Alcohol and group formation: a multimodal investigation of the effects of alcohol on emotion and social bonding

We integrated research on emotion and on small groups to address a fundamental and enduring question facing alcohol researchers: What are the specific mechanisms that underlie the reinforcing effects of drinking? In one of the largest alcohol-administration studies yet conducted, we employed a novel group-formation paradigm to evaluate the socioemotional effects of alcohol. Seven hundred twenty social drinkers (360 male, 360 female) were assembled into groups of 3 unacquainted persons each and given a moderate dose of an alcoholic, placebo, or control beverage, which they consumed over 36 min. These groups' social interactions were video recorded, and the duration and sequence of interaction partners' facial and speech behaviors were systematically coded (e.g., using the Facial Action Coding System). Alcohol consumption enhanced individual- and group-level behaviors associated with positive affect, reduced individual-level behaviors associated with negative affect, and elevated self-reported bonding. Our results indicate that alcohol facilitates bonding during group formation. Assessing nonverbal responses in social contexts offers new directions for evaluating the effects of alcohol.     

Dynamics of 1:2 Coordination: Sources of Symmetry Breaking

Three asymmetries in the dynamics of 1:2 interlimb coordination were examined: the asymmetry in uncoupled frequencies, the asymmetry in coupled frequencies, and the left-right functional asymmetry of the body. In a bimanual 1:2 task, participants (N = 8) oscillated hand-held pendulums whose uncoupled frequencies were adjusted so that the first kind of asymmetry could be manipulated. For any given pendulum pair, the pendulum assuming the faster motion in the 1:2 coordination was oscillated in the right and the left hands. By assigning combinations of uncoupled eigenfrequencies and coupled task-specified frequencies across hands, the authors studied the interaction of all 3 asymmetries. The results confirm the appropriateness of generalized relative phase as a collective variable for 1:2 coordination. Additionally, they suggest that the generalized form of the detuning parameter represents the first asymmetry and that the coupling function expresses the second asymmetry. In 1:2 coordination, the body's functional asymmetry plays a limited role.     

Dynamics of 1:2 Coordination: Generalizing Relative Phase to n:m Rhythms

Interlimb rhythmic movements can be modeled as coupled oscillators, with stable performance characterized by the relative phase between the limbs. In the present study, that modeling strategy, verified previously for 1:1 coordination, was generalized to 1:2 coordination with a view to n:m coordination. The generalized model predicted interactions between coordination (specifically, 1:1 vs. 1:2) and the frequency asymmetry between the limbs determining mean relative phase and its variability. The predicted interactions were evaluated with bimanual 1:2 and 1:1 rhythmic tasks in which participants (N = 8) oscillated hand-held pendulums whose uncoupled frequencies could be adjusted so that different interlimb asymmetries were produced. The authors needed new analytic procedures to verify stable 1:2 coordination and to resolve stochastic and deterministic sources of variability in the component oscillations. The major expectations from the generalized model were confirmed, and the implications of additional but unpredicted findings for the modeling of multifrequency behavior are discussed.     

Grammaticality sensitivity in children with early focal brain injury and children with specific language impairment

Grammaticality judgments and processing times associated with violation detection were examined in typically developing children, children with focal brain lesions (FL) acquired early in life, and children with specific language impairment (SLI). Grammatical sensitivity in the FL group, while below typically developing children, was above levels seen in children with SLI. Age effects were noted with developmental changes in sensitivity extending into adolescence. Developmental delays in grammatical processing were particularly pronounced for children with SLI, who showed sensitivity levels below those of younger typically developing children. Sensitivity to agreement violations was also protracted in the SLI group providing further evidence of the vulnerability of morphology, a pattern not unlike that seen in adult aphasics. Findings for the FL group provide compelling evidence of neural and behavioral plasticity in children with early unilateral brain injury. Moreover, results from these children underscore how very different compensatory organization may be compared to profiles seen in adult aphasics who have comparable lesions. In contrast, although it was expected that the SLI children would perform below the typically developing children, the disadvantage seen with respect to the FL group suggests that the underlying pathology responsible for SLI may be more pervasive and less plastic than the focal pathology of children with early brain damage.     

