The effects of fixed-time reinforcement schedules on problem behavior of children with emotional and behavioral disorders in a day-treatment classroom setting

The current study assessed the effects of fixed-time reinforcement schedules on problem behavior of students with emotional-behavioral disorders in a clinical day-treatment classroom setting. Three elementary-aged students with a variety of emotional and behavioral problems participated in the study. Initial functional assessments indicated that social attention was the maintaining reinforcer for their verbally disruptive behavior. Baseline phases were alternated with phases in which attention was provided on fixed-time schedules in the context of an ABAB design. The results indicated that the provision of attention on fixed-time schedules substantially reduced the participants' rate of verbal disruptions. These decreases were maintained during initial thinning of the schedules. The results provide one of the first examples that such an intervention can be successfully implemented in a classroom setting.     

Evaluating the relative effects of feedback and contingent money for staff training of stimulus preference assessments

Performance feedback has facilitated the acquisition and maintenance of a wide range of behaviors (e.g., health-care routines, seat-belt use). Most researchers have attributed the effectiveness of performance feedback to (a) its discriminative functions, (b) its reinforcing functions, or (c) the combination of the two. In this study, we attempted to evaluate the relative contributions of the discriminative and reinforcing functions of performance feedback by comparing a condition in which the discriminative functions were maximized and the reinforcing functions were minimized (i.e., performance-specific instructions without contingent money) with one in which the reinforcing functions were maximized and the discriminative functions were minimized (i.e., contingent money with no performance-specific instructions). We compared the effects of these two conditions on the acquisition of skills involved in conducting two commonly used preference assessments. Results showed that acquisition of these skills occurred primarily in the condition with performance-specific instruction without contingent money, suggesting that the delivery of performance-specific instructions was critical to skill acquisition, whereas the delivery of contingent money had little effect.     

Effects of D-amphetamine and ethanol on variable and repetitive key-peck sequences in pigeons

This experiment assessed the effects of d-amphetamine and ethanol on reinforced variable and repetitive key-peck sequences in pigeons. Pigeons responded on two keys under a multiple schedule of Repeat and Vary components. In the Repeat component, completion of a target sequence of right, right, left, left resulted in food. In the Vary component, 4-peck sequences differing from the previous 10 produced food. d-Amphetamine (0.1-3.0 mg/kg, i.m.) was administered in two separate phases, separated by ethanol administration (1.0-2.0 g/kg, i.g.). Under control conditions, measures of variability were high in the Vary component, and lower in the Repeat component. Following administration of the highest dose of d-amphetamine, but not ethanol, response rates decreased in both components. d-Amphetamine and ethanol tended to increase overall sequence variability in the Repeat component, and had less of an effect in the Vary component. Performance in the Repeat component during Phase 2 of d-amphetamine administration was more disrupted than during Phase 1. Measures of variability and repetition based on shifts in the relative frequency distributions of the 16 possible keypeck sequences differed from those based on the overall measure of variability, highlighting the importance of considering both molar and molecular measures when assessing the effects of drugs on reinforced variability and repetition. In addition, the shifts in the relative frequency distribution of response sequences suggest that d-amphetamine produced decrements in repeat performance by decreasing discriminative control within response sequences, whereas ethanol decreased repeat performance by decreasing discriminability between components as well as discriminative control within response sequences.     

Treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder: cognitive behavior therapy vs. exposure and response prevention

The efficacy of contemporary cognitive therapy for obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) has only recently been investigated. The current study compares exposure and response prevention (ERP) and cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) delivered in an individual format. Participants were randomly assigned to the 12 consecutive-week CBT or ERP treatment. Based on 59 treatment completers, there was no significant difference in YBOCS scores between CBT and ERP at post-treatment or at 3-month follow-up. A higher percentage of CBT participants obtained recovered status at post-treatment (67%) and at follow-up (76%), compared to ERP participants (59% and 58%, respectively), but the difference was not significant. Effect sizes (ESs) were used to compare the results of the current study with a previous study conducted at our center that utilized group CBT and ERP treatments, as well as other controlled trials that have compared CBT and ERP. The significance of these results is discussed and a comparison is made with the existing literature.     

