IS SCIENCE PERSISTENCE A MATTER OF VALUES?

This study investigates the hypothesis that congruence in value perspectives distinguishes science-able students who persist in science from those who do not (nonpersisters). A science values measure was administered to 173 undergraduates with high levels of commitment and ability in the sciences. On each of six hypothetical dilemmas from everyday science, respondents rated the importance of three justice and three care considerations for self and for science, using a Likert-type 7-point scale. A significant three way interaction involving sex, persistence, and point of view (self/sience) emerged, with persisters generally demonstrating congruence between self and science on the value perspectives; female persisters, however, were more likely to combine justice and care perspectives than were males. Nonpersisters' self/science ratings of justice and care were sharply dissimilar, with females demonstrating the most incongruence. In all groups, justice was the prominent perspective attributed to science.     

THE RELATIVE INFLUENCE OF MOTIVATING OPERATIONS FOR POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT ON PROBLEM BEHAVIOR DURING DEMANDS

Research has demonstrated the feasibility of using positive reinforcement to treat problem behavior maintained by negative reinforcement. This line of research was extended in the current study. A functional analysis (FA) was conducted that suggested problem behavior was maintained by positive and negative reinforcement. Following the FA, a demand analysis was conducted with three demand conditions: one that replicated the demand condition from the FA, one that included presession exposure to a preferred item, and another that included presession exposure to preferred items and access to those items during breaks from demands. Although problem behavior occurred in all three demand conditions, within session analyses showed that problem behavior ceased during breaks from demands only when they included access to preferred items. This finding suggests that the motivating operation responsible for evoking problem behavior did not decrease when only a break was provided. Subsequent functional communication training and treatment analysis showed that treatments based on positive reinforcement were effective at reducing problem behavior, but those based on a negative reinforcement hypothesis were not. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

“Putting One Foot in Front of the Other”: A Qualitative Study of Emotional Experiences and Help-Seeking in Women with Multiple Sclerosis

Treatments for depression and anxiety in multiple sclerosis (MS) are effective but evidence suggests that individuals do not always seek help for emotional difficulties. This study explored how ten women with MS (aged 30–64), recruited via a hospital based MS clinic, coped with and understood their emotions. The semi-structured interviews were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Eight participants discussed the analytic process and themes. Four overarching themes emerged: Disclosure stress, Uncomfortable dependence, Facing deterioration and One step at a time. The women struggled emotionally with many aspects of living with MS yet coping alone provided a way of defying MS and maintaining independence and control. The women needed emotional support but reported thinking others either did not notice or understand; their emotions often felt invisible. More holistic care from services was desired. Non help-seeking for distress was partially influenced by a desire to keep things “normal” and a lack of knowledge regarding service provision.     

Women in the National Guard: Experiences with children during deployment

More women of the National Guard and Reserves have deployed to combat zones overseas than ever before. Upon reintegration, these soldiers often face a number of stressors related to their combat zone experiences and readjustment to civilian life. One of these stressors is the reintegration with family, partners, and children. This qualitative study involved interviews with 30 women from the National Guard regarding their reintegration experiences with their children. Four categories were revealed from the data: (a) Concerns for Children’s Well-being, (b) Sense of Loss (c) Reintegration: Personal Challenges, and (d) Reintegration: Children’s Reactions. Implications for clinical work with returning soldiers and further research are discussed.     

A Presuppositional Account of Causal and Temporal Interpretations of <Emphasis Type="Italic">and</Emphasis>

Despite extensive studies, the issue concerning the pragmatic mechanisms leading to causal and temporal interpretations of and remains problematic and has not yet been addressed in its totality within one framework. This paper proposes a solution based on presuppositional mechanisms built into a comprehensive analysis that accounts for both the various interpretations of and-sentences as well as those of other types of sentences involving similar interpretations. This account is a specific part of a unified solution to the knotty problem of different manners of conveying causal and temporal relations both with connectives and also with juxtaposed sentences. It is formulated within the Relevance Nomological Model which provides a general framework for the analysis of causal constructions such as the connective because and why-questions.     

Belief in a zero-sum game and subjective well-being across 35 countries

Current Psychology - This article presents a short research report on the relationship between perceived antagonism in social relations measured using the Belief in a Zero-Sum Game (BZSG) scale,...     

Cognitive consequences of timeframe bias. On the link between working memory,cognitive switching,and time perspective

The present study examined how time perspective is associated with working memory updating and cognitive switching. Additionally, stress states and mood as potential mediators of the relationship between time perspective and cognitive performance were analysed. During two sessions participants (n = 200) completed a set of questionnaires measuring time perspective, task-related stress states, and mood. Moreover, in two separate sessions they performed working memory updating and switching tasks. The results indicated that two time perspectives, i.e. Present Fatalism and Past Positive, were associated with updating. Furthermore, mediation analysis showed that positive mood accounted for these relationships. Specifically, Present Fatalism was correlated with low positive mood and in turn, worse working memory scores, whereas Past Positive was associated with high positive mood leading to better performance on the working memory task. None of the time perspective dimensions correlated with cognitive switching. These findings shed more light on the cognitive consequences of timeframe bias and suggest new approaches in research on time perspective and cognitive functioning.

     

Experiences in virtual reality entail different processes of retrieval as opposed to conventional laboratory settings: A study on human memory

Current Psychology - Recently, it has been claimed that real-life, autobiographical events are processed differently compared to conventional laboratory events. Virtual reality might bridge the gap...