The purpose of this article is to introduce readers to Dr Murray Sidman. He has made a number of fundamental and distinctive, but perhaps neglected, contributions to the behaviour therapy enterprise, from its emergent years to the present. It is also an attempt to engender an appreciation of the continuing significance and relevance of Sidman's research and scholarship to matters of contemporary and enduring concern for behaviour therapists.

Forty parents of children aged between 1 and 8 years were recruited by means of an exhaustive telephone survey of a defined suburban area in regional Queensland. Following recruitment, parents were mailed a family survey comprising measures of parenting and child behaviour problems. The sample represents almost 50% of parents of young children in the defined area. Forty-four per cent of parents in the sample reported numbers of child behaviours as problems that exceeded recommended clinical cut-off scores based on data reported in other studies. Thirty per cent of parents reported problems occurring at an intensity that exceeded clinical cut-off scores. Fathers who completed the questionnaires reported significantly more problems than mothers, although the ratio of mothers to fathers in the sample was 3:1. However, there was no difference between the reported behaviours of boys or girls. Parent characteristics that were highly correlated with reported child behaviour problems were overreactivity; stress, anxiety, and depression; and parental satisfaction with their parenting style. Family and other demographic variables appeared to play less significant roles. The results are discussed in the context of the challenge of delivering effective early-intervention parenting programs to large numbers of parents.

An extension of the Home Situations Questionnaire is described (HSQ-M), and normative data for an Australian clinical sample are reported. Reports were obtained from both female (339) and male (143) informants on 403 children aged between 3 and 12 (287 boys, 116 girls) from nine centres in Sydney. Clinicians from these centres predicted the likely findings on the HSQ-M, and their expectations were not wholly supported by the data. Boys were reported to have more problem situations than girls by fathers but not by mothers, and boys were reported as having greater situation severity than girls by mothers but not by fathers. While these differences were statistically significant, they were not clinically significant. Contrary to expectations, fathers reported similar levels of home situation difficulty to mothers. The data provide useful information for targeting situations that would meet the need of parents in parenting groups, and for supplementing the assessment tools used by clinicians working with families.

Researchers have tended to take one of two mutually exclusive positions concerning the nature and status of clinical decision-making. On the one hand, clinicians are urged to be more rigorous and analytical when assessing a client, to disregard their intuitions and instead utilise explicit rules and algorithms. On the other hand, they are counselled to regard their “gut feelings” as valuable sources of knowledge about clients. As a way of reconciling these two perspectives, it is important to acknowledge that clinical psychologists are confronted with a wide range of assessment and clinical tasks that vary in their degree of structure. Therefore, in order to effectively manage the diverse tasks they face during a typical assessment, they need to possess a wide range of cognitive skills. These skills, and their associated cognitive tasks, will span the cognitive continuum from the intuitive to the analytical poles (Hammond, 1996).

This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children, Adolescents and Parents (DISCAP; Holland & Dadds, 1995), for DSM-IV anxiety disorders in children and adolescents. Two studies were conducted to examine the reliability and validity of the DISCAP. In the first study, the DISCAP and the Youth Self Report (YSR; Achenbach, 1991c) were administered to 120 nonclinical adolescents aged 12 through to 14 years. In the second study, the DISCAP and Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL; Achenbach, 1991b) were administered to parents of 57 clinical children and adolescents aged 6 through to 16 years. Inter-rater reliability data was collected, and both concurrent and discriminant validity of the DISCAP were assessed against the YSR and CBCL. Inter-rater agreements for primary diagnoses were high, and rating scale data supported the concurrent and discriminant validity of the DISCAP diagnoses. Results suggest that the DISCAP can be used to facilitate reliable and valid diagnoses of childhood anxiety disorders.

Coercion is defined as the control of behaviour through (a) punishment or the threat of punishment, or (b) negative reinforcement — the removal of punishment. The question under discussion is whether coercion is an effective and a desirable basis for applied behaviour analysis, particularly in educational settings. Because coercive control has always been characteristic of society in general, the problem requires consideration of all facets of our culture. Behaviour analysts who use or recommend coercive techniques of therapy, behaviour modification, teaching, parenting, and so on, must be viewed in that context. In many areas of society, the practice of coercion has been refined and perfected to an extent that applied behaviour analysis has never approached. Applied behavioural research therefore contributes nothing new when it applies coercive methodology. Also, coercion produces side effects that may be even less desirable than the original problem behaviour. The occasional need to use coercion to deal with emergencies does not justify the advocacy of coercion as a principle of therapy. What basic and applied behaviour analysts can offer that is new and constructive are positive reinforcement techniques for teaching new behaviour and stimulus-control techniques for establishing cognitive repertoires.

