The effects of intertrial interval and instructional format on skill acquisition and maintenance for children with autism spectrum disorders

We replicated and extended the study by Koegel, Dunlap, and Dyer (1980) by examining the effects of 3 intertrial‐interval (ITI) durations on skill acquisition in 2 children with autism spectrum disorders. Specifically, we compared the effect of short (2 s), progressive (2 s to 20 s), and long (20 s) ITIs on participants’ mastery of tacts or intraverbals presented in massed‐trial and varied‐trial instructional formats. We also measured (a) stereotypic and problem behavior during the ITI, (b) maintenance of skills, and (c) responding to novel adults and settings. Results showed that short ITIs in a varied‐trial format produced the most efficient acquisition of skills; however, most ITI durations produced more efficient skill acquisition in a varied format compared to a massed format. The trial format and ITI duration associated with the lowest levels of stereotypic and problem behavior during the ITI and responding during maintenance and novel adult and setting probes differed across participants.     

Still standing out: children's names in the United States during the Great Recession and correlations with economic indicators

Continuing a long‐standing trend in the U.S. Social Security Administration database of first names (N = 358 million), American parents were less likely to choose common names for their children between 2004 and 2015, including the years of the Great Recession (2008–2010). These trends were similar in California (severely affected by the recession) and Texas (less affected). Over a longer time period (1901–2015), cyclical economic indicators were either not correlated with common names (e.g., stock market performance) or worse economic times predicted fewer common names. The results are consistent with increasing individualism, with limited support for the idea that economic threat leads people to embrace uniqueness and no real support for the idea that economic deprivation leads to more communal name choices.     

Effects of a violation of an expected increase or decrease in intensity on detection of change within an auditory pattern

An infrequent physical increase in the intensity of an auditory stimulus relative to an already loud frequently occurring “standard” is processed differently than an equally perceptible physical decrease in intensity. This may be because a physical increment results in increased activation in two different systems, a transient and a change detector system (signalling detection of an increase in transient energy and a change from the past, respectively). By contrast, a decrease in intensity results in increased activation in only the change detector system. The major question asked by the present study was whether a psychological (rather than a physical) increment would continue to be processed differently than a psychological decrement when both stimuli activated only the change detector system. Participants were presented with a sequence of 1000 Hz tones that followed a standard rule-based alternating high-low intensity pattern (LHLHLH). They were asked to watch a silent video and thus ignore the auditory stimuli. A rare “deviant” was created by repeating one of the stimuli (e.g., LHLHLLLH. The repetition of the high intensity stimulus thus acted as a relative, psychological increment compared to what the rule would have predicted (the low intensity); the repetition of the low intensity stimulus acted as a relative, psychological decrement compared to what the rule would have predicted (the high intensity). In different conditions, the intensity difference between the low and high intensity tones was either 3, 9 or 27 dB. A large MMN was elicited only when the separation between the low and high intensities was 27 dB. Importantly, this MMN peaked significantly earlier and its amplitude was significantly larger following presentation of the psychological increment. Thus, a deviant representing an increment in intensity relative to what would be predicted by the auditory past is processed differently than a deviant representing a decrement, even when activation of the transient detector system is controlled. The psychological increment did not however elicit a later positivity, the P3a, often thought to reflect the interruption of the central executive and a forced switching of attention.     

Remembering all that and then some: recollection of autobiographical memories after a 1-year delay

We have previously shown that repeated retrievals of remote autobiographical memories over the course of one month led to an overall increase in reported detail (Nadel, Campbell, & Ryan, 2007). The current study examined the retrieval of those same memories 1 year later in order to determine whether the level of detail remained stable or whether the memories returned to their original state. Participants reported even more details than they had recalled at least 1 year earlier, including new details that were reported for the first time. This finding was consistent across both multiple and single retrieval conditions, suggesting that the critical factor leading to the increase in recall was the passage of time. These findings provide evidence for long-term effects of repeated retrieval on memory content.     

Speechreading and the Bruce-Young model of face recognition: early findings and recent developments

In the context of face processing, the skill of processing speech from faces (speechreading) occupies a unique cognitive and neuropsychological niche. Neuropsychological dissociations in two cases (Campbell et al., 1986) suggested a very clear pattern: speechreading, but not face recognition, can be impaired by left-hemisphere damage, while face-recognition impairment consequent to right-hemisphere damage leaves speechreading unaffected. However, this story soon proved too simple, while neuroimaging techniques started to reveal further more detailed patterns. These patterns, moreover, were readily accommodated within the Bruce and Young (1986) model. Speechreading requires structural encoding of faces as faces, but further analysis of visible speech is supported by a network comprising several lateral temporal regions and inferior frontal regions. Posterior superior temporal regions play a significant role in speechreading natural speech, including audiovisual binding in hearing people. In deaf people, similar regions and circuits are implicated. While these detailed developments were not predicted by Bruce and Young, nevertheless, their model has stood the test of time, affording a structural framework for exploring speechreading in terms of face processing.     

