The Assertive Interaction Coding System

Conceptual and theoretical issues concerning the assessment of assertive behavior are discussed. A summary of a variety of instruments utilized in experimental and clinical settings is offered that reflects these issues. This review is followed by the presentation of a new assessment device developed by the authors—the Assertive Interaction Coding System. Research evidence as to its reliability and validity in experimental and clinical settings is presented. Implications for its use in clinical and research protocols are addressed.     

Serotonin, the superior colliculus, and grooming behavior in cats with neocortical lesions.

Previous studies of cats with pontile lesions indicate that a serotonergic deficit exists in the superior colliculi and that this deficit is involved in the genesis of an abnormal grooming behavior. Cats with frontal neocortical lesions exhibit the same serotonergic deficit and the same abnormal grooming behavior. The present study established that the serotonergic deficit is involved in the mediation of the abnormal grooming behavior in cats with frontal neocortical lesions. Microinjections of 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) into the superior colliculi abolished or signigicantly reduced the abnormal behavior in cats with frontal neocortical lesions, whereas no effects of 5-HTP were observed after injections into the cerebrospinal fluid above the superior colliculi, into the tegmentum beneath the superior colliculi, or into the medial dorsal nucleus rostral to the superior colliculi. Other substances (tryptophan, noradrenaline, and gamma-amino-butyric acid) had no effect on the abnormal behavior when injected into the superior colliculi. Further evidence implicating a serotonergic deficit in the mediation of the abnormal behavior was obtained by systemic injections: The abnormal behavior was abolished with 5-HTP in cats with frontal neocortical lesions and in adrenalectomized cats that were previously treated with p-chlorophenylalanine.. The present study also demonstrated that the abnormal grooming behavior is induced by frontal neocortical lesions and not by more caudal lesions of the neocortex. The anatomical relations between the frontal neocortex and the superior colliculus and the role of these structures in grooming behavior are discussed.     

Similarities in the physiological bases of an abnormal grooming behavior in thyroidectomized cats and in cats with lesions of the central nervous system.

Thyroidectomized cats display a dissociation of the appetitive and consummatory components of grooming behavior when the body surface is tactually stimulated, an abnormal behavior that also occurs in cats with pontile or frontal neocortical lesions. Systemic administration of 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) abolishes the abnormal behavior, whereas dihydroxyphenylalanine administration does not, and p-chlorophenylalanine (PCPA) administration induces the abnormal grooming behavior in thyroidectomized cats that are not displaying the abnormal behavior because of spontaneous seasonal reversions. Microinjections of 5-HTP or serotonin into the superior colliculi also abolish the abnormal grooming behavior in thyroidectomized cats. Lesions of the superior colliculi prevent the development of the abnormal behavior after thyroidectomy, even with PCPA treatment. These pharmacological results in thyroidectomized cats parallel the behavioral effects observed in cats with pontile or frontal neocortical lesions.     

Application of Yoga as a Spiritual Practice to Enhance Counselor Wellness and Effectiveness

In this article, we explore potential benefits of yoga, an ancient Indian tradition for spiritual growth and development, for counselors. Counselors use themselves as instruments to support clients and are constantly exposed to the traumatic experiences of clients, which may leave them susceptible to secondary traumatic stress or compassion fatigue (Shallcross, 2011). Yoga can help counselors not only in achieving holistic wellness but also in developing a way of being consistent with the characteristics of an effective counselor. Furthermore, yoga, as a spiritual practice, can empower counselors to embark on a spiritual journey driven by their own personal experiences.     

Benevolent Sexism in the Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers (TRAP): A Case Study of Texas House Bill 2

Benevolent sexism takes a subjectively positive view of women in traditional gender roles, revering them as gentle, nurturing, and in need of protection by men. While studies show that people who express attitudes of benevolent sexism are willing to restrict women’s choices at an individual level, limited research exists on the impact of benevolent sexism in social policy. Using a single-case study method and benevolent sexism as a conceptual framework, I examined the introduction, passage, and legal defense of Texas House Bill 2 (TX HB2), a targeted regulation of abortion providers (TRAP) law. HB2 was passed by the Texas legislature in 2013 and ruled on by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 2016 case of Whole Woman’s Health et al. v. Hellerstedt. Primary source legislative and court documents were analyzed to explore whether and how benevolent sexism ideologies were reflected in the introduction, passage, and legal defense of HB2 as a TRAP law. Four themes emerged: The State has the Right to Protect Women, Women Need Protection from “Bad Players,” Women are Emotional, and Women are Mothers/Vessels. Results confirm that language consistent with benevolent sexism was used in the context of policy making to justify restricting women’s access to pre-viability abortion.

     

Displacement trauma: complex states of personal,collective and intergenerational fragmentation and their intergenerational transmission

Originally presented at the Journal’s one day conference entitled ‘Displacement: Contemporary Traumatic Experience’ held in London in November 2019, this paper expands on the author’s theory of the implicit psychological organizing gestalt, an associated pattern of psychic functions which operate in an integrated way to simultaneously structure and organize our experience of self-cohesion and self-continuity. The gestalt, which implicitly links the formation of psychic skin, body image, cultural skin and both personal and cultural identity with place, functions as an emergent non-conscious permanent presence or background ‘constant’. It develops over time and emerges out of embodied emotional experiencing with the total environment – both human and non-human. The author argues that it is the rupture of this gestalt and the disorganizing consequences of its loss which underlies the experience of displacement trauma. If disruptions in the formation of the gestalt and/or its later rupture remain unrecognized and unrepresented then the absence creates a void which can be intergenerationally transmitted. Case material is presented which describes this and which highlights the ways in which the gestalt can contribute to our understanding of collective displacement anxiety, cultural trauma and cultural complexes.     

Utilizing in-vivo feedback for caregiver training of pediatric feeding protocols

Researchers have used multicomponent behavioral skills training packages including written and verbal instructions, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback when teaching caregivers to implement pediatric feeding treatment protocols (e.g., Anderson & McMillan, 2001; Seiverling et al., 2012). Some investigators have shown that fewer behavioral skills training components may be necessary for effective training (e.g., Mueller et al., 2003; Pangborn et al., 2013). We examined the use of in-vivo feedback following written instructions to train caregivers to implement pediatric feeding treatment protocols using a multiple baseline design across 3 caregiver dyads. Correct implementation of the feeding treatment procedures was low during baseline (written instructions only), increased with only the addition of in-vivo feedback, and remained high during follow-up sessions for all caregivers. Results are discussed in terms of clinical implications and caregiver satisfaction.     

Efficacy and social validity of procedures for improving conversational skills of college students with autism

Better conversational skills correspond to a higher quality of life for adults diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In this study, we taught vocal–verbal responses discriminated by compound arrangements of concealed conversation partner mands to two college students with ASD. Participants learned to engage in self-questioning about their conversation partner's behavior and to reinforce three concealed mands for termination of an aversive conversation scenario. We assessed generalization to conversation probes with trained confederates and to interactions with untrained conversational partners (e.g., peers, professors). Finally, we collected peer ratings of the social validity of changes in conversational behavior as well as participants' ratings of study goals, procedures, and outcomes.