Assessment and treatment of self-control with aversive events

Self-control can be defined as choosing a smaller, immediate aversive event over a larger, delayed aversive event (e.g., flossing daily instead of risking major dental problems later). Children with developmental disabilities have been found to respond impulsively when given the choice between aversive events that differ based on magnitude and difficulty. However, qualitative differences between events may also impact aversiveness. This study attempted to replicate and extend prior research by (i) empirically identifying a hierarchy of qualitatively different aversive tasks for three individuals with developmental disabilities by evaluating their average latency to escape responses when presented with each task, (ii) assessing baseline levels of self-control (i.e., selection of immediate, low-aversive tasks over delayed, high-aversive tasks), and (iii) implementing an empirically validated treatment (i.e., adding a delay to both tasks). Each participant initially made impulsive choices, but self-control increased following treatment.     

Further analysis of variables that affect self-control with aversive events

The purpose of this study was to examine variables that affect self-control in the context of academic task completion by elementary school children with autism. In the baseline assessment of Study 1, mathematics problem completion was shown to be an aversive event, and sensitivity to task magnitude, task difficulty, and delay to task completion were measured. The effects of manipulating values of those parameters on self-control then were assessed. For all participants, self-control increased as a function of one or more changes in task parameter values. In Study 2, the effects of a commitment response on self-control was assessed. Results indicated that for all participants, levels of self-control were higher when the opportunity to commit to the immediate aversive event was available.     

Self-control in honeybees

Self-control means choosing a large delayed reward over a small immediate reward; impulsiveness is its opposite. The metabolic hypothesis states that the amount of self-control across species correlates negatively with metabolic rate (Tobin & Logue, 1994). Foraging honeybees have high metabolic rates; the metabolic hypothesis would predict little self-control in bees. But foraging bees work for the longterm good of their hive, conditions that seem to require self-control. In three experiments, we gave bees the choice between (1) a sweeter delayed reward and a less sweet immediate reward and (2) a large delayed reward and a small immediate reward. Bees showed much self-control, inconsistent with the metabolic hypothesis.     

Capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) let lesser rewards pass them by to get better rewards

Self-control is defined as foregoing an immediate reward to gain a larger delayed reward. Methods used to test self-control comparatively include inter-temporal choice tasks, delay of gratification tasks, and accumulation tasks. To date, capuchin monkeys have shown different levels of self-control across tasks. This study introduced a new task that could be used comparatively to measure self-control in an intuitive context that involved responses that required no explicit training. Capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) were given a choice between two food items that were presented on a mechanized, revolving tray that moved those foods sequentially toward the monkeys. A monkey could grab the first item or wait for the second, but was only allowed one item. Most monkeys in the study waited for a more highly preferred food item or a larger amount of the same food item when those came later, and they inhibited the prepotent response to grab food by not reaching out to take less-preferred foods or smaller amounts of food that passed directly in front of them first. These data confirm that the mechanisms necessary for self-control are present in capuchin monkeys and indicate that the methodology can be useful for broader comparative assessments of self-control.     

高功能孤独症儿童的合作行为

合作行为是一种重要的亲社会行为, 对儿童的社会适应具有重要意义, 而孤独症儿童的典型特征是社会功能存在缺陷, 从而导致合作行为的缺乏。以往研究未能就孤独症儿童在不同合作任务类型中的表现做出区分, 本研究采用经典的囚徒困境博弈和合作性工具任务比较了6~12岁的高功能孤独症儿童和正常发展儿童在不同任务中的合作行为。结果显示高功能孤独症儿童和正常儿童在囚徒困境中的合作行为没有显著差异, 然而, 他们在工具性任务中表现出比正常儿童更低水平的合作行为。这说明高功能孤独症儿童在对认知能力有不同要求的合作任务中的表现不同。     

Impaired task switching performance in children with dyslexia but not in children with autism

