Social skill training in an integrated preschool program.

This study examined the effectiveness of a commercially available social skills training program plus classroom reinforcement for use with preschoolers with developmental delays. Two groups of 19 participants (mean age 49.73–52.9 mo old) each received either the combined treatment package or classroom reinforcement of target behaviors only. An additional 20 participants served as a control group. The combination of social skills training plus classroom reinforcement of target behaviors resulted in statistically significant increases in sharing behavior over those obtained by both control participants and participants receiving reinforcement of classroom behavior alone. Group behavior was increased over that shown by control participants through the use of either the social skills plus classroom reinforcement treatment package or classroom reinforcement alone. Social skills interventions were viewed favorably by both classroom teachers and preschool participants. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal skill training in groups.

Evaluated the relative effectiveness of 2 group counseling programs, one using primarily behavioral rehearsal and contingency contracting and the other using behavioral discussion. 36 18-38 yr old self-referred male and female clients were randomly assigned to 2 treatment conditions. Four rehearsal-contracting and 3 discussion groups, with 5-6 members in each, met for 6 weekly 2-hr sessions. Assessment was based on (a) 2 self-report inventories, administered at pretreatment, posttreatment, and at a 3-mo follow-up and (b) a behavioral role-play test administered at posttreatment and follow-up periods for both conditions, with the behavioral role-play test showing significant gains in favor of the rehearsal-contracting conditions. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social-skills training with institutionalized elderly: Effects of precounseling structuring and overlearning on skill acquisition and transfer.

66 institutionalized elderly patients (mean age 65.5 yrs) were assigned to 6 experimental conditions and 1 control condition. Half of the treatment Ss received a precounseling structuring session prior to training. During training, one-third of the Ss received low overlearning, one-third received medium overlearning, and one-third received high overlearning. Controls were given a combination of attention and brief instructions. Analyses of covariance with level of cognitive functioning as the covariate revealed that all treatment groups acquired the skill. Results also indicate that (a) medium overlearning enhanced skill transfer, (b) high overlearning decreased skill acquisition and transfer, and (c) precounseling structuring had no effect on acquisition or transfer. Findings suggest that the method evaluated was effective in teaching a social skill to institutionalized elderly. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The savant syndrome: intellectual impairment and exceptional skill

Occasionally, people with developmental disability display skills at a level inconsistent with their general intellectual functioning, so-called "savant" behavior. Studies of savant behavior are reviewed to determine their relevance to notions about the importance of general intellective functions in the development of exceptional skill. It is concluded that (a) the skill exhibited by savants shares many characteristics with that in people without disability, (b) the skill is usually accompanied by normative levels of performance on at least some subtests of standardized measures of cognitive achievement, and (c) it is unclear whether savants have distinctive cognitive strengths or motivational dispositions, though their relative prevalence among people with certain kinds of disability suggests predisposing constraints. The author proposes that these skills typically reflect highly elaborated preconceptual representational systems.     

Heterosocial skill training for institutionalized rapists and child molesters.

11 child molesters and 6 rapists (mean age 23.24 yrs) were given heterosocial skill training (HST) and sex education (SE). Assessments of social skills (SS) were made before, after, and between the 2 types of training. SS ratings showed improvement as a result of HST but not SE. On ratings of videotaped role plays, the effects of HST were statistically significant when administered before sex education. SS ratings made of S's responses to interrupted audiotaped interactions showed larger effects of HST than ratings of videotaped role plays and were significant for both orders of treatment. Ss' ratings of their own SS showed significant improvement during the study but this improvement was unrelated to the type of training received. (French abstract) (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teaching for transfer of computer program comprehension skill.

In a series of two experiments, computer-naive students learned the BASIC computer programming language either by solving and receiving feedback on program comprehension problems stated in BASIC (control group) or on corresponding problems stated in English followed by problems stated in BASIC (transfer group). In both experiments, transfer groups learned BASIC faster and more accurately than control groups. When the groups were equated for amount of pretraining (either in English or in BASIC), the transfer groups learned BASIC just as fast and as accurately (except in Experiment 2) as the control groups while, in most cases, improving at a faster rate than the control groups. On a transfer posttest requiring generation of BASIC programs, the transfer groups excelled on writing semantically correct programs, whereas the control groups excelled on writing syntactically correct programs. Results support the use of a sequential method of programming language instruction in which semantics are taught via natural language before the syntax of a new programming language is taught. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measures for predicting therapeutic skill and the effects of training.

Using ratings of the Group Assessment of Interpersonal Traits (GAIT) as a criterion of psychotherapeutic skill, the relative value of academic criteria vs therapy-analytic criteria in predicting therapeutic skill was examined in 26 upper-level undergraduates in a clinical psychology course. Two measures of traditional academic criteria were used: scores on the psychology subtest of the Graduate Record Examination and course exam scores. Academic measures did not predict therapeutic skill, whereas therapy-analytic ability did. This finding argues for the use of therapy-analysis in undergraduate courses in mental health delivery disciplines and in selecting therapeutically talented nonprofessionals. Results also suggest that the predictive value of therapy-analysis is greater for untrained than for trained nonprofessionals. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal skill training for dating couples: An evaluation of an educational mental health service.

