Cross-frequency coupling between neuronal oscillations

Electrophysiological recordings in animals, including humans, are modulated by oscillatory activities in several frequency bands. Little is known about how oscillations in various frequency bands interact. Recent findings from the human neocortex show that the power of fast gamma oscillations (30-150Hz) is modulated by the phase of slower theta oscillations (5-8Hz). Given that this coupling reflects a specific interplay between large ensembles of neurons, it is likely to have profound implications for neuronal processing.     

Writing consumer research: the world according to Belk

• Writing is a core scholarly competence. Not only is it a skill that every academic must acquire, regardless of their methodological, philosophical or empirical affiliations, but also it is ‘a substantial differentiating characteristic of eminent researchers’. This article offers an analysis of the writing style of one of the field's most eminent researchers, Russell W. Belk. It identifies five literary devices that help Belk's writing stand out from the crowd and, while the article does not claim to contain the secret of writing success, it considers the crucial part writing plays in the consumer research process.

Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Working alliance for clients with social anxiety disorder: relationship with session helpfulness and within-session habituation

It has been suggested that a strong working alliance encourages clients to take risks during therapy (Raue, Castonguay, & Goldfried, 1993). This encouragement may be important for clients who fear negative evaluations as they engage in risk-taking elements of therapy. This study examined the relationship between working alliance, session helpfulness and measures of emotional processing in 18 clients undergoing cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for social anxiety disorder. Results indicate a positive correlation between client-rated, but not observer-rated, working alliance and session helpfulness. Moderate levels of working alliance were associated with higher initial anxiety and deeper within-session habituation. Overall, a strong alliance was associated with clients engaging with the session and finding the session helpful. Implications for the use of CBT for social anxiety are discussed.     

Behaviorism, latent learning, and cognitive maps: needed revisions in introductory psychology textbooks

This paper critically assesses the scholarship in introductory psychology textbooks in relation to the topic of latent learning. A review of the treatment of latent learning in 48 introductory psychology textbooks published between 1948 and 2004, with 21 of these texts published since 1999, reveals that the scholarship on the topic of latent learning demonstrated in introductory textbooks warrants improvement. Errors that persist in textbooks include the assertion that the latent learning experiments demonstrate unequivocally that reinforcement was not necessary for learning to occur, that behavioral theories could not account for the results of the latent learning experiments, that B. F. Skinner was an S-R association behaviorist who argued that reinforcement is necessary for learning to occur, and that because behavioral theories (including that of B. F. Skinner) were unable explain the results of the latent learning experiments the cognitive map invoked by Edward Tolman is the only explanation for latent learning. Finally, the validity of the cognitive map is typically accepted without question. Implications of the presence of these errors for students and the discipline are considered. Lastly, remedies are offered to improve the scholarship found in introductory psychology textbooks.     

Gender differences in social support for socially anxious individuals

Given that social anxiety disorder is a common, chronic, debilitating disorder and socially anxious women appear to have different experiences related to social development and social support than men, it is essential that the gender differences in social anxiety and social support be understood. The present study examined perceived social support quantity and satisfaction in 23 women and 28 men seeking treatment for social anxiety disorder. Contrary to expectations, men and women did not differ on measures of social support. However, younger, unmarried women reported having smaller social support networks and less satisfaction with their social support networks than older, married women. Analyses of socially anxious men did not reveal such a pattern. The current study provides preliminary evidence that younger, single women have social support networks that are less satisfying than the social support networks of older, married women. Inclusion of social support modules within a cognitive behavioral treatment approach for social anxiety disorder may be warranted, particularly for young, unmarried women.     

Perception time measured with the slope-transition paradigm (STP): category, set size, and task manipulations

A perception time measure was obtained with the 'slope-transition paradigm' (STP), which is described in detail. In two experiments with the paradigm, participants viewed two sequential data frames, each presented for a wide range of durations. They made a binary response based on combined information from the two frames. The results showed piecewise linear response-time versus frame-duration functions with a slope-0 branch at short durations, followed by a slope-1 branch. The duration where the two branches met (the slope transition) was interpreted as the end of the perception of frame 1. For longer durations, the participant had completed the perception of frame 1 and was forced to waste time waiting for data from frame 2. In experiment 1, an odd-digit enumeration task was used, and set size and distractor category (even digits versus consonants) were varied. In experiment 2, a same/different task with digits was used and the type of judgment (literal versus parity) was varied. Perception time increased with set size. Distractor category and judgment type affected post-perceptual processes. The perception time measure of the STP is considered in relation to the attentional blink, repetition blindness, and object files.     

Eyewitness recognition errors: the effects of mugshot viewing and choosing in young and old adults

Eyewitness memory is vulnerable to information encountered prior to a lineup. Young (18-30 years) and older (60-80 years) witnesses viewed a crime video. Some witnesses were then exposed to mugshots of innocent suspects that included a critical foil. After a 48-h delay, all the witnesses took part in a target-absent lineup that included the critical foil and five new foils. Witnesses who picked one of the mugshots as the likely perpetrator showed inflated rates of choosing the critical foil from the lineup. Context reinstatement instructions did not reduce choices of innocent foils following mugshot exposure. Despite age-related increases in false choosing, age did not qualify other effects. The results are discussed in terms of commitment, source memory, and gist-based processing.     

Observed classroom behavior of children with ADHD: relationship to gender and comorbidity

Examined hypothesized gender and comorbidity differences in the observed classroom behavior of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The behavior of 403 boys and 99 girls with ADHD, ages 7–10, was compared (a) to observed, sex-specific classroom behavior norms, (b) by sex, and (c) by comorbid subgroups. Boys and girls with ADHD deviated significantly from classroom norms on 15/16 and 13/16 categories, respectively. Compared to comparison girls, girls with ADHD had relatively high rates of verbal aggression to children. Boys with ADHD engaged in more rule-breaking and externalizing behaviors than did girls with ADHD, but the sexes did not differ on more neutral, unobtrusive behaviors. The sex differences are consistent with notions of why girls with ADHD are identified and referred later than boys. Contrary to hypothesis, the presence of comorbid anxiety disorder (ANX) was not associated with behavioral suppression; yet, as hypothesized, children with a comorbid disruptive behavior disorder (DBD) had higher rates of rule-breaking, and impulsive and aggressive behavior, than did children with ADHD alone and those with ADHD+ANX. Elevated rates of ADHD behaviors were also observed in children with comorbid DBD, indicating that these behaviors are truly present and suggesting that reports of higher ADHD ratings in this subgroup are not simply a consequence of negative halo effects and rater biases.