Perceptual load does not modulate auditory distractor processing

In vision, it is well established that the perceptual load of a relevant task determines the extent to which irrelevant distractors are processed. Much less research has addressed the effects of perceptual load within hearing. Here, we provide an extensive test using two different perceptual load manipulations, measuring distractor processing through response competition and awareness report. Across four experiments, we consistently failed to find support for the role of perceptual load in auditory selective attention. We therefore propose that the auditory system – although able to selectively focus processing on a relevant stream of sounds – is likely to have surplus capacity to process auditory information from other streams, regardless of the perceptual load in the attended stream. This accords well with the notion of the auditory modality acting as an ‘early-warning’ system as detection of changes in the auditory scene is crucial even when the perceptual demands of the relevant task are high.     

Were the Victorians cleverer than us? The decline in general intelligence estimated from a meta-analysis of the slowing of simple reaction time

The Victorian era was marked by an explosion of innovation and genius, per capita rates of which appear to have declined subsequently. The presence of dysgenic fertility for IQ amongst Western nations, starting in the 19th century, suggests that these trends might be related to declining IQ. This is because high-IQ people are more productive and more creative. We tested the hypothesis that the Victorians were cleverer than modern populations, using high-quality instruments, namely measures of simple visual reaction time in a meta-analytic study. Simple reaction time measures correlate substantially with measures of general intelligence (g) and are considered elementary measures of cognition. In this study we used the data on the secular slowing of simple reaction time described in a meta-analysis of 14 age-matched studies from Western countries conducted between 1889 and 2004 to estimate the decline in g that may have resulted from the presence of dysgenic fertility. Using psychometric meta-analysis we computed the true correlation between simple reaction time and g, yielding a decline of − 1.16 IQ points per decade or − 13.35 IQ points since Victorian times. These findings strongly indicate that with respect to g the Victorians were substantially cleverer than modern Western populations.     

A Meta-Analysis of Ethics Instruction Effectiveness in the Sciences

Scholars have proposed a number of courses and programs intended to improve the ethical behavior of scientists in an attempt to maintain the integrity of the scientific enterprise. In the present study, we conducted a quantitative meta-analysis based on 26 previous ethics program evaluation efforts, and the results showed that the overall effectiveness of ethics instruction was modest. The effects of ethics instruction, however, were related to a number of instructional program factors, such as course content and delivery methods, in addition to factors of the evaluation study itself, such as the field of investigator and criterion measure utilized. An examination of the characteristics contributing to the relative effectiveness of instructional programs revealed that more successful programs were conducted as seminars separate from the standard curricula rather than being embedded in existing courses. Furthermore, more successful programs were case based and interactive, and they allowed participants to learn and practice the application of real-world ethical decision-making skills. The implications of these findings for future course development and evaluation are discussed.     

Associations between miscellaneous symptoms and symptom dimensions in adults with obsessive-compulsive disorder

Abstract

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a debilitating psychiatric condition with a heterogeneous array of obsessions and compulsions. Although factor analytic studies have identified symptom dimensions comprising the clinical presentation of OCD, many frequently reported miscellaneous symptoms are not considered in factor analytic studies because they do not fit conceptually within a particular symptom category, despite being functionally related. In the present study, we examined the associations between miscellaneous symptoms and OCD symptom dimensions in a sample of 111 adults with OCD. Overall, most miscellaneous symptoms were associated with one or more symptom dimensions in previously identified four- (14 of the 22 symptoms) and five-factor models (12 of the 22 symptoms). In both models, Contamination/Cleaning was the only dimension not related to any miscellaneous symptom. The present results provide information about which miscellaneous symptoms may be related to particular symptom dimensions, which will assist in clinical evaluations and help planning behavioral psychotherapy (e.g., hierarchy development).     

Implementation and Dissemination of Military Informed and Evidence-Based Interventions for Community Dwelling Military Families

Community dwelling military families from the National Guard and Reserve contend with deployment-related stressors in relative isolation, living in communities where mental health providers may have little knowledge of military culture. When they are community residents, active duty service members and families tend to live in close proximity to their military installations. This article will focus primarily on the challenges to quality mental health care for reserve component (RC) families. Where studies of RC families are absent, those of active component (AC) families will be highlighted as relevant. Upon completion of a deployment, reintegration for RC families is complicated by high rates of symptomatology, low service utilization, and greater barriers to care relative to AC families. A paucity of providers skilled in evidence-based treatments (EBTs) limits community mental health capacity to serve RC military families. Several emergent programs illustrate the potential for better serving community dwelling military families. Approaches include behavioral health homes, EBTs and treatment components, structured resiliency and parent training, military informed schools, outreach methods, and technology-based coping, and psychoeducation. Methods from implementation science to improve clinical skill acquisition and spread and sustainability of EBTs may advance access to and quality of mental health treatment and are reviewed herein. Recommendations related to research methods, military knowledge and treatment competencies, and transition to a public health model of service delivery are discussed.     

