Achieving socially significant reductions in problem behavior following the interview‐informed synthesized contingency analysis: A summary of 25 outpatient applications

Jessel, Hanley, and Ghaemmaghami (2016) reported the results of 30 interview‐informed, synthesized contingency analyses (IISCAs) and found the IISCAs to be an effective tool for identifying the functions of problem behavior across a variety of topographies, participants, and settings. Jessel et al. did not, however, include data on the effectiveness of the corresponding treatments. In the current study, we collected and summarized 25 additional applications, from analysis to treatment, in which the IISCA was applied in an outpatient clinic. The IISCA identified various social functions of problem behavior, which informed personalized treatments of functional communication training with contingency‐based reinforcement thinning. A 90% or greater reduction in problem behavior was obtained for every participant by the end of the treatment evaluation. The assessment and treatment process was socially validated by caregivers who rated the procedures highly acceptable and helpful, and the improvement in their child's behavior highly satisfactory.     

Toward a dialect theory: cultural differences in the expression and recognition of posed facial expressions

Two studies provided direct support for a recently proposed dialect theory of communicating emotion, positing that expressive displays show cultural variations similar to linguistic dialects, thereby decreasing accurate recognition by out-group members. In Study 1, 60 participants from Quebec and Gabon posed facial expressions. Dialects, in the form of activating different muscles for the same expressions, emerged most clearly for serenity, shame, and contempt and also for anger, sadness, surprise, and happiness, but not for fear, disgust, or embarrassment. In Study 2, Quebecois and Gabonese participants judged these stimuli and stimuli standardized to erase cultural dialects. As predicted, an in-group advantage emerged for nonstandardized expressions only and most strongly for expressions with greater regional dialects, according to Study 1.     

Review of Instruments Assessing Parenting Competencies used in Child Custody Evaluations

The following instruments of parenting capacity that are currently used in child custody evaluations are reviewed: The Ackerman–Schoendorf Scales for Parent Evaluation of Custody (ASPECT), the Bricklin Perceptual Scales and Perception of Relationships Test, the Child Abuse Potential Inventory, the Parent–Child Relationship Inventory, and the Parenting Stress Index. Each instrument is described, as well as research on the measure's norms, reliability, validity, and generalizability. The measures are discussed with regard to their approach in assessing parental effectiveness and principles of test construction.     

Using Creative Techniques With Children Who Have Experienced Trauma

Verbal and emotional forms of expression can be difficult for young children who have experienced trauma. Creative methods and approaches such as puppets, sandtray, letter writing, and art are therapeutic mediums that provide an outlet for a young client’s story of trauma to be told. Children can use puppets to depersonalize and share feelings with a counselor that would provide insight into their coping strategies. Similarly, sandtray is another nonverbal approach that gives children the opportunity to externalize their feelings safely and can be easily used with extroverted and introverted clients. Letter writing and art can empower children and give them hope for the future. In summary, creative techniques can allow counselors to help explore stories of trauma with young clients.     

Predicting Negotiation Performance from Personality Traits: A field Study across Multiple Occupations

Based on decades-old reviews, many negotiation researchers have expressed doubts about the effect of personality on negotiation outcomes. More recent reviews have found significant associations between traits and outcome measures. Existing research has primarily used laboratory experiments; field studies are rare. In this study, we aim to fill that important gap. Traits measured using the Hogan Personality Inventory were correlated with supervisor ratings of negotiation performance across three occupations: marketing managers, lawyers, and construction supervisors. Ambition and likability independently predicted greater negotiation performance. Results generalized across these three samples with evidence for an interaction effect in the lawyer sample. For attorneys, greater ambition was not additionally helpful for those who were relatively more likable. Results establish the importance of negotiation effectiveness as a distinct component of overall job performance. Practical implications are considered in terms of division of labor, person–job fit, and the state-trait distinction.     

