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Behavior change following self-confrontation: a test of the value-mediation hypothesis.

This study presents a reanalysis of data from Rokeach's self-confrontation experiments using path analytic techniques. Contrary to Rokeach's interpretations, findings indicate that behavior changes following self-confrontation are not primarily mediated through changes in value priorities. Rather, the available data suggest that the self-confrontation process involves the resolution of inconsistencies between behaviors and self-conceptions that are revelaed during the treatment session. The authors interpret these findings within the framework of Rokeach's general theory of self-disatisfaction and cognitive-behavioral change. Suggestions for future directions in self-confrontation research are offered.

Attitude

Social isolation and other behavioral changes in groups of adult vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops) produced by low, nonchronic doses of d-amphetamine.

Doses (0.1--0.7 mg/kg body weight) d-amphetamine were administered to three independent groups of green vervet monkeys (Cerecopithecus aethiops). Each group formed a triad with one male and two females. Amphetamine changed both the individual and the social behavior patterns significantly. Stereotypy and social isolation (withdrawal) were characteristic features of the amphetaminized animals. Also stereotyped social grooming was observed. The results are discussed in relation to behavior changes seen in amphetamine psychoses and in naturally occurring endogenous psychoses. It is emphasized that the study of patterns of behavior is an important object of research and relevant line in future investigations on psychopathology.

Animals

Coronary risk factor behavior change in hospital personnel following a screening program.

We conducted a worksite cardiovascular disease (CVD) awareness and education program at a large medical center. The program consisted of employee screening for blood pressure and total serum cholesterol level, dissemination of information on risk factors for CVD, counseling on behavior change, and evaluation of the screening event as an educational tool. During this five-day event, 2,284 employees were screened for hypertension and hypercholesterolemia. Consenting employees completed a health risk appraisal survey (n = 2,255) and received counseling on their results and CVD risk factors. Appropriate referrals to health care professionals and educational programs were made according to national guidelines. We developed three-month and six-month follow-up surveys and distributed them to all participating employees. The analysis of these data suggests some positive impact upon behavior change within this employee population. In addition to the two follow-up surveys, we held a second blood pressure and serum cholesterol screening eight months after the initial screening. Comparison of the levels taken from both screenings (n = 234) suggests that worksite screening programs may influence significant serum cholesterol and blood pressure reductions in high-risk employees.

Adult

Identifying stakeholder behaviors for competency-based pharmacy education: A stage 1 behavior change wheel analysis.

INTRODUCTION/OBJECTIVES: Competency-Based Pharmacy Education (CBPE) is a strategic priority for preparing graduates to meet evolving healthcare needs. However, efforts to implement CBPE can stall due to behavioral challenges among faculty, administrators, preceptors, and learners. This study aimed to apply Stage 1 of the Behavior Change Wheel (BCW) to identify stakeholder-specific behaviors and associated determinants needed to implement the five core components of CBPE. METHODS: A multi-method approach grounded in the BCW, the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation - Behavior (COM-B) model, and the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) was used. Data were gathered through (1) targeted literature review; (2) structured focus groups with competency-based education experts and pharmacy education stakeholders; and (3) an iterative consensus process. Behaviors were mapped to the five CBPE components: (1) defined competencies, (2) developmental progression, (3) tailored instruction, (4) authentic experiential learning, and (5) programmatic assessment, and then mapped to COM-B and TDF constructs. RESULTS: Over fifty stakeholder-specific behaviors were identified and specified across the CBPE framework. This revealed shared barriers such as limited instructional design knowledge (psychological capability), insufficient assessment of infrastructure (physical opportunity), and misaligned professional identity (reflective motivation). Key TDF domains included knowledge, environmental context, beliefs about capabilities, and professional roles. The behavioral problem statements, specifications, and determinants were identified to support future intervention planning. CONCLUSION: This Stage 1 analysis provides a behaviorally grounded foundation for CBPE implementation by identifying stakeholder behaviors and conditions that enable change. These findings will inform the development of readiness-to-change assessments and targeted interventions (BCW Stages 2 and 3), supporting scalable and sustainable CBPE transformation in pharmacy education.

