CORRESPONDENCE TRAINING: AN EXAMPLE OF RULE-GOVERNED BEHAVIOR?

Two groups of six mentally retarded adults were exposed to either a “say/do” correspondence training program or a “do only” reinforcement procedure to evaluate the suggestion of Rogers-Warren and Baer (1976) that reinforcement of the nonverbal target behavior in the absence of the relevant verbal behavior may account for the behavior changes seen in correspondence training. The participants worked in an experimental setting on a variety of manipulatory responses leading to various auditory and visual consequences. Analysis of individual patterns of responding indicated no apparent differences between the groups during training; four individuals in each group appeared to develop generalized correspondence skills. We conclude that the outcome of correspondence training may not necessarily be verbal regulation of behavior as is assumed. Rather, we suggest that the notion of rule-governed behavior can best account for the type of behavior changes seen in correspondence studies.     

WHY A BRAIN CAPABLE OF LANGUAGE EVOLVED ONLY ONCE: PREFRONTAL CORTEX AND SYMBOL LEARNING

Abstract. Language and information processes are critical issues in scientific controversies regarding the qualities that epitomize humanness. Whereas some theorists claim human mental uniqueness with regard to language, others point to successes in teaching language skills to other animals. However, although these animals may learn names for things, they show little ability to utilize a complex framework of symbolic reference. In such a framework, words or other symbols refer not only to objects and concepts but also to sequential and hierarchical relationships with other symbols. This process is essential to human mental operations, including language, mathematics, and music. In humans, these operations may have coevolved with the prefrontal area of the cerebral cortex, which is proportionately much larger in humans than in other animals and more intricately linked with other areas of the brain. Analysis of the structure and function of the prefrontal area suggests that it is centrally involved in the operation of higher-order associative relationships involving the subordination of one set of associations to another. This alternate learning strategy apparently appeared at the cost of certain sensory, motor, or limbic abilities. The payoff was symbolic thinking. Humans thus are unique among species, not just for their highly developed language ability but for their odd style of thinking and learning.     

Utilizing structural family therapy and systems theory in the business world

The structure of businesses and the structure of families are very similar, considering the fact that so many businesses are owned or operated by families. Structural family therapists who are knowledgeable in systems theory and have an adequate understanding of the underlying concepts of structural family theory (including hierarchy, boundaries, and coalitions) can translate their knowledge to the structure of businesses and organizations. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the similarities between the structures of families and businesses. In doing so, an application of structural family theory to the business world (employee assistance programs, business consultation, and family businesses) will be demonstrated.     

Using a feminist lens in contextual therapy

Both contextual and feminist therapy have not been given the attention they deserve in the field of MFT. We believe that not only do these approaches have undiscovered merit but also, when integrated, they provide a useful framework for conducting therapy that addresses marginalized voices and raises social consciousness. In this article, we “layer” feminist theory onto contextual therapy and argue that the constructs of contextual therapy may relate well to many women's experiences in families. We then illustrate our combined feminist‐contextual therapy with two case examples. This integration broadens the scope and sensitivity of contextual therapy to address issues of gender.     

Using Methods That Matter: The Impact of Reflection,Dialogue, and Voice

In recent years, the field of community psychology has given considerable attention to how research and evaluation methods should be designed to support our goals of empowerment and social justice. Yet, as a field, we have given much less attention to whether the use of our methods actually achieves or supports our empowerment agenda. With the primary purpose of beginning to establish the norm of reporting on the impacts of our methods, this paper reports on the findings from interviews of 16 youth and adults who had participated in one participatory evaluation method (Photovoice). Two specific questions were examined: (1) What is the impact of participating in a Photovoice effort; and (2) How does the method of Photovoice foster these impacts? Overall, participants noted that they were significantly affected by their experiences as photographers and through their dialogue with neighbors during Photovoice group sessions. Impacts ranged from an increased sense of control over their own lives to the emergence of the kinds of awareness, relationships, and efficacy supportive of participants becoming community change agents. According to participants, Photovoice fostered these changes by (a) empowering them as experts on their lives and community, (b) fostering deep reflection, and (c) creating a context safe for exploring diverse perspectives. The implications of these findings for the science and practice of community psychology are discussed.     

Monkey homologues of language areas: computing the ambiguities

The 'language-readiness' of human brains most probably resulted from modification of structures present in non-human primate brains, but identifying such homologues and the nature of their modifications has been highly problematic. In a recent article, Arbiband Bota suggest that these problems can be overcome using a neuroinformatics approach. But its assumptions ignore many non-local, activity-dependent, regressive, and allometric effects of neurodevelopment that violate assumptions of classic homology. What if these effects are what matter most?     

