Computers in biofeedback research and therapy

While biofeedback is being used extensively in the clinic and the laboratory, a great deal of variability exists among biofeedback users with respect to instrumentation, treatment protocols, techniques of data acquisition, and methods of data analysis. It is argued that the use of computers in biofeedback will help reduce some of this variability. Other advantages of computers in biofeedback are discussed. Several presently available automated systems are reviewed. Implications for future biofeedback research are also discussed.     

Treatment adherence among Latina female adolescent suicide attempters

Clinicians must identify factors among suicide-attempting adolescents and their families that increase treatment adherence. Researchers assessed a consecutive series of 140 disenfranchised Latina adolescents (ages 12-18 years) and their mothers presenting at a large urban emergency room after a suicide attempt by the adolescent. Adherence was examined as it related to service delivery, individual background characteristics, and psychosocial factors (current symptomatology, treatment attitudes). Each factor was found to predict adolescent treatment adherence. Adolescents receiving a specialized emergency room program, those with a diagnosis of disruptive behavior disorder, and those from single-parent households attended significantly more therapy sessions compared to their suicide-attempting peers receiving standard emergency room care. Adolescents with a diagnosis of anxiety disorders and those whose mothers reported more psychopathology and perceived more cohesive family relationships tended to attend significantly fewer treatment sessions. The implications for the delivery of emergency room interventions are discussed.     

The role of objects in perceptual grouping.

Perceptual organization can be viewed as the selection of the best or "most reasonable" parse of a given scene. However, the principles that determine which interpretation is most reasonable have resisted most attempts to define them formally. This paper summarizes a formal theory of human perceptual organization, called minimal model theory, in which the best interpretation of a given scene is expressed as the formally minimal interpretation in a well-defined space of possible interpretations. We then focus specifically on the role of types of grouping units, in particular the difficult notion of "object". Although grouping is often thought of as the process of dividing the image into objects, most research in perceptual grouping actually focuses on simpler types of units, such as contours and surfaces. Minimal model theory characterizes grouping units at a logical level, demonstrating how formal assumptions about units induce the observer to place a certain preference ranking on interpretations. The theory is then applied to the more subtle problem of objects, culminating in a definition for objects that is formally rigorous but at the same time captures some of the flexibility of human intuitions about objects.     

Objective measurement of the independent variable: A neglected methodological aspect in community-based behavioral research

The importance of adequately measuring independent as well as dependent variables in studies evaluating therapeutic services provided to antisocial children is indicated. Data were obtained from a study in which 139 antisocial children were stratified according to age and then randomly placed into 14 groups. The children were randomly assigned to either of 2 treatment strategies or to a control treatment strategy. The effect of the treatments was evaluated by 2 pre-post selfrating scales, by a prepost inventory completed by therapists, and by behavioral observations of both children and their therapists. Measurements of the children's and therapists' behaviors were secured at each weekly 2-hr, meeting for approximately 30 weeks. Very few significant differences occurred between the treatment and control groups on the dependent variables. The findings indicated that independent checks are necessary to insure that therapeutic strategies are actually being implemented, thus providing for an adequate test of their effects on the dependent variables.     

Accuracy and differentiation in social prediction: A developmental perspective1

Two studies examined the accuracy and differentiation of 4–5-yearolds‘, 8–9-year-olds’, and undergraduates' predictions of the preferences of peers and nonpeers. In Study 1 each subject was presented with separate arrays of snacks, meals, and activities depicted on cards and were asked to select their own preferences and the preferences of peers and nonpeers (“grown-ups” for the children, and “4- to 5-year-olds” for the undergraduates). In Study 2 each subject selected his or her own preference, the preference of peers, and the preferences of both older nonpeers (“grown-ups”) and younger nonpeers (“2-year-olds”). For all age groups, including 4–5-year-olds: (1) the preference predictions differentiated peers from nonpeers, as well as older nonpeers from younger nonpeers; (2) it was very rare for a subject to select his or her own preferences for the preference predictions of both peers and nonpeers. There were no consistent developmental differences either in the tendency to select one's own preferences when predicting the preferences of others or in the tendency to differentiate predictions for peers and nonpeers. In contrast, there was a clear developmental increase in predictive accuracy, with 4–5-year-olds being relatively inaccurate in predicting the preferences of nonpeers. The inadequacy of constructs such as “assumed similarity” and “egocentrism” as explanations for the general accuracy in predicting peers' preferences and the 4–5-year-olds' inaccuracy in predicting nonpeers' preferences is discussed. Possible alternative variables underlying developmental increases in judgmental accuracy, such as “social reference,”“self reference,” and “social category knowledge,” are then proposed.     

From biological rhythms to social rhythms: Physiological precursors of mother-infant synchrony

Links between neonatal biological rhythms and the emergence of interaction rhythms were examined in 3 groups (N = 71): high-risk preterms (HR; birth weight <1,000 g), low-risk preterms (LR; birth weight =1,700-1,850 g), and full-term (FT) infants. Once a week for premature infants and on the 2nd day for FT infants, sleep-wake cyclicity was extracted from 4-hr observations and cardiac vagal tone was measured. At term age, infant orientation was tested with the Neonatal Behavior Assessment Scale. At 3 months, arousal modulation and emotion regulation were assessed, and mother-infant synchrony was computed from microanalysis of face-to-face interactions using time-series analysis. Sleep-wake amplitudes showed a developmental leap at 31 weeks gestation, followed by a shift in vagal tone at 34 weeks gestation. At term, differences among FT, LR, and HR infants were observed for biological rhythms in a linear-decline pattern. Sleep-wake cyclicity, vagal tone, newborn orientation, and arousal modulation were each uniquely predictive of mother-infant synchrony. The organization of physiological oscillators appears to lay the foundation for the infant's capacity to partake in a temporally matched social dialogue.     

Accountability and need for cognition effects on contrast, halo, and accuracy in performance ratings

In the present study, the authors investigated the effects of accountability and need for cognition on contrast errors, halo, and accuracy of performance ratings examined in good and poor performance context conditions, as well as in a context-free control condition. The accountability manipulation reduced the contrast effect and also modified rater recall of good ratee behavior. Accountability reduced halo in ratings and increased rating accuracy in a poor performance context. Accountability also interacted with need for cognition in predicting individual rater halo.