Testing Models of Psychopathology in Preschool-aged Children Using a Structured Interview-based Assessment

A number of studies have found that broadband internalizing and externalizing factors provide a parsimonious framework for understanding the structure of psychopathology across childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. However, few of these studies have examined psychopathology in young children, and several recent studies have found support for alternative models, including a bi-factor model with common and specific factors. The present study used parents’ (typically mothers’) reports on a diagnostic interview in a community sample of 3-year old children (n?=?541; 53.9 % male) to compare the internalizing-externalizing latent factor model with a bi-factor model. The bi-factor model provided a better fit to the data. To test the concurrent validity of this solution, we examined associations between this model and paternal reports and laboratory observations of child temperament. The internalizing factor was associated with low levels of surgency and high levels of fear; the externalizing factor was associated with high levels of surgency and disinhibition and low levels of effortful control; and the common factor was associated with high levels of surgency and negative affect and low levels of effortful control. These results suggest that psychopathology in preschool-aged children may be explained by a single, common factor influencing nearly all disorders and unique internalizing and externalizing factors. These findings indicate that shared variance across internalizing and externalizing domains is substantial and are consistent with recent suggestions that emotion regulation difficulties may be a common vulnerability for a wide array of psychopathology.     

Ethical Decision Making and Research Deception in the Behavioral Sciences: An Application of Social Contract Theory

Despite significant ethical advances in recent years, including professional developments in ethical review and codification, research deception continues to be a pervasive practice and contentious focus of debate in the behavioral sciences. Given the disciplines' generally stated ethical standards regarding the use of deceptive procedures, researchers have little practical guidance as to their ethical acceptability in specific research contexts. We use social contract theory to identify the conditions under which deception may or may not be morally permissible and formulate practical recommendations to guide researchers on the ethical employment of deception in behavioral science research.     

Color perception involves color representations firstly at a semantic level and then at a lexical level

Studies and models have suggested that color perception first involves access to semantic representations of color. This result leads to two questions: (1) is knowledge able to influence the perception of color when associated with a color? and (2) can the perception of color really involve only semantic representations? We developed an experiment where participants have to discriminate the color of a patch (yellow vs. green). The target patch is preceded either by a black-and-white line drawing or by a word representing a natural object associated with the same or a different color (banana vs. frog). We expected a priming effect for pictures because, with a 350-ms SOA, they only involve access to semantic representations of color, whereas words seem only elicit an access to lexical representations. As expected, we found a priming effect for pictures, but also for words. Moreover, we found a general slowdown of response times in the word-prime-condition suggesting the need of an additional processing step to produce priming. In a second experiment, we manipulated the SOA in order to preclude a semantic access in the word-prime-condition that could explain the additional step of processing. We also found a priming effect, suggesting that interaction with perception occurs at a lexical level and the additional step occurs at a color perception level. In the discussion, we develop a new model of color perception assuming that color perception involves access to semantic representations and then access to lexical representations.     

Cognitive-behavioural Anger Management Training for Adults with Mild Intellectual Disability

Although people with intellectual disabilities often display anger control problems, little research has been conducted on the development and evaluation of cost-effective anger management training programs for this special population. This study evaluated the efficacy of cognitive-behavioural anger management for 11 adults with mild intellectual disabilities in a group therapy format. Improvements were evident on self-report measures of anger and self-esteem. Additionally, caregiver reports indicated general improvements in emotional and behavioural adjustment. Limitations of the study are acknowledged, including the absence of a control condition.     