Busy Streets Theory: The Effects of Community‐engaged Greening on Violence

Lack of maintenance on vacant neighborhood lots is associated with higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress for nearby residents. Overgrown grasses and dense brush provide hiding spots for criminals and space to conduct illicit activities. This study builds upon previous research by investigating greening programs that engage community members to conduct routine maintenance on vacant lots within their neighborhoods. The Clean & Green program is a community‐based solution that facilitates resident‐driven routine maintenance of vacant lots in a midsized, Midwestern city. We use mixed effects regression to compare assault and violent crime counts on streets where vacant lot(s) are maintained by community members (N = 216) versus streets where vacant lots were left alone (N = 446) over a 5‐year timeframe (2009–2013). Street segments with vacant lots maintained through the Clean & Green program had nearly 40% fewer assaults and violent crimes than street segments with vacant, abandoned lots, which held across 4 years with a large sample and efforts to test counterfactual explanations. Community‐engaged greening programs may not only provide a solution to vacant lot maintenance, but also work as a crime prevention or reduction strategy. Engaging the community to maintain vacant lots in their neighborhood reduces costs and may increase the sustainability of the program.     

Multiple caregivers' touch interactions with young children among the Bofi foragers in Central Africa

The current study examined the use of three types of touch (caregiving, active social-affectionate, and passive social-affectionate) by caregivers with young children among the Bofi foragers, a seminomadic group of hunter-gatherers in Central Africa. With the purpose of providing a more holistic view of touch interactions in early childhood, compared to extant Western mother-centric views, this study documents stylistic touch patterns used by multiple caregivers (mother, father, adult relatives, and juvenile relatives) with Bofi forager children. Thirty-five Bofi forager children, between 18 and 59 months of age, and their various caregivers were naturalistically observed over 12 daylight hours using a focal child observational technique. Frequencies of each type of touch and the rank order of types of touch that children received were compared between caregivers and examined by child age and gender. Even though nonmaternal caregivers showed high physical involvement with children, mothers exemplified the highest level of involvement. Overall, passive social-affectionate touch was utilized the most by all types of caregivers. Mothers used more caregiving touch, and fathers and adult relatives had similar frequencies of caregiving touch and active social-affectionate touch. In contrast, juvenile relatives showed more active social-affectionate touch with focal children. This study highlights the importance of examining multiple caregivers and physical interactions when studying early childhood experiences. Furthermore, by focusing on multiple caregivers and multiple types of touch, this study provides a more thorough characterization of the touch experiences of young children than previous studies of touch. Finally, the current study exemplifies the value of considering non-Western populations when investigating touch interactions.     

People Awakening: Collaborative Research to Develop Cultural Strategies for Prevention in Community Intervention

The consequences of alcohol use disorder (AUD) and suicide create immense health disparities among Alaska Native people. The People Awakening project is a long-term collaboration between Alaska Native (AN) communities and university researchers seeking to foster health equity through development of positive solutions to these disparities. These efforts initiated a research relationship that identified individual, family, and community protective factors from AUD and suicide. AN co-researchers next expressed interest in translating these findings into intervention. This led to development of a strengths-based community intervention that is the focus of the special issue. The intervention builds these protective factors to prevent AUD and suicide risk within AN youth, and their families and communities. This review provides a critical examination of existing literature and a brief history of work leading to the intervention research. These work efforts portray a shared commitment of university researchers and community members to function as co-researchers, and to conduct research in accord with local Yup’ik cultural values. This imperative allowed the team to navigate several tensions we locate in a convergence of historical and contemporary ecological contextual factors inherent in AN tribal communities with countervailing constraints imposed by Western science.     

Prospective memory: Effects of divided attention on spontaneous retrieval

We examined the effects of divided attention on the spontaneous retrieval of a prospective memory intention. Participants performed an ongoing lexical decision task with an embedded prospective memory demand, and also performed a divided-attention task during some segments of lexical decision trials. In all experiments, monitoring was highly discouraged, and we observed no evidence that participants engaged monitoring processes. In Experiment 1, performing a moderately demanding divided-attention task (a digit detection task) did not affect prospective memory performance. In Experiment 2, performing a more challenging divided-attention task (random number generation) impaired prospective memory. Experiment 3 showed that this impairment was eliminated when the prospective memory cue was perceptually salient. Taken together, the results indicate that spontaneous retrieval is not automatic and that challenging divided-attention tasks interfere with spontaneous retrieval and not with the execution of a retrieved intention.