Holistic Facial Composite Construction and Subsequent Lineup Identification Accuracy: Comparing Adults and Children

When the police have no suspect, they may ask an eyewitness to construct a facial composite of that suspect from memory. Faces are primarily processed holistically, and recently developed computerized holistic facial composite systems (e.g., EFIT-V) have been designed to match these processes. The reported research compared children aged 6–11 years with adults on their ability to construct a recognizable EFIT-V composite. Adult constructor's EFIT-Vs received significantly higher composite-suspect likeness ratings from assessors than children's, although there were some notable exceptions. In comparison to adults, the child constructors also overestimated the composite-suspect likeness of their own EFIT-Vs. In a second phase, there were no differences between adult controls and constructors in correct identification rates from video lineups. However, correct suspect identification rates by child constructors were lower than those of child controls, suggesting that a child's memory for the suspect can be adversely influenced by composite construction. Nevertheless, all child constructors coped with the demands of the EFIT-V system, and the implications for research, theory, and the criminal justice system practice are discussed.     

Is Fifty Really the New Thirty? The Stigma of Age as a Form of Strain and its Role in Drug and Alcohol Abuse and Dependence by Women

Aging bodies stigmatize women. The effects of stigma, health issues, goal disappointment, and a combination of age and minority group status, overwhelm older women’s coping strategies, leading to maladaptive behaviors. General strain theory posits a relationship between negative stimuli and deviant behavior. Advancing age and age-related stigma reflect this strain. This study explores the relationship between strain and substance abuse or dependence, comparing subsamples of middle age (35- to 49-year-old women) and older middle age (50- to 64-year-old) women. Data suggest that minority age status coupled with acute or mental health issues increase substance abuse or dependence by older women.     

Scaling reward value with demand curves versus preference tests

In Experiment 1, six capuchins lifted a weight during a 10-min session to receive a food piece. Across conditions, the weight was increased across six different amounts for three different food types. The number of food pieces obtained as a function of the weight lifted was fitted by a demand equation that is hypothesized to quantify food value. For most subjects, this analysis showed that the three food types differed little in value. In Experiment 2, these monkeys were given pairwise choices among these food types. In 13 of 18 comparisons, preferences at least equaled a 3-to-1 ratio; in seven comparisons, preference was absolute. There was no relation between values based on degree of preference versus values based on the demand equation. When choices in the present report were compared to similar data with these subjects from another study, between-study lability in preference emerged. This outcome contrasts with the finding in demand analysis that test–retest reliability is high. We attribute the unreliability and extreme assignment of value based on preference tests to high substitutability between foods. We suggest use of demand analysis instead of preference tests for studies that compare the values of different foods. A better strategy might be to avoid manipulating value by using different foods. Where possible, value should be manipulated by varying amounts of a single food type because, over an appropriate range, more food is consistently more valuable than less. Such an approach would be immune to problems in between-food substitutability.     

Prompting reflection and learning in career construction counseling

Adopting the overall framework provided for an international inquiry into career counseling interventions, this article reports on a qualitative study into the efficacy of a relatively new approach to practice in England. Using career construction interviews as the counseling intervention, research involving two adult participants was undertaken. Interpersonal process recall (IPR) was used to explicate the perceptions and understandings of both the participants and the counselor in the process. Outcome analysis framed the approach used to making sense of the data collected. Two contrasting responses were immediately evident from participants in the counseling intervention: one positive and one negative. The use of the IPR process enabled an understanding of the value of a structured process of reflection.     

Citations of Murray Sidman's work in JEAB: Evidence of a long and large contribution

We examined citations of Murray Sidman's publications in the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior from the journal's inception in 1958 through May 2020. On average, he was cited 35.6 times per year. The rate of citation did not change substantially across time and the cumulative citation count was 2,212. His 10 publications cited most often deal with behavior-analytic research methods, stimulus equivalence, and unsignaled free-operant (or Sidman) avoidance. Our data provide clear evidence of the breadth and depth of Sidman's influence on the experimental analysis of behavior across 7 decades. His contributions were both exceptional and praiseworthy and his legacy will long endure.     

Single-case experimental designs: Characteristics,changes, and challenges

Tactics of Scientific Research (Sidman, 1960) provides a visionary treatise on single-case designs, their scientific underpinnings, and their critical role in understanding behavior. Since the foundational base was provided, single-case designs have proliferated especially in areas of application where they have been used to evaluate interventions with an extraordinary range of clients, settings, and target foci. This article highlights core features of single-case experimental designs, how key and ancillary features of the designs have evolved, the special strengths of the designs, and challenges that have impeded their integration in many areas where their contributions are sorely needed. The article ends by placing the methodological approach in the context of other research traditions. In this way, the discussion moves from the specific designs toward foundations and philosophy of science issues in keeping with the strengths of the person and book we are honoring.     

Hans Reichenbach,radio philosopher: a preliminary report

Synthese - This essay looks at some of the key aspects of Hans Reichenbach’s career as a radio engineer, broadcaster, and producer. It argues that some of the themes of Reichenbach’s...     

Explaining the effects of a decision intervention on mammography intentions: The roles of worry,fear and perceived susceptibility to breast cancer

Objective: This study examines the effects of a mammography decision intervention on perceived susceptibility to breast cancer (PSBC) and emotion and investigates how these outcomes predict mammography intentions.

Design: Randomised between-subjects online experiment. Participants were stratified into two levels of risk. Within each stratum, conditions included a basic information condition and six decision intervention conditions that included personalised risk estimates and varied according to a 2 (amount of information: brief vs. extended) × 3 (format: expository vs. untailored exemplar vs. tailored exemplar) design. Participants included 2465 US women ages 35–49.

Main Outcome Measures: PSBC as a percentage, PSBC as a frequency, worry, fear and mammography intentions.

Results: The intervention resulted in significant reductions in PSBC as a percentage for women in both strata and significant increases in worry and fear for women in the upper risk stratum. Of the possible mediators examined, only PSBC as a percentage was a consistent mediator of the effect of the intervention on mammography intentions.

Conclusion: The results provide insight into the mechanism of action of the intervention by showing that PSBC mediated the effects of the intervention on mammography intentions.