Use of self-monitoring and delayed feedback to increase on-task behavior in a post-institutionalized child within regular classroom settings.

Use of self-monitoring and delayed feedback to increase on-task behavior in a post-institutionalized child within regular classroom settings. Abstract The use of a self-monitoring strategy to increase on-task behaviorwas examined with a post-institutionalized 13-year-old child who wasincluded in a regular school. A functional assessment conducted prior tothe intervention indicated that the student engaged in stereotypy stereotypy/ster��eo��ty��py/ (ster��e-o-ti?pe) persistent repetition or sameness of acts, ideas, or words. ster��e��o��ty��pyn.1. The maintenance of one attitude for a long period. on analmost continuous basis unless she was actively involved in academictasks. A self-monitoring intervention was implemented across threeclassrooms in a multiple baseline design fashion. Significant increasesof on-task behavior were observed in all three classrooms during theimplementation of the self-monitoring intervention. A brief withdrawalof the self-monitoring intervention in one classroom resulted indecreased on-task behavior. On-task behavior then increased when theintervention was re-introduced. The results are discussed in terms ofdeveloping strategies to support children with severe disabilities ininclusive classrooms. DESCRIPTORS: Self-monitoring, Romanian orphans, Inclusiveeducation, Functional assessment, Stereotypy. ********** Recent court decisions and government policy positions have createdopportunities for students with intellectual disabilities to attendtheir local national schools in the Republic of Ireland (Education Act,1998; O'Donoghue V. The Minister for Health, The Minister forEducation, and The Attorney Genera genera,in taxonomy: see classification. !, 1993). Until recently, the majorityof educational services for these students were provided in segregatedspecial schools (Bennet bennetexcludes the devil; used on door frames. [Medieval Folklore: Boland, 56]See : Protection , Gash, & O'Reilly, 1998). Segregatededucational provision continues to be the dominant model for childrenwith moderate levels of disability while any form of systematiceducational provision for children with severe/profound disabilitiesremains in its infancy (Gash, O'Reilly, & Walsh, 1996).Children with intellectual disabilities who are placed in local nationalschools and their teachers usually have very little access to specialeducation support services support servicesPsychology Non-health care-related ancillary services–eg, transportation, financial aid, support groups, homemaker services, respite services, and other services . Without the development of specialistsupport services to such classrooms the educational inclusion of thesestudents m ay not be successful (e.g., Hunt & Goetz, 1997). A developing body of literature from the United States United States,officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. is beginningto describe a series of instructional/classroom technologies that seemto be effective in supporting the academic/social inclusion of studentswith intellectual disabilities in regular classroom settings. Forexample, the use of cooperative learning cooperative learningEducation theory A student-centered teaching strategy in which heterogeneous groups of students work to achieve a common academic goal–eg, completing a case study or a evaluating a QC problem. See Problem-based learning, Socratic method. or peer tutoring instructionalmodels can enhance academic achievement and social inclusion of studentswith intellectual disabilities (Hunt, Staub, Alwell, & Goetz, 1994;Robertson & Weismer, 1997). Other researchers have examined variousinterventions to improve social behaviors of students with disabilitieswhile interacting with peers during play periods at school (Kamps etal., 1992; Pierce & Schreibman, 1997). Various other forms ofcurriculum modification have been demonstrated to enhance the learningopportunities of students with intellectual disabilities in inclusiveclassrooms (Dunlap, Kern-Dunlap, Clarke, & Robbins, 1991;Foster-Johnson, Ferro, & Dunlap, 1994). Self-management techniques have also been forwarded as potentiallyimportant strategies that can be used to enhance independent activityand decrease challenging behaviors in classrooms (Koegel, Harrower har��row?1?n.A farm implement consisting of a heavy frame with sharp teeth or upright disks, used to break up and even off plowed ground.tr.v. har��rowed, har��row��ing, har��rows1. ,& Koegel, 1999). Four strategies of self-management have beendescribed in the literature and include: self-monitoring orself-recording, sell-assessment or self-evaluation, self-instruction,and self-reinforcement (Nelson, Smith, Young, & Dodd, 1991). Whilethe functional properties of some of these strategies may differ suchstrategies can enhance the ability of the student to manage their ownbehavior and thereby free-up classroom personnel to concentrate on otheractivities. Self-monitoring or self-recording is a particular set of strategieswhereby the student is