In a previous study by S. Schlein (1971) of a preventative mental health program which stressed relationship improvement by maximizing empathy and self-disclosure, the efficacy of the program in improving communication and the general quality of the relationship between 48 college dating couples was demonstrated. The present reanalysis of Schlein's data shows that the experimental group, compared to the control group, also improved significantly on 2 key behavior rating scales by R. R. Carkhuff which are widely used to assess the efficacy of general helping relationship skills. As a result of less than 20 hrs of training, participants moved from providing levels of skills typical of college students to levels provided by typical counselors. The Empathy scale was highly correlated with 2 other Carkhuff scales, Respect and Immediacy. The trained Ss also showed a significantly greater increase in self-disclosure. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The training of a perceptual skill by either rewarding or aversive feedback compared on efficiency, transfer, and stress.

Trained 40 male United States Air Force Academy students on a range-estimation task. Ss were randomly assigned to either Group RFB, those given feedback by their actual range plus a verbal reinforcer if they were within a given range, or Group SFB, those given feedback by their actual range plus a 60-V electric shock if they were outside the given range. Learning curves show no differences in the groups during training. After training to asymptote, there were no significant differences on the transfer variable, but Group SFB's performance was superior under stress (p     

Paraprofessional skill: Maintenance of empathic sensitivity after training.

Investigated changes in empathic sensitivity in paraprofessionals as a result of training and examined the maintenance of changes 6–24 mo after training. Also explored was the relationship of verbal intelligence to changes. 47 students in an associate degree mental health/human service program participated. Each S completed a 10-wk training course in 1 of 4 groups. Each was given the Recognition Assessment—Empathy (RA—E) on completion of the course and 6–24 mo later. Ss in 2 groups were also pretested on the RA—E. Empathetic sensitivity did increase after the course, confirming previous research, and changes were not only maintained but increased over time to a level comparable with a normative group of experienced clinicians. Course drop-out and selection effects were judged to be minimal. No significant relationship emerged between verbal intelligence and empathic sensitivity either before or after training. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive skill acquisition and transfer in younger and older adults.

The acquisition of cognitive skills often depends on 1 of (or a combination of) 2 processes, the execution of an algorithm, and the retrieval of problem instances. This study examined the effects of age and repetition of problem instances on the production and verification of solutions to 2 serially presented sets of alphabet arithmetic problems. Analyses of the parameters derived from power-function fits for individuals revealed age differences favoring young adults in improvement span, learning rate, and asymptote. For both age groups, the beneficial effects of repetitions on 1st-set response times were attributable to algorithmic speedup and to the retrieval of instances, whereas improvements in the speed of 2nd-set response times were attributable primarily to item retrieval. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preventing relapse to cigarette smoking by behavioral skill training.

Two relapse prevention conditions (skills training vs discussion control) were crossed with 2 levels of aversive smoking (6- vs 30-sec inhalations). 135 smokers were recruited, and 123 of them completed treatment. Ss completed an assessment battery that included the Profile of Mood States and the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory. Differences in abstinence rates and in number of cigarettes smoked favoring the skills training condition were found at 6 and 52 wks from study start. Analyses indicated that at 52 wks, lighter smokers (20 cigarettes/day or fewer at pretreatment) were more likely to be favorably affected by the skills training condition than heavier smokers. Ss assigned to the skills training condition were more likely to report use of coping skills, but they did not differ from the discussion condition in perceived costs and benefits of change or of smoking, or in mood dysphoria or physical complaints. Abstinent Ss reported less mood disturbance than nonabstinent Ss at Weeks 3, 6, and 26 and fewer physical complaints at Week 52. The relation of these findings to a model of maintenance of therapeutic change is discussed. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Enhancing treatment gains in a school-based intervention for children of divorce through skill training, parental involvement, and transfer procedures.

The school-based Children's Support Group procedure teaches skills to cope with divorce-related events and provides strategies for mastering disrupted developmental tasks. Ss were 103 3rd–5th grade children of separated or divorced parents who were assigned to 1 of 3 treatment groups: (1) support, (2) support and skill building, or (3) support, skill building, transfer, and parent training procedures. 26 children from intact homes served as non-stressed controls. The 2 skill-building conditions yielded durable improvements in adjustive behaviors in the home. Transfer components yielded additional improvements in affect, but the absence of substantial increments in benefits suggests the need for a closer look at the format and expectations of the transfer vehicle. The benefits of the support-alone condition were experienced most by children who entered the intervention with significant problems, with the greatest reductions in clinical symptomatology at follow-up being found in this group. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluation of social skill training programs for college dating inhibitions.

