"Little by little, the child develops," wrote an undergraduate in a friend's cognitive development class, and so, for the most part, it is. But what explains the U's of cognitive development? Namy, Campbell, and Tomasello and Cashon and Cohen take a standard approach to understanding U-shaped curves: as the product of a mix of different cognitive…

In 1998, Horvath et al. [Horvath, K., Stefanatos, G., Sokolski, K. N., Wachtel, R., Nabors, L., & Tildon, J. T. (1998). Improved social and language skills after secretin administration in patients with autism spectrum disorders. "Journal of the Association of the Academy of Minority Physicians," 9, 9-15] reported an uncontrolled…

To understand whether a responsive parenting intervention for socially disadvantaged mothers was related to preintervention parenting resources, the authors examined both of these conditions as moderators of behavior change in 264 participating families (term, n = 120; very low birth weight, n = 144). Families were randomly assigned to an…

This article reviews the empirical research literature on behavioral assessment and intervention methods in the context of diabetes mellitus in children and adolescents. The review summarizes the pathophysiology, medical management, and monitoring of pediatric type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Next, the article describes common behavioral barriers to…

Over the past two decades a new model of behavior change--one derived from a functional contextual philosophy, while up holding to basic principles of learning with an eye on practical utility--has emerged tour de force of the psychotherapy scene. This model is based on a modern behavior analytic account of language and cognition known as…

This article provides a selective review and integration of the behavioral literature on Pavlovian extinction. The first part reviews evidence that extinction does not destroy the original learning, but instead generates new learning that is especially context-dependent. The second part examines insights provided by research on several related…

Several years ago, the author was asked to counsel one university's male students on the truth of rape. Today, he and other men are taking that truth on the road--in a used RV. Their "One in Four" national tour will work to end rape on college campuses by presenting "The Men's Program" to college students nationwide. The program aims to educate…

This article discusses a model intervention clarifying confidentiality policies regarding releasing information to families or significant others was evaluated for its effectiveness in improving provider-consumer-family collaboration. The intervention was implemented in one agency, and a comparison agency continued with previously used procedures.…

The author examined the role of toughness (an aspect of masculine ideology) and shyness in predicting correlates of men's emotional inexpression. Results showed that shyness and toughness had an additive role in predicting men's general difficulties in emotional expression and in expression of affection to other men. Results also showed that…

The Positive Deviance Approach promoted by Jerry Sternin suggests that the answer to reform must come from within an organization or community. By identifying the few who have created success already, we can find the means to amplify that success and broaden it to the larger community. Sternin explains how this approach worked to alleviate hunger…

It is customary in behavior analysis to distinguish between positive and negative reinforcement in terms of whether the reinforcing event involves onset or offset of a stimulus. In a previous article (Baron & Galizio, 2005), we concluded that a distinction of these terms is not only ambiguous but has little if any functional significance. Here, we…

Since the mid-1960s, when illicit drug use burgeoned in the normal youth population, substance use by American young people has proven to be a rapidly changing phenomenon. Smoking, drinking, and illicit drug use are leading causes of morbidity and mortality, both during adolescence as well as later in life. How vigorously the nation responds to…

Applied behavior analysis (ABA) has emerged as one of the most effective empirically based strategies for instructing individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Four ABA-based strategies that have been found effective are video modeling, visual strategies, social script fading, and task analysis. Individuals with ASD often struggle with…

Research on whether health education, specifically personal health classes affects behavior change is inconclusive. In this study, a sample of students from two large southeastern universities enrolled in a required personal health course and an elective personal health course were administered the National College Health Risk Behavior Survey…

American schools are faced with complex and deep-rooted challenges such as poverty, discrimination, weak school-family relationships, low student motivation, and high student mobility. These challenges must be overcome if children and youth are to meet their needs for belonging, mastery, independence, and generosity; experience social competence…