Systematic Analyses of the Effects of Acceptance on Tolerance of Radiant Heat Pain

The Psychological Record - Numerous studies have demonstrated the utility of acceptance-based strategies for coping with pain. The current research comprised three studies (N = 186)...     

The psychology of being a beginner

Beginners are plagued with overconfidence. They perform the worst on tests of knowledge or skill and yet are the most overconfident. One would expect that learning would better calibrate beginners and lead to better quality decisions. However, learning can instead produce overconfidence. In this article I discuss how being beginner can lead to errors in self-assessments and riskier decisions. I review differences in beginner overconfidence in several places in the literature. First, the Dunning–Kruger Effect, which finds those with the least knowledge are the most overconfident. To be sure, beginners can range from rank beginners, those who have acquired no knowledge, to experienced beginners, beginners who having gained some but not vast knowledge. Next, I discuss the beginner's bubble that follows the trajectory of confidence and overconfidence as people transition from rank to experienced beginners. The beginner's bubble pattern finds rank beginners have insight into their poor abilities. However, with some learning there is a surge of confidence and overconfidence. Lastly, I explore differences in confidence and overconfidence as learners transition from rank to experienced beginners in other places in the literature.     

The Satisfaction with Life Scale in Adolescent Samples: Measurement Invariance across 24 Countries and Regions,Age, and Gender

Measurement of adolescent life satisfaction across cultures has not received much attention in previous empirical research. The present study evaluated measurement invariance of the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) among adolescents in 24 countries and regions (N = 22,710; age range = 13–19 years; 53% female). A single-factor model with residual covariance between a pair of items tapping past life satisfaction fitted well in 19 countries and regions and showed a partial metric invariance. In a subset of nine countries and regions, partial scalar invariance was supported. Partial metric invariance across all 24 countries and regions was achieved when custom model modifications in five countries and regions were included. Three SWLS items showed evidence of noninvariance across cultures. The measurement model was found to operate similarly across gender and age. Our findings suggest that caution is needed when using the SWLS for measuring life satisfaction among adolescents from different cultures.

     

ICD-11 prolonged grief disorder: Prevalence,predictors, and co-occurrence in a large representative sample

The International Classification of Diseases has recently defined Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) with symptoms such as longing, worry, and intense emotional pain that exceed sociocultural norms more than 6 months after the loss. This study aims to (a) estimate the prevalence of this new diagnostic category, (b) identify its sociodemographic and loss-related predictors, and (c) assess the co-occurrence of PGD with other psychological disorders and substance abuse. A large representative sample of Spanish adults (N = 1498) participated. Several multivariate binary logistic regression and multivariate logistic regression models were used. Results showed a 9.95% prevalence in the total sample. Catholic beliefs were a positive predictor, while higher income and more time since loss significantly decreased the odds of PGD. PGD significantly increased the likelihood of anxiety, depression, somatisation, post-traumatic stress disorder, loneliness and substance use. Our study contributes to assessing the multicultural PGD validity, as our results from a large representative sample are comparable to those in other countries with the PGDS. Our findings have direct implications for the assessment and treatment of bereavement, identifying for practitioners variables that make individuals more vulnerable to PGD. Results highlighted the high co-occurrence of PGD with other psychological illnesses and increased drug use.     

Effects of chronic cocaine administration on spatial learning and hippocampal spine density in two genetically different strains of rats

Lewis and Fischer-344 rats have been proposed as an addiction model because of their differences in addiction behaviour. It has been suggested that drug addiction is related to learning and memory processes and depends on individual genetic background. We have evaluated learning performance using the eight-arm radial maze (RAM) in Lewis and Fischer-344 adult rats undergoing a chronic treatment with cocaine. In order to study whether morphological alterations were involved in the possible changes in learning after chronic cocaine treatment, we counted the spine density in hippocampal CA1 neurons from animals after the RAM protocol. Our results showed that Fischer-344 rats significantly took more time to carry out test acquisition and made a greater number of errors than Lewis animals. Nevertheless, cocaine treatment did not induce changes in learning and memory processes in both strains of rats. These facts indicate that there are genetic differences in spatial learning and memory that are not modified by the chronic treatment with cocaine. Moreover, hippocampal spine density is cocaine-modulated in both strains of rats. In conclusion, cocaine induces similar changes in hippocampal neurons morphology that are not related to genetic differences in spatial learning in the RAM protocol used here.     

The classification of Spanish adolescents based on substance consumption patterns and the analysis of the relationships within their social developmental contexts

This research is part of the 2006 edition of the Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) study. The data presented were composed of a sample of 15942 Spanish adolescents ranging from 13 to 18 years of age. The instruments used included a variety of questions related to substance consumption among adolescents, their bio-psycho-social adjustment and developmental contexts, all of which are part of the HBSC study instrument bank. Through classification analysis, as well as significance and effect size tests, we obtained relevant information about the current epidemiology of substance consumption among Spanish adolescents. These results are representative of the Spanish adolescent population which allows the typical risk profile attributed to young people to be clarified. A gradual adjustment can be seen in terms of substance consumption levels in youth and that same level in their friends. Likewise, the analysis of the developmental context (family, friends and school) provides important information when it comes to preventing substance consumption, thus showing the advantages that coherence and connection have between the different environments where youth live, grow up and develop.     

Structural invariance of multiple intelligences, based on the level of execution

The independence of multiple intelligences (MI) of Gardner's theory has been debated since its conception. This article examines whether the one- factor structure of the MI theory tested in previous studies is invariant for low and high ability students. Two hundred ninety-four children (aged 5 to 7) participated in this study. A set of Gardner's Multiple Intelligence assessment tasks based on the Spectrum Project was used. To analyze the invariance of a general dimension of intelligence, the different models of behaviours were studied in samples of participants with different performance on the Spectrum Project tasks with Multi-Group Confirmatory Factor Analysis (MGCFA). Results suggest an absence of structural invariance in Gardner's tasks. Exploratory analyses suggest a three-factor structure for individuals with higher performance levels and a two-factor structure for individuals with lower performance levels.     

Cross-domain analogies as relating derived relations among two separate relational networks

Contemporary behavior analytic research is making headway in analyzing analogy as the establishment of a relation of coordination among common types of trained or derived relations. Previous studies have been focused on within-domain analogy. The current study expands previous research by analyzing cross-domain analogy as relating relations among separate relational networks and by correlating participants' performance with a standard measure of analogical reasoning. In two experiments, adult participants first completed general intelligence and analogical reasoning tests. Subsequently, they were exposed to a computerized conditional discrimination training procedure designed to create two relational networks, each consisting of two 3-member equivalence classes. The critical test was a two-part analogical test in which participants had to relate combinatorial relations of coordination and distinction between the two relational networks. In Experiment 1, combinatorial relations for each network were individually tested prior to analogical testing, but in Experiment 2 they were not. Across both experiments, 65% of participants passed the analogical test on the first attempt. Moreover, results from the training procedure were strongly correlated with the standard measure of analogical reasoning.