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This study examined exploratory behaviors used by 12 infants who were congenitally blind and 12 infants who were sighted to note similarities and differences in exploration. By including both groups of infants and matching the infants by age and their mothers' education, direct comparisons could be made between the groups. No differences were found between the two groups for 11 of 12 exploratory behaviors. The only behavior that was significantly different was pushing. Thus, the development of many exploratory behaviors was found not to be dependent on vision.

Too often management attempts to control employee behavior by threats and punishment. Behavior analysis eschews aversive control and organizational behavior management (OBM) exemplifies this philosophical and ethical preference with a rich history of reinforcement strategies for appropriate work performance. Discipline in OBM emphasizes clarification of job requirements, monitoring behavior and results, frequent feedback, and maximizing short-, medium-, and long-term contingencies of reinforcement for effective performance, thus preventing additional problematic behaviors from employees. This results in efficient supervision that promotes employee development leading to successful worker performance and strategic goals for the organization. However, dangerous or inappropriate work behaviors necessitate punitive consequences. Well controlled evidence-based research concerning punishment in organizational settings is lacking and possible benefits are unknown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students with low-incidence disabilities frequently receive less than optimal psychoeducational services because the specialized tests and instructional materials required to meet their idiosyncratic needs often are unavailable due to budget constraints, inadequate training of school personnel, and the difficulty school personnel have keeping current on low-incidence disabilities. To enhance the services provided for these students, a centralized statewide lending library for school personnel serving students with low-incidence disabilities was implemented. The development of this project, its impact, and the needs of school personnel in the area of low-incidence disabilities are described.

We evaluated the effects of white noise played through headphones on off-task behavior, percentage of items completed, and percentage of items completed correctly for 3 students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Headphones plus white noise were associated with decreases in off-task behavior relative to baseline and headphones-only (no white noise) control conditions. Little change in academic responding occurred across conditions for all participants.

Three studies examine the validity of the Preschool Form of the Cognitive Abilities Scale--Second Edition (CAS-2). Significant high concurrent criterion-related validity correlations, corrected for restricted range, are found between the CAS-2 and the Detroit Test of Learning Ability--Primary: Third Edition for 26 three-year-olds (r[subscript c] = 0.86) and the Bayley Scales of Infant Development--Second Edition for 20 two-year-olds (r[subscript c] = 0.63). Significant correlations also are evident for the CAS-2 and the Test of Early Language Development--Third Edition for 26 three-year-olds (r[subscript c] = 0.77) and the Adaptive Behavior Assessment System--Second Edition for 20 two-year-olds ( r[subscript c] = .65). Predictive power is critical when making interpretations regarding future performance. A high, significant correlation (r[subscript c] = 0.72) is observed for the CAS-2 for 37 children at ages 2 and 3 and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children--Third Edition administered 6 years later. Results expand validity evidence for the CAS-2, increasing confidence in interpretations regarding young children's performance.

Layoffs and employment changes caused by current economic conditions have significant effects on employee work behavior and emotions as well as organizational outcomes. We examined the relationships between measures of job insecurity, organizational commitment, turnover, absenteeism, and worker performance within a manufacturer in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. A positive relationship was found between job insecurity and intentions to turnover, and a small negative correlation was found between measures of job insecurity and organizational commitment. Unobtrusive observations of union and nonunion performance over 4 months showed that nonunion production workers were on-task more frequently, although on-task behavior was high for both. Productivity and quality measures of different factories favored nonunion locations. Although comparisons between sites were constrained by a quasi-experimental design, repeated behavioral and outcome measures within sites showed differential effects when the company announced a plant closing in another state. Job insecurity appeared to be an establishing operation that produced differential effects between union and nonunion sites as well as among individual employees within sites. (Contains 1 table and 3 figures.)

Autism is a low-incidence disability that is complex to assess and for which rates continue to increase. Assessment options for autism are reviewed and presented in the context of recent research and a comprehensive, multidisciplinary assessment model. The model involves three levels that yield data progressing from more subjective and general to more objective and specific. Each level provides unique information critical to verifying eligibility, planning instruction, and monitoring progress. Because of the complexity of autism, a systematic and comprehensive assessment approach is critical to reducing error in decisions regarding eligibility and treatment. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)

White noise generators were turned on at 75 dB at bedtime and kept on all night to treat resistance going to sleep and night wakings in one-year-old toddlers. In a multiple baseline design four sets of parents recorded duration of resistance going to sleep, number of night wakings, completed surveys of their child's feeding and sleeping patterns and the Parenting Stress Index (PSI). Three of four toddlers were sleeping better at the end of treatment; however, one child's night wakings returned at follow-up when white noise was discontinued. All parents were comfortable with the white noise and most would recommend it to others. White noise may be effective for childhood night wakings and resistance going to sleep without being combined with other validated treatments.

