TEACHING SELF‐CONTROL WITH QUALITATIVELY DIFFERENT REINFORCERS

This study examined the effectiveness of using qualitatively different reinforcers to teach self‐control to an adolescent boy who had been diagnosed with an intellectual disability. First, he was instructed to engage in an activity without programmed reinforcement. Next, he was instructed to engage in the activity under a two‐choice fixed‐duration schedule of reinforcement. Finally, he was exposed to self‐control training, during which the delay to a more preferred reinforcer was initially short and then increased incrementally relative to the delay to a less preferred reinforcer. Self‐control training effectively increased time on task to earn the delayed reinforcer.     

Preference for gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) in current users

Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) is a drug with significant abuse potential. The present study aimed to assess the relative value of escalating doses of GHB to current GHB users via the Multiple Choice Procedure (MCP), and to validate that the dose rated highest with the MCP would be self-administered at a greater rate than placebo. Participants were 5 current GHB users who were not currently trying to stop using GHB. To examine the value of escalating doses of GHB, the following doses of GHB were used: 0 (placebo), 12.5, 25, 37.5, and 50 mg/kg. Participants typically assigned higher doses of GHB had higher crossover points on the MCP. During choice sessions, participants made repeated choices between administering GHB, placebo or nothing. All participants selected GHB exclusively (5 out of 5 instances) except for one participant who selected GHB on 4 out of 5 instances, thus 96% (i.e., 24/25) of choices were for active GHB. Based on these data, GHB appears likely to function as a dose-dependent reinforcer for humans based on our sample.     

Attachment to God,Stressful Life Events,and Changes in Psychological Distress

Considerable research shows that social relationships, attachments, and support systems promote emotional well-being. The present study adds to this literature by examining the connection between attachments to God and psychological distress. Analyzing longitudinal data (two waves) from a study of Presbyterian (PCUSA) elders and rank-and-file laypersons, results show that: (1) a secure attachment to God at baseline is associated with a decrease in distress over time; (2) a secure attachment to God buffers against the deleterious effects of stressful life events on distress; and (3) an anxious attachment to God exacerbates the harmful effects of stress. In these analyses, a secure attachment to God is a more robust predictor of changes in distress than many, more commonly studied variables including race, gender, SES, and church attendance. Future research should therefore replicate and extend this line of promising scholarship by examining additional outcomes such as psychiatric illness, physical health, and even mortality risk.     

On A- and B-theoretic elements of branching spacetimes

This paper assesses branching spacetime theories in light of metaphysical considerations concerning time. I present the A, B, and C series in terms of the temporal structure they impose on sets of events, and raise problems for two elements of extant branching spacetime theories??McCall??s ??branch attrition??, and the ??no backward branching?? feature of Belnap??s ??branching space?Ctime????in terms of their respective A- and B-theoretic nature. I argue that McCall??s presentation of branch attrition can only be coherently formulated on a model with at least two temporal dimensions, and that this results in severing the link between branch attrition and the flow of time. I argue that ??no backward branching?? prohibits Belnap??s theory from capturing the modal content of indeterministic physical theories, and results in it ascribing to the world a time-asymmetric modal structure that lacks physical justification.     

When the rules are reversed: Action-monitoring consequences of reversing stimulus–response mappings

How does switching tasks affect our ability to monitor and adapt our behavior? Largely independent lines of research have examined how individuals monitor their actions and adjust to errors, on the one hand, and how they are able to switch between two or more tasks, on the other. Few studies, however, have explored how these two aspects of cognitive?Cbehavioral flexibility interact. That is, how individuals monitor their actions when task rules are switched remains unknown. The present study sought to address this question by examining the action-monitoring consequences of response switching??a form of task switching that involves switching the response that is associated with a particular stimulus. We recorded event-related brain potentials (ERPs) while participants performed a modified letter flanker task in which the stimulus?Cresponse (S?CR) mappings were reversed between blocks. Specifically, we examined three ERPs??the N2, the error-related negativity (ERN), and the error positivity (Pe)??that have been closely associated with action monitoring. The findings revealed that S?CR reversal blocks were associated with dynamic alterations of action-monitoring brain activity: the N2 and ERN were enhanced, whereas the Pe was reduced. Moreover, participants were less likely to adapt their posterror behavior in S?CR reversal blocks. Taken together, these data suggest that response switching results in early enhancements of effortful control mechanisms (N2 and ERN) at the expense of reductions in later response evaluation processes (Pe). Thus, when rules change, our attempts at control are accompanied by less attention to our actions.     

“Get it out the way. The wait's killing me.” hastening and hiding during soccer penalty kicks

ObjectivesIt has been suggested that hastening and hiding—rushing through penalty preparation and not looking at the goal when preparing the penalty kick—are associated with negative penalty taking performance. In the present study, we investigated how opposing players perceived these nonverbal behaviors, how they affect outcome expectations, and how they affect the behavior of opposing goalkeepers.DesignThe present study employs an experimental research design (Experiment 1: 2 (gaze behavior) × 3 (preparation time) design; Experiment 2: 2 (gaze behavior) × 2 (preparation time) design).MethodWe examined the perception of nonverbal hastening and hiding behavior using the point-light technique during the soccer penalty kick among goalkeepers (Experiment 1a; n = 20), and among outfield soccer players (Experiment 1b; n = 29). Furthermore, we analyzed how these respective penalty preparation strategies influenced the behavior of high-level goalkeepers (n = 12) under in situ conditions (Experiment 2).ResultsThe results from Experiment 1 demonstrated that penalty takers showing hastening and hiding behaviors are perceived more negatively by both soccer goalkeepers and outfield players: (i) they are considered to possess less positive attributes, (ii) to have less accuracy in their penalties, and (iii) likely to perform less well in penalty situations. Experiment 2 provided first evidence that goalkeepers initiate their movement later following the observation of hastening and hiding behaviors during the penalty preparation.ConclusionsOur findings demonstrate the importance of investigating nonverbal behavior in sports as these have a major impact on impression formation, expected performance, and actual behavior of opposing players in the soccer penalty situation.