CONFRONTING THE DISADVANTAGED

A review of recent innovations in counseling style is presented along with an analysis of the advantages of these innovations over the more traditional counseling framework when dealing with disadvantaged clients. The authors recommend the use of these new, directive methods (categorized as “confrontive counseling”) for the effective counseling of clients of low socioeconomic status.     

Stimulus functions in some chained fixed-ratio schedules of reinforcement

For two pigeons, behavior was compared in equivalent two-link chained and tandem schedules in which 100 responses were required for food reinforcement but the responses required in the two links of the chained schedule were varied over the values 2-98, 50-50, and 98-2. Initial pausing, response rate in each link, and the total time to complete each ratio were recorded. In chained components, initial-link pausing (for both birds) and total time to complete the ratio (for one bird) were generally shorter when the response requirement was 2-98 than when it was 50-50 or 98-2; for terminal-link pausing this relationship was reversed for both birds. There were also systematic changes in behavior in tandem components, and in the relationship between behavior in chained and tandem components. The results are discussed in terms of conditioned reinforcement.     

Book reviews

Freud and his Early Circle: The Struggles of Psycho-Analysis. By Vincent Brome. London: W. Heinemann Ltd. 1967. Pp. xii+275. 63s.

Fundamentals of Measurement (Second Edition). By N. M. Downie. New York: Oxford University Press. 1967. Pp. xiii + 482. 52s.

Psychological Measurement and Prediction. By Paul Horst. Belmont, California: Wadsworth. London: Prentice-Hall, 1967. Pp. vii + 455. 72s.

Attention and Performance. Edited by A. F. Sanders. Amsterdam: North-Holland Publishing Co. 1967. Pp. xii + 452. £6.

Sensory Inhibition. By Georg von Bekesy. London: Oxford University Press; Princeton University Press. 1968. Pp. x + 1265. £4 Is.

Ellements of Psychophysics, Volume I. By Gustav Fechner. Transhlated by Helmut E. Adler. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston Inc. 1966. Pp. xxxi + 286. 56s.

Human Information Processing. By Lawrence J. Fogel. London: Prentice-Hall. 1968. Pp. Ix + 420. 70s.

Vision and the Eye. By M. H. Pirenne. 2nd Edition. London: Chapman & Hall; New York: Barnes & Noble. 1967. Pp. xvi + 224. Hardback 50s. Paperback 25s.

The Human Operator in Complex Systems. Edited by W. T. Singleton, R. S. Easterby and D. Whitfield. London: Taylor & Francis Ltd. Pp. xx + 198. 57s. 6d. Also published as Vol. Io, No. 2, of the Journal Ergonomics.

Behavior. An Introduction to Comparative Psychology. By John B. Watson. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. 1967. Pp. xxi + 439. $dollar;7.95.

The Psychology of Communication. By George A. Miller. London: Allen Lane the Penguin Press. 1968. Pp. vii + 197. 35s.     

Positive Events and Social Supports as Buffers of Life Change Stress1

A perceived availability of social support measure (the ISEL) was designed with independent subscales measuring four separate support functions. In a sample of college students, both perceived availability of social support and number of positive events moderated the relationship between negative life stress and depressive and physical symptomatology. In the case of depressive symptoms, the data fit a “buffering” hypothesis pattern, i.e., they suggest that both social support and positive events protect one from the pathogenic effects of high levels of life stress but are relatively unimportant for those with low levels of stress. In the case of physical symptoms, the data only partially support the buffering hypothesis. Particularly, the data suggest that both social support and positive events protect one from the pathogenic effects of high levels of stress but harm those (i.e., are associated with increased symptomatology) with low levels of stress. Further analyses suggest that self-esteem and appraisal support were primarily responsible for the reported interactions between negative life stress and social support. In contrast, frequency of past social support was not an effective life stress buffer in either the case of depressive or physical symptomatology. Moreover, past support frequency was positively related to physical symptoms and unrelated to depressive symptoms, while perceived availability of support was negatively related to depressive symptoms and unrelated to physical symptoms.     

