Domestic dogs’ (Canis familiaris) choices in reference to agreement among human informants on location of food

When interacting with others, informants may offer conflicting information or information of varying accuracy. Recent research suggests that young children do not trust all informants equally and are selective in both whom they solicit for information and whose claims they support. We explored whether domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) are similarly sensitive to agreement among informants. To this end, we utilized a common human gesture, pointing, to which recent research suggests dogs are sensitive. We conducted two experiments in which an experimenter secretly hid food in one of two clear containers while the dog was distracted. Next, a small group moved to indicate the food's location using stationary points positioned above the containers. In Experiment 1, two experimenters moved to stand behind the non-baited container, while a third experimenter moved to stand behind the baited container. Then, all directed one static point at the container in front of them. Experiment 2 exactly resembled Experiment 1 with the exception that the single experimenter standing behind the baited container directed two static points at the container (one with each hand). Dogs chose the container indicated by the majority in Experiment 1 significantly more often than chance, but chose the container indicated by the minority in Experiment 2 significantly more often than chance. This suggests that the number of points, not the number of people, more strongly influenced dogs' choices.     

An Experimental Test of Whether Informants can Report About Child and Family Behavior Based on Settings of Behavioral Expression

Researchers and practitioners conduct multi-informant assessments of child and family behavior under the assumption that informants have unique perspectives on these behaviors. These unique perspectives stem, in part, from differences among informants in the settings in which they observe behaviors (e.g., home, school, peer interactions). These differences are assumed to contribute to the discrepancies commonly observed in the outcomes of multi-informant assessments. Although assessments often prompt informants to think about setting-specific behaviors when providing reports about child and family behavior, the notion that differences in setting-based behavioral observations contribute to discrepant reports has yet to be experimentally tested. We trained informants to use setting information as the basis for providing behavioral reports, with a focus on parental knowledge of children’s whereabouts and activities. Using a within-subjects controlled design, we randomly assigned 16 mothers and adolescents to the order in which they received a program that trains informants to use setting information when providing parental knowledge reports (Setting-Sensitive Assessment), and a control program involving no training on how to provide reports. Relative to the control program, the Setting-Sensitive Assessment training increased the differences between mother and adolescent reports of parental knowledge, suggesting that mothers and adolescents observe parental knowledge behaviors in different settings. This study provides the first experimental evidence to support the assumption that discrepancies arise because informants incorporate unique setting information into their reports.     

The Relations among Measurements of Informant Discrepancies within a Multisite Trial of Treatments for Childhood Social Phobia

Discrepancies between informants’ reports of children’s behavior are robustly observed in clinical child research and have important implications for interpreting the outcomes of controlled treatment trials. However, little is known about the basic psychometric properties of these discrepancies. This study examined the relation between parent-child reporting discrepancies on measures of child social phobia symptoms, administered before and after treatment for social phobia. Participants included a clinic sample of 81 children (7–16 years old [M = 11.75, SD = 2.57]; 39 girls, 42 boys) and their parents receiving treatment as part of a multisite controlled trial. Pretreatment parent-child reporting discrepancies predicted parent-child discrepancies at posttreatment, and these relations were not better accounted for by the severity of the child’s pretreatment primary diagnosis. Further, treatment responder status moderated this relation: Significant relations were identified for treatment non-responders and not for treatment responders. Overall, findings suggest that informant discrepancies can be reliably employed to measure individual differences over the course of controlled treatment trials. These data provide additional empirical support for recent work suggesting that informant discrepancies can meaningfully inform understanding of treatment response as well as variability in treatment outcomes.     

Lipreading in the prelingually deaf: what makes a skilled speechreader?

Lipreading proficiency was investigated in a group of hearing-impaired people, all of them knowing Spanish Sign Language (SSL). The aim of this study was to establish the relationships between lipreading and some other variables (gender, intelligence, audiological variables, participants' education, parents' education, communication practices, intelligibility, use of SSL). The 32 participants were between 14 and 47 years of age. They all had sensorineural hearing losses (from severe to profound). The lipreading procedures comprised identification of words in isolation. The words selected for presentation in isolation were spoken by the same talker. Identification of words required participants to select their responses from set of four pictures appropriately labelled. Lipreading was significantly correlated with intelligence and intelligibility. Multiple regression analyses were used to obtain a prediction equation for the lipreading measures. As a result of this procedure, it is concluded that proficient deaf lipreaders are more intelligent and their oral speech was more comprehensible for others.     

Psychometric Evaluation of the Timeline Followback for Exercise among College Students

OBJECTIVES: Two separate studies assessed the psychometric properties of a retrospective behavioral measure adapted for exercise called the Timeline Followback for Exercise (TLFB-E). Study one examined criterion, convergent, and predictive validity. Study two examined test-retest reliability. METHODS: Study one participants (N = 66) were college students 20.0 ± 1.4yr. Validity of frequency, intensity, time, and type (FITT) of exercise as assessed on the TLFB-E was examined using Pearson r correlations with accelerometers, weekly exercise contracts between participants and researchers, question four of the College Alumni Questionnaire, and a health-related physical fitness battery. Study two participants were a different sample (N = 40) of college students 18.63 ± 1.0yr. Pearson r correlations determined reliability of the TLFB-E for exercise frequency, intensity, and time between two interviews separated by one month. Kappa statistic determined reliability of the TLFB-E for type of exercise. RESULTS: The TLFB-E displayed evidence of criterion validity when compared to accelerometers (r = .35 to .39) and evidence of convergent validity when compared to weekly exercise contracts (r = .65 to .80) and question four of the College Alumni Questionnaire (r = .06 to .75). The TLFB-E displayed evidence of modest to adequate test-retest reliability (r = .79 to .97) for exercise frequency, intensity, and time and moderate Kappa (k = .49) for exercise type. CONCLUSIONS: The TLFB-E produces evidence of reliable and valid scores among college students and improves upon other self-report, retrospective questionnaires by enabling daily collection of exercise FITT over a specified time period.     

