Teacher acquisition of functional analysis methodology

The current study examined methods for training teachers to use functional analysis methods. Teachers first received written and verbal instructions detailing attention and demand conditions. They then received training that included modeling, rehearsal, and performance feedback. Finally, probes were taken during ongoing class instruction. Results indicate that teachers acquired the skills and used them in classroom settings.     

Idiodynamic profiles of cardiovascular activity: A P-technique approach

A study was conducted to expand the conventional view of cardiovascular (CV) reactivity by using the idiodynamic paradigm for investigation of individuals. Patterns of autonomic CV regulation were assessed in six subjects across diverse laboratory tasks on three separate occasions. Individual CV profiles were derived from these data with P-technique factor analysis, and then group aggregated with chain P-technique. The composite pattern suggested a three-component solution consisting of cardiac rate, cardiac contractility, and peripheral resistance factors. Individual profiles were compared to the composite pattern; these profiles differed in the number of components derived, percentage variance explained by these components, and relative dominance of specific CV components. A hypothesis that emerged is that the subjects differed in the complexity of CV control. It appears that the idiodynamic framework, combined with novel research designs and statistical methods, may help expand the view of CV reactivity beyond the traditional unitary view as response magnitude.     

Effects of retrieval practice and presentation modality on verbal learning: testing the limits of the testing effect

ABSTRACT

The testing effect refers to improved memory after retrieval practice and has been researched primarily with visual stimuli. In two experiments, we investigated whether the testing effect can be replicated when the to-be-learned information is presented auditorily, or visually?+?auditorily. Participants learned Swahili-English word pairs in one of three presentation modalities – visual, auditory, or visual?+?auditory. This was manipulated between-participants in Experiment 1 and within-participants in Experiment2. All participants studied the word pairs during three study trials. Half of participants practiced recalling the English translations in response to the Swahili cue word twice before the final test whereas the other half simply studied the word pairs twice more. Results indicated an improvement in final test performance in the repeated test condition, but only in the visual presentation modality (Experiments 1 and 2) and in the visual?+?auditory presentation modality (Experiment 2). This suggests that the benefits of practiced retrieval may be limited to information presented in a visual modality.     

Manipulations of irrelevant information: Suffix effects with articulatory suppression and irrelevant speech

Numerous studies have demonstrated impaired recall when the to-be-remembered information is accompanied or followed by irrelevant information. However, no current theory of immediate memory explains all three common methods of manipulating irrelevant information: requiring concurrent articulation, presenting irrelevant speech, and adding a stimulus suffix. Five experiments combined these manipulations to determine how they interact and which theoretical framework most accurately and completely accounts for the data. In Experiments 1 and 2, a list of auditory items was followed by an irrelevant speech sound (the suffix) while subjects engaged in articulatory suppression. Although articulatory suppression reduced overall recall compared to a control condition, comparable suffix effects were seen in both conditions. Experiments 3 and 4 found reliable suffix effects when list presentation was accompanied by irrelevant speech. Experiment 5 found a suffix effect even when the irrelevant speech was composed of a set of different items. Implications for working memory, pre-categorical acoustic store, the changing-state hypothesis, and the feature model are discussed.     

Measuring Theodicy: Individual Differences in the Perception of Divine Intervention

The attribution of control to God may have particularly interesting psychological properties. Theodicy refers to the perception of God controlling history—even the minutiae of daily events. The current study examines the psychometric properties of a new instrument, the Theodicy Scale. Results support the reliability of the brief scale when administered to college students, and some evidence is provided suggesting construct validation. Theodicy appears to represent a unitary construct and scores vary independent of social desirability bias. The absence of a relationship between Theodicy scores and simulated medical advice raises questions to be addressed in future research.     

Executive Functioning Among College Students With and Without History of Childhood Maltreatment

This study utilized performance-based and self-report measures to examine differences in executive functions in college students with and without histories of childhood maltreatment. On the performance-based measures of executive function, all scores fell within the normal range for age. However, participants in the childhood maltreatment group reported more problems with metacognition than those without history of maltreatment. Severity of childhood maltreatment was associated with poorer cognitive inhibition/switching and phonetic fluency. Although significant group differences were found on a laboratory-based task of executive function, performance across the other tasks was generally similar. However, those with a history of maltreatment reported more problems with metacognition, suggesting a potential avenue for brief interventions focused on improving metacognitive skills important for success in the college environment. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Effects of noise on identification and serial recall of nonsense syllables in older and younger adults

The present experiment investigated the hypothesis that age-related declines in cognitive functioning are partly due to a decrease in peripheral sensory functioning. In particular, it was suggested that some of the decline in serial recall for verbal material might be due to even small amounts of degradation due to noise or hearing loss. Older and younger individuals identified and recalled nonsense syllables in order at a number of different speech-to-noise ratios. Performance on the identification task was significantly correlated with performance on a subsequent serial recall task. However, this was restricted to the case in which the stimuli were presented in a substantial amount of noise. These data show that even small changes in sensory processing can lead to real and measurable declines in cognitive functioning as measured by a serial recall task.     

A Lifespan Model of Interference Resolution and Inhibitory Control: Risk for Depression and Changes with Illness Progression

Neuropsychology Review - The cognitive processes involved in inhibitory control accuracy (IC) and interference resolution speed (IR) or broadly – inhibition – are discussed in this...     

Pathway to health: cluster-randomized trial to increase fruit and vegetable consumption among smokers in public housing.

OBJECTIVES: Examine the effectiveness of an intervention to increase fruits and vegetables (FV) consumption among smokers. DESIGN: Cluster-randomized trial of 20 public housing developments; 10 randomly assigned to an FV intervention and 10 to a smoking cessation intervention. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Usual (past 7 days) and past 30 days change in daily FV intake at 8 weeks and 6 months postbaseline. RESULTS: Greater increases were seen in the FV group. At Week 8 and Month 6, the FV group had consumed 1.58 (p = .001) and 0.78 (p = .04), respectively, more daily FV servings in the past 7 days than the cessation group. At the same time points, the FV group had consumed 3.61 (p = .01) and 3.93 (p = .01), respectively, more FV servings in the past 30 days than the cessation group. Completing more motivational interviewing sessions (p = .02) and trying more recipes (p = .02) led to significantly greater increases at Month 6 among FV participants. CONCLUSIONS: Motivational interviewing counseling and lifestyle modification through trying out healthy recipes may be effective in helping a high-risk population increase their FV intake.     

The Anxiety Sensitivity Index–3: Analyses of Dimensions,Reliability Estimates,and Correlates in Nonclinical Samples

Body image and self-steering behavior in a group of 40 African hospitalized paraplegics and two control groups of non-hospitalized Ss were investigated using the DAP and the PUTCO African TAT. It was hypothesized that the paraplegics would demonstrate a body image characterized by significant pathology and would have a higher loading on the passive-submission dimension than a control group of Ss. The results failed to substantiate the research hypotheses. Instead, the findings suggest that both groups were characterized by a field-dependent perceptual framework associated with indefinite body image boundaries and a lack of self-steering behavior. These findings are accounted for in terms of a developmental cultural interpretation.