Mindreading as social expertise

In recent years, a number of approaches to social cognition research have emerged that highlight the importance of embodied interaction for social cognition (Reddy, How infants know minds, 2008; Gallagher, J Conscious Stud 8:83–108, 2001; Fuchs and Jaegher, Phenom Cogn Sci 8:465–486, 2009; Hutto, in Seemans (ed.) Joint attention: new developments in psychology, philosophy of mind and social neuroscience, 2012). Proponents of such ‘interactionist’ approaches emphasize the importance of embodied responses that are engaged in online social interaction, and which, according to interactionists, present an alternative to mindreading as a source of social understanding. We agree that it is important to take embodied interaction seriously, but do not agree that this presents a fundamental challenge to mainstream mindreading approaches. Drawing upon an analogy between embodied interaction and the exercise of expert skills, we advocate a hierarchical view which claims that embodied social responses generally operate in close conjunction with higher-level cognitive processes that play a coordinative role, and which are often sensitive to mental states. Thus, investigation of embodied responses should inform rather than conflict with research on mindreading.     

Analyses of Model Fit and Robustness. A New Look at the PISA Scaling Model Underlying Ranking of Countries According to Reading Literacy

This paper addresses methodological issues that concern the scaling model used in the international comparison of student attainment in the Programme for International Student Attainment (PISA), specifically with reference to whether PISA’s ranking of countries is confounded by model misfit and differential item functioning (DIF). To determine this, we reanalyzed the publicly accessible data on reading skills from the 2006 PISA survey. We also examined whether the ranking of countries is robust in relation to the errors of the scaling model. This was done by studying invariance across subscales, and by comparing ranks based on the scaling model and ranks based on models where some of the flaws of PISA’s scaling model are taken into account. Our analyses provide strong evidence of misfit of the PISA scaling model and very strong evidence of DIF. These findings do not support the claims that the country rankings reported by PISA are robust.     

Biological attributions for postdeployment distress relate to higher likelihood of seeking mental health treatment in Iraq/Afghanistan service members/veterans

Service members/veterans (SM/Vs) underuse mental health care. Attribution theory suggests that attributions for psychological distress might inform help-seeking. Given recent mental health campaigns leveraging military values aimed at facilitating help-seeking for postdeployment distress, understanding how SM/Vs explain psychological distress may contribute to a better grasp of the low help-seeking rate in this population. The authors examined the association of biological and psychological attributions for postdeployment distress with help-seeking intentions from a mental health professional and medical doctor in 162 Iraq/Afghanistan SM/Vs. At the bivariate level, biological attributions were positively associated with help-seeking intentions from a mental health professional and medical doctor with small effect sizes. Psychological attributions were unrelated to help-seeking intentions from either provider. Path analysis revealed that biological attributions were positively correlated with help-seeking intentions from a medical doctor with a small effect size above and beyond the effects of psychological attributions and correlates. Biological attributions were also positively correlated with help-seeking intentions from a mental health professional with a small effect size but the significance value only trended toward significance (p = .06). Emphasizing the role of biology in postdeployment distress may promote help-seeking in SM/Vs, particularly help-seeking from medical professionals. Interventions that test the effectiveness of promoting biological explanations in campaigns aimed at increasing help-seeking may be a necessary next step in this area of inquiry.     

Exposure Quality in Cognitive Behavioral Treatment for Youth Anxiety Disorders—Predictors and Associations with Outcomes

Journal of Child and Family Studies - To optimize cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) outcomes for anxiety disorders in youth, more knowledge is needed about how specific CBT components work....     

