The influence of background music on learners with varying extraversion: Seductive detail or beneficial effect?

Seductive details in general affect learning and cognitive load negatively. However, especially background music as a seductive detail may also influence the learner's arousal, whose optimal level depends on the learner's extraversion. Therefore, the effects of extraversion and background music on learning outcomes, cognitive load, and arousal were investigated. We tested 167 high school students and found better transfer outcomes for the group with background music. They also reported higher germane load, but no impact of background music on extraneous cognitive load or arousal was found. In the group without background music, learners with higher extraversion reached better recall scores, which was not found in the group with background music. Results may cautiously be interpreted that there is a beneficial impact of background music that compensates for the disadvantages of low extraverted learners and which cannot be explained through arousal.     

Application of family therapy theory to complex social issues: using the WebQuest in family therapy training

This paper describes how the WebQuest is used to foster critical thinking and application of theory to complex social problems in a Master's level class on contemporary family therapy theories. The issue of child trafficking and prostitution is explored through the web‐based inquiry learning where scaffold learning is provided. Scaffolding includes resource links and guidance on cognitive and social skills, which are provided to facilitate the learner's development. The WebQuest design includes the task, the process and the evaluation rubrics. Student feedback on the WebQuest was positive and included increased motivation in learning, critical thinking and global awareness.     

Avoiding misinterpretations of Piaget and Vygotsky: Mathematical teaching without learning,learning without teaching,or helpful learning-path teaching?

This article provides an overview of some perspectives about special issues in classroom mathematical teaching and learning that have stemmed from the huge explosion of research in children's mathematical thinking stimulated by Piaget. It concentrates on issues that are particularly important for less-advanced learners and for those who might be having special difficulties in learning mathematics. A major goal of the article is to develop a framework for understanding what effective mathematics teaching and learning is, because doing so is so important for struggling students and for research about them. Piaget's research had a fundamental influence on the on-going tension between understanding and fluency in the classroom, supporting efforts toward increasing understanding. But in some countries, misinterpretations of Piaget led to practices that are counterproductive for children, especially struggling learners. Such misinterpretations are identified and a more balanced approach that also draws on Vygotsky is described—a learning-path developmentally-appropriate learning/teaching approach.     

Individual Therapy via the Phenomenon of Hope for Treating Chronic and Complex PTSD

Evidence-based treatment (EBT) supports different types of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Yet, a growing body of evidence shows a high therapy dropout rate and non-response rate among PTSD patients, especially patients with complex PTSD. A different, short-term therapeutic approach is therefore needed which combines CBT and psychodynamic therapy (PDT) because it is better for patients with chronic and/or complex PTSD to work with clarified stages and an end of treatment in mind. The patient's mental structure is conceptualized as a continuum, and functional problems are regarded as stemming from cognitive structures and unresolved developmental conflict. The five phases of the phenomenon of hope model proposed in an earlier article—a connection phase; an agency and pathway phase (developing a goal-oriented decision-making pattern and learning to plan toward goal achievement); a reconstruction phase; a phase of processing the conflict characteristic of PTSD by utilizing the natural power of hope; and a summary and separation phase—advance a short-term therapy that combines CBT and PDT techniques. This integrated therapy is based on notes that were kept relating to the case study of a chronic PTSD patient.     

Cognitive skills in mathematical problem solving in Grade 3

Background. Research on the relationship between cognitive skills and mathematical problem solving is usually conducted on adults or on participants with acquired deficits associated with brain injury (e.g. Cipolotti, 1995 ; Cohen, Dehaene, & Verstichel, 1994 ; McCloskey, 1992 ). Aims. In these studies we wanted to make a contribution to the field of children's mathematical problem solving. The first aim of this study was to investigate whether mathematical problem solving in children is merely determined by semantic elaboration, as hypothesized in some of the models of adult processing (semantic hypothesis). In addition, we aimed to investigate whether there is a continuum from very good to very poor mathematical problem solving among children with mathematical learning disabilities showing immature cognitive skills (maturational lag hypothesis). Sample. The participants were 376 third graders and 107 second graders. Method. The internal structure of the data was analysed with a principal components analysis. In addition, two MANOVA were conducted to compare children with learning disabilities or problems with age‐matched and performance‐matched subjects. Results. Two components, a semantic and a non‐semantic one, were needed to account for an adequate fit of the dataset. In addition, children with mathematical learning disabilities had less‐developed cognitive skills compared with peers without learning disabilities, but they did not differ from younger children on seven of the nine cognitive skills. Conclusions. This study highlighted that children's mathematical problem solving is not determined by one general component. The picture is more complex, since two mathematics components were found. In addition, although our findings point in the direction of the maturational lag hypothesis it may be important to assess the different cognitive skills and especially assess the number system knowledge, since it seems below average in children with mathematical learning disabilities, compared with the knowledge of younger children with comparable skills in mathematics.     

