Surprise is predicted by event probability,outcome valence,outcome meaningfulness,and gender

The present research was designed to better understand how the magnitude of experienced surprise is affected by both individual difference variables as well as variations in surprise-eliciting stimuli. Eighty-five participants played 5 versions of a slot machine-like game. The five games only differed with respect to the probability of winning each trial—10 % (i.e., wins were highly unusual), 30, 50, 70, and 90 % (i.e., losses were highly unusual). Players were given a fictitious “bankroll” at the beginning of each game and played up to 25 trials of each game. On each trial, players selected their wager amount, “pulled” the handle, learned the outcome (win or loss), and reported their surprise level using a 1 (none) to 9 (extremely) Likert scale. Replicating past research, results revealed that self-reported surprise was inversely related to outcome probability and that wins were rated as more surprising than losses, even when wins and losses occurred at the same level of probability. Novel results include finding that larger wagers predicted greater felt surprise (regardless of outcome), and that women reported greater surprise to both wins and losses than men.     

Examining Race and Ethnicity in the Context of General Strain Theory,Depression, and Delinquency

The current study draws on general strain theory (GST) to explore the relationship between strain, race, and delinquent behavior. White, black, and Hispanic youth were examined to assess the effect of strain on nonserious and serious delinquency. Results indicate mixed support for GST in that indicators of strain to varying degrees predicted depression and youth involvement in delinquency. However, depression did not mediate the strain–delinquency relationship, and race and ethnicity were still directly related to delinquent coping. While white, black, and Hispanic youth experienced certain types of strain, these groups overall were not statistically different from one another.     

The “Sh-Ape Bias” in Non-Linguistic Categorization: Comparisons between Children and Other Apes

ABSTRACT

Children show a bias toward information about shape when labeling or determining category membership for novel objects. The body of work with human children suggests that the shape bias is not restricted to linguistic contexts but is highly contingent on task demands. Testing nonhumans could provide additional information about the salience of shape cues in the absence of linguistic relevance. In order to assess the salience of shape versus color using an identical task in children and apes, we presented two adult zoo-housed chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and 56 three–five-year-old children with a relational matching task in which samples and comparison stimuli matched on either shape or color. Whereas children of all ages performed above chance on the task, chimpanzees performed at close to chance levels overall. However, closer inspection revealed that, whereas children performed better on shape (86%) versus color trials (78.5%), chimpanzees showed the opposite pattern, performing at chance on shape trials (49%) and above chance on color trials (72%). Children also made quicker responses on shape versus color trials, whereas chimpanzees showed the opposite pattern. Whereas shape is a highly salient cue for Western children, color may be a more salient natural cue in nonhuman primates’ natural environments. Thus, the shape bias does not appear to be an evolutionarily ancient bias when assigning category membership.     

Disruptive Behaviors and Creativity in Childhood: The Importance of Affect Regulation

This study examined the role of affect regulation and negative affect expression in the relationship between disruptive behaviors and creativity. Seventy 6- to 10-year-old children completed measures to assess divergent thinking and affect expression in fantasy play. Parents completed measures of children's creativity, affect regulation, and behavioral functioning. Results indicated that higher levels of disruptive behaviors related to lower levels of creativity on divergent thinking tasks and by parent report. Affect regulation mediated the relationship. Results failed to support a relationship between negative affect expression in play and creativity, although greater levels of negative affect expression related to higher levels of disruptive behaviors. Results highlight the importance of affect regulation for both behavioral functioning and adaptive traits including creative achievement.     

Comparing the effects of static and dynamic signals during multiple schedules

The extent to which multiple schedules are an effective schedule thinning method following functional communication training (FCT) relies on the control the schedule-correlated stimuli exert over behavior. Thus, the stimuli used to signal the schedule in place (e.g., reinforcement and extinction) in a multiple schedule arrangement require special attention. To date, the majority of the research on multiple schedules has evaluated the use of different arbitrary signals as schedule-correlated stimuli (e.g., poster boards). These signals are considered static as they lack movement. More recently, some studies have successfully used dynamic signals, which include movement or animation, within multiple schedule arrangements. However, the extent to which one type of signal may result in faster stimulus control over behavior has not been evaluated. Thus, the purpose of this study was to compare the use of static and dynamic signals as schedule-correlated stimuli in multiple schedules used within the context of FCT. Four children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder participated in the study. The results suggest that no differences in discriminated manding were observed for three out of four participants. Only dynamic signals resulted in discriminated manding for one participant.     

