Abstract: Written for researcher and methodologists in the fields of psychology, education, and the behavioral sciences, this volume looks at the two major types of methods--the method of relative frequency and the method of specimens--and argues that although both can deliver useful information about human behavior, most social scientists have been using the method of relative frequency for the wrong purpose--to discover how the human as a species, functions. The method of relative frequency can be used effectively, Runkel asserts, only to estimate behavioral trends in a mass population. To learn how the internal workings of a species enable it to do what it does, the method of specimens must be employed.

Abstract: The principles of evolutionary psychology and the traditional assumptions of social psychology are highly compatible. Both disciplines trace observed behavioral variability to situational variability. Both assume that psychological mechanisms sensitive to social information are central to causal accounts of social behavior. Questions about the origins and functions of these psychological mechanisms are indispensable for understanding social behavior. Evolutionary psychology provides conceptual tools for addressing these questions. Several pitfalls must be avoided by practitioners of evolutionary social psychology. Specifically, we must jettison notions of genetic determinism and behavioral unmodifiability, eliminate false dichotomies between “genetic” and “learned,” and place cross-cultural variability in a sensible theoretical context. Attending to the reliable phenomena discovered by traditional social psychology and the conceptual frameworks provided by modern evolutionary psychology will produce the most informed evolutionary social psychology.

Abstract: I was born in New York in 1920 and was educated in public schools from kindergarten to City College, where I received my BS in 1941. In June 1942 I received my master’s degree in social psychology from Columbia University; that fall I was married to Etta Weissman.

Abstract: The therapeutic community (TC) has proven to be a powerful approach to rehabilitation of substance abusers. A self-help phenomenon whose evolution has proceeded primarily outside of mainstream psychiatry, psychology, and medicine, the TC represents a unique demonstration of the application of behavioral science principles in a human service setting. The purpose of this paper is to narrow the gap between social psychological and self-help concepts through exposition of the TC as a unique behavioral science model. [Translations are provided in the International Abstracts section of this issue.]

Abstract: This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the following article: Coleman, A.A.; Colman, A.M.; Thomas, R.M., ‘Cooperation without awareness: A multiperson generalization of the minimal social situation’ in Behavioral Science, 1990, 35 (2), pp. 115-121, which has been published in final form at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bs.3830350204/abstract.

Abstract: There is general agreement among Mental Health professionals, that undergraduate training in Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences in most of the medical colleges in the country is unsatisfactory. Some of the reasons advanced for this unfortunate situation are :—insufficient teachinghours, inadequate staff, lack of interest on the part of students and our non-psychiatrist medical colleagues, absence of provision for examination in the subjects, ambiguity and controversy surrounding many psychiatric concepts and practices, lack of access to sophisticated audio-visual teaching aids etc. While there is no denying that these inadequacies have to be corrected, we should also look for more basic causes. A look at the problem in the world-context reveals, that, even in the more developed countries, with generous hours allotted to the teaching of the subjects during the undergraduate years, availability of adequate staff and the latest teaching aids, the extent to which the psycho-social dimension is assessed in patient-evaluation by medical students leaves a lot to be desired. James and Galletly (1982) found, for example, that though the undergraduate medical students at Otago University, New Zealand, have as many as 160 hours devoted to the teaching of Psychological Medicine, little dfference was found in the extent to which psychological data were recorded in two samples of General Hospital case-notes written 10 years apart, inspite of a significant increase of apparently relevant material taught in the same 10 years period. Burroughs (1978) also noted under-recording of psychological and social factors, as compared to the routine aspects of physical care, in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Canada. Ruff and Mechanik (1975) found that students tended to categorise patients according to the department in which they were first seen so that the same student who demonstrated psychological awareness in psychiatry gave little evidence of it in General Medicine, suffering that the skills acquired in the psychiatric wards do not generalise to the medical wards.

