Effects of response preference on resistance to change

Treatments based on differential reinforcement of alternative behavior, such as functional communication training, are widely used. Research regarding the maintenance of related treatment effects is limited. Nevin and Wacker (2013) provided a conceptual framework, rooted in behavioral momentum theory, for the study of treatment maintenance that addressed two components: (a) reemergence of problem behavior, and (b) continued expression of appropriate behavior. In the few studies on this topic, focus has been on variables impacting the reemergence of problem behavior, with fewer studies evaluating the persistence of appropriate behavior. Given the findings from applied research related to functional communication training, variables related to response topography, such as response preference, may impact this aspect of maintenance. In the current study, the impact of response preference on persistence was evaluated in the context of functional communication training for individuals who did not exhibit problem behavior (Experiment 1) and for individuals with a history of reinforcement for problem behavior (Experiment 2). High‐preferred mands were more persistent than low‐preferred mands. These findings suggest that response related variables, such as response preference, impact response persistence and further suggest that response related variables should be considered when developing interventions such as functional communication training.     

Pediatric Psychologists’ Collaboration in a National Pediatric Obesity Initiative: A Case Study in Interprofessional Collaboration

Health Care reform calls for collaborative team-based care; psychologists must therefore strengthen their competencies for work in interprofessional clinical care settings. Toward that end, a group of psychologists participated with physicians, dieticians, physical activity specialists, nurses, and others in a national interprofessional workgroup focused on pediatric obesity. The interprofessional group was designed to identify areas in need of national advocacy, key assessment and treatment concerns, and gaps in internal policies and procedures in children’s hospitals. This article provides a case report of psychologists’ roles and experience in this workgroup, and focuses on factors that underlie successful collaboration among diverse health professionals, as well as potential barriers to success. The participating psychologists developed a working model for collaboration with other disciplines. Additionally, they formed a Psychology Subcommittee to identify and address discipline-specific issues regarding collaborative practice in pediatric psychology. Lessons learned in this interprofessional collaborative undertaking have relevance for future collaborative endeavors.     

Resign or carry-on? District and principal leadership as drivers of change in teacher turnover intentions during the COVID-19 crisis: A latent growth model examination

During the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers in the United States, an already at-risk occupation group, experienced new work-related stressors, safety concerns, and work-life challenges, magnifying on-going retention concerns. Integrating the crisis management literature with the unfolding model of turnover, we theorize that leader actions trigger initial employee responses but also set the stage for on-going crisis response that influence changes in teachers' turnover intentions. We apply latent growth curve modelling to test our hypotheses based on a sample of 617 K-12 teachers using nine waves of data, including a baseline survey at the start of the 2020–2021 school year and eight follow-up surveys (2-week lags) through the Fall 2020 semester. In terms of overall adaptation, teachers on average, experienced an increase in work-life balance and a decrease in turnover intentions over the course of the semester. Results also suggest that district and school leadership provide unique and complementary resources, but leader behaviours that shape initial crisis responses do not similarly affect employee responses during crisis, contrary to theory. Instead, teachers' adaptive crisis response trajectories were triggered by continued resource provision over the semester; increasing provision of valued resources (i.e., continued refinement of safety practices) and improvements in work-life balance prevented turnover intentions from spiralling throughout the crisis. Crisis management theory and research should continue to incorporate temporal dynamics and identify factors that contribute to crisis response trajectories, using designs and analyses that allow for examination as crises unfold in real time.     

Relations between stress and work outcomes: The role of felt challenge, job control, and psychological strain

Recent research on reported work stress indicates stress may not always be deleterious for an individual or organization. Research in this area, however, has not yet examined a variety of work outcomes, the mechanism by which stress leads to such outcomes, and the moderators of this effect. The present study hypothesized that two types of reported stress (challenge- and hindrance-related) have a divergent relationship with work outcomes (relating to desirable and undesirable outcomes, respectively) and a similar (positive) relationship with psychological strain. We also hypothesize felt challenge as a mechanism through which challenge stress relates to desirable outcomes and job control as a moderator of the effect. Results from a heterogeneous sample of university staff employees (N=461) supported many of the hypotheses. The two types of stress differentially related to work outcomes yet both positively related to psychological strain. In addition, felt challenge mediated the relationship between challenge-related stress and work outcomes, yet the effect of challenge-related stress did not depend on job control.     

