Bridging the Divide: Linking Basic Science to Applied Psychotherapeutic Interventions—A Relational Frame Theory Account of Cognitive Disputation in Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy

The importance of linking applied psychotherapeutic techniques and strategies to basic experimental science is discussed, both as an independent ideal and in light of non-specific factors research suggesting that atheoretical global factors are responsible for the vast majority of clinical change. As an example of how such basic-applied linkage can occur, principles from Relational Frame Theory and other relevant experimental data are used to analyze and explain the potential utility of two specific strategies often employed in Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy to remediate “awfulizing” and low frustration tolerance, respectively. The preliminary nature of this analysis is highlighted to allow a realistic view of the tremendous task at hand for clinical psychologists seeking a stronger basic science foundation for applied technologies.     

How to keep a reversible figure from reversing: teasing out top-down and bottom-up processes

The nature of processes underlying our perception of reversible figures was examined through two experiments investigating the effects of prior exposure conditions on an observer's report of figural reversal. In experiment 1, observers were adapted over several minutes to an unambiguous version of a rotating Necker cube prior to the presentation of the standard ambiguous figure. Results indicated that adaptation produced an immediate bias to perceive the ambiguous figure in the opposite configuration (ie reverse bias) and to reduce reports of reversal over the test period. The introduction of a brief delay between the adaptation and test periods revealed that this bias is a highly transient effect and is only clearly evident when the adaptation and test figures are matched in size. In experiment 2, observers were primed with an unambiguous figure for a few seconds prior to the presentation of the standard ambiguous figure. In this case, the obtained bias strongly favored the observer's reporting the ambiguous figure to be in the same configuration as the adapting figure (ie positive bias); and neither introducing a delay period nor changing figure size had any effect. We conclude that these experiments reveal the distinct roles of transient, retinally localized neural processes as well as more stable, global processes under specifiable conditions.     

Attachment style, ethnicity and help-seeking attitudes among adolescent pupils

The present study set out to explore influences on help-seeking attitudes among adolescents. The roles of attachment style, ethnicity and symptomatology were examined, as previous research (predominantly from outside the UK) has shown they have an influence on help-seeking. A self-report questionnaire survey of help-seeking attitudes was carried out among 112 Asian, black and white UK pupils (age 15 years). Teachers were identified as the most frequently used source of previous professional help. Greater intentions to seek help were associated with being female, having a secure attachment style and having had previous experience of obtaining professional psychological help, but ethnicity and level of emotional and behavioural difficulties did not predict. Results are discussed in terms of implications for enhancing adolescent help-seeking.     

The impact of death qualification, belief in a just world, legal authoritarianism, and locus of control on venirepersons' evaluations of aggravating and mitigating circumstances in capital trials

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of death qualification, belief in a just world (BJW), legal authoritarianism (RLAQ), and locus of control (LOC) on venirepersons' evaluations of aggravating and mitigating circumstances in capital trials. 212 venirepersons from the 12th Judicial Circuit in Bradenton, FL, completed a booklet that contained the following: one question that measured their attitudes toward the death penalty; one question that categorized their death-qualification status; the BJW, LOC, and RLAQ scales; a summary of the guilt and penalty phases of a capital case; a 26-item measure that required participants to evaluate aggravators, nonstatutory mitigators, and statutory mitigators on a 6-point Likert scale; sentence preference; and standard demographic questions. Results indicated that death-qualified venirepersons were more likely to demonstrate higher endorsements of aggravating factors and lower endorsements of both nonstatutory and statutory mitigating factors. Death-qualified participants were also more likely to have a high belief in a just world, espouse legal authoritarian beliefs, and exhibit an internal locus of control. Findings also suggested that venirepersons with a low belief in a just world and an external locus of control demonstrated higher endorsements of statutory mitigators. Participants with legal authoritarian beliefs revealed higher endorsements of aggravators and lower endorsements of nonstatutory mitigators. Legal implications and applications are discussed.     

