Emergence of response‐response relations

The present study examined whether bidirectional response‐response relations could be established without direct reinforcement. In AB training for 12 undergraduates, higher rates of touches to a white circle on the monitor screen (A1) produced two stimuli (B1 and B2) on half of the trials, whereas lower rates (A2) produced the same effect on the other half. Choosing one of the two stimuli was reinforced according to the preceding responding (A1B1 and A2B2). In BC training, touching a stimulus (B1 or B2) produced three white circles lined up horizontally on the screen, after which one of two different response sequences to the circles (left‐center‐right, C1 or C2, and right‐center‐left, C2 or C1) were reinforced, depending on the stimulus presented (B1C1 and B2C2). After AB and BC relations were established, 11 of 12 participants showed the emergence of untrained relations (BA, CB, AC, and CA) throughout five test sessions, and the remaining participant showed it in the first four test sessions. These response‐response relations were replicated with five other undergraduates and different trained relations.     

Evaluating a humane alternative to the bark collar: Automated differential reinforcement of not barking in a home‐alone setting

The aim of this study was to develop a humane alternative to the traditional remote devices that deliver punishers contingent on home‐alone dog barking. Specifically, we evaluated the use of remote delivery of food contingent on intervals of not barking during the pet owner's absence. In Experiment 1, 5 dogs with a history of home‐alone nuisance barking were recruited. Using an ABAB reversal design, we demonstrated that contingent remote delivery of food decreased home‐alone barking for 3 of the dogs. In Experiment 2, we demonstrated that it is possible to thin the differential‐reinforcement‐of‐other‐behavior (DRO) schedule gradually, resulting in a potentially more acceptable treatment. Our results benefit the dog training community by providing a humane tool to combat nuisance barking.     

Vicarious and post‐memory practices in adopting families: The re‐production of the past through photography and narrative

In this paper, we explore how adoptive parents manage and order visual information relating to their adoptive child's birth or foster family. More specifically, our task is to make sense of the ways in which the memories that children have of their past families are (re)constructed and managed within the context of present adoptive parental concerns. Life story books have become a dominant way in which narratives of the child's past family are formed. The aim of this book is to provide the child with relevant information, objects, possessions and images of the past and to create a coherent narrative between the past and the present. Parents are encouraged to make use of visual images, consisting mainly of photographs of birth families and foster carers to order the autobiography of the child. To date, there is no research that has examined how the process is experienced by parents and children. In order to examine how parents made use of visual information in particular, we carried out two focus groups with adoptive parents who participated in an adoption agency support group. A social remembering approach informed the questions asked, and a discursive analysis of the data was developed. The main analytical focus in this paper is on how photographs, objects and places serve as active participants in the production of the adoptive children's memory. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Beyond resolution of presenting issues: Clients' experiences of an in‐house police counselling service

The availability of counselling services for employees has expanded significantly in recent years. However, despite an increase in appreciation of the value of counselling within the police service, there has been little research into the effectiveness of counselling with police personnel. The present study assesses an in‐house counselling service provided by the welfare and counselling department of a Scottish police force. Thirteen former clients (including both police officers and civilian support staff) were interviewed about their views on four areas of the counselling provision: how they entered counselling, the issues they brought, their experiences during counselling, and their assessment of the impact of counselling on their lives. Interviews were analysed using a grounded theory approach, which identified four main categories: initial engagement, learning by participating, experiencing moments of deep self‐examination, and moving beyond resolution of presenting problems. All of those who were interviewed appreciated the provision of a counselling service within their employment, and the majority reported that they had not only been helped to resolve their presenting problems, but had also made important gains in self‐awareness and work effectiveness. Findings are discussed in terms of implications for service delivery and future research.     

