Need for closure and youths' leisure time preferences

The Need for Closure is an individual characteristic which may help explain individual differences in engagement in leisure activities. Both a leisure engagement inventory and a validated Dutch version of the Need for Closure Scale were administered to a convenient sample of 1,035 young adults ages 15 to 24 years of whom 552 were female. Leisure engagement was hypothesized to differ for groups differing in Need for Closure. More specifically, youngsters who score high (versus low) on Need for Closure engaged more in structured, cognitively effortless, and predictable leisure activities like shopping for fun and going to the cinema, while young adults scoring low (versus high) on Need for Closure more often participated in unstructured, unpredictable, cognitively effortful or challenging leisure activities like going to a party, a pub, or a pop concert, idly lazing away, visiting or hosting friends, attending an evening class and playing computer games.     

Active versus passive processing of biological motion

Johansson's point-light walker figures remain one of the most powerful and convincing examples of the role that motion can play in the perception of form (Johansson, 1973 Perception & Psychophysics 14 201 - 211; 1975 Scientific American 232(6) 76 - 88). In the current work, we use a dual-task paradigm to explore the role of attention in the processing of such stimuli. In two experiments we find striking differences in the degree to which direction-discrimination performance in point-light walker displays appears to rely on attention. Specifically, we find that performance in displays thought to involve top-down processing, either in time (experiment 1) or space (experiment 2) is adversely affected by dividing attention. In contrast, dividing attention has little effect on performance in displays that allow low-level, bottom-up computations to be carried out. We interpret these results using the active/passive motion distinction introduced by Cavanagh (1991 Spatial Vision 5 303-309).     

Social connectedness,mindfulness, and coping as protective factors during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented psychological impact, revealing immense emotional disturbances among the general population. This study examined the extent to which social connectedness, dispositional mindfulness, and coping moderate symptoms of anxiety and depression in 1242 adults under the same government-issued COVID-19 stay-at-home mandate. Participants completed measures of anxiety, depression, dispositional mindfulness, social connectedness, and coping, and regression analyses were used to examine associations and interaction effects. Results indicated that social connectedness and dispositional mindfulness were associated with reduced symptoms. For individuals living with a partner, decreased mindfulness and avoidant coping were associated with anxious symptoms. In households with children, overutilization of approach coping served to increase symptoms of depression. Results indicate the importance of considering social connectedness, mindfulness, and coping in counseling to enhance factors serving to protect clients during a public health crisis. Implications for professional counselors and areas of future research are discussed.     

Utility of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function – Preschool version (BRIEF-P) in young children with epilepsy

Executive functioning deficits are prominent in children with epilepsy. Although instruments, such as the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF), are useful in detecting executive dysfunction in school-age children with epilepsy, little data are available for younger children. The present study evaluates the ability of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function – Preschool Version (BRIEF-P) to detect executive dysfunction in preschool-age children with epilepsy. Parents of 51 clinically referred children with epilepsy (age: M = 1.99 years, SD = 1.29 years, range = 2–5 years) completed the BRIEF-P. Using a cutoff t score of ≥65 as the threshold for impairment, the BRIEF-P’s ability to detect executive dysfunction within this clinical population was established. Additionally, correlational analyses were used to assess the relations between epilepsy severity factors and BRIEF-P indices. Epilepsy severity variables that were significantly related to BRIEF-P indices were entered into a linear regression model to explore their predictive ability. Emergent metacognition (emergent metacognition index [EMI]; 59%) and the global executive composite (43%) were the most frequently elevated indices. The most commonly elevated subscales were working memory (65%), inhibition (37%), and planning/organization (35%). Age of seizure onset, seizure frequency, and number of antiepileptic drugs were not significantly correlated with BRIEF-P indices. However, children with lower intellectual ability were rated as having greater executive dysfunction, specifically with EMI (r = ?.30). Still, intellectual functioning only accounted for a small percentage (9%) of the variance in EMI scores. The current pilot study demonstrates that the BRIEF-P shows promise in identifying executive dysfunction in preschool-age children with epilepsy.     

