Reducing delusional speech in chronic, paranoid schizophrenics

Four schizophrenic patients with paranoid and grandiose delusions who had been hospitalized for an average of 17 yr were exposed to social reinforcement contingencies in a multiple baseline design. During the baseline period, each patient was interviewed for four 10-min sessions each day. The elapsed time from onset of conversation to onset of delusional talk was recorded. At the end of each day, the patients engaged in a 30-min informal chat with a nurse-therapist while relaxing with coffee, snacks, and cigarettes. The intervention introduced two contingencies: (1) The 10-min interviews were terminated as soon as the patient began talking delusionally; (2) The patients earned time for their evening chat by talking rationally during their daytime interviews. Increases of from 200 to 600% in the amount of rational talk exhibited during the interviews occurred as the contingencies were introduced for each patient sequentially over time. These increases were maintained in three patients when the amount of reinforcement was halved, but declined when the patients were confronted directly with their delusional ideas. A modest amount of generalization occurred from the day-time interviews to the evening chats but did not extend to the behavior of the patients on the ward.     

The layman's use of trait and behavioral information to predict behavior

This study investigated conditions that determine subjects' preferences for information about another person's traits versus his specific past behavior in order to predict his future behavior. The similarity-dissimilarity between the situation for which past behavior was available and the one to which predictions had to be made strongly influenced the choice of specific behavioral information versus more general trait information. As expected, behavioral information was preferred most when the situation to which behavior had to be predicted was highly similar to the one for which the past behavioral data were available. On the other hand, more general trait information was preferred in predicting to situations that were not directly similar to those for which past behavioral information was available. The effect of the temporal span covered by available information was also explored.     

Altered Cortico-Limbic Functional Connectivity During an Empathy Task in Subjects with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Empathy is a multidimensional construct consisting of cognitive (inferring mental states) and emotional (empathic concern) components. Emotional empathy is severely impaired in individuals affected by Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Here, we investigated the neural correlates of such an emotional empathy dysfunction to shed light on the neural circuitry responsible for the social and emotional dysfunction in PTSD. We asked a group of PTSD and a group of healthy controls to solve a Multifaceted Empathy Test, measuring both cognitive and emotional empathy, and investigated the functional connectivity of the cortical areas involved in solving the test. The results revealed that, in healthy individuals, increased neural activity in the frontal cortex modulates activity in the insula while subjects perform the emotional empathy task; whereas, in individuals affected by PTSD, increased activity in limbic regions such the insula and the amygdala modulates activity in the frontal cortex while performing the emotional empathy task. These findings suggest that the lack of cortical top-down control of the frontal cortex on the limbic system in PTSD during empathic processing may explain the emotional and social difficulties experienced by individuals suffering from PTSD.     

The Undoing Effect of Positive Emotions

Positive emotions are hypothesized to undo the cardiovascular aftereffects of negative emotions. Study 1 tests this undoing effect. Participants (n = 170) experiencing anxiety-induced cardiovascular reactivity viewed a film that elicited (a) contentment, (b) amusement, (c) neutrality, or (d) sadness. Contentment-eliciting and amusing films produced faster cardiovascular recovery than neutral or sad films did. Participants in Study 2 (n = 185) viewed these same films following a neutral state. Results disconfirm the alternative explanation that the undoing effect reflects a simple replacement process. Findings are contextualized by Fredrickson's broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions (B. L. Fredrickson, 1998).     

Aggression and peer victimization as predictors of self‐reported behavioral and emotional adjustment

The relative contributions of aggression and victimization to the prediction of self‐reported emotional and behavioral difficulties over and above self‐reported prior problems were investigated in a 1‐year longitudinal study. Fourth‐, fifth‐, and sixth‐graders (N = 471) completed peer nominations of aggression and victimization as well as self‐report measures of social, behavioral, and emotional problems at baseline and at 1‐year follow‐up. Peer aggression added to the prediction of externalizing problems, specifically, self‐report of aggression and delinquency. In contrast, victimization by peers contributed to self‐reported unpopularity but not depression. Victimization among girls was also predictive of subsequent self‐reported delinquency. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings, as well as future directions for research, are discussed. Aggr. Behav. 26:345–358, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Comprehensive community-based education and neurorehabilitation for children and adolescents with traumatic brain injury

Children and adolescents who experience a traumatic brain injury (TBI) typically have sensory, cognitive, behavioral, and functional skill challenges that must be addressed in acute and post-acute rehabilitation settings. This article describes a community-based school that combines educational, medical, nursing, family, residential-living, and psychological services in a comprehensive program of pediatric neurorehabilitation. The operational, administrative, and clinical features of these service components are presented. A critical aspect of the program is an emphasis on applied behavior analysis procedures for purposes of assessment, treatment formulation, and evaluation. Data are reviewed to demonstrate demographics, patterns of service delivery, and outcome. The school program represents an educational alternative for students with TBI who are discharged from acute-care settings and require comprehensive support services to facilitate their transition and re-entry to public school and community living. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Exploring Asian American racial identity

In this study the authors used cluster analysis to create racial identity profiles for a sample of Asian Americans using the People of Color Racial Identity Attitudes Scale (PCRIAS). A four-cluster solution was chosen: each cluster corresponded to one PCRIAS subscale and was named accordingly. Scores on the Asian American Racism-Related Stress Inventory and the Color-Blind Racial Attitudes Scale were compared across clusters. As expected, the Dissonance and Immersion clusters were characterized by relatively high racism-related stress and low levels of color-blind attitudes; the Conformity cluster showed roughly the opposite pattern. Surprisingly, the Internalization cluster showed a pattern similar to that for Conformity and thus may reflect "pseudoindependence" as discussed by Helms.