Problems with cognitive control in both autism and dyslexia have already been reported in different studies. The present study specifically examined task-switching performance in children with autism and dyslexia. For this purpose, a multiple-trial paradigm was used with cues for colour- and shape-matching tasks presented before a run of trials. The cue could imply a task switch (when the cue changed the task) or a task repetition (when the cue did not change the task). Both reaction times and error rates were measured for switching, restarting, and general task performance. Participants were children with autism (24) and with dyslexia (25) and healthy controls (27) with normal IQ and ages from 12 to 18 years. The main finding was that while similar switching performance was observed between children with autism and the healthy controls, children with dyslexia showed a significant switch-specific delay relative to both healthy controls and children with autism. Furthermore, no deficit in restarting performance was observed for any of the two patient groups. Finally, additional evidence is provided for a more general deficit in information processing in dyslexia. Our data suggest that children with autism are able to switch between tasks in a similar way as do normally developing children as long as the tasks are unambiguously specified. Furthermore, the data imply switch-specific deficits in dyslexia additionally to the deficits in general information processing already reported in the literature. The implications of our data are further discussed in relation to the interpretation of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test.     

Concurrent relations between inhibitory control,vocabulary and internal state language in 18- and 24-month-old Italian-speaking infants

The aim of this study was to investigate the concurrent relations between 18- and 24-month-olds' performance on tasks measuring inhibitory control, word production, and internal state vocabulary. Two tasks were used to measure inhibitory control, the Reverse Categorization task (a conflict task), and the Gift task (a delay task). Expressive vocabulary was assessed with the Italian version of the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory (Words and Sentences), and internal state vocabulary was assessed with a checklist of 78 mental state terms adapted from the English Internal State Language Questionnaire. Expressive vocabulary was associated to Internal State Language and to the Reverse Categorization task, but not to the Delay task. Our findings document internal state language abilities in a sample of 61 Italian-speaking children, and show that internal state vocabulary is significantly and specifically related only to performance on the conflict measure of inhibitory control, even when vocabulary size is controlled for. Results of our study extend to an Italian sample of children previous findings on an early association between self-control and theory of mind and suggest that a link between inhibitory control processes and internal state language may be present at a very young age.     

Attentional bias toward waiting time information among individuals with high and low trait self-control when making intertemporal choices

ABSTRACT

The present study aimed to explore whether the modulation effects of attentional biases toward time information representing immediate rewards and delayed rewards differ between individuals with high and low trait self-control. Forty participants with high trait self-control and 40 with low trait self-control were selected based on their responses to the Chinese version of the self-control scale, and they were asked to complete an intertemporal choice task and dot probe task first and then a cue-target task a week later. The results showed that the participants with low trait self-control were more likely to choose immediate rewards than participants with high trait self-control. Furthermore, facilitated attention and difficulty in attention disengagement toward present-related words were found among participants with low trait self-control with higher frequency than among those with high trait self-control. Finally, facilitated attention toward present-related words moderated the indifference points among the participants with low trait self-control.     

自我损耗促进冲动决策：来自行为和ERPs的证据

该研究以自我控制资源模型为理论框架, 采用行为实验和ERPs技术考察自我损耗对冲动决策的影响。实验1采用Stroop任务操纵自我控制资源并采用延迟折扣任务考察被试的决策冲动性, 实验2采用同样的实验任务并同时采用ERPs技术记录高、低自我损耗者在随后决策任务中的脑电成分。行为结果发现, 在控制心境、特质自我控制水平以及风险偏好等无关变量后, 高损耗者比低损耗者在延迟折扣任务上的折扣程度更大。ERPs结果发现, 不论延迟金额大小, 高损耗者在左侧额区诱发的N1波幅显著小于低损耗者; 高损耗者在右半球诱发的P2波幅显著大于低损耗者。研究表明, 自我损耗抑制决策早期左侧额区的激活水平, 个体因而无法识别冲突以及抵制即时满足的诱惑, 这促使他们采用直觉启发式进行决策, 最终导致冲动决策的产生。     

Delay of gratification and delay maintenance by rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta)

The authors tested the self-control of rhesus macaques by assessing if they could refrain from reaching into a food container to maximize the accumulation of sequentially delivered food items (a delay-maintenance task). Three different versions of the task varied the quantity and quality of available food items. In the first 2 versions, food items accumulated across the length of the trial until a monkey consumed the items. In the 3rd task, a single less-preferred food item preceded a single more-preferred food item. Some monkeys delayed gratification even with relatively long delays between deliveries of items. However, the data suggested that self-control, in the majority of tested individuals, was not significantly different across different task versions and that self-control by macaques was not as prevalent in these tasks as it is in chimpanzees and human children.     