An exploration of the benefits of animal‐assisted activities in undergraduate students in Singapore

The rise in psychological problems, attrition, and suicide rates of university students has been linked to the stressful challenges faced during university life. To buffer this, animal assisted activities (AAA) may assist in improving psychological and physiological well‐being in students, however, to date, there is little empirical evidence for their effectiveness. Consequently, this study explored the psychological and physiological benefits of AAA in a sample of undergraduate students. Sixty‐two students from two local universities participated in an hour‐long AAA session delivered by Therapy Dogs Singapore. Measures of perceived stress, anxiety, state self‐esteem, and blood pressure (BP) were taken before and after the sessions. The results indicated that students experienced significant decreases in state anxiety, systolic, and diastolic BP post AAA, and when compared to a quiet reading comparison session. State self‐esteem increased post AAA and, further, was found to moderate the change in anxiety in addition to perceived stress, whereby perceived anxiety reduced more in those with low state self‐esteem and high perceived stress. These results suggest that AAA can be an effective intervention for stress among undergraduate students, which utilizes a novel, easy to implement and enjoyable approach for Singaporean students.     

Post‐traumatic factors and resilience: the role of shelter management and survivours' attitudes after the earthquakes in El Salvador (2001)

A participatory research action was undertaken in the two largest shelters established after the earthquakes in El Salvador (2001). One hundred fifteen semi‐structured interviews were carried out among refugees, which later formed the basis for a self‐managed community plan. Comparisons between the two shelters—which differed primarily in whether the grouping of tents was made to reflect the community of origin of the survivors (shelter Santa Gertrudis) or not (shelter El Cafetalón)—showed that refugees in Santa Gertrudis participated more often in community activities, and had more positive emotional memories, fewer feelings of having been humiliated and less emotional discomfort than refugees in El Cafetalón. The results suggest that forms of organisation and management which consider elements of dignity, participation and respect for the capacity of the victims to control their own lives are relevant factors for effective individual and community coping after a catastrophe. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Invisible displacement understanding in domestic dogs (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Canis familiaris</Emphasis>): the role of visual cues in search behavior

Recently, (Collier-Baker E, Davis JM, Suddendorf T (2004) J Comp Psychol 118:421–433) suggested that domestic dogs do not understand invisible displacements. In the present study, we further investigated the hypothesis that the search behavior of domestic dogs in invisible displacements is guided by various visual cues inherent to the task rather than by mental representation of an object’s past trajectory. Specifically, we examined the role of the experimenter as a function of the final position of the displacement device in the search behavior of domestic dogs. Visible and invisible displacement problems were administered to dogs (N = 11) under two conditions. In the Visible-experimenter condition, the experimenter was visible whereas in the Concealed-experimenter condition, the experimenter was visibly occluded behind a large rigid barrier. Our data supported the conclusion that dogs do not understand invisible displacements but primarily search as a function of the final position of the displacement device and, to a lesser extent, the position of the experimenter.     

Chewing gum and context‐dependent memory: The independent roles of chewing gum and mint flavour

Two experiments independently investigated the basis of the chewing gum induced context‐dependent memory effect. At learning and/or recall, participants either chewed flavourless gum (Experiment 1) or received mint‐flavoured strips (Experiment 2). No context‐dependent memory effect was found with either flavourless gum or mint‐flavoured strips, indicating that independently the contexts were insufficiently salient to induce the effect. This is found despite participants’ subjective ratings indicating a perceived change in state following administration of flavourless gum or mint‐flavoured strips. Additionally, some preliminary evidence for a non‐additive facilitative effect of receiving gum or flavour at either learning and/or recall is reported. The findings raise further concerns regarding the robustness of the previously reported context‐dependent memory effect with chewing gum.     

Effects of response independent delivery of preferred items and the high‐probability instructional sequence on compliance

The use of the high‐probability (high‐p) instructional sequence to increase compliance, which includes issuing a series of instructions with which a participant is likely to comply immediately before issuing a low‐probability instruction, has received mixed support in the literature. Previous research has suggested that the delivery of response independent reinforcement may be as effective to increase compliance, at least for some types of instructions. In this study, we examined the effects of response independent reinforcement and the high‐p sequence on compliance with two types of instructions with two young children. Results show that neither procedure was effective for increasing compliance for either type of instruction; however, contingent access to a high preference item increased compliance. Results are discussed in terms of the conditions under which response independent delivery of high‐preference items and the high‐p instructional sequence might be effective to increase compliance.     

