The effect of prosody on conceptual combination

Research into people's comprehension of novel noun-noun phrases has long neglected the possible influences of prosody during meaning construction. At the same time, work in conceptual combination has disagreed about whether different classes of interpretation emerge from single or multiple processes; for example, whether people use distinct mechanisms when they interpret octopus apartment as property-based (e.g., an apartment with eight rooms) or relation-based (e.g., an apartment where an octopus lives). In two studies, we manipulate the prosodic emphasis patterns of novel noun-noun combinations (placing stress on the modifier noun, the head noun, or dual stress on both nouns) and ask participants to generate an interpretation for the novel phrase. Results show that people are faster to generate property-based interpretations when dual emphasis stresses both nouns equally, with prosody having little effect on the speed of relation-based interpretations. These findings highlight a role for prosody during meaning construction and underline important differences between relation- and property-based interpretations that are difficult to reconcile with unitary process views of conceptual combination.     

Homework Completion,Patient Characteristics,and Symptom Change in Cognitive Processing Therapy for PTSD

We evaluated the impact of homework completion on change in PTSD symptoms in the context of two randomized controlled trials of Cognitive Processing Therapy for PTSD (CPT). Female participants (n = 140) diagnosed with PTSD attended at least one CPT session and were assigned homework at each session. The frequency of homework completion was assessed at the beginning of each session and PTSD symptoms were assessed every other session. Piecewise growth models were used to examine the relationship between homework completion and symptom change. CPT version (with vs without the written trauma account) did not moderate associations between homework engagement and outcomes. Greater pretreatment PTSD symptoms predicted more Session 1 homework completion, but PTSD symptoms did not predict homework completion at other timepoints. More homework completion after Sessions 2 and 3 was associated with less change in PTSD from Session 2 to Session 4, but larger pre-to-post treatment changes in PTSD. Homework completion after Sessions 2 and 3 was associated with greater symptom change among patients who had fewer years of education. More homework completion after Sessions 8 and 9 was associated with larger subsequent decreases in PTSD. Average homework completion was not associated with client characteristics. In the second half of treatment, homework engagement was associated with less dropout. The results suggest that efforts to increase engagement in homework may facilitate symptom change.     

A Feasibility Trial of Mental Health First Aid First Nations: Acceptability,Cultural Adaptation,and Preliminary Outcomes

The Mental Health First Aid First Nations course was adapted from Mental Health First Aid Basic to create a community‐based, culturally safe and relevant approach to promoting mental health literacy in First Nations contexts. Over 2.5 days, the course aims to build community capacity by teaching individuals to recognize and respond to mental health crises. This feasibility trial utilized mixed methods to evaluate the acceptability, cultural adaptation, and preliminary effectiveness of MHFAFN. Our approach was grounded in community‐based participatory research principles, emphasizing relationship‐driven procedures to collecting data and choice for how participants shared their voices. Data included participant interviews (n = 89), and surveys (n = 91) from 10 groups in four provinces. Surveys contained open‐ended questions, retrospective pre‐post ratings, and a scenario. We utilized data from nine facilitator interviews and 24 facilitator implementation surveys. The different lines of evidence converged to highlight strong acceptability, mixed reactions to the cultural adaptation, and gains in participants’ knowledge, mental health first aid skill application, awareness, and self‐efficacy, and reductions in stigma beliefs. Beyond promoting individual gains, the course served as a community‐wide prevention approach by situating mental health in a colonial context and highlighting local resources and cultural strengths for promoting mental well‐being.     

Can SMART Training Really Increase Intelligence? A Replication Study

A burgeoning research stream supports the efficacy of a novel behavior-analytic intervention, known as SMART training, in raising general intelligence by training a set of crucial cognitive skills, referred to as relational skills. A sample of Irish secondary school students (n?=?26) was divided into two IQ matched groups, with the experimental group receiving 12 weeks of SMART training delivered in bi-weekly 45-min sessions. WASI IQ assessments were administered at baseline and follow-up to all participants by blind testers. For each of the three WASI IQ indices and the four IQ subtests, significant follow-up rises were found for the experimental group only. Analyses of variance indicated a significant effect of training on Verbal IQ, Matrix Reasoning and Vocabulary scores. Results lend further support for the efficacy of the SMART training program in enhancing intellectual skills.     

Researchers’ Perceptions of Ethical Authorship Distribution in Collaborative Research Teams

Science and Engineering Ethics - Authorship is commonly used as the basis for the measurement of research productivity. It influences career progression and rewards, making it a valued commodity in...     

Establishing Equivalence Relations Using a Respondent-Type Training Procedure III

The Psychological Record - In this study, 12 5-year-old normal functioning children were exposed to a respondent-type training procedure and tested for emergent conditional discriminations. During...     

Social background,achievement motivation,optimism and health: A longitudinal study

In a longitudinal study over 4 years, the relationship between home background, achievement motivation, optimism, psychological well-being and self-rated health was investigated in 149 young adults. The participants were assessed at school at age 16 years and then at two follow up points, 2 years and 4 years later. The data produced shows that the home background variables of socioeconomic status, family size and parental employment predict psychological well-being, self-rated health, achievement motivation and optimism at subsequent stages. Achievement motivation and optimism play a mediating role between home background and the outcome measures of self-rated health and psychological well-being. Furthermore achievement motivation appears to only take on an important role in terms of the development of identity.