Assessing pavlov’s impact on the American conditioning enterprise

In this article, the visibility of Pavlov and of Watson in American psychology are compared, and the periods of their respective influence are specified with greater precision than is afforded by merely impressionistic methods. The author also critically examines the possibility that the early history of the American classic-conditioning enterprise involved a succession of two phases: a Watsonian/speculative phase and a Pavlovian/empirical phase. In conclusion, the author assesses the possibility that the publication of Pavlov’sConditioned Reflexes (1927) “stimulated” scholarly work on Pavlovian conditioning, and finds this proposition lacking empirical support.     

Do the effects of a family intervention on alcohol and drug use vary by nativity status?

To examine whether the intervention effects of Familias Unidas, compared to community practice, on Hispanic adolescent alcohol and drug use varies by nativity status (i.e., U.S.-born and foreign-born). A total of 213 eighth grade Hispanic adolescents with behavior problems and their primary caregivers were assigned randomly to one of two conditions: Familias Unidas or Community Control. Participants were assessed at baseline and at 6, 18, and 30 months post baseline. Results showed that, the effects of Familias Unidas on alcohol use was moderated by nativity status. Specifically, Familias Unidas was efficacious in preventing/reducing alcohol use for U.S.-born youth, but not foreign-born. No moderating effects were found for drug use. These findings suggest that prevention interventions may be more efficacious in preventing/reducing alcohol use among certain Hispanic adolescent subgroups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

Commentary on ‘mentoring and the impact of the research climate’

Conclusions First of all, I would like to commend Roberts and colleagues for taking on a difficult but very important topic. It would be valuable if someone could follow up with a broader sample of universities and laboratories — paying careful attention to possible sampling and non-sampling errors. In general, I recommend that mentors explicitly both learn and teach ethical theory and practice within the context of their scientist development programs. Finally, while it is important to emphasize sound and ethical research standards and processes in mentoring programs, this should not be at the expense of an appropriate emphasis on skills essential to professional competitiveness, such as responsible, effective publication, grant winning, and demonstrably strong performance on the grants won. Dr. Gardenier is a survey statistician at the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The views presented are his personal opinions only.     

Effects of a cognitive-behavioral intervention on field hockey players’ appraisals of organizational stressors

ObjectivesWe assessed the effects of a cognitive-behavioral intervention on English field hockey players’ appraisals of organizational stressors, emotions, and performance satisfaction.DesignA concurrent, across-participants, multiple-baseline, single-case research design with a three months post-intervention follow-up.MethodFour high-level female field hockey players participated in a four phase intervention that lasted between 24 and 26 weeks: rapport-building and observation (phase I), baseline monitoring (phase II), educating the players and facilitating acquisition of a cognitive restructuring technique (phase III), and encouraging integration of the technique during sport performance (phase IV). Questionnaires and social validation were used to record the participants' appraisals, emotions, and performance satisfaction throughout the intervention. A three months post-intervention follow-up was conducted to assess the participants’ retention of the intervention effects.ResultsReduced threat and loss appraisals and elevated challenge appraisals were reported immediately after Phase III had been introduced. Pleasant emotions and performance satisfaction increased while unpleasant emotions decreased throughout the intervention. Social validation immediately post-intervention and at the end of the follow-up period indicated sustained adaptive changes in each of the outcome variables.ConclusionsCognitive restructuring represents a promising technique for optimizing high-level hockey players’ appraisals. Challenge appraisals and pleasant emotions appear to be linked with increased performance satisfaction and positive intervention effects can be retained for a period of three months post-intervention. Researchers should examine the effectiveness and efficacy of the cognitive restructuring technique with other populations to develop a robust evidence base for appraisal optimization in sport.     

Exploring families’ experiences of health: contributions to a model of family health

Child health and developmental outcomes are influenced by the health of the family and the context created. Research suggests symptoms of poor family health (e.g. suboptimal family interactions, parenting stress) yet there is limited understanding of the factors which contribute to robust family health which may unveil opportunities for targeted intervention and family health promotion. The present study examined families’ experiences of family health and factors contributing to family health. We performed a qualitative study using constructivist grounded theory methods to guide our understanding of family health for families with typically developing children aged 5–18. Interviews were conducted in family homes and all members were invited to participate. Data from interviews were transcribed, coded, thematically analyzed, and verified with select families. Ten families, including 10 mothers, 8 fathers, and 15 children participated in the study. Participants described family health as a process of balance, living purposefully, and sharing experiences together in alignment with family identity. Mediating family health were processes of awareness and reflection, and adapting, adjusting, and changing in response to family life including external stress factors. Results highlight the possibility for healthcare practitioners to facilitate families’ self-reflection and awareness about their health in order to mediate family health development.     

