Correspondence Between Preference Assessment Outcomes and Stimulus Reinforcer Value for Social Interactions

Preferred forms of social interaction were identified using a paired-stimulus format in which two 3–5 s videos of the experimenter providing the social interaction to the participant were presented. Reinforcer efficacy of the high-, medium-, and low-preferred interactions was evaluated using a progressive-ratio schedule to determine the amount of work maintained by the stimuli. Results showed that higher preference stimuli produced larger break points than did lower preference stimuli.     

The Relationship Between Direct Violence Victimization and Arrest History: The Mediating Role of Aggression

This study sought to determine whether emerging adults with a history of arrest differed on reported experiences of direct violence victimization (DVV), as well as measures of depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and aggression. We administered self-report measures to 535 diverse college students. Results revealed that 64 participants reported a history of arrest. Participants with a history of arrest reported significantly higher scores on measures of aggression, as well as a greater number of DVV experiences, when compared to a comparable random sample of participants with no history of arrest. When the total sample was examined, there was no direct relationship between DVV and history of arrest. However, we found evidence for the mediating effect of aggression between the two variables. Our findings suggest that, among emerging adults who have experienced DVV, high levels of aggression may play a role in criminal justice involvement.     

The Influence of Biomedical Information and Childhood History on Sentencing

A recent trend in court is for defense attorneys to introduce brain scans and other forms of biomedical information (BI) into criminal trials as mitigating evidence. The present study investigates how BI, when considered in combination with a defendant's childhood information (CI), can influence the length of a defendant's sentence. We hypothesized that certain combinations of BI and CI result in shorter sentences because they suggest that the defendant poses less of a threat to society. Participants were asked to read accounts of the trial of a murder suspect and, based on the information therein, recommend a sentence as if they were the judge. The defendant was diagnosed with psychopathy, but biomedical information regarding that diagnosis was included or excluded depending on the BI condition. The defendant was further described as growing up in either a loving or abusive family. The results showed that, if BI was present in the trial account, the defendant from an abusive family was perceived as less of a threat to society and received a shorter recommended sentence than if the defendant had been from a loving family. If BI was absent from the account, the pattern was reversed: the defendant from a loving family was perceived as less of a threat to society and received a shorter recommended sentence than if he had been from an abusive family. Implications for the use of BI and CI in court trials are discussed, as well as their relationship to free will and the function of punishment as retribution and utility. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Homework Completion,Patient Characteristics,and Symptom Change in Cognitive Processing Therapy for PTSD

We evaluated the impact of homework completion on change in PTSD symptoms in the context of two randomized controlled trials of Cognitive Processing Therapy for PTSD (CPT). Female participants (n = 140) diagnosed with PTSD attended at least one CPT session and were assigned homework at each session. The frequency of homework completion was assessed at the beginning of each session and PTSD symptoms were assessed every other session. Piecewise growth models were used to examine the relationship between homework completion and symptom change. CPT version (with vs without the written trauma account) did not moderate associations between homework engagement and outcomes. Greater pretreatment PTSD symptoms predicted more Session 1 homework completion, but PTSD symptoms did not predict homework completion at other timepoints. More homework completion after Sessions 2 and 3 was associated with less change in PTSD from Session 2 to Session 4, but larger pre-to-post treatment changes in PTSD. Homework completion after Sessions 2 and 3 was associated with greater symptom change among patients who had fewer years of education. More homework completion after Sessions 8 and 9 was associated with larger subsequent decreases in PTSD. Average homework completion was not associated with client characteristics. In the second half of treatment, homework engagement was associated with less dropout. The results suggest that efforts to increase engagement in homework may facilitate symptom change.     

Psychopathic Traits in Adolescence: the Importance of Examining Components in Face Processing,Voice Processing,and Emotional Skill

This study examined relations among interpersonal, affective, and impulsive-irresponsible psychopathic traits, emotional capacities, and recidivism rates in 144 detained adolescents. Emotional skill was conceptualized using a range of constructs, including face and voice processing, emotional intelligence, and self-reported cognitive and affective empathy. In addition, the relation between these concepts and recidivism three years after the initial assessment was examined. Results indicated that interpersonal traits were positively associated with better facial identification of fearful faces, whereas affective traits were associated with worse facial identification of sad and happy faces as well as angry voices. Impulsive-irresponsible traits were associated with reduced emotional intelligence. Differential predictive utility of the three psychopathic traits dimensions was also evidenced. Findings highlight the need to consider the broad concept of psychopathy, but also its underlying dimensions.     

A Mile in my Shoes: An Exploration of Custodial Mothers’ Perspectives on Empathy and its Role in Co-parenting and Paternal Involvement

Journal of Child and Family Studies - In contemporary society, fewer adults marry than in previous generations. It is also true that there have been increases in the number of non-marital births....     

Reducing negative emotional memories by retroactive interference

Because negative emotional memories are often disruptive, we conducted two experiments to reduce these memories by using a retroactive interference (RI) paradigm. In both experiments, participants were presented with highly negative pictures (List 1) followed by highly negative, moderately negative, or neutral pictures (List 2) or a rest period. Then, following a filler task, participants took a surprise free recall test, recalling pictures from List 1 in Experiment 1 and from both List 1 and List 2 in Experiment 2. In both experiments, recall of List 1 was reduced by List 2, indicating that RI was present. Furthermore, in Experiment 1, RI was similar between moderately negative and highly negative List 2 whereas in Experiment 2, RI was greater for highly negative List 2 than moderately negative List 2. These results showed that RI can be used to reduce negative emotional memories by making these memories inaccessible.