taught to discriminate dis��crim��i��nate?v. dis��crim��i��nat��ed, dis��crim��i��nat��ing, dis��crim��i��natesv.intr.1. a. targeted behaviors and torecord the occurrence and/or nonoccurrence of these behaviors duringpredetermined pre��de��ter��mine?v. pre��de��ter��mined, pre��de��ter��min��ing, pre��de��ter��minesv.tr.1. To determine, decide, or establish in advance: time intervals within a given session or activity.Self-monitoring interventions have proven to be dramatically effectivein reducing challenging behavior (e.g., stereotypy) with individualswith severe disabilities such as autism autism(ô`tĭzəm), developmental disability resulting from a neurological disorder that affects the normal functioning of the brain. It is characterized by the abnormal development of communication skills, social skills, and reasoning. (Koegel & Koegel, 1990).More recently these self-monitoring strategies have been successfullyused to increase academic performance and reduce disruptive behaviorwith 2 students with severe disabilities in regular kindergarten kindergarten[Ger.,=garden of children], system of preschool education. Friedrich Froebel designed (1837) the kindergarten to provide an educational situation less formal than that of the elementary school but one in which children's creative play instincts would be classrooms (Koegel, Harrower, & Koegel, 1999). The current study extended the analysis of the use ofself-monitoring with students with disabilities in regular classrooms ina number of ways. This study was conducted with a student who hadsuffered severe early deprivation in Romanian orphanages prior toadoption by Irish parents. Some 600 of these children have been adoptedby Irish parents in the last decade and a substantial subgroup sub��group?n.1. A distinct group within a group; a subdivision of a group.2. A subordinate group.3. Mathematics A group that is a subset of a group.tr.v. of thesechildren display developmental delay accompanied by challenging behavior(Lacey lac��ey?adj.Variant of lacy. , 2001). Frequent forms of challenging behavior displayed by thesechildren include tantrums and quasi-autistic stereotypy the severity ofwhich seem to be associated with length of stay in such orphanages(Fisher, Ames, Chisholm, & Savoie, 1997; Marcovitch, et al., 1997;Rutter et al., 1999). This is the first known study that has appliedself-monitoring to treat quasi-autistic stereotypy with such children.Also, the use of a self-monitoring intervention in the classroom withthis child was based on the results of a functional assessm ent that wasconducted in an outpatient clinic. Method Participant and Settings Pauline was a 13-year-old Romanian girl who was adopted by Irishparents 3 years previously. She had spent the first 10 years of her lifein a number of Romanian orphanages where she was reported to haveexperienced severe deprivation and abuse (e.g., her adopted parentsreported that she had spent the first 2 years of her life confined con��fine?v. con��fined, con��fin��ing, con��finesv.tr.1. To keep within bounds; restrict: Please confine your remarks to the issues at hand.See Synonyms at limit. to acrib with minimal adult contact). Psychological assessment immediatelyprior to this study indicated that she was functioning at the moderatelevel of developmental disability. She was referred to the Biobehavioural Unit at the NationalUniversity of Ireland, Dublin due to problems she was experiencing atschool. Assessments (psychiatric interview psychiatric interviewPsychiatry The central vehicle for assessing a psychiatric Pt, during which there is a free exchange of information that forms the basis for therapy and outpatient functionalassessment) were conducted over a 2 hr period at the Biobehavioural Uniton the University campus. Pauline attended sixth grade in her localNational School. Classes at the school were streamed for academicability and Pauline attended the lower ability classes. She alsoreceived one-to-one tuition for English with a resource teacher 4 hr aweek. The intervention, derived from the results of this outpatientassessment, was implemented during Gaelic, Religion, and English classesat the school. These classes consisted of 15, 30, and 10 studentsrespectively. Pauline had the same teacher for Gaelic and Religion and changed teacher for English. Target Behaviors A structured telephone interview was conducted with parents andschool personnel. This interview is designed to examine the topography topography(təpŏg`rəfē), description or representation of the features and configuration of land surfaces. Topographic maps use symbols and coloring, with particular attention given to the shape and elevations of terrain. of challenging behavior, potential communicative com��mu��ni��ca��tive?adj.1. Inclined to communicate readily; talkative.2. Of or relating to communication.com��mu function of suchbehavior, current communication skills, and health status of the person.Results of the interview revealed that Pauline engaged in high levels ofstereotypic stereotypic/ster��eo��typ��ic/ (ster?e-o-tip��ik) having a fixed, unvarying form. behavior throughout the