Andrew S. Bondy’s research while affiliated with Columbia College and other places

Children (75 female, 52 male) in grades 2 through 8 completed the Fear Survey Schedule for Children (FSS-FC). Their mothers completed the same questionnaire twice: once for themselves and a second time to estimate their children''s fears. Spearman''s rhos indicated that there was a high degree of correspondence between the mothers'' rank-ordered estimates of their children''s fears and the children''s rank-ordered self-reports (=.86 for males, =.96 for females.However, mothers'' overall estimates of their children''s general fearfulness were significantly correlated only with their daughters'' fearfulness, not with their sons''. Further analyses showed that mothers could generally identify their children''s highest-rated fears. All test-retest measures were significant. In summary, these results suggest that mothers may provide useful clinical information about their children''s specific fears and that the FSS-FC is a reliable instrument with which to assess children''s fears.

A comparison of scores from the Slosson and McCarthy Scales with exceptional preschool children (both retarded and gifted) showed Slosson scores were significantly higher. Caution is recommended when using the Slosson as a screening instrument.

The negative side effects of aversive control have been extensively discussed in clinical literature and textbooks. The symmetry between aversive and appetitive control in basic experimental research implies that parallel negative side effects of reward exist. These negative side effects are described and their implications for clinical practice and research are discussed.

Preschool teachers and staff completed questionnaires for 58 preschool children. Ratings for overall ability, verbal and quantitative skills, perceptual performance skills as well as likability and sociability were obtained. The pooled ratings were correlated with McCarthy Scale scores for the children. Very strong (r>.63) correlations were found between teachers' estimates and the children's McCarthy scores. No significant correlations were found between likability or sociability estimates and the child's McCarthy scores. A mild correlation (r=.29) was found between teachers' estimates of sociability and their overall estimate of ability, while no significant correlation was found between likability estimates and overall ability estimates. In general, it appears that preschool teachers can provide reasonable estimates of children's cognitive skills without undue bias from non-academic sources.

A comparison was made between the Slosson Intelligence Test and the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities for 44 minority preschool children. The mean Slosson score was 13.8 points higher than the mean McCarthy score and the correlation between scores on the two tests was .81. One source of this discrepancy in means may be the heavy reliance the Slosson has upon the 1960 Stanford-Binet. The potential effects of inflated Slosson scores relative to McCarthy scores for screening purposes are discussed.

Twelve preschool children participated in a study of the effects of explicit training on the imitation of modeled behavior. The responses trained involved a marble-dropping pattern that differed from the modeled pattern. Training consisted of physical prompts and verbal praise during a single session. No prompts or praise were used during test periods. After operant levels of the experimental responses were measured, training either preceded or was interposed within a series of exposures to modeled behavior that differed from the trained behavior. Children who were initially exposed to a modeling session immediately imitated, whereas those children who were initially trained immediately performed the appropriate response. Children initially trained on one pattern generally continued to exhibit that pattern even after many modeling sessions. Children who first viewed the modeled response and then were exposed to explicit training of a different response reversed their response pattern from the trained response to the modeled response within a few sessions. The results suggest that under certain conditions explicit training will exert greater control over responding than immediate modeling stimuli.

Investigated the effectiveness of graduated exposure, verbal coping skills, and their combination in treating fear of the dark in 32 4- and 5-yr-old normal children, using both behavioral and subjective measures of fearfulness. Only those groups that received direct exposure to the dark during treatment demonstrated significant changes in dark tolerance. Nonsignificant differences in dark tolerance for high- vs low-instructional demand conditions in 2 posttests were obtained. Analysis of subjective fear ratings suggested questionable validity in Ss' abilities to label subjective fearfulness. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Students achieved skill in observation and assessment techniques, but did not fully develop the objectivity hoped for.