REDUCING ESCAPE BEHAVIOR AND INCREASING TASK COMPLETION WITH FUNCTIONAL COMMUNICATION TRAINING,EXTINCTION AND RESPONSE CHAINING

The effects of functional communication training, extinction, and response chaining on 3 subjects' escape-maintained aberrant behavior were evaluated using a multielement design. Functional communication training consisted of teaching subjects a verbal response that was functionally equivalent to their aberrant behavior. Subjects initially were allowed to escape from a task contingent on the trained verbal response. In subsequent treatment phases, escape was contingent on the trained verbal response plus the completion of the specified number of steps in the task (response chaining). The number of steps was increased until a subject completed the task to obtain a break. Results showed that the treatment reduced rates of aberrant behavior and that the chaining procedure was effective in decreasing the availability of escape.     

The recollective experience of cross-modality confusion errors

There are at least two qualitatively different types of subjective experience that can accompany accurate recognition memory. Sometimes recognition is accompanied by conscious recollection of the learning episode (i.e., it isremembered), and in other cases it is not (i.e., it is simplyknown that the item is old). In the present study, we assessed the subjective experience that accompanies crossmodality confusion errors (misidentifying words as pictures) by measuring the extent to which subjects claimed toremember versusknow that the item was presented as a picture. The results of two experiments demonstrate that cross-modality confusion errors are often accompanied by conscious recollection, although not to the same extent as accurate memories. The findings also show that there is considerable overlap in the recollective experience that accompanies accurate and erroneous memories. Finally, the results support the contention that recollective experience cannot be directly inferred from test performance.     

Showing Clients What Their Profiles Mean

This article suggests that counselors might profitably investigate new graphic approaches to showing clients what their multivariate profiles mean. An illustration is given in terms of Holland's RIASEC (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, Conventional; 1985) model of vocational interests.     

Dream-sharing groups,spirituality, and community

This article examines the phenomenon of dream-sharing groups and argues that these groups offer a valuable source of spiritual revitalization and community healing in contemporary Western society. The article traces the historical development of dream-sharing groups, analyzes the various forms they take, and discusses their relation to the secularization of the modern West. Two concrete examples are offered—one from a public high school, the other from a prison—to illustrate the power of dream-sharing groups to stimulate a deep and powerful sense of relatedness to others, enabling people to recognize a shared humanity in the midst of social and cultural differences.     

Conditioned Inhibition Produced by Extinction of a Conditioned Stimulus

Four experiments used a conditioned taste aversion procedure to examine the potential for CS-alone extinction treatment to produce a conditioned stimulus that possesses inhibitory properties. In Experiment 1, saccharin was paired with LiCl, and then saccharin was presented alone for several trials to produce extensive behavioral extinction. Animals receiving this treatment were retarded in reacquiring conditioned responding to saccharin relative to control subjects receiving conditioning to the flavor for the first time. In Experiment 2, the extinguished saccharin stimulus was shown to decrease conditioned responding to a known excitor when the two stimuli were presented in compound as a summation test. Experiments 3A and 3B replicated the findings of Experiments 1 and 2 while providing evidence that the effects were not due to the differential effects of neophobia during testing. These three experiments revealed that an extinguished conditioned excitor passes retardation and summation tests for conditioned inhibition. Experiment 4 found that extinction of a known excitor was slowed when the excitor was extinguished in compound with a previously extinguished conditioned stimulus. That is, an extinguished CS provided protection from extinction to another CS, a finding also consistent with the view that extinction produces conditioned inhibition.     

Prevalence of ADHD and comorbid disorders among elementary school children screened for disruptive behavior

In the context of a school-based prevention of conduct disorder program, 7,231 first- through fourth-grade children were screened for cross-setting disruptive behavior. Frequencies of DSM-III-R psychiatric disorders and patterns of comorbidity were assessed. We also examined the association of psychiatric diagnosis with child and parent characteristics to determine differential risk based on diagnostic subgroups. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional-defiant disorder (ODD) were the most frequent diagnoses. Mood and anxiety disorders were infrequent as single diagnoses. Patterns of comorbidity demonstrated that both externalizing and internalizing disorders commonly cooccurred with ADHD. More severe degrees of psychopathology and psychosocial risk accrued to the subgroup of youths with ADHD plus a comorbid externalizing disorder.This study was supported by grant MN-46584 from the National Institute of Mental Health.     

Gender and aggression II: Personal aggressiveness

To investigate how gender, ethnicity, age and education influence aggressiveness, we surveyed 115 male and female college students (56% male; 50% Anglo and 26% Hispanic) and 79 persons (72% male; 92% Anglo) working on a military base. Participants were administered the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire and asked about their own aggressive behaviors. In both samples, men scored significantly higher than women on the Physical Aggression scale of the Aggression Questionnaire but not on the other scales. In the military sample, men indicated that they expected to behave more aggressively than women. Positive correlations among different aspects of aggressiveness were found for both men and women. Increasing age and education were associated with lower aggressiveness in both genders, suggesting that aggressiveness may be susceptible to modification over the course of one's life.We would like to thank Angela Bennett, Gail Bliss, Kayleigh Carabajal, Julie Depree, Carmen Gonzales, Deborah Good, Scott Griffin, Gladys Herrera, George Selix, Ruth Tangman, and Jon Woodland for their assistance with the development, distribution, and coding of the questionnaire.     

Pre-screening education in multiple marker screening programs: The effect on patient anxiety and knowledge

Previous studies have shown that unexplained deviations in maternal serum multiple marker screening (MMS) generate considerable anxiety during the remainder of pregnancy. While the role of education in decreasing anxiety is documented, to date there has been no prospective evaluation of which educational practices might minimize this emotional stress. In a pilot study, we prospectively examined the effects on anxiety and knowledge by providing information about MMS (1) by genetic counselor, (2) by pamphlet, and (3) by primary physician. Women randomized to one of these three modalities were administered the Spielberger State- Trait Anxiety Inventory [STAI] and knowledge questionnaires at their initial obstetrics visit, at their second visit after educational intervention and 1–2 weeks after MMS results were provided to patients. Education resulted in an increase in knowledge and post-education knowledge was different between educational modalities. Anxiety declined in patients educated through genetic counseling or a pamphlet.