It’s good to do good and receive good: The impact of a ‘pay it forward’ style kindness intervention on giver and receiver well-being

Despite the popularity of the ‘pay it forward’ (PIF) concept in textbooks and popular culture, to date, no study has tested the effectiveness of a brief, one-time PIF activity on the well-being of those who do good and those who receive good. To test this, 83 undergraduates (‘givers’) performed random kind acts for 1.5 h. PIF resulted in a wide range of well-being benefits for givers (e.g. greater positive and lower negative affect), with females showing greater positive affect benefits. Receivers of kindness (N = 1014) also benefited as evidenced by greater smiling behavior and more sincere smiles vs. controls (N = 251). Of the 48 receivers who completed a follow-up online questionnaire, the majority indicated that they would also PIF, with almost 40% indicating that they already had. Results indicate that a one-time brief PIF intervention can have broad benefits for those involved.     

How can the impact of implementation intentions as a behaviour change intervention be improved?

Interventions requesting individuals to form implementation intentions, specific plans regarding how and when to enact behaviour, have been shown to be effective in changing a wide range of health, social, and organisational behaviours. A small proportion of studies have sought to identify, within full-factorial designs, under what circumstances and for whom implementation intention-based interventions are most effective. This review covers this issue. A number of potential moderators of the effects of implementation intentions on behaviour were identified (intentions, motivation type, collaboration, plan reminders, goal type, plan type, conscientiousness, perfectionism, procrastination, stress). Of these, the strength of one's intentions have been tested, and supported, most often as a moderator of implementation intention effects. For some of these moderators (e.g., conscientiousness, goal difficulty) the results were contradictory but for others the results were more consistent (e.g., motivation type, plan reminders). Additional moderators might be identified by comparing effects of implementation intentions across studies.     

Impact of a facial-ageing intervention versus a health literature intervention on women’s sun protection attitudes and behavioural intentions

This study was designed to investigate the impact of a facial-ageing intervention on women’s sun protection attitudes and behavioural intentions, compared to a health literature intervention where participants viewed literature on the effect of ultraviolet (UV) exposure on health. Seventy women (35 in each condition) completed questionnaires at baseline and immediately post-intervention. The average age of the participants was 23.70 (SD?=?5.03) years. Participants in the facial-ageing intervention condition scored significantly higher on intentions, negative attitudes and perceived sun damage susceptibility after taking part in the intervention, compared to those in the health literature intervention condition. The results are discussed in relation to suggestions for sun protection interventions aimed at women aged from 18 to 34. It is concluded that appearance-based interventions have a role to play in healthcare and educational settings with regard to UV exposure and sun protection intentions.     

The ‘tyranny of time’: getting to the heart of the impact of educational cuts on the provision of guidance counselling in Ireland

The Irish Education Act (Government of Ireland 1998) stipulates that each young person in secondary school in Ireland is entitled to access ‘appropriate’ guidance. It has been argued that this very right has been eroded since Budget 2012, where resource re-allocations in guidance counselling are obstructing the requirement for schools to implement this section of the Act. This qualitative study explored the effects of ‘educational cutbacks’ from the perspective of guidance counsellors. Findings from interviews with guidance counsellors, suggest that the effects of such cutbacks in guidance counselling are far-reaching and ultimately students are the one’s losing out. The paper proposes that there is a need to reinstate guidance counselling hours to allow guidance counsellors provide a comprehensive service to young people – which they are entitled to.     

Are family therapists listening to the young? A psychological perspective*

This paper sets out to examine the family therapist's relationship to young children from a psychological perspective. Earlier contributions to the literature regarding the involvement of children in family sessions are reviewed briefly. Aspects of attachment theory and Piaget's theory of cognitive development are considered in terms of their implications for family therapy. It is argued that family therapists should be mindful of parents’ responsibilities for meeting their children's needs, particularly their need to experience predictability and to have a coherent story about their lives. The importance of exploring the effects of adult choices on the children is also emphasized.     

