Evidence-based Kernels: Fundamental Units of Behavioral Influence

This paper describes evidence-based kernels, fundamental units of behavioral influence that appear to underlie effective prevention and treatment for children, adults, and families. A kernel is a behavior–influence procedure shown through experimental analysis to affect a specific behavior and that is indivisible in the sense that removing any of its components would render it inert. Existing evidence shows that a variety of kernels can influence behavior in context, and some evidence suggests that frequent use or sufficient use of some kernels may produce longer lasting behavioral shifts. The analysis of kernels could contribute to an empirically based theory of behavioral influence, augment existing prevention or treatment efforts, facilitate the dissemination of effective prevention and treatment practices, clarify the active ingredients in existing interventions, and contribute to efficiently developing interventions that are more effective. Kernels involve one or more of the following mechanisms of behavior influence: reinforcement, altering antecedents, changing verbal relational responding, or changing physiological states directly. The paper describes 52 of these kernels, and details practical, theoretical, and research implications, including calling for a national database of kernels that influence human behavior

Conjugality, Subjectivity, Desire and Gender-based Violence in Tajikistan

This article, based on ethnographic materials collected in Tajikistan in the late 1990s, melds cross-cultural psychologies, (feminist) ethnography, sexualities and gender studies. It explores Zakari's marriage to his cousin, Sumangul. The cousins' different backgrounds produced distinct forms of (gendered) subjectivity, with Sumangul demonstrating greater intra-psychic autonomy. Their patrilocal marriage was enmeshed in gender-based violence, influenced by drug addiction and problematic intergenerational power relations. The article challenges gender-based violence as solely male on female, and shows the importance of age for gender identities in gerontocratic settings. It suggests a more nuanced approach to gender can improve development research and practice