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Background: The Trickle-Down Engagement Model posits that instructor engagement promotes student engagement which, in turn, has positive implications for student learning. Objective: Our goal was to provide evidence-based practical recommendations for instructors to communicate their engagement with course material to students, activating the trickle-down process. Method: In two experiments, we used recorded mock lectures in which we manipulated instructor movement within the classroom (Study 1) and enthusiastic statements that cued instructor engagement (Study 2). In both studies, we measured student learning and assessed perceptions of the instructor's engagement, their own engagement, and the presented material. Results: Engaged cue statements successfully communicated instructor engagement but physical movement did not. Consistent with the Trickle-Down Engagement Model and our hypotheses, perceptions of instructors' engagement positively related to participants' own engagement, which was also positively related to better learning outcomes. Conclusion: When instructors verbally communicate their engagement with course material, students are more engaged and demonstrate better learning. Teaching Implications: Channeling explicit, positive instructor engagement has numerous benefits, including enhanced student learning and educational experiences.

Our school career culminates in a set of exam results, but if students want to do well, attending lessons is not enough: the implicit expectation is that all students will reinforce learning independently outside of the classroom. Really effective learners employ effective independent study techniques, but when, how and where do they learn to do this? Currently there is no coherent consensus on how we should teach young people to become effective independent learners. Most schools, as far as it is possible to know given the scant research, do not teach study skills effectively -- using one off sessions or PSHE sessions simply to teach strategies (Purdie & Hattie, 1999 & a very unscientific social media poll, 2024). Many students, as they move through the educational system, need to make significant behavioural changes to the way they learn independently. To support students in this I have developed a curriculum that draws on a wide range of psychological domains to help students not only learn effective study techniques, but also to help them develop more helpful study habits. Whilst ever evolving and difficult to evaluate, the feedback from students and parents has convinced me that the course curriculum is impactful, enabling students to tackle independent study, revision and exams with confidence.

The increased burden on educators to promote environmental education has recently attracted research interest. Since environmental knowledge has insignificant direct effects on pro-environmental behaviour, it is important to devise effective teaching methods to reduce the burden on educators and promote environmental conservation. In this study, we examined whether the planning and practice of educating others promoted environmental consciousness in the educators. Twenty-four and twenty-two university students participated in the study as part of an experimental and active control group, respectively. The experimental group was asked to plan and manage events meant to educate children about the environment and help them feel comfortable in nature. As a result, compared to the beginning of the study, the experimental group participants exhibited increased environmental consciousness. This improvement could be attributed to the fact that the participants possibly altered their behaviour towards the environment, consistent with the nature conservation practices they presented to the children participating in the abovementioned events. These findings highlight how planning and managing environmental conservation events for others could influence and improve individuals' environmental consciousness.

This study examined how to enhance the quality of students' question generating and to encourage their spontaneous information searches after classroom instruction in university. The teacher assigned One Minute Paper as homework, and students answered three questions; "Q1: What was the most important thing that you learned today?", "Q2: What important question remains unanswered?", and "Q3: What information did you search for after the classroom instruction?". While it was necessary to answer Q1 and Q2 for submission, answering Q3 was not necessary and they could answer it if they wished to do so. The teacher, however, realized that some students were not generating questions actively and the quality of their questions were not adequately improved. After 7 weeks, he changed his intervention and gave feedback on some students' questions to enhance their question quantity and quality. The latent growth curve modelling showed that question quality, spontaneous searching behaviour, and the link between question generation and conducting searches increased after the intervention change. The result also showed that post-intervention change slopes were larger for the feedback group than the class without feedback. The results indicate that besides assigning homework tasks, it is also important to connect learning outside along with inside the classroom to enhance question quality and encourage spontaneous information search.

This qualitative study introduces a pedagogic design which addresses the challenging task of teaching and learning self-awareness and critical reflection in the teaching of psychology. The context of the study was a course in personality psychology for first year students, and the topic of interest was how the perception of personality is affected by gender stereotypes. The pedagogic design included the recording of a mixed-sex dialogue, which was then digitally altered for pitch and timbre producing two gender-switched versions of one single recording. Students were divided into two groups who listened to one of the two different voice alterations, and were given the task to rate the personality traits of male or female sounding versions of the same character. In the subsequent debriefing seminar, students were presented with the data from their ratings. These results were then used as a reference point for inter-group discussion, and later students were also asked to reflect over the activity individually in writing. A thematic analysis of their written answers indicates that this pedagogic setup, in combination with guided reflection, can be helpful to challenge students' own assumptions, aiding self-awareness and critical reflection related to stereotyping.

