Behavioral Approach

This article reviews the state-of-the-art research in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from several perspectives: (1) Sex differences: PTSD is more frequent among women, who tend to have different types of precipitating traumas and higher rates of comorbid panic disorder and agoraphobia than do men. (2) Risk and resilience: The presence of Group C symptoms after exposure to a disaster or act of terrorism may predict the development of PTSD as well as comorbid diagnoses. (3) Impact of trauma in early life: Persistent increases in CRF concentration are associated with early life trauma and PTSD, and may be reversed with paroxetine treatment. (4) Imaging studies: Intriguing findings in treated and untreated depressed patients may serve as a paradigm of failed brain adaptation to chronic emotional stress and anxiety disorders. (5) Neural circuits and memory: Hippocampal volume appears to be selectively decreased and hippocampal function impaired among PTSD patients. (6) Cognitive behavioral approaches: Prolonged exposure therapy, a readily disseminated treatment modality, is effective in modifying the negative cognitions that are frequent among PTSD patients. In the future, it would be useful to assess the validity of the PTSD construct, elucidate genetic and experiential contributing factors (and their complex interrelationships), clarify the mechanisms of action for different treatments used in PTSD, discover ways to predict which treatments (or treatment combinations) will be successful for a given individual, develop an operational definition of remission in PTSD, and explore ways to disseminate effective evidence-based treatments for this condition.

This clinical outcome study compared four separate cognitive behavioral and one behavioral treatment for reducing social anxiety with a waiting list control. Subjects were adults who responded to advertisements for treatment. In the cognitive-behavioral conditions, subjects were trained to modify their disruptive cognitions and/or emit adaptive cognitions relevant to interpersonal behavior with the specific content and techniques determined by the particular cognitive therapy. In the behavioral condition, subjects modeled and rehearsed appropriate social interpersonal behaviors. Subjects were assessed pre and post-treatment on self-report measures of social anxiety, measures of general anxiety, clinical scales of anxiety, depression and hostility, and behavioral, and physiological concomitants of social anxiety. Subjects in all active treatment conditions showed improvement on the measures of social anxiety and the behavioral measure. However, only those in the cognitive treatment conditions, demonstrated treatment effects on general anxiety and the clinical scales. The results indicate the efficacy of both cognitive and behavioral approaches to the reduction of social anxiety. However, they fail to demonstrate clear distinctions between the various cognitive therapies.

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This study investigated the relationship between evaluative conditioning (EC), reinforcement sensitivity, and risk-taking on a simulated slot machine in a lab setting. Participants (51 female, 49 male, mean age 21.01 years [SD = 2.49] healthy adults) completed an EC paradigm with both negative unconditioned stimuli (negative EC) and positive unconditioned stimuli (positive EC). A negative EC by positive EC interaction effect indicated that those who did not show negative EC or positive EC gambled with lower average bet-size compared to the other participants. Scores on the fight-flight-freeze system (FFFS) and scores on the behavioral approach subscale Reward responsiveness (BAS-RR) were positively associated with average bet-size. An FFFS by BAS-RR interaction effect showed that participants who scored low on both BAS-RR and FFFS had lower bet-sizes compared to the other participants. These findings suggest that conditionability and reinforcement sensitivity play a role in gambling behavior.

The effectiveness of a 20 session cognitive-behavioral approach to substance abuse prevention was tested on seventh grade students ( n = 1,311) from 10 suburban New York junior high schools. The prevention strategy attempted to reduce intrapersonal pressure to smoke, drink excessively, or use marijuana by fostering the development of general life skills as well as teaching students tactics for resisting direct interpersonal pressure to use these substances. Additionally, this study was designed to compare the relative effectiveness of this type of prevention program when implemented by either older peer leaders or regular classroom teachers. Results indicated that the prevention program had a significant impact on cigarette smoking, excessive drinking, and marijuana use when implemented by peer leaders. Furthermore, significant changes were also evident with respect to selected cognitive, attitudinal, and personality predisposing variables in a direction consistent with non-substance use. These results provide further support for the efficacy of a broad-spectrum smoking prevention strategy and tentative support for its applicability to the prevention of other forms of substance abuse.

