Effects of extinction in multiple contexts on the renewal of associative tolerance to ethanol

The Pavlovian analysis of drug tolerance describes how the contexts of drug administration participate in the elicitation of compensatory conditioned responses that are, at least partly, responsible for tolerance. Findings indicate that if an association is acquired in one context and extinguished in another one, when exposing the subjects to the acquisition context, renewal of the conditioned response will take place. Ambiguous evidence exists about whether or not this effect diminishes when extinguishing the association in multiple contexts. This investigation evaluates the existence of the phenomenon of renewal of tolerance to ethanol, and whether it diminishes by the extinction in multiple contexts. Evidence of renewal of tolerance to ethanol in rats was found, but no diminution was observed when extinguishing in multiple contexts.     

Is it advisable to include negative attributes to assess the stereotype content? Yes,but only in the morality dimension

Competence, morality and sociability dimensions have shown to be essential to measure stereotypes. Theoretically, the attributes associated with the negative pole of morality are more reliable and have shown to have higher evaluative weight. However, the current research usually employs only positive attributes to measure each dimension. Since the advantages of the inclusion of negative morality are clear it would be interesting to know about the effects of the inclusion of such type of attributes (i.e., it is good or bad for the measurement). The purpose of this study is to examine if the addition of negative items makes possible to improve the stereotype content measures. This study compares the differences between scales with various compositions of positive and negative items of stereotypes to predict three related variables: anger, fear and a semantic differential of evaluation. The study was carried out with a sample of 550 Spaniards. The data found highlights the importance of using attributes of the negative pole of morality in studying stereotypes. Their use was able to explain the intergroup emotional responses and the semantic differential more efficiently.     

Prejudiced attitude measurement using the Rasch Rating Scale model

There have been two basic approaches for the study of minority group prejudice against the majority: to adapt instruments from the majority group, and to use qualitative techniques by analyzing the content of the discourse of the groups involved. Neither of these procedures solves the problem of measuring intergroup attitudes of majorities and minorities in interaction. This study shows the result of a prejudice scale which was developed to measure the attitude of both the minority and majority groups. Prejudice is conceived as an attitude which requires the beliefs or opinions about the out-group, the emotions it elicits, and the behavior or intentional behavior toward it to be known for its evaluation. The innovation in this work is that the psychometric development of the scale was based on the item response theory, and more specifically, the rating scale model.     

Learning Behavioral Repertoires with Different Consequences Hinders the Interconnection of These Repertoires in Pigeons in the Box Displacement Test

The Psychological Record - The interconnection of repertoires is a behavioral process related to problem solving and creativity. Experiments on this topic have mostly used a single reinforcer type...     

Effects of different training histories upon manufacturing a tool to solve a problem: insight in capuchin monkeys (Sapajus spp.)

Animal Cognition - The emergence of novel behavior is a multilayered phenomenon that comprehends distinct processes. One such process is known as insightful problem solving. “Insight”...     

Appreciation of historical events and characters: their relationship with national identity and collective self-esteem in a sample of public school teachers from the city of Lima

This study analyzes the relation between national identity and the appreciation of the characters and events of Peruvian history in a sample of public school teachers from the city of Lima (N = 99). Adapted versions of the NATID Scale (Keillor et al., 1996) and the CSES Scale (Luhtanen & Crocker, 1992) are used as measures of national identity. National pride and interest in knowing about Peruvian history are variables also included in this study. The study shows that appreciation of historical characters is more positive than appreciation of historical events. There is a positive association between national identity and appreciation of Peruvian historical characters. A multiple linear regression model is proposed; this model shows that appreciation of cultural heritage and national pride has a positive impact on the appreciation of characters of Peruvian history.     

Teaching oddity and insertion to Head Start children: An economical cognitive intervention

Two interventions were offered to Head Start preschoolers. Half of the children played numerous learning set games designed to teach the children (1) the oddity principle and (2) how to insert objects into a series. Mastery of these concepts is theoretically an important aspect of school readiness. The other half of the children engaged in the I Can Problem Solve (ICPS) exercises, a program designed to increase the children's competency in recognizing and responding to other people's feelings. The children who played the learning set games became superior at oddity and insertions with manipulable objects, and generalized these games to workbook-like formats resembling those encountered in kindergarten. They also scored higher on the numeracy and memory scales of the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities, indicating that mastery of oddity and insertions may have served as foundations for further cognitive growth. The children who participated in the ICPS exercises became superior at creating solutions to interpersonal problems, as measured by the Preschoolers Interpersonal Problem Solving Scale. The differences in the outcomes indicate that both interventions were successful in their own domains. The advantage the cognitive intervention produced on the McCarthy Scales suggests that oddity and insertion abilities may be a foundation in fact as well as in theory for general cognitive growth at this age.     

Structural model of acculturation attitudes and related psychosocial variables: Empirical evidence in native Spaniards

This work falls within the framework of the study of acculturation processes of natives and immigrants. Its goal is to test an explanatory multi‐group model of natives' acculturation attitudes as a function of diverse psychosocial variables: Prejudice and natives' appraisal of their own culture (in a direct way) and inter‐group contact and perceived inter‐group similarity (in an indirect way). Participants were 499 Spaniards surveyed for their attitude towards Romanian immigrants and 493 towards Ecuadorian immigrants. The indicators used took into account three socio‐cultural spheres: peripheral, intermediate and central areas. This multi‐group model shows an adequate fit to the data.     

Mindfulness-based interventions in secondary education: a qualitative systematic review / Intervenciones basadas en mindfulness en educación secundaria: una revisión sistemática cualitativa

Abstract

In order to study the effects of mindfulness meditation interventions administered to adolescents within their educational institutions, a qualitative systematic review was conducted. Sixteen studies published in main databases were analysed. The results show that mindfulness, as a prevention strategy in educational contexts, resulted in significant changes in the followings variables: (a) psychological (e.g., reduction in depressive symptoms); (b) psychosocial (e.g., increased social skills); and (c) physiological (e.g., improvement of blood pressure). Although the results were conclusive, their interpretation and generalization should be carefully analysed as there were no medium- and long-term follow-up evaluations, in addition to the fact that there has been a minimal assessment of the psychological mechanisms involved in the change processes.     

Magnetoencephalography and magnetic source imaging: technology overview and applications in psychiatric neuroimaging

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is an electrophysiologic brain imaging technology that has been applied to the study of mental illness, particularly schizophrenia. Like electroencephalography, it provides excellent temporal resolution, and in combination with magnetic resonance imaging, can also provide good spatial resolution. Studies of the auditory system in schizophrenia using MEG have demonstrated an abnormality in functional cerebral asymmetry, in which persons with schizophrenia typically show reduced, or reversed, cerebral asymmetry compared with normal subjects. This abnormality is sex-specific; it is more pronounced in males with schizophrenia. These findings have not been demonstrated using other neuroimaging strategies. Thus, MEG appears to offer a unique and valuable contribution to psychiatric neuroimaging. Current research and clinical applications of MEG are limited, however, by the high cost of instrumentation. The cost of MEG systems should improve as more applications are developed, in schizophrenia as well as other neuropsychiatric conditions, and hospitals begin to invest in the technology.