The Simulation Theory,the Theory Theory and Folk Psychological Explanation

Philosophical Studies -     

An evaluation of the effects of response interruption redirection and matched stimulation on vocal stereotypy

Stereotypy is one of the core diagnostic features of autism spectrum disorder and warrants behavioral intervention when it negatively impacts the person's life. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of noncontingent matched stimulation (NCR‐M) compared with response interruption redirection (RIRD) on reducing levels of vocal stereotypy in the natural environment. Interventions were compared using an alternating treatments design followed by generalization and maintenance phases, which utilized lay people as instructors. Results showed that both RIRD and NCR‐M resulted in a reduction in vocal stereotypy for three out of four participants within an educational setting. An increase in appropriate vocalizations was found for two out of four participants for both interventions. These results suggest that both NCR‐M and RIRD were effective in reducing levels of vocal stereotypy, yet their effects on appropriate communication remain undetermined. Social validity scores were obtained following the study, which demonstrated that both interventions were met with approval across a variety of measures.     

The association between in-class cultural diversity with empathy and bullying in adolescence: A multilevel mediation analysis

Little is known about the associations between cultural class composition, teacher support for diversity (TSD), cognitive and affective empathy, and bullying and victimisation. Research shows that empathy is negatively associated with bullying and victimisation; and support for diversity and classroom cultural diversity are positively linked to social skills. The present study examines whether cultural diversity and perceived TSD are protective factors against bullying and victimisation, either directly or mediated by empathy. Participants were 897 students from Grades 7 to 10 (M_age = 13.45, SD_age = 1.07, 51.3% girls, 46.7% boys) in 36 classes. Multilevel mediation analyses were conducted. Age and gender were controlled for. More perceived TSD and affective empathy were associated with less bullying. Moreover, the effect of perceived TSD on bullying was partly indirect through affective empathy. Victimisation was not predicted by the study variables. The class level showed no effects. Bullying and victimisation are complex phenomena, which seem to be linked more to individual than to class characteristics. The result that higher perceived TSD was linked to empathy and bullying provides a promising starting point for measures of competence enhancement and bullying prevention.     

Effects of neonatal cyproterone acetate administration on isolation-induced fighting behavior and mounting behavior in male and female TO strain albino mice

The effects of a single dose (1 mg) of cyproterone acetate administered on either day 1 or day 20 of life on the adult behaviors of male and female TO strain albino mice were studied. The mice were tested both in a “standard opponent”-type situation and in a similar test using a hormonally primed receptive female, after being gonadectomized and maintained with testosterone propionate as adults. Neonatal treatment with this compound had little effect on subsequent fighting behavior in either sex, but clear evidence was produced that this treatment masculinized the sexual behavioral potentialities of the females, an effect which was apparent in animals which had been injected on either day 1 or day 20 of life. Indications were obtained that females treated neonatally with cyproterone acetate were capable of differentiating between the male and female “opponents” in a manner similar to the male. The effects of this treatment on fighting behavior consequently appear to be dissimilar to the effects of neonatal castration in this species. However, the effects on mounting behavior in the females, evidenced in adulthood, seem Likely to be a consequence of the weak androgenic properties of the antiandrogen. The administration of cyproterone acetate neonatally appears to have a more dramatic effect on the adult weights of endocrine organs in females than in mates.     

The role of endocrines in isolation-induced intermale fighting in albino laboratory mice. I: PITUITARY-ADRENOCORTICAL INFLUENCES