States, state agencies, multilateral agencies, and other non-market actors are relatively under-studied in the strategic entrepreneurship literature. While important contributions examining public decision makers have been made within the agency-theoretic and transaction-cost traditions, there is little research that builds on resource-based, dynamic capabilities, and behavioral approaches to organizations. Yet public organizations can be usefully characterized as stocks of physical, organizational,

Angelman syndrome is a neurogenetic condition characterized by developmental delay, absence of speech, motor impairment, epilepsy and a peculiar behavioral phenotype that includes sleep problems. It is caused by lack of expression of the UBE3A gene on the maternal chromosome 15q11-q13. Although part of the diagnostic description, 'sleep problems' are not well characterized. A pattern emerges from the available reports. It includes reduced total sleep time, increased sleep onset latency, disrupted sleep architecture with frequent nocturnal awakenings, reduced rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and periodic leg movements. Poor sleep does not significantly interfere with daytime alertness and sleep problems commonly diminish by late childhood, with continuing improvement through adolescence and adulthood. Sleep problems in Angelman syndrome reflect abnormal neurodevelopmental functioning presumably involving dysregulation of GABA-mediated inhibitory influences in thalamocortical interactions. Management may be difficult, particularly in young children; it primarily involves behavioral approaches, though pharmacological treatment may be required. The relationship between sleep and seizure disorder, and between sleep and learning raises critical questions, but more studies are needed to address these relationships adequately.

AbstractÐMotor learning abilities on the rotorod and motor skills (muscular strength, motor coordination, static and dynamic equilibrium) were investigated in three-, nine-, 15-and 21-month-old Lurcher and control mice. Animals were subjected to motor training on the rotorod before being subjected to motor skills tests. The results showed that control mice exhibited decrease of muscular strength and speci®c equilibrium impairments in static conditions with age, but were still able to learn the motor task on the rotorod even in old age. These results suggest that, in control mice, ef®ciency of the reactive mechanisms, which are sustained by the lower transcerebellar loop (cerebello-rubro-olivo-cerebellar loop), decreased with age, while the ef®ciency of the proactive adjustments, which are sustained by the upper transcerebellar loop (cerebello-thalamo-cortico-ponto-cerebellar loop), did not. In spite of their motor de®cits, Lurcher mutants were able to learn the motor task at three months, but exhibited severe motor learning de®cits as soon as nine months. Such a de®cit seems to be associated with dynamic equilibrium impairments, which also appeared at nine months in these mutants. By two months of age, degeneration of the cerebellar cortex and the olivocerebellar pathway in Lurcher mice has disrupted both lower and upper transcerebellar loops. Disruption of the lower loop could well explain precocious static equilibrium de®cits. However, in spite of disruption of the upper loop, motor learning and dynamic equilibrium were preserved in young mutant mice, suggesting that either deep cerebellar nuclei and/or other motor structures involved in proactive mechanisms needed to maintain dynamic equilibrium and to learn motor tasks, such as the striatopallidal system, are suf®cient. The fact that, in Lurcher mutant mice, motor learning decreased by the age of nine months suggests that the above-mentioned structures are less ef®cient, likely due to degeneration resulting from precocious and focused neurodegeneration of the cerebellar cortex.