Chicken or egg? Untangling the relationship between orthographic processing skill and reading accuracy

There is increasing evidence of a relationship between orthographic processing skill, or the ability to form, store and access word representations, and reading ability. Empirical research to date has not, however, clarified the direction of this relationship. We examined this question in a three-year longitudinal study of children from Grades 1 to 3. We included standard measures of orthographic processing skill, at both the lexical and sublexical level, and word reading accuracy, as well as controls of vocabulary, non-verbal reasoning, and phonological awareness. In all analyses, word reading predicted progress in acquiring orthographic processing skill, regardless of grade level or orthographic processing measure. In contrast, orthographic processing skill did not predict progress in word reading. Our results suggest that, between Grades 1 and 3, children acquire orthographic processing skill through their reading and that this ability, as characterized by the most common tasks used to date, does not play an independent role in supporting reading acquisition.     

Predictive Relationship Between Parental Beliefs and Accommodation of Pediatric Anxiety

Behavior performed by parents to assist a youth in avoiding or alleviating anxiety, known as accommodation, is ubiquitous among pediatric anxiety disorders and strongly related to poor treatment outcome. According to cognitive-behavioral theory, the beliefs parents hold regarding accommodation should predict parental accommodating behavior. Unfortunately, little is known about the beliefs parents hold regarding accommodation, as there exists no validated measure of this construct. First, the psychometric properties were examined for the Parental Accommodation Scale (PAS), a novel measure of parental accommodating behavior frequency (PAS-Behavior scale) and parental beliefs about accommodation (PAS-Belief scale). Second, the relationship between parental beliefs about accommodation and accommodation frequency was examined. Results provide preliminary evidence of the internal consistency and convergent validity of the PAS. Stronger positive beliefs about accommodation significantly predicted accommodation frequency, even after controlling for youth anxiety severity. Specifically, beliefs that accommodation prevents youth from losing behavioral and emotional control significantly predicted accommodation frequency. Therefore, efforts to decrease accommodation in clinical settings should involve correcting maladaptive parental beliefs about accommodation, with a particular emphasis on beliefs regarding the necessity of accommodation in preventing a youth from losing behavioral and emotional control.     

The role of cognitive factors in the pathogenesis of obsessive-compulsive symptoms: a prospective study

Cognitive models of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) posit that specific kinds of dysfunctional beliefs (e.g., pertaining to responsibility and the significance of intrusive thoughts) underlie the development of this disorder. The present study was designed to prospectively evaluate whether dysfunctional beliefs thought to underlie OCD act as a specific vulnerability factor in the pathogenesis of obsessive-compulsive symptomatology. Eighty-five individuals were prospectively followed over a period of time thought to be associated with an increased onset of OCD symptoms -- childbirth and the postpartum. The majority of these new mothers and fathers experienced intrusive infant-related thoughts and performed neutralizing behaviors similar to, but less severe than, those observed in OCD. Scores on a measure of dysfunctional beliefs thought to underlie OCD predicted the development of obsessive-compulsive symptoms after controlling for pre-existing OCD symptoms, anxiety, and depression. Dysfunctional beliefs also predicted the severity of checking, washing, and obsessional OCD symptom dimensions, but not neutralizing, ordering, or hoarding symptom dimensions. These data provide evidence for specific dysfunctional beliefs as risk factors in the development of some types of OCD symptoms.     

Targeting the probability versus cost of feared outcomes in public speaking anxiety

Cognitive-behavioral theory suggests that social phobia is maintained, in part, by overestimates of the probability and cost of negative social events. Indeed, empirically supported cognitive-behavioral treatments directly target these cognitive biases through the use of in vivo exposure or behavioral experiments. While cognitive-behavioral theories and treatment protocols emphasize the importance of targeting probability and cost biases in the reduction of social anxiety, few studies have examined specific techniques for reducing probability and cost bias, and thus the relative efficacy of exposure to the probability versus cost of negative social events is unknown. In the present study, 37 undergraduates with high public speaking anxiety were randomly assigned to a single-session intervention designed to reduce either the perceived probability or the perceived cost of negative outcomes associated with public speaking. Compared to participants in the probability treatment condition, those in the cost treatment condition demonstrated significantly greater improvement on measures of public speaking anxiety and cost estimates for negative social events. The superior efficacy of the cost treatment condition was mediated by greater treatment-related changes in social cost estimates. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed.