Developmental changes of sleep spindles and their impact on sleep‐dependent memory consolidation and general cognitive abilities: A longitudinal approach

Sleep spindles are related to sleep‐dependent memory consolidation and general cognitive abilities. However, they undergo drastic maturational changes during adolescence. Here we used a longitudinal approach (across 7 years) to explore whether developmental changes in sleep spindle density can explain individual differences in sleep‐dependent memory consolidation and general cognitive abilities. Ambulatory polysomnography was recorded during four nights in 34 healthy subjects (24 female) with two nights (baseline and experimental) at initial recording (age range 8–11 years) and two nights at follow‐up recording (age range 14–18 years). For declarative learning, participants encoded word pairs with a subsequent recall before and after sleep. General cognitive abilities were measured by the Wechsler Intelligence Scale. Higher slow (11–13 Hz) than fast (13–15 Hz) spindle density at frontal, central, and parietal sites during initial recordings, followed by a shift to higher fast than slow spindle density at central and parietal sites during follow‐up recordings, suggest that mature spindle topography develops throughout adolescence. Fast spindle density increases from baseline to experimental night were positively related to sleep‐dependent memory consolidation. In addition, we found that the development of fast spindles predicted the improvement in memory consolidation across the two longitudinal measurements, a finding that underlines a crucial role for mature fast spindles for sleep‐dependent memory consolidation. Furthermore, slow spindle changes across adolescence were related to general cognitive abilities, a relationship that could indicate the maturation of frontal networks relevant for efficient cognitive processing. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NXJzm8HbIw and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuMQY1OIJ0s     

A Meta-analytic Review of Components Associated with Parent Training Program Effectiveness

This component analysis used meta-analytic techniques to synthesize the results of 77 published evaluations of parent training programs (i.e., programs that included the active acquisition of parenting skills) to enhance behavior and adjustment in children aged 0-7. Characteristics of program content and delivery method were used to predict effect sizes on measures of parenting behaviors and children's externalizing behavior. After controlling for differences attributable to research design, program components consistently associated with larger effects included increasing positive parent-child interactions and emotional communication skills, teaching parents to use time out and the importance of parenting consistency, and requiring parents to practice new skills with their children during parent training sessions. Program components consistently associated with smaller effects included teaching parents problem solving; teaching parents to promote children's cognitive, academic, or social skills; and providing other, additional services. The results have implications for selection and strengthening of existing parent training programs.     

I Said,You Said: A Communication Exercise for Couples

The “I Said, You Said” technique leads the couple through a series of communication exercises that emphasizes the power of verbal and non-verbal cues. Initially, non-verbal cues that a couple uses to interpret each other’s spoken words are decreased to reduce the outside influences of attributed meaning. This allows the couple to focus on the clarity of the spoken message. Additional steps in this technique include restructuring speaker and listener roles, education about communication patterns, and learning how to communicate with more clarity and effectiveness, even when topics are emotionally laden. A brief vignette using the intervention follows this discussion.     

Effects of reinforcement magnitude and ratio values on behaviour maintained by a cyclic ratio schedule of reinforcement

In Experiments 1 and 2, lever pressing by rats was reinforced on a cyclic ratio schedule of food reinforcement, comprising a repeated sequence of fixed-ratio component schedules. Reinforcement magnitude was varied, on occasional sessions in Experiment 1 and across blocks of sessions in Experiment 2, from one to two or three 45-mg food pellets. In the one-pellet condition, post-reinforcement pauses increased with component schedule value. At higher magnitudes, post-reinforcement pauses increased, and overall response rates declined. Response rate on component schedules was a decreasing linear function of the obtained rate of reinforcement in all conditions. Plotted against component schedule value, response rate increased exponentially to an asymptote that decreased when reinforcement magnitude increased. These findings are consistent with regulatory accounts of food reinforced behaviour. In Experiment 3, rats were trained under a cyclic ratio schedule comprising fixed-ratio components including higher values, and some inverted U-shaped response functions were obtained. Those rats that did not showthis relationship were trained on cyclic ratios with even higher values, and all showed inverted U-shaped response functions. This suggests that behaviour on cyclic ratio schedules can reflect activating of reinforcement as well as the satiating effects seen in Experiments 1 and 2.     

Glowing Praise and the Envious Gaze: Social Dilemmas Surrounding the Public Recognition of Achievement

To determine whether well-intentioned attempts to recognize superior achievement might backfire, these studies drew on recent advances to social comparison theory that emphasize interpersonal costs of outperformance (e.g., Exline & Lobel, 1999b). Undergraduates (N = 122) were asked how top performance on exams should be recognized (Study 1). Students strongly preferred private, anonymous forms of recognition to more public forms of recognition. Study 2 suggested that preferences for recognition reflect sensitivity to both positive and negative peer responses. Study 2 also revealed individual differences in preferences for recognition. Narcissism was positively associated with desire for public recognition and negatively associated with concern about being the target of peer hostility. Competitiveness was associated with beliefs that being recognized for superior achievement would bring hostile reactions from peers. Sociotropy was associated with high levels of concern about both negative and positive peer reactions to public recognition. These findings complement prior research suggesting that public recognition, although self-enhancing, may create social dilemmas. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Sex differences in childhood sexual abuse and suicide-related behaviors

Child sexual abuse and suicide-related behaviors are associated, but it remains unclear if the strength of this association differs in boys and girls. In a systematic review of this association in children and youth, we identified 16 relevant studies, all cross-sectional surveys of students. The association is stronger in boys specific to suicide attempt(s). Adjustments for potential confounding variables explained some, but not all of this sex difference. While additional research would strengthen causal inferences, this sex difference may be influenced by the nature and timing of child sexual abuse as well as the sex of the perpetrator, which in turn shapes the disclosure of these events.     

Academia, Aristotle, and the Public Sphere – Stewardship Challenges to Schools of Business

In this paper we suggest that the ethical duties of business schools can be understood as representing stewardship in the Aristotelian tradition. In Introduction section we briefly explain the nature of ethical stewardship as a moral guideline for organizations in examining their duties to society. Ethical Stewardship section presents six ethical duties of business schools that are owed to four distinct stakeholders, and includes examples of each of those duties. Utilizing this Framework section identifies how this framework of duties can be used in the process of self-examination and transformation within business schools. Why It Matters section concludes by explaining why the process of examining ethical duties at business schools is vitally important for both business schools and the larger communities that they serve.