It takes more than information to save energy.

Contributes to the M. L. Dennis et al (see record 1991-08669-001) review of social and behavioral science literature related to the failure to change human behavior on a large scale for energy conservation and environmental protection. It is suggested that behavioral and social scientists can increase corporations' and governments' environmentally protective behavior by helping them develop more effective environmental programs with the information-dissemination approaches reviewed by Dennis et al. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Behavioral Pharmacology.

Reviews the book, Behavioral Pharmacology by Travis Thompson and Charles R. Schuster (see record 1968-35032-000). This new offering includes a presentation of behavioral pharmacology as a basic science, principles of drug action, discussions of behaviorally active drugs, principles of experimental analyses of behavior, classification of conditioned reflexes and operant behavior, behavioral mechanisms of drug action, drug-environment behavioral interaction and prediction, strategies and new directions for research. This book is recommended for behavioral scientists at the graduate studies level and more senior workers in peripheral fields. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Regulation of drug-maintained behavior: Comment on Meisch (2000).

In his article, R. A. Meisch (see record 2000-00465-009) introduces a concept termed relative persistence of behavior , a measure obtained by comparing rates of behavior under high-response costs to rates obtained under lower response costs. In this commentary, relative persistence of behavior is discussed in terms of behavioral regulation theory, in which responding is allocated in such a way as to maintain a stable balance point. Meisch's relative persistence of behavior may be analogus to the free (paired) baseline technique necessary for testing hypotheses based on behavioral regulation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparative psychology lives on under an assumed name Psychogenetics].

Comparative psychology has been subjected to a succession of critical assessments in recent years, and, in the latest, R. Lockard (see record 1971-24449-001) suggests that the term "comparative psychology" be abandoned. This suggestion appears to be based on the narrow view that comparative psychology can be equated with study of behavioral evolution through inter species comparisons, i.e., behavioral phylogeny. A broader view is taken here in which it is argued that behavioral evolution studied through intra species comparison represents an important and hitherto neglected aspect of comparative psychology. An increasing interest in intra specific comparison represents a maturation of approach to problems of comparative psychology and one in which psychogenetics, the study of behavioral inheritance, has a major role to play. Psychogenetics can provide evidence on behavioral evolution by indicating the kinds of selective forces to which behavior has been subjected. Results of some recent psychogenetic investigations are presented to support these claims (44 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitude–behavior relations: A comparison of the Fishbein-Ajzen and the Bentler-Speckart models.

Compares the model of attitude–behavior relations developed by M. Fishbein and I. Ajzen (1975) with the modifications of the model made by P. M. Bentler and G. Speckart (see record 1980-00949-001). Ss were 236 undergraduates; class attendance was the behavioral measure. An analysis of linear structural relationships, using multiple indicators for each underlying construct, supported the Bentler-Speckart addition to the Fishbein-Ajzen model, with prior behavior as a direct causal influence on both subsequent behavior and behavioral intentions. However, consistent with the original Fishbein-Ajzen model, a significant direct path from attitude to subsequent behavior was not found. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A Behavioral Approach to the Case of Ms.S.

This article provides a behavioral formulation and treatment plan for the case of Ms. S (see record 2005-02680-005). Given the complexity of Ms. S and the status of current research, interventions proposed emphasize empirically supported principles of change over any specific protocol. This particular behavioral approach incorporates aspects of dialectical behavior therapy and functional analytic psychotherapy in addition to more traditional behavior therapy. The utility of the therapeutic relationship in this approach is described (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rat behavioral thermoregulation integrates with nonshivering thermogenesis during postnatal development.

Rat pups are capable of behavioral thermoregulation, both in the nest and on a thermocline, as early as the 1st week of postnatal life, and these pups can also produce heat metabolically without shivering. The rat pup's primary source of nonshivering thermogenesis is the sympathetically mediated metabolism of brown adipose tissue (BAT). BAT is well formed in newborns and functions shortly after birth. While infant behavioral thermoregulation and BAT thermogenesis have been extensively studied, little is known about the extent to which thermoregulatory behavior can be influenced by BAT thermogenesis. In the present study, 2-, 7-, and 14-day-old pups were observed on a thermal gradient following pharmacological stimulation or inhibition of BAT thermogenesis, and their thermal preferences were quantified. The authors found that 7- and 14-day-old pups treated with norepinephrine (NE), which increases BAT thermogenesis, preferred cooler portions of the gradient than saline-treated controls, whereas 2-day-olds failed to show a similar NE-induced behavioral adjustment. These findings indicate that the ability to adjust thermoregulatory behavior to compensate for enhanced metabolic thermogenesis develops during the 1st week of postnatal life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Techniques to improve physicians' use of diagnostic tests: a new conceptual framework

