Acquired stimulus control of drug-induced changes in aggressive display in Betta splendens

Male Siamese fighting fish exhibit stereotyped aggression reactions to their mirror reflections. When distinctive neutral stimuli (flickering colored lights) were repeatedly associated with drug-potentiated aggression (morphine sulfate) and drug-depressed aggression (phenergan), the stimuli came to exert specific stimulus control over aggressive display even after the drugs were discontinued.     

Brief psychological treatments for emotional disorders in Primary and Specialized Care: A randomized controlled trial

Background/Objective Brief transdiagnostic psychotherapies are a possible treatment for emotional disorders. We aimed to determine their efficacy on mild/moderate emotional disorders compared with treatment as usual (TAU) based on pharmacological interventions. Method: This study was a single-blinded randomized controlled trial with parallel design of three groups. Patients (N = 102) were assigned to brief individual psychotherapy (n = 34), brief group psychotherapy (n = 34) or TAU (n = 34). Participants were assessed before and after the interventions with the following measures: PHQ-15, PHQ-9, PHQ-PD, GAD-7, STAI, BDI-II, BSI-18, and SCID. We conducted per protocol and intention-to-treat analyses. Results: Brief psychotherapies were more effective than TAU for the reduction of emotional disorders symptoms and diagnoses with moderate/high effect sizes. TAU was only effective in reducing depressive symptoms. Conclusions: Brief transdiagnostic psychotherapies might be the treatment of choice for mild/moderate emotional disorders and they seem suitable to be implemented within health care systems.     

Accommodation to Increased Accuracy Demands by the Right and Left Hands

This study was designed to identify the phase of rapid aimed movements responsible for hand differences in motor skill, and to evaluate potential differences between the hands in accommodating to greater accuracy demands. In both experiments, an accelerometer mounted on a stylus allowed key changes in acceleration to be used to partition the movement into phases. In Experiment 1, slower left hand movement times were attributable primarily to a terminal homing-in phase, especially as target size decreased. Since error rates varied as a function of hand and target size, speed-accuracy trade-offs may have occurred. Experiment 2 rigidly controlled error rate and confirmed the major hand difference to occur in the latter phase of the movement where error correction is presumed. Although less pronounced, adjustments were made in the earlier movement phases as well. Accommodation to greater accuracy demands involved moving the stylus closer to the target before decelerating to engage in error correction. This adjustment to gain enhanced precision was more pronounced in the left hand.     

LGBT Community, Social Network Characteristics, and Smoking Behaviors in Young Sexual Minority Women

Smoking rates among young sexual minority women (YSMW) are disproportionately high as compared to heterosexual populations. While this disparity has commonly been attributed to the sexual minority stress process, little empirical work has explored what may protect YSMW from high rates of smoking. Using data (N = 471) from a cross-sectional study designed to investigate YSMW’s (age 18–24) smoking behaviors and correlates; we explore the relationship of LGBT community connections, YSMW’s social network characteristics, and stress to smoking behaviors (i.e., status, frequency, amount). Through this analysis, we find support for LGBT community connection as well as friendships with other sexual minorities as protective in relation to YSMW’s smoking behaviors. We discuss the implications of our results, highlighting the need for future longitudinal research and interventions designed to bolster YSMW’s connections to the LGBT community and their social networks.     

Model Conditioned Data Elasticity in Path Analysis: Assessing the “Confoundability” of Model/Data Characteristics

