Transitional and steady-state choice behavior under an adjusting-delay schedule

Twelve rats made repeated choices on an adjusting-delay schedule between a smaller reinforcer (A) that was delivered immediately after a response and a larger reinforcer (B) that was delivered after a delay which increased or decreased by 20% depending on the subject's choices in successive blocks of trials. In two phases of the experiment (100 sessions and 40 sessions), reinforcer sizes were selected which enabled theoretical parameters expressing the rate of delay discounting and sensitivity to reinforcer size to be estimated from the ratio of the indifference delays obtained in the two phases. Indifference delays, calculated from adjusting delays in the last 10 sessions of each phase, were shorter when the sizes of A and B were 14 and 25 μl of a 0.6 M sucrose solution than when they were 25 and 100 μl of the same solution. The ratio of the indifference delays was significantly smaller than that predicted on the basis of an assumed linear relation between reinforcer size and instantaneous reinforcer value, consistent with a previous proposal that this relation may be hyperbolic in form. Estimates of the rate of delay discounting based on the ratio of the two indifference delays (mean, 0.08 s(-1)) were similar to values obtained previously using different intertemporal choice protocols. Estimates of the size-sensitivity parameter (mean 113 μl) were similar to estimates recently derived from performance on progressive-ratio schedules. In both phases of the experiment, adjusting delays in successive blocks of trials were analyzed using the Fourier transform. The power spectrum obtained from individual rats had a dominant frequency that corresponded to a period of oscillation of the adjusting delay between 30 and 100 trial blocks (mean, 78). Power in the dominant frequency band was highest in the early sessions of the first phase and declined with extended training. It is suggested that this experimental protocol may have utility in neurobehavioral studies of intertemporal choice.     

Developmental Risk and Young Children’s Regulatory Strategies: Predicting Behavior Problems at Age Five

Children with early developmental delays are at heightened risk for behavior problems and comorbid psychopathology. This study examined the trajectories of regulatory capabilities and their potentially mediating role in the development of behavior problems for children with and without early developmental delays. A sample of 231 children comprised of 137 typically developing children and 94 children with developmental delays were examined during mildly frustrating laboratory tasks across the preschool period (ages 3–5). Results indicated that children with delays had greater use of maladaptive strategies (distraction, distress venting) and lower use of adaptive strategies (constructive coping) than typically developing children. For both groups, strategies had similar rates of growth across time; maladaptive strategies decreased and adaptive strategies increased. The intercept of strategy use, but not the slope, was found to mediate the relation between developmental risk and externalizing behaviors. Findings support that dysregulation, rather than the developmental risk, may be responsible for the high levels of comorbid psychopathology.     

Psychopathic personality traits in relational aggression among young adults

Psychopathy is a robust predictor of overt physical aggression that may also be relevant to relational aggression (RA). This study was conducted to investigate the utility of psychopathic personality traits in the prediction of RA in a sample of 291 college students. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that both primary and secondary psychopathic traits explained additional variance in general/peer and romantic RA beyond physical aggressiveness. Consistent with previous research, no gender differences were found on either form of RA, challenging the popular stereotype of RA as a female behavior. Moreover, psychopathic traits were not differentially predictive of RA by gender or level of physical aggressiveness. Implications of these findings for research and clinical practice are discussed.     

Media depictions of physical and relational aggression: connections with aggression in young adults' romantic relationships

Various studies have found that viewing physical or relational aggression in the media can impact subsequent engagement in aggressive behavior. However, this has rarely been examined in the context of relationships. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to examine the connection between viewing various types of aggression in the media and perpetration of aggression against a romantic partner. A total of 369 young adults completed a variety of questionnaires asking for their perpetration of various forms of relationship aggression. Participants' exposure to both physical and relational aggression in the media was also assessed. As a whole, we found a relationship between viewing aggression in the media and perpetration of aggression; however, this depended on the sex of the participant and the type of aggression measured. Specifically, exposure to physical violence in the media was related to engagement in physical aggression against their partner only for men. However, exposure to relational aggression in the media was related to romantic relational aggression for both men and women.     

Are intelligence and creativity really so different? : Fluid intelligence, executive processes, and strategy use in divergent thinking

Contemporary creativity research views intelligence and creativity as essentially unrelated abilities, and many studies have found only modest correlations between them. The present research, based on improved approaches to creativity assessment and latent variable modeling, proposes that fluid and executive cognition is in fact central to creative thought. In Study 1, the substantial effect of fluid intelligence (Gf) on creativity was mediated by executive switching, the number of times people switched idea categories during the divergent thinking tasks. In Study 2, half the sample was given an effective strategy for an unusual uses task. The strategy condition interacted with Gf: people high in Gf did better when given the strategy, consistent with their higher ability to maintain access to it and use it despite interference. Taken together, the findings suggest that divergent thinking is more convergent than modern creativity theories presume.     

A critical review of relationship quality measures: Is a fresh start needed? An agenda to move forward

Social relationships in and around work are a fundamental building block of organizational life. According to a number of relationship theories, the quality of those relationships is a critical aspect of their influence on a variety of employee and organizational outcomes. Relationship quality is, therefore, one of the most commonly studied constructs in management research. Our paper critically reviews the landscape of relationship quality measures used in management studies, identifying critical issues with how the construct has been conceptualized and measured. To help advance research on the subject and improve measurement, we identify and evaluate 21 relationship quality measures that have been developed for, or used in, management research. Overall, we find that the instruments used to measure relationship quality in management research have significant limitations associated with their conceptualizations and operationalizations. Many of these limitations stem from the fact that most of the measures used to assess the construct were not originally designed to measure relationship quality, which impedes research clarity and implications. We offer a future research agenda and several recommendations for the advancement of management research on relationship quality.     

Intolerance of Uncertainty and Anxiety Symptoms: Examining the Indirect Effect Through Anxiety Sensitivity Among Adults with Anxiety-Related Disorders

Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment - The conceptual overlap between intolerance of uncertainty (IU) and anxiety sensitivity (AS) has gained recent attention, with researchers...