Conductive education: the case for further research

This paper presents the case for further research into Conductive Education arguing that the Department of Education report (Bairstow, Cochrane and Hur, 1993) by attempting to evaluate the practice of Conductive Education has in relying upon an experimental research strategy produced a narrow construction of the methods and practice of Conductive Education. The timing and methodologies used in the report are questioned and attention is drawn to developments in child disability research that challenge the manner in which researchers construct the lives of children with disabilities. Recommendations for the research community suggest that future studies move away from experimental or quasi-experimental research designs towards understanding of the child in its entirety and to accept the importance of the perspectives of service users, particularly the parents. ©1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Parent Cognitions as Predictors of Child Treatment Response in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Using a subsample of 105 children and their parents (100 mothers, 57 fathers) from the Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD (the MTA), the value of parents' baseline cognitions as predictors of children's treatment outcome at 14 months was examined. Measures of parents' cognitions about themselves, their ADHD children, and their parenting, as well as a self-report measure of dysfunctional discipline were included. Both mothers' and fathers' self-reported use of dysfunctional discipline predicted worse child treatment outcome. Low self-esteem in mothers, low parenting efficacy in fathers, and fathers' attributions of noncompliance to their ADHD child's insufficient effort and bad mood also were associated with worse child treatment outcome. All of these predictive relations were obtained even after MTA treatment effects had been taken into account. Secondary analyses indicated that mothers had a more external locus of control, lower self-esteem, lower parenting efficacy, and a greater tendency to attribute noncompliance to their ADHD child's bad mood than did fathers.     

Personality traits of female psychotherapy patients with a history of incest: a research note

Rorschachs were administered to 17 female psychotherapy patients having a history of incest, as well as 17 matched control patients without such a history. Based on a review of the literature it was anticipated that the incest subjects would show evidence of difficulty in maintaining healthy interpersonal relationships, poor self-esteem, defective superego formation, sexual difficulties, and anger. Expectations receiving support included interpersonal problems, poor self-esteem, and anger.     

A rapid technique to assess the resting states of the eyes and other threshold phenomena: The Modified Binary Search (MOBS)

A technique was developed to automate subjective measurement of the resting states of the eyes. This technique, the Modified Binary Search (MOBS), evolved from the binary search and a commonly used manual bracketing technique. The procedure is mathematically and logically simple, and it requires minimal storage and computation capabilities. Monte Carlo simulations indicate that the MOBS procedure provides more precise measures with fewer stimulus presentations than conventional staircases. It is also relatively insensitive to response errors.     

Life History Prototypes in the Study of Human Individuality

Using biographical data collected in late adolescence and young adulthood, prototypes or subgroups of individuals with similar patterns of prior behaviors and experiences were empirically identified. The prototypes are described, and the pathways taken by the prototypes from adolescence to adulthood are examined. Focusing on the various pathways or trajectories followed by different prototypes, we discuss implications of prototype membership for continuity and change in personality.     

A COMPARISON OF TWO APPROACHES FOR IDENTIFYING REINFORCERS FOR PERSONS WITH SEVERE AND PROFOUND DISABILITIES

The development of effective training programs for persons with profound mental retardation remains one of the greatest challenges for behavior analysts working in the field of developmental disabilities. One significant advancement for this population has been the reinforcer assessment procedure developed by Pace, Ivancic, Edwards, Iwata, and Page (1985), which involves repeatedly presenting a variety of stimuli to the client and then measuring approach behaviors to differentiate preferred from nonpreferred stimuli. One potential limitation of this procedure is that some clients consistently approach most or all of the stimuli on each presentation, making it difficult to differentiate among these stimuli. In this study, we used a concurrent operants paradigm to compare the Pace et al. (1985) procedure with a modified procedure wherein clients were presented with two stimuli simultaneously and were given access only to the first stimulus approached. The results revealed that this forced-choice stimulus preference assessment resulted in greater differentiation among stimuli and better predicted which stimuli would result in higher levels of responding when presented contingently in a concurrent operants paradigm.     

An experiment control computer system time shared by several laboratories

An experiment control computer system, operational for more than 2 years, is discussed. The system is multiprogammed, using a vendor supplied real-time operating system. Individual experiments employ multitasking—fast response functions are implemented in core resident tasks while interactive and other slow response functions are implemented in tasks that operate under time sharing. The areas of psychological research currently supported are concept formation studies, EEG evoked response studies, monitoring the autonomic nervous system, perception studies, and family interaction studies.     

Oculomotor adjustments in darkness and the specific distance tendency

Two experiments were performed to investigate the relationship between the oculomotor adjustments assumed in total darkness and perceived distance under reduced visual conditions. Experiment I compared the dark focus of accommodation with the perceived distance of a monocular light point presented in a dark environment. Experiment II compared the convergence angle assumed in darkness (dark convergence) with the perceived distance of the light point. Both accommodation and convergence were found to assume intermediate values in darkness. Perceived distance of the monocular light point was significantly correlated with dark convergence and unrelated to the dark focus of accommodation. It was suggested that ocular vergence is a major determinant of perceived distance under reduced visual conditions, and thus provides a possible mechanism for the specific distance tendency.     

The “soap opera” effect in story recall

When people learn a series of actions of a character, their memory is strongly influenced, we suggest, by beliefs about that character’s motives. Motives serve as schema for deciding the meaning of the actions, their importance, and their interconnections. In two experiments, subjects read and later remembered some dull activities of a character. Experimental subjects knew what this character was worrying about (e.g., an unwanted pregnancy); control subjects did not. Recall and recognition showed that motive subjects distorted many of the colorless events to be motive relevant. Although the motive schema helped connect the disparate actions, it interfered with accurate recording and recall of the details.     

Locomotion, active choice, and spatial memory in children

In two studies, children between 4 and 6 years old were tested on a radial search task requiring nonredundant sampling of eight identically labeled positions in a room. In the training phase (5 days), children made free choices by walking between positions, were passively transported in a pushchair, actively directed their own route from a pushchair, or were led on foot to positions selected by the experimenter. When tested (whether walking or directing while seated in a pushchair), children who had either walked independently or directed the experimenter while being pushed performed competently; those led on foot without spatial choice performed almost as well. Only the children who had neither independent locomotor experience nor autonomous choice performed very poorly. The results are related to neurobiological models of spatial cognition and may have implications for the transportation of children with mobility problems.