Attention control and the antisaccade task: a response time distribution analysis

In three experiments response time (RT) differences between correct prosaccade and antisaccade trials were examined via distribution analyses by fitting an ex-Gaussian function to individual RT distributions. Experiment 1 demonstrated that antisaccades are slower than prosaccades and this difference is due to both a shift in the overall distribution as well as a lengthening of the tail of the distribution. Experiment 2 demonstrated that manipulating foreperiod duration led to changes in both accuracy and RT for antisaccades but not prosaccades. Furthermore, the change in RT for antisaccades resulted in a lengthening in the tail of the distribution but not a shift in the distribution. Finally, Experiment 3 demonstrated that with sufficient practice performance on antisaccades was equated with performance on prosaccades in terms of both accuracy and RT. An examination of the RT distributions suggested that practice led to parallel changes in both the mean of the distribution and the tail of the antisaccade distribution. These results are interpreted within a two-factor theory of attention control that suggests that performance on antisaccades is driven by both competition resolution and goal-maintenance abilities.     

Security of attachment and quality of mother-toddler social interaction in a high-risk sample

The quality of children's social interactions and their attachment security with a primary caregiver are two widely studied indices of socioemotional functioning in early childhood. Although both Bowlby and Ainsworth suggested that the parent-child interactions underlying the development of attachment security could be distinguished from other aspects of parent-child interaction (e.g., play), relatively little empirical research has examined this proposition. The aim of the current study was to explore this issue by examining concurrent relations between toddler's attachment security in the Strange Situation Procedure and quality of mother-child social interaction in a high-risk sample of toddlers characterized by prenatal cocaine exposure and low levels of maternal education. Analyses of variance suggested limited relations between attachment security and quality of social interaction. Further research examining the interrelations among various components of the parent-child relationship is needed.     

Social relevance enhances memory for impressions in older adults

Previous research has demonstrated that older adults have difficulty retrieving contextual material over items alone. Recent research suggests this deficit can be reduced by adding emotional context, allowing for the possibility that memory for social impressions may show less age-related decline than memory for other types of contextual information. Two studies investigated how orienting to social or self-relevant aspects of information contributed to the learning and retrieval of impressions in young and older adults. Participants encoded impressions of others in conditions varying in the use of self-reference (Experiment 1) and interpersonal meaningfulness (Experiment 2), and completed memory tasks requiring the retrieval of specific traits. For both experiments, age groups remembered similar numbers of impressions. In Experiment 1 using more self-relevant encoding contexts increased memory for impressions over orienting to stimuli in a non-social way, regardless of age. In Experiment 2 older adults had enhanced memory for impressions presented in an interpersonally meaningful relative to a personally irrelevant way, whereas young adults were unaffected by this manipulation. The results provide evidence that increasing social relevance ameliorates age differences in memory for impressions, and enhances older adults' ability to successfully retrieve contextual information.     

Using dynamic risk and protective factors to predict inpatient aggression: Reliability and validity of START assessments

The Short-Term Assessment of Risk and Treatability (START; C. D. Webster, M. L. Martin, J. Brink, T. L. Nicholls, & S. L. Desmarais, 2009; C. D. Webster, M. L. Martin, J. Brink, T. L. Nicholls, & C. Middleton, 2004) is a relatively new structured professional judgment guide for the assessment and management of short-term risks associated with mental, substance use, and personality disorders. The scheme may be distinguished from other violence risk assessment instruments because of its inclusion of 20 dynamic factors that are rated in terms of both vulnerability and strength. This study examined the reliability and validity of START assessments in predicting inpatient aggression. Research assistants completed START assessments for 120 male forensic psychiatric patients through review of hospital files. They also completed Historical-Clinical-Risk Management-20 (HCR-20; C. D. Webster, K. S. Douglas, D. Eaves, & S. D. Hart, 1997) and Hare Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV; S. D. Hart, D. N. Cox, & R. D. Hare, 1995) assessments. Outcome data were coded from hospital files for a 12-month follow-up period using the Overt Aggression Scale (OAS; S. C. Yudofsky, J. M. Silver, W. Jackson, J. Endicott, & D. W. Williams, 1986). START assessments evidenced excellent interrater reliability and demonstrated both predictive and incremental validity over the HCR-20 Historical subscale scores and PCL:SV total scores. Overall, results support the reliability and validity of START assessments and use of the structured professional judgment approach more broadly, as well as the value of using dynamic risk and protective factors to assess violence risk. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

Description of a Fidelity Implementation System: An Example from a Community-Based Children’s Mental Health Program

Public policy initiatives to deliver evidence-based practices in community settings have increased the need to develop implementation feedback systems to assist program administrators adopting the practices as well as researchers who wish to continue the line of research. This paper contributes to the efforts to reduce the implementation gap in the children’s mental health services field by exploring the concept of fidelity and highlights its importance to the adoption of evidence-based practices. Fidelity, or the degree to which interventions are implemented as originally designed, is generally conceptualized as a system of five unique and interrelated components including adherence, dosage, participant responsiveness, quality of delivery, and program differentiation. Definitions and a critical analysis of each of the component’s strengths and weaknesses are offered while discussing the integrated nature of each component. An example of the development and use of the five components of fidelity within a community-based evidence-based program is described.     

