DIFFERENTIAL REINFORCEMENT OF OTHER BEHAVIOR AND NONCONTINGENT REINFORCEMENT AS CONTROL PROCEDURES DURING THE MODIFICATION OF A PRESCHOOLER'S COMPLIANCE1

Differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) and noncontingent reinforcement were compared as control procedures during the modification of a 3-yr-old preschooler's compliance. The recorded reinforcer was teacher proximity (within 3 ft (0.9 m) of the subject for at least 5 sec) which was often accompanied by positive verbal comments that varied in content across experimental conditions. The verbal content during contingent reinforcement might have been: “Thank you for picking up the blocks”; during noncontingent reinforcement: “You're wearing a pretty dress”; and during DRO: “I don't blame you for not picking up because it isn't any fun”. Contingent reinforcement increased compliance in all manipulation conditions. Noncontingent reinforcement decreased compliance during two reversal conditions. However, the behavior was variable and did not decrease to the low levels reached during the two DRO reversals.     

Adolescent boys with obesity: The lived experiences

This study explored and described the lived experiences of adolescent boys who are obese. Participants were a purposive sample of nine boys between the ages of 13 and 18, six of them currently with obesity and with BMI levels at or above the 95th percentile for weight for height, and three with a history of obesity. Data were collected using in-depth phenomenological interviews, direct observations and field notes. Thematic coding was applied during the analysis process. Four themes emerged from the thematic analysis to characterise the adolescent boys’ experiences of being obese: living an empty life in a full body; vulnerable self-concept and low self-esteem; and being teased and humoured. They reported to cope with lived obesity by actively using motivation such as fear of death to lose weight and passively coping by wearing a mask. Obesity carries significant physical and psychological health risk to children in adolescence.     

Circling a memory: a layered reflective method for generating subjective knowledge about childhood and teacher identity

This paper describes a memory and life story process engaged in by three former early childhood teachers. The reflective process was based in interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) and proceeded in a recursive and layered manner, circling around the participants’ memory narratives. The aims of the study were: (1) to develop a critical approach to generating knowledge about childhood, and (2) to consider a teaching strategy for memory work in teacher education programs.     

教师互动问卷中文版的初步修订及应用

教师互动问卷（ＱＴＩ）是国外研究师生间教师行为时广泛采用的有效工具,国内目前尚缺少这方面的研究工具,因此,我们对ＱＴＩ进行了中文版的修订。修订经过了翻译、试测、修订、重测、信度与效度的考查等一系列环节。试测和重测的被试分别为９２名和３４７名中小学教师。统计结果表明,ＱＴＩ中文版有较好的信度、效度和区分度,可以用于我国教师行为的研究。此外,应用ＱＴＩ将教师划分为合作一支配型与对一服从型两类,效果较好     

Understanding of the current police caution (England and Wales)

The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (England and Wales) modified suspects' right to silence during police questioning and required a new police caution. The current 37-word caution was introduced after it was found that a proposed 60-word draft version was too complex. The results of the present study show that, although more succinct, the current caution is no easier to explain. Even under optimal conditions, when the participants could focus on each sentence in turn, only 1 in 10 of the general population (n=15), 6 in 10 of A-level students preparing for university (n=72) and 9 in 10 police officers (n=21) demonstrated their understanding by explaining all three sentences correctly. For all groups, the difficulties were more marked when the caution was presented in its entirety, as would happen in real life. The complexity of the caution has serious implications for suspects in police detention. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Examining Effects of Self-Efficacy on Research Motivation Among Chinese University Teachers: Moderation of Leader Support and Mediation of Goal Orientations

Utilizing the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) as the theoretical framework, this study proposed a moderated mediation model investigating the complex functioning mechanisms of how self-efficacy beliefs and leader support can be related to research motivation among Chinese university teachers. A group of 310 Chinese teachers working in different universities completed an online survey. Results from structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis revealed distinct influencing paths from the predictor variables (i.e., self-efficacy and leader support) to the outcome variables (i.e., intrinsic and extrinsic research motivation). Specifically, self-efficacy beliefs predicted both mastery and performance goal orientations; mastery goal orientation, in turn, positively affected intrinsic and extrinsic research motivation. In contrast, leader support was non-significant for the both types of goal orientations, but exerted strong direct influences on the both types of research motivation. Bootstrapping methods in SEM showed that it was primarily the mastery goal orientation that mediated the relationships between self-efficacy beliefs and research motivation. Furthermore, the results from the SEM and simple slope analysis revealed that leader support moderated the association between self-efficacy and extrinsic research motivation.     

Caregivers’ emotional competence and behavioral responsiveness as correlates of early childcare workers’ relationships with children in their care

In the current study, we examined associations among early childcare workers’ emotional competence, observed responsiveness, comfort with socioemotional teaching practices, and the quality of their relationships with children in their care. The participants were 100 early childcare workers (72 center-based Early Head Start teachers and 28 family childcare providers). Results showed that caregivers’ emotion regulation ability was positively associated with caregiver–child relational closeness. Understanding and regulation of emotion were both positively associated with childcare workers’ comfort with socioemotional teaching practices. Their observed responsiveness was positively related to relational closeness and negatively related to relational conflict. Findings are consistent with aspects of the prosocial classroom model, which asserts that educators high in emotional and social competence tend to adopt childcare practices that result in supportive relationships with children. Results provide insight into whether childcare workers’ responsiveness to young children and their perceived socioemotional teaching practices provide a pathway between emotional competence and the quality of caregiver–child relationships.     

Concordance of teacher-rated and performance-based measures of executive functioning in preschoolers

The most common method used to evaluate child behavior and functioning is rating scales completed by parents and/or teachers. Given that executive functioning (EF) plays a fundamental role in the developing child’s cognitive, behavioral, and social-emotional development, it would be ideal if ratings of EF and performance-based EF measures assess the same construct. However, most studies report a small to negligible association between performance-based measures and ratings of EF. There are few studies investigating this association for preschoolers, and most only include parent ratings. Teachers may be more reliable reporters of EF behaviors due to the higher demand for EF skills in the preschool setting than at home and because teachers may have a better sense of what behaviors are normative. In this study, we reviewed the associations between three EF rating scales completed by teachers on 243 preschool children. Results showed small to moderate correlations with EF measures of inhibition and cognitive flexibility/switching for all three scales, with the strongest associations observed between Child Behavior Rating Scale (CBRS) Behavioral Regulation subscale and child EF measures. Exploratory multivariate path analyses showed that, after controlling for age, sex, and socioeconomic status (SES), Behavioral Regulation significantly predicted performance-based measures of EF and accounted for incrementally more variance in the models. We conclude that in ideal situations, it is best to measure EF using both rating scales and performance-based measures of EF. The CBRS seems to be a sensitive measure of EF in preschoolers and may be a helpful brief screening tool for use with teachers.     

Why does impression management positively influence interview ratings? The mediating role of competence and warmth

Though interviews assess job applicants' skills and abilities, they can be influenced by extraneous factors, including impression management (IM) tactics. Interviewees’ self‐promotion and ingratiation IM tactics predict higher interview ratings; however, researchers have yet to determine why these tactics work. We assessed whether two fundamental dimensions of social perception, competence and warmth, mediate the relationship between IM tactics and interview ratings. We hypothesized that interviewee competence mediates the relationship between self‐promotion and interview ratings, and interviewee warmth mediates the relationship between ingratiation and interview ratings. Using real employment interviews, we found that competence mediates the relationship between self‐promotion and interview ratings, but warmth did not mediate the relationship between ingratiation and interview ratings in the way we expected.