Fourteen subjects from among the student and staff population complaining of anxiety, volunteered to participate in a relaxation training program. The subjects were referred by the University Counseling Center, the Office of Undergraduate Advisement, or responded to an article and advertisement published in the school newspaper. Assignment to control or experimental groups was based on date of response and availability for participation. The experimental group, which consisted of eight subjects, received training in deep muscle relaxation, electromyography, skin temperature, and concomitant biofeedback, and systematic desensitization over a three week period. The controls received no relaxation training. Both groups were administered Forms A through D of the Institute for Personality and Ability Testing (IPAT) 8-Parallel-Form Anxiety Battery at similar intervals during the study, to observe changes in anxiety levels for each group. It was hypothesized that those undergoing the training would decrease their anxiety levels as training progressed. Analysis of the results indicated that no significant differences existed as a function of training. Discussion centered on the possible effects of individual differences on performances within the training program, as well as possible modification of the program as subject for further research.

Autism is primarily a social disorder and deficits in social?orienting may be responsible for the failure of children with autism to initiate critical social behaviors. The purpose of this research was to improve the quality of social interactions of children with autism by implementing naturalistic behavior strategies intervention utilizing a multiple baseline design across four participants. Naturalistic behavior strategies comprised a comprehensive package of integrated components including: (a) intervention in the child’s natural environment; (b) child-initiated play activities ; (c) prompts to emit language; (d) shaping for all vocal approximations and (e) delivery of natural reinforcement with embedded social interactions to maintain learned behavior. In addition to intervention, generalization of child behaviors was assessed across untrained parents and/or caregivers in the same environment. Results indicated the effectiveness of naturalistic teaching strategies package in increasing (a) the frequency of vocal mands for all children, (b) the number of times that children initiated social engagement during manding, and (c) intervals of nonverbal dyadic orienting. These skills generalized across two untrained caregivers in the same clinical setting without any training from the interventionist. Two parents required training during the generalization phase in order for their child’s behaviors to maintain at levels demonstrated during the intervention phase. Implications for future research and clinical practice are discussed.

The aim of this study was to examine the association between parent and child anxiety sensitivity in the context of parenting behaviors, specifically by testing parenting behaviors as moderators or mediators of the association between parent and child anxiety sensitivity. Past research implies that parent anxiety sensitivity may be more related to child anxiety sensitivity (moderation) in girls and in the context of certain parenting. Alternatively, parenting behaviors may better account for the association (mediate) between parent and child anxiety sensitivity. To test the hypotheses 191 families (n = 255 youth aged 6-17 and their parents) completed measures of child anxiety sensitivity (CASI) and parenting (APQ-C), and parents completed measures of their anxiety sensitivity (ASI) and parenting (APQ-P). Hypotheses were tested with hierarchical linear modeling. Results indicated that the child’s gender and the child’s report of their parent’s positive parenting behaviors moderated the association between parent and child anxiety sensitivity.

Research on factors that contribute to the forms and functions of aggression (reactive, proactive, relational, and overt) is important for informing intervention efforts with aggressive youth. Previous research shows that aggressive youth often have cognitive and social deficits associated with their aggressive behavior. For example, aggressive youth may exhibit deficits in social variables such as social intelligence (i.e., the understanding of behaviors of people and ability to predict outcomes of situations). Hypothetically, this lack of social intelligence may be related to how youth interpret social situations, and could conceivably lead to hostile attributional bias, or the tendency to interpret ambiguous stimuli as hostile. The main purpose of this study was to examine whether HAB mediated the relationship between social intelligence and reactive relational aggression in a sample of detained adolescent boys (ages 12-18). The results failed to support this hypothesis. Supplemental analyses explored whether HAB moderated the relationship between social intelligence and the subtypes of aggression, but results were not consistent with this hypothesis.

The implementation of Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) policies has reduced the rate of car crashes among adolescents. However, limited research has focused on adolescents’ supervised driving during the learner permit stage of GDL. The study aimed to describe supervised driving practice during the learner permit stage and to test predictors of individual differences in the amount and the quality of supervised driving. 183 adolescents (M age = 16.4 years, 54.1% female) and their parents (84.1% mothers) participated. Adolescents reported driving an average of 25 minutes per day. Adolescents living in single-parent households, with less family income, and with a stronger motivation to drive reported more daily driving. Adolescents with a stronger motivation to drive reported driving in more settings. Discussion focuses on implications for developing effective driving-specific parenting strategies and helping to enrich adolescents’ supervised driving experiences.

Abstract

Sales training and feedback is an important aspect of a successful business. Sales based businesses are dependent on effective customer relations. Implementing a training program that is focused on customer service could help increase sales revenue for the business as a whole. The purpose of this research study is to make recommendations for improving the process of initially greeting a customer in order to create a more positive experience from start to finish. It also examines the importance of feedback in regard to increasing desired behavior of a salesperson. After conducting a PDC with the owner, management and salespeople; recommendations for improving upon customer greetings was given to the management team.

