EXTENDED REDUCTIONS IN STEREOTYPIC BEHAVIOR OF STUDENTS WITH AUTISM THROUGH A SELF-MANAGEMENT TREATMENT PACKAGE

The literature suggests that self-management treatment packages have two potential strengths for the reduction or elimination of stereotypic behavior: (a) Self-management may be used for extended periods of time in the absence of a treatment provider, and (b) self-management techniques are easily adapated and used in a wide variety of natural settings. We assessed whether students with severe autistic disabilities could learn to use a self-management treatment package to reduce their stereotypic behavior within a multiple baseline across subjects design with withdrawals. The results showed that all of the students learned to use self-management procedures to reduce greatly levels of stereotypic behavior (typically to zero), and improvement occurred for extended periods of time in new settings without the presence of a treatment provider. The results are discussed in terms of the practical value of the treatment package and in terms of the implications for understanding autism.     

The Use of Psychoendocrine Strategies in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder1

An overview is presented of a pilot psychoendocrine study of PTSD inpatients in comparison with several subgroups of schizophrenic and affective disorder patients. Using a hormonal profile including Cortisol, norepinephrine, epinephrine, testosterone, and thyroxine, it was found that the mean values for the PTSD group were at or near the extreme end of the range for every hormone measured, i.e., relatively low for Cortisol and high for the remaining hormones. The possible clinical meaning of these findings is considered in the light of prior psychoendocrine research on chronic stress. The hormonal alterations in PTSD appear to be persistent and suggest the possibility of being linked largely to traits or character structure, perhaps particularly to cognitive variables related to defense and coping mechanisms, as reviewed in detail for each hormonal system. There appears to be a potential for a fruitful union between the traumatic stress and psychoendocrine fields and some future strategies for developing and strengthening such a union are suggested.     

Preload and isometric force variability

Two experiments are reported, which examined the relative contributions of preload (resting force level), change of force, and the time taken to achieve the force in determining isometric force variability. The findings showed that change of force is the strongest determiner of peak force variability but that preload and time to peak force have smaller though systematic effects. A formula that predicts peak force variability is proposed, with preload as an additive effect to the ratio between the change of force level and the square root of time to peak force. These findings confirm that these three impulse variables are significant in predicting force variability and that the impact of rate of force on peak force variability is nonlinear.     

Relational aspects of identity: late adolescents' perceptions of their relationships with parents

This study examines the relationship between late adolescents' identity status and their memories of their relationships to their parents. One hundred male and female undergraduates completed two questionnaires. The first assessed subjects' retrospective perceptions of their affective relationships with parents across five age periods: 1 to 5 years, 5 to 10 years, 10 to 15 years, 15 to 20 years, and the present. The second questionnaire, the Extended Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status, assessed subjects' current identity status. Trend analyses revealed: (1) a significant quadratic trend in identity committed subjects' ratings of the amount of love they felt for mother across the five age periods, and (2) a significant linear trend of increasing love from mother. In contrast, uncommitted subjects showed significant linear trends of decreasing love both for and from their mothers. Results are interpreted as evidence of the importance of resolution of identity issues to the establishment of feelings of intimacy between late adolescents and their parents.     

IN VIVO VERSUS SIMULATION TRAINING: AN INTERACTIONAL ANALYSIS OF RANGE AND TYPE OF TRAINING EXEMPLARS

We analyzed the role of the range of variation in training exemplars as a contextual variable influencing the effects of in vivo versus simulation training in producing generalized responding. Four mentally retarded adults received single case instruction, followed by general case instruction, on washing machine and dryer use; one task was taught using actual appliances (in vivo) and the other using simulation. In vivo and simulation training were counterbalanced across the two tasks for the 2 subject pairs, using a within-subjects Latin square design. With both paradigms, more errors were made after single case than after general case instruction during probe sessions with untrained washing machines and dryers. These results suggest that generalization errors were affected by the range of training exemplars and not by the use of simulated versus natural training stimuli. Although both general case simulation and general case in vivo training facilitated generalized performance of laundry skills, an analysis of training time and costs indicated that the former approach was more efficient. The study illustrates a methodology for studying complex interactions and guiding decisions on the optimal use of instructional alternatives.     

Gender patterns in social touch: the impact of setting and age

This study examined the impact of age of participants and the setting in which touch occurred on gender patterns in 799 instances of observed intentional touch. Gender asymmetry, a pattern in which men are more likely to touch women than vice versa, was observed when touch between adults was examined but not when touch involving children was examined. Adult touch interactions occurring in public, nonintimate settings showed gender asymmetry, but adult touch interactions occurring in greeting or leave-taking settings did not. Cross-sex touch was more prevalent among adults, whereas same-sex touch was more prevalent when a child was involved. Implications for theoretical perspectives on gender and touch are discussed.     

Suspicion of ulterior motivation and the correspondence bias

Three studies examined the hypothesis that when perceivers learn of the existence of multiple, plausibly rival motives for an actor's behavior, they are less likely to fall prey to the correspondence bias than when they learn of the existence of situational factors that may have constrained the actor's behavior. In the first 2 studies, Ss who learned that an actor was instructed to behave as he did drew inferences that corresponded to his behavior. In contrast, Ss who were led to suspect that an actor's behavior may have been motivated by a desire to ingratiate (Study 1), or by a desire to avoid an unwanted job (Study 2), resisted the correspondence bias. The 3rd study demonstrated that these differences were not due to a general unwillingness on the part of suspicious perceivers to make dispositional inferences. The implications that these results have for understanding attribution theory are discussed.     

Nonshared environmental influences and personality differences in adult twins

The twin design was used to examine the importance of different experiences of siblings within the family and to identify relations between twins' personality differences and their differential experiences. A sample of 161 monozygotic and 74 dizygotic twin individuals between the ages of 18 and 75 years retrospectively reported on their different experiences when growing up. The Sibling Inventory of Differential Experience (SIDE) was used for the first time with a sample of twin siblings. In addition, the twins provided self-report measures of affect and personality. In contrast to results from a sibling adoption design, this study of twins showed greater evidence for genetic variance in the SIDE scales. Nevertheless, the SIDE showed significant associations with differences in personality and affect for monozygotic twins, which reflect pure environment-behavior relations.     

Processing of persuasive in-group messages

Two studies investigated the processes mediating the persuasive impact of messages representing in-group opinions. In the 1st study, subjects read either a strong or a weak message attributed to either an in-group member or to another group. Subjects were more persuaded by a strong message from the in-group than a weak one, suggesting content-focused processing of the in-group message. Subjects were equally unpersuaded by either a strong or a weak message from the other group, and showed little sign of message processing. In the 2nd study, Ss listened to in-group or other-group messages about issues that varied in their relevance to in-group membership. When the issue was relevant to the in-group, subjects were persuaded by a strong message from the in-group, unpersuaded by a weak message from the in-group, and equally unimpressed by strong and weak messages from the other group. When the issue was irrelevant to the in-group, subjects accepted the position advocated by the in-group regardless of message quality, and again ignored messages from the other group. These results suggest that increased message processing, and not merely the impact of source persuasion cues, can underlie in-group-mediated attitude change.