The impact of the home musical environment on infants’ language development

There is strong evidence that musical engagement influences children’s language development but little research has been carried out on the relationship between the home musical environment and language development in infancy. The current study assessed musical exposure at home (including parental singing) and language development in 64 infants (8.5–18 months). Results showed that the home musical environment significantly predicted gesture development. For a subgroup of infants’ below 12 months, both parental singing and overall home musical environment score significantly predicted word comprehension. These findings represent the first demonstration that an enriched musical environment in infancy can promote development of communication skills.     

The impact of different styles of traffic safety advertisement on young drivers’ explicit and implicit self-enhancement biases

This study examined the immediate psychological impact of positive and negatively framed driving advertisements on (a) deliberative and consciously reported (explicit) and (b) automatic non-conscious (implicit) self-enhancement biases in driving ability and caution (N = 150). Positively framed driving advertisements (those that showed actors modeling safe alternatives to dangerous driving) were most effective at reducing self-enhancement biases in driving ability. This effect was, however, limited to consciously accessible deliberative self-enhancement biases. Exposure to driving advertisements (either positively or negatively framed) did not significantly alter implicit, automatic self-enhancement biases (measured using a computerized reaction-time task). These findings emphasize that positively framed messages are more effective than negatively framed messages at influencing important psychological processes underlying driving behaviour, although such effects are limited, at least in their immediacy, to deliberative fast-learning (or propositional) processes. The implications of these findings for understanding the effects of driving advertisements on the different slow-learning and fast-learning social-cognitive processes underlying self-enhancement biases in young drivers’ self-perceptions, and hence driver behaviour, are discussed.     

Danaher’s Ethical Behaviourism: An Adequate Guide to Assessing the Moral Status of a Robot?

Science and Engineering Ethics - This paper critically assesses John Danaher’s ‘ethical behaviourism’, a theory on how the moral status of robots should be determined. The basic...     

The Parable of the Sower: a case study examining the use of the Godly Play® method as a spiritual intervention on a psychiatric unit of a major children’s hospital

This case study examines the use of Godly Play® as a pastoral intervention on a psychiatric unit at Children’s Health – Children’s Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. The chaplain adapts Godly Play®, more typically used as a programme of Christian formation in churches and schools, for this setting, leading a ‘Purpose and Meaning’ group weekly whose goal is to provide inpatients with a developmentally appropriate way of reflecting on and expressing their own sense of identity, purpose and meaning within the personal, social and spiritual milieu in which they identify themselves as members. The case study examines how the method is adapted as a spiritual intervention in a clinical setting, and analyses its effectiveness in meeting the stated goals of the group.     

Inhibition and young children’s performance on the Tower of London task

Young children, when performing problem solving tasks, show a tendency to break task rules and produce incomplete solutions. We propose that this tendency can be explained by understanding problem solving within the context of the development of “executive functions” – general cognitive control functions, which serve to regulate the operation of the cognitive system. This proposal is supported by the construction of two computational models that simulate separately the performance of 3–4 year old and 5–6 year old children on the Tower of London planning task. We seek in particular to capture the emerging role of inhibition in the older group. The basic framework within which the models are developed is derived from Fox and Das’ Domino model [Fox, J., & Das, S. (2000). Safe and sound: Artificial intelligence in hazardous applications. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press] and Norman and Shallice’s [Norman, D.A., & Shallice, T. (1986). Attention to action: Willed and automatic control of behaviour. In R. Davidson, G. Schwartz, & D. Shapiro (Eds.), Consciousness and Self Regulation (Vol. 4). New York: Plenum] theory of willed and automatic action. Two strategies and a simple perceptual bias are implemented within the models and comparisons between model and child performance reveal a good fit for the key dependent measures (number of rule breaks and percentage of incomplete solutions) of the two groups.     

Could it happen to you? Predicting the impact of downward comparisons on the self

Three studies examined the impact of downward comparisons on the self. Worse-off others exerted an impact only when participants drew an analogy between themselves and the other. When participants did draw an analogy, the impact of the other on the self was determined by perceived vulnerability to the other's negative fate. When vulnerability was low, downward comparisons enhanced self-evaluations. When vulnerability was high, downward comparisons deflated self-evaluations, but activated a prevention orientation, boosting motivation aimed at avoiding the negative experience of the other.