school day. This behavior wasdescribed as interfering with ongoing educational activities. Interviewresults also seemed to indicate that her behavior did not serve acommunicative function (e.g., did not seem to be associated with accessto attention or escape from tasks etc.). Stereotypic behavior included,body-rocking (moving back and forth when sitting or swaying sway?v. swayed, sway��ing, swaysv.intr.1. To swing back and forth or to and fro. See Synonyms at swing.2. from side toside when standing), and hand-gazing (placing a hand in front of herface and staring at it). The target behavior selected for the classroom intervention wason-task behavior. On-task behavior was operationally defined as Paulinesitting appropriately at her desk with her eyes focused on her work oron her teacher when instruction was being delivered by the teacher tothe class. On-task behavior was selected for intervention because it isan adaptive behavior Adaptive behavior is a type of behavior that is used to adapt to another type of behavior or situation. This is often characterized by a kind of behavior that allows an individual to substitute an unconstructive or disruptive behavior to something more constructive. that is incompatible with stereotypic behavior. Procedure A multiple baseline design across classes was used to demonstrateexperimental control. After an outpatient functional assessment, on-taskbehavior was measured under baseline conditions (i.e., no interventionswere in place) during all three classes until stability occurred. Theself-monitoring program was then implemented in Gaelic class whilebaseline conditions remained during Religion and English classes. Theintervention was then sequentially implemented across Religion andEnglish classes. A withdrawal phase was introduced for Gaelic class onceon-task behavior had stabilized sta��bi��lize?v. sta��bi��lized, sta��bi��liz��ing, sta��bi��liz��esv.tr.1. To make stable or steadfast.2. at acceptable levels (i.e., theself-monitoring materials were removed). This withdrawal was conductedto examine whether the self-monitoring materials were necessary tomaintain behavior change Behavior change refers to any transformation or modification of human behavior. Such changes can occur intentionally, through behavior modification, without intention, or change rapidly in situations of mental illness. . Outpatient Assessment. The outpatient assessment began with adetailed interview of the mother and father. Immediately following theinterview a structured functional assessment was conducted. Thisassessment was implemented by the parents under the guidance of apsychologist. The psychologist described and modeled how the parentsshould interact with Pauline during each functional assessment conditionimmediately prior to each condition. Pauline was systematically exposedto a series of three social conditions in a multielement treatmentdesign fashion. Each condition was implemented for three sessions andeach session was 4 min in length. In the alone condition Pauline wasobserved through a one way mirror while on her own in a therapy room. Inthe ignore condition both of Pauline's parents were present in thetherapy room. The parents interacted with each other but did notinteract with Pauline. Finally, in the instruction condition the fatherattempted to teach Pauline a variety of tasks that were taken f rom hercurrent school curriculum. No contingencies were in place for stereotypyduring these assessment conditions. These assessment conditions wereimplemented to examine her stereotypy under low (i.e., alone and ignoreconditions) and high (i.e., instruction) levels of stimulation. Atraditional functional analysis was not conducted (i.e., Iwata, Dorsey,Slifer, Bauman, & Richman, 1982/ 1994) as parents seemed quitedistressed during the prior interview and such assessments can bestressful for parents to conduct. Stereotypic behavior was recorded during sessions using a 10spartial interval system. Interobserver reliability was conducted on 44%of sessions by having a second observer simultaneously collectobservational data. Interobserver agreement was calculated by dividingthe number of agreements by the number of agreements plus disagreementsand multiplying by 100%. Mean agreement was 93.75% (range, 79% to 100%).Results of this assessment indicated that high levels of stereotypyoccurred across all social conditions which indicated the possibility ofa self-stimulatory function (see Results section). The interview alsosupported the self-stimulatory proposal as parents described a historyof severe early impoverishment which can predict such maladaptive MaladaptiveUnsuitable or counterproductive; for example, maladaptive behavior is behavior that is inappropriate to a given situation.Mentioned in: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy behavior (Bowlby, 1969). Based on the results of the interviews andoutpatient assessment a self-monitoring intervention was developed andimplemented in the school setting with Pauline. Baseline. Regular classroom instruction occurred under baselineconditions across Gaelic, Religion, and English