Use of an ecologically based program for teaching motor skills in a naturalistic setting to individuals with disabilities

The purpose of this action study was to apply an ecological program for teaching motor skills to individuals with disabilities in naturalistic settings. The program was developed based on an ecological survey. Participants were 22 individuals with disabilities, ages 7 to 26 years in the Fall of 1998 and 18 individuals with disabilities, ages 7 to 24 in the Winter of 1999. In each semester, a participant received one or two 50-min, training session(s) per week for 10 weeks. The number of steps in a motor-activity task performed correctly by a participant was measured in the first and last sessions in each semester. The magnitude of increase in the motor performance by participants and answers to questions in a short survey by participants' parents were used to describe the group performance. Analysis showed group performance of targeted motor skills could be improved using this ecological program in this local learning lab for special physical education.     

Memory for Star Trek: the role of prior knowledge in recognition revisited

Prior studies have found robust knowledge effects on recall of text ideas but have seldom found comparable effects on recognition. This inconsistency was examined in light of recent research on the component processes that underlie recognition memory. Using the remember/know paradigm, the authors found that experts made more remember judgments than novices, but only in response to text ideas relevant to their domain of expertise. Using the process-dissociation procedure, the authors found knowledge effects on recollection estimates, but not on familiarity estimates. The authors contend that knowledge effects have been difficult to detect in recognition because knowledge primarily affects recollection, whereas familiarity gives rise to good performance even among novices.     

Changes in Jail Inmates’ community connectedness across the period of incarceration

ABSTRACT

Jails bring inmates into proximity with one another and separate them from the community. Because inmates’ connectedness to one another and to the community influences post-release functioning, understanding risk factors for maladaptive shifts in connectedness may inform interventions. The current study examined changes in jail inmates’ (N = 203) connectedness to the community at large and to the criminal community, and predictors of individual differences in changes over time. Connectedness to both communities did not change on average during incarceration, but younger and less guilt-prone inmates increased more in connectedness to the criminal community than older and more guilt-prone inmates, suggesting connectedness interventions should target individuals exhibiting this constellation of attributes.     

Use of the Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood: Revised Edition (DC:0–3R) with Canadian Infants and Young Children Prenatally Exposed to Substances

The current study examined the mental health diagnostic profiles of infants and young children prenatally exposed to substances using the Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood, Revised (DC:0–3R) diagnostic system. Participants were 46 biological mother–infant dyads who were engaged in a clinical program for mothers with substance‐use problems and their young children (aged 10–41 months). Diagnostic information was reported for each of the five axes listed in the DC:0–3R diagnostic system based on file reviews. In addition, the children's socioemotional and adaptive behaviors were assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist, Infant–Toddler Social Emotional Assessment, the Social‐Emotional Scale, and the Adaptive Behavior Assessment System (2nd ed.). In this sample of young children with prenatal substance exposure, a broad range of socioemotional symptoms were evident, with almost one third of the children meeting criteria for at least one Axis I mental health diagnosis. In addition, the majority of dyads demonstrated features of a disordered relationship. Children in more problematic relationships demonstrated higher levels of socioemotional and adaptive functioning difficulties and were more likely to have an Axis I diagnosis than were children in adapted relationships. The importance of early intervention efforts aimed at infants with prenatal substance exposure and their biological mothers is highlighted, with a particular focus on enhancing the quality of the mother–child relationship.     

How Judgments Change Following Comparison of Current and Prior Information

Although much observed judgment change is superficial and occurs without considering prior information, other forms of change also occur. Comparison between prior and new information about an issue may trigger change by influencing either or both the perceived strength and direction of the new information. In four experiments, participants formed and reported initial judgments of a policy based on favorable written information about it. Later, these participants read a second passage containing strong favorable or unfavorable information on the policy. Compared to control conditions, subtle and direct prompts to compare the initial and new information led to more judgment change in the direction of a second passage perceived to be strong. Mediation analyses indicated that comparison yielded greater perceived strength of the second passage, which in turn correlated positively with judgment change. Moreover, self-reports of comparison mediated the judgment change resulting from comparison prompts.     

