Effects of reinforcement context on choice

Two experiments investigated the effects of successive reinforcement contexts on choice. In the first, concurrent variable-interval schedules of primary reinforcement operated during the initial links of concurrent chains. The rate of this reinforcement arranged by the concurrent schedules was decreased across conditions: When it was higher than the terminal-link rate, preference for the higher frequency initial-link schedule increased relative to baseline. (During baseline, a standard concurrent-schedule procedure was in effect). When the initial-link reinforcement rate was lower than the terminal-link rate, preference converged toward indifference. In the second experiment, a chain schedule was available on a third key while a concurrent schedule was in effect on the side keys. When the terminal link of the chain schedule was produced, the side keys became inoperative. Availability of the chain schedule did not affect choice between the concurrent schedules. These results show that only when successive reinforcement contexts are produced by choice responding do those successive contexts affect choice in concurrent schedules.     

Inconsistent communication: A simplified method for selecting messages

In examining the family's role in the development and perpetuation of disordered behavior, studies of inconsistent communication have focused on the frequency and impact of such communications in disturbed versus non-disturbed groups. For these and other lines of study, current methods for defining and selecting inconsistent messages are extremely time-consuming, and as a result, large-scale efforts have been discouraged. To address this problem, the current study attempted to develop and evaluate an efficient procedure for selecting inconsistent communications which would be comparable to the standard method. Most important, it was found that raters are capable of accurately judging affect in a particular channel when presented with several channels simultaneously, and as such, it is unnecessary to artificially separate channels when affect ratings are to be obtained. Future research should be facilitated by the method developed in the current study.     

The Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory: concurrent validity with a clinic sample

The Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory (SPAI) is an empirically derived self-report inventory developed as a specific measure of social phobia. The current investigation included two studies. The first examined the correlation of the SPAI with daily social behavior of a clinic sample of social phobics. The results indicated that the SPAI provides a reasonable indication of the distress experienced during daily social encounters in three dimensions: behavior, cognitions, and overall distress. The second study examined the validity of the SPAI with reference to the somatic response and avoidance behavior of social phobics. The results indicated that the somatic items of the SPAI are related to the somatic response of social phobics and that performance on the SPAI is associated with avoidance behavior in an anxiety-producing task.     

Cognitive, perceptual, and personal-social development of prematurely born preschoolers

This study was designed to determine possible differences in the cognitive, perceptual, and personal-social development of prematurely and maturely born 3-yr.-olds which might foreshadow later learning problems. The subjects were 40 prematurely born graduates of a neonatal intensive care unit (birth weight less than 2,500 gm, less than 37 wk. gestation) matched on the pair-level with full-term controls on sex, race, post-conceptual age, and socioeconomic background. All subjects were singletons and parity was matched at the group level. No differences were found between the groups on tests of higher mental processes including the General Cognitive, Verbal, Quantitative, and Memory Scales of the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities, and researcher-devised measures of problem-solving competence. No differences in parental reports of personal-social development were noted. Prematures did not perform as well as controls on perceptual performance tasks, and this difference was interpreted as reflecting relatively impaired visual-motor coordination.     

Youth Testimony at the Opening Prayer of the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches

This is the text of the youth testimony at the opening prayer of the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches on 31 August 2022.     

Making Space Behind the Veil: Black Agency within a Predominantly White Religion

The work of W.E.B. Du Bois highlights the significance of Christian religion in Black American life. According to Du Bois, the Black Church serves as a site of self-formation and affirmation, and the White Church as a source of racist beliefs and justifications for inequality. In this paper, we expand Du Bois’ inquiry about the influence of religion with a study of Black Americans who belong to a predominantly White religion. For those whose religious experience is almost wholly within the “white world,” what role does religion play in their lives? We analyze a set of 52 public accounts by Black Americans discussing their experiences as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). We find that for many Black LDS, membership in the LDS Church is characterized by contrast and contradiction, yielding spiritual conviction, joy, and meaningful communion on one hand, and racism and isolation on the other. We also find that Black LDS respond to these contradictions in a variety of ways. We classify these agentic responses into five types and examine the sociological significance of the observed variation. We conclude with a discussion of implications for scholarship on race and religion.