OBJECTIVES: To review the published literature on interventions aimed at improving physicians' testing practices and propose methodologic standards for these studies and to review selected studies using the PRECEDE framework, a behavioral model that helps categorize interventions based on which behavioral factors are being affected. DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE, EMBASE, and HEALTHStar databases were searched for the years 1966 to January 1, 1998, for English-language articles pertaining to diagnostic testing behavior; bibliographies were scanned to identify articles of potential interest; and researchers in health services, health behavior, and behavior modification were contacted for proprietary and other unpublished articles. STUDY SELECTION: A total of 102 articles were identified that described the results of interventions aimed at changing physicians' testing practices. We included the 49 studies that compared diagnostic testing practices in intervention and control groups. DATA EXTRACTION: Two investigators independently reviewed each article in a blinded fashion using a standard data collection form to obtain a methodologic score and to abstract the key elements of each intervention. DATA SYNTHESIS: On a 38-point methodologic criteria scale, the mean +/- SD score was 13+/-4.4. The desired behavior change was reported in the intervention group in 37 (76%) of 49 studies. Twenty-four (86%) of 28 interventions targeted at many behavioral factors were successful, while 13 (62%) of 21 studies aimed at a single behavioral factor were successful (P=.12). CONCLUSIONS: A majority of interventions to improve physicians' testing practices reported in the literature claimed success, with interventions based on multiple behavioral factors trending toward being more successful. While methodologic flaws hamper drawing strong conclusions from this literature, application of a behavioral framework appears to be useful in explaining interventions that are successful and can facilitate interpretation of intervention results.     

Similarity of clozapine's and olanzapine's acute effects on rats' lapping behavior

As a way of further comparing the behavioral effects of clozapine and olanzapine, dose ranges of these drugs were studied in a task emphasizing fine motor detail of rats' tongue movements during lapping behavior. Rats lapped drops of tap water from a force-sensing disk. From this behavior four variables were derived: peak-force of tongue strikes, duration of tongue contact, number of separate tongue contacts in 2 min, and the rhythm of the lapping behavior as quantified by Fourier analysis. Both clozapine (0.5-4.0 mg/kg, IP, 45 min) and olanzapine (0.25-2.0 mg/kg, IP, 45 min) dose dependently reduced all four measures of behavior. With respect to lick rhythm, a behavioral marker which clearly distinguishes haloperidol from clozapine in this behavioral paradigm, olanzapine was about twice as potent as clozapine, with the two drugs having parallel dose-effect functions. Within-session decrements in behavior previously reported for haloperidol in the lick task were not produced by clozapine nor by olanzapine. Taken together, these data strengthen the idea that the behavioral effects of clozapine and olanzapine are strikingly similar, and thereby emphasize the potential of olanzapine as an atypical anti-psychotic agent.     

Applied behavior analysis and school psychology: An introduction to the mini-series.

Provides an overview of a mini-series on behavior analysis which stemmed from the authors' view that applied behavior analysis and school psychology are complimentary and that each area can make contributions to the other. It is suggested that there are 4 features of behavior analysis that make it particularly well-suited for assessment and intervention in the schools: the emphasis on analysis, the emphasis on repeated measures of individual behavior, the emphasis on observable behavioral and environmental events, and the reliance on proven principles of behavior to account for behavioral persistence and behavioral change. Behavior analysis is equally concerned with questions about why behavior is occurring and knowing why interventions are (or are not) effective. Behavior analysis also emphasizes repeated measurements of individual behavior, which is advantageous because the trends and patterns of behavior can be evaluated while those trends and changes are in progress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The most ubiquitous toxin.

Agrees with B. Weiss's (see record 1984-18192-001) contention that scientists should consider behavior change as a criterion for judging the safety of a substance to which the public is exposed and that psychologists should cooperate with behavioral toxicologists in developing behavioral tests to assess the effects of toxins on behavior. It is argued that refined sugar should be placed in this category because children who overconsume refined sugar are likely to upset the homeostatic balance necessary for proper metabolism, leading to behavioral changes and clinical symptoms such as hyperkinesis. Factors hindering the recognition of refined sugar as a toxin are discussed. (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The use of genetic "knockout" mice in behavioral endocrinology research

The production of mice with specific deletion of targeted genes (knockouts) has provided a useful tool in understanding the mechanisms underlying behavior. There are many opportunities with this new tool for behavioral neuroendocrinology, specifically, and behavioral biology, generally. Although this genetic technique offers new opportunities to study the mechanisms of behavior, as with all behavioral techniques there are some potential limitations. For example, the products of many genes are essential to normal function, and inactivating the gene may prove lethal or induce gross morphological or physiological abnormalities that can complicate interpretation of discrete behavioral effects. Unexpected compensatory or redundancy mechanisms might be activated when a gene is missing and cloud interpretation of the normal contribution of the gene to behavior. Behavioral tests study the effects of the missing gene (and gene product), not the effects of the gene directly. This conceptual shortcoming can be overcome in the same way that it is overcome in other types of ablation studies, by collecting converging evidence using a variety of pharmacological, lesion, and genetic manipulations. Finally, because mammalian genome mapping is currently focused on mice (Mus musculus), standardized behavioral testing of mice should be adopted. Against those disadvantages are several important advantages to using knockout mice in behavioral research: (1) disabling a gene is often a very precise and "clean" ablation, (2) the effects of the gene product can be abolished without the side-effects of drugs, and (3) genetic manipulations may be the only way to determine the precise role of many endogenous factors on behavior. The use of new inducible knockouts, in which the timing and placement of the targeted gene disruption can be controlled, will be an extremely important tool in behavioral endocrinology research.     

