In recent years an impressive body of research has accumulated indicating that behavioural management strategies can promote the levels of on-task behaviour of classes of disruptive secondary school pupils. These successes have led to the explicit, self-evident claim that levels of off-task behaviour have concomitantly been reduced—and the implicit claim that levels of disruptive behaviour have also been reduced: for disruptive behaviour constitutes a subset of off-task behaviour. However the promotion of on-task behaviour with a corresponding reduction in off-task behaviour is a necessary but not sufficient outcome to claim that disruptive behaviour has diminished. It may be the case that innocuous off-task behaviours have been reduced but disruptive off-task behaviours remain. From a further data analysis of a previous study (McNamara and Jolly, 1990) it is claimed that when disruptive classroom behaviour is dealt with by the promotion of on-task behaviours the total amount of all types of off-task behaviours, from innocuous to grossly disruptive, is reduced. Analysis of data for individual pupils reveals that the whole class aggregated data conceal considerable inter-pupil variability for low incidence off-task behaviours.

Forty patients suffering from persistent psychophysiological Disorders of Initiating and Maintaining Sleep (DIMS) were assigned to one of the following groups: (1) EMG-biofeedback training; (2) cognitive modification treatment, combining paradoxical instructions, cognitive restructuring and thought stopping; (3) stimulus control and progressive relaxation treatment; (4) waiting list (control). Each active treatment consisted of six sessions over a period of 2 weeks.

After treatment, the patients in the three treatment groups showed shorter sleep onset latency (37%), shorter wake time after sleep onset (50%), and more positive evaluations of sleep quality and restedness on awakening in the morning. The waiting-list group did not show any changes. Benefits were maintained and further increased during the 1 and 3 year follow-ups. Results did not suggest substantial differences, among the three treatments, in amount and/or stability of benefits. The 3 year follow-up revealed seven failures, as against 23 successes. The initial variables differentiating the failures were shorter sleep time and higher scores on the P scale of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire.

An experiment was conducted to investigate whether deliberate attempts to avoid a thought content have paradoxical effects. Twenty-four Ss received thought suppression instructions, 16 neutral instructions. Thought suppression resulted in an increased number of occurrences of the thought to be suppressed. The contribution of the results to the theory of obsessions is discussed.

Some of the weaknesses and ambiguities of the currently accepted definition of a functional analysis (Owens and Ashcroft, 1982) are outlined. Functional analysis is re-defined in order to try and overcome some of these difficulties. The utility of this new definition is discussed in relation to the assessment and treatment of challenging behaviours. A possible structure for the more general use of a functional analysis in the assessment and treatment of problems is outlined. The implications of this type of approach are discussed.

The present study examined the effects of therapist presence and the addition of relaxation training on the efficacy and generalizability of in vivo exposure procedures in the treatment of multiply-phobic individuals. Thirty-two individuals who were severely phobic of at least two objects/situations were assigned to one of three treatment groups or a waiting list control group, but received treatment for only one phobia. The Exposure Alone group received prolonged exposure to a phobic stimulus while alone in a room with that stimulus. The Exposure + Relaxation group were also exposed to a phobic stimulus but had received additional training in a relaxation technique. Subjects in the Exposure + Therapist group were accompanied by a nonanxious/nonavoiding “therapist” during exposure sessions. All treatment groups improved significantly, but the Exposure + Therapist group demonstrated significantly greater extinction of fear responses related to the treated phobias than the other groups. The Exposure + Relaxation group demonstrated the greatest generalization of treatment effects to untreated phobias. Clinical and theoretical implications are discussed.

Thirty-one children, aged 7 to 11 years, were selected on the basis of depressive symptomatology over a two week period, as assessed by self-report questionnaires and a diagnostic interview. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of three groups, namely Social Competence Training (SCT), Attention Placebo Control (APC) and No Treatment Control (NTC). Intervention was conducted on a group basis for eight, weekly sessions. The results indicated a decline in depression scores during the treatment period for subjects in all conditions, and this continued during the two month follow-up period to within the normal range. The SCT programme did not produce significantly greater reductions in depression than either the APC or NTC conditions and was not effective in producing improvements on measures of social competence.

Ten psychiatric patients with a DMS-III-R diagnosis of schizophrenia and persistent auditory hallucinations of at least 12 months' duration entered the study, and nine completed it. Subjects used portable audiocassette players with headphones to listen to two music audiotapes that they had selected, one for relaxing and the other for a stimulating/arousing effect. It was hypothesized that the relaxing music would reduce the frequency of auditory hallucinations more than the stimulating music. Subjects rated the effects of the music on nine scales for seven consecutive mornings. Analysed individually, six subjects reported significant response changes to the music, but the response pattern was heterogeneous, and the results of group analysis did not confirm the experimental hypotheses. Generally, the relaxing tape had more beneficial effects than the stimulating/arousing tape. Five subjects reported overall benefits from the experimental procedure, and in all five the content of their hallucinations was innocuous. One subject was adversely affected by the audiotapes, and three failed to respond; these subjects tended to have unpleasant or frightening hallucinations. It was concluded that headphone music was of some value as a non-pharmacological treatment for schizophrenic patients with persisting auditory hallucinations that were innocuous in content. Overall, the findings justify further research in the area.

