Behavioral momentum in sports: a partial replication with women's basketball

Previous research has applied the behavioral momentum metaphor to men's college basketball. In the current investigation, the relative rate of reinforcement prior to and following adversities (e.g., turnovers, fouls) and periods of time-out were examined in a subset of women's college basketball games.     

The effects of delayed reinforcement on variability and repetition of response sequences

Four experiments examined the effects of delays to reinforcement on key peck sequences of pigeons maintained under multiple schedules of contingencies that produced variable or repetitive behavior. In Experiments 1, 2, and 4, in the repeat component only the sequence right-right-left-left earned food, and in the vary component four-response sequences different from the previous 10 earned food. Experiments 1 and 2 examined the effects of nonresetting and resetting delays to reinforcement, respectively. In Experiment 3, in the repeat component sequences had to be the same as one of the previous three, whereas in the vary component sequences had to be different from each of the previous three for food. Experiment 4 compared postreinforcer delays to prereinforcement delays. With immediate reinforcement sequences occurred at a similar rate in the two components, but were less variable in the repeat component. Delays to reinforcement decreased the rate of sequences similarly in both components, but affected variability differently. Variability increased in the repeat component, but was unaffected in the vary component. These effects occurred regardless of the manner in which the delay to reinforcement was programmed or the contingency used to generate repetitive behavior. Furthermore, the effects were unique to prereinforcement delays.     

Measuring resistance to change at the within-session level

Resistance to change is often studied by measuring response rate in various components of a multiple schedule. Response rate in each component is normalized (that is, divided by its baseline level) and then log-transformed. Differential resistance to change is demonstrated if the normalized, log-transformed response rate in one component decreases more slowly than in another component. A problem with normalization, however, is that it can produce artifactual results if the relation between baseline level and disruption is not multiplicative. One way to address this issue is to fit specific models of disruption to untransformed response rates and evaluate whether or not a multiplicative model accounts for the data. Here we present such a test of resistance to change, using within-session response patterns in rats as a data base for fitting models of disruption. By analyzing response rate at a within-session level, we were able to confirm a central prediction of the resistance-to-change framework while discarding normalization artifacts as a plausible explanation of our results.     

Resistance to change of responding maintained by unsignaled delays to reinforcement: a response-bout analysis

Previous experiments have shown that unsignaled delayed reinforcement decreases response rates and resistance to change. However, the effects of different delays to reinforcement on underlying response structure have not been investigated in conjunction with tests of resistance to change. In the present experiment, pigeons responded on a three-component multiple variable-interval schedule for food presented immediately, following brief (0.5 s), or following long (3 s) unsignaled delays of reinforcement. Baseline response rates were lowest in the component with the longest delay; they were about equal with immediate and briefly delayed reinforcers. Resistance to disruption by presession feeding, response-independent food during the intercomponent interval, and extinction was slightly but consistently lower as delays increased. Because log survivor functions of interresponse times (IRTs) deviated from simple modes of bout initiations and within-bout responding, an IRT-cutoff method was used to examine underlying response structure. These analyses suggested that baseline rates of initiating bouts of responding decreased as scheduled delays increased, and within-bout response rates tended to be lower in the component with immediate reinforcers. The number of responses per bout was not reliably affected by reinforcer delay, but tended to be highest with brief delays when total response rates were higher in that component. Consistent with previous findings, resistance to change of overall response rate was highly correlated with resistance to change of bout-initiation rates but not with within-bout responding. These results suggest that unsignaled delays to reinforcement affect resistance to change through changes in the probability of initiating a response bout rather than through changes in the underlying response structure.     

Games in Clinical Genetic Counseling Supervision

Games are defined as ongoing series of complementary ulterior transactions that are superficially plausible but have a concealed motivation to maximize pay-offs and minimize penalties for the initiator. While some games are harmless and part of socialization, others are destructive. Destructive game-playing in clinical supervision, in which game-playing (initiated by either supervisors or students) interferes with a student's realization of internship goals, has been documented in some allied healthcare professions but has not yet been studied in genetic counseling. Genetic counselors and clinical supervisors of genetic counseling students were anonymously surveyed regarding their experiences with destructive game-playing. Results show that such games do occur in genetic counseling clinical supervision. Some games are the same or similar to ones previously described in other health-care professions; others may be unique to genetic counseling. The purpose of this paper is to document these games as a first step to facilitating dialogue, understanding and awareness of them.     