Brief cognitive-behavioral phone-based intervention targeting anxiety about the threat of attack: a pilot study

A brief, cognitive-behavioral, phone-based intervention was employed with an Israeli sample experiencing anticipatory anxiety about potential war-related attacks. In this quasi-experimental controlled pilot study, the cognitive-behavioral therapy intervention (diaphragmatic breathing and a modified cognitive-restructuring technique) was compared with the standard hotline care administered when worried citizens called a mental health emergency hotline in Israel. Individuals (n=32) were administered anxiety and worry measures pre-intervention, post-intervention, and three days post-intervention. The results indicated that anxiety levels decreased for the experimental and control group immediately post-intervention; however, three days later, the levels of anxiety in the CBT group continued to decline, while anxiety levels in the control group reached pre-intervention levels on two of the three outcome measures. These results suggest that CBT can be effectively delivered by paraprofessionals over the phone, which is cost-effective and efficient. Limitations are considered, and implications for treating individuals coping with the threat of terrorism are discussed.     

A preliminary analysis of adaptive responding under open and closed economies

In the current investigation, we evaluated the effects of open and closed economies on the adaptive behavior of 2 individuals with developmental disabilities. Across both types of economy, progressive-ratio (PR) schedules were used in which the number of responses required to obtain reinforcement increased as the session progressed. In closed-economy sessions, participants were able to obtain reinforcement only through interaction with the PR schedule requirements (i.e., more work resulted in more reinforcer access). In open-economy sessions, participants obtained reinforcers by responding on the PR schedule and were given supplemental (free) access to the reinforcers after completion of the session. In general, more responding was associated with the closed economy.     

Evaluation of pharmacological treatment of impulsivity in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

We used an assessment that involved competing reinforcer dimensions in a concurrent-schedules arrangement to examine the effects of stimulant medication on impulsivity (i.e., sensitivity of choices to reinforcer immediacy relative to rate, quality, and effort) with 4 students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The assessments were administered in the context of a double-blind, placebo-controlled, counterbalanced reversal design. Reinforcer immediacy was the most influential dimension for 3 of the students and the second most influential dimension for 1 of the students across placebo and medication conditions; medication did not affect these sensitivities.     

Incremental Validity of Locus of Control After Controlling for Cognitive Ability and Conscientiousness

This research examined the criterion-related validity of work-specific locus of control in predicting job performance, including incremental validity after controlling for cognitive ability and conscientiousness. Data from a student sample and from a large employee sample were used to evaluate the scale properties of measures of locus of control, conscientiousness, and cognitive ability. Two concurrent criterion-related validation studies were then conducted to evaluate the incremental validity of locus of control. In both validation studies, locus of control demonstrated overall and incremental relationships with performance after controlling for ability and conscientiousness, such that employees with higher internal locus of control performed more effectively than externals.     

Attachment,Behavioral Inhibition,and Anxiety in Preschool Children

This study examined the association between insecure attachment, behavioral inhibition, and anxiety in an at risk sample of preschool children. The relationship between maternal anxiety and child anxiety was also assessed. Participants were 104 children aged 3–4 years who were assessed for behavioral inhibition and mother–child attachment (using the Strange Situation procedure). DSM-IV criteria were used to assess childhood anxiety disorders. Insecure attachment and behavioral inhibition were both independently associated with child anxiety, even after controlling for the effect of maternal anxiety. Maternal anxiety was also associated with child anxiety. This study identified both constitutional and environmental factors associated with the expression of anxiety in young children. Furthermore, the highest levels of anxiety were shown by children who were behaviorally inhibited and insecurely attached and whose mothers were also anxious.     

“工作价值观-职务特征”匹配对工作倦怠的影响研究

工作倦怠是近年来工业和组织心理学及职业健康领域的一个研究热点,本研究的目的是着重检验"工作价值观-职务特征"匹配对工作倦怠的影响.根据2家企业118份调查问卷的结果对工作倦怠量表和"工作价值观-职务特征"问卷做了修订.然后在8家非服务性企业进行了调查,316份有效问卷的调查进一步验证了工作倦怠量表具有良好的构想效度和信度;人口统计学变量性别、年龄在工作倦怠上有显著差异;通过相关分析结果表明,"工作价值观-职务特征"匹配各维度与工作倦怠各维度显著相关;进一步的逐步回归分析表明,任务特征在任务依存性和任务自主性的两个维度的匹配对情绪衰竭有负向预测作用,任务自主性匹配还对工作怠慢维度有负向预测作用.