The concept of behavior settings--the environments shaping individual behavior--was originated by Roger Barker in 1950 in connection with his community surveys in a small Kansas town, code-named Midwest. This book seeks to provide rural social scientists with an understanding of Barker's eco-behavioral approach and proposed adaptations of it to…

Observes parents' socialization practices in 24 homes of families with first-born infants at 11, 14, and 17 months of age. Four kinds of socializing practices were observed and compared by parents' sex, infants' age, and infants' sex. (HOD)

Investigates the belief that caregivers' sensitive and contingent behavior is closely related to children's perceived control by analyzing the interactions between mothers and their 3 1/2- to 4 1/2-year-old children during a problem-solving task. (HOD)

Compares the reactions of mothers of 6- to 11-year-old conduct-disordered boys with those of mothers of normal boys, matched for age and education of mother, in situations whereby each mother interacted with her own child, with a child not her own of like classification, and with a child not her own of different classification. (HOD)

In behavior research using cognitive and affective measures, there is often incongruity between the statistical analysis employed and the intended inference. This paper argues that incorporating items as levels of a random facet via generalizability theory allows the statistical examination of the inferential question in the desired universe of…

This paper briefly reviews the research in social and behavioral interventions with autism in the past 30 years. Progress in the areas of decreased placement in highly restrictive environments, parent training, effective treatments, functional behavioral analysis, and emphasis on improved quality of life is noted. Research needs in the area of…

Argues for the scientific and practical value of participatory action research (PAR) and urges that this methodology be used in the social sciences. Defines PAR and places it in the context of traditional research. Illustrates the PAR process using two case studies. Claims that PAR can contribute to the advancement of social theory. (KO)

Reports a study that examined the influence of authoritarianism on the formation of behavioral intentions by female college students. High authoritarians took subjective norms less into account relative to low authoritarians, providing support for the theory that personal and subjective norms can be distinguished empirically. (LS)

Following inconclusive functional analyses of problem behaviors in 3 children (ages 3-4) with severe disabilities, interventions based on environmental enrichment were implemented. For all subjects, environmental enrichment decreased aberrant behavior if preferred stimuli were used. Explicit reinforcement of appropriate play behavior was required…

This paper summarizes brief functional assessments of 79 cases of people with developmental disabilities and self-injurious, aggressive, stereotypic, or other aberrant behavior. Outcomes were evaluated across three variables: (1) referring topography, (2) control over behavior, and (3) the identified maintaining conditions for aberrant behavior.…

This study investigated the relationship between self-restraint (e.g., entanglement of limbs in clothing or furniture) and self-injurious behavior (SIB) using functional analysis with five males with severe mental retardation. Results suggested that self-restraint, like SIB, may be maintained by idiosyncratic contingencies. (Author/DB)

This paper discusses the practice of social validity assessment in applied behavior analysis, proposes elements that should be included in state-of-the art assessment procedures, offers a taxonomy of consumers to guide the construction and circulation of assessments, and suggests strategies to improve social validity assessment. (JDD)

A study investigated the cognitive and grammatical activities carried out during writing by 22 incoming freshmen and 20 upperclass college students. It was hypothesized that the upperclassmen's compositions would be judged better in quality than those of the freshmen, and that the upperclassmen would show fewer pauses in which they were…

Laboratory simulations combine the strengths of lab experiments and field studies while avoiding many of their liabilities. They permit the emotional involvement, the time needed for development of norms and interlocked systems of interaction, and the broad range of variables typical of field settings, yet allow for experimental controls and…

This paper provides a critical review of the behavioral research on film music, indicates that there is a visual bias in media attribute research which needs to be balanced, and provides media producers and instructional developers with a theoretical basis and practical guidelines for using music in audiovisual presentations. The question of film…