ESTABLISHMENT OF NONDELUSIONAL RESPONSES IN A SOCIALLY WITHDRAWN CHRONIC SCHIZOPHRENIC1

Multiple treatment interventions including instructions, modelling, timeout, avoidance of repetition, and reinforcement were successful in establishing factual answers to personal background questions in a withdrawn and socially unresponsive chronic schizophrenic. The subject had previously persisted in giving only delusional responses to these questions. A multiple-baseline design across verbal replies to personal background questions demonstrated that the changes in behavior were brought about by the treatment interventions. During baseline, the subject was reinforced for any response to four questions. The experimental interventions were then introduced for the first question and moved sequentially to an additional question when the subject's responses reached the criterion of at least 80% correct for two consecutive sessions. Introduction of the experimental interventions produced an increase from a baseline level of zero to at least 80% correct for each question. The use of the token reinforcement procedure was faded out after the subject was able to answer all four questions correctly at least 80% of the time for two consecutive sessions. Fading of the token reinforcement procedure was accomplished by using increasingly intermittent schedules of token reinforcement during the last seven sessions. In the final session, no tokens were used to reinforce the subject's responding. Nine-, ten-, and 12-month followup interviews were conducted to evaluate the maintenance of treatment gains. Maintenance was found to be complete at the nine- and 10-month followups, but at the 12-month followup interview, the subject answered one question incorrectly. This study replicates an investigation previously reported in this journal.     

MODIFICATION OF ACTIVITY LEVEL THROUGH BIOFEEDBACK AND OPERANT CONDITIONING1

The biomotometer, an electronic device that simultaneously measures activity and provides auditory feedback to the subject, was used in combination with material reinforcers in two experiments attempting to modify activity level in children. In the first study the activity level of an 11-year-old highly active boy was decreased below mean baseline during conditioning in a classroom setting. His level of activity returned to baseline when feedback was withdrawn. In the second study, activity level of a 10-year-old hypoactive boy was increased over mean baseline level during conditioning in a free-play setting, and returned to slightly below baseline during five extinction trials. Results of these studies indicate that the biomotometer is a useful instrument for modification of activity level.     

Students' ratings of occupational dimensions of traditionally male and traditionally female occupations

The purpose of the present study was to investigate four traditionally male occupations and four traditionally female occupations on a number of dimensions which people use to judge the prestige or importance of a job. Workers were pictured on one form in their traditional roles and on a second form in nontraditional roles. Results indicated a tendency for subjects to give lower ratings to workers in nontraditional jobs. More importantly, for the two “objective” dimensions, money and education, boys and girls agreed on job ratings; however, on the two more “subjective” dimensions, respect and importance to the community, boys gave higher ratings to the male jobs, while girls gave higher ratings to the female jobs.     

Identifying a school's real agenda: Nine steps

Nine steps are described which enable a school psychologist to determine the real agenda of a school system. The “real” agenda of a school is defined as those behaviors that are encouraged and discouraged by each school's culture on a daily basis. These steps include (a) community expectations, (b) grading system, (c) testing program, (d) school achievement level, (e) curricular options, (f) changes in personnel, (g) organizational changes, (h) budget implications, and (i) walking the halls.     

Activity level: A comparison between actometer scores and observer ratings

Activity level of 13 boys (aged 9–13) from a day hospital program was measured using actometers in classroom, gym, woodshop, and group therapy settings. Ratings of Ss' activity were obtained from mothers using the Werry scale, and from six clinical staff familiar with the Ss using the Davids scale. It was predicted that activity ratings would have situationally specific relationships with actometermeasured activity level according to the rater's opportunities for observation. Comparisons between measures indicated that all clinical staff ratings correlated significantly with actometer activity in the classroom (r=.49 to r=.73), while mothers' ratings correlated significantly with actometer activity in gym (r=.67), and woodshop (r=.77), and with overall activity (r=.65), a combined measure derived from actometer scores in the four conditions tested. Five of six clinical staff raters showed significant interrater reliability (r=.58 to r=.83). Results are discussed in terms of their implications for solution of current problems in assessment of activity level and hyperactivity.     

Aspects of body image perception in obese and normal-weight youngsters

Perceptual and projective aspects of body image in obese youngsters (not in psychological treatment) and normal-weight youngsters 8–9 years of age and 12–13 years of age were investigated. The results indicate that perceptual distortions in estimating various body dimensions of oneself are primarily a function of age rather than weight status. The accuracy of estimating the weight of peers and an adult showed an association with the sex of the subject. No group differences were found in terms of projective aspects of body image as measured by barrier and penetration responses. This study suggests that obese youngsters in the middle childhood and entering puberty periods in comparison to normal-weight youngsters of the same age do not manifest differences in perceptual factors of body image.     

The possible causes of the sex ratio in stuttering and its implications

The incidence of stuttering has always been reported to be higher in males than in females. Possible causes of the unequal sex ratio include various ascertainment biases, incomplete reporting, social role differences, X-linked inheritance, or a combination of environmental and genetic elements. Each of these factors has been examined against data collected in the large family study of stuttering, and all but one have been eliminated. Only the gene-environment interaction hypothesis can be supported by the data. Statistical analysis confirms that the sex effect in stuttering is real and supports a threshold model for the sex difference. We conclude that the possibility of differences between males and females must be considered in any etiological research in stuttering.     

Masculinity—Femininity in children's self-concepts: The relationship to teachers' judgments of social adjustment and academic ability,classroom behaviors,and popularity

This study explored the response of peers and teachers to children who differed in the extent to which their self-concepts included traits which children view as masculine or feminine. It was hypothesized that teachers would judge relatively more masculine children to be inferior in (1) academic ability and (2) social adjustment compared to more feminine children, and that these relationships would be independent of IQ. Relationships between masculine—feminine self-concept and observable classroom behaviors were examined, particularly the impact of classroom behavior on teachers' evaluations of masucline versus feminine children. Finally, the relationship between masculine—feminine self-concept and popularity was studied. Subjects were 64 middle-class fourth and fifth graders. For boys, the hypotheses were supported for evaluations made by seven women teachers. Evaluations made by one man teacher did not support the hypotheses. Neither hypothesis was supported for girls. Among boys, relative masculinity was associated with a distinctive pattern of classroom behavior, and this statistically accounted for women teachers' negative evaluations of the more masculine boys. For boys, the relationship between popularity and masculine—feminine self-concept differed significantly between classroom settings; while for girls there were no significant relationships. Methodological issues, sex differences in the importance of sex-typing of self-concept, teacher sex differences, and implications for mental health are discussed.The author acknowledges the invaluable assistance of the following persons: Kevin McClearey assisted in the initial development of the observation procedure; Jessica Broitman and Dennis Quintana conducted the observations; Dennis Quintana assisted in developing the items for the masculine—feminine self-concept questionnaire; Ms. Judy Hermann, Principal, offered cooperation in the school setting; Drs. William Hodges and Donald Weatherley offered criticisms of an earlier version of this paper. An earlier, condensed version of this paper was presented at the meeting of the Western Psychological Association, Los Angeles, 1976.