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Biomedical subjects

M A Runco

Publications and source records attributed to M A Runco.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1994

Suicide ideation and creative problem solving.

This investigation utilized the recent technology for the assessment of creativity to examine the association between problem solving and suicide ideation. Three kinds of problem-finding and -solving tasks were administered to 81 (nonclinical) college students. One of these tasks assesses "problem generation" and was expected to be particularly informative, given that individuals considering suicide may perceive many problems but find few solutions. Results supported this expectation: Problem generation scores were significantly correlated with suicide ideation, even after stress was statistically controlled. A secondary analysis suggested that the originality and flexibility of solutions may be influenced by the particular problem an individual faces.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1993

Cumulative and proximal influences on the social environment and children's creative potential.

The influences of socioeconomic status (SES), maturation, school, and sex on creative potential were examined by administering the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking to 1,445 children. Comparisons of means indicated that scores increased with SES, sixth-grade children scored slightly higher than fifth-grade children, and girls in general earned higher scores than boys. Additionally, the school setting and in particular the classroom atmosphere seemed to be far more important to creative potential than has been previously acknowledged. Implications for the concept of creativity and the adequacy of tests as indicators of divergent thinking are discussed.

Aptitude Tests↗
PubMed1992

The beliefs adults and children hold about television and video games.

In Phase 1 of this study, we asked 23 parents between the ages of 30 and 52 years and 26 children between the ages of 10 and 19 years to list effects of television and video games on children. A questionnaire was developed using the most frequently given responses (e.g., television influences children's aggressive behavior, verbal abilities, or time with friends). In Phase 2, this questionnaire was administered to different groups of parents and children and a control group of adults without offspring (N = 204) who were asked to rate the influence of each item on the questionnaire. Multivariate analyses of variance indicated that there were similarities and differences among the groups. For example, parents and other adults held similar beliefs about the influence of television, but parents held more positive beliefs about the influence of video games than the other adults. Children held more positive beliefs about the influence of television than parents, but parents and children held similar beliefs about the influence of video games.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

The occurrence of autistic children's self-stimulation as a function of familiar versus unfamiliar stimulus conditions.

The present study was conducted to determine whether certain stimulus conditions were associated with high and low rates of autistic children's self-stimulation. Six autistic boys were assessed in situations varying along three dimensions: familiarity or unfamiliarity of setting, learning task, and therapist. Each child was observed in 10 10-min stimulus conditions, and trained observers recorded the occurrence of self-stimulation within each condition. The results of a 2 x 2 x 2 ANOVA indicated that self-stimulation occurred significantly more often with an unfamiliar than with a familiar therapist. Unfamiliar versus familiar setting and task were not significant effects, and there were no significant interactions. Also, significant differences were found within each condition, with self-stimulation increasing in frequency as the sessions progressed. Finally, there was a significant and negative correlation between the occurrence of self-stimulation and correct responding. These findings suggest several treatment strategies for facilitating a generalized suppression of autistic children's self-stimulation.

Autistic Disorder↗
PubMed1983

Parental judgments of behavior therapy efficacy with autistic children: a social validation.

As a complement to objective measures of treatment effectiveness, behavioral researchers have utilized social validation procedures to gather information from significant others regarding the social importance of behavior changes. The present study represents an attempt to socially validate the efficacy of behavior therapy with autistic children. Thirty-four parents of autistic children and 18 parents of normal children judged (via questionnaire) the behavior of four autistic children before and after behavior therapy. The results indicated that (1) parents socially validated the effects of behavior therapy in that they judged the children as significantly improved after treatment, and (2) the effects of treatment were also socially validated by the parents' indication that they were more willing to interact with the children after treatment than before treatment.

Attitude↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Creativity in alcoholic and nonalcoholic families.

A battery of creativity tests was administered to 56 families (fathers, mothers, and their pubescent sons) representing three groups. Group A+ was comprised of recovering alcoholic fathers with a family history of alcoholism (n = 19). Group NA+ consisted of nonalcoholic fathers with a family history of alcoholism (n = 18). Group NA- was composed of nonalcoholic fathers without a family history of alcoholism (n = 19). None of the mothers or sons in these three family groups was alcoholic. All subjects completed the Creativity Personality Scale, the four Origence/Intellectence scales from the Adjective Check List, and the How Do You Think Test. Moreover, fathers and sons received two divergent thinking tests, and mothers rated their sons using a special scale from the Adjective Check List. Results indicate that alcoholic fathers and their sons had generally lower creativity scores than fathers and sons of the other two groups. The mothers did not differ. Moreover, there were significant correlations between fathers' and sons' creativity scores and significant interactions, indicating that the father-son relationships differed among the three groups. The implications of these results are discussed.

Adolescent↗