Dennis Upper

A Weight-Reduction Program for Schizophrenic Patients on a Token Economy Unit: Two Case Studies.

Abstract Overweight patients on a token economy psychiatric ward were reinforced with tokens, off-ward privileges and social approval for meeting a weight-loss criterion of 3 lb. per week. The progress of two subjects, both chronic paranoid schizophrenics, is described. One subject began at 263 lb. and consistently lost weight until he had reached a target weight of 200 lb. in 28 weeks. The other began at 201 lb. and reached his target weight of 170 lb. in 26 weeks. The procedure appears to be an effective means of modifying the behavior of overweight psychiatric patients.

The interjudge reliability of cautela and upper's behavioral coding system

Abstract This study was designed to assess the interjudge reliability of the Behavioral Coding System (BCS), which has been proposed as an alternative to traditional psychiatric classification systems. Four raters independently examined packets of written case materials for 20 male psychiatric inpatients and then completed a checklist of the 365 specific BCS categories. The percentage of agreement for the 21 general categories for the six possible pairings of raters ranged from 78.7% to 88.4%, with an overall agreement rate of 85.4%. The overall rate of agreement for all 365 specific BCS categories was 66.2%. Interjudge reliability rates were found to be higher for the BCS than those reported in studies of psychiatric classifications. Suggestions for possible improvements and for further studies designed to evaluate the clinical utility of the BCS are discussed.

An inexpensive, quickly built shock grid for use with humans

To make a smooth, comfortable shock grid for use with barefooted human subjects, adhesive-backed aluminum tape may be applied to a wooden board and connected to a shock source through solder lugs secured to the tape grid with wood screws.