“It's Like Power to Move”: Black Students’ Psychosocial Experiences in Black Studies Courses at a Predominantly White Institution

This study examined Black students’ experiences in culture‐centered courses that focused on the historical and contemporary experiences of Blacks in America and across the African diaspora. Using a qualitative approach, the authors investigated the perceptions of how Black Studies courses shaped the psychosocial experiences and identity development of Black students (N = 24) at a predominantly White institution. Data from semistructured focus group interviews revealed several themes, including psychological empowerment, self‐determination, counterspaces, and community perpetuity. The authors suggest ways counselors and educators can support Black students’ psychosocial development and provide outreach to diverse student populations. Este estudio examinó las experiencias de estudiantes negros en cursos centrados en la cultura que se enfocaron en las experiencias históricas y contemporáneas de personas negras en Estados Unidos y a lo largo de la diáspora africana. Usando un enfoque cualitativo, los autores investigaron las percepciones sobre cómo los cursos de Cultura Negra dieron forma a las experiencias psicosociales y al desarrollo de la identidad de estudiantes negros (N = 24) en una institución predominantemente blanca. Los datos obtenidos de entrevistas semiestructuradas en grupos de enfoque revelaron varios temas que incluyen el empoderamiento psicológico, la autodeterminación, los espacios seguros y la perpetuidad de la comunidad. Los autores sugieren distintas formas en las que los consejeros y educadores pueden apoyar el desarrollo psicosocial de los estudiantes negros y proporcionar un acercamiento a poblaciones diversas de estudiantes.     

Where to sleep next? Evidence for spatial memory associated with sleeping sites in Skywalker gibbons (Hoolock tianxing)

Animal Cognition - Finding suitable sleeping sites is highly advantageous but challenging for wild animals. While suitable sleeping sites provide protection against predators and enhance sleep...     

Cognition, action, and object manipulation

Although psychology is the science of mental life and behavior, little attention has been paid to the means by which mental life is translated into behavior. One domain in which links between cognition and action have been explored is the manipulation of objects. This article reviews psychological research on this topic, with special emphasis on the tendency to grasp objects differently depending on what one plans to do with the objects. Such differential grasping has been demonstrated in a wide range of object manipulation tasks, including grasping an object in a way that reveals anticipation of the object's future orientation, height, and required placement precision. Differential grasping has also been demonstrated in a wide range of behaviors, including 1-hand grasps, 2-hand grasps, walking, and transferring objects from place to place as well as from person to person. The populations in which the tendency has been shown are also diverse, including nonhuman primates as well as human adults, children, and babies. The tendency is compromised in a variety of clinical populations and in children of a surprisingly advanced age. Verbal working memory is compromised as well if words are memorized while object manipulation tasks are performed; the recency portion of the serial position curve is reduced in this circumstance. In general, the research reviewed here points to rich connections between cognition and action as revealed through the study of object manipulation. Other implications concern affordances, Donders' law, naturalistic observation, and the teaching of psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

A randomized control trial of integrated care for families managing infant colic

This article presents a randomized clinical trial examining the effectiveness of a unique model of integrated care for the treatment of infant colic. Families seeking help for infant colic were randomized to either the family‐centered treatment (TX; n = 31) or standard pediatric care (SC; n = 31). All parents completed 3 days of Infant Behavior Diaries (Barr et al., 1998) and the Colic Symptom Checklist (Lester, 1997 ), Beck Depression Inventory (Beck & Steer, 1984 ), and Parenting Stress Index 3rd ed.‐SF (Abidin, 1995 ). TX families were seen three times by a pediatrician and a mental health clinician within 1, 2, and 6 weeks of baseline data. TX families received individualized treatment plans addressing problem areas of sleep, feeding, routine, and family mental health. SC families were seen only by their own healthcare provider. All families were visited at home by a research assistant to retrieve data at 2, 6, and 10 weeks after baseline. Family‐based treatment accelerated the rate of reduction of infant crying faster than did standard pediatric care. Infants in the TX group had more hours of sleep at 2 weeks posttreatment and spent less time feeding at 2, 6, and 10 weeks posttreatment than did SC infants. Results indicate that individualized family‐based treatment reduces infant colic more rapidly than does standard pediatric care.     

