Examines the impact of nonverbal cues on participants' and observers' perceptions of relational messages in an experiment in which participants interacted with a confederate who systematically varied his or her communication style. Finds that nonverbal indicators of involvement and pleasantness were systematically related to relational message…

This article on the use of applied behavior analysis with students who have autism focuses on discrete trial training (DTT) to develop new forms of behavior, new discriminations, advanced skills, and manage disruptive behavior. Cautions include the need to combine the method with other interventions, provide intensive DTT during early phases of…

This study examines behavioral dimensions of trading partner trust in EDI (electronic data interchange) adoption via a qualitative interpretative case study conducted between an automotive manufacturer (Ford Motor Company) in Australia and their first tier supplier, PBR Limited. Findings suggest that trust is important for cooperative long-term…

Explores how positivism and empiricism may be distinguished in practice by examining four proposals for writing pedagogy based on behaviorist learning theory. Argues that empiricism offers a viable means of addressing what Douglas Hess has dubbed "the splendid paradox of postmodernism." Suggests several implications for empiricism in…

Children (N=256) between the ages of 13 and 15 residing around Devon, U.K. completed a survey about their participation in two U.K. National Lottery Games (on-line games and scratchcards). Findings indicate that 56% participated in on-line game and 54% in scratchcard games. Best predictors of participation were income, household participation, and…

Originally published in January 1984, describes a framework in which extant models and knowledge from selected disciplines applicable to student affairs work can be synthesized. Argues that a multiple perspectives framework is a logical extension of previous efforts to lend direction to the thinking about and practice of student affairs work.…

This article discusses how and why scientific work directed toward behavioral disorders is almost a perfect metaphor for the dilemma of the social sciences as a whole. It argues that, although the social character of behavioral disorders means that our knowledge is imperfect, we cannot escape responsibility for decisions made to relieve the…

We conducted descriptive observations of 5 individuals with developmental disabilities and severe problem behavior while they interacted with their caregivers in either simulated environments (an inpatient hospital facility) or in their homes. The focus of the study was on caregiver reprimands and child problem behavior. Thus, we compared the…

This article begins a regular series on how brain research can help us understand young people and ourselves as well. The intent is to alert the reader to important information from recent research on the brain. This initial installment explores the concept of the triune brain, a term coined by neuroscientist Paul MacLean. This refers to three…

Until recently, attempts to understand and explain criminal offending have been grounded in theories from sociological, legal, and psychological perspectives. In the preceding twenty years, or so, however, some research in the field has endeavored to look at offending from a psychobiological viewpoint. This research concerns the potential…

Episodic memory in humans is the conscious recollection of a past event. Animal models of episodic-like memory assess the memory for "what" happened, "where" it happened, and either "when" it happened, or in "which" context it happened, although recollection on such tasks is often difficult to measure. Here we present the first evidence of…

Seminal articles are not only timely in their ability to push the field in new directions but are often timeless in their message. As relevant today as it was 20 years ago, Mayer Shevin's and Nancy Klein's 1984 article on the importance of choice making raises thought-provoking implications about what choice making is, why it is essential in the…

The sunk cost effect is the increased tendency to persist in an endeavor once an investment of money, effort, or time has been made. To date, humans are the only animal in which this effect has been observed unambiguously. We developed a behavior-analytic model of the sunk cost effect to explore the potential for this behavior in pigeons as well…

Four rats responded under a "self-control" procedure designed to obtain delay- discount functions within sessions. Each session consisted of seven blocks, with seven trials within each block. Each block consisted of two initial forced- choice trials followed by five free-choice trials. On choice trials, the rats could press either of two…

We examined women's participation, relative to men's, at the annual meetings of the Association for Behavior Analysis (ABA) between 1975 and 2005. Among our findings are upward trends in female presenters across formats (e.g., posters), types of authorship (e.g., first authors), and specialty areas (e.g., autism). Where women have attained…