Effects of interspersing rates on students performance on and preferences for mathematics assignments: Testing the discrete task completion hypothesis

The current study investigated the discreet task completion hypothesis presented by C. H. Skinner (2002) by investigating how the rate of interspersing affects performance on and preferences for academic assignments. Specifically, 70 sixth‐, seventh‐, and eighth‐grade students were presented with four assignment pairs of multiplication problems. Each pair consisted of a control assignment (i.e., no interspersing) and an experimental assignment (i.e., interspersing) that interspersed at one of four rates (i.e., no interspersing, every other problem, every third problem, or every fifth problem). After working on each assignment pair, assignment acceptability was measured. Results indicated that although students completed the same number of target problems with the same level of accuracy within assignment pairs, total problem completion rates were affected by the rate of interspersing. In addition, students' acceptability of the assignments was strongly related to the discrepancy in total problems completed across assignment types within assignment pairs. Discussion focuses on predicting students' preferences for academic assignments, implications for practitioners, and directions for future research. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The Validity of Narratives for Understanding Children’s Perceptions of the Teacher–Child Relationship for Preschoolers Who Display Elevated Disruptive Behaviors

The links between a positive teacher-child relationship and young children’s academic and social-emotional development have been well established, particularly for children with disruptive behaviors. However, less is known about children’s views of the teacher-child relationship and how these representations relate to other established measures. Using a sample of 157 preschoolers with elevated disruptive behaviors, the current study assessed preschoolers’ representations of the teacher-child relationship by adapting a narrative procedure and a coding scheme from the parent-child attachment literature. Children’s representations as assessed through their narratives were internally consistent and were modestly associated with established measures of the teacher-child relationship. Offering additional support of validity, children’s representations had implications for their engagement in tasks, such that children with more negative and less emotionally positive representations were more dependent on positive interactions with their teachers to remain oriented to tasks. Results add support to the importance of positive teacher-child interactions for children with behavioral difficulties and highlight the benefit of using representational measures to understand children’s views of the teacher-child relationship.     

Personality Traits,Television Viewing,and the Cultivation Effect

This research investigates the impact of 3 personality traits—trait anxiety, sensation seeking, and psychoticism—on cultivation effects regarding perceptions of violence. A survey measuring violence prevalence estimates, personality traits, television consumption, and genre preferences was completed by 427 undergraduates. Results indicate that low trait–anxious individuals, and to a lesser extent high sensation seekers, are more susceptible to cultivation regarding personal vulnerability to crime whereas those low in psychoticism are susceptible to cultivation regarding societal violence perceptions. The worldview offered by these traits, as opposed to TV genre consumption or resonance, seems to best explain these effects.     

Changing Teacher–Child Dyadic Interactions to Improve Preschool Children's Externalizing Behaviors

A randomized controlled trial was used to examine the impact of an attachment‐based, teacher–child, dyadic intervention (Banking Time) to improve children's externalizing behavior. Participants included 183 teachers and 470 preschool children (3–4 years of age). Classrooms were randomly assigned to Banking Time, child time, or business as usual (BAU). Sparse evidence was found for main effects on child behavior. Teachers in Banking Time demonstrated lower negativity and fewer positive interactions with children compared to BAU teachers at post assessment. The impacts of Banking Time and child time on reductions of parent‐ and teacher‐reported externalizing behavior were greater when teachers evidenced higher‐quality, classroom‐level, teacher–child interactions at baseline. An opposite moderating effect was found for children's positive engagement with teachers.     

On the determinants of induction in responding for sucrose when food pellet reinforcement is upcoming

Rats’ rates of leverpressing for low-concentration liquid-sucrose reinforcers in the first half of an experimental session increase when food pellet, rather than sucrose, reinforcers will be available in the second half. Experiment 1 determined that this induction effect was the outcome of food pellet reinforcement’s increasing response rates, not of continued sucrose reinforcement’s decreasing them. Experiments 2 and 3 showed that induction was primarily controlled by the conditions of reinforcement in the current session, not by those in the previous one. Experiment 4 showed little evidence that the induction was the outcome of Pavlovian processes. These results suggest that induction may occur because of processes operating at the level of the entire session. They also provide a link to a seemingly related area of study: contrast effects. Some of the results are consistent with what is known about contrast effects, but there are also several, yet unexplained differences.     

Volunteers as teachers of child management to parents of behaviour‐disordered preschoolers

Ten women volunteers were trained as teachers of child management skills to parents of behaviour‐disordered preschoolers. Families were selected from referrals to a child psychiatric clinic, and included 42 children. Initial assessment of families was undertaken by a psychologist, and specific goals for treatment were set with parents. Volunteers trained in a social learning approach to child management visited the families in their homes to implement and supervise programs aimed at parent and child behaviour change. After 6‐8 weeks families were reassessed at the clinic. Evaluation of the project's outcomes using a consumer satisfaction survey, parent ratings on a problem behaviour checklist, and staff ratings of goal attainment, showed major changes in child behaviour which were maintained at three‐month follow‐up.     

Transportation into Vivid Media Violence: A Focus on Attention,Emotions, and Mental Rumination

Prior research suggests violent narratives can transport viewers, affecting attitudes and beliefs. This research project explores whether a factor related to a media text —vividness—affects the degree to which audience members become transported into a violent narrative. Furthermore, this study focuses on the various subcomponents of the transportation experience (e.g., attention, emotional involvement, and mental imagery processes) to see if vividness affects some components more than others. In an experiment, 179 participants were exposed to vivid or non-vivid versions of violent television programs. Findings reveal that viewers of vivid violence exhibited stronger emotional reactions and higher attention levels. Vividness did not impact mental imagery processes or excitation levels, however. Implications for transportation, vividness, and media violence research are discussed.