Group decision making in the planning team process: Myth or reality?

Based upon theories from organizational psychology, this study assessed the relationships among school staff role, participation, and satisfaction during planning Team meetings which decide special education placements and programming. A strong positive relationship was found between staff role and participation. Regular education teachers were lowest in participation and satisfaction whereas school psychologists were ranked the highest on both variables. Other staff roles did not necessarily show a one-to-one relationship between participation and satisfaction levels, yet within roles, the level of satisfaction increased with higher levels of participation. These findings were discussed in the context of interdisciplinary decision making and implementation of the placement team decision.     

Male adolescents' reasons for participating in physical activity, barriers to participation, and suggestions for increasing participation

This study explored male adolescents' reasons for participating in moderate and vigorous physical activity, perceived barriers to moderate and vigorous physical activity, and suggestions as to what can be done to increase participation in physical activity. A total of 26 male 15- and 16-year-old adolescents participated in focus group sessions, which were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim; qualitative software facilitated data analysis. A constant comparison approach was used to inductively develop themes. It was found that participants engaged in physical activity for both intrinsic and extrinsic reasons. Their perceived barriers to physical activity included both internal factors (individual characteristics, lower priority for physical activity, and involvement in technology-related activities) and external factors (the influence of peers and family, lack of time, and inaccessibility and cost of facilities). Participants suggested that physical activity be promoted more in the community and that an environment more supportive of physical activity be developed. Results suggest that a variety of strategies should be used to help male adolescents maintain or increase participation in moderate and vigorous physical activity.     

Adolescent girls' perceived barriers to participation in physical activity

Research shows a decline in physical activity levels during adolescence, particularly among girls. This study explored perceived barriers to participation in moderate and vigorous physical activity among adolescent girls who live in a large ethnoracially and socioeconomically diverse city. A total of 73 adolescent girls in Toronto participated in 1 of 7 focus group sessions which were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim, and qualitative software was used to facilitate data analysis. A constant comparison approach was used to inductively develop themes. Participants' perceived barriers to participating in physical activity included: lack of time; involvement in technology-related activities; influence peers, parents and teachers; concern about safety; inaccessibility of facilities and cost of using them; competition; and body-centered issues. The results suggest that strategies to address specific intrapersonal, social-environmental, and physical-environmental barriers to physical activity participation should be used in physical activity promotion programs for adolescent girls.     

Zebrafish choice behavior is sensitive to reinforcer rate,immediacy, and magnitude ratios

Behavioral flexibility has, in part, been defined by choice behavior changing as a function of changes in reinforcer payoffs. We examined whether the generalized matching law quantitatively described changes in choice behavior in zebrafish when relative reinforcer rates, delays/immediacy, and magnitudes changed between two alternatives across conditions. Choice was sensitive to each of the three reinforcer properties. Sensitivity estimates to changes in relative reinforcer rates were greater when 2 variable-interval schedules were arranged independently between alternatives (Experiment 1a) than when a single schedule pseudorandomly arranged reinforcers between alternatives (Experiment 1b). Sensitivity estimates for changes in relative reinforcer immediacy (Experiment 2) and magnitude (Experiment 3) were similar but lower than estimates for reinforcer rates. These differences in sensitivity estimates are consistent with studies examining other species, suggesting flexibility in zebrafish choice behavior in the face of changes in payoff as described by the generalized matching law.     

Fourteen‐month‐old infants learn similar‐sounding words

Can infants, in the very first stages of word learning, use their perceptual sensitivity to the phonetics of speech while learning words? Research to date suggests that infants of 14 months cannot learn two similar‐sounding words unless there is substantial contextual support. The current experiment advances our understanding of this failure by testing whether the source of infants’ difficulty lies in the learning or testing phase. Infants were taught to associate two similar‐sounding words with two different objects, and tested using a visual choice method rather than the standard Switch task. The results reveal that 14‐month‐olds are capable of learning and mapping two similar‐sounding labels; they can apply phonetic detail in new words. The findings are discussed in relation to infants’ concurrent failure, and the developmental transition to success, in the Switch task.     

Relative quantity judgment by Asian elephants (Elephas maximus)

This study investigated whether Asian elephants can make relative quantity judgment (RQJ), a dichotomous judgment of unequal quantities ordered in magnitude. In Experiment 1, elephants were simultaneously shown two baskets with differing quantities of bait (up to 6 items). In Experiment 2, elephants were sequentially presented with baits, which could not be seen by elephants in their total quantities. The task of elephants was to choose the larger quantity in both experiments. Results showed that the elephants chose the larger quantity with significantly greater frequency. Interestingly, the elephants did not exhibit disparity or magnitude effects, in which performance declines with a smaller difference between quantities in a two-choice task, or the total quantity increases, respectively. These findings appear to be inconsistent with the previous reports of RQJ in other animals, suggesting that elephants may be using a different mechanism to compare and represent quantities than previously suggested for other species.     

Measuring biting behavior induced by acute stress in the rat

Previous reports have indicated that biting behavior is enhanced in rats that are subject to acute stress. Several methods have been proposed for studying this phenomenon, one of which is the electromyography (EMG) of the jaw muscles. In this study, we compared total EMG activity with the EMG activity related to biting behavior, as determined by video monitoring, before and after restraint stress. Wistar albino rats (150 g) were subject to surgery for electrode placement 48 h before measurements. The EMG activity of the masseter muscle on one side was recorded for 10 min before and immediately after 30 min of restraint stress. Restraint stress increased jaw muscle EMG activity, although some of the activity was related to behaviors other than biting. Recording the EMG activity of jaw muscles is useful for measuring the stress response in rats, but careful video monitoring is needed if biting behavior is to be studied in particular.     

The role of adventitious reinforcement during differential reinforcement of other behavior: A systematic replication

Differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) is commonly used to decrease problem behavior by presenting reinforcers contingent upon the absence of a target response. Although it is well demonstrated that DROs decrease response rates, the processes producing these decreases are not well understood. The present study systematically replicated previous research assessing whether adventitious reinforcement of alternative behavior contributes to the effectiveness of DRO. We presented university students with two options on a computer and reinforced target responding on a variable-ratio schedule. Next, we compared decreases in target-response rates and any increases in alternative responding during DRO schedules versus yoked variable-time schedules or extinction probes. DRO schedules resulted in the lowest target-response rate and highest alternative-response rate. These findings generally provide some support for the adventitious reinforcement of “other” behavior.     

Evidence of means–end behavior in Asian elephants (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Elephas maximus</Emphasis>)

The present study explores to what extent Asian elephants show “means–end” behavior. We used captive Asian elephants (N = 2) to conduct four variations of the Piagetian “support” problem, which involves a goal object that is out of reach, but rests on a support within reach. In the first condition, elephants were simultaneously presented with two identical trays serving as the “support”, with the bait on one tray and the other tray left empty. In the next two conditions, the bait was placed on one tray, while additional bait was placed beside the other tray. In the last condition, both trays contained bait, but one of the trays had a small gap which prevented the elephants from reaching the reward. Subjects were required to choose and pull either tray with their trunk and to obtain the bait (i.e. goal). Results showed that one elephant performed all of the support problems significantly above chance after several sessions, suggesting that the elephant was capable of understanding that pulling the tray was the “means” for achieving the “end” of obtaining the bait. This study showed that elephants show means–end behavior when subjected to a Piagetian “support” task, and indicates that such goal-directed behavior occurs in species other than primates.