Experimental analysis of behavior.

"It is my position that the experimental analysis of behavior is essentially the same whether we are dealing with the behavior of the paramecium or the man, whether we are analyzing behavior that appears to be simple or that which appears to be complex." The experimental analysis of behavior is independent of behavioral complexity. "No behavior is too complicated to analyze experimentally, if only the proper techniques can be discovered and developed." Trends in the experimental analysis of behavior include (1) The attempt "to analyze ever increasingly complex behavioral processes." (2) The "increasing importance being given to developmental investigations." (3) The "development of interlaboratory research." (4) A "developing belief that the experimental method as a method for the analysis of behavior is the common property of all behavioral scientists." (5) The adaptation of "method to problems rather than to adapt problems to method… ." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychotogenicity and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonism: implications for neuroprotective pharmacotherapy

PURPOSE: Study purpose was to develop a theoretical framework that will explain pharmacists' behavior relative to the provision of pharmaceutical care. The model was developed from four attitude models by testing their predictive validity relative to pharmaceutical care implementation. Four hypotheses and one research question were investigated to identify determinants of behavioral intention and behavior. METHODS: 617 community pharmacists in the state of Florida, U.S.A., were surveyed twice using mail survey methodology to collect data. The first survey assessed community pharmacists' attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, past behavior recency, self-efficacies, instrumental beliefs and affect. The second survey assessed pharmacists' behavior relative to the implementation of pharmaceutical care. After establishing reliability and validity of measures, regression analysis was used to test hypotheses and research question investigated. RESULTS: The Pharmacists' Implementation of Pharmaceutical Care (PIPC) model developed postulates that (i) behavior is directly determined by past behavior recency, behavioral intention and perceived behavioral control; (ii) psychological appraisal processes-instrumental beliefs, self-efficacies, and affect toward means-influence behavior through past behavior recency; and (iii) behavioral intention is determined by attitude, social norm and perceived behavioral control. CONCLUSIONS: The PIPC model provides a formal scientifically validated theoretical framework which can be used to design successful intervention for pharmaceutical care implementation.     

The primacy of affect.

Comments on the dispute between R. Zajonc (see record 1984-30610-001) and R. Lazarus (see record 1984-30606-001) over the primacy of affect, noting that one difference between them seems to involve the underlying model of causality. Zajonc may have assumed a linear model, Lazarus a nonlinear one. It is argued that this issue is connected to another—whether affect can be the actual cause of behavior. Based on previous research by others and the present author's behavioral observations of "Candid Camera" episodes, it is suggested that affective reactions may, under certain conditions, have a causal status equivalent to that of behavior and cognition. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical applications of analogue behavioral observation: Dimensions of psychometric evaluation.

Clinical assessment applications of analogue behavioral observation are discussed in the context of psychometric principles. Analogue behavioral observation involves the measurement of a client's overt behavior in a contrived situation that is analogous to situations that the client is likely to encounter in his or her natural environment. The goal of analogue behavioral observation is to derive valid estimates of the client's behavior in a current or future natural environment. Analogue behavioral observation instruments are often developed with insufficient attention to their psychometric properties, particularly content validity. Psychometric evaluative dimensions vary in their importance, as a function of the goals of the assessment. Although analogue behavioral observation instruments can be sensitive to change, their validity can erode over time and is affected by numerous sources of variance. Analogue behavioral observation assessment may be especially useful in detecting important functional relations in clinical assessment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comments on an irrelevant comment: A rejoinder to McGrath.

Suggests that P. McGrath's (see record 1978-02304-001) criticisms corroborate the present author's (see record 1975-24400-001) views on the problems of behavioral psychologists (e.g., they prefer doing to thinking and are ignorant of the basic ideas in the philosophy of science). The distinction between behavioral psychology and behavior therapy is also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship between heart rate and behavioral change during the treatment of phobias.

Obtained simultaneous measures of heart rate and approach behavior in the feared situation during treatment of 9 15-56 yr. Old phobic ss. In some cases heart rate increased as phobic avoidance behavior decreased. In other cases there was a parallel decline, a decline in phobic behavior without any change in heart rate, or a decreased heart rate only after phobic behavior had declined. Results suggest that physiologically defined anxiety need not always be inhibited in order to obtain desired behavioral change during treatment of phobia. In fact, anxiety reduction may sometimes be a consequence rather than a cause of behavioral change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)