Identification of olfactory stimuli as reinforcers in individuals with autism: a preliminary investigation

Preference for six olfactory stimuli was assessed via paired preference assessments with three adults with autism. Using a combination multielement and reversal design, a reinforcer assessment was then conducted to determine the extent to which three (high preference, medium preference, and low preference) of the six olfactory stimuli evaluated in the preference assessment functioned as reinforcers for responding in the context of a sorting task. Relative to baseline, all of the participants exhibited increased responding for access to their high preference olfactory stimulus. The utility of olfactory stimuli as components of behavior intervention plans is discussed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spirituality and Subjective Religiosity among African Americans, Caribbean Blacks and Non-Hispanic Whites

Patterns and correlates of self-perceptions of spirituality and subjective religiosity are examined using data from the National Survey of American Life, a nationally representative study of African Americans, Caribbean Blacks and non-Hispanic Whites. Demographic and denominational correlates of patterns of subjective religiosity and spirituality (i.e., religious only, spiritual only, both religious/spiritual and neither religious/spiritual) are examined. In addition, the study of African Americans and Caribbean Blacks permits the investigation of possible ethnic variation in the meaning and conceptual significance of these constructs within the U.S. Black population. African Americans and Caribbean Blacks are more likely than Non-Hispanic Whites to indicate that they are "both religious and spiritual" and less likely to indicate that they are "spiritual only" or "neither spiritual nor religious." Demographic and denominational differences in the patterns of spirituality and subjective religiosity are also indicated. Study findings are discussed in relation to prior research in this field and noted conceptual and methodological issues deserving further study.     

Emotional Stroop via Internet among individuals with eating disorders

The present study investigated whether Stroop interference in eating disordered individuals for food - and body-related words, as repeatedly found previously using standard emotional Stroop tasks, would also be demonstrated when using an Internet based emotional Stroop task. Participants were anorexic women (n= 13), bulimic women (n= 20), non-clinically eating disordered women nevertheless over-concerned about eating and body appearance (n= 27) and normal control women (n= 31). Bulimic individuals showed Stroop interference for body-related words whereas anorexic individuals showed Stroop interference for food-related words. The present results thus suggest that administration of the emotional Stroop task is possible via the Internet. Furthermore, it is possible that the time consuming response delivery, relative to previous studies, could lead to Stroop interference only for the most emotionally significant information, in turn, differentiating between the core concerns of anorexic and bulimic individuals.     

Eyes on the prize or nose to the grindstone? The effects of level of goal evaluation on mood and motivation

These studies tested the hypothesis that evaluating goal feedback in terms of a primary, longer term goal can be risky for future motivation. Study 1 was a 2 x 2 experiment in which framing level (primary goal/subgoal) and feedback valence (success/failure) were manipulated for participants during a verbal skills task. In the primary goal failure condition, there was increased negative mood and decreased positive mood and expectancy for subsequent trials, even while controlling for goal difficulty and importance. Study 2 was an 8-week study throughout which participants were asked to evaluate their progress regarding a primary goal (class grade goal) or subgoal (weekly study hours goal), and success or failure varied naturally. When progress was lacking, participants in the primary goal condition experienced the largest decreases in mood and expectancy. These results suggest that it is optimal to evaluate goal progress at the lower, subgoal level, particularly after failure feedback.     

Choosing an Endorser for a Women’s Sporting Event: The Interaction of Attractiveness and Expertise

An experimental study was conducted to determine the impact of expertise and attractiveness on perceived appropriateness of the endorser with a women’s tennis event and, subsequently, attitudes towards the event and intentions to purchase tickets. The sample was comprised of 184 undergraduate students at three U.S. universities. Hypotheses were tested through observed path analysis and results indicated both attractiveness and expertise were significantly related to the endorser’s appropriateness and explained 24% of the variance. However, there was a significant interaction; in the lower expertise condition, the more attractive athlete was rated as a more appropriate endorser. Further, endorser appropriateness led to more positive attitudes and intentions to purchase tickets, and the model explained 13 and 48% of the variance in these variables respectively.     

A survey of people's attitudes and beliefs about false confessions

The attitudes and beliefs of jury eligible individuals regarding false confessions were investigated in order to uncover potential biases. Survey respondents provided perceptions of factors related to false confessions (e.g. their frequency and likely situational and dispositional risk variables). Results indicate that people possess an awareness that false confessions can occur and believe that a confession should not be taken as an absolute indicator of guilt. However, their understanding of predisposing and situational factors that contribute to false confessions was incomplete, as was their understanding of interrogation practices. Furthermore, respondents showed a marked bias against believing that they personally would ever falsely confess, which is discussed in the context of potential inconsistencies between people's self-report and their actual behaviors in naturalistic situations.     

Maximizing the benefits and minimizing the costs of repeated memory tests for older adults

Repeatedly trying to remember information can help people remember more but can also lead to inaccuracies. Two experiments examined whether the costs of repeated recall efforts can be minimized for older adults by using memory tests that require specification of the source of recalled items. Participants saw and imagined pictures and then took 3 successive recall tests in which they either indicated the source of each remembered item (source recall) or simply recalled the items without specification of their source (free recall). Results showed that recall increased systematically from Test 1 to Test 3, although the rate of increase was less marked for older adults, and older adults recalled less overall. After the free recall tests, older adults made more source misattributions (claiming to have seen imagined items) than did young adults, but after the source recall tests, age differences were not significant. Thus, repeatedly recalling items while considering their source was associated with benefits in terms of increased recall and fewer costs in terms of source errors.     

Fitting the child's mind to the world: adaptive norm-based coding of facial identity in 8-year-olds

In adults, facial identity is coded by opponent processes relative to an average face or norm, as evidenced by the face identity aftereffect: adapting to a face biases perception towards the opposite identity, so that a previously neutral face (e.g. the average) resembles the identity of the computationally opposite face. We investigated whether children as young as 8 use adaptive norm-based coding to represent faces, a question of interest because 8-year-olds are less accurate than adults at recognizing faces and do not show the adult neural markers of face expertise. We found comparable face identity aftereffects in 8-year-olds and adults: perception of identity in both groups shifted in the direction predicted by norm-based coding. This finding suggests that, by 8 years of age, the adaptive computational mechanisms used to code facial identity are like those of adults and hence that children's immaturities in face processing arise from another source.