The effects of Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) and generalization instruction with 3 second and third grade students with severe emotional/behavioral disorders, in one self-contained classroom were examined. The effects of the intervention on multiple measures of story writing were examined at baseline, postinstruction and maintenance.…

Although brief experimental analysis (BEA) procedures have been effective for aiding instructional decision making in the area of reading, there is a paucity of research extending this technology to mathematics. This study extends the literature on mathematics BEA by using an abridged data series that compares skill- and performance-based…

The traveler's dilemma is a generalization of the prisoner's dilemma which shows clearly a paradox of game theory. In the traveler's dilemma, the strategy chosen by analysis and theory seems obviously wrong intuitively. Here we develop a measure of evolutionary stability and show that the evolutionarily stable equilibrium is in some sense not very…

A. Lobb discovered an interesting generalization of Catalan's parenthesization problem, namely: Find the number L(n, m) of arrangements of n + m positive ones and n - m negative ones such that every partial sum is nonnegative, where 0 = m = n. This article uses Lobb's formula, L(n, m) = (2m + 1)/(n + m + 1) C(2n, n + m), where C is the usual…

Comments on an article by J. J. Arnett regarding the assertion that American psychology focuses too narrowly on Americans while neglecting the other 95% of the world's population. The authors agree with Arnett's call for greater attention to this issue. However, they fundamentally disagree with his position on issues related to generalizability…

The authors present 3 decision-tree models of categorization adapted from T. Trabasso, H. Rollins, and E. Shaughnessy (1971) and use them to provide a quantitative account of categorization response times, choice proportions, and typicality judgments at the individual-participant level. In Experiment 1, the decision-tree models were fit to…

Although the relationship between "mere exposure" and attitude enhancement is well established in the adult domain, there has been little similar work with children. This article examines whether toddlers' visual attention toward pictures of foods can be enhanced by repeated visual exposure to pictures of foods in a parent-administered picture…

We trained 3 mothers of children with autism to create, implement, and systematically fade scripts to promote vocal initiations during play. All 3 children's scripted and unscripted initiations increased after the introduction and fading of scripts, and unscripted initiations were maintained at the 2-week follow-up. The results indicate that…

Reading is one of the most critical skills taught in schools (Heller, Fredrick, Tumlin, & Brineman, 2002). Individuals who acquire literacy skills are more likely to experience success in school, and to obtain and maintain employment (Adams, 1990; Light & McNaughton, 2009b; Slavin, Karweit, & Madden, 1989). It is therefore an…

Matrix training is a generative approach to instruction in which words are arranged in a matrix so that some multiword phrases are taught and others emerge without direct teaching. We taught 4 preschoolers with autism to follow instructions to perform action-picture combinations (e.g., circle the pepper, underline the deer). Each matrix contained…

The present manuscript reports an attempt to support students in learning to apply knowledge from class to novel situations on course exams. Students took short-essay exams at the end of each unit. Students were offered two practice opportunities during each unit: answering practice questions and participating in a mock exam study session. On…

The purpose of this study was to assess the extent of a generalized matching repertoire. Three children, ranging from two to four years of age, were selected from an early childhood developmental delay classroom. They were taught identical matching with six objects. After the children mastered those six objects, they were tested for a generalized…

This study examined the acquisition and generalization of requesting behaviors learned through PECS with three children with autism. A single-subject multiple baseline across participants design was used to determine the effects of PECS. Results indicated that all three participants acquired PECS skills for requesting and generalized the skills…

A wealth of empirical evidence has now accumulated concerning animals' categorizing photographs of real-world objects. Although these complex stimuli have the advantage of fostering rapid category learning, they are difficult to manipulate experimentally and to represent in formal models of behavior. We present a solution to the representation…

In this paper I discuss some concerns related to the analysis of focus groups: (a) the issue of generalisation; (b) the problems of using numbers and quantifying in the analysis; (c) how the concrete situation of the focus groups could be included in the analysis, and (d) what formats can be used when quoting from focus groups. Problems with…