Development of the dog executive function scale (DEFS) for adult dogs

Animal Cognition - Executive functions (EFs) are cognitive processes that are used to effortfully self-regulate behaviour and might be important for dogs’ success in working and pet roles....     

Patient Satisfaction with Cancer Genetic Counseling: A Psychometric Analysis of the Genetic Counseling Satisfaction Scale

Satisfaction is an important patient reported outcome of genetic counseling, as it is one of the elements used by professional organizations and healthcare accrediting bodies to determine the quality of professional work. However, empirical research on patient satisfaction with genetic counseling has been limited, partly due to the lack of standardized measures available to assess this construct. The purpose of this study was to conduct a psychometric analysis of a new satisfaction measure, the Genetic Counseling Satisfaction Scale (GCSS), within a sample of women participating in a no-cost cancer genetic counseling and testing program. The sample consisted of 61 women undergoing counseling and testing for hereditary breast-ovarian cancer risk (BRCA1/2 testing) who completed the GCSS following pretest counseling. The results suggest that the GCSS was reliable (Cronbach's coefficient alpha = 0.90) and that participants were highly satisfied with the care they received. In addition, there were no differences in satisfaction between cancer genetic counseling and prenatal counseling participants (based on preexisting norms), and satisfaction did not vary by sociodemographic characteristics. Implications and recommendations are discussed.     

Comparing implicit and explicit attitudes of gay,straight, and non-monosexual groups toward transmen and transwomen

Background: Transphobia studies have typically relied on self-report measures from heterosexual samples. However, there is evidence suggesting the need to use indirect measures and to explore transphobia among other populations. Aims: This study examined how explicit and implicit attitudes toward transwomen and transmen differ between people of different sexual orientations. Methods: Cisgender participants (N = 265) completed measures of explicit feelings toward transmen and transwomen, as well as Implicit Association Tests (IAT) for each group. Comparisons were made between 54 gay, 79 straight, and 132 non-monosexual (asexual, bisexual, pansexual) individuals. Results: An interaction was found between measurement type (explicit, implicit) and sexual orientation (straight, gay, non-monosexual). With regard to transmen, gay respondents’ explicit and implicit scores diverged such that they explicitly reported lower bias than their straight counterparts, but their Transmen-IAT showed an implicit preference for biological men over transmen. For attitudes toward transwomen, implicit measurement scores were consistently negative and did not differ by group. Gay participants also reported positive explicit attitudes toward transwomen, similar to non-monosexual people. Discussion: Overall, findings show that gay people tend to report positive attitudes toward transgender people explicitly, but tend to have implicit bias against both transmen and transwomen. Future studies need to explore the origins of these biases and how they relate to the complex interplay of sex, gender, and sexual orientation.     

The research misconception

Recently, several researchers and philosophers argued that clinical research trials are not therapy. Their position is based on foundational research ethics documents, such as the Belmont Report, on conceptual analysis, and on the general way clinical trials are conducted. After examining and rejecting these arguments, we claim that good research is consistent with good therapy; that often trials are good therapy; and that a blanket attack on clinical trials as non-therapeutic creates a research misconception. This misconception is potentially harmful because it could weaken trial recruitment, could adversely affect funding for trials, and could overturn needed moral safeguards on therapeutic trials. Our more careful and accurate analysis of the nature of clinical trials can avoid such problems.     

Blending Theory with Practice: Implementing Kindergarten Transition Using the Interactive Systems Framework

The Interactive Systems Framework (ISF; Wandersman et al. in Am J Commu Psychol 41(3–4):171–181, 2008) was used to implement a kindergarten transition demonstration project collaboratively developed by elementary and early education providers, community‐based family and housing services, parents, and a University intermediary and technical assistance group. First person accounts from stakeholders at all levels provide a complementary and broad perspective on the project's implementation. The practice model blended existing research on kindergarten transition and parent involvement with feedback from stakeholders to create a community‐specific program designed to help all children make a smooth entry into kindergarten. During implementation, evidence‐based approaches needed to be adjusted to fit the specific needs of each community. Using the ISF as a guide, next steps and lessons learned include increasing leadership through a district‐wide plan that is still flexible within each school community, increasing information and supports to individual schools, and improving data collection for continuous program improvement. Special Issue: Advances in Bridging Research and Practice Using the Interactive System Framework for Dissemination and Implementation; Guest Editors: Abraham Wandersman, Paul Flaspohler, Catherine A. Lesesne, Richard Puddy; Action Editor: Emilie Phillips Smith     

Visual perception in domestic dogs: susceptibility to the Ebbinghaus–Titchener and Delboeuf illusions

Susceptibility to geometrical visual illusions has been tested in a number of non-human animal species, providing important information about how these species perceive their environment. Considering their active role in human lives, visual illusion susceptibility was tested in domestic dogs (Canis familiaris). Using a two-choice simultaneous discrimination paradigm, eight dogs were trained to indicate which of two presented circles appeared largest. These circles were then embedded in three different illusory displays; a classical display of the Ebbinghaus–Titchener illusion; an illusory contour version of the Ebbinghaus–Titchener illusion; and the classical display of the Delboeuf illusion. Significant results were observed in both the classical and illusory contour versions of the Ebbinghaus–Titchener illusion, but not the Delboeuf illusion. However, this susceptibility was reversed from what is typically seen in humans and most mammals. Dogs consistently indicated that the target circle typically appearing larger in humans appeared smaller to them, and that the target circle typically appearing smaller in humans, appeared larger to them. We speculate that these results are best explained by assimilation theory rather than other visual cognitive theories explaining susceptibility to this illusion in humans. In this context, we argue that our findings appear to reflect higher-order conceptual processing in dogs that cannot be explained by accounts restricted to low-level mechanisms of early visual processing.     

Respecting the LDS/Mormon Minority on Campus: College Students’ Attitudes Toward Latter‐Day Saints

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter‐Day Saints remain a minoritized and marginalized population in the United States at large, a pattern mirrored on the majority of college and university campuses across the United States. This study addresses how social identities, institutional contexts, and intergroup dynamics within the postsecondary education environment contribute to cultivating college students’ attitudes toward LDS/Mormons and Mormonism. Using data collected from 13,584 college students attending 52 institutions across the country, the study employs multilevel modeling to examine these relationships. The analyses highlight the importance of productive interreligious contact in a supportive institutional context for shaping out‐group attitudes. Affirming the interplay between social identity and intergroup contact, effects on out‐group attitudes vary to some extent by religion/worldview. Implications for research and practice are discussed.