An investigation of basic facial expression recognition in autism spectrum disorders

This study was designed to test three competing hypotheses (impaired configural processing; impaired Theory of Mind; atypical amygdala functioning) to explain the basic facial expression recognition profile of adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). In Experiment 1 the Ekman and Friesen (1976) series were presented upright and inverted. Individuals with ASD were significantly less accurate than controls at recognising upright facial expressions of fear, sadness and disgust and their pattern of errors suggested some configural processing difficulties. Impaired recognition of inverted facial expressions suggested some additional difficulties processing the facial features. Unexpectedly, the clinical group misidentified fear as anger. In Experiment 2 feature processing of facial expressions was investigated by presenting stimuli in a piecemeal fashion, starting with either just the eyes or the mouth. Individuals with ASD were impaired at recognising fear from the eyes and disgust from the mouth; they also confused fearful eyes as being angry. The findings are discussed in terms of the three competing hypotheses tested.     

Heroes Don't Cheat: An Examination of Academic Dishonesty and Students' Views on Why Professors Don't Report Cheating

Some students do not cheat. Students high in measures of bravery, honesty, and empathy, our defining characteristics of heroism, report less past cheating than other students. These student heroes also reported that they would feel more guilt if they cheated and also reported less intent to cheat in the future than nonheroes. We find general consensus between students and professors as to reasons for the nonreporting of cheating, suggesting a general impression of insufficient evidence, lack of courage, and denial. Suggested interventions in academia are based in positive psychology and an understanding of academic heroes.     

The physical activity and sport anxiety scale (PASAS): Scale development and psychometric analysis

Research suggests that social anxiety may be elicited in athletic or sporting situations, resulting in decreased physical activity due to avoidance behavior. Given the myriad physical and psychological health consequences of a non-active lifestyle, valid assessment of social anxiety and avoidance in this domain is warranted. However, none of the common measures of social anxiety appear to assess social anxiety in physical activity or sporting domains. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate a brief measure of social anxiety in physical activities and sports. A 16-item self-report questionnaire, the Physical Activity and Sport Anxiety Scale (PASAS), was extracted from a larger pool on empirical and theoretical grounds. The PASAS demonstrated excellent internal consistency across a number of samples, and excellent temporal stability. The PASAS also demonstrated good convergent and divergent validity, and is related to self-perceived performance biases as postulated by cognitive-behavioral models of social anxiety.     

Adaptive Mechanisms in Perceptual-Motor Coordination

Aftereffect measures of visual shift and proprioceptive shift were obtained for prism exposure conditions in which, at the end of a sagittal pointing movement, most of the arm was visible (concurrent exposure) or only the first finger joint was visible (terminal exposure). Intermediate exposure conditions permitted view of the hand or the first two finger joints. Under the concurrent exposure condition, proprioceptive shift was greater than visual shift but, as view of the pointing hand decreased, the relative magnitude of the two components gradually reversed so that, under the terminal exposure condition, visual shift was greater than proprioceptive shift. These results are discussed in terms of a model of perceptual-motor organization (Redding, Clark, & Wallace, 1985) in which the direction of coordinative linkage between eye-head and hand-head systems determines the locus of discordance and adaptive recalibration.     

Mental Health Literacy of Australian Rural Adolescents: An Analysis Using Vignettes and Short Films

The mental health literacy (MHL) of rural adolescents has rarely been investigated. This study examined the MHL of 122 rural‐based adolescents (49 males, 73 females) aged 12–18 years (M = 16, SD = 1) using written vignettes and short films to examine knowledge about depression. For the written vignettes, 68% of the rural adolescents were able to correctly identify someone with depression, which is similar to the findings for metropolitan adolescents; however, knowledge about recovery times and avenues of assistance were below that of their metropolitan peers. Participants were less likely to correctly diagnose depression when suicidal intent was not expressed and when the scenario was presented in the more naturalistic form of a film. This finding raises questions about the place of films and written vignettes in future MHL research.