Examining the initial usability,acceptability and feasibility of a digital mental health intervention for college students in India

Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) is prevalent among college students in India; however, barriers like stigma, treatment accessibility and cost prevent engagement in treatment. Web- and mobile-based, or digital, mental health interventions have been proposed as a potential solution to increasing treatment access. With the ultimate goal of developing an engaging digital mental health intervention for university students in India, the current study sought to understand students' reactions to a culturally and digitally adapted evidence-based cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for GAD intervention. Specifically, through theatre testing and focus groups with a non-clinical sample of 15 college students in India, the present study examined initial usability, acceptability and feasibility of the “Mana Maali Digital Anxiety Program.” Secondary objectives comprised identifying students' perceived barriers to using the program and eliciting recommendations. Results indicated high usability, with the average usability rating ranking in the top 10% of general usability scores. Participants offered actionable changes to improve usability and perceived acceptability among peers struggling with mental health issues. Findings highlight the benefits of offering digital resources that circumvent barriers associated with accessing traditional services. Results build on existing evidence that digital interventions can be a viable means of delivering mental healthcare to large, defined populations.     

EFFECTS OF AND PREFERENCE FOR PAY FOR PERFORMANCE: AN ANALOGUE ANALYSIS

We examined the effects of 2 payment systems on the rate of check processing and time spent on task by participants in a simulated work setting. Three participants experienced individual pay‐for‐performance (PFP) without base pay and pay‐for‐time (PFT) conditions. In the last phase, we asked participants to choose which system they preferred. For all participants, the PFP condition produced higher rates of check processing and more time spent on task than did the PFT condition, but choice of payment system varied both within and across participants.     

Action as a Window to Perception: Measuring Attention with Mouse Movements

Eye‐gaze tracking has been shown to deliver valuable information about how people view advertisements and what they pay attention to. However, practical difficulties in its application limit its usability by marketing researchers. Here, we explore the use of mouse tracking to evaluate viewing behavior by determining whether the hand can be trained to follow visual spatial attention and whether visual processing can be estimated by tracking pointing movements made with a computer mouse. In brief, the results of the research are very promising, showing high correlations between the scan paths for the eye and the mouse, as well as high correlations between the percentage of time spent in designated regions of interest for the mouse and the eye. An additional comparison of the data with that of a group who did not use a mouse while viewing the experimental stimuli showed that viewing patterns were not disrupted by mouse use. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Creating inclusive identity narratives through participatory action research

This paper describes the process and outcomes of Voices, a participatory action research project aimed to disrupt divisive ethnic identity narratives among youth living amidst protracted ethnic conflict. The project took place in the Garo Hills region of Northeast India, a site of protracted ethnic conflict. Moving away from crisis‐based approaches, this paper explores the conflict transformative potential of participatory action research, specifically its effectiveness in facilitating civic engagement across ethnic lines. The findings indicate that young people's involvement in the project afforded them an opportunity to engage with local community concerns outside of polarized ethnic identity narratives. This involvement facilitated three critical outcomes: engagement in social critique, reconfiguration of a more inclusive researcher identity, and adoption of a language of possibility. Based on these findings, it is argued that opportunities for critical community engagement could interrupt divisive ethnic identity narratives and provide turning points for youth to reimagine inclusive social identities.     

Culture and Community Psychology: Toward a Renewed and Reimagined Vision

Interest is growing in community psychology to look more closely at culture. Culture has resided in community psychology in its emphasis on context, ecology, and diversity, however we believe that the field will benefit from a more explicit focus on culture. We suggest a cultural approach that values the community's points of view and an understanding of shared and divergent meanings, goals, and norms within a theory of empowerment. Furthermore, we posit the importance of pluralistic, multi-method programs of research and action encompassing both idiographic and nomothetic approaches, and critical reflexivity of our roles and agendas. Culture can be further incorporated into all the branches and fibers of community psychology.     

Error feedback and the acquisition of geographical representations

Three training conditions were compared in a task of learning locations of cities on a map: One in which participants could avoid errors by searching for the name of the correct city, and two others in which either immediate feedback after each response or delayed feedback after all responses had been made was given. Learners who received feedback only after placing all the cities on the map performed more poorly overall during training but outperformed the other two groups in both immediate and delayed tests. This advantage is interpreted as evidence of differential development of relational knowledge and application of cognitive effort across training conditions. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

中美成人基本认知能力的年龄差异

为了研究中关成人基本认知能力的年龄差异,采用西亚图纵向研究模型的方法对中关被试5种基本认知能力进行测量。结果发现,不同文化下5种能力的成绩存在显著的年龄差异。并且这种差异不能完全用教育上的差异来解释。年龄较大被试在所有基本能力测验上成绩较低。男性被试在归纳推理、空间和数字能力上成绩较好,女性被试在语义和词语流畅性测验上成绩较好。研究表明文化环境和历史等因素对成人认知发展具有一定的影响。