Video modeling and video feedback are behavioral procedures that have been shown to increase skill acquisition over time in a variety of environments. This study investigated the use of a video modeling and video feedback procedure, via a multiple baseline design to enhance skill acquisition in boxing. This study also incorporated multiple dimensions of analysis by including data based not only on a percentage of performance with a task analysis, but also the duration of each particular target behavior. The target behaviors for the study included three different boxing combinations, which were operationally defined based on component steps via a task analysis. Each step was marked as either correct or incorrect based on participant performance. The two participants in the study had little or no previous boxing instruction. During intervention, participants were shown a video of a professional boxer performing the specific combination being trained. The participant was then recorded performing the combination, which was used to compare to that of the professional model. The results indicated that both participants' skill levels increased upon intervention using video modeling and video feedback. Reaction time also decreased substantially for one participant.

This study investigated the impact of a brief teacher training combined with use of a MotivAider that sought to simultaneously manipulate rate of opportunity to respond and positive feedback on students’ on-task behavior during a classroom activity. The goal of the training was to increase the percentage of time the learner stayed on task during the class activity. Three elementary teacher-student dyads took part in this study. An A-B-A-B withdrawal design was employed to evaluate the function of relation between independent and dependent variables. Results showed low effectiveness of brief training and MotivAider as a strategy of increasing teachers providing the opportunity to respond, positive performance feedback, and student on-task behavior. Although changes in teacher behavior were observed, a functional relation was not established. There were several limitations identified in this study related to data collection process, IOA results, and beginning baseline and intervention phases. Suggestions for future research are provided.

According to results from Aquino and Reed (study 5, 2002) and Hall and Derryberry (2010), high means and very low standard deviations of the average score for each question for both the internalization and symbolization scales of the Moral Identity Scale (MIS) are common. This study attempts to measure the extent to which a person considers morality to be a central part of his or her self-concept. Because participants may feel pressure to respond in a certain way on the MIS, the role of social desirability to respond favorably is very plausible. The current study, therefore, attempts to reduce socially desirable responding on the moral identity construct. The hypothesis of this study was that the revised Moral Identity Scale—compared to the original Moral Identity Scale—would display a reduction in skewness, a reduction in social desirability effects, and an increase in the ability to predict moral functioning. Analyses partially supported a reduction in social desirability and supported an increase in the ability to predict moral functioning. However, analyses did not support a reduction in negative skewness.

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the role of cessation of NSSI in acquired capability and distress tolerance. It was hypothesized that individuals with longer time in-between assessment and NSSI would show lower levels of acquired capability and higher levels distress tolerance regardless of lifetime frequency. These hypotheses were tested by surveying 375 undergraduate university students (64% female; mean age = 20.3) Participants completed packets with self-report measures that included: Inventory of Statements about Self- Injury, Acquired Capability of Suicide Scale, Distress Tolerance Scale, and Demographics. Results suggested that individuals with longer amount of time since last NSSI showed higher levels of acquired capability and distress tolerance when compared to individuals with less recent NSSI even when controlling for life time frequency.

The present study evaluated the use of a self-instructional manual supported by a computer-aided personalized system of instruction (CAPSI) for teaching Discrete-Trials Teaching (DTT) to university students. Prior to studying the manual, five participants taught three tasks, commonly taught to children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), to a confederate role-playing a child with an ASD. Using the Discrete-Trials Teaching Evaluation Form (DTTEF), the main researcher assessed the participants’ ability to perform DTT accurately. Subsequently, participants studied a self-instructional manual using CAPSI to demonstrate mastery of study questions about DTT. Finally, participants once again attempted to teach the three tasks to a confederate role-playing a child with an ASD. Overall mean baseline accuracy on the DTTEF was 54.86%, and improved to 84.73% in post-treatment, a 30% improvement. Participants’ self-recorded study time was an average of 12 hours and 48 minutes. The results suggest that CAPSI is an effective educational tool for the delivery of the self-instructional manual. Future research should investigate (1) how to make CAPSI even more effective, and (2) whether these results can be generalized to other populations such as ABA tutors, parents, and paraprofessionals working with children with ASD.

