Evaluating the effects of discriminability on behavioral persistence during and following time‐based reinforcement

With four children with autism we evaluated a refinement to time‐based reinforcement designed to reduce response persistence when we simultaneously introduced time‐based reinforcement and extinction. We further evaluated whether this refinement mitigated response recurrence when all reinforcer deliveries ceased during an extinction‐only disruptor phase. The refinement involved increasing the saliency of the contingency change from contingent reinforcement (during baseline) to time‐based reinforcement by delivering different colored reinforcers during time‐based reinforcement. Behavioral momentum theory predicts that increasing the discriminability of the change from variable‐interval to variable‐time reinforcement should lead to faster reductions in responding. We present data on four participants, three of whom displayed response patterns consistent with the predictions of behavioral momentum theory during time‐based reinforcement. However, the participants showed more varied patterns of recurrent behavior during extinction. We discuss these results within a translational research framework focusing on strategies used to mitigate treatment relapse for severe destructive behavior, as time‐based reinforcement is one of the most commonly prescribed interventions for destructive behavior displayed by individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.     

Empirical correlates of the MMPI-2 Restructured Clinical (RC) Scales in psychiatric inpatients

We identified empirical correlates of the MMPI-2 Restructured Clinical (RC) scales in 1,872 male and 498 female psychiatric inpatients drawn from 2 large tertiary care medical centers. We generated clinical criteria from a systematic review of the patients' intake and discharge medical records. We report zero order correlations between RC scales and clinical criteria and relative risk ratios for dichotomous variables. We found the RC scales to be correlated with conceptually relevant criteria such that for each scale, we identified significant increases in the risk for a variety of emotional, cognitive, and behavioral problems among individuals whose T score exceed 64.     

Empirical Correlates of the MMPI–2 Restructured Clinical (RC) Scales in Psychiatric Inpatients

We identified empirical correlates of the MMPI–2 Restructured Clinical (RC) scales in 1,872 male and 498 female psychiatric inpatients drawn from 2 large tertiary care medical centers. We generated clinical criteria from a systematic review of the patients' intake and discharge medical records. We report zero order correlations between RC scales and clinical criteria and relative risk ratios for dichotomous variables. We found the RC scales to be correlated with conceptually relevant criteria such that for each scale, we identified significant increases in the risk for a variety of emotional, cognitive, and behavioral problems among individuals whose T score exceed 64.     

The application of an action system model to destructive behaviour: the examples of arson and terrorism.

This article argues that criminal and deviant behaviour can be productively viewed through an action system framework. The idea is developed by considering two forms of destructive behaviour: arson and barricade-hostage terrorist incidents. Two studies are presented. The first study tests the hypothesis that different forms of arson will reflect the four dominant states that an action system can take; integrative, expressive, conservative, and adaptive. A smallest space analysis was performed on 46 variables describing 230 cases of arson and the results identified the four themes of action system functioning. An examination of the personal characteristics of the arsonists also produced four variable groupings and a combined analysis of the four action scales and four characteristics scales also supported the structural hypothesis of the action system model. The second study applied the action system model to the study acts of terrorist barricade-hostage incidents. A smallest space analysis of 44 variables coded from 41 incidents again revealed four distinct forms of activity, which were psychologically similar to the four modes of arson identified in study one. Overall, these two studies provide support for the appropriateness of the action system framework as a way of classifying different forms of deviant behaviour.     

The proximal-to-distal sequence in upper-limb motions on multiple levels and time scales

The proximal-to-distal sequence is a phenomenon that can be observed in a large variety of motions of the upper limbs in both humans and other mammals. The mechanisms behind this sequence are not completely understood and motor control theories able to explain this phenomenon are currently incomplete. The aim of this narrative review is to take a theoretical constraints-led approach to the proximal-to-distal sequence and provide a broad multidisciplinary overview of relevant literature. This sequence exists at multiple levels (brain, spine, muscles, kinetics and kinematics) and on multiple time scales (motion, motor learning and development, growth and possibly even evolution). We hypothesize that the proximodistal spatiotemporal direction on each time scale and level provides part of the organismic constraints that guide the dynamics at the other levels and time scales. The constraint-led approach in this review may serve as a first onset towards integration of evidence and a framework for further experimentation to reveal the dynamics of the proximal-to-distal sequence.     

