Youth in pain often show self-defeating and destructive patterns of behavior which should be seen as calls for help and positive support. Instead, deep-seated brain programs and cultural beliefs about discipline can trigger angry or avoidant behavior by adults who deal with these young people. This brief introduction to the Conflict Cycle…

In this article, we contrast evolutionary and psychobiological models of individual development to address the idea that individual development occurring in prototypically risky and unsupportive environments can be understood as adaptation. We question traditional evolutionary explanations of individual development, calling on the principle of…

The purpose of this study was to examine the behavioral states of individual children for evidence of responsiveness within and without a multisensory environment (MSE). Three children in the age range of 3-10 years with severe multiple disabilities participated in the study. A single-system ABAB design was used. Participants' behavioral states,…

A sequence of behaviors consisting of appropriate responses, inappropriate responses, or a combination of both can be linked together in a behavior chain. Several operant processes may disrupt behavior chains. For example, one or more members of the behavior chain may be affected when reinforcement is withheld for the last response in the chain…

Based on an M.A. thesis by the senior author submitted to the University of Iowa.

The relationship between preferred objects associated with stereotypy, stereotypic behavior, and accuracy of responding during a counting task by a child with autism was analyzed. Teaching with high-preference objects occasioned more stereotypic behavior and less accurate counting than teaching with medium- and low-preference objects. (Author/DB)

One central aspect of children's behavior in play and in situations of response uncertainty may involve the degree to which the child considers available information and forms a plan to guide behavior. Twenty-five boys and 25 girls, aged 27 months, were observed in a 30-minute free play session in which mobility and time spent in sustained…

Behaviors that are appropriate, inappropriate, or a combination of both can be linked together in a behavior chain. When the contingencies for one response change (e.g., reinforcement is withheld for the last response in the chain; the last response is reinforced even if it occurs without the other responses in the chain) or the environmental…

Behavior states were observed in 66 subjects (ages 1-21) with profound disabilities, and data were analyzed as percentage of time subjects spent in various states, influence of environmental variables, and evidence of nonlinear state transitions. Findings suggest complex behavioral processes in the levels of alertness and responsiveness associated…

This study investigates physiological arousal and overt behaviors of hyperactive children in comparison with nonhyperactive children. It was predicted from Farley's (1974) theory of hyperactivity that hyperactive children would exhibit lower arousal and a stronger stimulation-seeking motive than nonhyperactive children. Four measures of…

This document presents Part I of a two-part study which sought to ascertain the relationship of grade level, achievement level, sex, and method of presentation to the various bases by which children classify geometric concepts. Two tasks, administered consecutively to 96 subjects in grades five, eight and eleven, consisted of the sequential…

This document, Part II of a two-part study, is the summary chapter of a report which sought to ascertain the relationship of grade level, achievement level, sex, and method of presentation to the various bases by which children classify geometric concepts. Two tasks, administered consecutively to 96 subjects in grades five, eight, and eleven,…

Kindergarten and fourth-grade children participated in a study designed to assess the effects of number of models and type of behavior modeled on developmental differences of children's subsequent generosity. As predicted, generosity of younger children was affected by behavior of model(s) to a greater extent than was that of older children.…

The present study examined the startle reflex as a physiological marker of behavioral inhibition. Participants were 7 to 12-year-old children who had been previously identified as inhibited or uninhibited as part of an ongoing longitudinal study on the role of behavioral inhibition in the development of anxiety disorders. Analysis of their scores…