Education, Pharmacy

Preclinical laboratory course in dental behavioral science: changing human behavior.

Dental health professionals are frequently frustrated when they present preventive or therapeutic regimens to patients. This paper describes an approach to the teaching of behavioral science designed to familiarize the dental student with applying behavioral change techniques to dental problems. Ninety-nine second-year dental students participated in the two-credit course. Students were taught in six groups, each led by a clinician-behavioral scientist team. The behavioral science materials were presented in five slide-tape programs developed by the authors. The key to the course was a behavior change project in which each student identified a problem, designed an intervention strategy, and attempted to manage the problem using the behavioral techniques presented.

Behavior Therapy

Self-efficacy and the stages of exercise behavior change.

This study examined the application of constructs concerning stage of readiness to change and self-efficacy to exercise. We developed two scales to measure stages of change for exercise behavior. Prevalence information on a sample of 1,063 government employees and 429 hospital employees was then obtained. Next, the ability of a questionnaire measuring exercise self-efficacy to differentiate employees according to stage of readiness to change was tested. Results from both stages-of-change scales revealed that 34-39% of employees were regularly participating in physical activity. Scores on efficacy items significantly differentiated employees at most stages. Results indicated employees who had not yet begun to exercise, in contrast with those who exercised regularly, had little confidence in their ability to exercise. Continued work at understanding the stages of exercise behavior and exercise self-efficacy could yield important information for enhancing exercise adoption and adherence.

Adult

Life-style and cancer: from epidemiological evidence to public behavior change to mortality reduction of target cancers.

Cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, and diet are of essential importance in modulating risks of cancer of selected sites, as demonstrated by various epidemiological methods. Examples include demographic studies on changing cancer risk, correlation studies on dietary fat and cancers of breast and colon, and case-control studies on highly salted food and gastric cancer. Evidence was also obtained by cohort studies including a census-population-based large-scale prospective study in Japan. Results included elevated risk from cigarette smoking for cancers of most sites; from alcohol consumption for cancers of the upper and lower digestive tract, liver, and prostate; and from daily meat consumption for cancers of the pancreas, colon, lung, and breast. Daily consumption of green-yellow vegetables reduced risk for cancer of the stomach, colon, lung, cervix, and prostate. Reports of these results and intensive public education and public guidance by governmental and nongovernmental organizations such as cancer societies, consumer groups, and mass media resulted in a notable change in public behavior in most cases in Japan.

Adult

An observational study of intergenerational activities and behavior change in dementing elders at adult day care centers.

This study investigated whether dementing adult day care clients demonstrate consistent positive behaviors (i.e., eye contact, smiling, attentiveness, etc.) during structured, weekly activities with young children that these adults do not demonstrate during similar activities when the young children are not present. The study built on a preliminary informal study conducted in conjunction with an intergenerational adult day care project. Participants for the study were twenty-one adult day care clients who have behavioral characteristics of Alzheimer's or related disorders. The study involved five consecutive weeks of planned, structured music activities prepared by a musical therapist as part of the regular intergenerational activities of the adult day care center. The same activities were repeated twice in the same day at each site, once with children present and once without them present. Two fixed videotape cameras recorded client behaviors in three-minute segments. Scoring was completed by trained, "blind" scorers. The scorers tallied positive behaviors by individuals for randomly selected ten-second segments of the taped intervals. Sessions with and without children were compared using non-parametric tests. Categories of behaviors were compared and specific observed behavioral changes were reported.

Aged

Intravenous l-DOPA plus carbidopa in depressed patients: average evoked response, learning, and behavioral changes.

