An Ohio State University doctoral program for special education leadership personnel emphasizing applied behavior analysis is described. The program features intensive formal coursework, special topic seminars, participation in three research studies prior to dissertation, supervised college teaching and advising experiences, and a 10-week summer…

The practice of reporting on adaptive behavior and intellectual functioning measures for participants in mental retardation research was analyzed by examining 604 articles published from 1979-87. Changes in reporting measures were found, compared to those reported in 1979 by J. Smith and E. Polloway. (Author/JDD)

Reviews scientific and professional trends in the field of health psychology. Discusses recent research on health promotion, psychological factors in the development of illness, cognitive representations of health and illness, stress and coping, social support, interventions to promote coping, and trends that will affect progress in the field.…

Discussed are some of the strategies required to try to detect and explain DNA markers that account for small amounts of behavioral variation. Situations in both animal and human behavior are described. The link between molecular biology and behavior is highlighted. (CW)

Reports on a study based on the theory of constructive alternativism. Analyzed students' reactions to a photograph of an Indian village to learn what impact the students'"personal geographies" had on the reconstruction of the image. Suggests ways teachers can use these images to enhance students' understanding of world issues. (LS)

Examined the accuracy and validity of self-reports and their effect on tests of attitude-behavior relationships. Self-reports were reasonably accurate, but they produced results different from actual behavior in attitude-behavior tests. Concludes that self-reports and actual behavior should be measured, tested, and modeled separately. (Author/LS)

Investigates retention of material by students who receive traditional classroom instruction, are exposed to instruction that emphasizes concept formation, or comprise a control group which receives no instruction. Finds that the control group had an unusually high retention level. Concludes that a more adequate test of retention must be designed…

Discussion of the functional relationship between self-injurious behavior (SIB) and self-restraint in people with severe disabilities considers SIB and self-restraint as members of the same functional response class, SIB and self-restraint as functionally independent responses, access to self-restraint as positive reinforcement of SIB, termination…

Developmental psychologist Ainsworth discusses early influences on her work in attachment theory; similarities and differences in attachment behaviors across cultures; construction of assessments and research designs; individual differences in attachment and maternal support; and the influence of early relationships on later ones. (HTH)

Examined the impact of homicidal, suicidal, and nonviolent heavy metal and rap songs on the moods of male college undergraduates. Students (n=164) completed mood inventories after listening to 1 of 6 songs. Results show no effects of these songs on suicidal ideation, anxiety, or self-esteem. Rap songs elicited greater angry responses than heavy…

The ABLE (Analyzing Behavior State and Learning Environments) model was evaluated with eight teachers of students with profound mental retardation. Results indicated that, with training, teachers were able to reliably implement the model, increase the preferred alert and active states, and decrease the nonpreferred states such as sleep and…

Examined effects of unexpected behavioral information on person impressions. Inconsistency was manipulated with respect to Implicit Personality Theory. Found that behaviors with inconsistent evaluation implications did not affect impressions and that effects of inconsistent information depended on dimension of contrast, valence of initial…

Examines people's behavior in the Monty Hall Dilemma (MHD), in which a person must make two decisions to win a prize. In a series of five studies, found that people misapprehend probabilities in the MHD. Discusses the MHD's relation to illusion of control, belief perseverance, and the status quo bias. (RJM)

Comments on the ideas espoused by Smedslund (PS 522 552) in this issue. Agrees to the idea of spending more intellectual energy in distinguishing between a priori and empirical hypotheses but emphasizes that concepts are not always accurate reflections of reality and that even empirical disconfirmation of an a priori hypothesis sometimes can…

A fading procedure was successfully used to maintain high levels of compliance obtained with presenting high-probability requests immediately antecedent to low-probability requests in both a 5-year-old boy with developmental disabilities and a 15-year-old girl with developmental disabilities (for whom rephrasing of "don't" requests to…