Billy L. Smith

SEX DIFFERENCES IN EXERCISE MOTIVATION AND BODY-IMAGE SATISFACTION AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS

The current study was an expansion of one by Cash, Novy, and Grant in 1994, in which responses of 101 female nursing students were examined for associations between reasons for exercise, frequency of exercise, and body-image satisfaction. In the current study, 78 male and 100 female undergraduates between the ages of 18 and 25 years (M = 21.2, SD=1.9) from various majors completed a demographics/frequency of exercise survey, two body-assessment inventories, and the Reasons for Exercise Inventory of Silberstein, Striegel-Moore, Timko, and Rodin. Contrary to Cash, et al.s findings, only health and fitness reasons were predictive of womens frequency of exercise, and womens dissatisfaction with specific bodily attributes was not significantly related to any reasons for exercising; however, like women in their sample, the current students who experienced more situational body dissatisfaction exercised for appearance and weight control. Sex comparisons indicated similar dissatisfaction with specific bodily attributes among men and women, but values were not significantly associated with any reasons for exercising. Women reported higher situational body dissatisfaction and exercising for appearance-related reasons more than men. Current participants may represent a more diverse group than previously tested, and the inventorys factor structure may not be generalizable to men and women.

Relationship between the peabody picture vocabulary test-revised, wide range achievement test-tevised, and weschler intelligence scale for children-revised

Abstract The present study investigated the relationship of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R) to academic achievement. The PPVT-R was correlated with the Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised (WRAT-R) and the Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R). The subjects consisted of 181 children referred for special education evaluation in Arkansas. The PPVT-R correlated significantly with the Reading, Spelling, and Arithmetic subtests of the WRAT-R. Correlations between the PPVT-R and WISC-R were significant, the WISC-R Verbal score correlating the highest with the PPVT-R. It was concluded that the PPVT-R could be used to screen students for academic underachievement.

A Comparison of Nonreferred, Learning-Disabled, and Mildly Mentally Retarded Students Utilizing the Social Skills Rating System.

The assessment of social skills deficits has received wide support. Recently, the Social Skills Rating System (SSRS) has been developed to assist professionals in assessing social skills. In this study, the Social Skills Rating System was used to compare students who had already been classified as learning disabled (n = 20) and mildly mentally retarded (n = 20) with a group of nonreferred students (n = 20). The results showed that as a group students with disabilities scored significantly lower than the nonreferred group on social skills and significantly higher in problem behaviors. A discriminant analysis revealed that the SSRS was able to predict group membership broadly (e.g., handicapped versus nonhandicapped) but not specifically (e.g., learning disabled, mentally retarded). Moderate Pearson correlations between parents and teacher ratings indicated some consistencies between raters. However, low kappa coefficients showed that parents and teachers are likely to identify different students as having social skills deficits and problem behaviors. Suggestions are given for utilizing the SSRS with other techniques such as interviews and observations in the assessment and remediation of social skills problems.

Relationship between the Wide Range Achievement Test 3 and the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test

The present study examined the relationship between the Wide Range Achievement Test 3 and the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test for a sample of children with learning disabilities in two rural school districts. Data were collected for 87 school children who had been classified as learning disabled and placed in special education resource services. Pearson product-moment correlations between scores on the two measures were significant and moderate to high; however, mean scores were not significantly different on Reading, Spelling, and Arithmetic subtests of the Wide Range Achievement Test 3 compared to those for the Basic Reading, Spelling, and Mathematics Reasoning subtests of the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test. Although there were significant mean differences between scores on Reading and Reading Comprehension and on Arithmetic and Numerical Operations, magnitudes were small. It appears that the two tests provide similar results when screening for reading spelling, and arithmetic.

Relationship between Intelligence and Vocabulary

This study explored the correlations of scores on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children–III in screening language problems and scores on the three Comprehensive Receptive and Expressive Vocabulary Test subscales. Participants were 243 students ages 6 to 17 years in Grades K–11 who were identified as learning disabled, learning disabled with speech impairment, mentally retarded, and speech impaired. Analysis indicated strong correlations between the two measures, particularly between the CREVT General Vocabulary and WISC–III Verbal IQ (r = .80), WISC–III Verbal Comprehension Index (r = .83), and the Vocabulary subtest (r = .16). These results held across the grades. Supporting earlier studies of relationships of Verbal IQ and Receptive Vocabulary, correlations were lower between participants in Grades K through 2 than those in higher grades on the WISC–III Verbal IQ and the Receptive Vocabulary subtest. An analysis of the accuracy of the WISC–III for classifying students with language problems indicated improvement in classification over chance. These findings suggest that the WISC–III may be an effective screen for language problems.

Staff Perceptions of Reinforcer Responsiveness and Aberrant Behaviors in People with Mental Retardation.

Perceptions by staff of the classes of reinforcers and aberrant behaviors of a sample of 470 people with predominantly severe or profound mental retardation were explored. Principal components analysis of a 45-item survey suggested eight classes of reinforcers: consimable, verbal-speaker, visual-motor, social, physical-contact, passive-observer, play, and academic reinforcers. Stepwise multiple regression was used to predict five classes of maladaptive behaviors as measured by the Aberrant Behavior Checklist (irritability, lethargy, stereotypy, hyperactivity, and inappropriate speech) from the eight classes of reinforcers. Each class of psychopathology was related to a unique set of predictors. All classes of psychopathology could be predicted by staff perceptions of underresponsiveness to social reinforcers and overresponsiveness to consumable reinforcers. The findings of organized structures of reinforcers and their covariation with pathological behaviors have implications for research and intervention as well as theoretical value in defining aberrant behaviors in people with mental retardation.

THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE REYNOLDS INTELLECTUAL ASSESSMENT SCALES AND THE WECHSLER ADULT INTELLIGENCE SCALE-THIRD EDITION

The purpose of this study was to compare scores on the Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales (RIAS) with scores on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale–Third Edition (WAIS–III) in a group of college students diagnosed with a Learning Disability, Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), or a combination of the two. The RIAS Composite Index score was significantly higher than the WAIS–III Full Scale IQ, although scores on both tests were in the average range. Correlations between the two tests were significant on all measures. Male students were significantly higher than female students on both the RIAS Composite Index and on the WAIS–III Full Scale IQ. Although the ADHD group was higher on IQ than the Learning Disabled and combined disorder groups on all IQ measures, no significant differences were found.

CHARACTERISTICS OF CHILDREN IN HOMES WITH GUNS IN A SOUTHERN STATE

This study surveyed parents of second-grade children in a rural area of a southern stare with respect to gun ownership, safety practices, and ratings of social skills and adjustment of their children. Analysis indicated that 60 of the 106 families owned a gun. Twelve (20%) of the gun owners did not safely secure guns and ammunition. On measures of social skills and adjustment, no differences were found between the children of gun owners and nonowners. These data suggest that gun owners in this sample needed more emphasis on safely securing guns and ammunition although incidence of problems was not examined.

Color Preference and Discrimination in the Wild Turkey

Two wild turkeys were tested to determine if they had a preference for and could discriminate between certain stimuli. The turkeys were found to prefer hues around the wavelength of 510 nm followed by 620 nm. Brightness was also varied; however, it was not found to affect the preference response. One turkey was trained to discriminate between two pairs of stimuli and it was ascertained that hue, not brightness, determined the response.

Color Vision in the White-Tailed Deer

An important aspect of deer behavior concerns their ability to discriminate colors. Previous research has shown the presence of color photoreceptors in deer. However, whether behavior could be affected by color cues remained a question. We trained two deer to discriminate green from yellow and orange. We found that the deer could respond differently to the colors.