The Interaction of Language‐Specific and Universal Factors During the Acquisition of Morphophonemic Alternations With Exceptions

Using the artificial language paradigm, we studied the acquisition of morphophonemic alternations with exceptions by 160 German adult learners. We tested the acquisition of two types of alternations in two regularity conditions while additionally varying length of training. In the first alternation, a vowel harmony, backness of the stem vowel determines backness of the suffix. This process is grounded in substance (phonetic motivation), and this universal phonetic factor bolsters learning a generalization. In the second alternation, tenseness of the stem vowel determines backness of the suffix vowel. This process is not based in substance, but it reflects a phonotactic property of German and our participants benefit from this language‐specific factor. We found that learners use both cues, while substantive bias surfaces mainly in the most unstable situation. We show that language‐specific and universal factors interact in learning.     

Increasing CACREP's Name Recognition: The Effect of Written Correspondence on Site Supervisors' Awareness Level

This article describes a simple yet significant change that 1 counseling department made in their correspondence with site supervisors as a first step in educating their communities about the significance of CACREP accreditation. The results indicate a statistically significant positive relationship between the changes that were made and recognition of CACREP, both in identification and purpose, among the 52 site supervisors who participated in the study. The implications of these findings and additional ways to promote the CACREP credential are discussed.     

Comprehension of televised stories in boys with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and nonreferred boys

Two studies compared comprehension of televised stories by 7- to 12-year-old boys with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and nonreferred comparison boys. Boys watched one show with toys present and one with toys absent. Visual attention was continuously recorded, and recall was tested after each show. Across studies, visual attention was high with toys absent but decreased sharply with toys present for boys with ADHD. Groups showed similar levels of cued recall of discrete units of information regardless of differences in attention. When recall tasks and television story structure required knowledge of relations among events, the reduced attention of boys with ADHD interfered with recall. Although visual attention of comparison boys also decreased to some extent with toys present, there was no such decrement in recall. Implications of the difficulties children with ADHD have in integrated story comprehension are discussed.     

Self‐regulatory deficits associated with unpracticed mindfulness strategies for coping with acute pain

Training in mindfulness is a well‐supported therapeutic strategy for pain conditions, though short‐term mindfulness training for acute pain is not always effective. To explore the possibility that initial attempts at mindfulness in people without previous training may drain self‐regulatory resources, the current study used a student sample (N = 63) to test the hypothesis that brief instruction in mindfulness would lead to reduced pain tolerance on a cold pressor task, compared to more familiar strategies for coping with acute pain. We also investigated whether high heart rate variability (HRV), a physiological indicator of self‐regulatory capacity, would predict pain tolerance. Higher HRV predicted greater pain tolerance only in the control group, suggesting that applying unfamiliar mindfulness strategies while attempting to tolerate pain more rapidly sapped self‐regulatory strength.     

Callous-Unemotional Traits as Unique Prospective Risk Factors for Substance Use in Early Adolescent Boys and Girls

Youth with elevated conduct disorder (CD) symptoms who also have callous-unemotional (CU) traits exhibit more antisocial behavior than youth without CU traits. However, evidence regarding whether CU traits increase risk of substance use over and above CD symptoms, and whether these associations differ for boys and girls, is scarce. Using the Developmental Pathways Project sample of 521 middle school students, we examined whether adolescent- and parent-reported CU traits measured in 6th grade prospectively predicted the onset and recurrence of substance use and use-related impairment by 9th grade. We also examined the degree to which CU traits uniquely predicted substance use and impairment over and above CD symptoms, as well as whether gender moderated these associations. Results indicated that adolescent-reported CU traits increased the likelihood of substance use and impairment onset and recurrence by 9th grade. Analyses revealed that CD symptoms accounted for prospective associations between adolescent-reported CU and substance use, but gender moderated these associations. Boys with elevated CU traits and CD symptoms were not more likely to report alcohol use onset or recurrence, but they were at highest risk of recurrent marijuana use, use of both alcohol and marijuana, and use-related impairment by 9th grade. Girls with low CU traits and high CD symptoms were most likely to report onset and recurrent use of alcohol, as well as recurrent marijuana use, use of both substances and impairment. Study findings highlight the importance of accounting for CD symptoms and gender when examining links between CU traits and substance use in early adolescence.