Response times for the CAGE,short-MAST,AUDIT, and JELLINEK alcohol scales

The CAGE alcohol screening tool has been touted as a good choice for clinical settings because of its brevity. We administered the CAGE and three other alcohol screening instruments (the Short-MAST, AUDIT, and JELLINEK) by microcomputer to 296 clients at a drinking driver treatment program and three of the four scales to a second sample of 270 clients from six drinking driver treatment programs. The average response times for the CAGE were 31 and 32 sec, respectively, in the first and second samples. The average response time for the JELLINEK was approximately five times longer than it was for the CAGE; response time for the AUDIT averaged four times longer; and response time for the Short-MAST was two and a half times as long. The estimated reliability of the CAGE was the lowest and its standard error of measurement was the highest of the four scales. We recommend the Short-MAST as the tool of choice if the extra minute of administration time it requires in comparison with the CAGE is not critical.     

Developing an emotion-focused therapy model for fear of cancer recurrence: A case-level task analysis

Fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) involves anxiety about the possible return or progression of the disease. It is common among people surviving cancer, covering a range of adaptive and maladaptive responses including clinical presentations of FCR, for which different psychological interventions have been developed, most within the cognitive-behavioural paradigm. Recently, emotion-focused therapy (EFT) has been proposed as an alternative and has been the subject of research focusing on the cancer population and cancer-related issues, including FCR. In this study, we looked closely at a successful case from a larger exploratory study, carrying out a discovery-phase task analysis aimed at identifying the main components of EFT–FCR. We found that this approach generally followed the usual structure of an EFT intervention, with four distinct phases. However, we identified some specific secondary processes (e.g., hypervigilance and catastrophising) and clarified the nature of the core pain in this presentation as existential (e.g., fear of dying).     

Mental models of learning in distance education

Background. Interview‐based research has shown that students in higher education hold a number of different conceptions of learning and of themselves as learners. There is debate about whether these conceptions constitute a developmental hierarchy. Aims. This study evaluated the Mental Models section of Vermunt and van Rijswijk's (1988) Inventory of Learning Styles (ILS) as a measure of students' conceptions of learning and sought to identify conceptions of learning as qualitatively different patterns of scores. Sample. A random sample of 1,000 students who were taking courses by distance learning with the Open University in the UK. Method. A translated and adapted version of the Mental Models section of the ILS was administered in a postal survey. Complete data were obtained from 441 students and were subjected to principal component analysis, cluster analysis and discriminant analysis. Results. The five scales in the Mental Models section of the ILS were homogeneous and achieved a satisfactory level of internal consistency, but two of the five scales could not be differentiated from each other in the students' responses. A cluster analysis identified four subgroups of students who had different patterns of scores on two discriminant functions. Conclusion. The four mental models identified in this study were broadly similar to those identified by Vermunt (1996) in an interview‐based study. However, these do not seem to constitute a developmental hierarchy, and, following Vermunt, it is suggested that they are better interpreted as aspects of four over‐arching ‘learning styles’ or ‘learning patterns’.     

Scaling of response scale adverbs among black-American adults

Although some attention has been given to the scale characteristics of modifying adverbs in Likert scales, the existing work has been concerned primarily with majority group members. Toward the goal of identifying valid labels for use on Likert scales with black-American respondents, 105 black-American adults scaled each of 27 adverbs (e.g., very, most) on four different adjectives (e.g., important). Four criteria for a set of ideal adverbs were identified for univalent scales. No set of four adverbs, however, met the criteria. Differences in the mean ratings of eight of the adverbs were found by sex group and across the four adjectives modified. The adverbs were not scored at the extremes of the continuum, despite our asking the respondents to rate the adverbs used to define the end points of the continuum. High variances were found across all adverbs. Further research must address the respondents' perceptual frame in the use of such scales.     

