Indiscriminate mothering as a contextual factor in aggressive-oppositional child behavior: “Damned if you do and damned if you don’t”

Fifty-two mother-child dyads took part in a parent training program to modify coercive, antisocial child behavior. Prior to intervention, scores on 14 measures of mother-child interaction and on an index of maternal community contacts (known as insularity) were obtained for each dyad. This index was used to divide the sample into two groups (noninsular) n=21; insular n=31). The interactional measures were then compared between the groups. Insular mothers were more aversive and indiscriminate than noninsular mothers in their use of aversive behavior toward their children, while their children were more aversive than noninsular children, especially in response to aversive maternal behavior. It was concluded that research and therapeutic work with deviant families should focus not only on immediate family interactions but also on the extrafamily environment in which these interactions take place.The research data reported in this paper were generated with support of Grant No. R01-1068-58 from the National Institute of Mental Health, Crime and Delinquency Section. The first author conducted the research while supported by a grant from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, and the Swiss National Fund for Scientific Research.     

MAINTAINING PERFORMANCE OF AUTISTIC CLIENTS IN COMMUNITY SETTINGS WITH DELAYED CONTINGENCIES

To facilitate the classroom and workshop integration of three autistic clients, we examined the feasibility of teaching them to respond appropriately without the continual presence of specially trained treatment providers. Within a multiple baseline design, a 4-step treatment process was implemented to promote durable responsive performance. Results indicated that the therapist could be removed from the treatment environment and that appropriate behavior could be successfully maintained in community settings with only infrequent and delayed contingencies.     

Predecisional information acquisition: Effects of task variables on suboptimal search strategies

Effective overall performance in judgment tasks generally involves both acquisition of information and integration of the information acquired. When information is costly the decision maker must balance acquisition costs against improved decisional accuracy, a complex balancing problem in which, laboratory evidence suggests, humans often do poorly. The three experiments reported here extend this earlier evidence to different task structures, subject pools, incentive systems, information volumes, decision aids, and kind of data sources. Though each of these factors was found to affect performance, the general finding was of persistent underpurchase (buying less information overall than is optimal) and mispurchase (buying poor sources when better sources are available at the same cost), with significant inflation of overall costs. It is proposed that unaided human judgment is unequal to the complexity of the cost/benefit trade-offs involved in acquiring costly information, and that formal decision analysis should be preferred whenever the stakes justify.     

Measuring gender differences: The expressive dimension and critique of androgyny scales

This paper calls for a new approach to the measurement of gender similarities and differences in personality. Critiques of current measures that are based on the measurement of stereotypical masculinity and femininity are reviewed, and an alternative measure is presented. It avoids many of the problems in the other scales by measuring expressiveness and instrumentality in such a way that they are not confounded with variables such as independence or autonomy. Results with this measure in five different samples are presented. These confirm our theoretical definitions of expressiveness and instrumentality, and suggest that only the expressive or relational dimension consistently differentiates samples of women and men.We thank Mary Rothbart for her insightful and constructive comments on an earlier draft; Leisha Sanders, Marcia DeCaro, Vickie Van Nortwick, and Lyn Cogswell for their clerical assistance; the Center for the Study of Women in Society for financial support; and Liza Kuecker and Patricia Gwartney-Gibbs for providing data used in the analysis. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 1984 annual meeting of the Pacific Sociological Association.     

AN IDIOGRAPHIC APPROACH TO THE STUDY OF WOMEN'S ACHIEVEMENT STRIVING

Biographical interviews with 80 women ranging in age from the late teens to the 80s (Mean Age = 46.8 years; SD = 7.8 years) elicited information concerning personality characteristics that predispose women toward achievement-striving behavior, taking into account the effects of family, friends, and role models. When asked if they had ever been in a situation where they were about to succeed and feared the success, the majority of women (91 %) replied "no". A large percentage of women (96%) did report that they wonder if their achievements are worth it and asked "success at what cost?" In addition, compared to older women, younger women were more concerned with interpersonal relationships and less concerned with competitive achievement. The reality status of the fear of success construct as well as methodological advances in its measurement are discussed.     

