Nurturing behavioral repertoires within a nonsupportive environment

Recent articles have expressed concern over the increasing retreat to mentalism among behaviorists. The problem has been described elsewhere as a shift in verbal behavior resulting from the contingencies imposed by mentalistic verbal communities. Previous solutions have focused on strengthening our behavioral graduate programs to make the graduates' verbal repertoires more resistant to change. We suggest it is useful to analyze the problem in terms of inappropriate audience control and offer an approach by which behaviorists may assemble audiences to maintain their behavioral verbal repertoires within mentalistic verbal communities.     

Craziness and criminal responsibility.

This article addresses why mental disorder is relevant to criminal responsibility. It begins by considering the meaning of criminal responsibility because it is impossible to understand the relevance of mental disorder unless one understands responsibility clearly. The next section provides a theoretical account of responsibility and excuse in general and addresses common misconceptions about these topics. The third section examines in detail why mental disorder can sometimes produce either a complete or partial excusing condition, such as legal insanity or "partial responsibility," and whether the U.S. Constitution requires the provision of an excuse based on mental disorder. The section proposes that mental disorder should produce an excusing condition in appropriate cases. The next section considers the relation of mental disorder to mens rea, the mental state "element" that is a definitional criterion of most crimes, and whether the U.S. Constitution requires that defendants be permitted to use evidence of mental disorder to negate mental state elements of the crime charged. This section argues that mental disorder rarely negates mens rea, but in those cases in which a plausible claim for negation could be made, defendants should be allowed to make this claim.     

Selective adaptation of vowels

Two experiments investigating the selective adaptation of vowels examined changes in listeners’ identification functions for the vowel continuum [i-I-∈] as a function of the adapting stimulus. In Experiment I, the adapting stimuli were [i], [I], and [∈]. Both the [i] and [∈] stimuli produced significant shifts in the neighboringand distant phonetic boundaries, whereas [I] did not result in any adaptation effects. In order to explore the phonetic nature of feature adaptation in vowels, a second experiment was conducted using the adapting stimuli [gig] and [g ∈ g], which differed acoustically from the [i] and [∈] vowels on the identification continuum. Only [gig] yielded reliable adaptation effects. The results of these experiments were interpreted as suggesting arelative rather than a stableauditory mode of feature analysis in vowels and a possibly more complex auditory feature analysis for the vowel [i].     

Material Aid and Social Attraction1

Aid programs can be used as an antidote to social conflict. Under certain conditions, however, they may create hostility. In this experiment subjects representing six hypothetical countries (1) either received or did not receive material aid from a seventh nation and (2) had a high or low level of material need. Attraction for the aid-giver decreased markedly when aid was denied, but increased very little when it was granted. When subjects were high in material needs, the denial of aid produced maximal antagonism. However, when aid was received, high need did not enhance attraction to the donor. The implications of these findings for an exchange theory of attraction and for aid giving are discussed.     

The effects of rational-emotive therapy and relaxation training on premenstrual syndrome: A preliminary study

Six female subjects who were between 31 and 44 years of age attended a premenstrual syndrome (PMS) clinic and participated in a group therapy program designed to alleviate their premenstrual symptoms. Rational-emotive therapy (RET) and relaxation training were offered in addition to ongoing progesterone treatment in an effort to alleviate severe psychological symptoms thought to be occasioned by the hormonal changes occurring during the premenstrual week. Pre-treatment assessments were carried out using Moos' Menstrual Distress Questionnaire, Broadbent's Cognitive Failures Questionnaire, and Eysenck's Personality Questionnaire. Additionally, levels of self-reported psychological and physical menstrual distress symptoms were estimated by the subjects at each premenstruum throughout the ten-week therapy program. At the end of the ten week therapy program hormone treatment was discontinued. Significant pre-test to post-test differences were found in a number of psychological and physical symptoms of menstrual distress, in cognitive functioning and neuroticism, following the combined group treatment. Improvements in psychological functioning during premenstruum were observed at a one-year follow-up. RET and relaxation together with hormonal therapy produced a substantial reduction in PMS symptoms in comparison with drug treatment alone.     

Homeless men and women: Commonalities and a service gender gap

Gender differences among homeless persons on a host of variables were examined. A stratified random sample of 248 homeless persons staying in shelters in St. Louis provided data for the study. More similarities than differences between men and women were found. However, men tended to be homeless for longer periods and were more likely than women to sleep on the streets. Men were also more likely than women to have a drinking problem and to have been convicted of a crime. Men were less likely than women to ever have been married and to be caring for dependent children. The most striking gender differences occurred on service utilization variables; women were much more likely than men to have received social services. Comparison of our data with previous studies and potential explanations for the gender gap in service utilization are offered.     

Adult Attachment Ratings (AAR): An Item Response Theory Analysis

The Adult Attachment Ratings (AAR) include 3 scales for anxious, ambivalent attachment (excessive dependency, interpersonal ambivalence, and compulsive care-giving), 3 for avoidant attachment (rigid self-control, defensive separation, and emotional detachment), and 1 for secure attachment. The scales include items (ranging from 6–16 in their original form) scored by raters using a 3-point format (0 = absent, 1 = present, and 2 = strongly present) and summed to produce a total score. Item response theory (IRT) analyses were conducted with data from 414 participants recruited from psychiatric outpatient, medical, and community settings to identify the most informative items from each scale. The IRT results allowed us to shorten the scales to 5-item versions that are more precise and easier to rate because of their brevity. In general, the effective range of measurement for the scales was 0 to +2 SDs for each of the attachment constructs; that is, from average to high levels of attachment problems. Evidence for convergent and discriminant validity of the scales was investigated by comparing them with the Experiences of Close Relationships–Revised (ECR–R) scale and the Kobak Attachment Q-sort. The best consensus among self-reports on the ECR–R, informant ratings on the ECR–R, and expert judgments on the Q-sort and the AAR emerged for anxious, ambivalent attachment. Given the good psychometric characteristics of the scale for secure attachment, however, this measure alone might provide a simple alternative to more elaborate procedures for some measurement purposes. Conversion tables are provided for the 7 scales to facilitate transformation from raw scores to IRT-calibrated (theta) scores.