ANALYZING ALERTNESS AMONG PEOPLE WITH PROFOUND MULTIPLE DISABILITIES: IMPLICATIONS FOR PROVISION OF TRAINING

We investigated whether variations in alertness among individuals with profound multiple disabilities affected subsequent responsiveness to training programs. Three experiments were conducted involving 5 people. In Experiment 1, results indicated that alertness of 3 individuals increased with provision of skill-acquisition training programs. Results also indicated no predictive relationship between alertness levels prior to training and subsequent responsiveness to training. Experiment 2 replicated results of Experiment 1 with 2 participants from Experiment 1 and an additional participant. Results of Experiment 2 also indicated that the increased alertness levels accompanying provision of training were not a function of the participants simply being in an inactive environment prior to training. Results of Experiment 3 indicated that alertness of an additional participant increased through provision of another training intervention, involving a systematic preference assessment. Responses during the preference assessment appeared to be unrelated to previously existing alertness levels. These findings suggest the need for caution when considering the withholding of scheduled training because an individual appears to be nonalert.     

Judged Person Dangerousness as Weighted Averaging 1

This article reports two experiments requiring subjective evaluative judgments of the potential dangerousness of hypothetical persons. The research operationally fits the paradigm for the study of personality impression formation, and seeks to illuminate the processes by which two offenses combine to evoke a net judgment of dangerousness. The theoretical framework and philosophy adopted is Anderson's information integration and functional measurement theory. In Study 1, all paired combinations of 10 distinctive crimes were each presented as having been committed by the same person on two separate occasions. Subjects judged overall offender dangerousness. In Study 2, judgments of dangerousness were made when the time purportedly elapsing between two crimes was systematically varied over several ranges of up to 41 years. Three key findings emerged. First, judgments of dangerousness result from an averaging process. This result yields paradoxical implications having considerable pragmatic significance. Second, judgments of dangerousness following two sequential criminal acts (one of high and one of low seriousness) are consistently higher when the high seriousness one is the second crime. Third, with certain qualifications discussed in the text, a serious earlier crime appears to elicit an approximately constant magnitude of judged present dangerousness no matter how long ago it was perpetrated. This result implies that subjects infer considerable permanence of criminal predilection to those who have committed a serious crime in the past.     

Cotherapy treatment of phobias: A case study

A case study is presented of the treatment of a woman who had suffered from claustrophobia for over 13 years, by cotherapists using a combination of desensitization and flooding techniques. By assuming specific roles, the therapists expedited the therapeutic process to a successful conclusion in a brief period of time.     

The effects of periodic visual occlusion on ball catching

Four experiments were conducted to examine the effects of periodic visual occlusion on one-handed ball catching. Tennis balls were projected one at a time over distances of 8-12 m, and liquid-crystal visual occlusion spectacles provided intermittent vision by opening and closing the lens shutters at different frequencies. As well as frequency, we manipulated duty cycle, or the proportion of time that the lenses were open. Generally, catching performance deteriorated as frequency was reduced. Although longer visual samples (i.e., increased duty cycle) mediated this effect to some extent, the most potent variable was the time between visual samples; performance deteriorated rapidly when this interval was greater than 80 ms (i.e., 10 Hz with 20-ms lens open times). Presumably this occurred because subjects had difficulty integrating visual information separated by longer temporal intervals.     

Celtic culture,Calvinism, social and mental health on the Island of Lewis

The five points of federal Calvinism, as outlined by the Synod of Dort, have had a strong influence on the Protestant church. Their negative effects on the culture and society of the Western Isles of Scotland are often overlooked, or simply accepted as an expresion of that culture. In this paper, an attempt is made to show how Celtic culture on the Isle of Lewis has been held back by this theology, and the effect of this repression on society and the individual. Particular areas of concern are the neglect of the Gaelic language, and the incidence of violence, alcoholism, and depression. Iain Macritchie, S.T.M., comes from the village of Ballantrushal on the Island of Lewis. He is a Church of Scotland minister with a particular interest in training ministers for work in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, to which he has returned after a year on the Scottish Fellowship at Union Theological Seminary.     

Towards a Hierarchical Model of Self-concept for Hong Kong Chinese Adults with Physical Disabilities

This paper explores the basic facets and structure of the self-concepts of groups of 135 and 146 Hong Kong Chinese adults with and without physical disabilities, respectively. Comparison of responses to a 20-item scale indicated a very similar pattern of the importance the individuals in these groups attached to these areas of their lives. However, the non-disabled group did report higher satisfaction ratings on six of these areas and factor analysis of both the importance and satisfaction ratings showed a similar underlying factor structure for both groups. Content analysis of open-ended questions confirmed that both groups shared similar self-concept facets except that the subjects with physical disabilities most frequently reported the importance of “functional independence in daily living tasks”. It is proposed that this facet needs to be included in a self-concept instrument appropriate for subjects with physical disabilities. Models of self-concept were then suggested for each group.     

Child abuse and neglect by parents with disabilities: A tale of two families

Two families, in which the children had been placed in foster care due to abuse and neglect by parents who had disabilities, were studied. In the first case, the mother was instructed in skills that our assessment suggested were important for her child's survival. The mother readily acquired and applied these skills, a fact reflected both in changes in her behavior and in changes in the child's well-being. In the second case, the parent's incremental resumption of child custody was made contingent upon completion of relevant parenting tasks. Initially, improvements in the completion of such tasks were evident, but over time and with the onset of militating factors, no further progress was made and all parental rights were terminated. The implications of these cases for behavior analysis and the effort to reunite and preserve families are discussed.     

The paradox of preference for unreliable reinforcement: The role of context and conditioned reinforcement

We discuss Belke and Spetch's (1994) work on choice between reliable and unreliable reinforcement. The studies by Belke and Spetch extend a line of basic research demonstrating that under certain experimental conditions in a concurrent chains procedure, pigeons prefer an alternative that produces unreliable reinforcement. The authors describe the variables that influence preference for unreliable reinforcement, including the signaling and the duration of the reinforcement schedules, the context in which the signaling stimuli occur, and the effects of conditioned reinforcement. Hypothetical applied examples that address these variables are provided, and their influence on preference for unreliable reinforcement in humans is discussed. We conclude by suggesting a line of applied research to examine the relationship between these variables and a preference for unreliable reinforcement.     

ACHIEVING AND MAINTAINING COMPLIANCE WITH THE KETOGENIC DIET

The ketogenic diet, a treatment for intractable epilepsy, is rarely initiated because it requires strict compliance with a diet that is perceived to be unpalatable. In a case study of a 15-year-old girl with uncontrolled epilepsy, we used a stimulus-choice procedure to assess relative preferences of 33 foods from the diet and to develop two treatments based on Premack's principle. The results of a multielement analysis showed that both treatments increased dietary compliance. Compliance was maintained with generalization of treatment across settings, and was associated with a 40% reduction in seizures.