Relating derived relations as a model of analogical reasoning: reaction times and event-related potentials

The current study aimed to test a Relational Frame Theory (RFT) model of analogical reasoning based on the relating of derived same and derived difference relations. Experiment 1 recorded reaction time measures of similar-similar (e.g., "apple is to orange as dog is to cat") versus different-different (e.g., "he is to his brother as chalk is to cheese") derived relational responding, in both speed-contingent and speed-noncontingent conditions. Experiment 2 examined the event-related potentials (ERPs) associated with these two response patterns. Both experiments showed similar-similar responding to be significantly faster than different-different responding. Experiment 2 revealed significant differences between the waveforms of the two response patterns in the left-hemispheric prefrontal regions; different-different waveforms were significantly more negative than similar-similar waveforms. The behavioral and neurophysiological data support the RFT prediction that, all things being equal, similar-similar responding is relationally "simpler" than, and functionally distinct from, different-different analogical responding. The ERP data were fully consistent with findings in the neurocognitive literature on analogy. These findings strengthen the validity of the RFT model of analogical reasoning and supplement the behavior-analytic approach to analogy based on the relating of derived relations.     

A social-value analysis of postmaterialism

The author investigated the relationship between social values and R. Inglehart's (1971, 1981, 1990) Postmaterialism concept. In his theory, Materialism and Postmaterialism are basic value dimensions motivated by a person's need for security and short-term survival (on the one hand) and the desire to address needs that transcend material concerns (on the other). The aim of the present study was to attempt to locate Postmaterialism relative to politically nonspecific social values. Participants were 161 New Zealand university undergraduate men and women who completed P. R. Abramson and R. Inglehart's (1995) Postmaterialism scale and a 56-item Social Values Inventory (S. H. Schwartz, 1992). Analyses of Postmaterialism scale scores and aggregated scores reflecting the motivations underlying different groups of social values supported the hypothesis that Postmaterialism, as measured by this scale, is positively related to values associated with Self-Direction and Universalism motivations and negatively related to Security motivations. The results indicate that previous research had been limited to the application of values representing only a small part of the overall values space.     

Explaining disproportionately high rates of adverse birth outcomes among African Americans: the impact of stress, racism, and related factors in pregnancy

Compared with European Americans, African American infants experience disproportionately high rates of low birth weight and preterm delivery and are more than twice as likely to die during their 1st year of life. The authors examine 5 explanations for these differences in rates of adverse birth outcomes: (a) ethnic differences in health behaviors and socioeconomic status; (b) higher levels of stress in African American women; (c) greater susceptibility to stress in African Americans; (d) the impact of racism acting either as a contributor to stress or as a factor that exacerbates stress effects; and (e) ethnic differences in stress-related neuroendocrine, vascular, and immunological processes. The review of literature indicates that each explanation has some merit, although none is sufficient to explain ethnic disparities in adverse birth outcomes. There is a lack of studies examining the impact of such factors jointly and interactively. Recommendations and cautions for future research are offered.     

Eating disorder examination questionnaire: norms for young adolescent girls

This paper reports young adolescent female norms for the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q). The standardization sample was comprised of 808 girls aged between 12 and 14 years from three single-sex schools (one private and two state schools). Means, standard deviations and percentile ranks for raw EDE-Q subscale scores are presented. Prevalence figures for key eating disorder behaviors over the previous two weeks were as follows: 4% self-induced vomiting; 1% laxative misuse; 0.4% diuretic misuse; and 8% regular binge eating.     

Obsessive-compulsive disorder subtypes: an attempted replication and extension of a symptom-based taxonomy

A symptom-based subgroup taxonomy for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) was evaluated and refined. The Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale symptom checklist was scored and cluster analysis was conducted with a sample of OCD patients (N = 114). Results were compared to Calamari et al.'s (Behaviour Research and Therapy 37 (1999) 113) five subgroup model. Rules for determining the number of subgroups supported a more complex model. In between sample comparisons, a stable contamination subgroup was found in both a five and seven subgroup taxonomy. Between sample stability was not as strong for Harming, Obsessionals, Symmetry, and Certainty subgroups. Hoarding, as a distinctive subgroup, was unstable in separate samples. When the Calamari et al. sample and the present sample were combined (N = 220), we found a reliable Hoarding subgroup. More interpretable and stable models emerged with the combined samples suggesting that large clinical samples are needed to identify OCD subgroups. Greater support was found for a seven subgroup taxonomy based subgroup interpretability and validation measure differences. The potential utility of symptom-based subgroup models of OCD and alternative approaches are discussed. Identification of reliable and valid OCD subtypes may advance theory and treatment.     

