Impaired conditional task performance in a high schizotypy population: relation to cognitive deficits

Cognitive impairments in schizophrenia have been characterized as reflecting a core deficit in the maintenance or use of task-setting cues to mediate appropriate ongoing behaviour. This analysis suggests that cognitive deficits in schizophrenia will be particularly evident when different task-setting cues dictate when different responses are required by the same stimuli. One simple task in which task-setting cues are required is a biconditional discrimination. Here we examined the performance of participants with high and low schizotypy scores (Mason, Claridge, & Jackson, 1995) on a biconditional discrimination and an otherwise equivalent, control discrimination that did not require the use of task-setting cues. Participants scoring highly on the Introvertive Anhedonia subscale (which has been allied to the negative and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia) performed poorly on the biconditional, but not on the control, discrimination. No other subscales demonstrated a significant influence on either biconditional or control performance.     

Correlation and response relevance in sequence learning

We tested the effects of introducing a secondary sequence into the serial reaction time task. Specifically, we examined the role of correlated streams of information and response relevance. In the first experiment, the order of stimulus locations was correlated with the order of key press responses in the conventional way. A symbol-identity sequence, of a different length, was also present but no manual responses were made to it, and it was not correlated with any other stream of information. In the second experiment, two concurrent streams of location-based stimuli were presented. Both were sequenced but only one sequence required responses. Importantly, the sequences were either correlated with one another or not (same vs. different lengths). In the third experiment, the same design was used but with one sequence visual and the other auditory. In all three experiments, participants became sensitive to the sequence that required responses, and resultant knowledge was largely explicit. They were also sensitive to the sequence that did not require responses but only when it was correlated with the sequence that did, and here resultant knowledge was implicit. The findings suggest that the presence of a secondary sequence can affect learning, but only when stimuli in that sequence are integrated, through correlation, with responses made to the primary sequence.     

Trauma Affect Regulation Psychoeducation Group and Milieu Intervention Outcomes in Juvenile Detention Facilities

This article reports outcomes of Trauma Affect Regulation: Guide for Education and Therapy (TARGET), a group and milieu intervention, in three juvenile detention facilities, controlling for site, length of stay, ethnicity, number of arrests, mental health and traumatic stress problems, and cohort effects. Linear multiple regression results showed that every session of TARGET received in the first seven days of detention was associated with 54% fewer disciplinary incidents and 72 fewer minutes of disciplinary seclusion ( p < .001) for each youth during the modal stay (14 days) in detention. TARGET group participation was unrelated to recidivism, but recidivism declined significantly following implementation of TARGET. Implementing TARGET in juvenile detention facility milieus might improve safety, reduce punitive sanctions, and potentially reduce recidivism.     

Human Capital Models and the Gender Pay Gap

This paper provides a commentary on the article by Lips (2012), “The Gender Pay Gap: Challenging the Rationalizations, Perceived Equity, Discrimination, and the Limits of Human Capital Models.” It provides some economic background for human capital models that try to explain gender pay gaps, and discusses the limitations of the models. It assesses some of Lips’ criticisms of the model. In contrast to Lips, the author believes that human capital theorists are generally aware of the limitations of their models, and she believes that human capital models make a valuable contribution to the literature on the gender pay gap. The author also uses her own research to illustrate how human capital variables can be combined with variables from psychology and other fields to try to understand the salary differences between men and women in specific professions. The Appendix provides a list of some 2011 and 2012 studies that examine gender differences in pay in various countries and the types of data used.     

Psychoanalysis in conjunction with medication: a clinical research opportunity

The increasingly common practice of introducing medication into the analytic relationship is of practical and theoretical concern to analysts. Pharmacological agents and their somatic effects, it is argued, may be seen as a research equivalent to brain lesions, long favored tools in correlating brain with mind function, while psychoanalytic process data may be seen as a fine-tuned instrument for studying the subjective and emotional processes that reflect the underlying brain effect. A method of naturalistic study of psychoanalytic process both with and without a psychopharmacological agent is described and illustrated in two patients. The potential of this method for providing data useful in understanding the mechanism of action of psychoactive medications and of individual variations in response is explored. Both patients, treated with stimulant for ADHD, showed striking differences in self- and object representation, defense, affect, and cognition that correlated with analytic periods on and off the medication. The implications of these observations for understanding both the action of the medication and the fundamental functional disruptions in the condition are explored as well.     

Understanding the Sex Difference in Vulnerability to Adolescent Depression: An Examination of Child and Parent Characteristics

This study examined sex differences in risk factors associated with adolescent depression in a large sample of boys and girls. Moderation and mediation explanatory models of the sex difference in likelihood of depression were examined. Findings indicate that the factors associated with depression in adolescent boys and girls are quite similar. All of the variables considered were associated with depression, but sex did not moderate the impact of vulnerability factors on likelihood of depression diagnosis. However, negative self-perceptions in the domains of achievement, global self-worth, and physical appearance partially mediated the relationship between sex and depression. Further, girls had higher levels of positive self-perceptions in interpersonal domains that acted as suppressors and reduced the likelihood of depression in girls. These findings suggest that girls' higher incidence of depression is due in part to their higher levels of negative self-perceptions, whereas positive interpersonal factors serve to protect them from depressive episodes.     

Sex differences in landmark learning by children aged 5 to 12 years

Previous research has shown that men and boys learn routes faster and with fewer errors than do women and girls. Research with adults suggests that men use Euclidean cues when learning a route, whereas women use landmark-based strategies. The strategies used by children have received little study. In Exp. 1, 50 boys and girls, ages 5 to 12 years, were shown a map that contained only landmarks (no streets or roads) and were asked to learn a route consisting of 23 of the landmarks. The children used a pointer to trace the route on the map to a criterion of two successive trials without errors. The performance of boys and girls did not differ significantly on this route-learning task on three measures (number of trials to reach criterion, total time to reach criterion, and total number of errors). In Exp. 2, 52 boys and girls, ages 5 to 12 years, were shown the same map as in Exp. 1 and were asked to learn a route consisting of 12 landmarks. The children traced the route by picking pictures of landmarks in the correct order from a stack of cards with pictures of landmarks on them. Girls made significantly fewer errors than boys on this route-learning task in Exp. 2, and a significantly larger number of girls than boys completed the task. None of the boys in the 5- to 6-yr.-old age group learned the route. When Euclidean cues were minimized in Exp. 2, boys made more errors and took as much time as girls to reach the criterion of two successive correct trials.     

Self-help efforts in a squatter community: Implications for addressing contemporary homelessness

This analysis addresses the nature of contemporary homelessness in the United States, the historical foundations of the shelter system, and survival strategies utilized by homeless persons in meeting their physical, social, and psychological needs. A framework that examines the degree of publicness/privateness and permanency/temporariness of spaces utilized by homeless persons is applied to a case study of a self-help squatter community living on an empty lot in New York City. By looking at the members of the group, their relationship to their neighbors and the local community, and their approaches in dealing with their needs, an assessment is made of this labor-intensive, self-help effort for providing shelter. Implications of self-help approaches are related to policy development and further research.     

Legal proceedings,reforms, and emerging issues in child sexual abuse cases

Criminal and civil proceedings are outlined for cases of intrafamilial child abuse. Statutory reforms and court decisions in the area of sex abuse are reviewed, citing their potential beneficial and harmful effects on both offenders and victims. Finally, the roles of children and mental health experts in court proceedings are discussed.