Baseline reinforcement rate and resurgence of destructive behavior

Concepts from behavioral momentum theory, along with some empirical findings, suggest that the rate of baseline reinforcement may contribute to the relapse of severe destructive behavior. With seven children who engaged in destructive behavior, we tested this hypothesis in the context of functional communication training by comparing the effects of different baseline reinforcement rates on resurgence during a treatment challenge (i.e., extinction). We observed convincing resurgence of destructive behavior in four of seven participants, and we observed more resurgence in the condition associated with high‐rate baseline reinforcement (i.e., variable‐interval 2 s in Experiment 1 or fixed‐ratio 1 in Experiment 2) compared to a low‐rate baseline reinforcement condition. We discuss the implications of these results relative to schedules of reinforcement in the treatment of destructive behavior and strategies to mitigate resurgence in clinical settings.     

Assessing the generality and durability of interview‐informed functional analyses and treatment

Due to the limited research demonstrating socially valid outcomes of function‐based treatments in ecologically relevant environments (Santiago, Hanley, Moore, & Jin, 2016), we replicated and extended the effects of the interview‐informed functional analysis and skill‐based treatment procedure described by Hanley, Jin, Vanselow, and Hanratty (2014) with two children diagnosed with autism in a home setting. The assessment and treatment was implemented by a home‐based service provider and treatment was extended to the participants’ parents. Following the interview‐informed functional analyses, we taught the participants functional communication responses and to engage in less‐preferred activities when functional communication outcomes were delayed. We observed large reductions in problem behavior following the introduction of the function‐based treatment. The effects extended to novel settings, stimuli, and caregivers and the results maintained at 6‐week follow‐ups.     

No evidence that alcohol intoxication impairs judgments of learning in face recognition

Alcohol use is frequently involved in crime, making it crucial to understand the role of alcohol in facial recognition to maximize correct perpetrator identifications. Although the majority of the alcohol and face recognition research has investigated recognition with retrospective confidence judgments, we examined the effects of alcohol intoxication on face recognition with prospective metacognitive judgments. Participants (N = 54 university students without a history of hazardous alcohol/substance use) consumed either alcohol (mean breath alcohol concentration of 0.06 at pretest and 0.07 at post‐test) or a non‐alcoholic placebo drink. Participants then studied unfamiliar male and female faces and made judgments of learning (JOLs) for each face (i.e., predicted the likelihood of recognizing that face on a future memory test). After a brief distractor task, participants completed an old–new recognition test on which they attempted to distinguish the studied faces from new faces. It was found that the alcohol manipulation had minimal effect on face recognition performance or judgments of learning. Our results suggest that theory‐based cues about the effects of alcohol might play a greater role in retrospective judgments than prospective judgments. Although not a primary focus of the study, face recognition was better for male faces than female faces, and this occurred for both female and male participants. Limitations and implications of the research are discussed.     

When Is Seeking Safety Functional? Taking a Pragmatic Approach to Distinguishing Coping From Safety

Currently, most exposure-based treatments call for clinicians to assess for and remove all safety behaviors during exposure tasks. However, the notion that safety behaviors are detrimental across all scenarios has recently been challenged, and research regarding the effects of safety behaviors on exposure outcomes is limited and inconsistent. In clinical practice, classifying a strategy as a safety behavior can be a complex and challenging endeavor, particularly when distinguishing between harmful safety behaviors and helpful coping behaviors. We outline an approach that emphasizes the pragmatic truth criterion and uses functional outcomes to classify behaviors as serving either safety or coping functions. Our focus on doing what “works” simplifies decision-making for clinicians and maintains the focus of treatment on enhancing functioning. We propose a model for using functional outcomes to distinguish between safety and coping behaviors and illustrate our approach through case examples.     

Brain Function Associated with Cooccurring Trauma and Depression Symptoms in College Students

The goal of this pilot study was to determine if functional brain differences are present among individuals with high and low cooccurring trauma and depression symptoms. This pilot study examined how the P300 latency component of event-related potentials (ERPs), measured using electroencephalography (EEG) while participants performed a go/no-go task, might be associated with cooccurring self-report of trauma and depression symptoms in a sample of college students (N = 38). Alpha-corrected independent sample t tests revealed statistically significant differences in ERP P300 peak latencies between those in the high cooccurring trauma and depression symptoms group (n = 12) and those in the low group (n = 26) for all 3 midline electrode sites (Fz, Cz, and Pz). This pilot study provides preliminary evidence of differential brain functioning in individuals experiencing cooccurring trauma and depression symptoms. Accordingly, these findings support future research examining brain functioning in cooccurring symptoms.     