Functional analysis is used to identify potential reinforcers by generating hypotheses about possible functions of a behaviour. Current methods of functional analysis emphasise observations of events, especially consequences, that occur in the immediate environment of the behaviour. While these methods are well suited for assessing behaviour that is reinforced frequently, they are less appropriate for assessing behaviour that is reinforced only intermittently. A new method for conducting functional analysis is presented that is designed to assess intermittently reinforced behaviour. The new method is illustrated using data that were gathered from an extension of a standard problem-solving format. Data are interpreted using the principle of revealed preference that arose from behavioural economics. The revealed preference method is illustrated using information provided by a client with a dependent personality disorder.

The dominant research tradition in psychology, including much of cognitive-behaviour therapy, requires that large numbers of subjects be allocated randomly to form treatment groups. Treatment effects typically are assessed by testing a null hypothesis about group mean differences. This paradigm seriously thwarts the development of a science of individual behaviour, inhibits the implementation of the scientist–practitioner model, stifles innovation, impairs accountability, and precludes the scientific investigation of the exceptional or novel case. Single-case research designs, first systematically expounded by Sidman (1960), make it possible to draw scientifically valid conclusions from the investigation and treatment of individuals. Criticisms of the between-groups research paradigm are summarised, the key elements of single-case designs are outlined, and their consistent adoption strongly recommended.

In the course of psychotherapy, psychologists need to make important clinical decisions regarding treatment goal selection, measurement procedures, and treatment methods. These decisions can be made without regard to the epistemic and ethical responsibilities that accompany professional status. Epistemic duties are obligations to obtain and have knowledge, while ethical duties are obligations to apply this knowledge accurately. We argue that these epistemic and ethical responsibilities are invoked and can be adequately addressed in the informed consent process. When the informed consent process is violated or done poorly, our epistemic and ethical responsibilities are not met and the client may be harmed. We argue that what the public assumes it is buying from us (and what we purport to sell) are specialised knowledge and skills; when psychologists are not meeting their epistemic duties, what our clients are receiving instead is intuition and performance art. We discuss errors that occur in the course of psychotherapy, as well as how we as professionals must seek to reduce or eliminate them.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic, debilitating skin disorder that accounts for up to 20% of dermatological diagnoses. A 6-week psychoeducational stress management program was developed, implemented, and evaluated as an adjunctive treatment for AD. The participants (n = 17) were randomly assigned to a treatment or waiting-list control group. Participants in both the intervention and waiting-list control groups were assessed for dermatitis severity by a blind rater both pre and posttreatment and at a follow-up conducted 8 weeks after the conclusion of the program. At posttest the intervention group had significantly reduced pruritus and global severity of atopic dermatitis, and reduced levels of social anxiety and private self-consciousness. At an 8-week follow-up, pruritus was entirely absent and global severity was continuing to decrease, as were levels of social anxiety and private self-consciousness. The psychoeducational stress-management program provided a short effective treatment that resulted in reduction of symptoms and provided long-term management strategies to sufferers of atopic dermatitis.

Cognitive behaviour therapy concentrates on strategies to assist clients in changing their thoughts and/or their behaviour. The aim of this paper is to discuss research findings from the addictions field indicating that an effective approach to therapy is to enhance motivation for change. Research into stages and processes of change, decision making, and motivational interviewing is reviewed. The paper concludes by suggesting ways in which this research can be used by therapists to increase the likelihood that clients will engage in change and maintain change over time.

Health-check attendance intention and behaviour in young men and women was compared, and the data used to determine whether health belief model constructs were able to predict such intentions and behaviour. Sixty male and sixty female respondents completed questionnaires asking about past health-check attendance behaviour, future attendance intention, and health beliefs. More females than males had previously attended a general health check, and females had stronger intentions to do so in the future. Regression analyses indicated that health-check attendance intention was predicted for both males and females by responses to cues to action. For females, previous health-check attendance was related to responses to cues to action and perceptions of barriers to attendance. None of the health belief model constructs was found to account for previous attendance behaviour of males. The results of the study support recent calls for health promotion initiatives aimed at men, but suggest that they should target cognitions other than those included within the health belief model.

The ability of images to bring about a renewal of fear was examined. Thirty-seven psychology students were repeatedly exposed to a slide depicting an injured face. The experimental subjects listened to a narrative that elicited images of fear while the control subjects listened to a narrative that elicited images of anger for three of the exposure trials. On the fourth and final trial, half of the subjects from each condition listened to a narrative that elicited different images, while the remainder continued to listen to the same narrative. There was no effect of narrative content on fear, but changing the narrative (either from fear to anger or vice versa) led to an increase in fear. These data suggest that the act of changing images may lead to a renewal of fear.