Research concerning the physiological and biobehavioral effects of supplements commonly used in sport or exercise settings has multiplied rapidly over the last decade. However, less attention has been directed to understanding the motivational pathways leading to sport and exercise supplement use. This chapter summarizes known usage rates for sport/fitness supplements and describes motivational theories and constructs which may be of use for understanding individuals' use of these substances. In this respect, we contend that researchers should consider behavioral approaches, the theory of planned behavior, balance theory, achievement goal theory, social physique anxiety, and muscle dysmorphia as useful for developing an understanding of the psychological influences on supplement use. For some of the latter theories/constructs, research has already shown support for their explanatory abilities, whereas research is scant and the utility for understanding sport/exercise supplement use is yet to be determined for many of the theories. In addition to describing the motivation behind supplement use, this chapter summarizes the biobehavioral effects of a select group of supplements commonly used to improve performance, fitness, or health. Specifically, we consider psychobiological effects of caffeine, creatine, Ginkgo biloba, and St. John's wort related to enhanced arousal, improved memory and cognition, enhanced brain function and protection, and reduced depression. There is promising initial evidence for the efficacy of these compounds in producing favorable psychological outcomes, though certain shortcomings of many studies on these compounds must be taken into account before reaching definitive conclusions.

The aims of this study were to investigate exposure-based treatments for cynophobia (dog phobia) and to test a newly developed hybrid imaginal exposure treatment that we have named active imaginal exposure. The treatment introduces an in vivo coping component to imaginal exposure whereby the patient physically performs coping responses to an imagined feared stimulus. Eighty-two participants meeting DSM-IV criteria for specific phobia (animal subtype) were randomly assigned to one of three 30-min. treatments: (a) active-imaginal exposure (AI), (b) imaginal exposure alone (IE), or (c) graduated in vivo exposure (IV). Participants completed a behavioral approach test at pre, post, and four-week follow-up. Significant preto posttreatment improvement was observed in all three treatment conditions. Response rates at posttreatment were 51.9, 62.1, and 73.1% for the IE, AI, and IV groups respectively. Likewise, effect sizes at posttreatment were 0.76, 1.41, and 1.55 for the IE, AI, and IV groups respectively. Although in the predicted direction, the between group differences were not significant. A similar pattern of results was observed at follow-up. Further, safety behavior utilization during treatment was associated with less improvementparticularly in the two imaginal treatment conditions. Exposure treatments of dog phobia appear feasible and effective in reducing phobic fear and avoidance associated with dog phobia. Furthermore, preliminary evidence suggests that our active-imaginal exposure treatment may be a viable alternative to in vivo exposure. 

Aging is associated with progressive losses in function across multiple systems, including sensation, cognition, memory, motor control, and affect. The traditional view has been that functional decline in aging is unavoidable because it is a direct consequence of brain machinery wearing down over time. In recent years, an alternative perspective has emerged, which elaborates on this traditional view of age-related functional decline. This new viewpoint--based upon decades of research in neuroscience, experimental psychology, and other related fields--argues that as people age, brain plasticity processes with negative consequences begin to dominate brain functioning. Four core factors--reduced schedules of brain activity, noisy processing, weakened neuromodulatory control, and negative learning--interact to create a self-reinforcing downward spiral of degraded brain function in older adults. This downward spiral might begin from reduced brain activity due to behavioral change, from a...

Researchers interested in ecotourists have explored their sociodemographic and travel characteristics and/or the benefits they seek from an ''ecotourism'' experience. Few have attempted to address why ecotourists travel to natural resource areas and whether their travel is accompanied by environmentally responsible behavior, especially after the travel experience. The purpose of this study was to develop a motivational and behavioral profile of a distinct segment of ecotourists-individuals who visited coastal wetlands located in Taiwan. The results indicated that tourists' motivations for visiting coastal wetlands vary and include motives (e.g., pursuit of physical health) not traditionally identified in studies conducted with tourists in the Western Hemisphere. Further, based on a profile of environmentally responsible behavior, three types (i.e., experience-tourists, learning-tourists, and ecotourists) of tourists were identified. However, only one of the three types of tourists fit the traditional definition applied to ''ecotourists.'' r