Young children's transfer of strategies: Utilization deficiencies,executive function,and metacognition

The purpose of this review is to present a new perspective on children's development of transfer of learning. The focus is on transfer of the effectiveness of a skill (i.e., improved performance), rather than just the transfer of the skill (e.g., a strategy) itself. Specifically, we examined the role of strategy utilization deficiencies, along with cognitive capacity, in the transfer of a memory strategy and, especially, strategy effectiveness (increased recall). Executive functions, metacognition, and mindset were considered as mechanisms that can both facilitate and hinder transfer of strategy effectiveness. Implications for theorizing about both transfer and utilization deficiencies were discussed.     

Infant-parent psychotherapy with an autistic toddler

This paper describes the 3½ -year treatment of an autistic toddler, who by age 5 showed normal social relationships and only minor residual cognitive features of the disorder. The treatment approach integrated infant-parent psychotherapy with techniques of special education and involved a two-person team that worked simultaneously in the family's home. The early work focused on discovering ways to mediate environmental stimulation so as to enhance the child's availability for social interaction. The treatment helped the parents understand this and explored and interpreted misconceptions about their son that interfered with parental feelings and functions. Multiple issues in the parent-child relationship and in the child's social and cognitive development eventually were addressed. This case illustrates one scenario in the development of relationships when an infant lacks the biological fittedness for social interaction. It demonstrates the possibility of ameliorating the autistic condition through a modification of infant-parent psychotherapy. The successful outcome of the case seems to be the result of several factors: The child's age at the beginning of treatment, his areas of cognitive strength, and his parents' exceptional ability to use and extend the therapy.     

Social Anxiety is Associated with a Negatively Distorted Perception of One's Own Voice

According to cognitive models of social anxiety, negatively distorted self-images have a central role in the development and maintenance of social anxiety. In the present study, the relationship between social anxiety and the perception of one's own voice was investigated in a sample of 17 undergraduate students. The participants were asked to recount a story aloud in front of a tape recorder, and then to rate their voice characteristics on a Voice Evaluation Questionnaire. Independent observers (speech therapy students) were then asked to listen to the tape recordings and to rate the participants' voice characteristics on an equivalent version of the Voice Evaluation Questionnaire. Two hypotheses were contrasted: a skill deficits hypothesis and a cognitive distortion hypothesis. The results supported the cognitive distortion hypothesis. A high level of social performance anxiety was associated with an underestimation of one's voice qualities, compared with the independent observers. It is suggested that sound-tape feedback with cognitive preparation should be tested as a method for correcting the negatively distorted voice perception that is associated with social anxiety.     

“Bridging the Gap”: A reflexive thematic analysis of the experiences of therapy trainees transitioning from psychodynamic counselling to cognitive behavioural therapy

There is limited empirical research and insight into the experiences of therapy trainees who are being taught more than one psychotherapeutic approach during their training. Further understanding is warranted to ensure that a dual modality approach to training (that is, where therapists are trained in two paradigmatically distinct modalities) is experienced as worthwhile and acceptable to trainees and to better understand any challenges faced when transitioning between approaches. The aim of this study was to investigate trainees' experiences of transitioning from psychodynamic counselling to cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) on a two-year master's degree that offers a dual modality approach to training. Data were collected from a sample of 8 trainees using an online semistructured questionnaire. These data were analysed using Braun and Clarke's (2020) reflexive thematic analysis. Four main themes were identified: (1) perceived competence; (2) preparedness; (3) professional advantages; and (4) external challenges. The findings suggested considerable individual variation in the ease with which participants navigated the transition between therapeutic modalities. Those who found the transition easier used the structure of CBT to provide a framework and point of difference that allowed them to temporarily suspend their psychodynamic learning in order to embrace a new therapeutic approach. Others experienced the move to CBT as posing a threat to their developing identities as counsellors. Recommendations are made on how to prepare trainees for the transition including exploring the psychological impact of transitions, increasing opportunities for reflective practice and facilitating exploration of what it means to be a therapist trained in two distinct therapeutic modalities.     

