Using session-by-session measurement to compare mechanisms of action for acceptance and commitment therapy and cognitive therapy

Debate continues about the extent to which postulated mechanisms of action of cognitive behavior therapies (CBT), including standard CBT (i.e., Beckian cognitive therapy [CT]) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) are supported by mediational analyses. Moreover, the distinctiveness of CT and ACT has been called into question. One contributor to ongoing uncertainty in this arena is the lack of time-varying process data. In this study, 174 patients presenting to a university clinic with anxiety or depression who had been randomly assigned to receive either ACT or CT completed an assessment of theorized mediators and outcomes before each session. Hierarchical linear modeling of session-by-session data revealed that increased utilization of cognitive and affective change strategies relative to utilization of psychological acceptance strategies mediated outcome for CT, whereas for ACT the mediation effect was in the opposite direction. Decreases in self-reported dysfunctional thinking, cognitive "defusion" (the ability to see one's thoughts as mental events rather than necessarily as representations of reality), and willingness to engage in behavioral activity despite unpleasant thoughts or emotions were equivalent mediators across treatments. These results have potential implications for the theoretical arguments behind, and distinctiveness of, CT and ACT.     

ALL STIMULI ARE EQUAL,BUT SOME ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS: MEASURING RELATIONAL PREFERENCES WITHIN AN EQUIVALENCE CLASS

Two experiments used post‐class formation within‐class relational assessment test performances to evaluate whether participants demonstrated preference for certain members of an equivalence class based on the type of relation that existed between class members. In Experiment 1, two 5‐node 7‐member equivalence classes, consisting entirely of nonsense syllables, were established using the simultaneous protocol. Only 1 of the 6 participants in Experiment 1 formed classes. After class formation, the effects of the different relations between stimuli were evaluated using within‐class relational assessment tests, and the 1 participant showed an absolute preference for transitive over equivalence relations, and for baseline over symmetrical relations. Experiment 2 was identical to Experiment 1, except that one of the nonsense syllable stimuli in each class was replaced by a pictorial stimulus. Under these conditions, classes were formed by 5 of 13 participants. During the relational assessment tests, the 5 participants who formed classes demonstrated almost exclusive preferences for transitive relations over equivalence relations and for trained baseline relations over symmetrical relations. Thus, this research demonstrates that the members of equivalence classes are differentially related to each other based on relational type.     

Temporal dynamics of activation of thematic and functional knowledge during conceptual processing of manipulable artifacts

The current research aimed at specifying the activation time course of different types of semantic information during object conceptual processing and the effect of context on this time course. We distinguished between thematic and functional knowledge and the specificity of functional similarity. Two experiments were conducted with healthy older adults using eye tracking in a word-to-picture matching task. The time course of gaze fixations was used to assess activation of distractor objects during the identification of manipulable artifact targets (e.g., broom). Distractors were (a) thematically related (e.g., dustpan), (b) related by a specific function (e.g., vacuum cleaner), or (c) related by a general function (e.g., sponge). Growth curve analyses were used to assess competition effects when target words were presented in isolation (Experiment 1) and embedded in contextual sentences of different generality levels (Experiment 2). In the absence of context, there was earlier and shorter lasting activation of thematically related as compared to functionally related objects. The time course difference was more pronounced for general functions than specific functions. When contexts were provided, functional similarities that were congruent with context generality level increased in salience with earlier activation of those objects. Context had little impact on thematic activation time course. These data demonstrate that processing a single manipulable artifact concept implicitly activates thematic and functional knowledge with different time courses and that context speeds activation of context-congruent functional similarity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

The distinguishing characteristics of narrative identity in adults with features of borderline personality disorder: an empirical investigation

While identity disturbance has long been considered one of the defining features of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), the present study marks only the third empirical investigation to assess it and the first to do so from the perspective of research on narrative identity. Drawing on the rich tradition of studying narrative identity, the present study examined identity disturbance in a group of 40 mid-life adults, 20 with features of BPD and a matched sample of 20 without BPD. Extensive life story interviews were analyzed for a variety of narrative elements and the themes of agency, communion fulfillment (but not communion), and narrative coherence significantly distinguished the stories of those people with features of BPD from those without the disorder. In addition, associations between the theme of agency and psychopathology were evident six and twelve months following the life story interview. This study seeks to bridge the mutually-informative fields of research on personality disorders and normal identity processes.     

