Examination of staff responses to problem behaviors in three community-based group homes found that staff tended to rely heavily on verbal approaches to address problem behavior of people with intellectual disability, using other strategies only when the initial response failed. Findings suggest that staff behavior is negatively reinforced by the…

This essay argues that the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) system does not appear to be related to emotion regulation processes in children, although individual differences in emotion processes related to negative emotion temperaments appear to be associated with individual differences in HPA reactivity among normally…

This essay discusses the similarities between animal behavior and human attachment behavior demonstrated by infants and their mothers. The provision of warmth, the tactile and olfactory stimulation of the mother's physical interactions, and the oral sensory and absorptive consequences of nursing are found to provide specific and independent…

Examined effects of emotional communication on preschoolers' emotional competence. Found that the regularities in emotional communication between mothers and their preschool children are associated with variations in the children's emotional competence. In particular, children who witnessed higher level maternal sadness or anger, or responded…

Argues that socioeconomic status (SES) plays an important role in the lives of adolescents as reflected in adolescent literature. Examines three areas affected by SES: self-esteem, how literature affects characterization and the degree to which adolescents identify with a literary figure, and how literature functions as a learning device. (RJM)

Tested whether individuals possessing traditional sex role attitudes could have their rape-related attitudes influenced by a psychoeducational intervention that had been effective with less traditional individuals. Results revealed that subjects who received intervention adhered less to rape myths and expressed less rape-supportive attitudes than…

A fluency therapy process for adolescents who stutter is described and illustrated by a case history that applies a four-stage process for structuring, targeting, adjusting, and regulating behaviors. The affective, behavioral, and cognitive components of fluency are considered, along with behavior techniques for eliciting a feeling of fluency…

Develops and tests hypotheses concerning the relationship of different media to psychological outcomes; postulates that print media are related to analytic cognition (reason) and electronic media to syncretic cognition (emotion). Two hundred forty magazine and television advertisements are analyzed in terms of attributes and reactions they invoke.…

In a counterbalanced, within subjects, repeated measures design, 130 undergraduates were administered the Computer-Assisted Hypnosis Scale (CAHS) and the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale and were hypnotized. The CAHS was shown to be a psychometrically sound instrument for measuring hypnotic ability. (SLD)

Summarizes results from a series of investigations of relationships between high-risk adolescents' interpersonal strivings, social expectations, emotional distress, blood pressure responses to stressors, and elevations in blood pressure during regular school days. Surveys and blood pressure readings indicated that cognitive expectancies and goals…

Differences in the emotional reactions of male and female adolescents to their most recent occasion of sexual intercourse were studied with 932 Australian secondary school students. Most reported positive emotions, but females were more likely to report negative emotions. Guilt responses and peer and parental influences are also discussed. (SLD)

This survey of 201 regular education teachers found that the most frequently used prereferral strategies used to facilitate classroom adjustment and achievement were consultation with other professionals, parent conferences, and behavior management techniques. Elementary teachers implemented more strategies than secondary-level teachers.…

Discussion of expert systems and computerized adaptive tests describes two versions of EXSPRT, a new approach that combines uncertain inference in expert systems with sequential probability ratio test (SPRT) stopping rules. Results of two studies comparing EXSPRT to adaptive mastery testing based on item response theory and SPRT approaches are…

A study involving 1,000 simulated examinees compared the partial credit and graded response models in computerized adaptive testing (CAT). The graded response model fit the data well and provided slightly more accurate ability estimates than those of the partial credit model. Benefits of polytomous model-based CATs are discussed. (SLD)

Responds to previous article by Douglas C. Smith on exploring the religious-spiritual needs of the dying in which Smith presents psychosocial tools than can be used to assess, examine, and amplify client's religious-spiritual strengths. Compares Smith's work to classic values clarification, addresses issues of counselor judgment and informed…