Some effects of praise during the escape condition of the functional analysis

Many researchers provide praise for complying with demands during the escape condition of the functional analysis (FA). However, praise may function as a reinforcer for some individuals which may reduce the aversiveness of task presentation or increase behavior that competes with problem behavior (e.g., compliance with demands). In general, this may result in lower or less stable levels of problem behavior and decrease the efficiency of the FA. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to evaluate some effects of praise on the rate of problem behavior and compliance during the escape condition of the FA in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. We found that praise did not affect the rate of problem behavior but did increase compliance in three of five subjects. The results of the study and implications for the assessment of problem behavior are discussed.     

Cross‐modal facilitation of mental rotation: Effects of modality and complexity

Performance in a visual mental rotation (MR) task has been reported to predict the ability to recognize retrograde‐transformed melodies. The current study investigated the effects of melodic structure on the MR of sequentially presented visual patterns. Each trial consisted of a five‐segment sequentially presented visual pattern (standard) followed by a five‐tone melody that was either identical in structure to the standard or its retrograde. A visual target pattern was either the rotated version of the standard or unrelated to it. The task was to indicate whether the target pattern was a rotated version of the standard or not. Periodic patterns were not rotated but melodies facilitated the rotation of non‐periodic patterns. For these, rotation latency was determined by a quantitative index of complexity (number of runs). This study provides the first experimental confirmation for cross‐modal facilitation of MR.     

Schema Theory: A Critical Appraisal and Reevaluation

The authors replicated and extended results from the gunfight paradigm (A. Welchman, J. Stanley, M. Schomers, R. Miall, & H. Bulthoff, 2010a) in which participants moved faster when reacting to the perceived initiation of an opponent compared to initiating an action themselves. In addition to replicating these movement time effects, the authors found that time to peak velocity, peak velocity, and movement-endpoint dispersions were similarly impacted. The findings are discussed in terms of a triggering mechanism involved in ballistic and internally generated movements.     

Poor Expression: Concealing Social Class Stigma

Three studies found that people from lower-class backgrounds are less expressive toward interaction partners from upper-class backgrounds except in contexts where they share minority status on another dimension. In Study 1, White lower-class dyad members behaved less expressively than their upper-class interaction partners, while in African American and Latino dyads, upper- and lower-class individuals were similarly expressive. In Study 2, lower-class White participants reported feeling generally less comfortable about interacting with an upper-class partner but not when they shared numerical minority status of being residents of the same state traveling away from home. Finally, Study 3 revealed that lower-class individuals intentionally act differently with upper-class individuals but not with lower-class ones. Upper-class individuals act the same with lower- and upper-class partners alike.     

Microstructural development during transient directional solidification of a hypomonotectic Al–In alloy

Upward directional non-steady-state solidification experiments have been performed on a hypomonotectic Al–5.5?wt%In alloy. The alloy developed cellular as-solidified microstructure for tip growth rates, V _L, higher than 0.95?mm/s. The casting regions associated with V _L?<?0.95?mm/s were shown to be characterized by a microstructure formed by In droplets disseminated in the Al matrix. Tip growth rate and microstructural features, such as cell spacing and interphase spacing, have been experimentally determined. The experimental cell spacings have been compared with theoretical predictions furnished by the Hunt–Lu model. It was found that the experimental scatter lies below the minimum range of values theoretically predicted. Moreover, the experimental cell spacing evolution with V _L is characterized by a ?1.1 power law. The droplets’ interphase spacing, λ, is related to the growth rate by the Jackson–Hunt relationship (λ ² V _L?=?constant).     

Identity Construction as a Mother: A Comparative Study Between Adopted and Nonadopted Women

From a constructivist perspective we studied the experience of motherhood in a comparative study with 15 adopted women and 15 nonadopted women, all of them also biological mothers. We used the social self grid, and it was analyzed by means of the program RECORD 5.0 and also through content analysis. Results show similarities and differences between the two groups in the construction of identity as a mother. Although in both samples the self as a mother is constructed similarly to the self in their couple relationship, this is more evident in the case of adoptive daughters, and the difference is statistically significant. The meanings attributed to their own motherhood are similar in both samples and have to do with enjoying motherhood. Nonetheless, in the adoptive sample there are more constructs related to control and doing things right, and in the biological sample there are more constructs referring to naturalness and devotion. Moreover, in the adoptive sample there appears a higher presence of cognitive conflicts and lower self-esteem, and both results tend to significance.     

Attentional bias in post-traumatic stress disorder diminishes after symptom amelioration

Background

Avoidance and hypervigilance to reminders of a traumatic event are among the main characteristics of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Attentional bias toward aversive cues in PTSD has been hypothesized as being part of the dysfunction causing etiology and maintenance of PTSD. The aim of the present study was to investigate the cognitive strategy underlying attentional bias in PTSD and whether normal cognitive processing is restored after a treatment suppressing core PTSD symptoms.

Methods

Nineteen healthy controls were matched for age, sex and education to 19 PTSD patients. We used the emotional stroop and detection of target tasks, before and after an average of 4.1 sessions of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy.

Results

We found that on both tasks, patients were slower than controls in responding in the presence of emotionally negative words compared to neutral ones. After symptoms removal, patients no longer had attentional bias, and responded similarly to controls.

Conclusion

These results support the existence of an attentional bias in PTSD patients due to a disengagement difficulty. There was also preliminary evidence that the disengagement was linked to PTSD symptomatology. It should be further explored whether attentional bias and PTSD involve common brain mechanisms.     

Activation During Observed Parent–Child Interactions with Anxious Youths: A Pilot Study

Parent–child interaction paradigms are often used to observe dysfunctional family processes; however, the influence of such tasks on a participant’s level of activation remain unclear. The aim of this pilot project is to explore the stimulus value of interaction paradigms that have been commonly used in child anxiety research. Twenty-nine parent–child dyads with clinically anxious (n = 16) and non-anxious (n = 13) youths engaged in a series of tasks (threat and non-threat) used in previous studies of parenting and youth anxiety. Heart rate (HR) data, as an indicator of physiological activation, were collected across tasks, and participants rated the perceived representativeness of their interactions in the laboratory to their usual behavior at home. Significant HR changes were observed for both parent and child. Change in child HR from baseline to non-threat task was smaller than change in HR from baseline to threat tasks. Change in parent HR from baseline to ambiguous situations tasks was smaller than changes from baseline to other threat tasks. Differences in HR change between anxious and non-anxious children were explored. Participants rated laboratory interactions as similar to those experienced in the home. Results suggest that presumably emotionally-charged discussion tasks may produce increased activation compared to tasks that were designed to be more neutral. Implications for future research and limitations are discussed.