Invitational Theory is rooted in three theoretical foundations, the perceptual tradition, self-concept theory, and a democratic ethos (Purkey, Novak, and Fretz, 2020). This essay focuses in on the first of these foundations, which the author intentionally describes as "perceptual theory." Perceptual theory provides a theoretical foundation for understanding and explaining human behaviour, and could provide very important insights into the offering and receiving of invitations. In this essay the author seeks to re-introduce the Invitational community to this important theoretical foundation, which could profoundly and positively impact the enacting and application of invitational theory. The author begins by providing an overview of perceptual theory, exploring some of the central tenets and implications. The author then reviews the history of the development of the theory, which the author believes has been overlooked and by-passed: not enough people know about perceptual theory. The author introduces a number of perceptual theory basics, which can be a helpful way of introducing the theory. The essay concludes with an exploration of a number of potential implications and applications for the Invitational community.

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the textbook written according to the principles of prose learning on the student achievement. Pre-test - post-test controlled group design was used in the study. The study was conducted on 3 groups, each composed of 38 2nd grade medical vocational high school students. "Impact" is limited by the didactic quality of two separate sections of the psychology textbook and it was practiced with the traditional text book and the textbook which is organized in two separate ways as including questions and not. The data were analysed by one-way analysis of variance and t test. It was determined that there is a significant difference in favour of the group who studied the textbook with questions prepared according to the principles of prose learning compared to the group which the traditional textbook was implemented in terms of total achievements regarding knowledge, comprehension and practice levels and retention of the learned knowledge within the cognitive domain.

Background: Undergraduates may not use the most effective learning strategies, particularly those considered "desirable difficulties" such as spacing, elaboration, and testing ("SET"). Objective: This study examined knowledge-based, metacognitive, and behavioral outcomes from interventions designed to teach undergraduates about the "SET" strategies and about behavior change techniques to support adoption of these study behaviors. Method: Introductory psychology students (n = 244) received a learning-strategies-only intervention (LS), a learning-strategies-plus-behavior-change (LSþBC) intervention, or no intervention. They completed three assessment surveys to measure outcomes across the semester. Results: Intervention participants showed enhanced knowledge of the "SET" strategies. LS participants rated testing as more helpful, reported higher use of elaboration and testing, and had marginally higher final course grades than the control group. Adding behavior-change training did not enhance the outcomes. Growth mindset was associated with greater intervention-related gains on several measures. Conclusion: Curriculum-embedded LS training was associated with positive shifts in "SET" strategy knowledge and with behavioral changes for two strategies. Teaching Implication: This study provides evidence of the benefits of LS training as integrated into the introductory psychology curriculum, and can help guide educators to support students in acquiring more effective study strategies.

This paper reports the results of a group intervention based on strategies derived from the systemic therapy model--brief strategic therapy. These strategies aimed at decreasing the anxiety levels commonly found in oral performance tasks related to L2 learning. Thirteen students from different semesters who belonged to two foreign language teaching programs participated in four weekly 40-minute group sessions. The pre- and post-assessments suggest a meaningful reduction of anxiety levels (t = 8.978 p < 0.05; ES = 2.49). The results suggest that the application of the strategies is highly effective and beneficial for anxious L2 learners.

Functional communication training (FCT; Carr & Durand, 1985) is a common function-based treatment in which an alternative form of communication is taught to reduce problem behavior. FCT has been shown to result in substantial reductions of a variety of topographically and functionally different types of problem behavior in children and adults (efficacy). The extent to which these reductions maintain in relevant contexts and result in meaningful changes in the lives of those impacted (effectiveness) is the focus of this paper. This review evaluates the degree to which FCT has been established as an evidence-based practice in psychology (EBPP) according to the definition set out by the American Psychological Association's 2005 Presidential Task Force on Evidence-Based Practice. Our review finds overwhelming evidence in support of FCT as an efficacious treatment but highlights significant limitations in support of its effectiveness. In order to also be recognized as an EBPP, future research on FCT will need to focus more closely on issues related to home, school, and community application, feasibility, consumer satisfaction, and more general and global changes for the individual.

