Law,professional practice,and university preparation: Where do we go from here?

In this time of legal decisions which call much professional practice into question, it is well to ask ourselves questions as to why we are the object of court concern and how our preparation is related to our difficulties. It is suggested that current psychological practice is basically Aristotelian in nature and that our specialty suffers as a consequence. Several suggestions are presented for adjustments in university preparation. Intelligence testing and ability grouping are referred to throughout, for they have been primary targets of the courts. Examples pertaining to personality and other often measured psychological variables could have as appropriately been offered.     

What procedural due process means to a school psychologist: A dialogue

Courts and the Congress have recently extended to school children safeguards encompassed by procedural due process in cases involving disciplinary suspensions and special education placements. The meaning of due process and its implications for psychologists are illustrated in a hypothetical dialogue between a constitutional lawyer and a school psychologist.     

Adult discipline as a factor in childhood imitation

The present study examined changes in two children's imitative behavior as a function of the model's use of timeout and differential attention. Subjects were two children, one classified by her parents, the other classified by his teacher, as highly oppositional to adult requests or commands. The former child was treated by the parents in the home setting; the latter child was treated by the teacher in a preschool setting. Results showed that the children's oppositional behavior varied predictably with the presence and absence of adult use of time-out and differential attention. As expected, imitative behavior of both children was greater during treatment periods than during baseline periods.This research was funded in part by a Faculty Research Grant from the Graduate School, University of Tennessee, Knoxville. We would like to extend our appreciation to Nancy Williams, Andrea Warming, Ursula Botbyl, Diane Childress, Tom Hunter, and Edward Fowler who served as observers, and to Ronda Warner who worked with Ernest in the University Nursery School.     

Psychoactive drug effects in a hyperactive child: A case study analysis of behavior change and teacher attention

The effects of methylphenidate on the behavior and teacher interactions of a 9-year-old hyperactive female were analyzed. Observations of the subject's task-related and disruptive behaviors and of interactions between the subject and her classroom teacher were made when the subject received the active drug and an inert placebo. Teacher's ratings of the subject's classroom behavior and measures of her academic performance were also obtained. Results showed that when the subject was receiving methylphenidate she engaged in task-related activities a greater percent of the time, had a higher percent of teacher interactions that were instructional in quality, and received lower behavior ratings by the teacher than when she was receiving a placebo. The results suggest that the use of medication may enable the hyperactive child to profit both behaviorally and academically.     

II. The comparability of the WISC-R and WAIS among 16-year-old EMR children

Thirty 16-year-old EMR children were administered the WAIS and WISC-R in counterbalance order to determine the comparability of the two assessment instruments. The WAIS was found to yield significantly higher Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale IQ scores. The comparisons of corresponding subtests indicate that all WAIS subtests were significantly higher than the WISC-R except Picture Completion. Correlations between corresponding WAIS and WISC-R IQ scales and subtests, however, were significant. The results suggest differences between the two instruments among children of subnormal intelligence, thus presenting the possibility that a child may be differentially classified based on the selection of the intelligence test.     

The identification of resources and constraints influencing plan design in consultation

The present study investigated the effects of consultant verbalizations on consultee verbalizations reflecting consultee resources that might be used in plan implementation and constraints potentially limiting the nature of plans implemented in consultation. Interviews of 50 consultants trained in behavioral consultation and participating in a field experience with public school teachers were analyzed. Plan-tactic-elicitors verbalized by consultants were shown to have a positive effect on the incidence of resources as opposed to responses not reflecting resources or constraints. Other types of consultant elicitors all had a negative impact on resource incidence when compared to the incidence of other types of consultee responses.     

Achievement and adjustment correlates of the matching familiar figures test

To help clarify the relationship between the Matching Familiar Figures (MFF) Test and measures of school achievement and adjustment, 450 children from kindergarten, second, and fifth grades were tested and achievement scores and teacher's ratings of classroom and personal adjustment were obtained. Regardless of grades, MFF latency in most instances did not predict achievement or adjustment. At the kindergarten level the correlations between MFF errors and both achievement and adjustment were significant for most subscales but at second grade correlations were lower and generally nonsignificant except for a few adjustment items. At the fifth grade level the correlations were moderately high but when IQ was partialled out the correlations with achievement and school adjustment dropped to near zero; however, partialling out IQ did not affect the moderate correlations between errors and personal adjustment. The errors score evidencedmore important relationships than the latency scores. The relationship between the MFF and ratings of social and emotional adjustment was consistently higher than the correlations between the MFF and achievement. These results suggest that MFF errors are personalogically relevant and that MFF performance is generally more related to adjustment than achievement.