Using game theory to examine incentives in influenza vaccination behavior

The social good often depends on the altruistic behavior of specific individuals. For example, epidemiological studies of influenza indicate that elderly individuals, who face the highest mortality risk, are best protected by vaccination of young individuals, who contribute most to disease transmission. To examine the conditions under which young people would get vaccinated to protect elderly people, we conducted a game-theory experiment that mirrored real-world influenza transmission, with "young" players contributing more than "elderly" players to herd immunity. Participants could spend points to get vaccinated and reduce the risk of influenza. When players were paid according to individual point totals, more elderly than young players got vaccinated, a finding consistent with the Nash equilibrium predicting self-interested behavior. When players were paid according to group point totals, however, more young than elderly players got vaccinated-a finding consistent with the utilitarian equilibrium predicting group-optimal behavior-which resulted in higher point totals than when players were paid for their individual totals. Thus, payout structure affected whether individuals got vaccinated for self-interest or group benefit.     

Killing Versus Witnessing Trauma: Implications for the Development of PTSD in Combat Medics

Killing in combat uniquely predicts elevated PTSD symptomatology among military veterans. This study investigated the effects of combat killing in a sample of 345 U.S. Army combat medics who had recently returned from operational deployments to Iraq or Afghanistan. Combat medics provide frontline medical care before, during, and after battles but also fight alongside other soldiers when under attack. Attempting to kill in combat was a significant predictor of PTSD symptomatology even after accounting for passively witnessing trauma in fellow soldiers. Medics may be well prepared to cope with the passive experiencing and witnessing of war-zone trauma, but may benefit from training to cope with the negative consequences of taking actions to kill.     

Is Reading Recovery an Effective Intervention for Students with Reading Difficulties? A Critique of the i3 Scale-Up Study

The recently reported i3 Scale-Up of Reading Recovery (May et al., 2015) found an effect size of + 0.69 in favor of Reading Recovery compared to the control group. We discuss four issues: (a) many of the lowest achieving students were excluded from participation in Reading Recovery; (b) the control group received a range of different experiences; (c) the successful completion rate of students in the program was modest; and (d) no data supported the claim that Reading Recovery leads to sustained literacy learning gains. We question the value of this study as the basis for widespread implementation of Reading Recovery.     

Treatment Effectiveness of a Brief Behavioral Intervention for Preschool Disruptive Behavior

Parent management training is an evidence-based treatment for disruptive behavior. However, the number of treatment sessions can be high, contributing to high attrition rates. The purpose of this study was to examine post-treatment, 6-month, and 1-year treatment outcomes of the Brief Behavioral Intervention. One hundred twenty children aged 2–6.5 years demonstrating clinically significant disruptive behavior were referred to an outpatient clinic for treatment and participated in the study. Attrition was below reported rates in the literature. Significant decreases in child disruptive behavior and parent stress were found from pre-to-post intervention, and improvements were maintained at follow-ups. Significant pre-to-post intervention teacher reported decreases in behavior were reported.     

Classroom Changes in ADHD Symptoms Following Clinic-Based Behavior Therapy

This study examined classroom behavioral outcomes for children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) following their participation in a manualized, 10-week intervention called Family Skills Training for ADHD-Related Symptoms (Family STARS). Family STARS combined behavioral parent training (BPT) and child-focused behavioral activation therapy (CBAT). Participants were children ages 7–10 diagnosed with ADHD-Combined Type. Pre- and post-treatment teacher ratings of ADHD symptoms were compared using a single group, within-subjects research design. Intervention effectiveness was analyzed using paired-samples t-tests. Results indicated statistically significant classroom improvements for externalizing behaviors and attention problems with medium and large main effects (respectively) for the intervention. Possible implications for combining CBAT with BPT for the treatment of ADHD are discussed as well as the relevance of these results for improving the effectiveness and portability of empirically supported interventions.     

Understanding boundary extension: Normalization and extension errors in picture memory among adults and boys with and without Asperger's syndrome

Boundary extension is the tendency for people to “remember” information that fell outside a picture's boundaries. We used a novel test of boundary extension to provide absolute estimates of the magnitude of extension errors and of the degree to which people are influenced by the way a picture is presented at the time of testing. Participants were shown photographs on a computer and subsequently allowed to adjust their magnification to match the size they remembered. The test produced reliable boundary extension of around 11% in adults and large influences of initial test size. In a second experiment we tested boys diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome and matched controls. Both groups demonstrated boundary extension comparable to that observed in adults but greater effects of initial test size. High performance IQ in Asperger's was linked with high levels of boundary extension, while for the matched control group the opposite pattern was obtained.