A content analysis of the conversational behavior of accepted and rejected children

The present study was designed to assess whether the conversational behavior of children separated into accepted, rejected, and mixed-status dyads differed along the dimensions of listening to, paying attention to, and indicating interest in their dyadic partner. Conversations of 40 third-grade dyads were analyzed as they occurred in a 2- min waiting period and a 4- min conversation period. Seventeen categories of verbal behaviors that indexed these dimensions were used as content codes. Multivariate analyses of variance performed on the observational data yielded significant main effects for status, sex, and experimental condition. Results are interpreted in terms of previous social skills research, and suggestions for future research are offered.     

August Dvorak (1894-1975): Early expressions of applied behavior analysis and precision teaching

August Dvorak is best known for his development of the Dvorak keyboard. However, Dvorak also adapted and applied many behavioral and scientific management techniques to the field of education. Taken collectively, these techniques are representative of many of the procedures currently used in applied behavior analysis, in general, and especially in precision teaching. The failure to consider Dvorak's instructional methods may explain some of the discrepant findings in studies which compare the efficiency of the Dvorak to the standard keyboard. This article presents a brief background on the development of the standard (QWERTY) and Dvorak keyboards, describes parallels between Dvorak's teaching procedures and those used in precision teaching, reviews some of the comparative research on the Dvorak keyboard, and suggests some implications for further research in applying the principles of behavior analysis.     

Myth Information and Bizarre Beliefs of Male Juvenile Sex Offenders

The author describes mythical beliefs, thinking errors, and faulty attitudes collected from a group of male juvenile sex offenders. Therapists need this information to develop effective treatment strategies for replacing distortions and misperceptions with correct and moral information as a foundation for change.     

Written spelling agraphia

When a disorder of single word writing is seen in conjunction with preserved oral spelling and intact written grapheme formation ("written spelling agraphia"), the deficit may be presumed to lie somewhere between letter choice and written motor output. Two potential deficits are considered: (1) visual letter codes are not activated properly and (2) the information contained within properly activated visual letter codes fails to reach intact graphic motor patterns. Two patients with written spelling agraphia were each given a series of tests aimed at distinguishing between the two possibilities. Results suggest that the written spelling agraphia seen in these two patients arises from different underlying deficits. The results are discussed in terms of the patients' CT scan lesion sites, which were markedly different.     

Countering perfectionism in research on clinical practice I: Surveying rationality changes after a single intensive ret intervention

The failure of controlled experimental research on therapy out-come to produce findings of clinical as well as statistical significance seems at least partly due to irrational, perfectionistic, beliefs about how research can be used to infer causes of therapeutic change. Irrational beliefs about controlled experimental designs and about incomplete sampling, in particular, appear to prevent appropriate consideration of probatively valuable quasi-experimental research. Models of more rational alternatives are identified, and an example of the functional advantages of adopting these rational beliefs is explicated. The example demonstrates that single-shot pre-post survey data from self-selected catch-as-catch-can samples can permit legitimate, but not absolutely certain, conclusions about the efficacy and efficiency of RET.Albert Ellis, Ph.D. is executive director of the Institute for Rational-Emotive Therapy in New York City.     

Making family therapy easier for the therapist: burnout prevention

Burnout prevention for family therapists can be enhanced by careful consideration of the degree of responsibility taken by the therapist contrasted with responsibility placed on the family. Attention to issues of expectations, role definition, sharing of feelings, and therapeutic ambition can ease the strain on the therapist.     

Visual information processing speed in hypnotized and nonhypnotized subjects

Using a backward-masking paradigm with a bias-free and ceiling-free psychophysical task, we tested hypnotized and control subjects for speed of visual information processing. Approximately half of each group received visual imagery suggestions in an attempt to influence attention. Imagery produced no significant differential effect. Although an absence of a hypnotizability-performance relationship was in keeping with findings of a previous study, those subjects in the present study who performed under hypnosis were, as a group, significantly superior to the other subjects in speed of information processing.