Selectivity in probabilistic causality: Where psychology runs into quantum physics

Given a set of several inputs into a system (e.g., independent variables characterizing stimuli) and a set of several stochastically non-independent outputs (e.g., random variables describing different aspects of responses), how can one determine, for each of the outputs, which of the inputs it is influenced by? The problem has applications ranging from modeling pairwise comparisons to reconstructing mental processing architectures to conjoint testing. A necessary and sufficient condition for a given pattern of selective influences is provided by the Joint Distribution Criterion, according to which the problem of “what influences what” is equivalent to that of the existence of a joint distribution for a certain set of random variables. For inputs and outputs with finite sets of values this criterion translates into a test of consistency of a certain system of linear equations and inequalities (Linear Feasibility Test) which can be performed by means of linear programming. While new in the behavioral context, both this test and the Joint Distribution Criterion on which it is based have been previously proposed in quantum physics, in dealing with generalizations of Bell inequalities for the quantum entanglement problem. The parallels between this problem and that of selective influences in behavioral sciences are established by observing that noncommuting measurements in quantum physics are mutually exclusive and can therefore be treated as different levels of one and the same factor.     

The association between change in cognitive ability and cause-specific mortality in a community sample of older adults

While there is consistent evidence that initial levels of cognitive ability predict mortality, there is mixed evidence for a relationship between changes in cognition and mortality. There have been few studies that have examined whether the level and slope of cognitive performance is predictive of subsequent mortality from all causes or from cardiovascular disease, stroke, heart disease, respiratory disease, or cancer. This study aimed to assess whether the level and slope of cognitive ability were associated with all-cause or cause-specific mortality. A cohort of 896 community-based elderly people in Australia was interviewed four times over 12 years, with vital status followed for up to 17 years. Of these, 592 participants completed two or more interviews and were included in survival models of six mortality outcomes. Cognitive change in five domains of ability was estimated using latent growth models. Poorer initial processing speed or verbal fluency was significantly associated with greater all-cause and/or cardiovascular mortality. In addition, declines in global ability were associated with greater all-cause, cardiovascular, and heart disease mortality. Vocabulary and episodic memory were not associated with mortality, and none of the cognitive tests significantly predicted respiratory or cancer mortality. Initial levels of cognitive ability tended to be better predictors of subsequent mortality than were changes in ability. The results suggest that vascular events may be largely responsible for the overall relationship between cognition and mortality.     

Neuropsychological profile following suicide attempt by hanging: two adolescent case reports

Hippocampal damage and amnesia following hypoxia and ischemia are described in the few published adult cases of suicide attempt by hanging. However, a recent review (Caine &; Watson, 2000 Caine, D. and Watson, J. D. 2000. Neuropsychological and neuropathological sequelae of cerebral anoxia: A critical review. Journal of the International Neuropsychology Society, 6: 86–99. [CROSSREF][Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) suggests a variable pattern of brain involvement and neuropsychological impairments following hypoxic-ischemic injury that may or may not involve amnesia. To help clarify the impact of hanging on the developing brain, we examined neuropsychological functioning in two adolescents who survived suicide attempt by hanging. Despite differences in Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), coma duration, and structural imaging findings, both patients had similar IQ (VIQ > PIQ) and presented with various combinations of deficits in expressive/receptive language, visual-constructional and perceptual ability, processing speed, attention, working memory, and/or executive functioning shortly after injury. In spite of their similarities, only one of the patients presented with classic amnesia symptoms in his early recovery. This patient was evaluated 1 year postinjury, and persistent deficits in processing speed and memory encoding were noted. Several hanging-related variables, including longer estimated hanging duration, greater weight, and severe airway edema, were thought to place this patient at increased risk for cognitive deficits. Clinical MRI scans of this patient obtained 6 weeks postinjury revealed mild volume loss as well as abnormalities in bilateral superior cortex. However, CT and MRI scans obtained throughout early recovery did not reveal overt evidence of injury to specific memory-related structures. Comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation of all adolescent survivors of suicide attempt by hanging is recommended, as a variety of postacute cognitive deficits were observed in these patients despite relatively short (≤ 15 minutes) estimated hanging durations.     

Therapists' perspectives on home-based family therapy

Abstract

As a result of the passage of Public Law 96-272, home-based family services have proliferated throughout the United States, with family therapy playing a vital role. Voices of therapists providing these services have been absent from literature. Ten therapists participated in this study; each had experience providing home-based and clinic-based family therapy. A qualitative strategy was used to explore therapists' perspectives on factors regarding home-based family preservation services. Four themes emerged from semistructured interviews: the home environment, safety, context preference, and efficiency and effectiveness. Three recommendations are drawn from results and discussed.