As implementation of the "Next Generation Science Standards" moves forward, there is a need for new assessments that can measure students' integrated three-dimensional science learning. The National Research Council has suggested that these assessments be multicomponent tasks that utilize a combination of item formats including…

This paper describes a series of studies investigating the effects of memory reactivation in early infancy. Twelve-week-old infants were taught a footkick response by having one leg tied to an overhead crib mobile so that each footkick produced movement of the mobile (reinforcer). Retention of the footkick response was assessed after 6, 8, and 14…

Twenty normal newborns, approximately 36 hours old, were tested using an auditory temporal conditioning paradigm which consisted of a slow rise, 75 db tone played for five seconds every 25 seconds, ten times. Responses to the tones were measured by instantaneous, beat-to-beat heartrate; and the test trial was designated as the 2 1/2-second period…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the function of positive attentional cues as cognitive factors in the modification of fear responses in a desensitization-like treatment procedure. Positive attentional cues are defined as positively-valenced descriptors of the feared stimulus. Two groups of two subjects each were assessed as to the…

This report reviews current literature on feedback and suggests practical implications of feedback research for educators. A definition of feedback is offered, and past definitions in prior research are noted. An analysis of the current state of knowledge of feedback discusses the historical development of feedback theory and suggests that…

The self-management of thoughts and mental images was used in a series of empirical case studies to influence behavior changes. The target behaviors in the cases reported were smoking, overeating, fingernail biting, thinking self-depreciative thoughts, and responding assertively. Self-monitoring, covert positive reinforcement, covert…

This review of the research literature focuses on processes that Cautela (1972a) has called covert conditioning and Mahoney, Thoresen, and Danaher (1972) have called covert behavior modification. Both of these terms refer to processes for changing behavior through imaginal responses. Two general strategies have been employed. One has been to…

This study is an exploratory attempt to test the idea that individual differences in the rate of acquisition of an original discrimination learning are related to individual differences in the capacity to estimate the passage of time. Included is a review of the literature on the psychology of time which indicates that underestimation of time is…

The author focuses on a number of key issues which appear to be common to a variety of alcohol treatment programs which have as their intention the amelioration of alcohol problems. The aim in this paper is to call attention to these issues and to discuss their implications for the manner in which health care workers think about alcohol problems,…

The purposes of this study are (1) to analyze learning ability in newborns using heart rate responses to auditory temporal conditioning and (2) to correlate these with measures on the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale. Twenty normal neonates were tested using the Brazelton Scale on the third day of life. They were also given a…

This study analyzed the mental distractions of students while reading a text. Ss were asked to press a switch to record mental distractions as they occurred, and a treatment was designed to attempt to reduce the number of distractions. The hypothesis related to the treatment effect was that students given explicit training to reduce distractions…

This paper develops a stimulus selection theory, based on an extensive review of previous research, which gives weight to context change or stimulus generalization decrement. The theory assumes no special compounding or configurational process, and accounts for the learning of successive discriminations without the addition of any special process.…

To determine the influence of successful or unsuccessful competitive outcomes and small or large margins of victory/defeat on performance, pairs of female undergraduate students "competed" against each other in a dart tossing contest. False feedback about the outcomes and margin of victory/defeat led subjects to believe they were winning every…

A variety of psychotherapeutic methodologies has proliferated as a consequence of rapid growth in the need for mental health services. The effectiveness of many of these methods is questionable. Although each psychotherapeutic technique advances claims for its continued use based on clinical effectiveness, few offer adequate scientific evidence to…

This paper reflects an attempt to chronicle the events, articles, and hearings which concerned the application of behavior technology in adult prison systems between January 1, 1973 and November 1, 1974. The events of this time period are viewed by the author as demanding the attention of behavior therapists, legislators, correctional officials,…