Do worksite stress management programs attract the employees who need them and are they effective?

Employees who planned to attend a worksite stress management program (volunteers), those who planned not to attend (nonvolunteers), and those who had participated in worksite stress management training were assessed on the variables of work stressors, perceived stress, and organizational spontaneity (extrarole) behavior. Twelve hundred hospital employees were randomly selected from seven VA hospitals that had been offering a stress management program for at least 5 years. Participants received questionnaire packets in the mail and 461 (38%) of the employees responded. The results showed that volunteers reported significantly more perceived stress than the nonvolunteers. However, volunteers did not report greater frequency or intensity of work stressors. Also, respondents who had participated in past stress training reported less perceived stress than volunteers and significantly more organizational spontaneity behavior than respondents who had not participated in past stress training. These findings suggest that employees who plan to attend stress training have the greatest need and that the stress intervention reduces perceived stress levels and, possibly, affects work behavior.     

行为与脑的关系及其与机体其它属性间的相互作用的研究──心理学研究展望

“二十一世纪的心理学”的论题是当今许多科学家感兴趣的．这种预测是一种想象与现实相结合的尝试。审视过去和现在．心理学未来的雏形的基础可能是行为与脑的关系及其与生命其它属性之间的相互作用。     

Comparing Locomotion With Lever-press Travel In An Operant Simulation Of Foraging

An operant model of foraging was studied. Rats searched for food by pressing on the left lever, the patch, which provided one, two, or eight reinforcers before extinction (i.e., zero reinforcers). Obtaining each reinforcer lowered the probability of receiving another reinforcer, simulating patch depletion. Rats traveled to another patch by pressing the right lever, which restored reinforcer availability to the left lever. Travel requirement changed by varying the probability of reset for presses on the right lever; in one condition, additional locomotion was required. That is, rats ran 260 cm from the left to the right lever, made one response on the right lever, and ran back to a fresh patch on the left lever. Another condition added three hurdles to the 260-cm path. The lever-pressing and simple locomotion conditions generated equivalent travel times. Adding the hurdles produced longer times in patches than did the lever-pressing and simple locomotion requirements. The results contradict some models of optimal foraging but are in keeping with McNair's (1982) optimal giving-up time model and add to the growing body of evidence that different environments may produce different foraging strategies.     

Toward a theory of verbal behavior

This paper is a reply to an accompanying set of six commentaries by Sidman; Hayes and Barnes; Schusterman, Kastak, and Reichmuth; Tonneau and Sokolowski; Lowenkron; and Moerk. Those commentaries were prompted by our article “On the Origins of Naming and Other Symbolic Behavior” (1996), which was, in turn, followed by 26 commentaries and a reply. In the course of the present reply, we further develop the naming account to embrace more complex verbal relations such as same, different, more, and less. We also examine what we see as the lack of conceptual coherence in equivalence theories, including relational frame theory, and the disparities between these accounts and the findings from empirical research.     

The Development of the Toddler Behavior Screening Inventory

The purpose of the present study was to develop the Toddler Behavior Screening Inventory (TBSI) for rapidly assessing maternal reports of toddler behavior problems. The TBSI is a 40-item measure intended for use by pediatricians, psychologists, and other child-care professionals. A group of mothers (n = 312) rated the initial 93-item TBSI in terms of behavior frequency and parental perception of the behavior as problematic. Following item elimination, 40 items were retained due to being both frequent and problematic at all toddler age levels. Data were obtained with a new sample of mothers (n = 581) and showed the TBSI to possess good reliability and validity.     

初级指挥官人格类型与PM领导行为类型有效性的关系

通过对陆军初级指挥官人格心理类型与领导行为有效性的心理学研究 ,探讨个人的领导潜能、人格心理类型对领导行为有效性的影响。研究发现 :1方差分析表明 ,具有不同领导行为的指挥官在人格维度上存在明显的统计学差异。提示了指挥官的领导行为取向与人格因素有密切的关系。2卡方分析结果也表明 ,PM型行为的军官在其人格特征上具有“ESTJ”组合特征 ,而 pm型的军官则正好相反 ;另外 ,pm型的军官在成就动机上获得高分的人数最少。3系统聚类分析显示 ,“成就动机”、“感觉”和“判断”三种人格因素与军事指挥官完成整体领导职能有着更为密切的关系。     

Enhancing Classroom Performance: A Review of Reinforcement Schedules

During the past decade the application of elementary principles of behavior have become a standard in the classroom teacher's repertoire of behavior change strategies. Unfortunately, the application of more advanced principles of behavior derived through basic behavioral research lies as an untapped resource for classroom teachers. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the use of systematic procedures to deliver reinforcers to enhance academic performance. In this paper we provide educators with information on the use of reinforcement schedules in academic settings. Various schedules of reinforcement are presented along with examples of their application in applied settings.     

Genes and human behavior: the emerging paradigm

The physical properties of human beings and other organisms as well as their social behavioral traits are manifestations of both genetic inheritance and environment. Recent behavioral research has indicated that certain characteristics or behaviors—such as schizophrenia, divorce, and homosexuality—are highly heritable and are not governed exclusively by social environment. A balanced view of human behavior includes the effects of social learning as well as of genetically determined behavior. A new paradigm promotes enhanced understanding and acceptance of human diversity, be it cultural, racial, or sexual, and has the potential to unite scientists and theologians by creating common grounds of understanding.     

8─11个月婴儿迂回行为发展特点与学习能力的研究

采用程序标准化的婴儿迂回行为测验,探讨了２４４名８－１１个月婴儿的迂回行为发展特点及学习能力。结果表明：（１）８－１１个月婴儿的迂回行为水平表现出随婴儿月龄的增长而提高的趋势。（２）８－１１个月的婴儿具有从反复尝试中学会迂回行为的可能性,其中９、１０个月的婴儿的学习可能性较大,而８个月婴儿的学习可能性较小。（３）８－１１个月婴儿的学习速度随月龄增大而提高。     

Construct validity and test-retest reliability of a date rape decision-latency measure

In two studies, the construct (convergent and discriminant) validity and test-retest reliability of a date rape decision-latency measure was examined. In Study 1, 174 college men completed measures related to sexual aggression and listened to an audiotaped simulation of a date rape, during which cues of nonconsent and force gradually escalated over time. Participants were instructed to respond, by pressing a button which recorded the latency of their decisions in seconds, if and when they believed the man depicted in the scenario should stop his sexual advances. Results demonstrated positive associations between prolonged decision latencies and sexually aggressive behavior, calloused sexual beliefs, acceptance of interpersonal violence, and sexual promiscuity. In Study 2, initial results were cross-validated in a sample of 102 college men, and discriminant validity was established as decision latencies were unassociated with measures of social desirability, alcohol consumption and drug use. Test-retest reliability assessed over a 2-week interval was .87.The authors wish to thank Alan Gross and Brian Marx for providing the audiotaped stimulus materials, Richard Marsh for writing the decision-latency computer program, Jason Hicks for assisting with programming, and the undergraduate research assistants for serving as experimenters.