What is an extinction burst?: A case study in the analysis of transitional behavior

Among the tactics of experimental science discussed by Sidman (1960) were those used to study transitional behavior. Drawing from his insights, this review considers an often cited but infrequently analyzed aspect of the transition from reinforcement to extinction: the extinction burst. In particular, the review seeks to answer the question posed in its title. The generic definition of an extinction burst as an increase in response rate following the onset of extinction is found to be wanting, raising more questions than it answers. Because questions of definition in science usually come down to those of measurement, the answer to the title's question is suggested to be found in how behavior prior to extinction is maintained and measured, when and how extinction is introduced, and where in time and how behavior early in extinction is measured. This analysis suggests that a single, uniform, and precise definition of the extinction burst is misguided. Examining how each of these facets contributes to what has been described generically as the extinction burst is a small, but important, part of Sidman's methodological legacy to the experimental analysis of behavior.     

Health-Related Quality of Life,Functioning and Social Experiences in People with Psychotic Disorders

Applied Research in Quality of Life - To inform development of a model for health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in people with psychotic disorders, we aimed to assess correlations between...     

Post-traumatic stress symptoms of children and adolescents exposed to the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake: A longitudinal study of 5-HTTLPR genotype main effects and gene–environment interactions

Experiencing disasters causes severe mental disorders, among which post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the most common. We conducted a longitudinal study to examine the effect of 5-hydroxyl tryptamine transporter gene-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) genotype on child and adolescent PTSD symptom course after the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake. We genotyped 963 participants who personally experienced the earthquake. PTSD symptoms were measured by University of California, Los Angeles PTSD reaction index at 2.5, 3.5, 4.5 and 5.5 years after the earthquake, respectively. Latent growth model was utilised to examine the main effect and gene–environment interaction effect of 5-HTTLPR on PTSD's symptom course. 5-HTTLPR genotype predicted initial PTSD symptom severity (β = 0.108, p = .019) and rates of symptom recovery (β = −0.120, p = .031) between 2.5 and 5.5 years. Compared with L′ allele carriers, those with S′S′ genotype showed higher initial symptom severity but also faster recovery rate. 5-HTTLPR genotype only predicted symptom severity at 2.5 years after the earthquake, after controlling for sex, age, ethnicity and trauma severity (β = 0.108, p = .019). This is the first evidence of the effect of 5-HTTLPR genotype on child and adolescent PTSD symptoms longitudinally, offering a novel perspective on the effect of 5-HTTLPR on PTSD symptom development following trauma exposure.     

Prototypical supervisors shape lay‐off victims’ experiences of top management justice and organizational support

Job loss is a pervasive experience affecting millions of workers around the globe annually. To investigate lay‐offs from the perspective of those who are affected, we conducted a lagged study examining lay‐off victims’ experiences of supervisory justice, top management justice, and organizational support. We test the hypotheses that the relationships between supervisory justice and lay‐off victims’ subsequent experiences of top management justice as well as organizational support are moderated by supervisors’ prototypicality of their team. Results from our study conducted during lay‐off process indicated that supervisory justice had a positive lagged impact on lay‐off victims’ unfolding experiences of both (1) top management justice and (2) organizational support for supervisors who were viewed as highly (but not lowly) prototypical of the team that both supervisors and subordinates were part of. Our study identifies a theoretically grounded moderator that may account for the presence (or absence) of cross‐foci effects found in previous multifoci justice studies. Moreover, our results shed light on the development of justice perceptions by demonstrating the impact of lower‐level supervisors in translating subordinates’ perceptions of justice of the supervisor to that of the top management. Findings suggest that supervisors have an important role to play in managing (for better or worse) the potentially harmful consequences associated with organizational redundancies.

Practitioner points

• Prototypical supervisors are ‘gatekeepers’ who are able to influence their subordinates’ relationship with the organization and its management.
• Involving supervisors in critical events such as lay‐offs may be important to effectively manage employees’ concerns.
• It may not be well advised to overly centralize responsibility for communicating information regarding lay‐offs under human resource departments.