The peripheral decarboxylase inhibitor carbidopa (L-alphamethyl-dopa-hydrazine) allowed safe intravenous administration of L-DOPA in amounts sufficient to alter cortical average evoked response (AER) and learning function in 13 depressed patients. The apparently rapid conversion of L-DOPA to dopamine, as reported from studies in animals, is consistent with the 20-30 min onset of effects seen in our study. Unipolar and bipolar depressed patients responded differently to the alterations in brain biogenic amines and also to the nonspecific stress of the experiment. Intravenous L-DOPA given acutely had effects on the AER that were similar to those documented with oral dopa given chronically--an augmentation of amplitude--intensity slopes in unipolar patients and a relative reduction of slopes in bipolar patients. In contrast, intravenous L-DOPA did not enhance verbal learning as did chronic oral treatment, but rather was associated with reduced learning compared with placebo infusions. Different neurochemical changes following L-DOPA given in single intravenous doses may be responsible for the different learning and behavioral changes form those found previously with oral dopa administered chronically.

Administration, Oral

Behavioral changes in nonambulatory, profoundly mentally retarded individuals.

Nonambulatory, profoundly mentally retarded (NPMR) individuals seldom have been studied as a distinct population. This investigation sought to describe the pshysical, etiological, and behavioral characteristics of NPMR children and adults and to evaluate the effects of intensive physical and social stimulation on their ongoing behavior. Sixteen NPMR subjects were studied for 2 1/2 years. All were PMR, bedridden, abnormally small, and unresponsive to external stimulation. Baseline data concerning developmental status, diurnal patterns of sleep and activity, behavior in a novel situation, ongoing ward behavior, and anthropometric measures were obtained. Subjects were highly variable in their responses to items from the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, with overall performance below that of a normal six month old. Although subjects showed some diurnal pattern of sleep, they frequently fell asleep for short periods at random time during the day. In a novel situation subjects responded minimally to stimulus objects, or not at all. Typically, their ongoing ward behavior consisted of very low level activity, involving small peripheral limb movements, wandering or blinking eyes, mouthing or grimacing, and repetitive, reflexive types of patterns labeled "fixed action sequences." Experimental treatment consisted of three phases of daily stimulation. (1) Subjects were placed in an upright or elevated position in specially constructed "playpens." (2) Subjects were placed in "playpens" and many toys were presented. (3) Subjects were positioned in pairs so that direct physical contact was provided. Each phase resulted in changed behavioral profiles during treatment. Furthermore, all experimental subjects showed beneficial effects of treatment in their ongoing ward behavior, diurnal sleep patterns, Bayley performance, or response to novel situations. Implications of this research extend to understanding environmentally induced changes in neurological maturation and social development in individuals previously thought to be hopelessly devastated. The descriptive data are intended to provide a useful framework for further systematic research with NPMR populations.

Adolescent

Sensory extinction and sensory reinforcement principles for programming multiple adaptive behavior change.

The role of sensory reinforcement was examined in programming multiple treatment gains in self-stimulation and spontaneous play for developmentally disabled children. Two phases were planned. First, we attempted to identify reinforcers maintaining self-stimulation. Sensory Extinction procedures were implemented in which auditory, proprioceptive, or visual sensory consequences of self-stimulatory behavior were systematically removed and reintroduced in a reversal design. When self-stimulation was decreased or eliminated as a result of removing one of these sensory consequences, the functional sensory consequence was designated as a child's preferred sensory reinforcer. In Phase 2, we assessed whether children would play selectively with toys producing the preferred kind of sensory stimulation. The results showed the following. (1) Self-stimulatory behavior was found to be maintained by sensory reinforcement. When the sensory reinforcer was removed, self-stimulation extinguished. (2) The sensory reinforcers identified for self-stimulatory behavior also served as reinforcers for new, appropriate toy play. (3) The multiple treatment gains observed appeared to be relatively durable in the absence of external reinforcers for play or restraints on self-stimulation. These results illustrate one instance in which multiple behavior change may be programmed in a predictable, lawful fashion by using "natural communities of sensory reinforcement."

Autistic Disorder

Retention of an associative behavioral change in Hermissenda.