NON‐VIOLENCE AND NONHUMANS: Foundations for Animal Welfare in the Thought of Mohandas Gandhi and Albert Schweitzer

This essay explores how the principles of ahimsa and reverence for life provide a foundation for animal welfare in the thought of Mohandas Gandhi and Albert Schweitzer, respectively. This exploration unfolds through a consideration of the contextual background of both thinkers, the scope of life to which they apply their respective principles, and both the ethical ramifications and limitations of this application. Within this common framework, the author delineates the striking commonalities and the significant disparities between Gandhi and Schweitzer. This comparison opens a common space within which ecologically‐minded Hindus and Christians can dialogue, augmenting each other's positions by drawing on respected thinkers in their traditions. It also provides an opportunity, within the tensions highlighted at the intersection of Gandhi and Schweitzer's thought, to further construct a foundation for animal welfare in contemporary discussions.     

Being in‐between: The relevance of ethnography and auto‐ethnography for psychotherapy research

Aims: This paper proposes that ethnography and auto‐ethnography can make important contributions to counselling and psychotherapy research. Auto‐ethnography is a recent methodological approach that focuses on the subjective experiences of the researcher. It is informed by anthropology, which encourages the researcher to journey alongside the persons being observed and to make meaning of complex symbolic systems in their lives. Method: Examples from a study of therapeutic processes in a mental health setting for women are examined. Discussion: If auto‐ethnography situates the researcher with the insider's perspective and ethnography is from the outsider's perspective, the researcher is caught ‘in‐between’ these two approaches. Acknowledging the concept of ‘in‐between‐ness’ can both cause discomfort and transform the experience of all who engage in the process and enhance the quality of the research.     

Parents‐in‐law's topic avoidance: Understanding the role of interaction goals and relational characteristics

Utilizing dual logic from a multiple goals and relational turbulence theory, this study examined parents‐in‐law's interaction goals for topic avoidance with their children‐in‐law. Data from 159 parents‐in‐law revealed that multiple and conflicting goals were associated with parents‐in‐law's topic avoidance. Furthermore, relational parameters (i.e., relational uncertainty and partner influence) were associated with the goals in‐laws pursued. Results augment theorizing on a multiple goals perspective, relational turbulence, and topic avoidance, as well as theoretically ground the study of in‐law communication.     

饥无食寒无衣则乱无治:社会保障感受与不道德行为的关系

从社会心理学的角度探索社会保障感受与不道德行为的关系,及焦虑在其中的作用。用三个实验对假设进行检验,实验1和实验2探索社会保障感受对不道德行为的影响; 实验3则进一步探索焦虑在其中的作用。回归分析表明,社会保障感受可显著预测人们的不道德行为,社会保障感受越低人们的不道德行为越多; 焦虑在其中起中介作用,低社会保障感受会促进焦虑的产生,继而增加不道德行为。研究从社会心理学角度探索并证实了社会保障感受引发不道德行为的微观心理机制,拓宽了社会保障的伦理道德价值研究视域,为未来从社会心理学的角度研究社会保障与伦理道德的关系提供了可资借鉴的思路。     

Experiences of Altruism in the Therapeutic Relationship: Perspectives of Counselors‐in‐Training and Their Clients

The purpose of this phenomenological investigation was to explore experiences of altruism in the therapeutic relationship to better understand how counselors‐in‐training (CITs) and their clients mutually perceived the construct in sessions. Findings from interviews with clients (n = 14) included emotional–relational characteristics and cognitive–behavioral aspects of altruism by their counselors. Findings from interviews with CITs (n = 10) included explorations of the role of altruism in counseling, overall experiences of altruism in counseling sessions, and experiences of altruism with specific clients. Implications for practice and research are discussed.