Acute Stimulant Treatment and Reinforcement Increase the Speed of Information Accumulation in Children with ADHD

The current studies utilized drift diffusion modeling (DDM) to examine how reinforcement and stimulant medication affect cognitive task performance in children with ADHD. In Study 1, children with (n = 25; 88 % male) and without ADHD (n = 33; 82 % male) completed a 2-choice discrimination task at baseline (100 trials) and again a week later under alternating reinforcement and no-reinforcement contingencies (400 trials total). In Study 2, participants with ADHD (n = 29; 72 % male) completed a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 0.3 and 0.6 mg/kg methylphenidate and completed the same task utilized in Study 1 at baseline (100 trials). Children with ADHD accumulated information at a much slower rate than controls, as evidenced by a lower drift rate. Groups were similar in nondecision time and boundary separation. Both reinforcement and stimulant medication markedly improved drift rate in children with ADHD (ds = 0.70 and 0.95 for reinforcement and methylphenidate, respectively); both treatments also reduced boundary separation (ds = 0.70 and 0.39). Reinforcement, which emphasized speeded accuracy, reduced nondecision time (d = 0.37), whereas stimulant medication increased nondecision time (d = 0.38). These studies provide initial evidence that frontline treatments for ADHD primarily impact cognitive performance in youth with ADHD by improving the speed/efficiency of information accumulation. Treatment effects on other DDM parameters may vary between treatments or interact with task parameters (number of trials, task difficulty). DDM, in conjunction with other approaches, may be helpful in clarifying the specific cognitive processes that are disrupted in ADHD, as well as the basic mechanisms that underlie the efficacy of ADHD treatments.     

Probability matching, accuracy maximization, and a test of the optimal classifier’s independence assumption in perceptual categorization

Observers completed perceptual categorization tasks that included 25 base-rate/payoff conditions constructed from the factorial combination of five base-rate ratios (1:3, 1:2, 1:1, 2:1, and 3:1) with five payoff ratios (1:3, 1:2, 1:1, 2:1, and 3:1). This large database allowed an initial comparison of the competition between reward and accuracy maximization (COBRA) hypothesis with a competition between reward maximization and probability matching (COBRM) hypothesis, and an extensive and critical comparison of the flat-maxima hypothesis with the independence assumption of the optimal classifier. Model-based instantiations of the COBRA and COBRM hypotheses provided good accounts of the data, but there was a consistent advantage for the COBRM instantiation early in learning and for the COBRA instantiation later in learning. This pattern held in the present study and in a reanalysis of Bohil and Maddox (2003). Strong support was obtained for the flat-maxima hypothesis over the independence assumption, especially as the observers gained experience with the task. Model parameters indicated that observers’ reward-maximizing decision criterion rapidly approaches the optimal value and that more weight is placed on accuracy maximization in separate base-rate/payoff conditions than in simultaneous base-rate/payoff conditions. The superiority of the flat-maxima hypothesis suggests that violations of the independence assumption are to be expected, and are well captured by the flat-maxima hypothesis, with no need for any additional assumptions.     

Mental Illness and Mental Health: The Two Continua Model Across the Lifespan

Mental health has long been defined as the absence of psychopathologies, such as depression and anxiety. The absence of mental illness, however, is a minimal outcome from a psychological perspective on lifespan development. This article therefore focuses on mental illness as well as on three core components of positive mental health: feelings of happiness and satisfaction with life (emotional well-being), positive individual functioning in terms of self-realization (psychological well-being), and positive societal functioning in terms of being of social value (social well-being). The two continua model holds that mental illness and mental health are related but distinct dimensions. This model was studied on the basis of a cross-sectional representative internet survey of Dutch adults (N = 1,340; 18–87 years). Mental illness was measured with the Brief Symptom Inventory and mental health with the Mental Health Continuum Short Form. It was found that older adults, except for the oldest-old, scored lower on psychopathological symptoms and were less likely to be mentally ill than younger adults. Although there were fewer age differences for mental health, older adults experienced more emotional, similar social and slightly lower psychological well-being. In sum, today’s older adults have fewer mental illness problems, but they are not in a better positive mental health than today’s younger adults. These findings support the validity of the two continua model in adult development.     

Examining Situationally Induced State Goal Orientation Effects on Task Perceptions,Performance, and Satisfaction: A Two‐Dimensional Conceptualization1

We examined the longitudinal effects of situationally induced 2‐dimensional state goal orientations (i.e., achievement goals) on perceptions, performance, and satisfaction. Results (N = 268) indicated that high state learning cues led to higher perceived challenge and, for higher ability individuals, greater performance gains. Further, high state performance cues led to higher perceived effort. However, results revealed that state learning and performance effects were more complex than expected. State learning effects on challenge and state performance effects on effort were both stronger with other cues absent. Additionally, increasingly beneficial state learning cue effects were stronger for higher ability individuals. Thus, results provided support that state learning and performance goals are separate dimensions, and their interactive effects need further examination.     

Social networking site use: Linked to adolescents' social self‐concept,self‐esteem,and depressed mood

Adolescents spend a substantial amount of time using social networking sites (SNSs); however, little is known regarding whether such use is associated with indicators of adjustment. The present study employed a multidimensional measure of SNS use to investigate the link between Australian adolescent SNS use and indicators of adjustment. Youth (N = 1,819, 55% female) from 34 diverse high schools across Western Australia were surveyed. The results showed that frequency of SNS use was linked to higher social self‐concept while investment in SNSs was associated with lower self‐esteem and higher depressed mood. Furthermore, having an SNS was linked to more negative indicators for female adolescents compared with male adolescents, although the link between frequency of use and investment in SNSs to indicators of adjustment was not moderated by gender. The present study highlights the complexity of the relationship between adolescent SNS use and indicators of adjustment, and offers insight into the diverse types of adolescent use of SNSs.     

Correction to: Closed but Not Protected: Excess Deaths Among the Amish and Mennonites During the COVID‑19 Pandemic

Journal of Religion and Health -     

Culture-fair prediction of academic achievement

A theoretically based, culture-fair test of new learning ability is predictive of academic achievement. A sample of 633 adults, 121 of minority status, drawn from urban private universities, colleges, and community colleges were given information as to the meanings of previously unknown words, sayings, similarities, and analogies. They were also tested for their existing knowledge of vocabulary, opposites, and analogies with a brief version of the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT). New learning ability proved to be culture-fair, reliable, and predictive of grades and of the brief version of the SAT.