Feedback surrounds our personal and professional worlds, informing us about what worked and what did not. Within workplace settings, it is important to understand how feedback operates in order to deliberately and carefully craft performance information that, when delivered, generates desirable organizational outcomes. The current paper examines the many potential functions of feedback, including details on how such functions might be established. Behavioral investigations into how to best structure and deliver feedback are detailed, along with considerations of factors that may impact the reception of feedback. Finally, using the current literature as a blueprint, several possible research directions are suggested that would fit well within a behavior analytic perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organizational behavior management (OBM) arose as early behavior analysts decided to use data in earnest to make the world a better place, first through education, then workplace training, and eventually through business and industry as a whole. The historical roots of the field are traced through the lessons learned by these pioneers and how their formative experiences created the tools and techniques that are common within the discipline today. This history also created a worldview and conceptual system that continues to distinguish OBM from alternative approaches and is reflected in recent publication trends seen today. As the levels of analysis, specializations, implementations, and problems faced continue to vary and expand within organizational behavior management, the mantra of performance-based empiricism has remained as a steady and consistent guide throughout the decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The obtained contrast effect was conducive to learning, and the procedure was effective in teaching the multiply handicapped hearing impaired Ss to speechread the training words. (Author/DLS)

A within-subject reversal design was employed in a sheltered workshop to assess the effects of differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) in reducing inappropriate verbalizations by a severely retarded adult with Down's syndrome. (Author/CL)

No abstract available for this article. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract. Infants and toddlers (N = 33) exhibiting spontaneous awakening and crying episodes during the night were randomly assigned to one of three groups: scheduled awakenings, systematic ignoring or control. Scheduled awakenings consisted of a parent arousing and feeding or consoling the child 15 to 60 minutes before typical spontaneous awakenings. Once spontaneous awakenings were precluded, scheduled awakenings by parents were gradually eliminated. Systematic ignoring consisted of allowing the child to "cry it out" without parental attention except to ensure physical well-being of their child. Children in the scheduled awakening group and the systematic ignoring group awoke and cried less frequently than children in the control group during 8 weeks of treatment and during two follow-up checks, 3 and 6 weeks after treatment. Systematic ignoring was found to be more effective than the scheduled awakenings condition during i week of treatment; otherwise effects of the two conditions were similar. Implications of the use of these treatment procedures are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Twelve infants and toddlers who exhibited spontaneous awakening and crying episodes during the night were subjected to scheduled awakenings by their parents. Scheduled awakenings were determined from individual baseline data, and these consisted of awakening, feeding, and consoling the child about 15 to 30 minutes before typical spontaneous awakening times. Once spontaneous awakenings were precluded, scheduled awakenings by the parents were faded out and posttreatment data were collected. The technique appeared effective for most children when the parents complied with the procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two studies were carried out in family-style restaurants to increase suggestive selling by waitstaff and to assess some of the natural contingencies that may influence suggestive selling. In the first study a combination of goal setting, feedback, and positive reinforcement was presented to waitstaff for suggestive selling of cocktails, appetizers, and desserts. Increases were not uniform across the three categories with desserts showing the greatest increase. The second study was designed to assess some of the possible controlling variables for selling by observing when waitstaff typically suggested cocktails, appetizers, and desserts in over 50 restaurants. Suggestions were more probable after dinner than after lunch and waitstaff were more likely to suggest dessert when the restaurant was not crowded than when it was full and busy. Suggestive selling appears to differ across individual waitstaff and may be differentially reinforced during non-peak times during the day. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Graphic feedback of the percentages of well-stocked vendor boxes was presented to circulation directors of newspapers. Feedback and state-administered lottery tickets were also presented to the delivery agents responsible for stocking the vendor boxes. This intervention package was presented in a multiple baseline design, and it was found effective in improving the availability of these newspapers to potential customers. Implications for customer service and customer feedback mechanisms are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Two self-management methods, self-time logging and data plotting, as well as feedback concerning lost potential customers-were investigated alone or in combination to decrease tardiness in the owner/operator of a small business. Results showed decreases in tardiness for all methods, however, lost potential customer recording, when combined with data plotting, produced the largest decrease. Minimal organizational time and money were expended and follow-up data revealed sustained punctuality by the owner/operator. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]