Much research has been directed at the validity of fit indices in Path Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling (e.g., Browne, MacCallum, Kim, Andersen, &; Glaser, 2002 Browne, M.W., MacCallum, R.C., Kim, C.T., Andersen, B.L., &; Glaser, R. (2002). When fit indices and residuals are incompatible. Psychological Methods, 7, 403–421.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Heene, Hilbert, Draxler, Ziegler, &; Bühner, 2011 Heene, M., Hilbert, S., Draxler, C., Ziegler, M., &; Bühner, M. (2011). Masking misfit in confirmatory factor analysis by increasing unique variances: A cautionary note on the usefulness of cutoff values of fit indices. Psychological Methods, 16(3), 319–336.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Hu &; Bentler, 1999 Hu, L., &; Bentler, P. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, J., 6(1), 1–55.[Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Marsh, Hau, &; Wen, 2004 Marsh, H.W., Hau, K.T., &; Wen, Z. (2004). In search of golden rules: Comment on hypothesis-testing approaches to setting cutoff values for fit indexes and dangers in overgeneralizing Hu and Bentler’s (1999) findings. Structural Equation Modeling, 11(3), 320–341.[Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Recent developments (e.g., Preacher, 2006 Preacher, K.J. (2006). Quantifying parsimony in structural equation modeling. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 41(3), 227–259.[Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Roberts &; Pashler, 2000 Roberts, S., &; Pashler, H. (2000). How persuasive is a good fit? A comment on theory testing. Psychological Review, 107(2), 358–367.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], 2002 Roberts, S., &; Pashler, H. (2002). Reply to Rodgers and Rowe (2002). Psychological Review, 109(3), 605–607.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) have encouraged researchers to investigate other criteria for comparing models, including model complexity. What has not been investigated is the inherent ability of a particular data set to be fitted with a constrained set of randomly generated linear models, which we call Model Conditioned Data Elasticity (DE). In this article we show how DE can be compared with the problem of equivalent models and a more general problem of the “confoundability” of data/model combinations (see MacCallum, Wegener, Uchino, &; Fabrigar, 1993 MacCallum, R.C., Wegener, D.T., Uchino, B.N., &; Fabrigar, L.R. (1993). The problem of equivalent models in applications of covariance structure analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 114(1), 185–199.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Using the DE package in R, we show how DE can be assessed through automated computer searches. Finally, we discuss how DE fits within the controversy surrounding the use of fit statistics.     

Emoción expresada: Introducción al concepto,evaluación e implicaciones pronosticas y terapéuticas

RESUMEN

Los autores comienzan analizando el concepto de emoción expresada y los modos de evaluarla en el nucleo familiar de pacientes esquizofrénicos, clarificando sus dos componentes básicos: implicación emocional excesiva y actitud crítica. Seguidamente repasan diversos estudios en torno a la validez y utilidad de este constructo y otros en relación con cuestiones de carácter conceptual y metodológico. Finalmente abordan las implicaciones y desarrollos terapéuticos, centrándose en las intervenciones sociales llevadas a cabo en Gran Bretaña y en la terapia familiar conductual y ofreciendo algunos de sus resultados. El trabajo concluye que la revisión de los estudios sobre emoción expresada en familiares de sujetos esquizofrénicos pone de relieve la adecuación y utilidad de estas medidas, ofreciendo algunas pautas para investigaciones futuras.     

Affect of the unconscious: Visually suppressed angry faces modulate our decisions

Emotional and affective processing imposes itself over cognitive processes and modulates our perception of the surrounding environment. In two experiments, we addressed the issue of whether nonconscious processing of affect can take place even under deep states of unawareness, such as those induced by interocular suppression techniques, and can elicit an affective response that can influence our understanding of the surrounding environment. In Experiment 1, participants judged the likeability of an unfamiliar item—a Chinese character—that was preceded by a face expressing a particular emotion (either happy or angry). The face was rendered invisible through an interocular suppression technique (continuous flash suppression; CFS). In Experiment 2, backward masking (BM), a less robust masking technique, was used to render the facial expressions invisible. We found that despite equivalent phenomenological suppression of the visual primes under CFS and BM, different patterns of affective processing were obtained with the two masking techniques. Under BM, nonconscious affective priming was obtained for both happy and angry invisible facial expressions. However, under CFS, nonconscious affective priming was obtained only for angry facial expressions. We discuss an interpretation of this dissociation between affective processing and visual masking techniques in terms of distinct routes from the retina to the amygdala.