classes. Noself-monitoring materials were available (i.e., wristwatch orself-monitoring sheets). An observer (or two observers duringreliability checks) sat unobtrusively un��ob��tru��sive?adj.Not undesirably noticeable or blatant; inconspicuous.unob��tru in the class and recordedPauline's performance during all sessions. Self-Monitoring Training in Resource Room. Pauline was taught touse the self-monitoring protocol during two 1 hr training sessions.These sessions were conducted by two graduate psychology trainees (bothwere also certified See certification. teachers) in a resource room at the school. At thebeginning of each training session the trainers discussed the importanceof remaining on-task during class. Three 4 min training scenariosderived from the Gaelic curriculum were used during training. First, thetrainers role played on-task and off-task (i.e., stereotypy) behaviorwhile Pauline observed. For example, one trainer would deliverinstruction while the other trainer played the role of student. For eachminute of a 4 min scenario a trainer would engage in on-task behavior oroff-task behavior. At the end of each minute Pauline was asked toidentify whether the trainer had been on-task or off-task during theprevious minute. Descriptive verbal praise was delivered for correctanswers ("That's right Pauline. She was off-task beca use shewas rocking back and forth in her chair and staring at her hands. Shewas not paying attention Noun 1. paying attention - paying particular notice (as to children or helpless people); "his attentiveness to her wishes"; "he spends without heed to the consequences"attentiveness, heed, regard to what the teacher was writing on theboard"). Descriptive corrective cor��rec��tiveadj.Counteracting or modifying what is malfunctioning, undesirable, or injurious.n.An agent that corrects.corrective,n feedback was given for incorrectanswers. This training continued until Pauline accurately identifiedon-task and off-task behavior during each of the three scenarios with100% accuracy on three consecutive trials. At this point in the training a repeat chronograph chronograph/chron��o��graph/ (kron��ah-graf) an instrument for recording small intervals of time. chronographan instrument for recording small intervals of time. wristwatch andself-monitoring sheet was introduced. The wristwatch alarm activatedevery minute and Pauline was to record whether she was on-task oroff-task during the previous minute. The trainers again role played thethree classroom scenarios. When the alarm sounded the trainer who roleplayed the student would record on the self-monitoring sheet and woulddescribe aloud the reasons for making that recording (e.g., "I amputting a check mark beside off-task because I was rocking back andforth and looking out the window when I should have been payingattention to the teacher"). Pauline was then instructed to use the self-monitoring sheet torecord her own on-task and off-task behavior during the three trainingscenarios. If Pauline was on-task for 1 min and accurately recorded thatshe was on-task she received verbal praise and an ink stamp (aconsequence which she seemed to enjoy) was placed on her self-monitoringsheet. If she was off-task and accurately recorded this she receivedverbal praise but no ink stamp. She received corrective feedback if sheself-monitored incorrectly. Training continued until she accuratelyself-monitored on all three classroom scenarios for three consecutivetrials. Self-Monitoring Training in Gaelic Class. One of the trainers satbeside Pauline during two Gaelic classes (about 40 min per class). Thetrainer unobtrusively delivered feedback (praise or corrective feedback)each minute on accuracy of self-monitoring. At the end of each class thetrainer briefly met with Pauline in the resource room and deliveredfeedback on accuracy of self-monitoring and her on-task behavior duringclass. In the resource room Pauline received verbal praise and an inkstamp for each interval that she was on-task and had accurately recordedsuch. She received verbal praise for accurately recording being off taskduring an interval. Corrective feedback was delivered for incorrectself-monitoring during an interval. The ink stamps were delivered inthis manner (i.e., in the resource room following the observations)throughout the remainder of the study. Independent Self-Monitoring in Gaelic Class. Immediately prior toGaelic class each day the trainers briefly met with Pauline and promptedher to self-monitor during the upcoming class. They then gave Paulinethe necessary self-monitoring materials (i.e., chronograph wristwatchand self-monitoring sheet). One of the trainers sat unobtrusively at theback of the class and recorded on-task behavior and completed aself-monitoring sheet. At the end of the class the teacher briefly metwith Pauline in the resource room and compared self-monitoring sheets.Pauline again received verbal praise and an ink stamp on herself-monitoring sheet if she accurately recorded being on task duringany 1 min interval, verbal praise if she accurately recorded beingoff-task during any 1 min interval, and corrective