Effects of a pairing contingency on behavior in a three-person programmed environment

Four groups of three subjects resided for 10 days within a continuously programmed environment. Subjects followed a behavioral program of contingently scheduled activities that determined individual and social behaviors. A triadic condition was in effect when all three subjects were required to select simultaneous access to a group area before it became available for a social episode. A dyadic condition was in effect when access to a group area was permitted to any combination of two, and only two, subjects. The effects of these two conditions on individual and social behaviors were studied in reversal designs with several successive days devoted to each condition. Results showed that durations of social activities and synchronization of individual activities were greater during triadic conditions than during dyadic conditions. Under both conditions, wake-sleep cycles departed from a typical day-night rhythm for most subjects. Instances when subjects did not respond to each others' attempts to initiate conversations using the intercom were generally more frequent during dyadic than triadic conditions. Physical distance during triadic social episodes was found to be related to sociability levels during dyadic conditions.     

The effect of punishment and reinforcement procedures on a stutterer's factor II avoidance response

The purpose of this clinical experiment was to investigate the manipulability of a Factor II avoidance response (arm movement). The substantive hypothesis under test was that its suppression would be enhanced by repeated punishment sessions. During the first of nine therapy sessions response-contingent negative stimulation was not delivered. In the next five, after a base-rate period, “wrong” was made consequent upon the target response. In each of these sessions the suppression of arm movement was apparent. However, the magnitude of the suppression decreased from session to session. Evidently, the continued use of punishment did not enhance suppression. Because of this finding procedural changes were introduced in the next three therapy sessions. Verbal praise was added as a consequence of increasingly stringent omission criteria and three consecutive units of praise led to time-out from the reportedly fatiguing task of continuous speech. A marked reduction and then complete extinction resulted. Moreover, learning was evidenced since the frequency of arm movement lessened in the base-rate period of each session.     

Infant search tasks reveal early concepts of containment and canonical usage of objects

It is difficult to gain unambiguous evidence on the use of concepts by infants. Many results can be accounted for in terms of action-based strategies. The evidence reported here fulfils the minimal criteria for the operation of working concepts in infants. Search tasks are used with a filled interval which forces memory-search, and the object is hidden in containers which fulfil their customary job or violate it. Infants treat an upright cup as a more reliable location marker than an inverted one. A series of experiments probes the phenomenon. The results indicate that the infants have a working concept of containment which can be triggered by the provision of containers in their canonical orientation. Even “object permanence tasks” lead infants to access their knowledge of the relationships into which things typically enter in the world outside the laboratory.     

A PARTICIPATIVE MANAGEMENT APPROACH FOR IMPROVING DIRECT-CARE STAFF PERFORMANCE IN AN INSTITUTIONAL SETTING

The present study evaluated a participative management approach for increasing the frequency of interactions between institutional staff and severely/profoundly retarded residents. The participative management approach involved teaching staff how to use self-monitoring, standard setting, self-evaluation, and self-reinforcement procedures. These procedures were then used by staff with minimal involvement of supervisory personnel. Although supervisors provided feedback and praise to staff for using these self-management behaviors, feedback and praise were never dispensed contingent on staff interactions with residents. Results indicated that during the participative management program there was an increase in staff interactions that were contingent on appropriate resident behavior. The increase in this type of staff interaction was accompanied by an increase in appropriate resident behavior. Follow-up data on both staff and resident behaviors, although showing moderating trends, suggested generally good maintenance of the initial behavior changes. Acceptability data suggested that staff were quite receptive to the program. The advantages of participative management procedures for improving staff performance in residential settings are discussed.     

Probability of directional errors with disordinal (qualitative) interaction

In a factorial design with two or more factors, there is nonzero interaction when the differences among the levels of one factor vary with levels of other factors. The interaction is disordinal or qualitative with respect to a specific factor, sayA, if the difference between at least two levels ofA is positive for some and negative for some levels of the other factors. Using standard methods of analysis, there is a potentially large probability of drawing incorrect conclusions about the signs of differences in the presence of disordinal interaction. The maximum probability of such incorrect conclusions, or directional errors, is derived for two-factor designs in which the factor of interest has two levels and the number of levels of the other factor varies.     

Parental divorce as a factor in children''s perception of human relationships: An analysis of human movement responses in the Rorschach test

The subjects were 108 Swedish children between 10 and 12 years old, who constituted a divorce and a non-divorce group of 27 girls and 27 boys each. Rorschach Tests were administered individually and human movement responses were analysed. Non-divorce children perceived more cooperative and fewer hostile interactions than the divorce children. Responses containing figures engaged in hostile interaction were most common among divorce girls, whereas the divorce boys had difficulties in perceiving any interaction whatsoever. The different effect of parental divorce on the ability of girls and boys to develop satisfactory social relationships is discussed.     

Foraging in a simulated natural environment: There's a rat loose in the lab

Rats were required to earn their food in a large room having nine boxes placed in it, each of which contained food buried in sand. In different phases of the experiment the amount of time allowed for foraging, the amount of food available in each food patch, and the location of the different available amounts were varied. The rats exhaustively sampled all patches each session but seemed to have fairly strong preferences for certain locations over others. If position preferences were for patches containing small amounts of food, the sensitivity to amount available was increased so that when location was compensated for, a pattern of optimal foraging was evident. The importance of environmental constraints in producing optimal behavior and the relation of the observed behavior to laboratory findings are discussed.