Effects of response preference on resistance to change

Treatments based on differential reinforcement of alternative behavior, such as functional communication training, are widely used. Research regarding the maintenance of related treatment effects is limited. Nevin and Wacker (2013) provided a conceptual framework, rooted in behavioral momentum theory, for the study of treatment maintenance that addressed two components: (a) reemergence of problem behavior, and (b) continued expression of appropriate behavior. In the few studies on this topic, focus has been on variables impacting the reemergence of problem behavior, with fewer studies evaluating the persistence of appropriate behavior. Given the findings from applied research related to functional communication training, variables related to response topography, such as response preference, may impact this aspect of maintenance. In the current study, the impact of response preference on persistence was evaluated in the context of functional communication training for individuals who did not exhibit problem behavior (Experiment 1) and for individuals with a history of reinforcement for problem behavior (Experiment 2). High‐preferred mands were more persistent than low‐preferred mands. These findings suggest that response related variables, such as response preference, impact response persistence and further suggest that response related variables should be considered when developing interventions such as functional communication training.     

How to select stimuli for environmental sound research and where to find them.

A major methodological challenge in environmental sound research is to select appropriate stimuli. When an experiment involves a large number of sound sources, making custom recordings orproducing sounds live is frequently impractical or, for certain sounds, impossible. Existing databases of environmental sound recordings provide a researcher with a useful alternative. However, finding and selecting suitable sounds in such databases can be difficult because of the great variety of sounds present, poor documentation, questionable recording quality, and required purchasing costs. This article describes a number of practical issues to consider during the stimulus selection process, offers a preliminary compilation of existing resources for obtaining environmental sound recordings, provides some normative perceptual data that can be used as a reference for selecting stimuli and evaluating performance, and lists required characteristics and structural aspects of a research-oriented environmental sound database.     

Evidence for improved conclusion accuracy after reading about rather than conducting a belief‐inconsistent simple physics experiment

Prior beliefs that contradict data may interfere with the ability to draw accurate conclusions; however, evidence shows that through engaged activity individuals may learn new information. In Experiment 1 , undergraduates performed or read about two physics experiments involving a ball and ramp. The first experiment was consistent with most people's prior beliefs, while the second was inconsistent with most people's prior beliefs. Participants' predictions, experimentation adequacy, conclusions and ability to generalize knowledge were measured to determine the effects of prior belief bias depending on whether participants conducted or read about the experiment. In Experiment 2, a structured hands‐on condition was included and developmental trends across adolescence and adulthood were examined. In both Experiments, reading about a belief‐inconsistent experiment led to improved conclusion accuracy and ability to generalize knowledge as compared to performing the experiment. This was the case when experiments were performed well and after a 12‐week delay for adolescents. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Generalization of Sight Word Accuracy using a Common Stimulus Procedure: A Preliminary Investigation

The need to investigate strategies promoting the generalization of reading skills is well documented. The current study builds upon previous literature by examining the impact of a common stimulus procedure on accuracy of reading generalization words in isolation. The common stimulus procedure used in this study intended to enhance the salience of the orthographic and phonemic features between taught and generalization words by highlighting the common rime structure in each word with a specific color. Taught and generalization words representing four word families were used (e.g., end, et, ell, & en). Using a multiple-baseline design across three participants with a replication of procedures for a fourth student, the impact of the common stimulus on accuracy of reading generalization words was examined. Results demonstrated increased accuracy and stability of responding when common stimulus procedures were implemented.     

Divining testimony? The impact of interviewing props on children’s reports of touching

There is a long-held assumption that objects help bridge the gap between what children know and what they can (or are willing to) explain. In this review, we present research on the extent to which two types of objects used as props in investigative interviews of children, anatomical dolls and body (human figure) diagrams, actually help children report accurate information about autobiographical events. We explain why available research does not instill confidence that props are the best solution to interviewing challenges, and we consider practitioners’ and policy-makers responses to this evidence. Finally, we discuss the types of developmental research that are necessary to advance the field of evidence-based interviewing of children.