An overview is presented on current knowledge about elderly mentally retarded persons. Definitional and incidence issues are addressed, and support is voiced for use of a lower cut-off for the beginning of old age among the retarded than for the general population. Conflicting findings of age-related differences in mentally retarded adults are…

Claims about the relative holding-power and play-versatility of toys either low or high in amount of realistic detail, such as miniature metal cars, were tested in a solitary play environment with and without the use of props. Subjects were 36 middle-class preschool children. Results suggest that, when structure is varied within the toy prototype,…

Although criteria for the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) have become better defined, few research findings have appeared in the literature which characterize the degenerative course of the disease. Of particular interest to both clinicians and researchers would be a study focusing on changes in the patient's…

Confirmatory maximum likelihood factor analysis was used to determine how accurately each of several hypothesized combinations of first-order and/or higher-order factors could describe the covariation within selected sub-matrices taken from the total correlation matrix originally analyzed by M. O'Sullivan et al. (1965). Focus was on evaluating the…

To penetrate the growing complexity of theoretical perspectives and research methodologies surrounding organizational behavior, this paper introduces the ABC Matrix. This conceptual framework clarifies complex, repetitive organizational behavior by grouping behaviors (avoidance, buffering, and confronting) into readily understood categories.…

Based on a survey of 83 instructional developers, this chapter considers whether the instructional developer/client relationship is a consulting relationship and, if so, whether consultants employ a specific consulting model. Four models of consultation are considered--the Product Model, the Prescription Model, the Collaborative/Process Model, and…

The use of mild aversives to control self-injurious and stereotypic behaviors of severely emotionally disturbed children is considered. Research is reviewed on the ethics and effectiveness of aversive stimuli. Mild aversives include a form of nonseclusionary timeout known as facial screening, the administration of certain irritating substances…

The study investigated intrapersonal and interpersonal behaviors and events in self-injurious disabled persons (2-22 years old). The study involved four components: (1) a survey of 82 Ss using the self-injurious behavior (SIB) Perception Questionnaire, Antecedent/Consequent Card Sort, and the American Association on Mental Deficiency Adaptive…

Relations between older adults and their adult offspring have been of considerable interest to social gerontologists. This study was conducted to examine patterns of intergenerational interaction and contact in a community setting. Telephone interviews were conducted with 400 residents over the age of 60. Items in the interview were taken from…

The relationship between lifestyle behaviors and the onset of neoplasm development has been researched extensively. This study took a multivariate approach in attempting to identify lifestyle variables which could predict group membership among subjects diagnosed as having cancer and those subjects who have not been diagnosed as having cancer.…

Unlike initial task interest, very few researchers have investigated the manner in which sources of incentives, i.e., subject-determined versus experimenter-determined, influence the effects of incentives on intrinsic motivation. An experiment in intrinsic motivation was conducted to examine the effects of various sources of incentives and task…

Protection motivation theory proposes that a perceived threat to health activates cognitive appraisals of the severity of the threatened event, the probability of its occurrence, and the efficacy of a coping response; a recent reformulation of the theory incorporates self-efficacy expectancy as a fourth mediating cognitive process. To test the…

Assumption made in this study is that student life styles are varied and there is no one classroom structure appropriate for all students. Central hypothesis tested is that the greater the match between a student's life style and classroom structure, the greater the congruence between life style and classroom behavior. (Author)

Replicates the McConkie and Rayner study (1974) in which the strategies of college students were manipulated through the use of payoff conditions. (RB)