Meaningful societal change begins with individual change. One cannot do for a community what one cannot do for one's self. The topic of Individual Sustainability is a controversial one, as students often appear to be unable to align their demonstrated behaviors with their admirable values related to sustainability. Individual behavior creates the foundation for action in social, economic, and environmental sustainability, and potentially guides our ability to work with one another to make life-affirming decisions. In short, it is a matter of aligning our day-to-day behaviors with our well-stated values that will result in greater sustainable community action. The general objective of this research is to determine how an interactive website providing multisource feedback on personality motivates students to change their behaviors or values, or to align their behaviors and values. We believe that creating a "cognitive dissonance" between individuals' values and behaviors tends to encourage them to balance more effectively the self-knowledge that motivates intentional personal development towards more sustainable behavior. Most students indicated changes in their awareness, behaviors, and values following the study, but fewer indicated a greater alignment between their values and behaviors.

In this paper, the effectiveness of environmental education (EE) programs at fostering ecologically responsible behavior is analyzed through the lens of psychology. In section 1, a critique of knowledge and attitude appeals is presented using contemporary psychological understandings of these constructs to show why many EE programs have been met with mixed results. It is argued that knowledge and attitudes are misunderstood in precisely how they are employed in decision-making and that these misunderstandings hamper the impact of EE programming. In section 2, the theoretical foundation for applying identity research is developed further and is shown to engage both the automatic and controlled cognitive processes--the key distinction of the IBEE model. In section 3, this research is applied to develop a novel program for producing ecologically responsible behavior through EE using self-identity as a more sophisticated and effective behavioral mediator, as is how a "pro-environmental identity" could be developed. Self-identity is a durable and robust behavioral mediator that has been shown to be highly predictive of an individual's behavior and can be shaped to lead one toward ecologically responsible behavior across behavioral domains.

Many students and educators know that sleep is important to learning, yet there exists a gap between their knowledge and behavior. For example, fewer than 10% of students sleep 8 hr before final exams. In the context of two undergraduate courses on sleep (N = 34), students could earn extra credit if they averaged =8.0 hr of sleep during final exams week. Sleep/wake patterns were monitored objectively using actigraphy. The 24 students who opted in to the challenge averaged 8.5 hr of sleep (n = 17 succeeded). Short sleep (=6.9 hr) occurred on only 11% of nights, significantly less than early-semester baseline (51%) and comparison group (65%) data. On the final exam, students who slept =8.0 hr performed better than students who opted out or slept =7.9 hr, even after controlling for prefinal grades. The 8-hr sleep challenge provides proof of principle that many students can maintain optimal sleep while studying, without sacrificing test performance.

This paper provides an overview of John Dewey's ecological psychology and his basic concepts: experience, inquiry, and habit. The concept of habit, which is particularly relevant in understanding problem-solving strategies, is further explicated on the basis of Gross's (2009. "A Pragmatist Theory of Social Mechanisms." "American Sociological Review" 74: 358--379) conceptions of habits by way of an analysis of an action learning case study. It is argued that a deeper understanding of Dewey's ecological psychology, and the application of his concepts, may assist action learning practitioners to better understand why problems arise and how people solve them habitually, and thereby enable us to ask questions that can foster double loop learning.

Single parenthood as a common psychosocial phenomenon seems to be regarded as one of the most significant issues in the psychological domain and needs to be taken into serious consideration due to emotional, psychological, and social problems created by it. With regard to the rapidly growing population of single parents and their children experiencing relationship-based problems, interventions which deal with relational issues are worth in-depth explorations. This study was primarily concerned with the betterment of single parent-child relationships. For the purpose of this research, a case study was conducted to probe into the impact of filial therapy--a relationship-enhancement family/play therapy--on (1) reducing children's' problem behaviors, and (2) ameliorating parent-child dysfunctional relationships through improving parenting knowledge and skills. The intended data for the study was gathered through (1) pre-post play observation, (2) parent's self-reports, and (3) the reports obtained from a kindergarten trainer. The outcomes of this one-month long case study revealed that filial therapy has the potentiality in enhancing and rebuilding parent-child relationships through teaching single parents the skills necessary for coping with the problems accelerated by the newly developed situation, which might be seen as a result of single parenthood (e.g., childhood problem behaviors, parent-child relational problems, lack of adequate parenting knowledge and skills). In the end, this article concludes a few suggestions for future studies in this field.