The effect of communication deficits on anxiety symptoms in infants and toddlers with autism spectrum disorders

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are life-long developmental disorders characterized by impairments in the development of reciprocal social and communication skills, abnormal language development, and a restricted repertoire of behaviors and interests. While it has been known for some time that children with ASD can evince elevated rates of anxiety symptoms, little research has been conducted on whether deficits in communication skills affect the range of anxiety symptoms in infants and toddlers with ASD. This study represents a first attempt to determine whether deficits in communication skills have an effect on the expression of anxiety in infants and toddlers with autistic disorder and pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified. Seven hundred thirty-five infants were evaluated with respect to the nature and extent of anxiety symptoms and developmental functioning. Both receptive and expressive communication skills appeared to play a significant role in the manifestation of anxiety symptoms.     

The Distress Disclosure Index: a research review and multitrait-multimethod examination

The Distress Disclosure Index (DDI; J. H. Kahn & R. M. Hessling, 2001) is a brief self-report measure of one's tendency to disclose personally distressing information. The purpose of this article was to summarize what is known about the DDI, present new validity evidence, and make recommendations for use of the DDI. This article reviews research on the DDI from the past decade that indicates that distress disclosure is associated with well-being, professional help-seeking attitudes and intentions, and success in brief psychotherapy. On the basis of the reviewed literature, the authors report a reliability generalization study of DDI scores that strongly supports the internal consistency and test-retest reliability of DDI scores, and they review criterion-related and construct validity evidence. Next, the authors present a new multitrait-multimethod validity study of the DDI. Participants (N = 153) and peer informants (N = 153)--one per participant--completed paper-and-pencil questionnaire packets. Convergent validity of self-reported DDI scores was supported by a strong association with self-reports of emotional self-disclosure in response to a specific, unpleasant event, and self- and peer reports on the DDI were moderately correlated. DDI scores were not strongly associated with cognitive reappraisal and ambivalence over emotional expression, thus supporting discriminant validity. DDI scores were strongly associated with expressive suppression, and correlations between DDI scores and affect, depression symptoms, coping, and emotional expressivity were similar to those found with expressive suppression. The authors offer possible hypotheses explaining the overlap between distress disclosure and expressive suppression and present recommendations for future use of the DDI.     

Examining the Impact of Dons Providing Peer Instruction for Academic Integrity: Dons’ and Students’ Perspectives

A peer instruction model was used whereby 78 residence dons (36 males, 42 females) provided instruction regarding academic integrity for 324 students (125 males, 196 females) under their supervision. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted to assess survey responses from both the dons and students regarding presentation content, quality, and learning. Overall, dons consistently identified information-based slides about academic integrity as the most important material for the presentations, indicating that fundamental information was needed. Although student ratings of the usefulness of the presentations were middling, students did indicate knowledge gains. Both interest and personal value for academic integrity were highly predictive of positive evaluations of the presentations. Dons and students provided suggestions for improvement and identified more global concerns.     

The shape of things to come: Exploring goal-directed prospection

Through the ability to preview the future (i.e., prospection), people can anticipate how best to think, feel and act in just about any setting. But exactly what factors determine the contents of prospection? Extending research on action identification and temporal construal, here we explored how action goals and temporal distance modulate the characteristics of future previews. Participants were required to imagine travelling to Egypt (in the near or distant future) to climb or photograph a pyramid. Afterwards, to probe the contents of prospection, participants provided a sketch of their imaginary experience. Results elucidated the impact of goal type and temporal distance on mental imagery. While a climbing goal prompted participants to draw a larger pyramid in the near than distant future, a photographic goal influenced only the compositional complexity of the sketches. These findings reveal how action goals and temporal distance shape the contents of future simulations.     

Sperm control

Evidence is accumulating that in many species, males deliver more sperm to some females and fewer to others depending on how valuable they perceive the copulation. Do humans have any control over the number of sperm they ejaculate?