Radical changes in attitudes toward homosexuality in American society are integrated into a new perspective for the therapist confronted by a client who engages in homosexual behavior. The traditional mandatory attempt to eradicate homosexual behavior has been expanded into three options, any one of which may be pursued by the therapist at the client's request: (1) modification of homosexual in favor of heterosexual behavior, (2) enhancement of homosexual behavior, and ignoring of homosexual behavior if it is functionally unrelated to the presenting symptoms. Therapists' negative attitudes toward clients who engage in homosexual behavior are such as to abrogate expanded options and may result. in therapeutic efforts at modification of homosexual behavior in defiance of the client's expressed wishes. Contrary to current professional belief, careful analysis and the use of appropriate techniques such as systematic desensitization, orgasmic reconditioning, and training in heterosocial skills generally obviate the necessity for aversive procedures in those instances where homosexual behavior is to be modified in favor of heterosexual behavior. Three case histories are presented illustrating the use of each of the expanded options described above. part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.

Does the average professional psychologist use homework in clinical practice? If so, how frequently and how systematic is he or she in recommending homework? Ninety-eight percent of the 221 New Zealand practicing psychologists surveyed reported using homework assignments. Although practitioners reported using homework in an average of 57% of sessions, a higher rate (66% of sessions) was reported among those using cognitive and behavioral approaches to therapy. Despite this fact, only 25% of all psychologists reported using systematic procedures for recommending homework. The use of homework in clinical practice may need modification to ensure that clients receive maximum benefit from homework assignments.

Purpose -Continued research on the assessment and development of emotional and social intelligence competencies represents an opportunity to further both theoretical and applied applications of behavioral science to the management of human capital. While the field has continued to expand over the preceding decades, research has often trailed application, especially as it relates to cross-cultural validity. The purpose of this introductory essay to this special issue of CCM serves to focus on cultural issues related to applied use of competencies in diverse cultures. Design/methodology/approach -Emotional and social intelligence competencies are defined and an overview provided for the papers that will follow, with original research linking these constructs to performance in various occupations and cultures, as well as issues related to their development. Findings -Emotional and social intelligence competencies are found to represent a practical and theoretically coherent, reliable and valid approach to assessing and developing individuals in diverse cultures. Research limitations/implications -As an introductory essay, the paper lays the foundation for the following articles in this special issue. Originality/value -Although competencies are in widespread use around the world, issues related to cross-cultural validation are seldom studied empirically. This introductory essay and subsequent articles will help clarify emotional and social competencies as a behavioral approach to applying emotional intelligence to the practical needs of organizations.

Children with autism exhibit significant deficits in imitation skills which impede the acquisition of more complex behaviors and socialization, and are thus an important focus of early intervention programs for children with autism. This study used a multiple-baseline design across five young children with autism to assess the benefit of a naturalistic behavioral technique for teaching object imitation. Participants increased their imitation skills and generalized these skills to novel environments. In addition, participants exhibited increases in other social-communicative behaviors, including language, pretend play, and joint attention. These results provide support for the effectiveness of a naturalistic behavioral intervention for teaching imitation and offer a new and potentially important treatment option for young children who exhibit deficits in social-communicative behaviors.

Students (N= 4,466) attending 56 schools in New York State were involved in a 3-year study testing the effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioral approach to substance abuse prevention. In a random--ized block design, schools were assigned to receive (a) the prevention program with formal provider training and implementation feedback, (b) the prevention program with videotaped provider training and no feedback, or (c) no treatment. After pretest equivalence and comparability of conditions with respect to attrition were established, students who received at least 60% of the prevention program (N = 3,684) were included in analyses of program effectiveness. Significant prevention effects were found for cigarette smoking, marijuana use, and immoderate alcohol use. Prevention effects were also found for normative expectations and knowledge concerning substance use, interpersonal skills, and communication skills.