Comparing the construct validity of scales derived from the Narcissistic Personality Inventory: A reply to

Rosenthal and Hooley (2010) suggested that the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) includes items that are tangential to narcissism. They demonstrated that the removal of these items resulted in scores that are not confounded by self-esteem. We tested whether NPI scales derived from Rosenthal and Hooley’s included (NPI-N) and excluded (NPI-X) items manifest divergent relations with self-esteem, entitlement, distress, NPD, and general traits in two samples of undergraduates. The scales generated similar patterns of correlations, although the NPI-N items were more strongly related to (dis)Agreeableness, whereas the NPI-X items were more strongly related to Extraversion. Ultimately, the NPI-X items bore significant relations to constructs central to grandiose narcissism and do not seem to have caused problems in the assessment of narcissism.     

Check-in/check-out: a systematic evaluation and component analysis

Tier 2 interventions are implemented similarly across students and thus serve as an efficient and cost-effective method of behavior support in school settings. Check-in/check-out is a Tier 2 intervention with documented effectiveness (e.g., Hawken & Horner, 2003; Todd, Campbell, Meyer, & Horner, 2008). Key features of the intervention include brief morning and afternoon meetings with the intervention coordinator, use of a point card on which the teacher monitors student behavior, and teacher feedback at predetermined times. The present study sought to add to the literature by examining the relative contributions of the teacher-feedback components of check-in/check-out via the use of a component analysis. Working with 4 children in a general education setting, we first evaluated the effectiveness of the procedure using reversal designs. Next, we systematically removed teacher-feedback components to assess effects on problem behavior and academic engagement. For 3 of 4 participants, we were able to remove all teacher-feedback sessions and the point card; for the 4th participant, we removed only 2 of 3 teacher-feedback sessions due to time constraints.     

Positive overgeneralization and Behavioral Approach System (BAS) sensitivity interact to predict prospective increases in hypomanic symptoms: a behavioral high-risk design

Recent work has identified Behavioral Approach System (BAS) sensitivity as a risk factor for the first onset and recurrence of mood episodes in bipolar disorder, but little work has evaluated risk factors for the prospective development of hypomanic symptoms in individuals at risk for, but without a history of, bipolar disorder. The present study used a prospective behavioral high-risk design to evaluate the impact of positive overgeneralization, a cognitive correlate of risk for hypomania, on hypomanic symptoms in individuals with high vs. moderate BAS sensitivity, but without a history of mood elevation. Hierarchical linear regressions indicated that upward positive overgeneralization and BAS sensitivity interacted to predict increased levels of hypomanic symptoms at follow-up, controlling for initial hypomanic symptoms. The pattern of this interaction was such that positive overgeneralization predicted higher levels of hypomanic symptoms among high-BAS, but not moderate-BAS, individuals. Thus, the self-reported tendency to experience grandiose increases in confidence following success may confer additional risk for mood elevation among individuals already at risk for developing bipolar disorder. Potential implications for prevention and treatment are discussed.     

Adolescent Sexual Assault Victims and the Legal System: Building Community Relationships to Improve Prosecution Rates

Adolescents are at high risk for sexual assault, but few of these crimes are reported to the police and prosecuted by the criminal justice system. To address this problem, communities throughout the United States have implemented multidisciplinary interventions to improve post-assault care for victims and increase prosecution rates. The two most commonly implemented interventions are Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Programs and Sexual Assault Response Teams (SARTs). The purpose of this study was to determine whether community-level context (i.e., stakeholder engagement and collaboration) was predictive of adolescent legal case outcomes, after accounting for "standard" factors that affect prosecution success (i.e., victim, assault, and evidence characteristics). Overall, 40% of the adolescent cases from these two SANE-SART programs (over a 10-year period) were successfully prosecuted. Cases were more likely to be prosecuted for younger victims, those with disabilities, those who knew their offenders, and instances in which the rape evidence collection kit was submitted by police for analysis. After accounting for these influences, multi-level modeling results revealed that in one site decreased allocation of community resources to adolescent sexual assault cases had a significant negative effect on prosecution case outcomes. Results are explained in terms of Wolff's (Am J Community Psychol 29:173-191, 2001) concept of "over-coalitioned" communities and Kelly's (1968) ecological principles.