A theoretical framework for understanding self-report and observational measures of pain: a communications model

Self-report and observational measures of pain are examined from the perspective of a model of human communication. This model examines the experience of pain as affected by intrapersonal and contextual factors, the process whereby it is encoded into expressive behaviour, and the process of decoding by observers prior to their engaging in action. Self-report measures primarily capture expressive pain behaviour that is under the control of higher mental processes, whereas observational measures capture behaviour that is less subject to voluntary control and more automatic. Automatic expressive behaviours are subject to less purposeful distortion than are behaviours dependent upon higher mental processes. Consequently, observational measures can be used and have clinical utility as indices of pain when self-report is not available, for example, in infants, young children, people with intellectual disabilities or brain damage, and seniors with dementia. These measures are also useful when the credibility of self-report is questioned and even when credible self-report is available. However, automatic behaviours may be more difficult for observers to decode. The model outlined herein takes into account the role of various human developmental stages in pain experience and expression and in understanding the utility of self-report and observational measures. We conclude that both observational and self-report measures are essential in the assessment of pain because of the unique information that each type contributes.     

Structure-mapping: A theoretical framework for analogy

A theory of analogy must describe how the meaning of an analogy is derived from the meanings of its parts. In the structure-mapping theory, the interpretation rules are characterized as implicit rules for mapping knowledge about a base domain into a target domain. Two important features of the theory are (a) the rules depend only on syntactic properties of the knowledge representation, and not on the specific content of the domains; and (b) the theoretical framework allows analogies to be distinguished cleanly from literal similarity statements, applications of abstractions, and other kinds of comparisons. Two mapping principles are described: (a) Relations between objects, rather than attributes of objects, are mapped from base to target; and (b) The particular relations mapped are determined by systematicity, as defined by the existence of higher-order relations.     

Choosing a patient-reported outcome measure

There has been much philosophical interest regarding the ‘hierarchy of evidence’ used to determine which study designs are of most value for reporting on questions of effectiveness, prognosis, and so on. There has been much less philosophical interest in the choice of outcome measures with which the results of, say, an RCT or a cohort study are presented. In this paper, we examine the FDA’s recently published guidelines for assessing the psychometric adequacy of patient-reported outcome measures. We focus on their recommendations for demonstrating content validity and also for how researchers should weigh up the sum of psychometric evidence when choosing these measures. We argue that questions regarding judgment and understanding meaning of these measures should play a more central role in determining their adequacy.     

The temporally-integrated causality landscape: A theoretical framework for consciousness and meaning

Theoretical approaches to understanding consciousness have begun to converge upon areas of general agreement, yet substantive differences remain. Here, I introduce a new theoretical framework for the emergence of consciousness from the functional integration of the thalamocortical system: the Temporally-Integrated Causality Landscape (TICL). TICL presents a novel perspective which addresses important phenomenological characteristics of consciousness that other frameworks, such as IIT, do not. First, the TICL is based upon the observation that conscious experiences are temporally continuous, not discrete. Secondly, the TICL establishes a thalamocortical basis for the point-of-view. According to TICL, consciousness is composed of contents that arise from neuronal subsystems that have meaning from the point-of-view of the larger, integrated system in which they are nested. Meaningful contents emerge from the subsystems because they exhibit a level of temporally-integrated causality (TIC) that is distinguishable from that of the larger system.     

Observational goals and schema activation: A theoretical framework for behavior perception

A framework for behavioral observation is described in which the processing of a stream of behavior is influenced by an individual's prior knowledge about behavior, organized into cognitive “schemas.” It is proposed that observational goals determine the selection of goal-relevant schemas which, in turn, influence the observer's processing of an actor's behavior. Subjects watched a series of videotaped sequences featuring a female actor with instructions either to form an impression of her or to remember the details of the tasks she engaged in. They were then asked to answer questions that were either consistent or inconsistent with these instructions. Subjects were also instructed to unitize the actions or events that occurred in the sequence (D. A. Newtson, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1973, 28 28–38). According to the unitizing measure, subjects observing with different goals attended to different behavioral features. Further, impression-forming subjects were apparently more influenced by their implicit theories of personality than were task-learning subjects when asked to give ratings of the actor's personality, and task-learning subjects were relatively more accurate in recalling task-related details. Implications of this framework and these results for research in behavioral unitization and implicit personality theory are discussed.     

A general theoretical framework for the design of artificial emotion systems in Autonomous Agents

Autonomous Agents (AAs) capable of exhibiting emotional behaviors have contributed to the development of natural human-machine interactions in several application domains. In order to provide AAs with emotional mechanisms, their underlying architecture must implement an Artificial Emotion System (AES), a computational model that imitates specific facets of human emotions. Although several AES have been reported in related literature, their design is generally supported on several emotion theories, leading researchers to model and integrate isolated emotion components and mechanisms into the architectures of AES. This theoretical foundation of AES contributes to ambiguities in the analysis and comparison of their underlying architectures, which demands the definition of standards, design guidelines, and integrative frameworks. In this paper, we present a psychologically inspired theoretical framework designed to serve as a platform for the unification of AES' components, the comparison of AES, and the design and implementation of AES in AAs. We analyze common emotion-related requirements of AES, emotion components involved in the design of this type of computational model, and emotion theories that drive the design of most AES. The validation of this framework demonstrates its compatibility with current AES and its feasibility as a model for unifying multiple emotional theories.     

Psychological compensation: a theoretical framework.

