Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

G Berkson

Publications and source records attributed to G Berkson.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1983

Repetitive stereotyped behaviors.

This paper points to factors that determine whether repetitive stereotyped behavior occur in the behavior repertoire. The analysis pits an "intrinsic oscillator" mechanism against a "self-stimulation" theory and chooses to emphasize the latter. The paper accounts for the repetitive and rhythmic nature of stereotypy by suggesting that repetition in a rhythmic way is the most efficient way of self-stimulation. It proposes that rhythm may be a reinforcement in at least some cases. It raises the question of whether control of stimulation by the person is a necessary condition for maintaining stereotypy. The paper recognizes the possibility that stereotyped behaviors may have their origin in the common repetitive behaviors of infancy but emphasizes that pathological stereotypy may involve more than immature repetition. It suggests that there is reason to believe that early intervention to prevent pathological stereotyped behavior might be effective but that we do not know much about how stereotypies get started.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Social ecology of supervised communal facilities for mentally disabled adults: IV. Characteristics of social behavior.

Behavior categories for observations of 304 mentally disabled adults were analyzed in relation to settings (sheltered workshops and residential facility), personal characteristics (age, sex, IQ, diagnosis, and desire for affiliation) and characteristics of partners. Both settings and personal characteristics predicted individual behavior rates for the 10 most frequently observed behavior categories. As many as 14 dimensions were extracted from behavior observed in more intense dyadic relationships; these dimensions were strongly related to characteristics of the individuals in the relationships. Although more intelligent individuals exhibited higher rates of verbal behavior, they were not more verbal in their intense social relationships. Furthermore, individuals at all levels of intelligence were sensitive to the intellectual characteristics of their partners. The results suggest that the social behavior of mentally disabled people is complex and sensitive to the presence and characteristics of others; peer-group composition seems to be critical to social adaptation in communal settings for this population.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Social ecology of supervised communal facilities for mentally disabled adults. V. Residence as a predictor of social and work adjustment.

Matched groups of mildly retarded people who lived with their families, independently, or in a sheltered-care home were compared with respect to various measures of work performance and social behavior in sheltered workshops. Differences between the groups were negligible. The results suggest that residential placement by itself does not strongly correlate with productivity or sociability.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Social ecology of supervised communal facilities for mentally disabled adults: VI. Initial social adaptation.

The social adaptation of mentally disabled adults introduced to two new vocational rehabilitation settings was investigated. Client behavior was observed for 8 weeks after placement in an evaluation center and for an additional 8 weeks in subsequent workshop settings. During the evaluation period, clients' sociability increased with time in the program. In the later workshop placements, the social milieu rather than time in the program influenced the degree of client sociability. Specifically, in the first 2 weeks of workshop placement, clients placed in Workshop A, which had a more sociable milieu, remained at the high levels of sociability, similar to the last weeks in the evaluation phase. In contrast, clients placed in Workshop B showed a decline in sociability, which was related to environmental variables. Clients initially affiliated more with other clients they knew during evaluation, but this tendency decreased as they became integrated into the workshop program.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Social ecology of supervised communal facilities for mentally disabled adults: I. Introduction.

This is the first of a series of papers in which we describe social relationships among mentally disabled adults who worked in four sheltered workshops. In this paper, procedures for observing and interviewing clients and for interviewing staff members were described, and data on reliability and general levels of social behavior were reported. Reliability of social behavior was significant across time and situations. Social-choice estimates were not very consistent across staff, clients, and observations. Clients spent about 40 percent of their time in informal socializing, primarily in conversation. In future papers in the series, we analyze predictors of social behavior and social choice in detail.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Social ecology of supervised communal facilities for mentally disabled adults: II. Predictors of affiliation.

The behavior of 304 mentally disabled adults was observed in five settings (one residence, four sheltered workshops) during periods when they were free to affiliate with peers. Regression analyses using settings, personal traits (age, sex, IQ, and diagnosis), and mediating variables (e.g., physical attractiveness, desire for affiliation, and length of institutionalization) were conducted to predict various aspects of affiliative behavior. Settings accounted for 16 to 63 percent of the predictable variation independent of personal and mediating variables. Although older and mentally ill clients affiliated less extensively, neither degree of retardation, length of previous institutionalization, use of medication, or other physical disabilities appeared to affect affiliation independent of other variables. In general, clients who were physically attractive, desired affiliation, and had intelligent peers in their programs affiliated more extensively and intensively with peers. In total, the findings indicate that the variables most predictive of affiliation in the present community settings were also the ones most amenable to personal or environmental changes.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Social ecology of supervised communal facilities for mentally disabled adults: III. Predictors of social choice.

This paper is the third in a series in which the social behavior of mentally disabled clients in community facilities was examined. In this report, social choice for various cognitive and physical characteristics and for exposure to others was investigated in five settings. Preferences were inferred from observed affiliation, self reports, and staff judgments. Clients tended to prefer peers whom they had more exposure to, same-sex peers, and peers of similar attractiveness. Opposite-sex relationships were also common and were strongaer for women. Neither similarity nor complementarity choice was obtained for age of the desire for affiliation; however, retarded clients tended to be segregated from mentally ill clients. Although clients tended to name friends of similar intellects, a form of "limited complementarity" appeard to govern observed affiliation preferences in the clients preferred to affiliate with peers who were somewhat different in IQ. This result suggests that clients of relatively moderate intelligence are critical to the social integration of a setting, since they are most likely to form relationship with clients of both higher and lower intelligence. The implications of these results for the sociability of a setting were discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Affiliation and friendship of mentally retarded residents in group homes.

The social behavior of 208 mentally retarded residents in 18 group homes was observed and analyzed in terms of their (a) informal grouping behavior, (b) affiliation, and (c) intense social relationships ("friendships"). Moderately to mildly retarded residents engaged in "social" types of behavior in groups (primarily dyads) and "neutral" types of behavior when alone. In contrast, profoundly retarded residents did not behave differently when others were present, although they did display social types of behavior. Residents' affiliative behavior was not as related to personal characteristics (sex and intelligence) as it was to (a) size of the group home, (b) average intelligence of the residents in the home, (c) sex ratio in the home, and (d) homogeneity of the residents' backgrounds. Although residents in large homes affiliated more extensively with others, intense relationships were as likely in large as in small homes. Sixteen intense friendships were identified and described. In total, the results support the view that the group home environment can influence residents' affiliation and friendship.

Adult↗
PubMed1975

Effects of maternal mobility on the development of rocking and other behaviors in rhesus monkeys: a study with artificial mothers.

Mechanically driven mobile artificial mothers effectively prevented the development of stereotyped body-rocking in rhesus monkeys. Monkeys were maternally separated at birth and assigned to 2 groups. Both groups were placed with surrogates, identical in construction except that for 1 group the surrogate was in motion 50% of the time from 0500 hours to 2400 hours each day, and for the other group the surrogate was stationary. All but 1 of the 10 monkeys raised with stationary artificial mothers developed rocking as an habitual pattern whereas none of the 9 monekys raised with mobile mothers did so. The data also suggest that emotional responsiveness was reduced in monkeys raised with mobile mothers, compared to monkeys raised with stationary devices.

Age Factors↗