Performance management has undergone significant changes over the years. At the moment, performance management incorporates issues related to employee wellbeing, feedback supported by regular coaching, and involvement of artificial intelligence to help improve productivity. Performance management involves continuous discussion and engagement between the employee and the organization supervisors to improve productivity while at the same time creating a conducive working environment for the workforce. In the process, periodic assessments are conducted towards meeting the organizational goals and communicate this assessment with the employees when appropriate. This paper assesses the performance management at Walmart which is one of the biggest retailers in the US with other branches spread in Central America, Canada, and Mexico. The first part is a situation description where the environment and market condition of the company is analyzed. This is followed by the performance management system diagnosis where an analysis of the current performance management system is undertaken and challenges related to the system also highlighted. There is also strengths and weaknesses of Walmart’s performance management system. Based on the problems identified, improvement options are outlined followed by a recommendation of the best option to help the business maintain its current competitive advantage and market share moving forward. The final part of the paper is an implementation plan for the proposed recommended approach.


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Conceptualization and defining the term leadership as theory is still difficult. To reveal the concept of leadership one common practice can be followed that is describing leaders by using established theories and researches. The current discussion explores two aspects. First, it will show how different theories and researches rise ontological challenges to construct the framework of leadership characteristic and its meaning. Second, in terms of methodological implications whether the selected theories are enough for measuring the role and importance of leadership in Sales Management. The study also determines whether the leadership model can increase sales performance for the organization. Thus the conclusion focuses on the growing importance of positive psychology of leadership concept and its implication in Sales Management.

Reassurance seeking has long been hypothesized to be a key factor in the maintenance of anxiety within contemporary cognitive-behavioral approaches to the conceptualization and treatment of anxiety disorders. However, empirical studies have lagged due to the absence of a reliable and valid measure of reassurance seeking. The present study sought to develop and examine the psychometric properties of a theoretically derived measure of reassurance seeking in treatment-seeking participants with DSM-IV-TR (American Psychiatric Association, 2000) social phobia (n = 116), generalized anxiety disorder (n = 75), panic disorder with or without agoraphobia (n = 50), and obsessive compulsive disorder (n = 42). Participants (N = 283) completed the Reassurance Seeking Scale (RSS), Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, Beck Anxiety Inventory, and Beck Depression Inventory-II. An exploratory factor analysis resulted in a coherent three factor solution reflecting the need to seek excessive reassurance regarding: (1) uncertainty about decisions, (2) attachment and the security of relationships, and (3) perceived general threat and anxiety. The RSS was found to possess good internal consistency and was moderately correlated with measures of anxiety, stress, and depression. The psychometric properties of the RSS appear promising for the promotion of programmatic research on reassurance seeking and its treatment in the anxiety disorders.

The authors describe how contemporary learning theory and research provide the basis for perspectives on the etiology and maintenance of anxiety disorders that capture the complexity associated with individual differences in the development and course of these disorders. These insights from modern research on learning overcome the shortcomings of earlier overly simplistic behavioral approaches, which sometimes have been justifiably criticized. The authors show how considerations of early learning histories and temperamental vulnerabilities affect the short-and long-term outcomes of experiences with stressful events. They also demonstrate how contextual variables during and following stressful learning events affect the course of anxiety disorder symptoms once they develop. This range of variables can lead to a rich and nuanced understanding of the etiology and course of anxiety disorders.

In this article, we describe how cognitive hypnotherapy can be used in conjunction with evidence-based practices for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We review the literature on cognitive-behavioral interventions for PTSD, including mindfulness and acceptance-based approaches, and contend that (a) empirical support for the use of hypnosis in treating a variety of conditions is considerable; (b) hypnosis is fundamentally a cognitive-behavioral intervention that involves thinking, imagining, and experiencing along with suggestions that can target cognitive, behavioral, and affective change; (c) psychological interventions with a firm footing in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) are well-suited to treat the symptoms of PTSD; and (d) hypnosis can be a useful adjunct to cognitive-behavioral and evidencebased approaches for treating PTSD and be readily assimilated into more encompassing and potentially highly effective interventions that require rigorous empirical evaluation in future studies.