The 2 main objectives of this article are to review a variety of literatures in which the concept of compensation is used and to integrate the results of this review into a general framework of compensation. The review focuses on 4 domains of psychological inquiry: compensation for sensory handicaps, cognitive deficits, interpersonal losses, and brain injury. In the proposed framework, underlying dimensions and 4 basic steps in the progression of compensatory behavior are distinguished. The latter include origins, mechanisms, forms, and consequences. Finally, we describe ways in which researchers in particular domains can benefit from the global, process-oriented framework we propose. For most of the areas of compensation research reviewed, investigators can profit from a consideration of a broader selection of dimensions, additional steps in the process, alternative outcomes, and both objective and subjective assessment procedures.     

A theoretical framework for testing the additive difference model for dissimilarities data: Representing gambles as multidimensional stimuli

Implicit within the acceptance of most multidimensional scaling models as accurate representations of an individual's cognitive structure for a set of complex stimuli, is the acceptance of the more general Additive Difference Model (ADM). A theoretical framework for testing the ordinal properties of the ADM for dissimilarities data is presented and is illustrated for a set of three-outcome gambles. Paired comparison dissimilarity judgments were obtained for two sets of gambles. Judgments from one set were first analyzed using the ALSCAL individual differences scaling model. Based on four highly interpretable dimensions derived from this analysis, a predicted set of dimensions were obtained for each subject for the second set of gambles. The ordinal properties of the ADM necessary for interdimensional additivity and intradimensional subtractivity were then tested for each subject's second set of data via a new computer-based algorithm, ADDIMOD. The tests indicated that the ADM was rejected. Although violations of the axioms were significantly less than what would be expected by chance, for only one subject was the model clearly supported. It is argued that while multidimensional scaling models may be useful as data reduction techniques, they do not reflect the perceptual processes used by individuals to form judgments of similarity. Implications for further study of multidimensional scaling models are offered and discussed.     

Dynamic self- and other-focused emotional intelligence: A theoretical framework and research agenda

This paper introduces a theoretical framework for research on the dynamics of self- and other-focused emotional intelligence (EI). The EI-framework focuses specifically on the interplay between different EI dimensions when individuals are processing their own emotions and the emotions of others. The framework captures different phases of processing self- and other-emotions. The first phase consists of situational cues (e.g., an argument) that elicit interdependent emotions in the self and others. The next phase specifies differential and interacting effects of EI dimensions when processing these emotions, and the third phase describes what proximal and distal consequences this processing may have. In addition, the framework includes candidate dispositional and contextual factors (e.g., emotion type, motivation) that may qualify the process.     

Emotional intelligence: a theoretical framework for individual differences in affective forecasting

Only recently have researchers begun to examine individual differences in affective forecasting. The present investigation was designed to make a theoretical contribution to this emerging literature by examining the role of emotional intelligence in affective forecasting. Emotional intelligence was hypothesized to be associated with affective forecasting accuracy, memory for emotional reactions, and subsequent improvement on an affective forecasting task involving emotionally evocative pictures. Results from two studies (N = 511) supported our hypotheses. Emotional intelligence was associated with accuracy in predicting, encoding, and consolidating emotional reactions. Furthermore, emotional intelligence was associated with greater improvement on a second affective forecasting task, with the relationship explained by basic memory processes. Implications for future research on basic and applied decision making are discussed.     

Multiple-role realism: A theoretical framework for the process of planning to combine career and family roles

The desire of many young women to become fully involved in both career and family roles is now a well-known phenomenon. Trends in womens' plans for a multiple-role life-style are considered, with the identification of a hopeful, overly optimistic quality characterizing such plans as well as the existence of more thoughtful planning. The construct multiple-role realism is introduced as a theoretical framework that can extend the understanding of the process of multiple-role planning and of individual differences in the development of career and family plans. Evidence supporting the theoretical formulations of multiple-role realism is reviewed. Implications for future research and interventions that follow from the proposed model are discussed.     

自我控制失败的理论模型与神经基础

自我控制指那些帮助人们克服思想和情绪, 进而依据实际情况调整自我行为的心理加工。虽然良好的自我控制对个体的成功与幸福非常重要, 但自我控制失败仍然是整个人类社会的核心问题。借助于序列任务范式, 研究者揭示了自我控制失败的认知机制并建构了多种理论, 包括能量模型、加工模型、中央管理器模型和前额叶−皮层下脑区的平衡模型。相关脑成像研究主要聚焦于额下回、杏仁核、眶额叶皮质等脑区。未来研究应侧重不同理论之间的融合与补充, 强化自我控制失败潜在神经机制的探索, 并推动自我控制与社会决策行为的关系研究。     

Self-control in children: A multimethod examination of treatment outcome measures

This investigation consisted of a multimethod evaluation of treatment outcome measures that have been developed to assess self-control in children. Subjects were 132 children from the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. Each child's homeroom teacher and one other classroom teacher independently completed the Self-Control Rating Scale (SCRS), the Teacher's Self-Control Rating Scale (TSCRS), and the 10-item Conners Teacher Rating Scale (TRS). Parents of 41 children completed the Teacher's Self-Control Rating Scale and the Conners Teacher Rating Scale. Children completed the Children's Perceived Self-Control Scale (CPSC) and were administered the Matching Familiar Figure Test (MFF). Results showed high internal consistency reliability for the TSCRS, SCRS, TRS, and MFF latency scores, CPSCS and MFF error scores demonstrated low reliability13-01=.07).Correlations between rating scales and MFF error scores also were low. The findings suggest that considerable construct confusion does exist between measures designed to assess self-control and impulsivity in children.1The authors wish to express their appreciation to Edward Guziewski, principal, and the teachers of Oregon Elementary School for their assistance and cooperation in this study. In addition, the authors thank an anonymous reviewer for helpful comments on an earlier draft of this article. This article was written while the first author was principal research investigator with the Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Unit of the Waisman Center on Mental Retardation and Human Development at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which is funded in large part by Grant HD 03352 from the National Institute on Child Health and Human Development. An earlier version of this article was presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, April 1984.