Since automatic attention is given to beauty, and appearance is the first thing noticed upon meeting a person, one would assume attractiveness is the more important selection factor for a relationship partner. Theories such as the matching hypothesis and mortality salience dispute this idea. The matching hypothesis proposes selection occurs between individuals similar in attractiveness, not necessarily selecting the most attractive individual available. Mortality salience suggests attractiveness is used in selecting a partner for short-term relationships, but discounts physical attractiveness for long-term relationships. This theory proposes an ideal partner for a long-term relationship is selected based on similarity of beliefs. Mortality salience is centered on beliefs of religious groups, with which individuals can become highly identified. Individuals can also become highly identified with a sport team. This connection can be even stronger than the connection with a religious group. Since this connection is so strong, and identification with a religious group can influence selecting a partner, identification with a sport team might have a similar influence. This study attempts to bridge the gap from attraction and dating to sport fan identification. The first hypothesis is sport fans highly identified with the University of Kentucky men’s basketball team will rate a model fan for that team as more attractive than a model fan from a rival team. The second hypothesis is those fans will rate the model fan for the University of Kentucky’s basketball team as more attractive when prompted with a long-term relationship condition as opposed to a short term condition. Participants in this study completed demographics before being randomly assigned an opposite sex dating profile page. They were informed the website they were evaluating was either for people looking for long-term or short-term relationships. They completed a questionnaire about their opinion of the person in the profile, and the Sport Spectator Identification Scale for both the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville men’s basketball teams. The hypotheses and previous research were not supported. This study did produce other interesting findings. The additional findings lend some support to the sociometer theory proposing self-esteem as an important relationship factor.

The current study examined the relationship between depression and uncertainty within the stress-diathesis model. Depression is a mental health disorder that is wide spread within our society. However, few causes of this disease have been able to be identified. Studies in uncertainty have shown that it is a major stressor in day-to-day life. Previous research has shown that individuals with high levels of uncertainty show higher levels of depression. The stress-diathesis model, a model originally developed to explain differences in development of schizophrenia, provides a theoretically meaningful way to combine these two concepts. The model states that a person who is likely to develop a disease has an internal mechanism, a diathesis, that will be triggered upon presentation of a stressor. This study tested the idea that uncertainty can be used as a stressor to activate diathesis within an individual, aiding in the prediction of depression. In total, 163 participants were randomly assigned one of three conditions, an uncertainty threat, an affirmation condition, and a control condition. Participants were given pre and post independent variable measures of depression and anxiety. Findings suggest that uncertainty activated negative emotions differentially within the participants, resulting in higher levels of negative affects after the uncertainty threat, especially for participants who already scored relatively higher on depression indicators. These results hint at a possible understanding of why depression rates and diagnosis rates of mental health issues rise during economic downturn and other times of strong uncertainty.

Concussion rates and head injuries for football players have been on the rise and there is a need for further research in football to increase skills and decrease injuries. Behavioral skills training has been proven to be effective in teaching a wide variety of skills but has yet to be studied in the sports setting. We evaluated behavioral skills training to teach safer tackling techniques among six participants from a local Pop Warner football team. Results show safer tackling techniques increased substantially during practice and generalized to games among all six participants.

Adaptive memory is "the idea that [our] memory systems might have evolved to help us remember fitness-relevant information—specifically, information relevant to survival" (Nairne, Thompson, & Pandeirada, 2007, p. 263). Nairne et al. found that processing words in terms of survival relevance yielded the best memory retention compared to other deep processing conditions. The purpose of the present research was to investigate whether factors including a feeling of isolation or novelty could explain the adaptive memory advantage observed in previous adaptive memory research. In two incidental learning experiments, participants rated word relevance in one of four conditions: grasslands survival, space mission, alien abduction, or moving. In Experiment 1, participants rated 32 unrelated words. In Experiment 2, participants rated 60 words from six DRM lists. In Experiment 1 there was one incidental free recall test whereas in Experiment 2 three successive free recall tests were employed. As hypothesized, results from Experiment 1 indicated that the grasslands survival scenario, space mission, and alien conditions had similar rates in recall. The typical adaptive memory effect was also found in which participants in the grasslands survival scenario condition had significantly higher recall compared to participants who received the moving scenario condition. Experiment 2 found that all of the conditions did not significantly differ from each in terms of true or false recall. Across both experiments, the grasslands survival, space mission, and alien abduction scenarios were rated similarly in terms of isolation and novelty. These findings suggest that novelty and isolation can be contributing factors in the memory advantage observed with the grasslands survival scenario in previous adaptive memory studies.

Applied behavior analysis (ABA) remains at the forefront of effective interventions for children with autism. In some cases, the high cost of treatment and other environmental factors limit families from accessing services. The Easter Seals North Texas (ESNT) Autism Treatment Program (ATP) was created to reach high risk, underserved families in the North Texas area by providing early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) services to children with autism. This evaluation was conducted to analyze the success of meeting the ESNT ATP program mission to provide culturally responsive ABA to children. The evaluation includes the design of assessments, the analysis of the assessment data, and a set of recommendations to maintain and increase program accessibility.