Purpose -Continued research on the assessment and development of emotional and social intelligence competencies represents an opportunity to further both theoretical and applied applications of behavioral science to the management of human capital. While the field has continued to expand over the preceding decades, research has often trailed application, especially as it relates to cross-cultural validity. The purpose of this introductory essay to this special issue of CCM serves to focus on cultural issues related to applied use of competencies in diverse cultures. Design/methodology/approach -Emotional and social intelligence competencies are defined and an overview provided for the papers that will follow, with original research linking these constructs to performance in various occupations and cultures, as well as issues related to their development. Findings -Emotional and social intelligence competencies are found to represent a practical and theoretically coherent, reliable and valid approach to assessing and developing individuals in diverse cultures. Research limitations/implications -As an introductory essay, the paper lays the foundation for the following articles in this special issue. Originality/value -Although competencies are in widespread use around the world, issues related to cross-cultural validation are seldom studied empirically. This introductory essay and subsequent articles will help clarify emotional and social competencies as a behavioral approach to applying emotional intelligence to the practical needs of organizations.

Objective: There is growing interest in the cognitive model of psychotherapy stimulated by an extensive body of research findings demonstrating its effectiveness for a varied set of psychiatric disorders and medical conditions. This review article aims to give an overview of the historical and philosophical background to contemporary cognitive and cognitive-behavioral approaches to psychotherapy, pointing out similarities across and differences

The present study addresses the learning mechanism of boundedly rational agents in the dynamic and noisy environment of financial markets. The main objective is the development of a system that ''decodes'' the knowledge-acquisition strategy and the decision-making process of technical analysts called ''chartists''. It advances the literature on heterogeneous learning in speculative markets by introducing a trading system wherein market environment and agent beliefs are represented by fuzzy inference rules. The resulting functionality leads to the derivation of the parameters of the fuzzy rules by means of adaptive training. In technical terms, it expands the literature that has utilized Actor-Critic reinforcement learning and fuzzy systems in agent-based applications, by presenting an adaptive fuzzy reinforcement learning approach that provides with accurate and prompt identification of market turning points and thus higher predictability. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate this concretely through a comparative investigation against other well-established models.

The Casson model and the Robertson-Stiff model have been used to determine whether they can describe the rheology of aqueous bentonite suspensions. The assessment utilized a total of twelve sets of experimental viscometric data from literature and from this work. Equations have been presented which allowed the determination of the true shear rates experienced by the fluids within the gap of the rotational viscometer for both rheological models. Non-linear regression has been applied to determine the two rheological parameters for the Casson model and the three rheological parameters for the Robertson-Stiff model using true shear rates and Newtonian shear rates, which are used most often in the analysis of rheometric data. The results showed that both models describe well the experimental data of these bentonite suspensions with good statistical indicators. Furthermore, analysis showed that true shear rates are always higher than Newtonian shear rates for both models. The differences depend on the particular suspension and are larger at low shear rates while they become smaller at higher shear rates indicating that the fluid behavior approaches Newtonian behavior at higher shear rates. The shapes of the rheograms remained essentially unchanged indicating that the rheological parameters determined with the use of true shear rates are very similar to the rheological parameters determined with the use of Newtonian shear rates. This was further confirmed with the computation of the rheological parameters for both models and both approaches. For the Casson model differences in the yield value computed with true shear rates were at most at 7% while for the plastic viscosity at 3%. For the Robertson-Stiff model, differences of the order of 2 to 5% were observed for the K-values, of 7% for γ0-values while no differences were observed for the n-values. These small differences, however, do not justify use of Newtonian shear rates when analytical solutions exist which allow use of true shear rates without any compromise.