Self‐Presentational Cognitions for Exercise in Female Adolescents

The study's main purpose was to clarify the role of a range of self‐presentational cognitions in the relationship between social physique anxiety and exercise behavior. Female participants (N= 331; M age = 14.5 years) reported their exercise frequency and completed measures of self‐presentation. Exercise frequency was positively predicted by self‐presentational efficacy expectations (SPEE) and self‐presentational outcome value (SPOV). Moreover, SPEE moderated the relationship between social physique anxiety (SPA) and exercise frequency. SPA was negatively related to exercise frequency when SPEE was high, but positively related to exercise frequency when SPEE was low. Therefore, interventions designed to increase exercise frequency among adolescent girls should include strategies that both reduce SPA and enhance SPEE and SPOV.     

Athletes’ ease of imaging predicts their imagery and observational learning use

Objectives

Following the development of the Sport Imagery Ability Questionnaire (SIAQ; Williams & Cumming, 2011), the aim of the present two studies was to more comprehensively examine the relationship between sport-related imagery ability and the functions of imagery and observational learning (OL) athletes report. A second aim was to establish the SIAQ’s predictive validity.

Design

Two samples of cross-sectional questionnaire data are presented in two studies.

Method

For both studies, athletes were recruited from a variety of team and individual sports, ranging in competitive level and years of experience. In Study 1, 117 participants (41 male and 76 female) with a mean age of 24.38 (SD = 9.46) completed the SIAQ and the Sport Imagery Questionnaire (SIQ; Hall, Mack, Paivio, & Hausenblas, 1998). In Study 2, 221 participants (83 male and 138 female) with a mean age of 22.34 (SD = 7.66) completed the SIAQ and the Functions of Observational Learning Questionnaire (FOLQ; Cumming, Clark, Ste-Marie, McCullagh, & Hall, 2005).

Results

Athletes’ imagery ability significantly predicted their imagery and OL use. Moreover, with the exception of performance OL, predictions were stronger when the type of imagery ability closely matched the function of imagery or OL being predicted.

Conclusions

As well as demonstrating the predictive validity of the SIAQ, results from both studies support the need to use imagery ability measures that most closely match the type of imagery or OL being used.     

Autobiographical memory for spatial location is unaffected by delay

To examine recall of personal spatial location during a previously experienced event, Lafayette College students located themselves in a version of their incoming class photograph that was all black with each individual figure identified in white. They then subsequently identified themselves in the original version of the photograph. The distance between the initial choice in the obscured version and the individual's correct location was recorded. Participants were remarkably and equally accurate in identifying their location irrespective of whether the event occurred 2, 6, 18, 30, 38, or 42 months earlier. Although non-spatial aspects of the cue and rehearsal did not influence accuracy, objective location in the photograph partially accounted for error rates. However, none of these factors was sufficient to explain the absence of delay effects. Unlike spatial memory, recall of temporal information showed a linear decrease in accuracy with delay, but with exceptionally accurate performance by senior-class students.     

TRIAL-BASED FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS AND FUNCTIONAL COMMUNICATION TRAINING IN AN EARLY CHILDHOOD SETTING

Problem behavior is common in early childhood special education classrooms. Functional communication training (FCT; Carr & Durand, 1985 ) may reduce problem behavior but requires identification of its function. The trial‐based functional analysis (FA) is a method that can be used to identify problem behavior function in schools. We conducted trial‐based FAs and FCT with 3 children in an early childhood special education setting. All trial‐based FAs resulted in identification of behavioral functions, and subsequent FCT led to reductions in problem behavior and increases in communication.