Recent experiments concerning the possible role of components of the pituitary–adrenocortical axis (ACTH and glucocorticoids) in isolation-induced intermale fighting behavior in laboratory strains of mice are reviewed. A series of experiments which investigate factors that may influence the successful demonstration of this relationship are described. Differences in performances in standard-opponent tests of some outbred strains of albino mice are indicated, as well as an interesting positive correlation between the aggressiveness and the relative adrenal weights of the strains employed. Long-acting preparations of both ACTH and ACTH 4–10, injected throughout a period of isolation, suppressed fighting behavior in intact TO-strain mice in subsequent standard-opponent and trained-fighter tests. After it had been confirmed that vigorous isolation-induced fighting could be obtained in bilaterally castrated mice which had been subcutaneously implanted with testosterone pellets, the effects of long-acting preparations of ACTH, ACTH 4–10, ACTH 1–10, and ACTH 4–10 D-phe on the fighting behavior of such animals were studied. A significant suppression of fighting behavior was evident only with respect to ACTH, suggesting that ACTH 4–10 may have its action on this behavior in a manner rather different from that of the parent molecule. Some evidence was also obtained indicating that the zinc used in the preparation of long-acting injections of ACTH and its analogs may also cause a decline in the level of fighting behavior, in a standard-opponent test, in TO-strain mice which had been castrated and testosterone implanted. While such a finding does not affect the validity of the recorded behavioral influences of ACTH and ACTH 4–10 described earlier, it does seem likely that the presence of this substance in placebo injections would make the demonstration of the actions of the pep tides difficult, as there would be a low level of fighting in all categories. Rather less impressive results were obtained with respect to the influences of ACTH preparations and zinc on castrated—implanted CFW mice. The studies identify a number of the factors which may influence the successful demonstration of a relationship between the functioning of the pituitary—adrenocortical axis and isolation-induced agonistic behavior in the mouse. A number of general, if tentative, conclusions may also be listed. It seems likely, in spite of the interpretational difficulties caused by what seems to be a complex and rather unstable relationship, that ACTH and glucocorticoids may have profound influences on this type of fighting behavior in this species. One may also conclude that the evidence for an extraadrenal influence of ACTH on this behavior appears stronger as a result of these and related studies and that the actions of ACTH and its analogs on murine fighting behavior may be logically related to the actions of these compounds on the acquisition and extinction of conditioned avoidance reactions in hypophysectomized rats. The possible utility of such actions to the natural territorial habit of the adult male mouse is also indicated.     

Acutely induced anxiety increases negative interpretations of events in a closed-circuit television monitoring task

In two experiments we measured the effects of 7.5% CO₂ inhalation on the interpretation of video footage recorded on closed circuit television (CCTV). As predicted, inhalation of 7.5% CO₂ was associated with increases in physiological and subjective correlates of anxiety compared with inhalation of medical air (placebo). Importantly, when in the 7.5% CO₂ condition, participants reported the increased presence of suspicious activity compared with placebo (Experiment 1), a finding that was replicated and extended (Experiment 2) with no concomitant increase in the reporting of the presence of positive activity. These findings support previous work on interpretative bias in anxiety but are novel in terms of how the anxiety was elicited, the nature of the interpretative bias, and the ecological validity of the task.     

Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale: a Psychometric Examination in Chinese Youth

There remains a need for a disorder-specific inventory of children’s depression and anxiety that can reliably screen anxious and depressive disorder symptomatology in Chinese children. The Revised Child and Anxiety Depression Scale (RCADS) is a self-report questionnaire assessing anxiety and depression in children (Chorpita et al., 2000; Piqueras et al., 2017). This study sought to evaluate its psychometric properties in a Mainland Chinese sample. Students from the 4th to 11th grades (N?=?1001) participated in this study. Each of the RCADS subscales, by age and sex, possessed reliability coefficients ranging between .63 and .81. Means and standard deviations for RCADS subscales calculated for the age and sex sub-samples were reported. Participants reported slightly lower levels on five subscales than for Chorpita et al. (2000) normative sample. The scales were significantly and strongly correlated with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) subscales (somatic, withdrawal, anxiety) as well as CBCL internalizing scores. Fit statistics suggested marginal to adequate fit for the six-factor model for the Chinese youth. The present study provides foundational support for the psychometric properties of the RCADS in a large sample of Chinese youth yet indicates that factor structure might be improved through enhanced sampling of culturally relevant symptom expressions.