Factor analysis of the Wechsler adult intelligence scale-revised (WAIS-R): An examination of the standardization sample

Orthogonal and oblique factor analyses were performed using the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) standardization sample (Wechsler, 1981). Using objective criteria, it was decided to retain two factors. Evidence for a strong general intelligence (g) factor was found from both the orthogonal and oblique rotations. Whereas the verbal IQ provided an acceptable estimate of the Verbal Comprehension factor, a purer measure was found in the form of a Verbal Comprehension Deviation Quotient containing only the Information, Vocabulary, Comprehension, and Similarities subtests. The performance IQ was found to be an inadequate measure of the Perceptual Organization factor. A Perceptual Organization Deviation Quotient, containing only the Block Design and Object Assembly subtests, was recommended as an effective alternative. Analysis of the variance components for each subtest at every age level revealed that a substantial proportion of subtests at a wide range of age levels evidence either high or intermediate levels of specific variance. These results are discussed in terms of interpreting individual subtest scores and patterns. Each of the study's major findings are compared with prior work done with the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) (Wechsler, 1955).     

Language and the young stutterer: A new look at old theories and findings

The major theories and research approaches as to the etiology and development of stuttering are reviewed from a historical perspective. Findings are drawn from different sources indicating that language deficits are an initial contributing factor and a continuing component of this disorder. Those subsets of children which constitute high-risk groups are identified. It is suggested that researchers begin investigating the underlying organic bases of stuttering and its relationship to stages of language development. Finally, clinicians are encouraged to employ a therapy program that is concerned with all areas of language, rather than emphasizing treating only the symptoms of stuttering behavior.     

Intrinsic enjoyment and boredom coping scales: Validation with personality,evoked potential and attention measures

This paper reports the validation of brief, self-report measures of intrinsic enjoyment and boredom coping. Intrinsic enjoyment is characterized by intense involvement, interest and absorbed concentration; boredom coping is designed to reflect the disposition to restructure one's perceptions and participation in potentially boring activities so as to decrease boredom. Both traits are hypothesized to reflect the capacity for good attentional control across a variety of situations. Reliability was established by test-retest correlation and by an inter-item consistency measurement. Construct validity was established by comparison with previously-validated personality tests, real-life measures (such as Random Activities Experiential Sampling, which involves repeated self-report measures in daily life), as well as with laboratory measures of attention (including the averaged visual evoked potential (EP) and the Continuous Performance Test). Intrinsic enjoyment is significantly correlated with an independent measure of intrinsic involvement (low wish to be elsewhere in one's daily life), the affective experience of potency, self-reports of concentrating well with ease, high ego development, an internal locus of control, lack of boredom susceptibility and certain EP indices of attentional change and ‘cortical’ augmenting. Boredom coping is associated with a higher percent of time actually spent alone, high continuous performance task measures of attentional capacity, and low MMPI and Research Diagnostic Criteria indices of psychopathology.     

The relationships among gender concepts and cognitive maturity in preschool children

Several aspects of gender concept development were investigated in 60 children of mixed socioeconomic background ranging in age from 3 to 6 years. Tasks were designed to assess gender constancy, knowledge of sex stereotypes, differential memory and preference for sex-typed material, and gender categorization. Cognitive maturity was assessed with a conservation task and total recall on a memory task. Performance improved linearly with age on the gender concepts, individual children of both sexes learned the gender concepts in the same sequence, and cognitive maturity measures were positively related to performance on the gender concept tasks.This research was supported by grants from the Graduate School and the Women's Studes Program, Indiana University. An earlier report of this research was presented at the meeting of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco, August 1977. The author thanks John E. Bates and Candace Schau for their advice and help throughout the project.     

Messianic hopes and the crisis of relativism: A common process in pastoral counseling

This essay explores the dynamics underlying the search for a Messiah in psychotherapy. It argues that the disenchantment with one's Messiah emerges primarily from the confrontation with multiple messiahs, and hence, the personal crisis of relativism. The nature of this personal crisis is investigated through the developmental scheme of William Perry. Suggestions are made as to how pastoral counselors can help those struggling with the problem of relativism.The Southeastern Illinois Center for Pastoral Counseling is located at 100 South Church Street, Carmi, Illinois, 62821.