Current cognitive-behavioral approaches to Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) propose that chronic thought suppression and other dysfunctional strategies to control negative unwanted intrusions play an important role in the genesis and/or maintenance of the disorder. However, little empirical research has been devoted to investigating which control and/or suppression methods are used most often by OCD patients, and which could be considered specific to OCD. The purpose of the present study was to provide evidence with regard to these issues. With this end, 39 clinical OCD patients, 23 depressed patients, 25 non-obsessive anxious patients, and 30 community adults completed two measures of thought control/suppression strategies: the reduced Spanish version of the Thought Control Questionnaire (TCQ-r) and the White Bear Suppression Inventory (WBSI). Participants also completed measures of OCD, depressive and anxious symptoms. The results indicated that, in OCD patients, the chronic tendency to suppress negative unwanted thoughts (WBSI) was associated with Punishment (TCQ) and, to a lesser extent, with Worry and Reappraisal. When examining between-group differences, punishment for having negative intrusions proved to be OCD-relevant and OCD-specific, since OCDs were distinguishable from the other three groups on this measure. However, Distraction, Social control, Reappraisal, and Worry strategies were shown to be control strategies that were not specifically used by OCD participants or by those with anxiety and depressive disorders.

Epidemiological studies have found that young men who have sex with men (YMSM) represent the majority of young people infected with HIV annually in the U.S. Further, they are one of the few risk groups to show an increase in the rate of infections in recent years. In addition to these disparities in prevalence and infection rates, there is an inequity in prevention and intervention research on this population. The purpose of this article is to review the existing YMSM literature on HIV epidemiology, correlates of risk, and intervention research. We conclude that promising future directions for basic research include a focus on multiple clustering health issues, processes that promote resiliency, the role of family influences, and the development of parsimonious models of risk. In terms of intervention research, we suggest that promising future directions include Internet-based intervention delivery, integration of biomedical and behavioral approaches, and interventions that go beyond the individual level to address partnership, structural, community, and network factors.

We introduce a non-linear dynamic deterministic multistocks multi-agents model. The model can be viewed as the centre of a decision support system in managing financial portfolios, that would allow the decision maker to formalize, test and analyze the impacts of strategies on a market. It takes into account explicitly the perceptions, strategies and decisions of actors and their actions on a market. This approach attempts to model the decision process of interacting agents and so furnishes a tool for decision making in order to analyze the impacts of various strategies of actors on a market. Even in this simple model, the non-linear interactions can drive the system to sudden and unexpected effects which shows the importance of the attempt of the understanding of the dynamics.

The purpose of this paper is to reflect the behavioral biases that led to this global financial crisis. The paper presents briefly the real causes of the crisis (structural and cyclical factors) and puts a greater accent on the behavioral factors. The authors considered to structure the paper in three main pillars: behavioral factors, the collapse of ethical behavior and the role of behavioral finance in studying, regulating and assessment financial risks. The first pillar consists in a brief presentation of the behavioral factors such as: optimism and wishful thinking, overconfidence, greed, regret, pessimism, passing the responsibility, herding -groupthink, anchoring, representativeness biases, informational cascades and "this time is different" syndrome. The second pillar of the paper presents the collapse of ethical behavior that led to the global financial crisis: predatory lending practices, inappropriate compensation schemes, rating agencies behavior, corporate governance reforms and financial institutions opacity in their reporting. The third pillar presents the mismanagement of risk and regulations that led us into this global mess. The paper concludes with the need of integrating biases of human behavior into regulations in order to make them more effective and people become less financially vulnerable.

Purpose -The objective of this paper is to address the predictive validity of the behavioral approach of EI by Boyatzis and Goleman. There are two research questions guiding this study: emotional and social competencies are positively and significantly related with job performance; and emotional and social competencies will be more successful in predicting performance than universal personality dimensions, like the Big Five personality traits. Design/methodology/approach -The paper is based on the data of three medium-sized Spanish organizations (n ¼ 223) that were involved in a competency management project based on emotional and social competencies. SPSS and structural modeling techniques available in the SEM program LISREL 8.51 software are used to enter the empirical analyses of the paper. Findings -Results show that emotional competencies and personality traits are valuable predictors of job performance as measured by the nominations procedure in the study. In addition, competencies seem to be more powerful predictors of performance than global personality traits.