This study examines the psychology of fictional and real-life serial killers and the behavioral similarities between them. Three fictional murderers, mainly Macbeth (William Shakespeare’s Macbeth), Buffalo Bill (The Silence of the Lambs), and the Creature (Frankenstein),as well as real life killers such as Charles Manson, Ed Gein, and Edmund Kemper were researched in depth. The data for this study was gathered from a variety of sources such as biographies, television interviews, published novels, articles, and documentaries. This study also focuses on predispositional factors and personality traits that led these killers to a life of crime. While no single behavioral trait was found to be present in every murderer studied, some of the psychological factors that were found to have predictive value included: abusive upbringings, mother hate, adoption, pornography, and brain damage were also reliable predictors in the lives of fictional and nonfictional perpetrators.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-27T14:21:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Kaliane Gomes Pio Rosa.pdf: 829572 bytes, checksum: eefdf549d1c3aec245af10e318e891c5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-02-29 / The aim of the present research was to investigate a nine-year-old boy s behavior diagnosed as having autism. Behavior analysis strategies were used for the acquisition and generalization of the participant s behaviors. They were made through the outlining of a multiple baseline among behaviors followed by the generalization test. The selected behaviors to go through the intervention were: eye contact, right pronunciation and instruction follow-up. The intervention occurred in three conditions: by the researcher, by the mother and the researcher and by the mother alone. The results show that the procedures were effective in the acquisition and generalization of the behaviors trained by the participants. The results were discussed in terms of applied methodology, reached effects and data comparison with theory. After the research phase was finished, it was possible to state that behavioral changes that were shown by the participant were quite considerable and constitute resultant from the procedures to which they were subjected. / O objetivo do presente estudo foi intervir em três classes de comportamento de uma criança diagnosticada como autista do sexo masculino e com nove anos de idade. Para a aquisição e generalização das classes de comportamento foram utilizadas estratégias da análise do comportamento. Procedeu-se por meio de um delineamento de linha de base múltipla entre comportamentos seguidos pelo teste de generalização. Os repertórios comportamentais selecionados para sofrerem intervenção foram: contato ocular, pronúncia correta e seguir instrução. As intervenções ocorreram em três condições: pela pesquisadora, pela mãe e pesquisadora e somente pela mãe. Os resultados demonstraram que os procedimentos foram efetivos na aquisição e generalização dos comportamentos treinados. Os resultados foram discutidos em termos da metodologia aplicada, dos efeitos alcançados e da comparação dos dados com a teoria. Concluída a fase de pesquisa, pôde-se afirmar que as modificações comportamentais apresentadas pelo participante demonstraram que constituem resultantes dos procedimentos que o mesmo foi submetido.

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2016-09-02T14:30:20Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Anderson Ribeiro da Silva.pdf: 1050966 bytes, checksum: 2954382a1a8b3b2142ae6eda839a867a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-09-02T14:30:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Anderson Ribeiro da Silva.pdf: 1050966 bytes, checksum: 2954382a1a8b3b2142ae6eda839a867a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-25 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The purpose of this study was to identify and analyze publication trends of behavior analysts in the last 22 years of publication of Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, between 1993 and 2015. This study update Northup, Vollmer and Serrett (1993). A sample of 314 articles were selected from a population of 1.704 articles published between 1993 and 2015. This sample was revised and categorized, and publication trends analyzed based on variables and categories defined by Northup et al. (1993). The analyze variable were: (1) type of article, (2) participants, (3) setting, (4) behavioral change agents, (5) target behavior, (6) use of behavioral procedures and (7) generalization and follow-up measures. The results indicated that the JABA remains one of research papers communication newspaper with few studies for review, discussion and methodological studies. The typical behavioral change agent identified in the analyzed research is the own experimenter. Most surveys are interventions with people with developmental disabilities. Positive reinforcement, verbal instruction and punishment are the most common procedures in the analyzed articles and research published still lack data on follow-up and generalization measures. Implications for future research on interventions by applied behavior analysts discussed based on the founded results / O objetivo deste estudo foi identificar e analisar as tendências de publicações dos analistas do comportamento nos últimos 22 anos de publicação do JABA, período compreendido entre 1993 e a primavera de 2015. As análises de tendências aqui desenvolvidas partiram da atualização do estudo publicado por Northup, Vollmer e Serrett (1993). Foi selecionada uma amostra da população total de publicações do JABA no referido período, e as tendências de publicações foram analisadas com base nas variáveis e categorias definidas por Northup et al. (1993). Da população de 1.704 artigos publicados entre 1993 e 2015 no JABA, 314 artigos foram selecionados como amostra da presente pesquisa, revisados e classificados. As variáveis analisadas foram: (1) tipo de artigo, (2) participantes, (3) ambiente, (4) agentes de mudança comportamental, (5) comportamento alvo, (6) uso de procedimentos comportamentais e (7) medidas de generalização e follow-up. Os resultados indicaram que o JABA continua sendo um jornal de comunicação de artigos de pesquisa, com poucos estudos de revisão, discussão e estudos metodológicos. O típico agente de mudança comportamental identificado nas pesquisas analisadas é o próprio experimentador. A maioria das pesquisas envolve intervenções com pessoas com transtornos do desenvolvimento. Reforçamento positivo, instrução verbal e punição são os procedimentos comportamentais mais frequentes nos artigos analisados; e as pesquisas publicadas ainda carecem de dados sobre follow-up e medidas de generalização. Implicações para pesquisas futuras sobre as intervenções aplicadas de analistas do comportamento foram discutidas com base nos resultados encontrados