Purpose: This study aims to deepen the authors' understanding of higher education students' perceptions about sustainability issues by focusing on their motivations to adopt (or not to adopt) sustainable practices in their lives. It mobilized the notion of "health" and the potential impacts of climate change on health. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative and participatory action approach, involving students acting as researchers, was implemented. All psychology students (bachelor's degree) were trained to conduct semi-directive interviews with students from other faculties on the issues of sustainability and health. In total, 203 interviews were completed within two academic years. The authors performed a lexicographic analysis followed by a thematic analysis. Findings: Analyses showed that the concept of sustainability was unclear for most student interviewees (SIs) and that only a few of them were able to spontaneously connect it with health. Only after being guided throughout the interview did these SIs, mainly geoscience students, become progressively aware of the direct links between sustainability and health issues, such as personal health. The perceived risks of non-sustainable practices were higher when they directly affected the body itself, and this encouraged adoption of more sustainable practices. Originality/value: This research enables the authors to identify specific interventions to decrease the gap between awareness of sustainability and sustainable practices. These interventions may be more effective if they aim to sensitize students to the direct impacts of non-sustainable practices on their personal health. This can be made possible by using creative learning activities that involve active participation of students.

This study examined the effectiveness of a study skills training session offered at midterm to students enrolled in a large section of "Introductory Psychology." In the training session, students watched a series of five, short videos on effective learning and answered related clicker questions that encouraged them to reflect their own study strategies and beliefs about learning. Students across all levels of course performance rated the training as helpful and effective. Although there were no differences in subsequent study time and metacognitive skills between students who attended the training and those who did not, students who attended the training gained insight into some of the limitations of their own past study strategies. Additionally, although students who chose to attend the training had lower scores on exams taken prior to training, the difference between those groups disappeared for exams that followed training. Embedding study skills training into an existing course at a point in the semester when students are highly motivated to change and can meaningfully reflect on their own past course performance appears to be a useful pedagogical strategy for introductory-level students.

This research drew on positive psychology in order to offer an optimistic way of conceptualising the lives of young people who are often described as having "SEBD" (social, emotional and behavioural difficulties), now SEMH (social, emotional, mental health) in the English 2014 Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice. Positive psychology places emphasis on: the future, strengths, resources and potential, and suggests that negative experiences can build positive qualities. The young people in this research identified a range of strengths and resources in their lives that they had built as a result of earlier negative experiences. Narrative Oriented Inquiry (NOI) was used to analyse the themes of potential and growth in their stories which reveal their hopes and aspirations for the future. By giving these young people the opportunity to tell their stories this research permitted them to focus on where they were going, rather than where they had been.

Exams, tight deadlines and interpersonal conflicts are just a few examples of the many events that may result in high levels of stress in both students and teachers. Research over the past two decades identified stress and the hormones and neurotransmitters released during and after a stressful event as major modulators of human learning and memory processes, with critical implications for educational contexts. While stress around the time of learning is thought to enhance memory formation, thus leading to robust memories, stress markedly impairs memory retrieval, bearing, for instance, the risk of underachieving at exams. Recent evidence further indicates that stress may hamper the updating of memories in the light of new information and induce a shift from a flexible, 'cognitive' form of learning towards rather rigid, 'habit'-like behaviour. Together, these stress-induced changes may explain some of the difficulties of learning and remembering under stress in the classroom. Taking these insights from psychology and neuroscience into account could bear the potential to facilitate processes of education for both students and teachers.

The unprecedented opportunities for production and collaborative working supported by Web 2.0 technology offer immense potential for active knowledge creation. Research to date has mostly explored the demographic factors that influence production but we argue here that a more detailed understanding of the psychological determinants of online content creation is required if the potential of Web 2.0 is to be maximised. This paper outlines a psychologically driven discussion of the similarities and differences between online and offline contexts and factors that influence online content creation and identity. It demonstrates why a nuanced understanding of the factors that determine not only who produces online content, but what, how and why it is produced is essential to fully appreciate the complexity of the relationship between production and identity. We discuss how situational aspects of the online context and dispositional characteristics of users interact to determine production behaviour and highlight the importance of curation as a key skill for effective content creation and identity management. A number of challenges concerning the lack of co-presence, immediacy and durability and the importance of considering the intended audience and individual differences in practices and preferences concerning privacy are identified and we demonstrate how consideration of the psychological factors that influence online content production and identity creation can inform policy and practice concerning digital inclusion and web safety.