     

Couple therapy for military veterans: overall effectiveness and predictors of response

Despite the numerous challenges facing U.S. veterans and their relationships, there have been no examinations of the effectiveness of couple therapy for relationship distress provided to veterans. In the present study, 177 couples presenting for couple therapy at two Veteran Administration Medical Centers completed assessments of relationship satisfaction prior to therapy and weekly during therapy. Results revealed that the average couple showed significant gains in relationship satisfaction during treatment (d=0.44 for men; d=0.47 for women); gains were larger for couples beginning therapy in the distressed range (d=0.61 for men; d=0.58 for women) than for couples in the nondistressed range (d=0.19 for men; d=0.22 for women). Rates of premature termination were high, with 19% of couples completing fewer than three sessions and 62% rated as not completing a "full course" of therapy. Benchmarking analyses demonstrated that the average gains were larger than would be expected from natural remission and similar to previous effectiveness trials; however, average gains were smaller than those observed in couple therapy efficacy trials. Relationship, psychological, and demographic characteristics were generally unrelated to the amount of change in therapy after controlling for initial satisfaction. However, African American couples showed significantly larger gains than Caucasian, non-Hispanic couples. Thus, though yielding smaller effects than those shown in efficacy trials, the impact of couple therapy for veterans' relationship problems appears to generalize across various demographic, psychological, and relationship characteristics.     

The Deliberative Pulpit? The Democratic Norms and Practices of the PCUSA

In contrast to typical approaches that view religion as problematic or benign, thicker conceptions of religion's place in promoting and sustaining democratic politics are possible. This includes religious organizations modeling democratic practices and engaging in debate on common terms. We initiate this program of inquiry with data from a survey of Presbyterian Church, USA clergy gathered during the late summer and fall of 2009. We asked explicitly about clergy commitment to democratic norms and practices as reflected in their public speech and small group activities in their congregations. We use this article to explain variance in the results, looking especially to see if democratic commitments fall at the expense of religious competition, organizational maintenance, and personal preference and increased conservatism.     

Analysis of self-recording in self-management interventions for stereotypy

Most treatments for stereotypy involve arrangements of antecedent or consequent events that are imposed entirely by a therapist. By contrast, results of some studies suggest that self-recording, a common component of self-management interventions, might be an effective and efficient way to reduce stereotypy. Because the procedure typically has included instructions to refrain from stereotypy, self-recording of the absence of stereotypy, and differential reinforcement of accurate recording, it is unclear which element or combination of elements produces reductions in stereotypy. We conducted a component analysis of a self-management intervention and observed that decreases in stereotypy might be attributable to instructional control or to differential reinforcement, but that self-recording per se had little effect on stereotypy.     

A Narrower Scope or a Clearer Lens for Personality? Examining Sources of Observers’ Advantages Over Self‐Reports for Predicting Performance

Emerging studies have shown that observers' ratings of personality predict performance behaviors better than do self-ratings. However, it is unclear whether these predictive advantages stem from (a) use of observers who have a frame of reference more closely aligned with the criterion ("narrower scope") or (b) observers having greater accuracy than targets themselves ("clearer lens"). In a primary study of 291 raters of 97 targets, we found predictive advantages even when observers were personal acquaintances who knew targets only outside of the work context. Integrating these findings with previous meta-analyses showed that colleagues' unique perspectives did not predict incrementally beyond commonly held trait perceptions across all raters (except for openness) and that self-raters who overestimate their agreeableness and conscientiousness perform worse on the job. Broadly, our results suggest that observers have clearer lenses for viewing targets' personality traits, and we discuss the theoretical implications of these findings for studying and measuring personality.     

An Experimental Investigation of Cognitive Defusion

The current study compared cognitive defusion with other strategies in reducing the impact of experimentally induced negative emotional states. Sixty-seven undergraduates were assigned to one of three conditions (cognitive defusion, thought suppression, or control) and instructed in standardized approaches relevant to each condition before viewing film clips intended to elicit fear, sadness, and disgust. Participants then rated their experience of each emotion and completed a Stroop task intended to indirectly measure emotional arousal. While participants did not show any differences in their experience of emotions through self-report, significant differences on the Stroop task provided evidence of varying degrees of arousal between participants using defusion, suppression, and control strategies, with thought suppression and defusion showing the greatest reduction in arousal. These findings were retained after controlling for individual differences in negative affect and suggest that defusion is an effective strategy for reducing emotional distress but raise questions about the specific mechanisms involved in the process.

     

Integrating Social Identity and the Theory of Planned Behavior: Predicting Withdrawal from an Organizational Recruitment Process

This study develops and tests a model of applicant withdrawal. Drawing on tenets from social identity theory and the theory of planned behavior, this study proposes that applicants who highly identify with an organization will experience higher pursuit intentions and subsequently be less inclined to withdraw from recruitment. Data were collected from a sample of 669 applicants to the U.S. military at 2 intervals, separated by 3 months. Strong support was found for the proposed theoretical model. Implications for research and practice will be discussed.