No description available.

No description available.

This study explores the differential validity of SJT responding formats (i.e., selecting a response to an SJT item). It was hypothesized that the SJT on which respondents identified the best and worst options would be related to cognitive ability because this type of SJT has a high cognitive load and thus acts like a knowledge test. It was also hypothesized that the SJT on which respondents rated the effectiveness of each option on a Likert scale would be related to personality because it taps into test taker?s behavioral tendencies. Results show that the best-and-worst SJT was not related to measures of education (a proxy for cognitive ability) or measures of personality. The SJT on which respondents rated the effectiveness of each option on a Likert scale was related to measures of personality but not education. Finally, because the Likert SJT has a greater number of responses, it was rescored as following the best-and-worst SJT keying. This converted SJT was related to neither measures of education nor measures of personality. The choose best-and-worst SJT significantly predicted performance, while the Likert SJT and a Likert SJT converted to a best-and-worst SJT did not predict performance.

This study explores the differential validity of SJT responding formats (i.e., selecting a response to an SJT item). It was hypothesized that the SJT on which respondents identified the best and worst options would be related to cognitive ability because this type of SJT has a high cognitive load and thus acts like a knowledge test. It was also hypothesized that the SJT on which respondents rated the effectiveness of each option on a Likert scale would be related to personality because it taps into test taker?s behavioral tendencies. Results show that the best-and-worst SJT was not related to measures of education (a proxy for cognitive ability) or measures of personality. The SJT on which respondents rated the effectiveness of each option on a Likert scale was related to measures of personality but not education. Finally, because the Likert SJT has a greater number of responses, it was rescored as following the best-and-worst SJT keying. This converted SJT was related to neither measures of education nor measures of personality. The choose best-and-worst SJT significantly predicted performance, while the Likert SJT and a Likert SJT converted to a best-and-worst SJT did not predict performance.

Social skill deficits remain a defining feature of autism. One method to explain social behavior in autism is to explore specific antecedent-response relations. People with autism do not attend to social cues as readily as their typically developing peers thereby missing important cues that guide behavior during social interactions. The current study explored how children with autism learn antecedent-response relations using social and nonsocial stimuli as cues for reinforcement. A computerized task comprised pictures of social and non-social stimuli were presented on a computer screen. Participants were asked to respond to each picture by pressing a button if they thought pressing the button in the presence of the picture would earn them a reinforcer or to withhold pressing if they thought the picture would not earn them a reinforcer. Neither typically-developing children nor children diagnosed with ASD were able to reliably discriminate pictures. Developmental implications of these findings are discussed. / October 2015

No description available.

By applying geometric analysis to some experimental maze situations the present study attempted to determine if a continuity in the responding of experimental Ss existed. This continuity in responding might suggest the presence of alternative explanations for the behavior of these Ss in some maze problems. The study made use of a modified version of the Tolman, Ritchie, and Kalish (1946a) experiment using six runways during training rather than one. The results of the study show that three of the six groups obtained the identical angle of choice, angle between the runway trained on and the runway chosen during the experimental trial, indicating the possibility of an underlying behavioral factor determining this continuity in responding.

No description available.

Autism is a neurological disorder which impairs the individual's social interactions and communication. Such impairments lead to deficits in learning which accumulate over time. Finding effective and efficient technologies to teach children with autism helps to minimize deficits and teach children new skills to be independent learners. There is previous research on technologies such as discrete trail training (DTT), antecedent based interventions, and consequence based interventions which have to be shown to be effective, however, more research is needed to find more cost effective and efficient procedures.. The PEAK Stimulus Equivalence Training Module seeks to teach children with Autism in a concise easy to follow manual. Past research has shown stimulus equivalence to not only effectively teach children with autism novel skills, but also has shown the emergence of untrained relations. The present study uses the PEAK module with three boys with autism, between the ages of 6 and 8, to teach novel stimuli including, planets, holidays, and sports teams and to test for the emergence of untrained relations. Results showed that the all participants demonstrated derived relations. Implications for future research are discussed.

Previous research suggests that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can greatly impact a child’s physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing later in life. ACE exposure has been associated with lower levels of empathy in the literature. Spirituality is often associated with a number of positive outcomes, including those associated with empathy, like prosocial behaviors. The present study examines spirituality as a buffer against reduced empathy in those with exposure to adverse events in childhood. Participants for this study were recruited through the SONA research platform at East Tennessee State University as part of a larger research project, the REACH (Religions, Emotions, and Current Health) study. Results of this study did not support the working hypotheses that we would find a negative correlation between ACEs and empathy, as well as a moderation relationship via spirituality between ACEs and empathy. However, we did find that empathy was positively associated with spirituality, and ACEs were negatively associated with spirituality. Future research should dig deeper into the relationship between ACEs and empathy, as well as search for other possible protective factors for the effects of ACEs.