The primary objective of detecting hearing loss in children as early as possible is that appropriate intervention(s) can be initiated in a timely fashion. Therefore, infants and young children referred from hearing screening programs must be followed up immediately and receive a comprehensive audiologic evaluation to confirm the presence of hearing loss and establish the magnitude, type, configuration, and symmetry of the hearing loss. Improved assessment procedures for infants and young children have meant greater precision in quantifying hearing losses at an early age, in turn facilitating achievement of this objective.

The Hastings Center, a bioethics research institute, is holding a series of 5 workshops to examine the controversies surrounding the use of medication to treat emotional and behavioral disturbances in children. These workshops bring together clinicians, researchers, scholars, and advocates with diverse perspectives and from diverse fields. Our first commentary in CAPMH, which grew out of our first workshop, explained our method and explored the controversies in general. This commentary, which grows out of our second workshop, explains why informed people can disagree about ADHD diagnosis and treatment. Based on what workshop participants said and our understanding of the literature, we make 8 points.

A diagnosis of autism or autism spectrum disorders (ASD) presents significant challenges to parents. When they first learn that their child has autism, their first questions usually are: What do we do next? Where can we get help? How do we make choices about ...

Introdução/Objetivos: Há poucos trabalhos publicados sobre psicoterapia grupal para pacientes com transtorno de pânico (TP); além disso, esses estudos geralmente são restritos a abordagens cognitivo-comportamentais. O objetivo deste trabalho é relatar uma experiência de atendimento psicoterápico psicodramático grupal para portadores de TP, iniciada em 1996 na Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu/Unesp, e discutir aspectos psicodinâmicos desse transtorno. Métodos: Atende-se uma média de oito a dez pacientes em sessões mensais de duas horas de duração, nas quais se utilizam técnicas psicodramáticas. O uso associado de psicofármacos é a regra. A temática é aberta, centrandose tanto em aspectos próprios do TP (sintomas mais comuns; peregrinação em serviços médicos até o diagnóstico; preocupações hipocondríacas; limitações e dependência; reações dos familiares; estratégias de exposição e enfrentamento; efeitos e reações dos medicamentos) quanto em problemas individuais específicos. Resultados: A abordagem psicodramática favorece a identificação e a elaboração de aspectos psicodinâmicos. Entre estes, destacaram-se os sentimentos de desamparo e seus desdobramentos: insegurança; fragilidade e medo; raiva e culpa; sentimentos de desamor e rejeição; vergonha e inferioridade; isolamento e dificuldade de pedir ajuda; dificuldade de identificar e de expressar sentimentos -manifestados somaticamente -; e dificuldade de assumir o papel de "cuidador" e outras responsabilidades. Conclusões: Aspectos valiosos para o tratamento do TP, como apoio mútuo, companheirismo, confiança, modelo e estímulo, são favorecidos pelo contexto grupal homogêneo. O compartilhar de experiências e sofrimentos comuns propiciou rápida coesão e suporte grupal, melhora da capacidade de expressar sentimentos e da auto-estima e o aprimoramento de papéis sociais. Além da melhora dos sintomas, possibilitou-se a melhor compreensão e elaboração destes, que passam a ser integrados significativamente no contexto existencial.

This article presents a model of case management with rural clients entering drug and alcohol treatment. As part of a larger treatment protocol called Structured Behavioral Outpatient Rural Therapy, behavioral contracting is combined with strengths perspective case management to help rural clients motivate themselves to engage and complete drug and alcohol treatment. This combined approach is designed to continually communicate and teach an "A-B-C" cognitive-behavioral approach to problemsolving and change. While not a panacea for addressing the myriad problems facing clients with drug use problems, such an approach promises to improve "treatment as usual" formats, which often ignore the formidable obstacles to human change experienced by rural clients and clinicians.