In a dominant Western tradition that reveres cerebral learning, embodied learning approaches have received limited research attention--and less in education than other disciplines. This paper draws on previously reported empirical data from a five-year Creative Partnerships study to argue that psycho-physical theatre practice can promote embodied cognition, has particular value for young people with learning disabilities in special schools and has potential for inclusive education in mainstream schools. The paper describes a psycho-physical actor training process developed with, and for, actors with learning disabilities. Its application within special educational contexts, which we call "mimetics", has focused more keenly upon physicalised interaction as the core communication. In this form of communication, reading, interpreting and responding to the individuality of others happen through the development of non-verbal dialogue. This focus has illuminated the importance of an intuited or "felt" understanding which is generated by and recognises such communications. In special education settings, being different is inherent, and physicalised interaction more routine, so ways of working different from the mainstream are required. The paper suggests that such settings are rich sites for research to develop, value and recognise the significance of embodied cognition and realise its potential for special and inclusive education.

Taking Care of You: Body, Mind, Spirit is a multi-session group program developed by University of Missouri Extension that provides a unique and practical approach to helping adults better managing their stress and bounce back from life's challenges while improving lifestyle behaviors. The program combines mindfulness and a variety of other research-based positive psychology concepts and strategies as well as holistic wellness concepts. As a result of the program, participants' stress levels significantly decreased and health behaviors significantly improved. This is one of very few stress management programs to show significant improvements in lifestyle behaviors.

This article describes an innovative neuropsychopharmacology laboratory that can be incorporated into any research methods class. The lab consists of a set of interconnected modules centered on observations of methamphetamine-induced behavioral changes in mice and is designed to provide students with an opportunity to acquire basic skills necessary for conducting research. To assess the practical utility of this new laboratory, an empirical study was conducted to determine whether different formats of the lab produce similar learning gains. The results suggest that both the live and the media-based variations of this lab are similarly effective. Thus, to facilitate the adoption of the lab, especially in its media-based format, all necessary materials are made available on a dedicated website.

As the USA experiences rapid growth of nontraditional adult students in higher education, educators and institutions will increasingly need to look beyond the traditional youth-centric educational models to better address adult learning needs. To date, no research has been conducted examining the learning experiences of adult students enrolled in a disciplinary course that was built upon core principles of adult learning. Ten adult students (mean age = 45.4 years), enrolled in an American university with a college dedicated to adult students, were interviewed to assess their learning experiences and felt impact after completing a psychology course created upon adult learning principles. Findings revealed that students progressed through a five-themed model that challenged their pre-existing meaning structures, caused emotional and cognitive disequilibrium, and pushed them toward irrevocable change.

A majority of evidence-based interventions in schools are delivered through consultation models and are implemented by a mediator, such as a teacher. Research indicates that mediators do not always adequately implement adopted evidence-based interventions, limiting their effectiveness in transforming student outcomes. We propose that to transform student outcomes through evidence-based practice, conceptualization of mediators' intervention implementation must move beyond quantification of discrete intervention steps implemented. Intervention implementation requires behavior change and thus can be conceptualized as an adult behavior change process. The purpose of this article is to illustrate how adult behavior change theory may inform how intervention implementation is conceptualized, facilitated, and supported. An empirically supported theory of adult behavior change from health psychology, the Health Action Process Approach, and how it has informed development of PRIME (Planning Realistic Intervention Implementation and Maintenance by Educators), a system of supports to facilitate mediators' implementation of school-based interventions, are introduced. A case study demonstrating the application of PRIME with a public school teacher implementing a behavior support plan is presented. Implications for future research are discussed. (Contains 3 figures.)

Objective: The purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine changes in physical activity behavior, psychological factors and interpersonal influences associated with exercise behavior during the transition from secondary school to high school in Sanandaj, Iran. Design: Data were collected from students in 2006 (N = 1,073), of whom 844 provided follow-up data in 2009. Setting: The students were in high school in 2009 (51% male) with a mean age of 16.42 + 1.73 years. Method: Physical activity-related cognitions, interpersonal influences, and physical activity behavior were measured using self-report questionnaires. To assess the effects of time and sex on psychosocial factors, analysis of variances (ANOVAs) were conducted. The relative stability of physical activity psychosocial correlates from wave 1 through wave 2 was assessed using Pearson product-moment correlations. Results: There were significant differences according to sex across time for physical activity, psychological variables and interpersonal influences associated with exercise activities. The girls were less active than boys at both time points. Girls reported lower self-efficacy and perceived more barriers and fewer perceived benefits for physical activity over time. Interpersonal influences on activity were more stable for girls than boys. Conclusion: The results offer evidence for decreasing physical activity in boys and girls and sex differences in cognitive variables and interpersonal influences. This is important for understanding how to address the problem of physical inactivity among Iranian youth. (Contains 4 tables.)

