Tested the hypothesis that distressed spouses are more reactive to immediate events than nondistressed couples. Couples recorded positive, negative and neutral events and satisfaction levels. Distressed couples reported lower rates of positive behavior and that marital satisfaction depended more on frequency of recent positive or negative events.…

Verbal behavior in transcripts of psychotherapy was coded according to Stile's taxonomy of verbal response modes. Therapists of different theoretical persuasions used different mixtures of verbal techniques. Common elements that make verbal interaction psychologically therapeutic lie in client behavior. (Author)

The scale demonstrated reasonable item homogeneity. Validity data from five separate samples suggested that scores on the Group Therapist Orientation Scale related meaningfully to actual behavior in a group therapy context. (Author)

Tested the hypothesis that low consensus of volunteer couples completing the Spouse Observation Checklist underestimates that achieved by clinic couples. That hypothesis was not supported. Couples (N=10) beginning marital therapy achieved agreement rates on joint SOC behaviors of 38.6 percent. Findings confirm the low reliability of spouse…

Examined adolescents' current use of substances and their interactions with peers and significant adults. Users of various substances associated with other individuals who used the same substances. Adolescent drug users do not appear to form subcultures delineated from nonuser subcultures along interaction dimensions other than that of drug use.…

Examined susceptibility of marital observations to purposeful faking. Behavioral observations of couples' problem-solving behavior during a conflict-eliciting task were obtained under neutral instructions and under instruction to fake. Evidence for differential responsiveness of marital types to faking instructions was limited and evident only in…

This study used longitudinal, multimethod data to examine specific patterns of behavioral interaction with parents and peers that were hypothesized to predict increasing levels of depressive symptoms in early adolescence. Adolescents' struggles in establishing autonomy and relatedness in interactions with mothers, and a withdrawn, angry, or…

Applied a behavioral model of marriage to premarital couples to assess predictive validity of an exchange measure. Results provide evidence that unrewarding communication patterns precede development of relationship distress. Implications for the behavioral model of marriage and development of programs designed to prevent marital distress are…

The reinforcers that are most potent in affecting the day-to-day satisfaction levels of married couples differ according to the level of distress. Marital distress is characterized by a tendency to react strongly to the delivery of punishers and to respond in kind. (Author)

Undergradautes responded to role-played scenarios involving heterosocial interactions. Later they were surreptitiously observed while they interacted with an opposite-sex student, an experimental confederate. Videotapes were rated for component responses. Role-play behavior was moderately correlated with behavior in naturalistic situations for…

Compared the interactional patterns of distressed (N=22) and nondistressed (N=17) couples through base rate and sequential analyses of communication samples that were coded with the Marital Interactional Coding System. Nondistressed couples emitted higher rates of problem-solving, verbal and nonverbal positive, and neutral behaviors. (Author)