A study reveals the need for extensive refinement of the Revised Perceived Environmental Control Measure purported in the past to be a reliable and valid instrument to measure the relationship between the psychological construct, "locus of control," and environmental action or environmentally responsible behavior. (MCO)

Natural statistical models based on renewal processes for individuals' Behavior Stream are developed. For continuous observation, statistical and psychometric properties are obtained for empirical: (1) rates of behavior; (2) proportions of behavior type; (3) prevalence; and (4) event duration. Results provide a guide for design and analysis. (SLD)

DeVries' study of sociomoral development in direct-instruction, eclectic, and constructivist kindergartens is critiqued. Additional research in such areas as class-to-class and child-to-child variations and interpersonal negotiations in nonclassroom contexts is recommended. (LB)

Presents results of a study focusing on a program of dilemma discussion methods for an experimental group of female prisoners and their guards. Concludes that for both the prisoners and staff test scores reflect an increase in moral judgment and ego development. Urges consideration of prison reform from educational and developmental perspectives.…

Speculation about the state of research if metanalysis is pushed to its logical extreme (if at least 1 metanalysis had been conducted on every independent, dependent, and mediating variable for which at least 2 independent effect sizes could be computed) yields 10 effects that could be expected. (SLD)

Reviews two prominent philosophical justifications for animal liberation and describes a simulation that facilitates class discussion of animal research issues. Students reported that the exercise increased their awareness of the issues and of the complexity of making ethical decisions. (DB)

Discusses the use of behavioral assessment for both descriptive and program evaluation purposes. Notes the use of behavioral assessment to study coaching behaviors and their effects on young athletes. Operant and cognitive-behavioral interventions have proven effective in both athletic and psychosocial outcomes. Discusses unresolved issues and…

Provides an overview of accomplishments in sociocultural and cross-cultural research and explores how culture influences the course of mental illness. The influence of race and ethnicity on mental health within a multicultural society is discussed as well as the influences of socioeconomic status, changing work roles, communities, and local…

Shows how evolution-theoretical behavioral research may serve to influence the theory production of pedagogics. Questions which truths and securities are required by educational practice and which consequences can be drawn for the level of theoretical cognition of the respective discipline. An analysis of the relation between religion in its…

Two experiments examined pigeons' generalization to intermediate forms following training of concept discriminations. In Experiment 1, the training stimuli were sets of images of dogs and cats, and the transfer stimuli were head/body chimeras, which humans tend to categorize more readily in terms of the head part rather than the body part. In…

Despite the seminal studies of response differentiation by the method of successive approximation detailed in chapter 8 of "The Behavior of Organisms" (1938), B. F. Skinner never actually shaped an operant response by hand until a memorable incident of startling serendipity on the top floor of a flour mill in Minneapolis in 1943. That occasion…

In hypothetical scenarios involving two groups (nations or groups of workers), subjects voted on three proposals: one helped group A (their group), one helped B, and one helped both groups, more than the average of the first two but less than their maximum. When subjects voted for one proposal, most voted for the one that helped group A. This…

To explore potential bases of positive development among gang youth, attributes of positive individual and social behavior were assessed in individual interviews with 45 African American adolescent male members of inner-city Detroit gangs and 50 African American adolescent males from the same communities but involved in community-based…

The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of the Internet as a research tool on elementary students' quality of writing, their perceptions of effort expended, and their resource media preference in writing an expository paper. We gathered data from 56 upper-elementary students as they wrote expository papers using print resources,…

Two-level data sets are frequently encountered in social and behavioral science research. They arise when observations are drawn from a known hierarchical structure, as when individuals are randomly drawn from groups that are randomly drawn from a target population. When the covariance structures in the group level and the individual level are the…