Suicidal behavior is exhibited by a diverse population of individuals and spans many diagnostic categories. In order to develop effective prevention and treatment programs, it is important to identify transdiagnostic processes that impact the many pathways to suicidality, are amenable to intervention, and affect clinical outcomes when modified. A growing body of data suggests that experiential avoidance, or the tendency to escape or avoid unwanted psychological experiences, even when such efforts cause harm, may represent one such universal process. This article reviews theory and evidence that support mindfulness and psychological acceptance as a means to target experiential avoidance in suicidal clients and thereby reduce the risk of suicide. The article also provides two case examples of the application of mindfulness to suicidality and discusses how mindfulness may help clinicians in managing the stress associated with treating suicidal clients.

This article describes experiences in an Irish context of education programs delivered in 2 communities, 1 based on class (a working class urban community) and 1 based on sexual orientation (an urban lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community). It aims to illustrate how feminist education can play an important role in feminist community psychology. Principles and practices of feminist education, or feminist pedagogy, have a great deal in common with feminist community psychology, but have been most often practiced in academic rather than in community settings. Feminist education in community settings provides a participatory and dialogical context in which knowledge can be cocreated from the bottom up. It allows for the exploration of diversity and the development of a political analysis that can further involvement in change at a number of different levels. Research on the feminist education programs described here indicates that participants were more likely to make changes in their lives, to obtain employment and/or further education, and to be more involved in community and other forms of action for change. (Contains 1 table.)

Mental health problems can significantly impact on the ability of university students to both meet their individual potential and contribute positively within society. This study evaluates the feasibility of embedding a strength-focused resilience-building seminar within a university curriculum. Participants were 247 students enrolled in an undergraduate psychology subject. The "Staying on Track" seminar, consisting of six building blocks for resilience, was delivered within a normal lecture period. Students completed post-measures on satisfaction and usefulness, as well as follow-up reflective journals entries noting changes made as a result of seminar participation. The seminar received high scores for satisfaction and 90% of students reported at least one of the six building blocks as being useful to them. Satisfaction also translated into self-reported positive behaviour change for many students. Implications for the role of curriculum-based resilience-building programs within universities are discussed. (Contains 1 table.)

Most people think climate change and sustainability are important problems, but too few global citizens engaged in high-greenhouse-gas-emitting behavior are engaged in enough mitigating behavior to stem the increasing flow of greenhouse gases and other environmental problems. Why is that? Structural barriers such as a climate-averse infrastructure are part of the answer, but psychological barriers also impede behavioral choices that would facilitate mitigation, adaptation, and environmental sustainability. Although many individuals are engaged in some ameliorative action, most could do more, but they are hindered by seven categories of psychological barriers, or "dragons of inaction": limited cognition about the problem, ideological worldviews that tend to preclude pro-environmental attitudes and behavior, comparisons with key other people, sunk costs and behavioral momentum, discredence toward experts and authorities, perceived risks of change, and positive but inadequate behavior change. Structural barriers must be removed wherever possible, but this is unlikely to be sufficient. Psychologists must work with other scientists, technical experts, and policymakers to help citizens overcome these psychological barriers. (Contains 1 table and 3 footnotes.)

In straightened times counselling must evidence the changes it promotes on reputable measures. Patient-generated measures complement nomothetic measures and may be nearer the ethos of counselling in eliciting individuals' problems. Scores from such measures from non-clinical samples are rarely reported, making their test-retest stability uncertain. We report the prevalence and stability of self-reported problems using PSYCHLOPS (Psychological Outcome Profiles) in a non-clinical student population. PSYCHLOPS is a four-item, self-administered, patient-generated instrument. PSYCHLOPS was completed twice, 7-10 days apart. A wide range of problems was reported and showed satisfactory test-retest stability: Pearson, 0.66; Spearman, 0.68; intra-class correlation coefficient, 0.70. This is reassuring as instability would undermine PSYCHLOPS as a sensitive change measure. (Contains 4 tables.)

Climate change and degradation of the environment are global problems associated with many other challenges (e.g., population increases, reduction of glaciers, and loss of critical habitats). Psychological science can play a critical role in addressing these problems by fostering a sustainable environment. Multiple strategies for fostering a sustainable environment could draw from the diversity of topics and areas of specialization within psychology. Psychological research on fostering environmentally sustainable behaviors is rather well developed, as illustrated by interventions focusing on education of the public, message framing, feedback, decision making, the media, incentives and disincentives, and social marketing. Other sciences and professions as well as religion and ethics are actively involved in fostering a sustainable environment. Psychology ought to be more involved directly, systematically, and visibly to draw on our current knowledge and to have palpable impact. We would serve the world very well and in the process our discipline and profession. (Contains 3 tables and 14 footnotes.)