Descartes's blind man revisited: bimanual triangulation of distance using static hand-held rods

Analogous to binocular convergence, we tested Descartes's proposal that a blind person could triangulate distances using crossed hand-held rods by sensing hand separation and wrist angles. In Experiment 1, 22 participants judged distances to loci at 4 distances, 18-36 in. (45.7-91.4 cm), at 5 eccentricities, 0-12 in. (0-30.5 cm) left and right of center. Participants reliably differentiated and scaled distances. The median individual multiple correlation (actual distances and eccentricities vs. judged distances; nonlinear with eccentricity) was .91 (range, .75 to .95; group R = .98). In Experiment 2, 2 experienced observers judged 7 distances, 30-66 in. (76.2-167.6 cm) at 7 eccentricities, 0-18 in. (0-45.7 cm) left and right. Results replicated those of Experiment 1, with nonlinear multiple Rs of .97 and .99 for the 2 participants. Bimanual triangulation supported reliable distance judgments, comparable to binocular distance perception. No evidence of perceptual learning was found.     

Biological background knowledge and learning from a drug and alcohol education program

The authors asked whether having a base of relevant biological knowledge put school children in a better position to understand the effects of alcohol and cocaine and to learn about these effects when exposed to a curriculum presenting a physiological theory of drug action. Participants were 337 ethnically diverse 3rd- through 6th-grade students who were pretested, trained, and posttested. Multiple regression analyses revealed that knowledge of the basic functions of the heart, blood, and brain predicted certain drug-knowledge variables. Students with greater biological background knowledge also learned more from instruction, a finding with implications for enhancing drug and other health education programs.     

Behavior analysis in college classrooms: A scoping review

We conducted a scoping review of interventions that have been implemented classroom-wide in college classroom settings. We searched nine behavior-analytic journals from 2000 through 2020. We identified 59 studies that met our inclusion criteria and organized them into 13 categories: acceptance and commitment therapy (n = 1), equivalence-based instruction (n = 1), SAFMEDS (n = 4), guided notes (n = 4), response cards (n = 5), group contingencies (n = 5), interteaching (n = 6), programmed instruction, PSI, computer-aided (CA)PSI (n = 7), contingency arrangements (n = 15), feedback (n = 4), online delivery techniques (n = 4), game study sessions (n = 2), and peer-generated examples (n = 1). The interventions have been used with undergraduate and graduate students across various course topics and modalities. Most interventions produced positive results, commonly assessed via quiz and exam scores. This review presents the scope of interventions, their characteristics, and recommendations for future research.     

Semantic representation and surface forms: A look at across-language priming in bilinguals

The question of whether words in one language versus their translations in another access the same conceptual representation was addressed in the present experiment. English-French bilinguals were tested in a lexical decision task, the target words being primed by semantically related words in either the same language or across languages. The results show significant priming facilitation in both conditions; response latencies were notably shorter when the target was preceded by a semantically related word than when presented alone, whether or not the two words were presented in the same language. While these results seem to substantiate the hypothesis of a common semantic store for the two languages, close inspection reveals that facilitation was more likely due to the strategic use of primes than to automatic processing.     

Counselling and Pain Relief

Health-care staff (e.g. doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists) frequently have to care for patients who suffer from conditions which cause crippling pain. Pain relief is part of such treatment. This article suggests how counselling, as a skill which every health care worker could acquire and use, may reduce the level of pain by helping the sufferer cope more effectively with it. Four principles of pain relief are considered: the therapeutic relationship; other sensory input; rest and relaxation; and the use of imagery. The discussion on pain relief centres on rest and relaxation and the use of imagery, based mainly on the work of Jung and Assagioli's model of psychosynthesis. Patients are encouraged to continue practising these pain-relieving techniques when counselling has ended. By so doing, they will acquire positive ways to escape from the world of nightmare in which sufferers from chronic pain are often held prisoners. An account is included of how a sufferer from trigeminal neuralgia benefited from one session in which imagery was used.