Coping with stress during childhood and adolescence: problems, progress, and potential in theory and research

Progress and issues in the study of coping with stress during childhood and adolescence are reviewed. Definitions of coping are considered, and the relationship between coping and other aspects of responses to stress (e.g., temperament and stress reactivity) is described. Questionnaire, interview, and observation measures of child and adolescent coping are evaluated with regard to reliability and validity. Studies of the association of coping with symptoms of psychopathology and social and academic competence are reviewed. Initial progress has been made in the conceptualization and measurement of coping, and substantial evidence has accumulated on the association between coping and adjustment. Problems still remain in the conceptualization and measurement of coping in young people, however, and aspects of the development and correlates of coping remain to be identified. An agenda for future research on child-adolescent coping is outlined.     

A Graph-Dynamic Perspective on Coordinative Structures,the Role of Affordance-Effectivity Relations in Action Selection,and the Self-Organization of Complex Activities

Meaningful parallels exist between the coordinative structures (CSs) involved in planning and controlling complex actions of the body (limbs, torso, head, face, eyes) in service of both mechanical (e.g., manipulation and/or transport of environmental objects) and social (e.g., inter-agent coordination) functions. While early treatments focused on CS state-dynamics and parameter-dynamics, attention has focused more recently on CS graph-dynamics. We describe a coordinative structure graph (CSG) perspective that brings affordances and effectivities into a dynamical systems framework in which a) task-specific perceptual and physical links are created between an agent's end-effectors and environmental objects/surfaces during the graph-dynamics of CSG assembly; and b) these dynamics embed the agent in his/her environmental context such that the agent+environment system functions as a higher-order task-specific unit. Additionally, we describe a 3-tuple formalism for CSs that govern simple, single actions; such 3-tuples are viewed as modular planning graphs that can self-assemble under a compositional graph-dynamics into multi-action chains or hierarchical structures, and that may inform future developments of CS-based action grammars.     

Exploring the Value of the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory–3 for Predicting Attrition and Recidivism Among Perpetrators of Intimate Partner Violence

This study explored the potential value of the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory–3 (SASSI‐3; F. G. Miller & Lazowski, 1999 ) as a means of predicting program attrition and recidivism among perpetrators of intimate partner violence, concluding that the SASSI‐3 is not an adequate predictor.     

The FOCUS Family Resilience Program: An Innovative Family Intervention for Trauma and Loss

This article describes the core principles and components of the FOCUS Program, a brief intervention for families contending with single or multiple trauma or loss events. It has been administered nationally to thousands of military family members since 2008 and has been implemented in a wide range of civilian community, medical, clinical, and school settings. Developed by a team from the UCLA and Harvard Medical Schools, the FOCUS Program provides a structured approach for joining with traditional and nontraditional families, crafting shared goals, and then working with parents, children, and the entire family to build communication, make meaning out of traumatic experiences, and practice specific skills that support family resilience. Through a narrative sharing process, each family member tells his or her story and constructs a timeline that graphically captures the experience and provides a platform for family discussions on points of convergence and divergence. This narrative sharing process is first done with the parents and then the children and then the family as a whole. The aim is to build perspective‐taking skills and mutual understanding, to reduce distortions and misattributions, and to bridge estrangement between family members. Previous studies have confirmed that families participating in this brief program report reductions in distress and symptomatic behaviors for both parents and children and increases in child pro‐social behaviors and family resilient processes.     

Positive and Negative Affective Dysfunction in Psychopathology

Moods are a constant feature of human experience. Although we all experience good and bad moods, there are individual differences in the propensity to experience positive and negative feeling states. These individual differences are assessed as traits under the terms positive affectivity (PA) and negative affectivity (NA), respectively. Studying the relations between PA, NA, and psychopathology has provided a basic understanding of emotional dysfunction in a range of symptoms and disorders. A substantial body of evidence indicates that general NA is a core feature of many types of psychopathology. In contrast, the relations for general PA are more varied, as it correlates negatively with some disorders but positively with others. Additionally, some research has investigated how more specific components of PA and NA relate to psychological disorders and their symptoms. However, further research of this type is needed to improve our conceptualization of emotional dysfunction across disorders.