The development of articulatory signatures in children

The ability to perceive and produce sounds at multiple time scales is a skill necessary for the acquisition of language. Unlike speech perception, which develops early in life, the production of speech sounds starts at a few months and continues into late childhood with the development of speech-motor skills. Though there is detailed information available on early phonological development, there is very little information on when various articulatory features achieve adult-like maturity. We use modern spectral analysis to investigate the development of three language features associated with three different timescales in vocal utterances from typically developing children between 4 and 8 years. We make comparisons with adult speech and find age dependence in the appearance of these features. Results suggest that as children get older they exhibit increasingly more power in features associated with shorter time scales, thereby indicating the maturation of fine motor control in speech. Such data from typically developing children could provide milestones of speech production at different timescales. Since impairments in spoken language often provide the first warning signs of a language disorder we suggest that speech production could also be used to probe language disorders.     

Exploring the Dynamics of Dyadic Interactions via Hierarchical Segmentation

In this article we present an exploratory tool for extracting systematic patterns from multivariate data. The technique, hierarchical segmentation (HS), can be used to group multivariate time series into segments with similar discrete-state recurrence patterns and it is not restricted by the stationarity assumption. We use a simulation study to describe the steps and properties of HS. We then use empirical data on daily affect from one couple to illustrate the use of HS for describing the affective dynamics of the dyad. First, we partition the data into three periods that represent different affective states and show different dynamics between both individuals’ affect. We then examine the synchrony between both individuals’ affective states and identify different patterns of coherence across the periods. Finally, we discuss the possibilities of using results from HS to construct confirmatory dynamic models with multiple change points or regime-specific dynamics.     

Dynamics of choice: a tutorial

Choice may be defined as the allocation of behavior among activities. Since all activities take up time, choice is conveniently thought of as the allocation of time among activities, even if activities like pecking are most easily measured by counting. Since dynamics refers to change through time, the dynamics of choice refers to change of allocation through time. In the dynamics of choice, as in other dynamical systems that include feedback, change is away from perturbation and toward a steady state. Steady state or equilibrium is assessed on a longer time scale than change because change is only visible on a smaller time scale. When we compare laws of equilibrium, such as the matching law with laws of dynamics, two possibilities emerge. Self-similarity occurs when the same law can be seen across smaller time scales, with the result that the law at longer time scales may be understood as the expression of its application at smaller time scales. Reduction occurs when the dynamics at a small time scale are incommensurate with the dynamics at longer time scales. Then the process at the longer time scale is reduced to a qualitatively different process at the smaller time scale, as when choice is reduced to switching patterns. When reduction occurs, the dynamics at the longer time scale may be derived from the process at the smaller time scale, but not the other way around. Research at different time scales is facilitated by the molar view of behavior.     

Consistent inter-individual differences in susceptibility to bodily illusions

Illusory senses of ownership and agency (that the hand or effector that we see belongs to us and moves at our will, respectively) support the embodiment of prosthetic limbs, tele-operated surgical devices, and human-machine interfaces. We exposed forty-eight individuals to four different procedures known to elicit illusory ownership or agency over a fake visible rubber hand or finger. The illusory ownership or agency arising from the hand correlated with that of the finger. For both body parts, sensory stimulation across different modalities (visual with tactile or visual with kinesthetic) produced illusions of similar strength. However, the strengths of the illusions of ownership and agency were unrelated within individuals, supporting the proposal that distinct neuropsychological processes underlie these two senses. Developing training programs to enhance susceptibility to illusions of agency or ownership for people with lower natural susceptibility could broaden the usefulness of the above technologies.     

