Effects of enthusiastic and non-enthusiastic voice in praise on the behavior of children with autism and typically developing children

Behavioral intervention manuals for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) commonly recommend that praise should be delivered in an enthusiastic tone of voice. Only a few studies, however, have explicitly tested this assumption, and results have been mixed. This study therefore compared the effects of enthusiastic and non-enthusiastic tone of voice in praise on the behavior of children with ASD. We also examined how typically developing (TD) children responded to enthusiastic and non-enthusiastic praise. Participants were 21 children with ASD matched on developmental age with the chronological age of 20 TD children. The effects of enthusiastic and non-enthusiastic praise were assessed using an application on a tablet computer designed to isolate tone of voice as a variable in vocally delivered praise. Two buttons produced the same six praise statements, one with an enthusiastic tone of voice and one with a neutral tone of voice. Results showed that the children with ASD, on average, allocated more responding to the square on the tablet computer producing enthusiastic praise as compared to the square producing non-enthusiastic praise. In addition, higher rates of responding to non-enthusiastic praise correlated positively with higher IQ, suggesting that non-enthusiastic praise was more effective for children with ASD with higher cognitive scores. The TD children, in contrast, did not allocate more responding to either the squares, suggesting that tone of voice in praise was not an important variable for the behavior of TD children.     

Preference‐based segmentation: a study of meal preferences among Norwegian teenagers

The primary goal of this study was to examine the applicability of preference‐based segmentation for a broad array of meals in the context of teenagers. A representative sample of 1,168 Norwegian schoolchildren provided an evaluation of 20 common dinner meals in terms of preference (liking). Cluster analysis was used to establish four distinct preference‐based food segments. These four segments were termed Food Lovers, Fish Haters, Fish Lovers and Dislikers. The relationship between these four preference‐based segments and demographic, consumption, attitude and lifestyle variables was finally modelled using a multinomial logit analysis. The results highlight the fact that social and family‐related attitude and lifestyle variables have a greater ability to profile the segments and explain segment membership than demographic variables. The findings indicate that there are distinct and interesting differences between these segments. The findings have some implications for marketers within the industry in terms of effectively targeting the different market segments. Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications Ltd.     

Analyzing the returns of the first transaction satisfaction on intention to purchase and willingness to pay: Evidence for new food products

The present study sheds light on the kind of relationships that link first transaction consumer satisfaction (CS), purchase intention, and willingness to pay for new food products. The article presents a comparative evaluation of linear and nonlinear quadratic and cubic specifications used to assess the relationships involved. The study uses empirical evidence from three product‐testing field experiments with consumers in different natural settings such as at‐home and out‐of‐home. Statistical tests with structural equation modeling reveal that, for new food products, the CS–purchase intention relationship is characterized by a nonlinear functional form with increasing marginal returns, while the CS–willingness to pay relationship is defined by a linear functional form with constant marginal returns. The study contributes to the existing body of knowledge that so far has mainly described the relationship between cumulative CS and profit chain outcomes in the context of established products (brands). We discuss the implications for managers responsible for launching new food products and give hints on allocating resources to the most probable customers. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

THE DISCRIMINATION OF OBJECT NAMES AND OBJECT SOUNDS IN CHILDREN WITH AUTISM: A PROCEDURE FOR TEACHING VERBAL COMPREHENSION

We assessed whether 2 preschoolers with autism learned to discriminate between the sounds of musical instruments more rapidly than the spoken names of the instruments. After the children learned the sound‐object relations more rapidly than the name‐object relations, we then evaluated a prompt‐delay procedure for transferring stimulus control from the sounds to the names of the instruments. The prompt‐delay procedure facilitated the acquisition of name—object relations for both children.     

