On the adequacy of current empirical evaluations of formal models of categorization

Categorization is one of the fundamental building blocks of cognition, and the study of categorization is notable for the extent to which formal modeling has been a central and influential component of research. However, the field has seen a proliferation of noncomplementary models with little consensus on the relative adequacy of these accounts. Progress in assessing the relative adequacy of formal categorization models has, to date, been limited because (a) formal model comparisons are narrow in the number of models and phenomena considered and (b) models do not often clearly define their explanatory scope. Progress is further hampered by the practice of fitting models with arbitrarily variable parameters to each data set independently. Reviewing examples of good practice in the literature, we conclude that model comparisons are most fruitful when relative adequacy is assessed by comparing well-defined models on the basis of the number and proportion of irreversible, ordinal, penetrable successes (principles of minimal flexibility, breadth, good-enough precision, maximal simplicity, and psychological focus).     

Evidence that Killing Escalates Within‐Subjects in a Bug‐Killing Paradigm

Prior research has examined killing behavior using a paradigm in which participants believe (falsely) that they are killing bugs. This work suggests that killing behavior escalates. In the present study, we sought to replicate the basic escalation effect within‐subjects. Further, in doing so, we controlled for experimenter “sanctioning” of killing that may have differed with key between‐subjects manipulations in the prior research. To control for this possible confound, the present experiment held experimenter instructions constant and examined whether killing naturally escalated within‐subjects across two 12‐sec bug‐killing tasks. Additionally, to verify that escalation is due to killing per se and not just physical practice of the procedure, we manipulated whether the procedure was described as real killing or simulated killing. Results showed that when participants thought they were killing bugs, the number of bugs put into the grinder increased from the first to the second killing task. No such escalation occurred when participants performed the procedure while knowing the killing was simulated. Thus, killing of bugs escalates and is not simply a consequence of perceived sanctioning of killing by an experimenter or simulated practice of the procedure.     

Depressive‐symptom onset during toddlerhood in a sample of depressed preschoolers: Implications for future investigations of major depressive disorder in toddlers

This study investigated the occurrence of depressive symptoms prior to age 36 months as retrospectively reported by parents of preschoolers with clinical depression. The study provides some of the first empirical data on the manifestations of depressive symptoms during the toddler period, advancing existing theoretical and case‐report literature. A sample of 301 (depressed, disruptive, and healthy) children between the ages of 3.0 and 6.0 years were screened and oversampled for depressive symptoms from community sites. Primary caregivers (parents) were interviewed about their child's symptoms of depression (as well as other symptoms of mental disorders and developmental parameters), and age of first onset of depressive symptoms was ascertained. Findings suggest that clinical‐level symptoms of depression may arise as early as age 24 months. The domain of negative self‐concept during the toddler period evidenced by self‐deprecation and difficulty making choices emerged as the two strongest variables predictive of preschool depression. Our results suggest that prospective empirical studies of depressive symptoms in children younger than 3 years of age should now be undertaken.     

Preliminary support for links between media body ideal insecurity and women's shoe and handbag purchases

Two studies examined the relationship between women's insecurity-arousing comparisons with female models and shoe/handbag ownership. Idealized media images appear capable of threatening some women's sense of attractiveness and it may be that as a result, accessorizing becomes particularly appealing because it helps increase physical attractiveness without drawing attention to one's figure, the object of the threatening comparisons. In Study 1 (N=922), a correlational study, the more women reported that they feel insecure when they see attractive female models, the more shoes they tended to own. In Study 2 (N=286), we manipulated whether women saw images of attractive female models or not. The more women exhibited insecurity following exposure to the images of attractive models, the more shoes and handbags they tended to own. In both studies, these effects did not hold for ownership of trousers, an item of clothing that draws attention toward one's body.     

On Certainty on the Foundations of History as a Discipline

Wittgenstein had little to say directly on philosophy of history. But some pertinent remarks in On Certainty have received little attention, apart from in Elizabeth Anscombe's short article on Hume and Julius Caesar. That article acknowledges its debt to On Certainty, which responses to Anscombe have failed to recognise. Wittgenstein focuses in On Certainty on apparently empirical propositions that seem to be certainties, but in fact form a rule-like framework for judging. I have called these Moorean propositions, and the present article develops the suggestion that history as a discipline rests on them. The result is a qualification of empiricism in philosophy of history.

     

Transdiagnostic Clinical Staging for Childhood Mental Health: An Adjunctive Tool for Classifying Internalizing and Externalizing Syndromes that Emerge in Children Aged 5–11 Years

Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review - Clinical staging is now recognized as a key tool for facilitating innovation in personalized and preventative mental health care. It places a strong...     

Users of secondary school‐based counselling services and specialist CAMHS in Wales: A comparison study

Background: The increasing prevalence of mental health issues in young people has contributed to a rise in the provision of school‐based counselling services in the UK. Between 2008/09 and 2010/11, data were collected from users of secondary school‐based counselling services in Wales. Aims: To identify the characteristics of users of school‐based counselling services in Wales – including demographics, referral pathways, presenting issues, and predominant issues – and how they compare to users of specialist CAMHS in Wales and Welsh secondary school pupils in general. Method: Data were collected on 10,687 episodes of counselling. School counsellors completed a client record sheet after each counselling episode and submitted these to their Local Authority. Collated results were then compared to matched data from Welsh specialist CAMHS and Welsh secondary schools data. Results/findings: A typical user of a secondary school‐based counselling service in Wales was female, of white ethnicity, and from the ‘middle’ school years. There was a marked under‐representation of users from BME backgrounds. Users were most often referred by school staff, and the most common presenting issues were family‐related, anger, and behaviour‐related. Conclusions: There was a higher proportion of females accessing school‐based counselling services than males. This was in direct contrast to data from specialist CAMHS and possible explanations for this are discussed. The under‐representation of BME populations suggested that there were some equality issues associated with accessing these services. Implications for practice: Future research should explore equality issues associated with young people from BME backgrounds accessing intervention services.     

Reasoning deficits among illicit drug users are associated with aspects of cannabis use

Deficits in deductive reasoning have been observed among ecstasy/polydrug users. The present study seeks to investigate dose-related effects of specific drugs and whether these vary with the cognitive demands of the task. One hundred and five participants (mean age 21.33, SD 3.14; 77 females, 28 males) attempted to generate solutions for eight one-model syllogisms and one syllogism for which there was no valid conclusion. All of the one-model syllogisms generated at least one valid conclusion and six generated two valid conclusions. In these six cases, one of the conclusions was classified as common and the other as non-common. The number of valid common inferences was negatively associated with the aspects of short-term cannabis use and with measures of IQ. The outcomes observed were more than simple post-intoxication effects since cannabis use in the 10 days immediately before testing was unrelated to reasoning performance. Following adjustment for multiple comparisons, the number of non-common valid inferences was not significantly associated with any of the drug-use measures. Recent cannabis use appears to impair the processes associated with generating valid common inferences while not affecting the production of non-common inferences. It is possible, therefore, that the two types of inference may recruit different executive resources, which may differ in their susceptibility to cannabis-related effects.