DreamWorks' How to Train Your Dragon is an animated coming-of-age story in which the hero uses behavioral techniques to befriend and then to train an adversary. This movie provides an example of the successful dissemination of behavioral principles and technologies to the general population. Although it does not represent best practices in every instance, the movie may be an indication of a broader social acceptance of behavioral approaches to conflict resolution.
Millions of Americans contact stories, articles, and reports produced by news media personnel each day. How those stories are presented has the potential to impact consumer behavior at the national level. An examination of how news personnel make decisions regarding news content is essential for understanding how to influence media's aggregate products. Information contained within news products reflects consumer practices and influences culture, posing ethical issues. How we understand relationships between media organizations, over-all culture, and consumer practices can benefit from a behavioral systems analysis. This paper identifies variables present in news media settings with respect to two news presentation contexts: objectivist and advocacy. News media are undergoing a dramatic shift in how and why stories are reported; a behavioral systems approach is key to understanding the complex relationships involved.
Various forms of humor are an important aspect of social interactions, even at an early age. Humor comprehension is a repertoire that is said to emerge between the ages of 7 and 11 years, and this is primarily attributed to a child's level of cognitive development. The behavioral literature has suggested that various forms of complex verbal behavior, including the use and comprehension of humor, are learned operants that can be taught using systematic teaching procedures. The current study used multiple exemplar training and a three-step error correction procedure to teach comprehension of double-meaning jokes to 4 children (2 females and 2 males) aged between 5 and 6.5 years old. All participants demonstrated humor comprehension and appreciation, across multiple exemplars, following training, and maintained this at follow-up. Implications for use with clinical populations are discussed.
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