The nudibranch mollusk Hermissenda crassicornis is normally attracted to a test light. Three days of training consisting of 50 trials per day of light paired with a rotational stimulus led to a significant increase, lasting for days, in the animal's response latency to enter a test light. The group that received light associated with rotation was significantly different from groups subjected to nonassociative control procedures. Modifications of well-known sensory networks may be related to a behavioral change that shares several operational features with associative learning.

Animals

Encouraging behavior changes by use of client-held health records.

A process was developed to encourage individuals to take more responsibility for their health by using a client-held health record. The motivation for the record, called a Personal Life Health Plan (PLHP), stems from the fact that the majority of ills which afflict an individual can be abated by behavior changes. The PLHP contains most of what is in a medical record but also has sections which deal with health maintenance; a past health history, a family health history, tables of individualized risks of morbidity and mortality, a health maintenance plan, and tables of physiological measurements. The PLHP process helps to make explicit the steps of 1) naming existing and potential health problems; 2) reflecting on their causes; and 3) taking actions to overcome them. Additionally, the record helps maintain continuity of care. Pilot studies made in two settings indicate that a significant percentage of individuals will use a PLHP and that physicians and nurse practitioners can incorporate it into their routine of providing care with minimal expenditures of time. Longer term studies will be required to determine effects on behavior, compliance and health services utilizations.

Behavior Therapy

Intracranial abscesses with behavioral changes.

Intracranial abscesses represent one of the most serious complications of ear and paranasal sinus infections. The infection may spread by bone erosion, preformed pathways, or septic thrombosis via the Haversian canals. This may result in subdural abscesses, meningitis, or intracerebral abscesses. These intracranial complications are associated with a high morbidity. The purpose of this communication is to emphasize that behavioral changes after ear or paranasal sinus infections may be a manifestation of an intracranial abscess.

Adult

Behavioral changes following VMH lesions in rats with controlled insulin levels.

The effects of ventromedial hypothalamic (VMH) lesions were studied in female rats made diabetic with streptozotocin that were given twice daily injections of protamine zinc insulin (0.75 mu/100g/day) and in non-diabetic animals of the same sex. Hyperphagia resulted from VMH lesions in both diabetic animals whose insulin levels were controlled and in non-diabetic animals. All animals with lesions exhibited persistent increases in feeding during the light protion of the light-dark cycle. Significant increases in body weight gain were observed in both diabetic and non-diabetic lesioned animals, but the magnitude of wegith gain was greater after VMH lesions in non-diabetic rats. VMH lesions also reduced wood-gnawing and increased emotionality, aversion to quinine and reactivity to electric shock. None of the behavioral changes were dependent on hyperinsulinemia, although hyperinsulinemia may contribute to the magnitude of certain of these effects.

Animals

Capturing continuous, long timescale behavioral changes in Drosophila melanogaster postural data.

Animal behavior spans many timescales, from short, seconds-scale actions to daily rhythms over many hours to life-long changes during aging. To access longer timescales of behavior, we continuously recorded individual Drosophila melanogaster at 100 frames per second for up to 7 days at a time in featureless arenas on sucrose-agarose media. We use the deep learning framework SLEAP to produce a full-body postural dataset for 47 individuals resulting in nearly 2 billion pose instances. We identify stereotyped behaviors such as grooming, proboscis extension, and locomotion and use the resulting ethograms to explore how the flies' behavior varies across time of day and days in the experiment. We find distinct daily patterns in all stereotyped behaviors, adding specific information about trends in different grooming modalities, proboscis extension duration, and locomotion speed to what is known about the D. melanogaster circadian cycle. Using our holistic measurements of behavior, we find that the hour after dawn is a unique time point in the flies' daily pattern of behavior, and that the behavioral composition of this hour tracks well with other indicators of health such as locomotion speed and the fraction of time spend moving vs. resting. The method, data, and analysis presented here give us a new and clearer picture of D. melanogaster behavior across timescales, revealing novel features that hint at unexplored underlying biological mechanisms.

Animals