Paradise Lost and the Question of Legitimacy

This paper reconstructs the deficiencies of formal democracies to explain the internal injustices of the modern state, the self‐righteous swaggering foreign policy of Western powers, and the dangerously over‐simplified, polar logic characterizing the war rhetoric of the modern era. In a brief tour through the non‐liberal tradition of democratic thought, drawing connections between the tragic mythological origins of Western understandings of self and world, the paper attempts to demonstrate that a failure to find alternate, healthier means of value‐creation has caused Westerners, in their constructive identity work, to adhere themselves to their systems with a ritualized, ‘religious’ fervour. Legitimacy in the world becomes, in the final analysis, a simple matter of might. The possession of firearms and bread render self‐sanctifying myths legitimating aggressions on the argument of ‘good’ powers fighting the battle against ‘evil’ contaminants.     

Colic and fussing in infancy,and sensory processing at 3 to 8 years of age

The purpose of this follow‐up study was to examine whether a group of 28 clinic‐referred infants with colic, excessive crying, or both at 4 to 12 weeks demonstrated sensory processing, coping, and behavioral/attention regulation difficulties at 3 to 8 years of age. Seventy‐five percent of the sample demonstrated atypical behavioral responses to sensory experiences. Hours of fussing during infancy significantly correlated with inattention, emotional reactivity, touch processing, environmental coping, and externalizing behavior at 3 to 8 years, but not hours of crying. The most striking result was that children with more hours of early fussing showed less efficient sensory processing, poorer coping with the environment, and more attention/hyperactivity problems compared to those with less hours of fussing. Results suggest that hours of fussing rather than crying could be an early marker for infants at risk.     

Developmental Trajectories of Girls’ and Boys’ Delinquency and Associated Problems

Developmental trajectories in delinquency through adolescence were studied along with family and peer relationship problems. Drawing from eight waves of data over seven years, we conducted trajectory analyses with a sample of 746 students (402 girls; 344 boys). Analyzing girls and boys together, a five-class model emerged: 60% of the adolescents rarely reported delinquency; 27.7% reported low initial levels with moderate levels of delinquency over time; 6% in the late onset group reported initially low and rising levels of delinquency; 5% in the early onset group reported moderate initial levels which increased and then decreased in later adolescence. A small group of only boys (1.3%) labeled chronic reported high initial levels of delinquency that increased over time. Group comparisons revealed problems in internalizing, parent and peer relationship problems. The findings provide direction for early identification and interventions to curtail the development of delinquency.     

Self-regulation of Gendered Behavior in Everyday Life

The present research tested whether gender self-concepts influence behavior through self-regulatory processes, with emotions and self-esteem signaling that people’s responses meet or fail to meet their gender standards. In the first study, cross-sectional survey data from 3,174 young adults living in the United States revealed that esteem increased with behavioral conformity to gender standards for personality. In the second study, an experience-sampling diary design provided a dynamic view of regulation to gender standards for personality and romance. One hundred seventy-seven American undergraduates reported their emotions and esteem immediately following everyday social interactions. As anticipated, students became more positive when they acted in ways that confirmed rather than disconfirmed personal gender standards.     

Reviewing psychologists' qualifications for career development practice in Australia

Vocational psychology and the practice of career development are important dimensions of the psychology discipline and profession. This paper contains an overview of Australian career development practice in light of recent trends, particularly the formalisation of career development practice among professions other than psychologists. Given the advent of professional standards for Australian career development practitioners, a review of postgraduate degrees in organisational, developmental and educational, and counselling psychology was conducted to determine their correspondence with the competencies presented in the Standards. The review found significant consistency with generic competencies. Degrees in organisational psychology provided the broadest correspondence, while degrees in counselling, developmental and educational psychology had lower levels of correspondence on specific competencies. The implications of the review are discussed in light of the evolution of the career development industry and psychologists' standing in this field.