One of the dilemmas in behavioural assessment is the extent to which both specific functional analyses and more general case formulations are dependent on professional judgement and thus subject to bias. While in theory the functional analysis represents hypotheses about controlling variables which can then be subjected to empirical test, the clinical reality is that many such hypotheses are only loosely evaluated, post-hoc, by virtue of the success, or otherwise, of treatment. The role of cultural variables in the development and testing of hypothesised functional relationships is thus particularly difficult to evaluate. This paper suggests guidelines for evaluating the cultural context of behavioural assessment in clinical practice. The proposed criteria are seen as having relevance in assessing clients of both dominant and nondominant cultures. In Aotearoa / New Zealand these issues are examined within a bicultural framework. Legal and moral imperatives defining a partnership between two peoples mandate additional considerations for sound clinical assessment. The practical implications of these issues for ensuring a culturally sensitive application of behavioural assessment principles are examined according to psychometric standards, principles of behaviour change, and ethics.

Despite its inclusion as a basic component of the cognitive-behavioural treatment for panic disorder, the effects of the provision of information about panic anxiety have not been separately assessed. This study compared information-giving with self-monitoring of panic alone, on panic-related variables and negative affect for 40 people with panic disorder. In comparison to self-monitoring alone, information-giving together with self-monitoring was associated with reductions in anticipatory fear of panic and negative affect, but not panic frequency. These results suggest that provision of information about panic anxiety is an important component of the cognitive-behavioural approach to panic disorder in reducing anxious and depressive affect. The other cognitive-behavioural components of this intervention are required to impact upon specific panic parameters.

The present paper argues that discussion of the role of reasoning in clinical neuropsychology has been largely restricted to a debate over the reliability and validity of end-stage decision-making. This has sometimes led to heated debate, but has not resulted in any careful consideration of either the process of clinical reasoning or the cognition of the clinician. There is already a wealth of theory and research on the kinds of errors typical of human judgement and decision-making. Moreover, much of this work is particularly relevant for neuropsychology, being frequently based on research on medical diagnosis. This literature is briefly reviewed, with examples that demonstrate the relevance of research in this area for clinical neuropsychology. Then, a step-by-step approach is taken to examining the process of clinical neuropsychological assessment, with consideration at each step of some of the issues that arise demanding clinical reasoning. Finally, the article is briefly summarised and some implications for clinical training are advanced.

This study assessed the effectiveness of counterfactual reasoning and relaxation training in reducing worry and defensive pessimism. Thirty-three participants classified as both worriers and defensive pessimists were allocated to either counterfactual reasoning, relaxation training, or control groups. Participants in counterfactual reasoning and relaxation training groups attended four weekly training sessions. Significant reductions in worry between pre- and post-test were evident for scores on the Worry Domains Questionnaire, as well as a reduced tendency to engage in the kind of prototypical thinking characteristic of defensive pessimists as assessed by the Defensive Pessimism / Strategic Optimism Strategy Prototypes Questionnaire. Reductions were also evident in the percentage of the day spent worrying, the intrusiveness of worries, and ratings of the likelihood of worry events occurring.

This single case study examined the treatment of blood-injury-injection (BII) phobia in a 14-year-old female. Thirteen 1-hour sessions of cognitive behavioural therapy were conducted. The intervention included a combination of exposure, applied tension, and cognitive restructuring in an effort to produce clinically significant reductions in anxiety and fainting in response to BII stimuli. Results did indeed show dramatic reductions in subjective distress in BII situations from baseline to post-treatment. This was supported by small reductions in phobic anxiety and general anxiety on self-report measures. In contrast to baseline, fainting did not occur during treatment. The subject rated cognitive restructuring as the most effective treatment component for the latter half of therapy. It is suggested that, to date, the importance of cognitive therapy for the treatment of BII phobia has been overlooked.

Driving-while-disqualified (DWD) offenders represent a significant proportion of the driving offender population, and contribute to a significant drain on governmental and societal resources. The reoffence or relapse process of recidivist DWD offending has been somewhat neglected in the past, and this paper represents a first attempt at developing an empirically generated model of this phenomenon. In this study, we undertook a grounded theory analysis of offence chain information obtained from 28 male recidivist DWD offenders. The grounded theory analysis resulted in the development of a 15-stage model of the relapse process of recidivist DWD offenders. The model identifies and describes the sequence of psychological, behavioural, and environmental factors, including mediating variables that contribute to DWD reoffending. The model was then applied to 14 new offence chains to examine its level of saturation, content validity, and inter-rater reliability. The results suggest that the model has provisional validity and adequate inter-rater reliability, and achieved a high level of saturation. The strengths and value of the model are discussed, as are its clinical and research implications.