Reasoning with uncertain categories

Five experiments investigated how people use categories to make inductions about objects whose categorisation is uncertain. Normatively, they should consider all the categories the object might be in and use a weighted combination of information from all the categories: bet-hedging. The experiments presented people with simple, artificial categories and asked them to make an induction about a new object that was most likely in one category but possibly in another. The results showed that the majority of people focused on the most likely category in making inductions, although there was a group of consistently normative responders who used information from both categories (about 25% of our college population). Across experiments the overall pattern of results suggests that performance in the task is improved not by understanding the underlying principles of bet-hedging but by increasing the likelihood that multiple categories are in working memory at the time of the induction. We discuss implications for improving everyday inductions.     

Successive and conditional discrimination learning in pigs

We studied the ability of pigs to discriminate tone cues using successive and conditional discrimination tasks. Pigs (n = 8) were trained in a successive discrimination Go/No-Go task (Experiment 1) to associate a Go-cue with a reward at the end of a runway and a No-Go-cue with the absence of reward. Latency to reach the goal-box was recorded for each cue-type. Learning of a conditional discrimination task was compared between low-birthweight (LBW, n = 5) and normal-birthweight (NBW, n = 6) pigs (Experiment 2) and between conventional farm (n = 7) and Göttingen miniature (n = 8) pigs (Experiment 3). In this active-choice task, one cue signalled a response in a right goal-box was correct and a second cue signalled a response in a left goal-box was correct. Cues were differentially rewarded. The number of sessions to learn the discrimination and number of correct choices per cue-type were recorded. In Experiment 1, four out of eight pigs showed learning on the task, that is, a higher latency to respond to the No-Go-cue, within 25 sessions. In Experiment 2, eight out of 11 pigs learned the discrimination within 46 sessions. LBW learners learned faster than NBW learners. In Experiment 3, all 15 pigs learned the task within 16 sessions. Göttingen miniature pigs learned faster than conventional farm pigs. While some methodological issues may improve the Go/No-Go design, it is suggested that an active-choice task yields clearer and more consistent results than one relying on latency alone.     

Human risky choice in a repeated-gambles procedure: an up-linkage replication of Lakshminarayanan, Chen and Santos (2011)

Lakshminarayanan et al. (J Exp Soc Psychol 47: 689–693, 2011) showed that when choice is between variable (risky) and fixed (safe) food amounts with the same expected values, capuchins prefer the safe alternative if choice is framed as a gain, but the risky alternative if it is framed as a loss. These results seem similar to those seen in human prospect-theory tests in choice between variable and fixed gains or losses. Based on this similarity, they interpreted their results as identifying a between-species commonality in cognitive function. In this report, we repeat their experiment with humans as subjects (an up-linkage replication). Whether choices were rewarded with candy or nickels, choice approximated indifference whether framed as gains or losses. Our data mirror those of others who found that when humans make risky choices within a repeated-trials procedure without verbal instruction about outcome likelihoods, preference biases seen in one-shot, language-guided, prospect-theory tests such as Tversky and Kahneman’s (Science 211:453–458, 1981) reflection effect may not appear. The disparity between our findings and those of Lakshminarayanan et al. suggests their study does not evidence a cognitive process shared by humans and capuchins.     

ICD-11 prolonged grief disorder: Prevalence,predictors, and co-occurrence in a large representative sample

The International Classification of Diseases has recently defined Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) with symptoms such as longing, worry, and intense emotional pain that exceed sociocultural norms more than 6 months after the loss. This study aims to (a) estimate the prevalence of this new diagnostic category, (b) identify its sociodemographic and loss-related predictors, and (c) assess the co-occurrence of PGD with other psychological disorders and substance abuse. A large representative sample of Spanish adults (N = 1498) participated. Several multivariate binary logistic regression and multivariate logistic regression models were used. Results showed a 9.95% prevalence in the total sample. Catholic beliefs were a positive predictor, while higher income and more time since loss significantly decreased the odds of PGD. PGD significantly increased the likelihood of anxiety, depression, somatisation, post-traumatic stress disorder, loneliness and substance use. Our study contributes to assessing the multicultural PGD validity, as our results from a large representative sample are comparable to those in other countries with the PGDS. Our findings have direct implications for the assessment and treatment of bereavement, identifying for practitioners variables that make individuals more vulnerable to PGD. Results highlighted the high co-occurrence of PGD with other psychological illnesses and increased drug use.