Discusses reasons for the limited behavior-analytic research about anxiety, describes recent developments in the experimental analysis of human behavior that make behavior-analytic study of anxiety more tenable, and examines some applied implications of these recent developments. Explores the term "anxiety" and recommends increased…

The successful application of functional analysis to problem behavior suggests the need to examine: additional functional properties of behavior involving social avoidance, biological reinforcement, and respondent conditioning; the role of context (including social factors and biological factors); and the multidimensional character of assessment…

This task group report is one of a series prepared by eminent psychologists who have served as consultants in the U.S.O.E.-sponsored grant study to conduct a Critical Appraisal of the Personality-Emotions-Motivation Domain. In order to achieve the goal of identifying important problems and areas for new research and methodological issues related…

This paper considers key properties of behavioral phenotypes of mental retardation syndromes, including within-syndrome variability and between-syndrome similarities and qualitative differences. The "new genetics" research requires combining data from three strategies: (1) a psychiatric approach, (2) psychometric methods, and (3) syndrome-specific…

This article reviews literature on the responses of direct care staff to challenging behaviors of individuals with mental retardation. The paper constructs a behavior analytic description of the functions of care staff behavior in relation to their clients' challenging behaviors, draws a distinction between contingency-shaped and rule-governed…

This article reviews a subsection of leisure research--studies on visitor characteristics, reactions, and behaviors in recreational settings. Four areas of visitor evaluation research are examined: (1) museums; (2) natural environments; (3) tourist sites, and (4) tourist facilities. The role of the psychologist in the development and improvement…

K. Burke's (1945) pentad identifies five contributing factors in any communication event: agent, purpose, act, scene, and agency. Using the pentad as an organizational schema, this paper summarizes problems in methods used by behavioral researchers to study the deceptive communication event. The paper argues that fragmenting the communication act…

This review of research on the preschool years asserts that a general behavior analysis of those years is essential not only because of its importance as a developmental stage but also because there is a need to fill the knowledge gap between the principles of animal behavior and the principles of practical applications to childhood problems.…

Rural, urban, and suburban parents of 447 children were surveyed to determine patterns of children's self-care. Sixteen children received simulated telephone calls and package deliveries while they were in self-care. Results indicate these children were at risk: vulnerable to individuals from the outside. Questions to be addressed by subsequent…

One hundred widows were interviewed to determine their patterns of coping with problems they encounter in widowhood. Utilizing McClusky's theory of margin, the self-identified problems encountered in widowhood were viewed as "load" factors, while the services and resources the widow used were considered "power" factors. A…

This paper reviews the history of Division 35 (Division of Psychology of Women) of the American Psychological Association. It discusses the meaning of the concept of a psychology of women, starting with Parlee's distress that such a concept conveys a need for a special or separate set of laws or theories about women and concludes with Mednick's…

Current activity in the area of television research was reviewed, with an emphasis on some of the factors which will influence future research. An analysis was made of: (1) the priorities held by the scientific community in regard to research on television and human behavior, (2) the perspectives within the community that are likely to influence…

Peer associations within schools are important influences on educational orientations and aspirations. The many studies in this area, however, have not produced a comprehensive and detailed theoretical account of peer socialization effects, thereby impeding the design and implementation of more effective school organizations. Although schools…