The growing body of research indicating that classroom behavioural management strategies can successfully modify the behaviour of mainstream classes of disruptive adolescent pupils is referred to. These “successes” are qualified by the observation that they could make the pupil teacher dependent, whereas pupil self-control is the ideal control state. Feedback strategies have the potential to encourage internalization of control (Van Houton, 1984). An intervention package involving the feedback of level of on-task behaviour as a major component is described. The effect on the individual and the group's level of on-task behaviour in two settings (Religious Education and French lessons) is reported. Claims are made that (1) the intervention promoted levels of on-task behaviour and (2) the group data generally reflected the data of individual pupils. The conclusions are drawn that while it remains to be demonstrated that the behavioural attributional tendencies of the pupils were moved in the direction of “internalization” nonetheless the research can serve as a starting point for further research in this area.

The links between science, clinical practice and politics are not always evident to us. Recent changes in Eastern Europe have affected all areas of life, and serve as a reminder that such links between apparently separate areas can and do exist. Maria Kopp, who wrote the following article, is a Hungarian researcher and clinician who, despite considerable restrictions and lack of resources, has conducted a range of important studies into the nature and treatment of anxiety and psychophysiological problems and published important articles both in Hungarian and English (e.g. Kopp & Gruzelier, 1989; Kopp et al., 1986). In the following article, a version of which was publishec in the newspaper Magyar Nemzet (“Hungarian Nation”) on the 2nd October, 1989, she brings her knowledge of the processes involved in the origins and maintenance of anxiety to bear on present-day difficulties in the emergent eastern European democracies. In particular, she highlights the responsibility of those who are entrusted with control over others not to abuse their ability to provoke anxiety and engender helplessness. Dr Kopp also highlights the responsibility of those who place others in power to be aware of the potential danger of abuse, regardless of the declared good intentions of those who wield such power. Such considerations are not completely alien to our own situation.

A method of teaching coping skills to patients with schizophrenia who experience unremitting psychotic symptoms is described. This method (Coping Strategy Enhancement CSE) is based on a thorough behaviour analysis of each symptom and the assessment of any coping strategy the subject may already employ. The subject is then systematically trained in the use of appropriate coping strategies in response to the occurrence of their psychotic symptoms. Two case studies are described in which CSE was used. Both patients showed considerable improvements over treatment. In one patient improvement continued at 6 month follow-up, in the other there was some deterioration at follow-up. Possible reasons for these results were discussed.

The inherent properties of momentary time sampling (MTS) and partial interval recording (PIR) are examined. Findings derived from computer simulation investigations are discussed in terms of the mode of operation of the two time-sampling techniques. It is seen that the advantage of MTS is that it can, under certain restricted circumstances, estimate absolute duration of behaviour occurring. The important disadvantage of MTS is that it is relatively insensitive when estimating degree of change of behaviour. In contrast, although PIR cannot accurately measure absolute duration it is more sensitive to behaviour change than is MTS. It is concluded that the practitioner who wishes to use one of these methods of time sampling must carefully consider the aims and possible effects of the investigation before deciding which method to use.

Arousing anxiety is one of the most important instruments of tyranny. Arousing anxiety is a weapon used not only by dictatorial societies, but also by the dictators of the family, school, workplace or organization. The essence of anxiety is the inability to actively control situations perceived as threatening —the experience of this lack of control and the inability to avert the impending threat causes this situation. In the interest of preserving and strengthening their power, the person or group possessing crucial information is able to withdraw the possibility of control, or to portion it out as a reward; in this way anxiety is aroused in those affected. Arousing anxiety is not only an instrument, but can also be the essence of the exercise of power for its own sake. Tyrannical power wishes to ensure full freedom of decision for itself at all times and it therefore does not commit itself, not even in the form of an agreement serving its own interests. This is true for all relationships of dependency in which the more independent partner is able to withhold information, thereby keeping the other partner in a state of “loss of control”. If the plumber does not turn up at the time agreed and does not inform us of this beforehand, if the garage does not repair the car on the grounds of a shortage of spare parts despite the fact that they have parts, we are placed in a state of powerlessness. We encounter various forms of abuse of power and induced anxiety day after day, but do not pay sufficient attention to it, do not recognise it in its essence and do not understand how this slow-acting poison kills. However, we can also arrive at a psychological definition of freedom and democracy through an understanding of the essence of arousing anxiety and of anxiety.

Six patients meeting DSM III criteria for schizophrenia, residual phase who lived in community hostels underwent social skills training. The training programme utilized was “Stacking the Deck” developed by Foxx et al. which involves a structured board game incorporating modelling, behaviour and feedback. A multiple baseline across subject design was used to assess acquisition of targeted social behaviours in the training settings. Generalization of skills to a community setting was assessed by a structured interaction in the patients' homes at pre-treatment, post-treatment and follow-up. All subjects improved their social skills in the training setting, the improvement showed partial but weak generalization to the community setting, with some gains maintained to a three-month follow-up. Pre-treatment, post-treatment and follow-up measures of general social skills and psychiatric status indicated improvements for some of the subjects. The results suggest this approach has promise for achieving clinically significant change with chronic schizophrenic patients, but that strategies to enhance generalization of training effects are needed.