Social skill assessment and training for children: an evaluative review

Techniques employed in the behavioral assessment and treatment of socially deficient children are reviewed. General definitions and components of assertion and social skill in children are presented. While considerable data attest to the potential efficiency of behavioral approaches with this population, several methodological problems prevent any definitive conclusions from being drawn at this time. Some of these include: (1) lack of an accurate classification system of socially isolated children, (2) need for an empirical determination of skill components, and (3) the paucity of data concerning generalization and maintenance of treatment effects. The utility of incorporating developmental and social psychological methods into behavioral programs also is discussed. Suggestions for future directions of research are offered.     

Behavioral treatment of obsessive-compulsive neurosis

Three chronic and severe obsessive-compulsive neurotics were treated with behavioral intervention strategies and psychotropic medication. The effects of treatment were evaluated in three separate experiments with single case experimental designs. The results suggest that response prevention was effective in reducing ritualistic behavior while the effects of flooding and antidepressant medication added little to outcome. The results also suggest that strategies aimed only at reducing compulsive behavior per se are insufficient in eliminating other associated difficulties (e.g., depressive symptoms, interpersonal problems) and that a comprehensive approach to treatment is needed.     

Comparative validity of traditional versus S-R format inventories of interpersonal behavior

The comparative validity of two “S-R format” inventories of interpersonal behavior, Kinnane et al.'s (1969) Schedule of Interpersonal Response and a newly developed Rational S-R Inventory, and two “traditional” inventories, the Personality Research Form and the Interpersonal Check List, was examined with respect to 14 self-report and peer rating criteria selected to broadly tap the interpersonal domain. Sixty-four male and female high school seniors served as Ss.In spite of the situational specificity inherent in the S-R inventories, the traditional inventories substantially outperformed the S-R inventories and, in contrast to previous findings, also outperformed simple self-ratings. The results are discussed not only in terms of the relative advantages of various inventory construction strategies but also in reference to the problem of criterion measurement and theoretical and methodological issues in the assessment of situational parameters.     

Nature of spelling errors in transcortical sensory aphasia: A case study

The nature and extent of spelling errors in a patient with transcortical sensory aphasia were investigated. The two experimental conditions required the patient to spell monosyllabic and polysyllabic words both verbally and in written form. Analysis of the spelling errors revealed partially preserved knowledge of the visual image of a word as a whole, as well as preserved knowledge of temporal order. Our patient's error patterns in both conditions were more similar than dissimilar. These findings in conjunction with results reported in the literature indicate that patients exhibiting different aphasia syndromes use separate spelling strategies.     

Group play therapy for Japanese children who stutter

Twenty-one sessions of group play therapy were conducted with children who stutter in order to improve their stuttering and to promote their development in social adaptation. Follow-up surveys were made 6 mo and 5 yr after therapy.As therapy progressed, a definite process of change was observed in each child, from periods of anxiety, appearance of aggressive behavior, frequent occurence of aggressive behavior, to a decrease in aggressive behavior. After the appearance of aggressive behavior, a fluctuation in stuttering occured as cooperative play with other children was established. This was followed by a decrease in stuttering. The appearance of aggressive behavior during therapy is thought to be of major significance for the disappearance of stuttering and for interpersonal relationships.A follow-up survey showed that both stuttering and social adjustment had improved, indicating the effectiveness of therapy.     

Learning from negative outcomes in stuttering therapy: II. An epiphany of failures

Proceeding on the premise that learning advances on the feet of failure, a litany of therapeutic failures with stutterers across 3 decades is recounted. The basis for these failures included the assumptions that stuttering is a neurotic symptom; that “lucky fluency” can be maintained permanently; that a fluent drone is preferable to stuttering; that controlled fluency, once established, can be maintained permanently; that a proper task for clinicians is to motivate clients to achieve and preserve fluency; that the clinician has the responsibility for marching clients through their therapeutic paces; and that stuttering is punishing to the stutterer, so it is not preserved by reinforcement. Unfortunately, more has probably been learned about what does not work than what does.     

The use of self-efficacy scaling in training student clinicians: Implications for working with stutterers

A scaling technique developed by Bandura for determining an individual's personal performance expectations (self efficacy) was applied to student clinicians working with stutterers. The self-efficacy scores of clinicians conducting treatment increased significantly while the scores of clinicians without treatment experience showed no significant change. As the student clinicians gained clinical experience there appeared to be a corresponding reduction in fear and avoidance of the treatment situation. Clinician fear concerning stuttering treatment appeared to have little relation to performance in treatment as rated by supervisors. The results indicate that self-efficacy scaling may be used to indicate clinician avoidance of working with stuttering clients.     

The effect of an intensive behavioral program on the distribution of EEG alpha power in stutterers during the processing of verbal and visuospatial information

Prior to an intensive behavioral treatment program, stutterers showed greater than normal activation of the posterior frontal region of the right hemisphere during the performance of speech tasks. After treatment they showed increases in proportional alpha for most regions of the two cerebral hemispheres, but most markedly for the posterior frontal region of the right hemisphere for both verbal and nonverbal tasks. This increase resulted in a reversal of the previous R/L interhemispheric alpha relationships with the left posterior frontal region showing greater activation during speech after treatment. The relationship of this finding to previous findings is briefly discussed and an hypothesis of decreased inhibitory control of the right hemisphere at the posterior frontal region by the left hemisphere during speech in stutterers is proposed and briefly expounded.