Mind the gap: Misdirection, inattentional blindness and the relationship between overt and covert attention

The present commentary addresses two issues arising from Memmert’s (2010) paper. First, can the ‘misdirection’ and ‘inattentional blindness’ paradigms provide important insights into the relationship between ‘overt’ and ‘covert’ attentional processes? Second, what are the most fruitful directions for research that seeks to combine these attentional paradigms in ecologically valid settings? We argue that although Memmert’s (2010) paper postulates several important differences between the misdirection and inattentional blindness paradigms, it may not emphasise sufficiently strongly the significant insights into attention that have been yielded by the former approach. To illustrate, we discuss the utility of the misdirection paradigm in providing an ecologically valid method to investigate the relationship between overt and covert attentional processes. Such naturalistic methods are required to ensure optimal integration of the misdirection and inattentional blindness paradigms within a general theory of attention.     

Extinction of drug cue reactivity in methamphetamine-dependent individuals

Conditioned responses to drug-related environmental cues (such as craving) play a critical role in relapse to drug use. Animal models demonstrate that repeated exposure to drug-associated cues in the absence of drug administration leads to the extinction of conditioned responses, but the few existing clinical trials focused on extinction of conditioned responses to drug-related cues in drug-dependent individuals show equivocal results. The current study examined drug-related cue reactivity and response extinction in a laboratory setting in methamphetamine-dependent individuals. Methamphetamine cue-elicited craving was extinguished during two sessions of repeated (3) within-session exposures to multi-modal (picture, video, and in-vivo) cues, with no evidence of spontaneous recovery between sessions. A trend was noted for a greater attenuation of response in participants with longer (4-7 day) inter-session intervals. These results indicate that extinction of drug cue conditioned responding occurs in methamphetamine-dependent individuals, offering promise for the development of extinction- based treatment strategies.     

Do Parents’ Adverse Childhood Experiences Influence Treatment Responses to Parent-Child Interaction Therapy? An exploratory Study with a Child Welfare Sample

This exploratory study of 23 parent–child dyads receiving child welfare services examined the association between the number of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) parents reported and their children’s externalizing behaviors. We also assessed whether the effects of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) on externalizing behaviors varied by parents’ ACE histories. Results indicated that parents’ ACE scores were associated with child externalizing symptoms at baseline, but not at a second postbaseline assessment. Although all parents reported reductions in child externalizing behavior from baseline to postbaseline, only reductions reported by parents with four or more ACEs were statistically significant. Implications for implementing PCIT with trauma-exposed families are discussed.     

A Big Five model of disposition and situation interaction: why a “helpful” person may not always behave helpfully

A “bottom-up” Big Five disposition-situation interaction model is introduced that highlights the interactive relation between an individual's behavioral trait tendencies and the different facets of a situation to which he or she may respond. In the proposed model, personality traits are considered markers for how an individual might interpret and respond to different facets of a situation. Given a complex situation with multiple response options, a person will respond to the part of the situation most salient to him or her at that time. The presented model illustrates how interactions between the trait dimensions of the Big Five model with the different facets of a situational context, as well as the intra-individual interactions between the different trait dimensions themselves, determine which facet of a situation will be salient. The model is expected to improve prediction of specific behaviors in specific situations using personality traits. Results from an illustrative study are presented.     

Comparing Binary Transgender and Nonbinary People: Factors Associated with Psychological Well-Being Among a Predominately People of Color Sample

Binary transgender and nonbinary people face interpersonal and societal discrimination which can contribute to minority stress and negative mental health. Thus, it is important that family therapists understand what factors contribute to psychological well-being to be able to offer helpful and inclusive therapy services to these communities. This study addresses a gap in the literature regarding differences in factors contributing to psychological well-being between binary transgender and nonbinary people as well as understanding these factors in a predominantly People of Color (POC) sample. Utilizing secondary data from the Social Justice Sexuality Project (Battle and DeFreece in Women Gend Fam Color 2(1):1–31. https://doi.org/10.5406/womgenfamcol.2.1.0001, 2014; Battle et al. in Social justice sexuality survey: cumulative codebook, City University of New York-Graduate Center, New York, 2012), this study examined the relationships between perceived family support, religiosity, community connectedness and psychological well-being in a sample of binary transgender and nonbinary people. Results from a multiple group path analysis show that perceived family support, religiosity and being connected to an LGBT community were significantly associated with psychological well-being for binary transgender people, while only LGBT community connectedness was significantly associated with psychological well-being for nonbinary people. Implications for family therapists include helping families support binary transgender and nonbinary family members, deconstructing non-affirming religious messages about gender identity and connecting clients to affirmative religions and religious leaders, and being knowledgeable about community resources for binary transgender and nonbinary POC.

     

Effects of framed spectacles and contact lenses on self-ratings of facial attractiveness.

15 females with glasses tended to defend against relatively low self-perceptions of attractiveness by de-emphasizing the influence of their eyes on facial beauty.