Opposing effects on muscarinic acetylcholine receptors in the piriform cortex of odor-trained rats

We combined pharmacological studies and electrophysiological recordings to investigate modifications in muscarinic acetylcholine (ACh) receptors (mAChR) in the rat olfactory (piriform) cortex, following odor-discrimination rule learning. Rats were trained to discriminate between positive and negative cues in pairs of odors, until they reached a phase of high capability to learn unfamiliar odors, using the same paradigm (“rule learning”). It has been reported that at 1–3 d after the acquisition of odor-discrimination rule learning, pyramidal neurons in the rat piriform cortex show enhanced excitability, due to a reduction in the spike-activated potassium current I_AHP, which is modulated by ACh. Further, ACh and its analog, carbachol (CCh), lost the ability to reduce the I_AHP in neurons from trained rats. Here we show that the reduced sensitivity to CCh in the piriform cortex results from a decrease in the number of mAChRs, as well as a reduction in the affinity of the receptors to CCh. Also, it has been reported that 3–8 d after the acquisition of odor-discrimination rule learning, synaptic transmission in the piriform cortex is enhanced, and paired-pulse facilitation (PPF) in response to twin stimulations is reduced. Here, intracellular recordings from pyramidal neurons show that CCh increases PPF in the piriform cortex from odor-trained rats more than in control rats, suggesting enhanced effect of ACh in inhibiting presynaptic glutamate release after odor training.     

Consumer Preference Programs for Individuals Who Are Homeless and Have Psychiatric Disabilities: A Drop-In Center and a Supported Housing Program

We illustrate Fairweather's approach to Experimental Social Innovation and Dissemination with two experimental studies of programs to reduce homelessness for 168 and 225 people with mental illness and often substance abuse. Literally homeless participants were randomly assigned to programs that emphasized consumer choice or to the usual continuum of care, in which housing and services are contingent on sobriety and progress in treatment. A drop-in center that eliminated barriers to access to services was more successful than control programs in reducing homelessness, but after 24 months only 38% of participants had moved to community housing. A subsequent apartment program, in which individuals in the experimental condition moved to subsidized apartments directly from the street, with services under their control, had 79% in stable housing (compared to 27% in the control group) at the end of 6 months. Groups in this study did not differ on substance abuse or psychosocial outcomes.     

Posttraumatic play in young children exposed to terrorism: An empirical study

The phenomenon of “posttraumatic play” (PTP) has received much clinical recognition and little empirical support. The objective of this study was to examine various aspects of PTP in young children exposed to terror events and their relation to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Individual play sessions, conducted with 29 young Israeli children directly exposed to terrorism (M age = 5.47, SD = 1.34) and 25 matched unexposed children (M age = 5.62, SD = 0.87), were coded using the Children's Play Therapy Instrument–Adaptation for Terror Research (CPTI‐ATR; S.E. Chazan & E. Cohen, 2003). Analyses using these ratings showed (a) significant differences between the two groups, (b) significant associations with the caregiver's reports on child's exposure, and (c) significant associations with the caregiver's reports on the child's PTSD symptoms. Play activity ratings of predominant negative affects, frequent acting‐out/morbid themes, lowered developmental level, and reduced awareness of the child of him‐ or herself as a player significantly predicted more PTSD symptoms. PTP which included more coping strategies classified as “overwhelmed reexperiencing” and less “reenactment with soothing” was associated with a higher level of PTSD. Play analysis with the CPTI‐ATR may be helpful in identifying PTSD in children and also guide the selection of therapeutic techniques.     

Mind the gap: Misdirection, inattentional blindness and the relationship between overt and covert attention

The present commentary addresses two issues arising from Memmert’s (2010) paper. First, can the ‘misdirection’ and ‘inattentional blindness’ paradigms provide important insights into the relationship between ‘overt’ and ‘covert’ attentional processes? Second, what are the most fruitful directions for research that seeks to combine these attentional paradigms in ecologically valid settings? We argue that although Memmert’s (2010) paper postulates several important differences between the misdirection and inattentional blindness paradigms, it may not emphasise sufficiently strongly the significant insights into attention that have been yielded by the former approach. To illustrate, we discuss the utility of the misdirection paradigm in providing an ecologically valid method to investigate the relationship between overt and covert attentional processes. Such naturalistic methods are required to ensure optimal integration of the misdirection and inattentional blindness paradigms within a general theory of attention.