Abstract: This brief article discusses recent developments in the field of health research and intervention and how these might be of interest to the field of road safety. The author points out the recognition of the central role of behaviour in determining health; efforts to promote health have had to seek an understanding of behaviour, drawing on the social and behavioural sciences. If this psychosocial approach were applied to road safety research it would allow the establishment of a taxonomy of all the driving behaviours which are risk factors for crashes and associated injuries; in turn this understanding would make possible the design of intervention programs with a logical basis for success. Risk behaviour has been found to have positive as well as negative outcomes; therefore it is necessary to investigate the social and psychological costs and benefits associated with speeding, or drinking and driving, or not using seat belts, for example. There is also a need for research that explores the linkages and covariations among the behaviours within the category of risky driving, such as drinking and driving, drug taking and driving, sleepy driving, expressive driving, speeding, insufficient headroom, non use of seat belts etc; risk driving in turn should be studied in relation to other risk behaviours or lifestyles, such as illicit drug use, violence and aggression. Much can be learned for road safety from the emphasis on health promotion as an alternative to deterrence campaigns.

Abstract: It is increasingly recognized that the provision of dental care should not be seen in isolation from the psychological make-up and social background of the patient. The General Dental Council has recently approved the report of its Working Party giving guidance on the teaching of the behavioural sciences (psychology and sociology) in the dental curriculum. One of the members of the Working Party was Professor Keith Millar. In this five-part series edited by Professor Millar we will cover the practical application of behavioural science in dentistry, covering communication with patients, ways to change your patients' behaviour, the management of anxious adult and child patients, and stress in dentistry. This first article offers some advice on coping with the nervous child.

Abstract: Results of a 1989 study of behavioral science requirements in the preparation of secondary social studies teachers are compared with those of a similar study reported in 1984. Results indicate a substantial decline in the role of behavioral sciences in the preparation of secondary social studies teachers compared to history, geography, and other social sciences.

Abstract: Summary The role of the behavioural and social sciences in the postgraduate medical curriculum is considered. It is argued that the behavioural and social sciences can play a vigorous and dynamic part both in medical education and in medical practice. However, in order for that role to be achieved a Technik approach must be adopted. Technik means an emphasis on know-how, capability and on unifying theory and practice. It is suggested that the behavioural sciences frequently fail to excite interest because they adopt only a humanistic and/or critical approach at the expense of the needs of medical training. Some examples of a Technik approach drawn from health education, the management of chronic disease and surgical audit are briefly examined.

Abstract: Experimentation in criminal justice has become both philosophy and policy in recent years. Campbell (1969) first proposed an explicit link between social reforms and experimental methods and challenged the United States to become an “experimenting society.” The inferential persuasiveness of experimental results has contributed to the design of early childhood education programs, income maintenance policies, work and job training programs, regulatory law, and environmental conservation strategies. In general, these efforts illustrated conditions where experimental methods could be moved from the laboratory traditions of the natural and behavioral sciences to the uncertain conditions of social policy. Despite an uneven history of experimental research in social policy reform and program development, a recent manifesto on social policy experimentation called for a “marriage between experimental methods and assessments of public policy” (Berk, Boruch, Chambers, Rossi, & Witte, 1985, p. 389) and an explicit link between social policy change and experimentation.

Abstract: De l'importance de l'humour pour les specialistes en sciences sociales appliquees. Propositions de diverses facons de s'en servir

Abstract: The empirical data generated by behavioral scientists is frequently targeted for presentation in courts in order to influence decision making. However, legislative bodies, rather than the courts, may be the most appropriate forum to consider such evidence. This article discusses the comparative reception of social science evidence in judicial versus legislative arenas.

Abstract: A content analysis recently identified twenty foodbuying principles as the most commonly cited in consumer education textbooks of the 1980s. This study examines the behavior science literature in an effort to assess the ability of older consumers to practice these principles in American supermarkets. The study identifies three types of principles differing in the consumer behaviors they recommend as well as the nature and strength of the support they receive in the behavioral science literature. Implications of the study findings are drawn for gerontological research and educational practice.

Abstract: Concern for the professional preparation of physicians who will be able to function effectively in the uncertain environment of the 21st century has led to some attention being paid to the behavioural sciences. This case study is concerned with the introduction of a course in behavioural science and the steps taken by a professor to promote excellence in instruction.