高效率学习的心理机制研究

本课题通过一系列研究,发现要实现高效率学习,应在知识呈现符合学生认识规律的情况下,具备以下五个主要心理要素:选择性注意是实现高效率学习的前提,元认知是高效率学习的监控系统,非智力因素是高效率学习的动力源泉,学习策略是实现高效率学习的保障,内隐认知,特别是内隐学习是高效率学习的特殊形式。     

REALITY MONITORING,PSYCHOLOGICAL TOOLS,AND COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY IN BILINGUALS: THEORETICAL SYNTHESIS AND PILOT EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION*

An attempt was made to bring about a theoretical synthesis of such seemingly unrelated concepts as ‘reality monitoring’ (belonging to contemporary American cognitive psychology), ‘psychological tools’ (suggested by Russian psychologist, Lev Vygotsky in the 1930s), and ‘cognitive flexibility in bilinguals’ (developed by Canadian researchers in the 1970s). Psychological tools of symbolic character which-as Vygotsky and his followers suggested-mediate human actions and mental operations, were shown to improve reality monitoring, i.e., subject's ability to discriminate between memories of words that he/she either spoke or merely thought. The concept of cognitive flexibility was applied to reality monitoring in Russian-English bilinguals. It was shown that greater cognitive flexibility associated with balanced bilingualism enhances a subject's ability to discriminate memories of words said and words thought. Suggestions are made concerning further possible experimental investigations.     

Cognitive modifiability as a function of mother–child mediated learning strategies,mothers' acceptance–rejection,and children's personality

This study investigated (a) the effects of mediated learning experience (MLE) in mother–child interactions on cognitive modifiability as measured by dynamic assessment, (b) the effects of mothers' acceptance–rejection towards their children and the children's personality on the mothers' MLE strategies, (c) the combined effects of the mothers' acceptance–rejection, children's personality, and MLE strategies on children's cognitive modifiability, and (d) the prediction of cognitive modifiability by MLE interactions in two distinct conditions: free-play and structured. Fifty-four mother–child dyads (26 boys and 28 girls) in grade 2 were videotaped interacting in two situations: free-play and structured. The interactions were analysed with observation of mediation instrument using five criteria: intentionality and reciprocity, transcendence, meaning, feelings of competence, and regulation of behaviour. The children were administered the parent acceptance–rejection questionnaire, the personality assessment questionnaire, and the children's inferential thinking modifiability test. A distal–proximal factors of cognitive modifiability model was used to explain causal paths among mothers' acceptance–rejection and children's personality (distal) on MLE (proximal), and of both on children's cognitive modifiability. A structural equation model analysis revealed that (a) all MLE criteria were predicted by the distal factors of mothers' acceptance–rejection and children's personality, (b) none of the mothers' attitudes or children's personality factors explained the children's cognitive factors, (c) MLE criteria of transcendence and regulation of behaviour explained the children's CITM-post-teaching score but not the CITM-pre-teaching score. The results are discussed in relation to Feuerstein's MLE theory and Tzuriel's previous results with preschool children. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluating Microcomputer Courseware:

To assist special eductors in making purchase decision, this paper presents 13 questions that should be asked when considering the acquisition of educational courseware. The questions presented relate to educational goals, learning principles, factual accuracy, values, attractiveness, use of the computer's unique capabilities, cognitive and physical demands, user friendliness, documentation, technical support, licensure arrangements, and hardware compatibility.     

Improving cognitive therapy for depression with functional analytic psychotherapy: Theory and case study

A behavioral reconceptualization of cognitive therapy is presented to illustrate that clinical behavior analysis (CBA) has much to offer traditional cognitive behavior therapy. Particular attention is given to the distinction between cognitive structures and products and the theoretical dilemma facing cognitive therapists when they attempt to devise interventions aimed at changing nonbehavioral entities. The distinction between rule-governed and contingency-shaped behavior and the implications of functional analytic psychotherapy (Kohlenberg & Tsai, 1991) are used to resolve the dilemma and to suggest methods for enhancing cognitive therapy. In a case study, a CBA-enhanced version of cognitive therapy was introduced after 7 weeks of standard cognitive treatment for a 35-year-old depressed male. The client-therapist relationship provided opportunities during the therapy session for learning new behavior called for in the behaviorally reconceptualized cognitive therapy. The enhanced treatment improved clinical efficacy and increased the client's focus on his deficits in interpersonal repertoires. Because the present case study involved only one of several enhancements suggested by CBA, the possibility of increased efficacy from a more comprehensive application is discussed.     

Parental death,depression and beck's theory of cognitive vulnerability: A critical appraisal and suggestions for research

An adequate model of depression should be able to (i) specify the origins of the disorder; (ii) explain the maintenance of depressive behaviour and (iii) result in effective therapy. The adequacy of Beck's cognitive theory of depression has been increasingly questioned (e.g. Alagaratnam, 1984; Alladin, 1985; Bebbington, 1985; Power & Champion (1986); Beidel & Turner (1986); Power (1987) and fundamental questions remain unexplored. In this paper, we focus on the assumption that early parental death results in the development of depressive schemas which constitute a cognitive vulnerability to depression. Bereavement is the most severe psychological trauma most people will encounter in the course of their lives (cf. Parkes & Weiss, 1983). Thus a most stringent test of Beck's hypothesis that depressive schemas are formed in early childhood by loss experiences such as parental death may be conducted by assessing the relationship between adult depression and parental death in childhood. In this paper the evidence will be considered briefly, within the context of Beck's theory of cognitive vulnerability. The specificity of parental loss to depression is questioned. Then, the role of schemas in cognitive theory is explored critically. Problems with Beck's idiosyncratic conceptualisation of depressive schemas are highlighted. A more adequate conceptualisation of the concept of loss is suggested. Finally, suggestions for future research into the origins of depression are offered.     

