TEACHING PEDESTRIAN SKILLS TO RETARDED PERSONS: GENERALIZATION FROM THE CLASSROOM TO THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT1

Little attention has been given to teaching adaptive community skills to retarded persons. In this study, five retarded male students were taught basic pedestrian skills in a classroom. Training was conducted on a model built to simulate city traffic conditions. Each subject was taught five specific skills involved in street crossing in sequence, viz. intersection recognition, pedestrian-light skills, traffic-light skills, and skills for two different stop-sign conditions. Before, during, and after training, subjects were tested on generalization probes on the model and under actual city traffic conditions. Results of a multiple-baseline design across both subjects and behaviors indicated that after receiving classroom training on the skills, each subject exhibited appropriate pedestrian skills under city traffic conditions. In addition, training in some skills appeared to facilitate performance in skills not yet trained.     

Handling negative inputs: On the plausible equity formulae

Equity research has been based on defining formulae that do not necessarily imply the hypotheses thought to have been derived from them and that are not consistent with empirical data cited as supporting equity theory. Neither Adams' (1965) ratio definition nor Walster et al.'s (1970, 1972, 1973) formula satisfy the fundamental criterion that, when equity holds, outcome should be an increasing function of input. Six formulae that do satisfy this fundamental criterion (including Adams' ratio definition restricted to positive ratios, Walster et al.'s revision of their formula, three formulae generated by a simple constructive procedure, and an exponential definition) are compared with respect to 11 other criteria and with respect to their predictions of the results of two thought experiments.     

Are high levels of religiosity inconsistent with a high valuation of science? Evidence from the United States,China and Iran

We asked whether high levels of religiosity are inconsistent with a high valuation of science. We explored this possibility in three countries that diverge markedly in the relation between the state and religion. Parents in the United States (n = 126), China (n = 234) and Iran (n = 77) completed a survey about their personal and parental stance towards science. The relation between religiosity and the valuation of science varied sharply by country. In the U.S. sample, greater religiosity was associated with a lower valuation of science. A similar but weaker negative relation was found in the Chinese sample. Parents in the Iranian sample, by contrast, valued science highly, despite high levels of religiosity. Given the small size of our United States and Iranian samples, and the non-probabilistic nature of our samples in general, we caution readers not to generalise our findings beyond the current samples. Despite this caveat, these findings qualify the assumption that religiosity is inconsistent with the valuation of science and highlight the role of sociocultural context in shaping adults' perception of the relation between religion and science.     

Adverse caregiving in early life: The trauma and deprivation distinction in young children

Knowledge and understanding about the impact of cumulative adverse experiences on the health and wellbeing of children, adolescents, and adults has rapidly expanded over the past 30 years. Despite the invaluable attention and support this proliferation has drawn to the importance of early childhood experiences, we believe that it is time to move beyond broad indices of risk and toward more specific and individualized understanding of how risk exposures are linked to clinical outcomes in young children. Within infant and early childhood mental health, there is a need for greater specificity in linking adverse caregiving experiences in early life to psychopathology in children. We highlight a framework distinguishing experiences of trauma from experiences of deprivation and use the examples of posttraumatic stress disorder and reactive attachment disorder to demonstrate how greater specificity in our understanding of early adverse caregiving can lead to more accurate and targeted diagnosis and treatment for young children. Both researchers and clinicians benefit from an approach to gain a greater appreciation of the links between specific types of experiences and outcomes in the children that we serve.     

Working Memory in Pediatric Epilepsy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Neuropsychology Review - Working memory is a multicomponent system that is supported by overlapping specialized networks in the brain. Baddeley’s working memory model includes four...     

Salivary testosterone and self-report aggressive and pro-social personality characteristics in men and women

Measures of salivary testosterone and the personality dimensions of aggression and pro-social behavior were obtained in 306 (155 male and 151 female) university students. Each participant provided two samples of saliva and completed ten self-report personality scales from multiple inventories. A factor analysis of the personality scales produced two factors, an aggression factor and a pro-social behavior factor. Men averaged five times the amount of salivary testosterone as women (99 pg/ml vs. 18.5 pg/ml) and rated themselves as more aggressive and less nurturant. Within each sex, testosterone was positively correlated with aggression and negatively correlated with pro-social personality. Structural equation modelling analyses suggested that a direct effect model best described the relationship between salivary testosterone and the latent personality dimensions of aggression and pro-social behavior. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Comparison of contingent and noncontingent access to therapy dogs during academic tasks in children with autism spectrum disorder

This study compared contingent and noncontingent access to therapy dogs during educational tasks for children with autism spectrum disorder using a multielement design. The experimenters assessed whether initial preference for the dog predicted reinforcer efficacy and how preference changed across time. A higher response rate during contingent dog sessions than baseline sessions occurred for 4 out of 5 participants, suggesting that the dog functioned as a reinforcer. One participant engaged in a high rate of responding in both contingent and noncontingent dog conditions. Preference assessments revealed idiosyncrasies, suggesting that further research is needed into the predictive nature of initial preference assessments with animals as part of the stimulus array. The experimenters also analyzed salivary cortisol before and after sessions to determine if learning about the upcoming interaction with a dog reduced salivary cortisol in children. Cortisol was variable across participants, with only some deriving a potential physiological benefit from expecting to interact with the dog.     

Predictors of Client Attrition in a University-Based Community Counseling Clinic

The purpose of this study was to investigate how symptom distress, social role, interpersonal relationships, gender, age, number of supports, and education level predict client attrition in a community sample. Using binary logistic regression and cross-sectional data, the authors examined the predictive impact of 8 variables on adult client attrition in a university-based community counseling clinic. Results indicated that education level, interpersonal relationships, and number of supports significantly predicted attrition. In this sample, gender, age, symptom distress, social role, and race did not significantly predict attrition. Implications for clinical assessment and counseling practice are discussed.