The Iowa Infant Feeding Attitude Scale: Analysis of Reliability and Validity1

Development of the Iowa Infant Feeding Attitude Scale (IIFAS) is described. In Study 1, a set of 17 items was selected on the basis of responses by 125 postpartum women. Analyses of the reliability and validity were then conducted. In Study 2, these analyses were replicated using data from an independent sample of 130 postpartum women. Study 3 involved an analysis of the ability of scores on the IIFAS to predict duration of breast-feeding among a sample of 725 women who had initiated that method of feeding their babies while in the hospital. Limitations of this research and possible future uses of the IIFAS in studies addressing the determinants and consequences of infant-feeding attitudes are discussed.     

Two-component theory of the suffix effect: contrary findings

The suffix effect is the reduction in the recallability of the last few items of a just-spoken list caused by appending a nominally irrelevant item, or suffix. The effect is widely assumed to comprise a "structural" terminal component, affecting just the last item, and a strategy-sensitive preterminal component. In a series of 8 experiments, the authors fail to replicate any of a variety of findings widely cited as the empirical basis for this 2-component theory. The authors also question the support that earlier findings provide for the theory, even if they had proved replicable. They attribute the entire suffix effect to the grouping of the suffix with the list items.     

Self-control of smoking—II effects of cue salience and source of delay imposition on the effectiveness of training under increasing delay

Imposed increasing delay of cigarette puffs has been shown to facilitate smoking inhibition. Hypothetical mechanisms involved (frustration extinction or rehearsal of coping responses) imply that increased temptation cue salience and decreased degree of external control in increasing delay training, should facilitate smoking inhibition. After three pre-test delay tolerance trials, all subjects were cued to pace their smoking in an increasing sequence of delay. During treatment the cigarette temptation cues were either visible or hidden. Delays were either self-imposed but cued by the experimenter or the delays were physically imposed by the experimenter. Post-test consisted of three delay tolerance trials. Pre-test to post-test improvement was significantly facilitated by cue salience and reduced external control. No significant interaction effects were obtained. Cue salience significantly reduced the self-reported aversiveness and GSRs during self-control trials. Implications for treatment were advanced.     

Operant baseline procedures suppress infant social behavior

Two groups of six 3-month-old infants participated in a study which contained four consecutive 2-min periods. During Periods 2 and 4 both groups received adult social stimulation on the same prearranged schedule. The treatments during Periods 1 and 3 differed between the two groups; no adult was present for the A-S group, while the B-S group received the typical operant baseline (unresponsive adult treatment) for these two periods. Social stimulation caused a significant increase in vocal rate from the preceding control period for both groups. Infants in the A-S group vocalized at the same rate during the two periods in which the adult was absent and at similar rates during the two stimulation periods. For infants in the B-S group, baseline procedures suppressed vocal rates and did not provide a neutral or operant level of responding with which the effects of social conditioning could be compared.     

The effectiveness of attentional diversion and situation redefinition for reducing stress due to a nonambiguous Threat

After receiving a sample shock, subjects in a Threat Condition were told that they would receive additional painful shocks while subjects in a Nonthreat Condition were not threatened with additional shocks. Subjects in an Attentional Diversion Condition were then instructed to read and think about an amusing story, subjects in a Situation Redefinition Condition were instructed to write down reasons why they should not be afraid in this situation, and subjects in a Control Condition were not given any instructions for coping with stress. (Coping Conditions were factorially crossed with Threat Conditions and 192 subjects were employed.) Physiological measures (pulse rate, finger pulse volume, skin resistance) indicated that unlike the results of previous research, attentional diversion was effective in reducing stress but situation redefinition was not. Discussion was focused on the parameters which determine whether or not a coping strategy will be effective.     

Cognitive ability and motivational interventions: Their effects on performance outcomes

A laboratory experiment was conducted to examine the effects of cognitive ability, task interests, goal setting, and feedback on perceived competence, intrinsic motivation, performance, and satisfaction with performance. Data were collected from 90 introductory psychology students performing one of two computer-based tasks. Results indicated that the motivational interventions interacted with cognitive ability in relation to intrinsic motivation, perceived competence, and satisfaction with performance. Implications are discussed within the framework of cognitive resources theory and goal-setting theory.     