Tracing trajectories of audio‐visual learning in the infant brain

Although infants begin learning about their environment before they are born, little is known about how the infant brain changes during learning. Here, we take the initial steps in documenting how the neural responses in the brain change as infants learn to associate audio and visual stimuli. Using functional near‐infrared spectroscopy (fNRIS) to record hemodynamic responses in the infant cortex (temporal, occipital, and frontal cortex), we find that across the infant brain, learning is characterized by an increase in activation followed by a decrease. We take this U‐shaped response as evidence of repetition enhancement during early stages of learning and repetition suppression during later stages, a result that mirrors the Hunter and Ames model of infant visual preference. Furthermore, we find that the neural response to violations of the learned associations can be predicted by the shape of the learning curve in temporal and occipital cortex. These data provide the first look at the shape of the neural response during audio‐visual associative learning in infancy establishing that diverse regions of the infant brain exhibit systematic changes across the time‐course of learning.     

Self-esteem among lesbian,gay, bisexual and same-sex-attracted Mormons and ex-Mormons

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and same-sex-attracted (LGB/SSA) individuals in conservative religions often experience stigma, shame, and psychological distress in reconciling their religious and sexual identities, yet religion can also provide existential comfort and social support. We investigated relationships among self-esteem, participation in the Mormon Church, and sexual identity acceptance among 348 LGB/SSA Mormons and ex-Mormons in 2013–2014 and found that the two groups reported similar self-esteem. By testing plausible mediators (family support, gay/SSA identity acceptance, and agreement with Mormon Church policy prohibiting same-sex behaviour) through a path model, results revealed different pathways to self-esteem. Practicing LGB/SSA Mormons reported higher family support and lower gay/SSA identity acceptance than ex-Mormons, while those self-identifying as SSA but not gay reported lower gay/SSA identity acceptance. We suggest that religiously active Mormons demonstrate low self-acceptance of their gay/SSA identity while ex-Mormons suffer loss of familial and social support, resulting in equal self-esteem across church status groups.     

Adaptation of the Aesop’s Fable paradigm for use with raccoons (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Procyon lotor</Emphasis>): considerations for future application in non-avian and non-primate species

To gain a better understanding of the evolution of animal cognition, it is necessary to test and compare the cognitive abilities of a broad array of taxa. Meaningful inter-species comparisons are best achieved by employing universal paradigms that standardize testing among species. Many cognitive paradigms, however, have been tested in only a few taxa, mostly birds and primates. One such example, known as the Aesop’s Fable paradigm, is designed to assess causal understanding in animals using water displacement. To evaluate the universal effectiveness of the Aesop’s Fable paradigm, we applied this paradigm to a previously untested taxon, the raccoon (Procyon lotor). We first trained captive raccoons to drop stones into a tube of water to retrieve a floating food reward. Next, we presented successful raccoons with objects that differed in the amount of water they displaced to determine whether raccoons could select the most functional option. Raccoons performed differently than corvids and human children did in previous studies of Aesop’s Fable, and we found raccoons to be innovative in many aspects of this task. We suggest that raccoon performance in this paradigm reflected differences in tangential factors, such as behavior, morphology, and testing procedures, rather than cognitive deficiencies. We also present insight into previously undocumented challenges that should better inform future Aesop’s Fable studies incorporating more diverse taxa.     

The role of religion when crisis looms: A church community at a crossroads

The present study examined the relationship between religion and well-being in older adults during a time of financial difficulty within their religious community. Focus-group and one-on-one interviews were carried out with 39 participants sampled from three Anglican parishes in eastern Canada during a financial crisis that was likely to lead to the closing of two churches. Three main themes emerged from the analyses: Crisis, Transition, and Status Quo. The financial situation was discussed as a crisis; other issues were viewed as opportunities for transition, and personal faith was perceived as being stable and constant. The results of the present study suggest that for older adults, the more internal and faith-based aspects of religiosity have a stronger impact on well-being than do changes that revolve around the external or religious aspects of church participation.