The development and adoption of controversial default technologies

Default technologies evolve from failure. Within the realm of human behavior, technologies based on the use of aversive contingencies can be conceptualized as default technologies because they come into play when natural contingencies or positive reinforcement fail to produce a desired behavioral outcome. Historical as well as contemporary events suggest that it is a mistake for behavior analysts to advocate for the adoption of aversive technologies. We must, however, continue to play a leading role in the development of such technologies so that they will be used in an appropriate manner. Furthermore, the eventual elimination of aversive technologies will be possible only through continued, careful, and experimental analysis of the contexts of failure in which they are born.     

Employee Assistance Programs: A Systemic Investigation of Their Use

Braun, A.L., & Novak, D.E. (1986, November/December). A study of EAP non-utilization. EAP Digest, pp. 52–55. O'Connell, V. (1987, March/April). A strategy for overcoming supervisors' resistance. EAP Digest, pp. 63–66. Penzer, W.N. (1987, March/April). Toward sustaining quality mental health services. EAP Digest, pp. 35–40.     

A sample-to-disk system for psychomusical research

A hardware-and-software system is described that permits musical-bandwidth signal quantization, monophonic or stereophonic, direct to/from hard disk. The system, which uses an IBM AT or compatible, is cost effective and device independent. Software functions allow for automated aural and graphical signal analyses. Perceptual experiments that use contextual, natural-instrument stimuli, and that take advantage of the immediate and random access provided by this system, are described.     

Epistemological and ontological issues in counseling: Implications of social systems theory

Philosophical issues related to theoretical and methodological developments in counseling are addressed, especially related to epistemology (theory of knowledge) and ontology (theory of reality). Social systems theory is described as an epistemologically and ontologically significant challenger to psychological theory, which has traditionally predominated as a foundation for counseling approaches. Recent developments from cognitive biology are used to demonstrate how systems theory may be metatheoretical to the psychological point of view, accounting for all that psychological theory can account for, and more.     

What do decision models tell us about information use?

This paper develops hypotheses about the implications of different types of decision for the utilization of different types of systematically produced information: data, research, and analysis. The engineering and enlightenment models found in the knowledge utilization literature prove inadequate for this purpose. We turn to three decision models—routine, incremental, and fundamental–and determine their implied demands for information. We also examine how information might be used in scanning procedures in anticipation of decision regime shifts. The results suggest that patterns of information should differ markedly in each decision context and indicate that there may be an inherent bias against the use of research in decision. Evert A. Lindquist, a doctoral candidate at the Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Calfornia at Berkeley, is completing a dissertation onPolicy Institutes in Canada: The Organization and Relevance of Public Inquiry and will join the faculty of the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto this fall. Organizations, public policy, and the role of information in decision making are among his primary research interests.     

Beyond medical ethics: New directions for philosophy and medicine

A unique relationship exists between physicians and philosophers — one that expands on the constructive potential of the liaison between physicians and, for example, theologians, on the one hand, or, social workers on the other. This liaison should focus in the scientific aspects of medicine, not just the ethical aspects. Philosophers can provide physicians with a perspective on both the philosophy and the history of medicine through the ages — a sense of how medicine has adapted to the social cultural and ethical needs of each period. This perspective, while emphasizing medicine asscience, should not be limited to matters of methodology, or to criteria for distinguishing science from other intellectual pursuits, but should be concerned also with the history, sociology and politics of science. Both physicians and philosophers stand to gain from a strengthening of their active liaison now as never before; but most of all, the public will be the beneficiary.     

Paranoid character and the intolerance of indifference.

This paper suggests that aspects of paranoid character are structured around fantasies of magical and concrete connectedness to objects; these fantasies serve to avoid the terrors of object inconstancy. The authors describe how these fantasies are expressed in the psychoanalytic situation and explore their relation to common paranoid phenomena. The paranoid person must maintain these fantasies of connectedness at all cost or risk experiencing unbearable indifference between self and object. Paradoxically, the sacrifice of self and object boundaries inherent in these fantasies makes object constancy even more difficult to achieve because of the secondary defensive use of anger mobilized to protect the boundaries of the self.     

Line bisecting as a predictor of personal optimism and desirability of risky behaviors.

Our goal was to test whether current hemisphere predominance is a predictor of scores on standardized measures of personal optimism and preference for risk. In two between-subject experiments, current hemisphere predominance was measured by the direction and extent of line bisecting errors. Pearson correlations and median splits of the line bisecting errors showed significantly greater personal optimism and preference for risk with left hemisphere predominance. These results support previous research in which manipulation of hemisphere predominance produced similar effects on personal optimism in normal individuals and on risk taking in lesioned and normal samples. We conclude that the association of optimism and risk with left hemisphere predominance can be observed in resting as well as in manipulated situations.     

The association between teacher attitudes, behavioral intentions, and smoking and the prevalence of smoking among seventh-grade students.

Seventh-grade students and teachers from twenty-three middle and junior high schools were surveyed to determine the association between teacher attitudes, behavioral intentions, and smoking behavior and the prevalence of student smoking. Teacher attitudes toward smoking policies were found to be strongly related to the current smoking behavior of the teacher but not consistently related to student smoking. In addition, teacher likelihood of intervening showed a modest association with teacher smoking status, with current smokers generally indicating being the least likely to intervene for student possession or use of cigarettes. Teacher intentions to intervene were strongly associated with the prevalence of smoking among boys but not girls.