What people believe about memory

Two representative samples of adult Norwegians (n=2000) were asked a set of general and specific questions regarding their beliefs and opinions about human memory. The results indicate that on many questions, such as time of the earliest memories, inhibiting effects of collaboration, and memory for dramatic versus ordinary events, the views of the general public concurred with current research findings, and people in general had realistic views about their own memory performance. On other questions, such as the reliability of olfactory as compared with visual and auditory memory, the memory of small children in comparison with that of adults, the likelihood of repression of adult traumatic memories, and on more general questions such as the possibility of training memory and the capacity limitations of long-term memory, a large proportion of the participants expressed views that are less supported by scientific evidence. Implications of these findings are briefly discussed.     

Memory for a staged criminal event witnessed live and on video

Memory for a staged robbery was tested in two groups of participants witnessing the event either live (n = 62) or on video (n = 64). Immediately after the event participants filled out a questionnaire probing memory with emphasis on the timing of the event and robber characteristics. The results showed that participants who watched a video recording of the event reported more details and with a higher accuracy than participants who were present on the scene, but the pattern of memory errors were similar in the two conditions. It is concluded that laboratory experiments may overestimate the memory of eyewitnesses but are otherwise able to simulate essential aspects of memory performance in naturalistic contexts.     

Conscientiousness and (un)healthy eating: The role of impulsive eating and age in the consumption of daily main meals

The present study aims to explore the relationship between conscientiousness and the consumption of healthy versus unhealthy main meals. Impulsive eating was tested as a mediator in this relationship, as well as direct effects of age on those constructs. A nationwide representative sample of 1,006 Norwegian adults (18–70 years) within a prospective design was used to test a theoretical model. The structural equation model (SEM), in combination with bootstrapping procedures in AMOS, was the principal analytical method. Conscientiousness was negatively associated with unhealthy and impulsive eating. Impulsive eating was a partial mediator between conscientiousness and unhealthy eating and a full mediator between conscientiousness and healthy eating. Age was positively correlated with conscientiousness and this relationship had an inverted U‐shape form. Finally, age was negatively associated with unhealthy and impulsive eating, and positively associated with healthy eating. This study confirmed the relevance of conscientiousness for healthy, unhealthy, and impulsive eating.     

Flux and permanence of risk perceptions: Tourists' perception of the relative and absolute risk for various destinations

The present investigation is a cross‐sectional, multi‐national, quantitative, and quasi‐experimental comparison of tourists’ risk perceptions regarding different destinations throughout the past decade. Over 10,000 tourists to Norway from 89 different countries filled in a questionnaire rating the perceived risk for various destinations. Data were collected during 2004, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2015 and allow for a comparison of perceived risk across time, place and nationality. Results show that while absolute risk judgments for different destinations fluctuate somewhat over the years, relative risk judgments remain constant. Findings also reveal a “home‐is‐safer‐then‐abroad‐bias” with tourists consistently perceiving their home country among the safest destinations. The current investigation is rare because it looks at more than one destination at a time. Insights gained from the present findings diverge from what would have been concluded from employing case studies, that is, looking at one destination at a time.     

What Psychologists Know and Believe about Memory: A Survey of Practitioners

We surveyed 858 licensed psychologists, members of the Norwegian Psychological Association, about their knowledge and beliefs about human memory. The results were compared to the results of parallel surveys of legal professionals and lay persons, and evaluated in the light of the results of current memory science. The results indicate that psychologists are not memory experts qua psychologists; as a group, psychologists do not score above the level of knowledge of lay persons or trial judges on issues of eyewitness memory, and a substantial minority of the sample of respondents harbours scientifically unproven ideas of memory. The implications of these findings for psychological practice, with special reference to the court room, are briefly discussed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluation context's role in driving positive word‐of‐mouth intentions

Relevant literature recognizes that transaction‐specific and cumulative evaluations are different, but few empirical studies test how these differences might affect the link between product evaluations and word of mouth (WOM). This study addresses this issue by assessing the simultaneous effects of perceived quality and satisfaction on the resulting positive WOM intentions for both types of evaluations. Results reveal that different factors drive positive WOM intentions depending on the context of the study. When the consumers' evaluations are related to a specific transaction, perceived quality is the dominating predictor of positive WOM intentions. When the evaluations are cumulative, satisfaction is the dominating predictor of positive WOM intentions. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.