Affordance Types and Affordance Tokens: Are Gibson’s Affordances Trustworthy?†

Late in their paper on hypersets, Chemero and Turvey characterize affordances as “quicksilvery,” prone to rapid appearance and disappearance. We contrast this view with Gibson’s emphasis on the stability of affordances. We argue that this apparent discrepancy can be resolved by appeal to the distinction between affordances as indefinite abstract types and definite affordance tokens (instances of the type that share the resemblance relation). These issues will be discussed in the context of their consistency with ecological realism, where Platonic idealism is eschewed in favor of a more Aristotelian process theory. These ideas will be examined in the broader context of the domain ontology to ensure that Gibson's seminal affordance concept has its greatest theoretical utility. Finally, we develop a process theory of ontological descent by which indefinite affordance possibilities become more definite affordance potentialities and these eventuate in the most definite affordance actualizing actions.     

The Long-Term Effectiveness of the Family Check-up on Peer Preference: Parent-Child Interaction and Child Effortful Control as Sequential Mediators

We examined the longitudinal effects of the Family Check-Up (FCU) intervention beginning in toddlerhood on children’s peer preference at school-age. Specifically, a sequential mediational model was proposed in which the FCU was hypothesized to promote peer preference (i.e., higher acceptance and lower rejection by peers) in middle childhood through its positive effects on parent-child interaction and child effortful control in early childhood. Participants were 731 low-income families (49 % female). Qualities of parent-child interaction were observed during structured activities at 2 to 5 years, child effortful control was assessed using behavioral tasks at 5 years, and peer acceptance and rejection were rated by teachers at 7.5 to 10.5 years. Results indicated that the FCU indirectly predicted peer preference by sequentially improving parent-child interaction and child effortful control. The findings are discussed with respect to implications for understanding mechanisms by which early parenting-focused programs may enhance child functioning across time and context.     

Factor Structure of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) in Adult Outpatients Receiving Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS; Gratz & Roemer in Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 26, 41–54, 2004) is a widely used measure of emotion regulation, however, few studies have examined the scale’s psychometric properties in clinical samples. The current study examined the latent factor structure of the scale, in addition to other psychometric properties, in a naturalistic sample of adult outpatients (n = 344) receiving dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). A number of models were fitted, including a bifactor model, which has not previously been examined with the DERS, but which may be more appropriate for addressing the study’s two primary aims. These aims were to: (1) investigate some of the prior concerns raised about the Awareness subscale items; and (2) evaluate the appropriateness of using DERS total vs. subscale scores. Results indicated that a modified bifactor model which excluded the Awareness items from the general factor fit the data best. Additional findings suggested that the DERS total score (excluding Awareness items) was reliable and had good criterion-related validity in this sample. However, the findings related to the DERS subscales were mixed. This study extends prior research on the DERS by demonstrating the utility of the scale with individuals receiving DBT for problems with emotion regulation, as well as by clarifying some of the prior questions about the scale’s latent structure.     

Die‐by Framing both Lengthens and Shortens Life: Further Evidence on Constructed Beliefs in Life Expectancy

Decisions regarding consumption over the lifespan require some estimate of how long that lifespan is likely to be. Payne et al. (2013) found that respondents' estimates of their own life expectancy are on average 8.6 years shorter when elicited using a die‐by frame than when elicited by a live‐to frame. If decision makers act on these life expectancies, then an arbitrary detail of framing will lead to drastically different choices. We propose that the framing effect is sensitive to the iterative probabilistic elicitation procedure employed by the previous literature. Study 1 compares the framing effect across the iterative probabilistic procedure and a point estimate procedure that simply asks respondents the age they will live to/die by. The iterative probabilistic procedure implies a life expectancy six years shorter in the die‐by frame than in the live‐to frame, replicating the results of Payne et al. (2013). With the point estimate procedure, however, the framing effect reverses: the die‐by frame increases life expectancy by three years. In Study 2, we test for the framing effect using a point estimate procedure on a representative sample of 2000 Britons. Again, and in contrast with the previous literature, we find that the die‐by frame implies longer life. Our results reinforce the previous literature that beliefs around life expectancy are constructed. We recommend caution when attempting to debias life expectancy estimates or using life expectancies in choice architecture. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Translating Genetics Leaflets into Languages Other Than English: Lessons from an Assessment of Urdu Materials

