Although motivation has long been regarded as essential for behavior, very little research has been done on its role in behavior change. This paper focuses on this issue by examining motivations for eating and dieting in obese and anorexic patients. Measuring the commitment to eating and the commitment to dieting, the study finds that motivations…

"Will" is defined in this paper as the capacity to decide how to behave based on a processing of relevant information. A sequence of motivated behavior begins with informational inputs or stimuli. These come from three sources: the environment, one's physiology, and one's memory. These inputs lead to the formation of motives or awareness of a…

Of 50 students enrolled in an introductory group-counseling course, 19 chose to participate in a laboratory experience focusing on weight loss, in addition to other course objectives. Six weeks of comprehensive behavior programming produced a mean loss of 6.54 pounds. (Author)

The research literature on learned helplessness in exceptional children is reviewed and the authors' efforts to identify and retrain learning disabled (LD) children who have characteristics typical of learned helplessness are reported. Twenty-eight elementary aged LD children viewed as "learned helpless" were randomly assigned to one of four…

Piaget's and Kohlberg's interview and scoring methods for assessing moral judgment in children were empirically compared. Based on cognitive development and social learning theories, six hypotheses were tested on 139 elementary school children. After being interviewed, the children participated in a moral conduct task. Multiple linear regressions…

This study compares self-instructional (SI) and direct training (DT) effects on task performance of impulsive kindergarten children. Fifteen subjects with a mean age of 5.87 years and mean WPPSI IQ of 87.6 were randomly assigned to three groups: SI, DT and control. A pre-test, treatments, post-tests design which utilized Kagan's (1966) Matching…

Forty-three hyperactive children (5 to 9 years old) and their families were assessed and followed during a 3 month intervention program. Families were randomly assigned to one of three groups: parent training in behavior modification while the child was administered a placebo, parent training plus methylphenidate, and methylphenidate only. All…

Awareness and acknowledgement of stress-related overeating and loss of control tendencies may facilitate subsequent weight loss efforts, provided that alternative stress-coping resources are available to aid adjustment to major life changes. College students with weight concerns, particularly those susceptible to "mood" eating and binge…

THE PERSON LESS ABLE TO CONTROL HIS IMPULSES IS ALSO APT TO EXHIBIT SOCIALLY DISVALUED BEHAVIOR. VOCATIONAL AND ACADEMIC FAILURE IS A PARTIAL CONSEQUENCE OF IMPULSIVENESS AND LACK OF SELF-CONTROL. TO INVESTIGATE IMPULSE CONTROL, TWO INSTRUMENTS BELIEVED TO MEASURE ATTRIBUTES OF OPPOSITE POLES OF THIS CONCEPT (SEQUENTIAL TESTS OF EDUCATIONAL…

To assess hyperactive children's perceptions of drug treatment, a Causal Attribution Questionnaire was developed and introduced as a series of brief stories about "make believe" children to 36 hyperactive males (6 to 13 years) and a comparison group of 35 males. Results showed that the older the child in terms of chronological age, the greater the…

Two types of self-blame were investigated: characterological self-blame, corresponding to the popular negative view of self-blame; and behavioral self-blame, representing a positive attempt to reestablish a belief in control. Results of a questionnaire completed by rape crisis centers located across the country attest to the pervasiveness of…

The degree to which potentially useful group intelligence tests were affected by personality characteristics such as anxiety, impulsiveness or caution, and verbal interests was investigated by a battery of intelligence, interest, and personality tests administered to 1,163 gifted adolescents in special summer programs. Intelligence was measured by…

In this study, two similar depth perception experiments were conducted to investigate 3-month-old infants' perception of changes in depth while they were being moved. In the first, the subjects, 18 infants (80 to 105 days old) were lowered face down towards the textured floor of a 3-sided enclosure (visual crib). Three experimental conditions were…

A study was conducted to determine the effects of electromyographic (EMG) feedback/relaxation training on the achievement, cognitive and motor test results, and observed behavior change of learning disabled, mentally retarded, control, and nondiagnosed children manifesting learning problems (all elementary age). Treatment consisted of 10-minute…

The present study was conducted to determine if overt self-verbalization by the child during the waiting period would influence his delay maintenance behavior when the delayed reward was present. Subjects were 60 preschool girls in the age range of 33-72 months. Fifteen subjects were randomly assigned to each of four experimental conditions: (1)…