Self-control in children with autism: response allocation during delays to reinforcement.

This study examined the use of a progressive‐delay schedule of reinforcement to increase self‐control and decrease disruptive behavior in children with autism. When initially given the choice between an immediate smaller reinforcer and a larger delayed reinforcer, all participants chose the smaller reinforcer. When access to the larger reinforcer required either no activity or engaging in a concurrent task during the delay, all participants demonstrated both self‐control and preference for a response requirement. Disruptive behavior decreased during delays that required a concurrent task compared to sessions without an activity requirement.     

Developmental and Gender Differences in Future-Oriented Decision-Making During the Preschool Period

A child version of the Iowa Gambling task was used to explore the developmental and gender differences in decision making of 4-year-olds (N?=?141). The task required children to choose between two decks: a deck with higher immediate rewards and a deck with higher future rewards. Developmental differences between young (4.0–4.5) and older (4.6–4.11) children were found, with older 4-year-olds choosing more from the deck with higher future rewards. Gender differences were found for decision-making strategy. It is suggested that these differences in approaches might account for the pattern of gender differences found in past research.     

Processing of compound visual stimuli by children with autism and Asperger syndrome

A typical modes of visual processing are common in individuals with autism. In particular, and unlike typically developing children, children with autism tend to process the parts of a complex object as a priority, rather than attending to the object as a whole. This bias for local processing is likely to be due to difficulties in assembling subparts into a coherent whole, as proposed by Frith ( 10 1989) using the term “weak central coherence” or WCC. This study was aimed to better characterize the processing of complex visual stimuli by children with autism. Thirteen children with autistic spectrum disorders were individually paired with children of two control groups, one matched on verbal mental age (VMA) and one matched on chronological age (CA). Participants from the three groups were tested in two tasks. The first task involved hierarchical global/local stimuli, inspired by Navon ( 30 1977). The second task employed compound face‐like or geometrical stimuli. This task emphasized the processing of configural properties of the stimuli (i.e., spatial relationships). Children from the three groups showed a perceptual bias favouring the global dimension of the stimuli in the first task. By contrast, children with autism were deficient compared to normal children for the processing of the configural dimensions of the stimuli in the second task. These results suggest that visual cognition of children with autism is characterized by a dissociation between global and configural processing, with global processing being preserved and configural processing being altered in these children, therefore delineating the extents and limits of the WCC theory (Frith, 10 1989).     

自我损耗的视听通道效应

采用双任务实验范式,通过两个实验探讨了自我损耗的通道效应。实验1考察了完成视听工作记忆任务对执行手柄任务（非视听任务）的影响,结果发现,完成视觉损耗任务导致手柄任务的成绩显著地变差,完成听觉损耗任务、视听非损耗任务均对手柄任务的成绩没有影响。实验2考察了完成视听工作记忆任务对执行Stroop任务（视觉任务）的影响,结果发现,完成视觉损耗任务导致Stroop任务的成绩显著地变差,完成听觉损耗任务、视听非损耗任务对Stroop任务的成绩没有影响。研究结果表明同一自我控制任务通过视听通道完成对随后另一自我控制任务的影响不同,证实了自我损耗的视听通道效应。     

Development of motion processing in children with autism

Recent findings suggest that children with autism may be impaired in the perception of biological motion from moving point-light displays. Some children with autism also have abnormally high motion coherence thresholds. In the current study we tested a group of children with autism and a group of typically developing children aged 5 to 12 years of age on several motion perception tasks, in order to establish the specificity of the biological motion deficit in relation to other visual discrimination skills. The first task required the recognition of biological from scrambled motion. Three quasi-psychophysical tasks then established individual thresholds for the detection of biological motion in dynamic noise, of motion coherence and of form-from-motion. Lastly, individual thresholds for a task of static perception--contour integration (Gabor displays)--were also obtained. Compared to controls, children with autism were particularly impaired in processing biological motion in relation to any developmental measure (chronological or mental age). In contrast, there was some developmental overlap in ability to process other types of visual motion between typically developing children and the children with autism, and evidence of developmental change in both groups. Finally, Gabor display thresholds appeared to develop typically in children with autism.     

