Maintenance of mother-child aversive relationships: A fresh look at an old controversy

Data were obtained from 46 mother-child pairs from the Child Behavior Institute (CBI) at the University of Tennessee. These mother-child dyads were referred for psychological help because of the child’s aversive behavior. Child-parent interactions were quantified using a multi-code, observational system. Correlational and multiple regression analyses (stepwise) were conducted to find the best predictor of the child’s aversive behavior. Results showed that the child’s aversive behavior was significantly correlated with the mother’s aversive, indiscriminate, and compliance behaviors. The regression analysis showed mother’s aversive behavior to be the best predictor of the child’s aversive behavior. Moreover, our results seem to point out that the compliance hypothesis is more effective in predicting child aversive behavior than the predictability hypotheses. It appears that since the two hypotheses are dealing with similar processes, they are more complementary than oppositional. This study used data collected by the Child Behavior Institute (CBI) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The authors are indebted to Robert Wahler, Michael Smith, and Sue Dunn for their helpful comments on this paper.     

An economical dispenser to improve control of food reinforcement in the rat

A hopper dispenser designed for the study of food reinforcement in rats is described. By using ordinary rat chow, it significantly reduces the cost of reinforcing rats with food. By preventing stockpiling, it also guarantees control of the accessibility, as well as the presentation of food.     

Modification of the rat's acoustic startle response by antecedent visual stimulation.

Male hooded and albino rats were exposed to a light flash followed at various temporal intervals by a startle-eliciting 117 db. (re 20 muN/m2) burst of white noise. The visual stimulus engendered startle response inhibition (maximally when the lead time was 64-250 msec) as well as startle response latency reduction (maximally when the lead time was 2-8 msec). The temporal functions for the effects of visual stimuli paralleled those previously reported for startle modification by acoustic events. Further study revealed that, given optimal lead times, inhibition is produced reliably by weaker visual stimuli (3 X 10-6 cd-sec/cm2) than latency reduction (3 X 10-4 cd-sec/cm2). This differential sensitivity to visual stimuli is also analogous to previously reported findings for events in the acoustic environment. It reveals that the neural mechanisms that mediate latency reduction and inhibition can be engaged by either acoustic or visual stimulation.     

Using Three Reporters to Identify Pre-Adolescent Peer Victims through Latent Profile Analysis

Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology - The goals of the current study were to use a three-reporter methodology and multi-level Latent Profile Analysis: (a) to determine the victim...     

Yes,they can! Efficient physical effort mobilization according to task difficulty in schizophrenia

The current literature has largely highlighted a deficit of effort-based decision-making for reward in schizophrenia. However, not all studies have dissociated effort from reward, while other studies emphasize that difficulty is the main determinant of effort rather than reward. In this study, 33 individuals with schizophrenia and 32 healthy controls were recruited to perform a decision-making isometric force task. According to motivational intensity theory, task difficulty (i.e., required force) but not reward was manipulated from easy to impossible. Accuracy between force exerted and force required, and choice to perform a task or not were our effort measures. Clinical variables including depression, defeatist beliefs, and apathy were assessed. Our results demonstrated that the schizophrenia group chose to perform easy, moderate, and difficult tasks and exerted the necessary effort to succeed similarly to the non-clinical group. No association between effort and clinical variables was found. Our findings provide new understandings related to effort mechanisms in schizophrenia.

     

Infant clinical assessment procedure: Its applications for diagnosis and treatment in the second and third year

This article reports on some clinical applications in the 9 to 30 month age range of a new structured paradigm. The Infant Clinical Assessment Procedure (ICAP) is not a test, but an assessment technique. It is particularly aimed at the evaluation and ongoing monitoring of problems in the emotional development of infants. Its eight episodes represent a wide array of effective, social, and cognitive stimuli. The primary focus of these episodes is on the infant, with the exception of the mother-infant task that specifically gauges the mother-infant ralationship. It is suggested through case vignettes that the ICAP may be useful for the documentation of the efficacy of treatment.