodology, we illustrate some conditions where a lesser qualified frequent applicant substantially influences the statistical significance of adverse impact detection. In some cases, the adverse impact against a subgroup may be accounted for by a single frequent applicant; in other cases, statistically significant adverse impact may be disguised by a single frequent applicant. We also consider methods for identifying frequent applicants and present options for handling these cases in analyses.     

Synchronizing Loss With Life Over a Life Span: A Dynamic Perspective

Synchronizing loss with life is a dynamic journey. This article explores the myths, beliefs, and dynamics of loss and life. The purpose of the article is to help clinicians assist and support their clients with the difficulties of synchronizing loss with life as they progress on their life span journey.     

Resurgence and alternative‐reinforcer magnitude

Resurgence is defined as an increase in the frequency of a previously reinforced target response when an alternative source of reinforcement is suspended. Despite an extensive body of research examining factors that affect resurgence, the effects of alternative‐reinforcer magnitude have not been examined. Thus, the present experiments aimed to fill this gap in the literature. In Experiment 1, rats pressed levers for single‐pellet reinforcers during Phase 1. In Phase 2, target‐lever pressing was extinguished, and alternative‐lever pressing produced either five‐pellet, one‐pellet, or no alternative reinforcement. In Phase 3, alternative reinforcement was suspended to test for resurgence. Five‐pellet alternative reinforcement produced faster elimination and greater resurgence of target‐lever pressing than one‐pellet alternative reinforcement. In Experiment 2, effects of decreasing alternative‐reinforcer magnitude on resurgence were examined. Rats pressed levers and pulled chains for six‐pellet reinforcers during Phases 1 and 2, respectively. In Phase 3, alternative reinforcement was decreased to three pellets for one group, one pellet for a second group, and suspended altogether for a third group. Shifting from six‐pellet to one‐pellet alternative reinforcement produced as much resurgence as suspending alternative reinforcement altogether, while shifting from six pellets to three pellets did not produce resurgence. These results suggest that alternative‐reinforcer magnitude has effects on elimination and resurgence of target behavior that are similar to those of alternative‐reinforcer rate. Thus, both suppression of target behavior during alternative reinforcement and resurgence when conditions of alternative reinforcement are altered may be related to variables that affect the value of the alternative‐reinforcement source.     

Testing reality during adolescence: the contribution of Erikson's concepts of fidelity and developmental actuality

The process of reality testing can be thought of as a lifespan developmental line, where adolescence provides a critical developmental advance but not an endpoint. Erikson's concepts of fidelity and developmental actuality provide a frame of reference for considering this. Three means of reality testing are identified--contemplation, action, and conversation--where these modes of approach can be used separately or in concert to clarify the reality status of situations and phenomena. These methods of testing reality are illustrated within four arenas of adolescent functioning-thought, time, parental representations, and the experience of the embodied self.     

Cross-modal source information and spoken word recognition

In a cross-modal matching task, participants were asked to match visual and auditory displays of speech based on the identity of the speaker. The present investigation used this task with acoustically transformed speech to examine the properties of sound that can convey cross-modal information. Word recognition performance was also measured under the same transformations. The authors found that cross-modal matching was only possible under transformations that preserved the relative spectral and temporal patterns of formant frequencies. In addition, cross-modal matching was only possible under the same conditions that yielded robust word recognition performance. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that acoustic and optical displays of speech simultaneously carry articulatory information about both the underlying linguistic message and indexical properties of the talker.     

Treatment effects of a total behavior modification program with five autistic children

Five autistic children were studied intensively to devise effective treatment procedures with the goal of eventual return to their homes. An experimental-clinical approach was used to design behavior modification programs specifically for each child. All children made varying degrees of progress, but thier learning deficits continued to interfere with learning all new responses, necessitating continuation of a structured home or institutional existence to maintain the treatment gains. Retardation remained a characteristic of all children, retrieval of previously decelerated referral behaviors was problematic at date of discharge, and response acquisition did not appreciably facilitate learning of more complex behavior on the same response hierarchy.     

Female advantage for spatial location memory in both static and dynamic environments

A female advantage has previously been found for spatial location tests of object memory. Previous studies have used static, 2-D tasks to test this advantage. This study used a computerized adaptation of the game Concentration to test object location memory in both a static and dynamic array of 24 pairs of line drawings. The dynamic version of this task was used to better reflect the dynamic real world in which we usually use object location memory. Consistent with previous research, we observed a female advantage. This advantage was found to a similar extent in both the static and dynamic versions of the task. The female advantage for object location memory is a concrete advantage in spatial cognition that females show on the Concentration Task, regardless of the nature of the presentation environment.     

Establishing and Evaluating the Substantive Adequacy of Positive Behavioral Support Plans

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (2004) renewed the commitment to provide positive behavioral support (PBS) for students that engage in persistent problem behavior. Behavior intervention plans (also known as PBS plans) serve as legal documents that help guide the implementation of intervention strategies to encourage more positive forms of behavior. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the substantive adequacy of PBS plans developed for special education students. This was accomplished by documenting the content of plans developed by two different groups of educators using a rating instrument based on the key concepts of PBS planning. Results revealed that the majority of plans developed by teams without identified training and expertise in PBS were rated as substantively inadequate, lacking critical information related to effective behavioral support planning. The implications of the results for everyday practice in the schools and directions for future research are discussed.