Using self‐monitoring and differential reinforcement of low rates of behavior to decrease repetitive behaviors: A case study

We used a reversal design to evaluate the effects of a self‐monitoring system and differential reinforcement of low rates of behavior on decreasing repetitive body movements in a child with autism. A trial‐based functional analysis revealed that repetitive body movements were maintained by automatic reinforcement. Treatment consisted of teaching the participant to use a self‐monitoring system to monitor the occurrence of repetitive body movements. A stimulus control analysis revealed the self‐monitoring system acquired stimulus control over the repetitive body movements, in that they were more likely to occur in the absence of the system than in its presence. The self‐monitoring system was implemented with a differential reinforcement of low rates of behavior, and their combined effects were evaluated within a reversal design. Repetitive body movements decreased with the implementation of the treatment. The use of self‐monitoring systems to target problem behavior is discussed.     

Should Authors be Requested to Suggest Peer Reviewers?

As part of a continuous process to explore the factors that might weaken or corrupt traditional peer review, in this paper, we query the ethics, fairness and validity of the request, by editors, of authors to suggest peer reviewers during the submission process. One of the reasons for the current crisis in science pertains to a loss in trust as a result of a flawed peer review which is by nature biased unless it is open peer review. As we indicate, the fact that some editors and journals rely on authors’ suggestions in terms of who should peer review their paper already instills a potential way to abuse the trust of the submission and publishing system. An author-suggested peer reviewer choice might also tempt authors to seek reviewers who might be more receptive or sympathetic to the authors’ message or results, and thus favor the outcome of that paper. Authors should thus not be placed in such a potentially ethically compromising situation, especially as a mandatory condition for submission. However, the fact that they do not have an opt-out choice during the submission process—especially when using an online submission system that makes such a suggestion compulsory—may constitute a violation of authors’ rights.     

Effect of variance ratio on ANOVA robustness: Might 1.5 be the limit?

Inconsistencies in the research findings on F-test robustness to variance heterogeneity could be related to the lack of a standard criterion to assess robustness or to the different measures used to quantify heterogeneity. In the present paper we use Monte Carlo simulation to systematically examine the Type I error rate of F-test under heterogeneity. One-way, balanced, and unbalanced designs with monotonic patterns of variance were considered. Variance ratio (VR) was used as a measure of heterogeneity (1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 2, 3, 5, and 9), the coefficient of sample size variation as a measure of inequality between group sizes (0.16, 0.33, and 0.50), and the correlation between variance and group size as an indicator of the pairing between them (1, .50, 0, ?.50, and ?1). Overall, the results suggest that in terms of Type I error a VR above 1.5 may be established as a rule of thumb for considering a potential threat to F-test robustness under heterogeneity with unequal sample sizes.     

Familial multiple sclerosis with repetitive relapses of manic psychosis in two patients (mother and daughter)

The clinical presentation of multiple sclerosis (MS) with psychiatric symptoms is uncommon but it is believed that MS patients are twice as likely to be afflicted with bipolar disorder as the general population. We report two cases (mother and daughter) of MS presenting with bipolar disorder in the form of recurrent manic psychosis and whose outcome was favourable with neuroleptics and corticosteroids. In both cases we found multiple hypersignal lesions on brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), especially in the right frontal lobe where we observed signs of activity. Apart from clinical and radiological concordance, the patients exhibited similar class I HLA alleles and identical class II HLA alleles. We focused discussion on whether there may be a common genetic susceptibility to both illnesses or whether MS caused psychiatric manifestations. The coincidence of psychiatric and neurological symptoms in most relapses supports the second hypothesis.     

Second-order confirmatory factor analysis of the WAIS-III. Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale

According to Vernon's structure-of-intellect paradigm, abilities can be conceptualized as a hierarchy, with a factor of general intelligence at the top of the hierarchy, and successively more specific abilities toward the bottom. This paradigm has proven useful for interpreting a number of Wechsler intelligence scales. However, most of the research with this paradigm has used exploratory factor analysis, and the validity of the paradigm for the newest Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-III) has yet to be evaluated. The present study examined the WAIS-III using second-order confirmatory factor analysis, which is a more appropriate analytic tool when specific hypotheses are tested. Using the standardization sample for the WAIS-III (N = 2,450), support was found for the hierarchical factor structure with a second-order factor of general intelligence and four first-order factors of Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Organization, Working Memory, and Processing Speed.     

Effect of manipulating the risetime of an acoustic stimulus on two protective reflexes: cardiac defense and motor startle

Effect of manipulating the risetime of an acoustic stimulus on two protective reflexes: cardiac defense and motor startle. The risetime is a parametric characteristic of the eliciting stimulus frequently used to differentiate among psychophysiological reflexes. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of manipulating the risetime of an acoustic stimulus on two protective reflexes: cardiac defense and motor startle. 100 participants underwent a psychophysiological reactivity test to five presentations of an intense acoustic stimulus (105 dB white noise) under one of five risetime conditions: 0, 24, 48, 96, and 240 ms. Total energy of the stimulus was controlled by increasing the base duration of the stimulus (1000 ms) by one third of the risetime. Results showed that risetime significantly affected motor startle but not cardiac defense. Startle amplitude decreased linearly with increasing risetime after 24 ms. On the other hand, repetition of the stimulus significantly affected cardiac defense but not motor startle. These results question the traditional differentiation between startle and defense based on risetime.     

Information and communication technologies in teaching applied and experimental designs

In this work, an innovative teaching model applied to methodological contents in psychology is presented. The proposed didactic model includes Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), such as CD-ROMs, web sites and Internet. These resources complement class attendance. In the classes the students are informed, guided and oriented so that they are able to obtain information and reorganize it in a coherent way. The aim of this article is to find out the students' learning preferences and estimate the incorporation of ICT, by means of the ETIM (Evaluation of Teaching Innovation Model) questionnaire. The results show that the students are aware of the need to consult other materials and that ICT helps students to understand the subject from various perspectives. In this way, the students become more autonomous in acquiring learning results.     

Principal components analyses of the MMPI-2 PSY-5 scales: identification of facet subscales

The Personality Psychopathology Five (PSY-5) is a five-factor personality trait model designed for assessing personality pathology using quantitative dimensions. Harkness, McNulty, and Ben-Porath developed Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) scales based on the PSY-5 model, and these scales were recently added to the standard MMPI-2 profile. Although the PSY-5 constructs are multidimensional in definition, explicit subscales for the broader PSY-5 scales have not been developed. The primary goals of this study were to empirically derive subscales for the MMPI-2 PSY-5 scales using principal components analysis (PCA) and to replicate these subscales with an independent sample. Individual PSY-5 scales were analyzed using PCA with an initial sample of 4,325 MMPI-2 protocols, and the component structure was replicated with a second sample of 4,277 MMPI-2 protocols. A third sample of 4,327 protocols was used to further evaluate the internal consistency reliabilities of the resulting facet subscales. Overall, replicable facet subscales were identified with content areas that are largely congruent with Harkness and McNulty's model.     

Effects of personal causation and perceived control on responses to an aversive environment: The more control,the better

A laboratory experiment was conducted to investigate the effects on reactions to aversive noise of three types of personal control: control over the initiation of noise, control over its termination, and combined control over both initiation and termination. On an attention-to-detail measure which occurred concurrently with noise stimulation, subjects' error rates decreased linearly as degree of control increased. Likewise, on a post-noise measure of task persistence, subjects' performance rates increased linearly across the three conditions as degree of control increased. Results were discussed in terms of Seligman's theory of learned helplessness and deCharms' theory of personal causation, and the motivational effects of personal control were emphasized.