A systematic examination of different parameters of presession exposure to tangible stimuli that maintain problem behavior

We examined the effects of three different presession conditions on tangibly maintained problem behavior for 2 students with autism, using individual-participant multielement designs. First, an analogue functional analysis demonstrated that problem behavior was maintained by access to tangible items. Next, topographies of item rejection were identified. Finally, students were exposed to (a) brief access, (b) no access, and (c) satiation to the tangible items prior to tangible sessions. The results demonstrated high levels of problem behavior following the brief-access and no-access presession conditions and low levels of problem behavior following the satiation condition. The findings are discussed in the context of how satiation might best be defined for these sorts of evaluations.     

Visual search for real world targets under conditions of high target-background similarity: Exploring training and transfer in younger and older adults

Real world visual search tasks often require observers to locate a target that blends in with its surrounding environment. However, studies of the effect of target-background similarity on search processes have been relatively rare and have ignored potential age-related differences. We trained younger and older adults to search displays comprised of real world objects on either homogenous backgrounds or backgrounds that camouflaged the target. Training was followed by a transfer session in which participants searched for novel camouflaged objects. Although older adults were slower to locate the target compared to younger adults, all participants improved substantially with training. Surprisingly, camouflage-trained younger and older adults showed no performance decrements when transferred to novel camouflage displays, suggesting that observers learned age-invariant, generalizable skills relevant for searching under conditions of high target-background similarity. Camouflage training benefits at transfer for older adults appeared to be related to improvements in attentional guidance and target recognition rather than a more efficient search strategy.     

A processing fluency explanation of bias against migrants

This research investigated whether people are biased against migrants partly because they find migrants more difficult to cognitively process than nonmigrants. In Study 1, 181 undergraduate students evaluated migrant and nonmigrant members of two minimal groups and reported the difficulty that they experienced in thinking about each type of target. Participants rated migrants less positively than nonmigrants, and difficulty ratings partially mediated this effect. Study 2 (N = 191) replicated these findings and demonstrated similar findings for individuals who had been excluded from minimal groups. This evidence implies that migrant bias can be explained partly in terms of the difficulty that people have in processing information about migrants, and that it is related to migrants’ exclusion from their original group.     

Hand dominance influences the processing of observed bodies

In motor tasks, subgroups of lefthanders have been shown to differ in the distribution of attention about their own bodies. The present experiment examined whether similar attentional biases also apply when processing observed bodies. Sixteen right handers (RHs), 22 consistent left handers (CLHs) and 11 relatively ambidextrous inconsistent left handers (ILHs) performed an own body transformation task in which they were instructed to make speeded left–right judgements about a schematic human figure. Attentional biases associated with handedness were found to extend to observed bodies: CLHs’ judgements were faster to the figure’s left side, while ILHs, like RHs, showed facilitated performance to the figure’s right side. These results demonstrate a novel embodiment effect whereby the processing of a static schematic human figure is modulated by an individual’s personal motor capabilities. This finding suggests that motor simulation may contribute to whole body perception in the absence of actual or implied actions.     

Alcohol‐related violence defined by ultimate goals: a qualitative analysis of the features of three different types of violence by intoxicated young male offenders

Based upon a functional approach to understanding aggression, we aimed to identify the occurrence of and to describe the features of three types of alcohol‐related violence defined a priori by ultimate goals: (1) violence in pursuit of nonsocial profit‐based goals, (2) violence in pursuit of social dominance goals, and (3) violence as defence in response to threat. A sample of 149 young men with offences of violence that were alcohol related was interviewed. Cases were classified and detailed information from the first ten cases in each class (N=30) was subjected to thematic analysis. Intoxicated violence in pursuit of nonsocial profit‐based goals was opportunistic and motivated by the desire for more alcohol or drugs. Violence, in these cases, although serious, appeared to be brief. Intoxicated violence in pursuit of social dominance goals was typically precipitated by past or current insult or injury, and was accompanied by strong anger and an adrenaline rush. Attacks were ferocious, and robbing the victim was not uncommon, perhaps to inflict additional humiliation. Feelings of pride and satisfaction were typical and expressions of remorse were uncommon. Regarding intoxicated violence as defence in response to threat, attacks were often expected, and in some cases the respondent made a pre‐emptive strike. Weapon use was common in this group. Fear was experienced, but so too was anger. Feelings of excitement were not reported and remorse was common. Further validation of these types is warranted, and the potential implications of these findings for prevention and treatment are discussed. Aggr. Behav. 36:67–79, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

The importance of response type to the relationship between temporal order and numerical magnitude

Time, number, and space may be represented in the brain by a common set of cognitive/neural mechanisms. In support of this conjecture, Schwarz and Eiselt (Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 35, 989-1004, 2009) found that numerically smaller digits were perceived to occur earlier than larger digits, and they concluded that this difference reflected faster processing of smaller numbers. This difference, however, could have been related to a response bias, whereby participants map responses of "which first" onto the "first" number along the mental number line. In Experiment 1, participants made temporal order judgements between digits presented to the left or to the right. The point of subjective simultaneity was shifted so that the 9 had to be presented before the 2 in order for simultaneity to be perceived. This difference could reflect either faster processing of the 2 or a response bias. Experiments 2a and 2b eliminated response biases by using simultaneity judgements, which have no logical stimulus mapping. Both of the latter experiments established that the 2 was not processed faster than the 9. Although the present results relate specifically to numerical magnitude and temporal order associations, they also have broader implications. Other studies have reported associations between dimensions such as size, duration, and number and have attributed these to parietal mechanisms. Such associations, however, may also be an artefact of response biases.     

Experiences related to expert supervisors' views of ideal therapeutic practice

Aims: This study examines the relationship between expert supervisors' professional experiences and their views about the importance of different psychotherapy techniques. Method: Thirty psychodynamic‐interpersonal (PI) supervisors and 13 cognitive‐behavioural (CB) supervisors (N=43) were instructed to rate 20 therapeutic techniques according to how characteristic each technique is of an ideally‐conducted session within their theoretical orientation. The measure used for this assessment was the Comparative Psychotherapy Process Scale. Results: Findings demonstrated that supervisors' beliefs about ideal therapeutic techniques are related to their number of years in post‐graduate clinical practice, training, and supervising trainees, as well as to the number of publications they have authored. Further, experience within a given orientation tends to lead to a greater endorsement of techniques within that orientation, although this finding is more uniform for CB supervisors than PI supervisors. Finally, differential types of experience lead to differential focusing on specific techniques. Discussion: The clinical importance of these findings is explored.     

By the numbers: Structure-seeking individuals prefer quantitative over qualitative representations of personal value to compensate for the threat of unclear performance contingencies

What combination of dispositional and situational factors leads people to represent their personal value in quantitative terms (e.g., salary) rather than qualitative terms (e.g., virtue)? Integrating research on quantitative information seeking, dispositional epistemic motivation, and learned helplessness, the current article hypothesized that individuals high, but not low, in uncertainty avoidance (measured with the Personal Need for Structure Scale [PNS]) would prefer quantitative (over qualitative) value representations to compensate for the diminished self-esteem certainty caused by exposure to unclear performance contingencies. Accordingly, in Study 1 high-PNS participants exposed to unclear (vs. clear) performance contingencies in one domain (visual intelligence) preferred a quantitative value representation in another domain (verbal intelligence). Study 2 showed that this effect is mediated by self-esteem certainty, not self-esteem level. Study 3 included a failure feedback condition to further isolate the role of epistemic motivation, as distinct from self-enhancement motivation, in driving the tendency to quantify personal value.