Evaluation of a French parent-training program in young children with autism spectrum disorder

Parent training programs (PTs) in young children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are known to reduce parenting stress and improve child's behavior and parent-child interactions. Few PTs are available to French speaking families. In order to provide them with this type of intervention, we developed a French parent-training program of 12 bimonthly sessions and three individual home visits based on applied behavior analysis. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the social validity and efficacy of this new PT on eighteen parents who have a child with ASD and developmental delay. For 16 parents, the PT was considered effective, the objectives targeted important and the strategies learned acceptable for use with children. They have significantly improved their knowledge in ASD and behavioral intervention strategies and their children's socialization skills, and reduce their parental stress. This new French PT program seems to be a promising intervention.     

A Thurstonian model for the dual pair (4IAX) discrimination method

The Institute for Perception, Richmond, Virginia In the dual pair method, the subject is presented with two stimuli in two pairs: One pair is composed of two samples of the same stimulus; the other pair is composed of two samples of different stimuli, one being the same as that in the identical pair. The task of the judge is to select the most different pair. The psychometric function for the dual pair method is derived and expressed in terms of a singly noncentral beta distribution. A table is provided that connects a measure of the degree of difference, d , to the probability of a correct response. This table assumes an unbiased observer and differencing decision rule. A table is provided to give an estimate of the variance of d¢, the experimental estimate of d. The power of the dual pair method is also investigated, and a formula to determine the sample size required to meet Type I and Type II error specifications is given. The dual pair method appears to be slightly less powerful than the duotrio and the triangular methods. Experimental investigation is needed to explore the dual pair in applied research work.     

Effects of bogus feedback on intelligence test performance

French-Canadian high school students (N = 196) completed different forms of the Wonderlic Personnel Test (WPT; E. F. Wonderlic, 1983) on two occasions. Before the second test, they received negative or positive bogus feedback about their initial performance. Most students (n = 158) were informed that the WPT measured intelligence, and the instruction was issued before either the first (n = 42) or the second test (n = 116). In the latter case, WPT validity either was not mentioned (n = 36) or was described as high or low (ns = 39 and 41, respectively). WPT performance improved on the second test, but it was not related to feedback in any of the instruction conditions. Reasons for these results and their practical implications are discussed.