Conceptualizing changes in behavior in intervention research: the range of possible changes model

An international movement has focused on identifying evidence-based interventions that were developed to change psychological constructs and that are supported by controlled studies. However, inconsistent findings within individual intervention studies and among multiple studies raise critical problems in interpreting the evidence, and deciding when and whether an intervention is evidence-based. A theoretical and methodological framework (Range of Possible Changes [RPC] Model) is proposed to guide the study of change in intervention research. The authors recommend that future quantitative reviews of the research literature use the RPC Model to conceptualize, examine, and classify the available evidence for interventions. Future research should adopt the RPC Model to both develop theory-driven hypotheses and conduct examinations of the instances in which interventions may or may not change psychological constructs.     

Gender dimorphic effects of voluntary running in laboratory rats depends on maturational status

This study examined the effect of 24?hr per day wheel access on running, body weight, and food intake for 30- or 50-day-old male and female rats under ad lib feeding conditions. Food intake and body weight were also monitored in a control group housed without access to running wheels. A dimorphic effect was observed after wheel introduction in 50-day-old but not 30-day-old rats: A temporary decline in food intake and a lasting decrease in body weight occurred for active male rats in comparison to their sedentary controls, and wheel access facilitated food intake and preserved body weight gain in female rats in comparison to their sedentary counterparts. Hyperphagia in adult females is interpreted in terms of the evolutionary acquired advantage linked to their reproductive function.     

Whose depression relates to discrepancies? Testing relations between informant characteristics and informant discrepancies from both informants' perspectives

This study examined whether mothers' and children's depressive symptoms were each uniquely related to mother-child rating discrepancies on a multidimensional dyadic construct: domains associated with parental monitoring (i.e., Child Disclosure, Parental Knowledge, and Parental Solicitation). Participants included a community sample of 335 mother/female-caregiver and child dyads (182 girls, 153 boys; 9-16 years old). Children's depressive symptoms were consistently related to each of the three domains of mother-child discrepancies. Mothers' depressive symptoms were related to perceived discrepancies in two domains (Child Disclosure and Parental Knowledge). Furthermore, these relations could not be accounted for by other informant characteristics (maternal stress, child age, child gender, child ethnicity). Findings provide important empirical support for theory suggesting that both informants' perspectives meaningfully contribute to their discrepancies in perceived behavior. Consideration of both informants' perspectives leads to valuable information as to whether any particular characteristic is an important correlate of discrepancies.     

Change in posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms: do clinicians and patients agree?

This study assessed the longitudinal association between clinician and patient ratings of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms over the course of 2 different randomized clinical trials of veterans with chronic PTSD. One trial, the Department of Veterans Affairs Cooperative Study 420 (CSP 420; N = 360) compared trauma-focused and present-centered group therapies, and the 2nd trial compared cognitive processing theory and a waitlist control condition (N = 60). Linear mixed effects modeling revealed significant associations between clinician ratings (Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale; CAPS; D. D. Blake et al., 1990) and patient ratings (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist; PCL; F. W. Weathers, B. T. Litz, J. A. Herman, J. A. Huska, & T. M. Keane, 1993) in total and symptom clusters of PTSD. Contrary to hypothesis, the amount of change on the CAPS ranged from .75 to .82 standard deviations for every 1 standard deviation change on the PCL. The CAPS and PCL were more closely associated in the trauma-focused vs. present-centered treatment condition in CSP 420, and especially regarding hyperarousal symptoms. When comparing categorization of clinically significant change on the CAPS and PCL, the authors found no differences in the percentages of agreement between clinicians and patients in improvement and exacerbation. The value of multimodal assessment of PTSD treatment outcomes is discussed.     

Family-based Detection for Hereditary Hemochromatosis

The purpose of this study was to examine motivators for and barriers to family-based detection for hereditary hemochromatosis (HH). HH patients (n = 60) and HH siblings (n = 25) participated in one-on-one or group interviews. Patients and siblings understood that HH "runs in families," but not that siblings are at higher HH risk than other family members. Patient motivators included concern for siblings' health, seriousness of untreated HH, and doctor's encouragement to tell siblings that they need to seek diagnostic testing. Siblings were motivated by the seriousness of HH. Barriers included lack of symptoms, belief that HH was rare, and assumption that their doctor would have mentioned the risk of HH. Family-based detection continues to be a feasible part of an overall public health strategy to promote early detection of HH. Greater awareness of HH and its potential consequences, especially among high-risk groups, provides an additional potential avenue for public health action.