feedback if sherecorded incorrectly for any of the 1 min intervals. Introduction of Self-Monitoring to Religion and English Classes.The self-monitoring intervention was introduced to Religion and Englishclasses using the protocol described under the IndependentSelf-Monitoring in Galeic Class section described above. Immediatelyprior to the classes Pauline was given the self-monitoring materials andinstructed to use them in class. She then met with one of the trainersin the resource room immediately following the class and receivedfeedback on her self-monitoring as described above. Classroom Observations and Interobserver Reliability Observation sessions were 10 min in length and a maximum of twosessions were conducted during any one class (i.e., classes in the threesubjects lasted 40 min each). On-task behavior was measured using a 10 spartial interval recording protocol. Interobserver reliability wasconducted on 56% of sessions by having a second observer simultaneouslycollect observational data in the classroom. Interobserver agreement wascalculated by dividing the number of agreements by the number ofagreements plus disagreements and multiplying by 100%. Mean agreementwas 95% (range, 78% to 100%) for on-task behavior in the classroom. Social Validity The two most well-behaved students in the class were selected bythe classroom teachers. On-task behavior of both students was recordedfor a total of 15 sessions across baseline and intervention phases ofthe study. An overall range of on-task behavior was then tabulated forthese students (86% to 94%). This provided a range of on-task behaviorthat teachers might expect to occur in class. Both classroom teacherswere also interviewed with regard to the acceptability and effectivenessof the intervention at the end of the study. Results The results of the functional assessment are presented in Figure 1.Pauline's stereotypy was continuous when she was alone in thetherapy room. With the exception of one session (i.e., 87.5% ofintervals) stereotypy was also continuous in the ignore condition.Stereotypy was high and variable during the instruction conditions(i.e., 62.5%, 91.6%, 54% of intervals). The results of the self-monitoring intervention in Gaelic,Religion, and English classes are presented in Figure 2. The baselinecondition in Gaelic and Religion classes reveal low levels of on-taskbehavior. The mean levels of on-task behavior for Gaelic and Religionwere 32% and 29% respectively. Data from English class reveal thaton-task behavior was not low, nevertheless there was much room forimprovement as some observations revealed levels of on-task behavior aslow as 12%. The mean level of on-task behavior during English class was53.5%. Independent self-monitoring resulted in immediate and dramaticincreases of on-task behavior across all three classes. Mean levels ofperformance in Gaelic, Religion, and English classes were 93.5% (range,84% to 100%), 87% (range, 75% to 95%), and 95% (range, 92% to 100%)respectively. These results indicate that Pauline achieved levels ofon-task behavior that were within the range of what her teachers woulddescribe as being well-behaved (86% to 94%). The self-monitoringmaterials were withdrawn for a period of time during Gaelic class.During this withdrawal condition on-task behavior decreased. When theself-monitoring intervention was re-introduced to Gaelic class on-taskbehavior returned to acceptable levels. Discussion The results of this study demonstrate the effectiveness of aself-monitoring program that included feedback on sell-monitoring at theend of each class period to increase on-task behavior. In fact, thisstudent performed within the range of on-task behavior that her teacherswould expect of well-behaved students. The teachers noted the dramaticpositive changes in the student's behavior when interviewed at theend of the program (i.e., higher levels of on-task behavior and reducedlevels of stereotypy). Teachers also noted that they did not find theintervention and observation protocol to be intrusive in��tru��sive?adj.1. Intruding or tending to intrude.2. Geology Of or relating to igneous rock that is forced while molten into cracks or between other layers of rock.3. Linguistics Epenthetic. and that theywould continue to implement the self-monitoring intervention in theirclassrooms. The self-monitoring intervention was selected for use in theclassroom based on the results of a brief outpatient functionalassessment. The results of this functional assessment seemed to indicatethat stereotypical behavior In animals, a stereotypical behavior or stereotypy is a repetitive motor behavior without obvious purpose or function. It is considered an abnormal behavior and is sometimes seen in captive animals, particularly those held in small enclosures with little opportunity to occurred almost continuously when thestudent was not actively engaged in tasks. It was presumed that aself-monitoring program might interrupt such stereotypic responses byprompting the individual to focus on the task at hand. This type ofstereotypy is often found in children who have suffered from severeforms