Increasing compliance with medical examination requests directed to children with autism: effects of a high-probability request procedure

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a high-probability (high-p) request sequence as a means of increasing compliance with medical examination tasks. Participants were children who had been diagnosed with autism and who exhibited noncompliance during general medical examinations. The inclusion of the high-p request sequence effectively increased compliance with medical examination tasks. In addition, the procedure was efficient, could be implemented by parents and medical professionals, and did not involve aversive procedures.     

A procedure to teach self-control to children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

This study examined the use of a progressive delay procedure combined with verbal mediation to teach self-control to children with attention deficit disorder. Results showed that when participants were initially given the choice between an immediate smaller reinforcer and a larger delayed reinforcer, all participants chose the smaller reinforcer. When slight delays to obtain a larger reinforcer were instated in conjunction with intervening verbal activity, all participants demonstrated self-control regardless of the content of the verbal activity.     

TASK DIFFICULTY AND ABERRANT BEHAVIOR IN SEVERELY HANDICAPPED STUDENTS

The influence of task difficulty on aberrant behavior was investigated with three severely handicapped students. Noticeably higher rates of problem behavior occurred in demand compared to no-demand conditions. In addition, there were higher rates of problem behaviors on difficult versus easy tasks. Both these findings were validated with visual discrimination and perceptual motor tasks. An errorless learning procedure effectively minimized errors and aberrant behavior in visual discrimination tasks but not in perceptual motor tasks. It was conceptualized that aberrant behavior was maintained by negative reinforcement contingencies. Difficult tasks were aversive to the children, who emitted aberrant responses to escape or avoid such tasks. By contrast, conditions in which no demands were made, easy tasks, and, in visual discrimination learning, errorless tasks, were less aversive and resulted in little or no problem behavior. Implications for reducing maladaptive behaviors through curricular modifications are discussed and contrasted to more traditional consequence manipulation approaches.     

Procrastination and Precrastination from the Perspective of Self-Control

Procrastination is defined as postponing a task, anticipating adverse consequences in the future. In contrast, D. A. Rosenbaum and colleagues introduced the concept of “precrastination” in 2014, defining it as people doing a task early even when involving physical cost because they desire to minimize their cognitive load. This study aimed to organize and expand the new concept and advance understanding of precrastination in everyday situations and of the associations between precrastination and self-control. Using the scenario assumption method, we examined whether people would precrastinate or procrastinate a task to remove cognitive load and clear their mind even if there was physical cost/burden (Study 1), and whether they would precrastinate or procrastinate a painful event to remove emotional load stemming from a fear of pain (Study 2). The results showed that (a) people start tasks early in order to remove cognitive and emotional load; (b) people do not start tasks early when they involve physical cost, burden, or fear; (c) people with high self-control start tasks early to remove cognitive load even when involving physical cost; and (d) people with high self-control and low fear start tasks earlier to remove emotional load.     

Enhanced discrimination in autism

Children with autism are superior to typically developing children at visual search tasks (O'Riordan, Plaisted, Driver, & Baron-Cohen, in press; Plaisted, O'Riordan, & Baron-Cohen, l998b). This study investigates the reasons for this phenomenon. The performance of children with autism and of typically developing children was compared on a series of visual search tasks to investigate two related problems. The first issue was whether the critical determinant of search rate in children is the discriminability of the display items, as it is in normal adults. The second question investigated was whether the superior performance of individuals with autism on visual search tasks is due to an enhanced ability to discriminate between display items. The results demonstrated that discriminability is the rate-determining factor for children with and without autism, replicating earlier findings with normal adults, and that children with autism have an enhanced ability to discriminate between display items. Thus, it seems that an enhanced ability to discriminate between display items underlies superior visual search in autism.