This study explored the motivational factors that influence individuals across the stages of change for exercise. The authors compared physically active nonsmokers with physically active smokers in a college student population. Half of regular exercisers identified themselves as smokers. Compared with their nonsmoking peers, young smokers have higher rates of physical and emotional distress. Those participants who exercise and do not smoke are more likely to exhibit intrinsic factors for exercise. Undergraduate psychology students (N = 614) completed an Internet survey on exercise and smoking behavior as well as motivational factors for exercise. Multivariate analyses of variance revealed that intrinsic motivational factors for exercise were significantly higher for the active nonsmokers than for the active smokers. Interventions promoting consistent exercise and smoking abstinence should continue to be directed toward young adults, focusing on fostering intrinsic motivational factors for exercise. (Contains 7 tables and 2 figures.)

Does the new realm of positive psychology and strength-based strategies complement or clash with the remedial discipline of social control traditionally practiced in juvenile justice programs? Many welcome the balance of positive psychology, the strengths perspective, and coping and resilience studies. Although emerging from different disciplines, these approaches share many common aspects and seem to be unified by a common trait--they all represent a new science of "getting up." As a background for this discussion, the author first poses four preliminary questions on juvenile justice and punishment and offers solutions by applying the strengths perspective to the four questions. Then the author discusses the two C's of probation history: (1) control; and (2) compliance, and the three C's of strengths perspective: (1) control; (2) compliance; and (3) change. The author presents four ways on how to apply the strengths perspective to juvenile justice: (1) Shift the focus from problems to strengths; (2) Shift the focus from punishment to treatment; (3) Shift from adult-constructed solutions to youth-involved solutions; and (4) Realize change comes from the strengths of the young person and not coercion of the adult.

The purpose of this study was to inform future Public Service Announcement (PSA) development by examining the potential effectiveness of different types of anti-driving under the influence (DUI) PSAs for persons with different characteristics. PSAs utilizing empathy, fear, and informational approaches were shown to persons recruited from psychology courses (n = 137) and individuals that were mandated to treatment following a DUI offense (n = 17). The empathy approach was perceived to be the most effective and evoked the most negative affect, followed by fear and informational approaches. Less experience with DUI, lower sensation seeking, higher motivation to change, and higher perception of dangerousness of DUI all emerged as good predictors of higher perceived effectiveness of anti-DUI PSAs. Gender differences in perceived effectiveness were examined for fear and empathy PSAs, with inconclusive findings. (Contains 3 tables.)

The current study explored how graduate students in education, school psychology, and counseling are being prepared to help ensure an equal and safe learning environment for youth identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT). Focus groups were conducted with graduate students in a school of education that has made social justice a cornerstone of its conceptual framework. Focus group questions directed students to reflect on their knowledge and behaviors in addressing social justice issues in schools, and more specifically on issues pertaining to LGBT youth, such as antigay harassment and expression of sexual orientation for youth in schools. Responses were transcribed and organized using the constant comparative process. Broad response themes were organized using the framework of the theory of planned behavior (TPB). TPB postulates that our attitudes, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control predict behavioral intention and our subsequent behaviors. Results indicated that although the graduate students had strong positive attitudes to overall themes of social justice, such as race, class, or language, they revealed inadequate attitudes and knowledge of issues faced by LGBT youth. They reported an indifferent or unsympathetic subjective norm in reference to their school colleagues, and barriers to engaging in LGBT advocacy, including lack of administrative support. The TPB model provided a useful organizational framework with which to examine graduate students' preparation and intention for proactive behavior change in schools. (Contains 1 figure and 2 tables.)

This study examined the effect of changing the instructional set for written disclosure on psychological and physical health reports among traumatized college students with current posttraumatic stress symptoms. Eighty-two participants were randomly assigned to one of three writing conditions that focused on emotional expression (EE), insight and cognitive assimilation, or to a control condition. Participants assigned to the EE condition reported significant improvements in psychological and physical health 1 month following the writing sessions relative to the other two conditions. The EE participants also reported and displayed significantly greater initial psychophysiological reactivity and subsequent habituation compared with the other two conditions. These findings suggest the importance of emphasizing emotional expression during written disclosure and underscore the importance of examining how modifying the written disclosure protocol can affect outcome.