Resistance to change of forgetting functions and response rates

This experiment examined the effects of reinforcement probability on resistance to change of remembering and response rate. Pigeons responded on a two-component multiple schedule in which completion of a variable-interval 20-s schedule produced delayed matching-to-sample trials in both components. Each session included four delays (0.1 s, 2 s, 4 s, and 8 s) between sample termination and presentation of comparison stimuli in both components. The two components differed in the probability of reinforcement arranged for correct matches (i.e., rich, p = .9; lean, p = .1). Response rates during the variable-interval portion of the procedure were higher in the rich component during baseline and more resistant to the disruptive effects of intercomponent food and extinction. Forgetting functions were constructed by examining matching accuracy as a function of delay duration. Baseline accuracy was higher in the rich component than in the lean component as measured by differences in the gamma-intercept of the forgetting functions (i.e., initial discrimination), rather than from differences in the slope of the forgetting function (i.e., rate of forgetting). Intercomponent food increased the rate of forgetting relatively more in the lean component than in the rich component, but initial discrimination was not systematically affected. Extinction reduced initial discrimination relatively more in the lean component than in the rich component, but did not systematically affect rate of forgetting. These results are consistent with our previous data suggesting that, as for response rate, accuracy and resistance to change of discriminating are positively related to rate of reinforcement. These data also suggest that the disruptability of remembering depends on the conditions of reinforcement, but the way in which remembering is disrupted depends on the nature of the disruptor.     

The relationship between organizational trust,resistance to change and adaptive and proactive employees' agility in an unplanned and planned change context

Modern organizations need to adapt quickly to on-going changes. The present study sought to examine employees' agility during periods of sudden, unplanned, and during periods of planned change. It was investigated to what extent one's trust in the organization and resistance to change could predict proactive agility and adaptive agility. Data came from employees (N = 188) in two different organizations, one undergoing an unplanned change and one undergoing a planned change. In both contexts, organizational trust had a negative relationship with resistance to change. In an unplanned change context (organization one), trust of employees in the organization had a positive effect on the adaptive component of agility through the (negative) mediation by affective resistance to change. In this context, trust did not have any (mediated) effect on the proactive component of agility. In contrast, in a planned change context (organization two), trust had a positive effect on the proactive component of agility, partially through the (negative) mediation by resistance to change. In this context, trust also had a positive effect on the adaptive component of agility, partially through the (negative) mediation by resistance to change. These results imply that trust works in different ways depending on the type of change. More trust through less resistance implies better adaptation during unplanned organizational change. More trust works directly and partially through less resistance to change to enhance employee proactivity and adaptability during planned change.     

Self-harm by omission: A question of skin containment

Abstract

This paper explores the phenomenon of ‘self-harm by omission’ and its relationship to other kinds of self-harming behaviour and to disturbances of psychic skin functioning (Bick, 1968 Bick, E. 1968. The experience of the skin in early object relations. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 49: 484–486. [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Process material from work with a patient ‘Kate’ is introduced to illustrate and clarify the matters under consideration. The conceptual framework provided by psychic skin theory is described, with particular reference to the defences of ‘toughening’ and ‘porosity’ and their relevance to understanding different kinds of self-harm. Arising from this work, suggestions are advanced with regard to further development and an extended range of application of a ‘skin containment’ conceptual framework.     

Conformity and resistance in personalized same-sex prayer rituals in Finland

ABSTRACT

This article studies the experiences of same-sex couples in connection with a prayer ritual conducted over their registered partnerships and focuses on the pre-legal context of same-sex marriage in Finland. The aim is to analyze conformity and resistance in the participants’ understanding of personalized ritual through Grimes’s categories of language, space, time, and actors. The findings reveal that most of the rituals had both elements of resistance that were understood as following a same-sex culture and of conformity with heterosexual nuptial traditions. Double affiliation with Christian and gay culture produces complex forms of conformity and resistance. Personalization of the religious rituals was more important to the participants of the study than following heterosexual traditions.