A longitudinal study of the development of spatial conceptual ability

During October and November of 1983, three subsamples were selected from three schools in Mesa, Arizona: 34 students in 6th grade, 34 students in 8th grade, and 34 students in 10th grade. A battery of Piagetian-type tasks were individually and randomly administered to each subject. Seven tasks examined projective spatial conceptual abilities, and three tasks examined Euclidean abilities. The same battery of tasks was again administered to the same subjects during November and December of 1984 when all the subjects were in the next grade, that is, 7th, 9th, and 11th. Because of attrition, the number of students tested during the second year were 33, 30, and 28, respectively. To test for significant differences between grade levels, a chi-square one-sample procedure was used. Out of a possible 50 tasks, significant differences were detected in 36 (72%). Those findings, along with an examination of the percentage of students passing each task, support the notion of sequential development of spatial conceptual abilities.     

Families of Adolescent Drug Abusers Are “Rigid”: Are These Families Either “Disengaged” or “Enmeshed,” or Both?

The FACES instrument, based on Olson's Circumplex Model of family functioning, was administered to 96 adolescent drug-abuse clients and their parents. The majority of these families categorized themselves as "disengaged" (rather than "enmeshed") on the cohesion dimension, and as "rigid" (rather than "chaotic") on the adaptability dimension. These findings were unexpected as they were substantially different from published findings on families with other types of problems. Family therapists, utilizing Olson's Clinical Rating Scale for the Circumplex Model, characterized significantly more of these same families as "enmeshed," rather than "disengaged." Possible explanations for the difference between the therapists' perceptions and the families' self-perceptions are discussed.     

CORRESPONDENCE TRAINING: AN EXAMPLE OF RULE-GOVERNED BEHAVIOR?

Two groups of six mentally retarded adults were exposed to either a “say/do” correspondence training program or a “do only” reinforcement procedure to evaluate the suggestion of Rogers-Warren and Baer (1976) that reinforcement of the nonverbal target behavior in the absence of the relevant verbal behavior may account for the behavior changes seen in correspondence training. The participants worked in an experimental setting on a variety of manipulatory responses leading to various auditory and visual consequences. Analysis of individual patterns of responding indicated no apparent differences between the groups during training; four individuals in each group appeared to develop generalized correspondence skills. We conclude that the outcome of correspondence training may not necessarily be verbal regulation of behavior as is assumed. Rather, we suggest that the notion of rule-governed behavior can best account for the type of behavior changes seen in correspondence studies.     

Target Groups for Preventing AIDS Among Intravenous Drug Users

The acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) has rapidly become the most serious medical consequence of injecting illicit drugs. Its potential impact on intravenous (IV) drug use is enormous. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV, also known as HTLV-III and LAV), the virus that causes AIDS, appears, usually, to lead to lifelong infection. At present there is no effective treatment, and the treatments under development may require lifelong antiviral therapy. Since most of the antibody produced in response to HIV infection does not neutralize the virus, and since there is substantial genetic variation in the virus, it will be difficult to develop a vaccine. Even after vaccines are developed, testing their safety and efficacy will be formidable problems. Until either effective treatment or vaccines are developed, control of the epidemic among IV drug users must be attempted through behavior change/prevention efforts. In this paper we will review the epidemiology of AIDS among IV drug users and characteristics of the IV drug-use subculture relevant to prevention efforts. We will then identify different target groups for these prevention efforts, present available evidence about behavior change in these groups, and then briefly discuss how to prevent transmission of HIV to heterosexual partners who are not themselves IV drug users and to the children of IV drug users.     

Correlates of Children's Usage of Videogames and Computers1

Fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade students responded to a questionnaire concerning their experiences with electronic videogames and computers. Teacher ratings of academic achievement, personality characteristics, and behavior patterns were also obtained for each student. These data were used to examine a number of hypotheses concerning potential harmful or beneficial effects of electronic videogames on school-age children, and to provide preliminary evidence concerning the correlates of computer usage by school-age children. Videogame usage showed significant positive correlations with teacher ratings of impulsivity, significant negative correlations with ratings of academic achievement, and little relationship to rated sociability. Videogame use also proved positively related to other social activities and to microcomputer use.     

A NEUROBIOLOGICAL ALTERNATIVE TO THE PERCEPTUAL REINFORCEMENT HYPOTHESIS OF STEREOTYPED BEHAVIOR: A COMMENTARY ON “SELF-STIMULATORY BEHAVIOR AND PERCEPTUAL REINFORCEMENT”

A perceptual reinforcement theory of stereotyped movements is advanced by Lovaas, Newsom, and Hickman (1987) in an effort to integrate a number of diverse observations about the origins and maintenance of this behavior. We, in turn, argue that the theory, as presented, is logically flawed and fails to take into account important biological findings and theory concerning pathological stereotyped acts. An alternative theory, derived primarily from neurological concepts, is briefly described.     

Unprogrammed effects of training high-status peers to interact with severely handicapped children.

We examined the effects of a peer initiation intervention with high- and low-status nonhandicapped students on the behavior of untrained peers toward handicapped students. In the context of a counterbalanced withdrawal design, high- and low-status nonhandicapped students were taught to direct social initiations to eight severely handicapped students during recess activities. The interactions of the high-status students resulted in higher levels of initiations by untrained peers toward the handicapped students than did the interactions of the low-status students. Social response levels were also differentially affected by the status of the peer initiator.     

PSYCHOLOGY AND HEALTH: CONTRIBUTIONS OF PSYCHOLOGY TO THE IMPROVEMENT OF HEALTH AND HEALTH CARE

Psychology as both a science and a profession has been closely identified with other disciplines in the broad field of health since the turn of the century. Recent advances in health care have reinforced the growing belief that the promotion of health and the prevention and treatment of illness can be greatly enhanced by incorporating the scientific findings and modern technology of psychology into everyday practices. Outlining the contributions of psychology to health care throughout the world is the primary purpose of this report. In this brief survey, only some of the most timely and relevant issues can be mentioned, together with examples of current work in the field. The reader interested in pursuing these psychological contributions more thoroughly is encouraged to review pertinent references from the citations at the end of this report. After an introductory overview, special attention is given to each of the major areas within the broad field of health care where psychological applications have been particularly useful.