The present study evaluated the effects of both a traditional lecture and the conservative dual-criterion (CDC) judgment aid on the ability of 6 university students to visually inspect AB-design line graphs. The traditional lecture reliably failed to improve visual inspection accuracy, whereas the CDC method substantially improved the performance of each participant. (Contains 2 figures.)

Environmental scientists warn that the health of the planet is rapidly deteriorating, and the primary cause of the crisis is human behavior. Psychology can contribute greatly to understanding and changing behaviors that negatively impact global ecosystems; however, environmental issues are not generally included in psychology curricula, and psychology is not often represented in environmental curricula. We describe the relevance of psychology to environmental problem solving; suggest how to integrate environmental issues into psychology courses; and urge psychology faculty to collaborate with environmental studies and science faculty to strengthen the training of future policy makers, conservation scientists, and activists. We conclude that psychology has a critical role to play in creating a sustainable society.

Two classroom approaches to reducing racial and ethnic prejudice among college students were compared: a class session based on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and an educational lecture drawn from a textbook on the psychology of racial differences. Undergraduates who were enrolled in two separate classes on racial differences were exposed to each approach in a counterbalanced order. Results indicate that only the ACT intervention was effective in increasing positive behavioral intentions at post and a 1-week follow-up. These changes were associated with other self-reported changes that fit with the ACT model. Implications of a potentially new model of prejudice are briefly discussed. (Contains 1 figure and 3 tables.)

An international movement has focused on identifying evidence-based interventions that were developed to change psychological constructs and that are supported by controlled studies. However, inconsistent findings within individual intervention studies and among multiple studies raise critical problems in interpreting the evidence, and deciding when and whether an intervention is evidence-based. A theoretical and methodological framework (Range of Possible Changes [RPC] Model) is proposed to guide the study of change in intervention research. The authors recommend that future quantitative reviews of the research literature use the RPC Model to conceptualize, examine, and classify the available evidence for interventions. Future research should adopt the RPC Model to both develop theory-driven hypotheses and conduct examinations of the instances in which interventions may or may not change psychological constructs.

The development of motivational interviewing (MI) has contributed to a significant change in the zeitgeist of substance abuse treatment. Dr. William Miller has been instrumental in the direction MI has taken. Dr. Miller helped develop MI, guide research and training initiatives, and as a result set a solid foundation for the future of MI. In this article, an interview with Dr. Miller is provided, in which he reflects on his career as he prepares for retirement and provides his perspective on the future of substance abuse treatment and training. Dr. Miller's recommendations for training therapists in MI are also highlighted.

Purpose: To provide a rationale regarding the importance of physician behavior change counseling. To describe the double helix behavior change curriculum at the University of Rochester (UR). To provide initial evidence that the curriculum is effective. Design/methodology/approach: Evidence that physician use of the 5A's model is effective in changing important patient health behaviors is summarized. The behavior change curriculum is described. Initial evidence assessing knowledge, attitudes and skills for behavior change counseling is reviewed. Findings: Physicians will be better prepared to intervene to improve their patients' quality and quantity of life if they consistently counsel patients using a brief standard model (the 5A's) that integrates biological, psychological, and social aspects of disease and treatment. Past efforts in the UR's curriculum have demonstrated that students adopt broader "biopsychosocial values" when the curriculum supports their learning needs. Initial evidence demonstrates that double helix curriculum students learn this model well and are able to provide the counseling in a patient-centered style. Research limitations/implications: These results are limited by the observational design, and the reliance on student self-reports and standardized patient observations of student behavior rather than change in patient behavior. Practical implications: Strong evidence exists that physicians can be effective in providing behavior change counseling. Additional research is called for to create, implement, and fully evaluate behavior change counseling curricula for medical students. Originality/value: An example of a behavior change curriculum is provided for medical educators, and initial evidence of its effectiveness is provided. (Contains 2 tables.)

Psychology instructors and textbook authors rate operant conditioning as one of the most essential concepts for students to learn, yet textbook writers, as well as students, can fall prey to misconceptions. This study is a content analysis of the presentation of operant conditioning in introductory psychology textbooks and their companion Web sites to discover if these information sources assist student learning or add to confusion. Results indicate that the failure to refer to changes in the likelihood of the organism's behavior when discussing operant conditioning was extremely common; this problem should be remedied to reduce students' misunderstandings.