Genetic counselors frequently counsel clients whose first language is not English, relying on interpreters and on supplementary translated written material. This paper highlights factors that counselors need to consider before using or commissioning translated leaflets. It is based on an assessment of leaflets translated into Urdu, the national language of Pakistan, which are available through U.K. genetics clinics for use with Pakistani-origin clients. The 2 authors, who know Urdu as their 2nd and 1st languages respectively, independently read each leaflet, checking for accuracy of information, ease of reading and understanding, cultural sensitivity, and contact details for Urdu-speaking professionals. There were factual errors and confusing or very difficult text in all leaflets; some leaflets also contained culturally insensitive messages that could alienate users of genetics services. The paper discusses the reasons for these pitfalls and makes recommendations to guide the future production of translated genetics leaflets.     

Family conflict and academic performance of first-year Asian American undergraduates

This three-study investigation examined risk and protective factors for poor academic performance among Asian American first-year undergraduates. Students were surveyed prior to starting college and their GPA was collected after their first semester in college. Family conflict as a significant risk factor for poor academic performance was examined in all three studies. The results indicate that higher family conflict prior to college was related to lower first-semester college GPA, after controlling for standardized test scores and high school rank (Studies 1-3). Even though psychological distress was related to both family conflict and GPA, it did not mediate the relationship between family conflict and GPA (Studies 2 and 3). In terms of protective factors, the results indicate that life satisfaction buffered the negative effects of family conflict on first-semester college GPA (Study 3). Together, these findings support the need to take into account family variables and psychological well-being in the academic performance of Asian American students as they transition from high school to college.     

Biased interpretation in perfectionism and its modification

Perfectionism is a transdiagnostic construct associated with a range of diagnoses, including depression, eating disorders and obsessive compulsive disorder. Treatments that directly target perfectionist cognitions have been shown to successfully reduce associated pathologies. However, the way in which they do this is not clear. We set out to assess the role of one candidate mechanism of action, namely the cognitive process of interpretation of ambiguity. In one experiment we looked for associations between biased interpretation and perfectionism. In a second, we manipulated interpretations, thereby providing a strong test of their aetiological significance. Results from the first experiment confirmed the presence of biased interpretation in perfectionism and demonstrated that these are highly specific to perfection relevant information, rather than reflecting general negativity. The second experiment succeeded in manipulating these perfection relevant interpretations and demonstrated that one consequence of doing so is a change in perfectionist behaviour. Together, these data experimentally demonstrate that biased interpretation of perfection relevant ambiguity contributes to the maintenance of perfectionism, but that it is also possible to reverse this. Clinical implications include the identification of one likely mechanism of therapeutic change within existing treatments, as well as identification of an appropriate evidence-based focus for future treatment development. Targeting underlying functional mechanisms, such as biased interpretation, has the potential to offer transdiagnostic benefits.     

From over-imitation to super-copying: adults imitate causally irrelevant aspects of tool use with higher fidelity than young children

Recent research has revealed a striking tendency in young children to imitate even causally irrelevant actions, a phenomenon dubbed 'over-imitation'. To investigate whether children develop beyond this, we allowed both adults and children to witness either a child or adult model performing goal-relevant and goal-irrelevant actions to extract a reward from a transparent puzzle box. Surprisingly, copying of irrelevant actions increased with age, with the adults performing the task with less efficiency than the children. Participants of all ages were more likely to perform the irrelevant actions performed by an adult model, than by a child model. These results suggest that people may become more imitative as they mature, whilst selectively copying particular models with a high level of fidelity. We suggest that this combination of faithful copying and selectivity underwrites the powerful social learning necessary for the level of cultural transmission on which our species depends.