The effect of peer collaboration on children's problem‐solving ability

Background. A Vygotskian framework links cognitive change to collaborative interaction with a more competent partner whereas a Piagetian perspective supports the view that cognitive conflict arising from peer interaction leads to cognitive change. Aims. The study investigated the effect of collaborative learning on children's problem‐solving ability and whether differences in knowledge status or the use of explanatory language were contributing factors. Sample. Participants were 100 Year 2 children (aged between 6 and 7 years), from schools in high socio‐economic areas, who individually completed a pre‐ and post‐test comprising a block sorting task. Method. During the experimental phase, children completed a card sorting activity, either individually or in same‐gender dyads. The dyads consisted of same or different ability children who operated under either a ‘talk’ or ‘no‐talk’ condition. Results. It was found that children who collaborated collectively obtained a significantly higher number of correct sorts than children who worked individually. However, post‐testing indicated that only those children of lower sorting ability who collaborated with higher sorting ability peers showed a significant improvement in sorting ability from pre‐test scores. In addition, it was found that when analysis was limited to this particular group, only those children who were required to explain the sort for their partner to carry out improved significantly from pre‐ to post‐test. Conclusion. It is suggested that perhaps the two theoretical positions are not as mutually exclusive as they are often portrayed. Implications of these findings for teachers and children's learning are also discussed.     

Beyond beliefs: Challenging obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours within a collaborative counselling relationship

Three clients with obsessive‐compulsive disorder were studied using a multiple case study approach. Clients' experiences of cognitive‐behavioural therapy, in particular the impact of having their beliefs challenged, and their responses to self‐monitoring tasks and behavioural experiments were investigated. Data included case notes made during therapy, pre‐ and post‐therapy questionnaires, and post‐therapy semi‐structured interviews. Qualitative analysis of the data identified clients' obsessive beliefs, general negative beliefs and meta‐cognitive beliefs, and explored any post‐therapy changes in these beliefs. The results demonstrated similarities between cases in obsessive beliefs (e.g. inflated responsibility for harm), general negative beliefs (e.g. feelings of failure), meta‐cognitive beliefs (e.g. the need to control thoughts) and affect (e.g. guilt). Questionnaire data from all three clients suggested no clinically significant post‐therapy changes in general negative beliefs and meta‐cognitive beliefs. However, idiosyncratic changes in obsessive beliefs were reported during therapy and at post‐therapy interview, and clients reported improved functioning and decreased levels of distress during therapy and at interview. Responses to challenge were uniformly positive, but reactions to self‐monitoring and behavioural experiments varied across cases. The implications of these findings for the treatment of obsessive‐compulsive disorder using cognitive behavioural techniques are discussed.     

Children's knowledge acquisition through film: influence of programme characteristics

Several characteristics of educational programmes for children are discussed to influence learning of content. In the present study, positive effects of a preview and inserted summaries in educational films for learning are examined. A total of 127 6‐and 8‐year‐old participating children watched one of the four educational film versions: The original film (without preview and summaries), a version with a preview, with inserted summaries or with a verbal ‘preview’. One week later, children's recollection of facts was tested in a memory interview. Results show that previews and summaries in educational films can enhance learning, and that visual scene repetition appears to further boost knowledge acquisition. Formal and content characteristics of educational programmes are discussed in terms of the underlying mechanisms influencing children's cognitive processing and learning. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A CBT-based therapeutic alternative to working with complex client problems

This paper offers a therapeutic alternative to working with complex client problems, based on a cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) approach, which is informed by a combination of schema-focussed cognitive behavioural therapy (McGinn and Young 1996; Young 1994; Padesky 1994; Pretzer and Fleming 1989), specialized cognitive behaviourally-focussed trauma therapy (Herbert 1996, 2001, 2002a, 2002b; Herbert and Wetmore 1999, 2001), eye movement desensitization and reprocessing techniques (EMDR – Shapiro 1995) and mindfulness techniques (Bennett-Goleman 2001; Teasdale et al. 1995; Kabat-Zinn 1994; Linehan 1993). This paper attempts to illustrate how such an approach might be applied to working with complex client problems, such as Tracey's, by addressing some of the therapeutic issues that have been highlighted in the original case study of Tracey by her therapist and introducing an alternative understanding of these.