How to Be a Friend of Absolute Goodness

This paper critically examines Richard Kraut’s attack on the notion of absolute value, and lays out some of the conceptual work required to defend such a notion. The view under attack claims that absolute goodness is a property that provides a reason to value what has it. Kraut’s overall challenge is that absolute goodness cannot play this role. Kraut’s own view is that goodness-for, instead, plays the reason-providing role. My targets are Kraut’s double-counting objection, and his ethical objection against absolute value. After explaining the double-counting objection, and discussing the idea of non-additive reasons, I examine and reject Kraut’s reasons for holding that nonadditivity can rescue relative value but not absolute value. I proceed then to explore a different reply to the double-counting objection by introducing a distinction between normative reasons for action and reasons that explain why a certain consideration is a reason for action. Such a distinction (hinted at by Kraut) would either help both Kraut and the friend of absolute value, or neither of them. I defend the distinction from the objection that it would make absolute value just a ‘shadow’. Finally, I reply to Kraut’s ethical objection that being motivated by absolute value is depersonalizing, on two grounds: 1) if thinking in terms of absolute value depersonalizes relationships, then we have absolute-value-given reasons not to think in those terms; 2) the distinction between normative and explanatory reasons explains why even a motivation centred on absolute value need not be depersonalizing.     

"I saw it with my own ears": the effects of peer conversations on preschoolers' reports of nonexperienced events

The study was designed to explore the effects of naturally occurring peer interactions and repeated suggestive interviews on preschoolers' (N=96, Meanage=54 months) memories for a personally experienced event, namely a staged archaeological dig. During the dig, one third of the children witnessed two "target" activities. A second third of the children were the classmates of those in the first group, but did not witness the target activities. The remaining children were not the classmates of those who witnessed the target activities, nor did they witness the target activities themselves, and thus served to provide a baseline against which to assess the effects of peer contact. Following the dig, the children were interviewed in either a neutral or suggestive manner on three occasions. Results from a fourth interview by a new examiner revealed that the combination of suggestive interviews and peer exposure led to claims of witnessing the target activities by the classmate group that were comparable to the children who actually did witness these activities. Further, assent rates to misleading questions employing peer pressure and false claims of actually seeing versus merely hearing about the target activities were elevated following opportunities to discuss these activities with peers.     

Effects of foreign mand training on the emergence of foreign tact and listener responses for Chinese-speaking children with autism spectrum disorder

In China, there is an increasing demand for preschool children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) enrolled in general education to learn English vocabulary. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of foreign mand training in English on the acquisition of mand responses, and the emergence of tact and listener responses for three Chinese-speaking preschool children (boys; 4–5 years of age) with ASD. Echoic-to-mand training was implemented to teach mands in English. The study employed a concurrent multiple-probe design across behaviors. The results of the study indicated that the training was effective in the acquisition of mand responses. Moreover, untaught tacts and listener responses for the same vocabulary emerged without explicit training. Implications for small-group mand training in foreign language acquisition were discussed.     

Computer simulation of some of the motor circuits underlying Parkinson’s disease

Many researchers have published functional models of brain structures involved in Parkinson’s disease. These models include the primary structures of the basal ganglia and related cortical areas, and have hypothesized normal and dysfunctional states. Simple computer simulation of the hypothesized excitatory and inhibitory interactions among brain structures can be used to evaluate these models. A computer simulation can be programmed to simulate normal function, disease function, and treatment effects described in published models.     

Continuities in maternal reports and child behaviors over time in hyperactive and comparison groups

Maternal reports, observations of nursery and elementary school behavior, and teacher ratings of problems were available for hyperactive and control children who had participated in a longitudinal study. This paper examines consistencies in maternal reports and child behaviors over time, and their relationship to teacher ratings in elementary school. Maternal reports of infant sleep difficulties were related to maternal ratings of hyperactivity at 41/2 and 61/2 years. Maternal ratings of activity at 41/2 were predictive of 61/2-year ratings of hyperactivity and conduct problems. In addition, behavior in a research nursery at 41/2 predicted teacher ratings of problems and classroom behavior in grade two. Hyperactive preschoolers who left the table most during structured activities were more often out-of-seat and off-task in school. Controls who were more aggressive in the nursery were more disruptive in the classroom. These data indicate continuities in both maternal reports and child behaviors.Collection of follow-up data were supported by Grant No. MA-4505 from the Medical Research Council of Canada to Dr. Campbell and were collected when she was at McGill University and the Montreal Children's Hospital. Portions of these data were presented at the American Psychological Association, Washington, D.C., September 1976.