Comparing the effects of static and dynamic signals during multiple schedules

The extent to which multiple schedules are an effective schedule thinning method following functional communication training (FCT) relies on the control the schedule-correlated stimuli exert over behavior. Thus, the stimuli used to signal the schedule in place (e.g., reinforcement and extinction) in a multiple schedule arrangement require special attention. To date, the majority of the research on multiple schedules has evaluated the use of different arbitrary signals as schedule-correlated stimuli (e.g., poster boards). These signals are considered static as they lack movement. More recently, some studies have successfully used dynamic signals, which include movement or animation, within multiple schedule arrangements. However, the extent to which one type of signal may result in faster stimulus control over behavior has not been evaluated. Thus, the purpose of this study was to compare the use of static and dynamic signals as schedule-correlated stimuli in multiple schedules used within the context of FCT. Four children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder participated in the study. The results suggest that no differences in discriminated manding were observed for three out of four participants. Only dynamic signals resulted in discriminated manding for one participant.     

Female Paralympic Athlete Views of Effective and Ineffective Coaching Practices

People with physical disabilities are at a higher risk of developing secondary physical and mental health conditions, such as fatigue, obesity, and depression. The purpose of this study was to explore female Paralympic athlete views of effective and ineffective coaching practices. Individual semistructured interviews were conducted with 8 athletes who achieved an average of 8 combined Paralympic and Parapan American medals. A hierarchical content analysis revealed the athletes’ perceptions and experiences of both effective and ineffective coaching strategies and behaviors, including how these experiences affected them on a personal and professional level. All athletes achieved tremendous athletic accomplishments and recognized the importance and value of their coaches in helping them reach such high standards of success. In addition, the participants spoke about male coaches inappropriately addressing their disability and gender and how it negatively influenced their psychological well-being. These results are particularly troublesome when you consider that females with a disability are more susceptible to experiencing discrimination, exclusion, or harassment and more likely to experience body image issues compared to their male counterparts. This research adds to the small body of coaching knowledge in parasport and is one of the first studies to include an all-female sample of Paralympic athletes. In addition, it offers a number of practical implications for coaches, athletes, and the Paralympic community.

Lay Summary: This study adds to the small body of coaching knowledge in parasport by interviewing female Paralympic athletes. Athletes talked about coaches who enhanced their athletic performance and personal development, whereas others spoke about male coaches inappropriately addressing their disability and gender and how it negatively influenced their psychological well-being.     

The spacing effect,free recall,and two-process theory: a closer look

Two experiments used procedures similar to those used by R. L. Greene (1989) to test the 2-process theory of the spacing effect and, in particular, the contextual-variability subtheory that applies to free-recall performance. Experiment 1 obtained a spacing effect in free recall following intentional learning but not following incidental learning, contrary to a previous result supporting the 2-process theory. Experiment 2 replicated the incidental-learning results when a slow presentation rate was used. However, with a faster presentation rate, a spacing effect was obtained, and performance exceeded that of the slow-presentation-rate condition at the longest lag. Neither the contextual-variability subtheory of 2-process theory nor an alternative deficient-processing hypothesis was able to account for all of the data.     

Children's understanding of the Ulysses conflict

Two studies explored children's understanding of how the presence of conflicting mental states in a single mind can lead people to act so as to subvert their own desires. Study 1 analyzed explanations by children (4--7 years) and adults of behaviors arising from this sort of 'Ulysses conflict' and compared them with their understanding of conflicting desires in different minds, as well as with changes of mind within an individual across time. The data revealed that only the adults were able to adequately explain the Ulysses conflict. Study 2 asked children (4--7 years) and adults to choose among three explicitly presented competing explanations for self-subverting behaviors. The results suggest that an understanding of the influence of conflicting mental states on behaviors does not occur until at least 7 years of age.