of deprivation in infancy and early childhood (Bowlby, 1969) andhas been described as quasi-autistic in nature (Rutter et al., 1999).Previous research has demonstrated the effectiveness of self-monitoringinterventions to reduce stereotypy with students who were diagnosed withautism (Koegel & Koegel, 1990). SELF-MONITORING Following training on the use of the self-monitoring strategy forGaelic class the participant was instructed to use self-monitoring inthe classroom and demonstrated immediate and dramatic increases ofon-task behavior during that class. Her use of the self-monitoringstrategy also generalized successfully to Religion and English classeswithout further resource room training. These findings further supportprevious research which has demonstrated how students with severedisabilities can, with minimal difficulties, transfer the use of thesestrategies across settings (Koegel & Koegel, 1990). With the returnto the baseline phase in Gaelic class (i.e., the watch andself-monitoring sheet were removed and she did not receive feedbackfollowing class) there was a decreasing trend in performance towardsprior baseline levels. This result suggests that increases of on-taskbehavior were due to the self-monitoring strategy and were notattributable to the presence of the observer (who was also involved intrainin g) in the classroom. There are a number of limitations with the current study thatdeserve discussion. The study was conducted with a single case and whilethese preliminary results are positive there is need to furtherreplicate rep��li��catev.1. To duplicate, copy, reproduce, or repeat.2. To reproduce or make an exact copy or copies of genetic material, a cell, or an organism.n.A repetition of an experiment or a procedure. such procedures with this population. The intervention wasconducted during one academic term (lasting approximately 3 months). Thelong-term effectiveness of the self-monitoring procedure was thereforenot evaluated. Future research should examine whether such interventionscan produce lasting positive changes with this population. It would havebeen helpful to measure stereotypy as a separate response topographyduring the classroom intervention. Such measurement might have allowedfor firm statements about the effectiveness of self-monitoring to reducestereotypy. However, teachers did note a substantial reduction instereotypy when the intervention was introduced to the classrooms. While challenging behavior was systematically assessed under avariety of social conditions no contingencies were in place forstereotypy during these assessments. It may have been instructive in��struc��tive?adj.Conveying knowledge or information; enlightening.in��structive��ly adv. toconduct a functional analysis using the conditions described by Iwata,Dorsey, Slifer, Bauman, & Richman (1982/1994). A functional analysismay have clarified additional social functions of such stereotypy andmay have been helpful in prescribing additional intervention strategies.Future research should include a functional analysis of such behaviorsin order to clarify whether they are automatically maintained or whetherthey serve additional social functions. Future research might also focuson increasing other academic behaviors (e.g., completion of specificacademic assignments) in addition to on-task behavior. Being on-task,however, is a necessary prerequisite pre��req��ui��site?adj.Required or necessary as a prior condition: Competence is prerequisite to promotion.n. for academic performance and waschosen for this student because it was incompatible with her challengingbehavior (i.e., stereotypy). [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] [FIGURE 2 OMITTED] References Bennet, J., Gash, H., & O'Reilly, M. F. (1998). Ireland:Integration as appropriate, segregation segregation:see apartheid; integration. where necessary. 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Rutter, M., Anderson-Wood, L., Beckett, C., Brendenkamp, D.,Castle, J., Groothues, C., Kreppner, J., Keaveney, L., Lord, C.,O'Connor, T., & the English and Romanian Adoptees (ERA) StudyTeam (1999). Quasi-autistic patterns following severe early globalprivation. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry psychiatry(səkī`ətrē, sī–), branch of medicine that concerns the diagnosis and treatment of mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders, including major depression, schizophrenia, and anxiety. , 40, 537-549. Corresponding Author: Mark O'Reilly, Department of Psychology,Science Building, National University of Ireland, Dublin, Belfield,Dublin 4, IRELAND. Phone/Fax: 353 45 483615 E Mail: mark.oreilly@ucd.ie Author Notes: Roisin Tiernan is now at Teachers Training College,Columbia University Columbia University,mainly in New York City; founded 1754 as King's College by grant of King George II; first college in New York City, fifth oldest in the United States; one of the eight Ivy League institutions. . Requests for reprints can be sent to: MarkO'Reilly, Department of Psychology, National University of Ireland,Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, IRELAND.