The relationship between pre-treatment clinical profile and treatment outcome in an integrated stuttering program

A procedure for subtyping individuals who stutter and its relationship to treatment outcome is explored. Twenty-five adult participants of the Comprehensive Stuttering Program (CSP) were classified according to: (1) stuttering severity and (2) severity of negative emotions and cognitions associated with their speech problem. Speech characteristics (percentage of stuttered syllables, distorted speech score, and the number of correctly produced syllables on a diadochokinesis task) and emotional/cognitive states (emotional reaction, speech satisfaction, and attitudes toward speaking) were assessed before and after treatment, and at a 1- and 2-year follow-up. The results showed that: (a) there was no relationship between stuttering severity and the severity of negative emotions and cognitions, (b) the severe stuttering group had the largest treatment gains but also the highest level of regression, and (c) at post-treatment and both follow-up assessments the differences on measures of emotions between the mild and severe emotional group had disappeared, chiefly due to a large decrease in the latter group's negative emotions and cognitions. Our findings show that, based on treatment gains, specific subgroups can be identified, each requiring different treatment approaches. This underlines the necessity of developing a better understanding of how various dimensions of stuttering relate to treatment outcome. Educational objectives: The reader will be able to: (1) describe why stuttering severity and negative emotions and cognitions that are related to stuttering should be investigated separately and (2) describe how treatment outcome relates to subtypes of persons who stutter.     

The day of the week when you were born in 700 ms: calendar computation in an Autistic savant

Some individuals are able to determine the weekday of a given date in a few seconds (finding for instance that June 12, 1900, was a Tuesday). This ability has fascinated scientists for many years because it is predominantly observed in people with limited intelligence and may appear very early in life. Exceptional visual memory, exceptional concentration abilities, or privileged access to lower levels of information not normally available through introspection have been advanced to explain such phenomena. In the present article, the authors show that a simple cognitive model can explain all aspects of the performance of Donny, a young autistic savant who is possibly the fastest and most accurate calendar prodigy ever described.     

Toward a better understanding of the justice judgment process: The influence of fair and unfair events on state justice sensitivity

People differ in the way they regard justice. Although some people may be relatively unaffected by justice issues, many others regard justice as a very important concept and react to it accordingly. Prior research suggests that this sensitivity to justice is a stable personality trait. In three studies, we show that (compared to neutral events) experiencing just and unjust events (directed toward the self or others) can elevate state levels of justice sensitivity. We discuss the implications of these findings, including the notion how these results can lead to a better understanding of the justice judgment process. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessment of Social Information Processing in Early Childhood: Development and Initial Validation of the Schultz Test of Emotion Processing—Preliminary Version

Crick and Dodge’s (Psychological Bulletin 115:74–101, 1994) social information processing model has proven very useful in guiding research focused on aggressive and peer-rejected children’s social-cognitive functioning. Its application to early childhood, however, has been much more limited. The present study responds to this gap by developing and validating a video-based assessment tool appropriate for early childhood, the Schultz Test of Emotion Processing—Preliminary Version (STEP-P). One hundred twenty-five Head Start preschool children participated in the study. More socially competent children more frequently attributed sadness to the victims of provocation and labeled aggressive behaviors as both morally unacceptable and less likely to lead to positive outcomes. More socially competent girls labeled others’ emotions more accurately. More disruptive children more frequently produced physically aggressive solutions to social provocations, and more disruptive boys less frequently interpreted social provocations as accidental. The STEP-P holds promise as an assessment tool that assesses knowledge structures related to the SIP model in early childhood.     

The threat of moral refusers for one's self-concept and the protective function of physical cleansing

We investigated how people respond to moral threats and the consequences this has for one's moral self-concept. In two experiments, participants first tasted a sausage and were then confronted with a bogus participant who had refused to taste the sausage because of moral or non-moral reasons. People disliked the moral refuser more than the non-moral refuser. The self-threatening effect of having one's morals questioned was also reflected in specific patterns of cardiovascular responses and negatively affected participants' self-evaluations. We further show that the negative effects of a moral threat can be prevented by a simple intervention of physical cleansing: Participants who had cleansed their hands before being confronted with a moral refuser did not show the negative effects on self- and refuser evaluations. Importantly, the protective effects of physical cleansing were most pronounced for people with a strong moral identity. Taken together, these results underline the importance of one's self-concept when confronted with a moral refuser, and introduce an effective intervention to prevent these negative consequences.     

Adolescent Ego-Development Trajectories and Young Adult Relationship Outcomes

Adolescent ego-development trajectories were related to close-relationship outcomes in young adulthood. An adolescent sample completed annual measures of ego development from ages 14 through 17. The authors theoretically determined and empirically traced five ego-development trajectories reflecting stability or change. At age 25, the sample completed a close-relationship interview and consented for two peers to rate the participants'ego resiliency and hostility. Participants who followed the profound-arrest trajectory in adolescence reported more mundane sharing of experiences, more impulsive or egocentric conflict-resolution tactics, and less mature interpersonal understanding in their young adult relationships, and their young adult peers described these participants as more hostile. Participants who attained or maintained higher levels of ego development in adolescence reported more complex sharing of experiences, more collaborative conflict-resolution strategies, and greater interpersonal understanding, and their young adult peers rated them as less hostile and as more flexible.