Evaluated 3 behavioral training programs for college men with dating inhibitions and compared them to a waiting list control group. Ss were 34 male undergraduates. All treatment groups received a dating manual, contact with female confederates, and group discussion meetings. The discussion group received only these treatment components, while the other 2 treatment groups also received behavior rehearsal. For 1 group (behavior rehearsal-office group), the scenes were enacted in the office. The 2nd behavior rehearsal group enacted the scenes in various campus settings (behavior rehearsal-natural environment group). All 3 treatment groups showed significant improvements, with few differences among them. Results are discussed in terms of the effective components of social skills training programs and strategies for increasing the generalization of treatment effects. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measuring skill acquisition and retention with an ATM simulator: the need for age-specific training

The high-effective polysynaptic transcallosal connections were revealed in the motor cortex of anesthetized rats. Polysynaptic connections were manifested in crosscorrelation histograms as high narrow peaks of width 1-2 ms and latencies up to the end of the analyzed interval in 50 ms. In most cases the polysynaptic transcallosal connections were reciprocal. The incidence of transcallosal polysynaptic connections was twice as high as of the ipsilateral. Gamma oscillations were observed in the same neural assemblies. Interhemispheric oscillations were 1.5-fold more frequent than the ipsilateral ones. The peak latencies were multiples of gamma-oscillation periods. The distribution of peak latencies was similar to the distribution of gamma oscillations. It was suggested that synchronous discharges in neurons in a polysynaptic interhemispheric pathway in consequence of gamma oscillations cause potentiation in efficacy of neural connections, which promotes the high-effective transmission of a signal from one hemisphere to another.     

Methods of skill selection in social skills training: A review.

32 social skills training studies utilizing a social learning or social-cognitive approach and published between 1980 and 1984 were reviewed with respect to methods used to select skills targeted for training. Operational definitions of social skills selection methods were used to classify studies on 2 dimensions—type of social validity and degree of individualization. A gap between recommended methods for selecting skills for inclusion in social skills training programs and actual research practices was found. Of the 32 studies reviewed, 18 reported no prior empirical evidence that the targeted skills were socially valid and 20 did not report an attempt to verify that trainees were deficient in the targeted skills prior to treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dyadic versus individual training protocols: Loss and reacquisition of a complex skill.

It has been consistently demonstrated that the active interlocked modeling (AIM) protocol, a dyadic training protocol developed by W. L. Shebilske, J. W. Regian, W. Arthur, Jr., and J. A. Jordan (1992), achieves a 100% increase in training efficiency over a standard individual protocol. The present study sought to replicate this finding as well as to investigate its robustness in terms of skill loss and reacquisition. Thus, the authors compared the AIM-dyad protocol with a standard individual protocol. Despite half as much hands-on practice, dyadic trainees did not differ from individuals on tests of skill acquisition, loss after an 8-week nonpractice interval, and reacquisition of a complex skill. The findings provide strong support and justification for the ongoing use of innovative dyadic protocols for the training of pilots and navigators in both military and nonmilitary settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

教师课堂教学技能及其训练模式

教师职业技能训练是培养师资这一系统工程的技术项目.对高等师范院校在校学生有目的、有计划地进行系统的教师职业技能训练,目的是引导学生将专业知识和教育学、心理学、学科教学法的理论与方法转化为具体从师任教的职业行为方式,并使之趋于规范化,这对于形成学生的教育和教学能力,对于学生毕业后胜任教师工作都具有重要的作用.对于这个问题的研究,在20世纪70年代就受到国际社会的普遍关注,之后在我国也得到了日益重视,许多专家、学者发表了自己的研究成果,但基本上处于单项研究阶段,进入20世纪90年代以来,人们开始了整体研究.国家教委印发的<高等师范学校学生的教师职业技能训练大纲>(试行),要求各高等师范学校结合实际,贯彻执行,使得该研究进入综合化、规范化、实践化的阶段.     

Visual and haptic training and cross-modal transfer of reflectivity.

98 3rd- and 4th-grade boys were individually administered the Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFFT) and the Haptic Matching Task (HMT) in one session. Both are match-to-sample tasks measuring the dimension of reflection–impulsivity, the MFFT in the visual modality and the HMT in the haptic modality. 30 Ss classified as impulsive on both tasks were seen for 2 additional sessions during which they received either reflective scanning strategy training or control procedures and retesting on the 2 tasks. Ss who were visually trained decreased errors only on the MFFT and increased latency on both tasks. Ss who were haptically trained decreased errors and increased latency on the HMT and also on the MFFT. A hypothesis combining task difficulty and motivational and attentional level is offered to explain the asymmetrical transfer of training on errors. It is suggested that the haptic training procedure might be useful with blind Ss. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)