Editor's Note: Societal changes and expression of concern about Rekers and Lovaas' (1974) Behavioral Treatment of Deviant Sex-Role Behaviors in a Male Child

In an early study in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Rekers and Lovaas (1974) evaluated the Behavioral Treatment of Deviant Sex-role Behaviors in a Male Child. They investigated the use of reinforcement and punishment to target non-gender-conforming behaviors of a 5-year-old male child. This study was considered by some to be controversial and concerning, even near the time of publication (Nordyke et al. 1977; Winkler, 1977). The concerns focused on the ethicality of selecting non-gender-conforming behavior as a target response and the use of punishment for this type of response, particularly at the behest of parents when the young child was not seemingly distressed. The study has subsequently been used as empirical support for conversion therapy creating concerns about misinterpretation of the original article and harm to the LGBTQ+ community. This editorial reviews the concerns originally presented by Nordyke et al. (1977) and Winkler (1977) and issues an official Expression of Concern about the various harms that have been associated with this paper.     

Mourning the divorce: A project in Marin County,California

A brief counseling program is described for divorcing parents and their offspring living in Marin County, California, where the divorce rate is perhaps the highest in the United States. Counseling was based on the notion that marital disruption produces a mourning which needs to be treated.This report was prepared by the American Institutes for Research on a contract from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children, Youth and Families. Jane Palches Kraft, M.S.W., was director of the project. Reprint requests should be directed to this journal's editor at Department of Psychiatry, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA 30912. Reprinted with permission.     

Stewardship Models of Pastoral Care,Counselling and Supervision: The Commonians Meet Ricoeur at Worship

The common factors debate in psychology and, more recently, marriage and family therapy is slow to erupt in pastoral care and counselling. This article introduces the common factors debate into pastoral science by proposing the Stewardship Models of Pastoral Ministry and Supervision. The model integrates common factors research and pastoral practice using Ricoeur’s “economy of the gift” ethic. The model’s focus is pastoral care, counselling and supervision in congregations, a unique community context in search of an adequate pastoral praxis.     

Verbal fluency output in children aged 7-16 as a function of the production criterion: qualitative analysis of clustering, switching processes, and semantic network exploitation

Developmental changes in children's verbal fluency were explored in this study. One hundred and forty children aged from 7 to 16 completed four verbal fluency tasks, each with a different the production criterion (letter, sound, semantic, and free). The age differences were analyzed both in terms of number of words produced, and clustering, switching, and semantic network exploration. Analysis of the number of words produced showed a larger difference between the 7-8- and the 9-10-year-olds in semantic than in letter fluency, but this difference gradually disappeared with increasing age for semantic fluency while remaining constant for letter fluency. In letter fluency production, age modified both the number of switches and clusters formed whereas in semantic fluency tasks, only cluster size changed with age. Concerning the semantic network exploration indicators derived from the supermarket fluency task, the number of categories sampled increased from 11 to 12 years, but efficient semantic exploitation occurred only after the age of 13-14 years. These results are discussed in terms of the development of strategic retrieval components and categorical knowledge.     

Is there a “strength effect” in automatic semantic priming?

According to spreading activation models of automatic priming, highly related associates should yield stronger priming effects than weakly related associates. The strength of relations is usually based on word association norms. However, this strength effect has been found in some studies but not in others. The present study suggests that one factor that might be responsible for this inconsistency is whether the weak associate is the primary or nonprimary response in the word association norms This possibility was explored by comparing priming effects of weak nonprimary and primary associates with those of strong primary associates. Comparable priming effects were found for the strong and weak primary associates whereas the weak nonprimary associates did not yield any priming effects. These results were obtained both in paired (Experiment 1) and single (Experiment 2) presentation priming procedures. Thus, the rank of the associate is an important factor in predicting the magnitude of the priming effect.     

对当代中国新造神运动的忧与思：伪生命科学思潮批判

分析中国伪生命科学产生的文化原因和背景,指出其致命的谎言、骗术与危害;揭露其理论上的荒谬与科学上的无知。并强调开展对这类伪科学产品进行批判运动的意义;同时重新对科学、非科学、伪科学、宗教、神话、迷信等进行划界和定义。医学研究需要正义、需要哲学的引导;在事实的世界之上,必须由价值和意义的世界来把握;医学理论不允许任意杜撰和加工,从这个意义上,医学科学还需要法律来维护其正义     

How normative and social identification processes predict self‐determination to engage in derogatory behaviours against outgroup hockey fans

Bringing together self‐determination theory, intergroup theories based on the social identity approach, and normative approaches, three studies conducted among hockey fans tested if social norms and social identity predict greater self‐determined motivation to engage in derogatory behaviours against an outgroup team and higher frequency of these behaviours. Higher self‐determination was conceptualised as an indicator of internalisation. In Study 1, hockey fans who identified more strongly as fans of the Montreal Canadiens (N = 181) displayed a stronger positive association between the perceived norm in favour of outgroup derogation and self‐determined motivation to engage in derogatory behaviours against fans of an outgroup team. This interaction also emerged on the frequency with which the derogatory behaviours were enacted. In Studies 2 and 3 (Ns = 105 and 116), this norm by social identity interaction was replicated on both the self‐determination and the frequency outcomes for fans of a diversity of teams in the National Hockey League. In Study 3, these findings were observed over and above a manipulation that framed derogatory behaviours as being either harmful or beneficial. Results are discussed in light of motivational theories, normative approaches, and intergroup theories based on the social identity approach. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development and Pilot Testing of a Decision Aid for Genomic Research Participants Notified of Clinically Actionable Research Findings for Cancer Risk

Germline genomic testing is increasingly used in research to identify genetic causes of disease, including cancer. However, there is evidence that individuals who are notified of clinically actionable research findings have difficulty making informed decisions regarding uptake of genetic counseling for these findings. This study aimed to produce and pilot test a decision aid to assist participants in genomic research studies who are notified of clinically actionable research findings to make informed choices regarding uptake of genetic counseling. Development was guided by published literature, the International Patient Decision Aid Standards, and the expertise of a steering committee of clinicians, researchers, and consumers. Decision aid acceptability was assessed by self-report questionnaire. All 19 participants stated that the decision aid was easy to read, clearly presented, increased their understanding of the implications of taking up research findings, and would be helpful in decision-making. While low to moderate levels of distress/worry were reported after reading the booklet, a majority of participants also reported feeling reassured. All participants would recommend the booklet to others considering uptake of clinically actionable research findings. Results indicate the decision aid is acceptable to the target audience, with potential as a useful decision support tool for genomic research participants.