Quantitative and qualitative assessment of university students' definitions of binge drinking

This study was designed to assess undergraduates' (N = 424) definitions of binge drinking and to evaluate whether the number of drinks they said comprise a binge varied as a function of beverage type, respondent gender, and respondent binge drinking status. When asked to designate the specific number of drinks that comprise a binge for each of four beverage types, students reported that the number of beers constituting a binge was significantly larger than the number of glasses of wine, shots of hard liquor, and servings of any combination of alcoholic beverage types; men reported that a larger number of drinks constitute a binge than did women; and those who had engaged in 3 or more binges in the past 2 weeks reported that more drinks comprise a binge than those who had binged less often. Responses to an open-ended question asking their definition of a binge revealed that students sometimes characterize a binge in terms of motivations for and unhealthy consequences of drinking, in addition to defining a binge as comprising consumption of a large amount of alcohol in a limited (though often unspecified) time period. Furthermore, students attributed their open-ended definitions of binge drinking to informal sources of information and observation of others' drinking almost as often as they did to school-based or media-based sources. This suggests that educators might look for innovative ways to use both formal and informal social networking, and video illustrations of restrained drinking, as ways to influence young people's views of binge drinking.     

The firefighter coping self-efficacy scale: measure development and validation

The authors evaluated the psychometric properties of the Firefighter Coping Self-Efficacy (FFCSE) Scale, a new measure developed to assess firefighters' perceived competence in managing stressful and traumatic experiences encountered on the job. Two samples of firefighters completed the FFCSE Scale at two different time points. Exploratory factor analysis yielded a unidimensional structure, which was further supported with confirmatory factor analysis using a second sample. Internal consistency of the measure was excellent. Analysis of cross-sectional data indicated FFCSE was positively associated with measures of psychological well-being and social support, and negatively associated with work-related stress and psychological distress. FFCSE also uniquely contributed to the variance in psychological distress, over and above variables previously shown to be associated with distress among this population. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Specificity and transfer effects in time production skill: examining the role of attention

Two experiments examined transfer of a prospective, time production skill under conditions involving changes in concurrent task requirements. Positive transfer of the time production skill might be expected only when the attentional demands of the concurrent task were held constant from training to test. However, some positive transfer was found even when the concurrent task at retraining was made either easier or more difficult than the concurrent task learned during training. The amount and direction of transfer depended more on the pacing of the stimuli in the secondary task than on the difficulty of the secondary task, even though difficulty affects attentional demands more. These findings are consistent with the procedural reinstatement principle of skill learning, by which transfer from one task to another depends on an overlap in procedures required by the two skills.     

Teaching parenting skills*

In this paper some attempt is made to examine: the current pressures on family life and the inevitable focus on parenting; the tasks of parenting; the qualities of successful family functioning; the principles of parent education; and, three models of successful ‘teaching’ of parenting skills—a functional approach, an interactional and an educational approach.     

Typeface emphasis and information focus in written language

This paper looks at the typographical resource of written emphasis (changing the typeface style on specific words or passages within text)–for signalling information focus. Some investigations into the effects of two conventional typefaces, upper case and italic, for signalling modulatory and contrastive stress upon word content are reported, illustrating the effectiveness of strategies using this resource for economically transmitting intended content from writer to reader. At this time of heightened interest in writing competence, and the potential of electronic writing systems for providing more typographical resources to the author than were available with pen-and-paper or typewriting modes, the function of paralinguistic signalling within written language is suggested as a key issue for research.