ASSESS: Adjustment Scales for Sociometric Evaluation of Secondary-School Students

The Adjustment Scales for Sociometric Evaluation of Secondary-School Students (ASSESS) was designed to assess peer ratings of the behavior of male and female adolescents. Five scales were developed and crossvalidated: Aggression-Disruptiveness, Withdrawal, Anxiety, Social Competence, and Academic Difficulty. Evidence of adequate internal consistency and testretest reliability was presented. Evaluations by male and female classmates were highly correlated. Sex and age differences accounted for only a small proportion of the total variance.This research was supported by Grant MH-21145 from the National Institute of Mental Health and funds from W. T. Grant Foundation. We wish to acknowledge the assistance of Ronda Brooks, Lina Jandorf, and Jean Sullivan in conducting the data collection, as well as the many school districts that have cooperated.     

Further evidence for an orientation constancy based upon registration of ocular position

Summary In four experiments Ss were exposed to wedge prisms or maintained an asymmetrical eye and head posture in order to induce a shift in the apparent direction of gaze. Systematic changes in the apparent orientation of a line target were obtained as inferred from an assumed algorithm relating optical input and registered direction of gaze.This research was supported by Grant MH13006 from the National Institute of Mental Health to the first author.The aid of Ms. Janine Pyrek and Ms. Lynne Shebilske is gratefully acknowledged.     

GENERALIZATION BY AUTISTIC-TYPE CHILDREN OF VERBAL RESPONSES ACROSS SETTINGS

Generalization of verbal behavior by autistic-type children across physically different settings was assessed. Four boys learned responses to common questions in two settings at school and were probed to determine transfer of learning to home. Three of the children demonstrated little generalization to home when trained in a cubicle. Greater generalization was indicated when they received training at varied locations. The fourth child generalized most responses to his home regardless of training setting. Simple manipulations of the school environment to more closely simulate home conditions may facilitate transfer of training to the natural environment.     

BALANCING THE RIGHT TO HABILITATION WITH THE RIGHT TO PERSONAL LIBERTIES: THE RIGHTS OF PEOPLE WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES TO EAT TOO MANY DOUGHNUTS AND TAKE A NAP

In the pursuit of efficient habilitation, many service providers exercise a great deal of control over the lives of clients with developmental disabilities. For example, service providers often choose the client's habilitative goals, determine the daily schedule, and regulate access to preferred activities. This paper examines the advantages and disadvantages of allowing clients to exercise personal liberties, such as the right to choose and refuse daily activities. On one hand, poor choices on the part of the client could hinder habilitation. On the other hand, moral and legal issues arise when the client's right to choice is abridged. Recommendations are offered to protect both the right to habilitation and the freedom to choose.     

IN-HOME GENERALIZATION OF SOCIAL INTERACTIONS IN FAMILIES OF ADOLESCENTS WITH BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS

The effects of a three-phase family communication program were evaluated. In the skill-teaching phase, family members were taught reciprocal social communication skills in a clinic setting. During the skill-review phase, each family member practiced the skills in their homes with the teacher. During the home-based family conference phase, each family was taught to use a structured format to resolve current family issues using their newly acquired skills. In-home parent-youth interactions were observed during a series of 1-hr sessions that involved directed and nondirected situations. Evaluation included a multiple baseline design across skills during the skill-teaching phase and a multiple baseline design across families for the family conference phase. Although the procedures of the skill-teaching phase resulted in parent-adolescent dyads learning to use the skills in the teaching setting, competent use of the skills in the home was not observed until the family conference phase was implemented. These results suggest the importance of home-based intervention if changes are to be obtained at home.     

TEACHING ADULTS WITH SEVERE AND PROFOUND RETARDATION TO EXIT THEIR HOMES UPON HEARING THE FIRE ALARM

Prompting, modeling, and differential reinforcement with client-chosen rewards were used to teach 3 nonverbal people with severe to profound mental retardation to exit their group homes at the sound of the house fire alarm, using a multiple baseline design. All 3 participants learned to exit independently in less than 2 min in all experimenter-initiated surprise fire drills and in the majority of staff-initiated surprise fire drills. Each participant was also able to exit from five areas of the house from which teaching was not done.