The search for an effective clinical behavior analysis: the nonlinear thinking of Israel goldiamond

This paper has two purposes; the first is to reintroduce Goldiamond's constructional approach to clinical behavior analysis and to the field of behavior analysis as a whole, which, unfortunately, remains largely unaware of his nonlinear functional analysis and its implications. The approach is not simply a set of clinical techniques; instead it describes how basic, applied, and formal analyses may intersect to provide behavior-analytic solutions where the emphasis is on consequential selection. The paper takes the reader through a cumulative series of explorations, discoveries, and insights that hopefully brings the reader into contact with the power and comprehensiveness of Goldiamond's approach, and leads to an investigation of the original works cited. The second purpose is to provide the context of a life of scientific discovery that attempts to elucidate the variables and events that informed one of the most extraordinary scientific journeys in the history of behavior analysis, and expose the reader (especially young ones) to the exciting process of discovery followed by one of the field's most brilliant thinkers. One may perhaps consider this article a tribute to Goldiamond and his work, but the tribute is really to the process of scientific discovery over a professional lifetime.     

The Search for a Politically Reflective Clinical-Community Approach

The following paper explores how working in Venezuela, a country that has gone through 20 years of economic and political problems, has highlighted the gap between clinical and community approaches in dealing with the sufferings of our consultants. Our efforts to develop theoretical and practical tools that can address the historical and political dimensions of people’s lives are reviewed. These efforts illustrate how the community paradigm can help expand clinical perspectives, thus allowing a practise which can address the needs of people who have neither the time nor the economic means to engage in a traditional therapeutic relationship. The shift in perspective, the revision of our “therapeutic” stance and the use of de-naturalisation and problematization are illustrated.     

运动员退役过程的心理定性分析：成功与失败的个案研究

研究采用定性分析的方法,旨在探索我国运动员退役过程中为什么有的运动员能够顺利退役,重新开创新事业,而有的运动员却不能。研究以Torregrosa等的理论模式为设计思路,采用综合个案研究设计,选取4个成功和4个失败个案,通过访谈、文献和语言分析技术,对8个运动员退役过程中的意识和行为进行剖析。结果发现运动员在退役过程中,主要在心理状态、退役意识、退役计划、自我调节、社会支持和生活满意度6个方面,反映出成功退役的运动员与失败退役的运动员之间的不同特征。成功退役的运动员通常有一个良好的退役意识。主动计划选择退役后的事业发展;退役失败的运动员则表现为对退役问题消极回避的应对行为。文章就这些发现进行了讨论,并建议了进一步定量研究的方向     

计算机自动化项目生成概述

近年来,计算机自动化项目生成作为应对测验项目曝光问题的很具前景的一项技术,逐渐得到越来越多研究者的重视。这种技术是以认知心理学和心理测量学为基础,在测试过程中借助计算机自动生成目标难度水平的项目。该文首先简要介绍了这种技术的理论基础和两种具体方法,然后以项目设计系统法为例说明自动化项目生成研究的具体步骤与优点,最后评述了这种技术的局限性及未来的发展趋势     

Linda问题:"齐当别"抉择模型的解释

大量有关人类归因判断的研究表明,人类经常违反理性概率公理.Tversky和Kahneman(1983)使用Linda问题等特定场景的研究发现,人们系统性地表现出违反理性推断标准,判断合取事件发生概率大于其组成事件发生概率,称之为合取谬误,并用人们使用代表性启发式判断概率来解释该现象产生的原因.然而使用启发式观点对合取谬误现象进行解释过于模糊不清.该文首先介绍了合取谬误现象及其解释模型,然后应用Li(1994,2004)提出的不确定情形下决策理论--"齐当别"抉择模型对Linda问题中合取谬误产生的原因进行了新的解释.     

A Systemic Approach to Fetal Loss Following Genetic Testing

Advances in genetic technology challenge couples to make complex life and death decisions about their fetus that have far-reaching practical and emotional consequences. When genetic defects lead to fetal loss, whether by miscarriage, elective interruption, or still birth, it can be a devastating experience with ripple effects on couple and family development. This paper presents a systemic approach to coping and adaptation to fetal loss in the wake of genetic testing. Clinical vignettes illustrate common experiences and present interventions designed to help the individual grieving partners as well as the marriage. thereby strengthening the family fabric at a vulnerable transitional stage.     

Poverty in Russia

This paper is intended to shed light on the extent of poverty in the Russian Federation. We present estimates of poverty lines and poverty ratios derived from subjective questions used in a data collection for a large household panel (RUSSET). We estimate poverty using a subjective approach, where the level of the poverty line is derived using the opinion of the individual, rich or poor, on poverty. This approach differs from the objective approach to poverty, which defines poverty according to the opinion of experts. Three subjective poverty lines are presented: one the Financial Satisfaction Poverty Line, two the Leyden Poverty Line, and three the Subjective Well-Being Poverty Line. The first two poverty lines are based on subjective questions regarding income and economic welfare while the last concept focuses on satisfaction with life as a whole. The results obtained are compared with each other and with results derived using objective measures and official figures.     

Is Retirement Good or Bad for Subjective Well-Being?

Retirement has been viewed either as a transition that is accompanied by psychological distress or as a time of continued, or even enhanced, subjective well-being. Existing evidence is mixed, with some studies reporting retirement as positively related to well-being and others reporting a negative relationship or none at all. Our research indicates that developmental and social contexts shape an individual’s retirement decisions and experiences, so that retirement should be studied in its ecological and life-course context. Research on marital quality and subjective well-being in retirement has demonstrated both similarities and differences between men and women, as well as the need to consider couples conjointly (rather than viewing individuals in isolation). Future research focusing on the retirement process as it unfolds over time and in ecological context can serve to illuminate the circumstances under which retirement promotes or detracts from the quality of life.     

Effects of self-correction on the spelling performance of junior high students with learning disabilities

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of Self-Correction and Traditional spelling on the acquisition, maintenance, and generalization of spelling words with five junior high school students with learning disabilities. During Traditional spelling students received a weekly list of 20 unknown words. Daily 20-minute assignments with these words varied among writing them, arranging them in alphabetical order, dividing the words into syllables, and using a dictionary to locate word meaning. Students were tested on the 20 words at the end of the week. During Self-Correction, students received 20 words on a 5-column sheet of paper. Columns were arranged so that stimulus words could be hidden by folding the paper back, and later exposed after the teacher dictated and the student wrote the words. Students used proofreading marks to self-correct. Sessions lasted 20 minutes, and weekly, delayed, and generalized assessments were conducted. Results indicated that for all five students the Self-Correction procedure was more effective for word acquisition than Traditional spelling. Also, for four of the five students, maintenance of words was higher under Self-Correction. Generalization occurred for three students. Finally, measures of social validity indicated that the students preferred Self-Correction over Traditional spelling, although two teachers in regular classrooms did not notice significant changes in the overall spelling performance for the students. Implications for the classroom practitioner are discussed.     

In Praise of a Cumulative Prevention Science

Durlak and Wells (1997) provide a pivotal appraisal of prevention research on children and adolescents. Their meta-analytic approach has the advantages of reducing scientific misjudgments based on single studies, and providing a more balanced evaluation of impact of various interventions; it provides an opportunity for hypothesis finding, helps set methodological standards, allows assessment of working classifications in the field, and an evaluation of the maturity of the prevention field itself. New developmental tasks for the field include incorporating and pursuing the leads produced by these findings, conducting similar research syntheses with other populations and outcomes, and using the results as an impetus to increased operational precision and parsimony.