Limb-specific emotional modulation of cervical spinal cord neurons

Emotional stimuli receive prioritized attentional and motoric processing in the brain. Recent data have indicated that emotional stimuli enhance activity in the cervical spinal cord as well. In the present study, we used fMRI to investigate the specificity of this emotion-dependent spinal cord activity. We examined whether the limb depicted in a passively viewed image (upper vs. lower) differentially influenced activity in the cervical segments that innervate the upper limbs, and whether this effect was enhanced by emotion. Participants completed four fMRI runs: neutral–upper limb, neutral–lower limb, negative–upper limb, and negative–lower limb. The results indicated main effects of limb and emotion, with upper limbs and negative stimuli eliciting greater activity than lower limbs and neutral stimuli, respectively. For upper-limb runs, negative stimuli evoked more activity than did neutral stimuli. Additionally, negative stimuli depicting upper limbs produced stronger responses than did negative stimuli depicting lower limbs. These results suggest that emotional stimuli augment limb-specific responses in the spinal cord.     

Microsaccades keep the eyes' balance during fixation

During fixation of a stationary target, small involuntary eye movements exhibit an erratic trajectory-a random walk. Two types of these fixational eye movements are drift and microsaccades (small-amplitude saccades). We investigated fixational eye movements and binocular coordination using a statistical analysis that had previously been applied to human posture control. This random-walk analysis uncovered two different time scales in fixational eye movements and identified specific functions for microsaccades. On a short time scale, microsaccades enhanced perception by increasing fixation errors. On a long time scale, microsaccades reduced fixation errors and binocular disparity (relative to pure drift movements). Thus, our findings clarify the role of oculomotor processes during fixation.     

Beyond test anxiety: Development and validation of the test emotions questionnaire (TEQ)

Measures of test emotions other than test anxiety are lacking. In a series of six studies, we developed a multi-scale questionnaire assessing test-related joy, hope, pride, relief, anger, anxiety, shame, and hopelessness (Test Emotions Questionnaire, TEQ). Consisting of subscales measuring affective, cognitive, physiological, and motivational emotion components, the scales can be used to identify both trait and state test emotions, and are available in German- and English-language versions. Using a rational-empirical strategy of test construction, we first developed theoretical models of the component structures, antecedents, and effects of different test emotions. We then conducted two exploratory, qualitative studies on the occurrence and structures of these emotions. Finally, based on theory and our exploratory data, we constructed, analyzed, and revised the scales of the TEQ in four quantitative studies. Findings of correlational and confirmatory factor analysis indicate that the scales are reliable, structurally valid in terms of representing different test emotions and components within emotions, and externally valid in terms of correlating significantly with personality, learning, academic achievement, and perceived health problems. Many of these correlations proved to be stronger for test emotions other than anxiety, implying that test anxiety is neither the only relevant test emotion, nor necessarily the most important one.     

Personality Differences between One-Time and Recidivist Unwed Mothers

Summary

Social science literature reveals the consistent recurrence of illegitimacy and attendant social problems. Various explanations have been posited, but this study chose to focus on personality traits of one-time and recidivist unwed mothers. The MMPI was given to 37 unwed mothers, 21 one-time, and 16 recidivists. These two groups were compared with a normal group of girls. The recidivist group differed significantly from the norm group on eight scales: F, D, Hy, Pd, Pa, Pt, Sc, and Ma; the one-time unwed mother group differed from the norm group significantly on four scales: F, Pd, Sc, and Ma. The recidivist group differed from the one-time group in the direction of less adjustment of five scales: Pd, Pa, Pt, Sc, and Es.     

Times for transitions between hand and foot responses in a self-paced task

In a self-paced task subjects responded to each of four equally probable signals with a different one of their four limbs. Response times were examined as a function of the 16 possible transitions between limbs. Repeated responses were shown to be faster than any other transitions, while responses following responses with an ipsilateral limb were relatively slow. The implications of these results for models for the “repetition effect” are discussed.