Body image in eating disorders: the influence of exposure to virtual-reality environments

The aim of this article was to study the effect of virtual-reality exposure to situations that are emotionally significant for patients with eating disorders (ED) on the stability of body-image distortion and body-image dissatisfaction. A total of 85 ED patients and 108 non-ED students were randomly exposed to four experimental virtual environments: a kitchen with low-calorie food, a kitchen with high-calorie food, a restaurant with low-calorie food, and a restaurant with high-calorie food. In the interval between the presentation of each situation, body-image distortion and body-image dissatisfaction were assessed. Several 2?x?2?x?2 repeated measures analyses of variance (high-calorie vs. low-calorie food?x?presence vs. absence of people?x ED group vs. control group) showed that ED participants had significantly higher levels of body-image distortion and body dissatisfaction after eating high-calorie food than after eating low-calorie food, while control participants reported a similar body image in all situations. The results suggest that body-image distortion and body-image dissatisfaction show both trait and state features. On the one hand, ED patients show a general predisposition to overestimate their body size and to feel more dissatisfied with their body image than controls. On the other hand, these body-image disturbances fluctuate when participants are exposed to virtual situations that are emotionally relevant for them.     

Sentence-final word completion norms for European Portuguese children and adolescents

This study presents a set of sentence contexts and their cloze probabilities for European Portuguese children and adolescents. Seventy-three sentence contexts (35 low- and 38 high-constraint sentence stems) were presented to 90 children and 102 adolescents. Participants were asked to complete the sentence contexts with the first word that came to mind. For each sentence context, responses were listed and cloze probabilities of the words that were chosen to complete the sentence context were computed. Additionally, idiosyncratic and invalid responses (structural and semantic errors) were analyzed. A high degree of consistency in responses among the two age samples (children and adolescents) was found, along with a decrease of idiosyncratic and invalid responses in older participants. These results shed light on age-related changes in the effects of linguistic context on word production, and also in knowledge’s representation. The full set of norms may be downloaded from http://brm.psychonomic-journals.org/content/supplemental.     

Afro-centric religious consultations as treatment for psychotic disorders among day hospital patients in Santiago de Cuba

We investigated the utilisation of Afro-centric religious treatments for psychotic disorders among a sample of Cuban day hospital patients. Most (55%) had used such treatments and this practice was more common among older persons, although unassociated with any particular religious background or racial heritage. Persons who preferred Afro-centric religious practices to medical ones were more likely to be of African descent or to have received an Afro-centric religious ritual bath as treatment. A case is made for destigmatising Afro-centric religious treatments and for exploring treatment approaches that combine both medical and religious practices in order to achieve more holistic care.     

Characterization of long-term memory, resistance to extinction, and influence of temperament during two instrumental tasks in horses

The present study investigated the influence of temperament on long-term recall and extinction of 2 instrumental tasks in 26 horses. In the first task (backward task), horses learned to walk backward, using commands given by an experimenter, in order to obtain a food reward. In the second task (active avoidance task), horses had to cross an obstacle after a bell rang in order to avoid emission of an air puff. Twenty-two months after acquisition, horses exhibited perfect recall performance in both tasks. Accordingly, no influence of temperament on recall performance could be observed for either task. In contrast, in the absence of positive or negative outcomes, the horses’ ability to extinguish their response to either task was highly variable. Resistance to extinction was related to some indicators of temperament: The most fearful horses tended to be the most resistant to extinction in the backward task, while the least sensitive horses tended to be the most resistant to extinction in the active avoidance task. These findings reveal extensive long-term memory abilities in horses and suggest an influence of temperament on learning processes other than acquisition.     

Problematic eating behaviors and nutritional status in 7 to 12 year-old Chilean children

Overweight and obesity are medical conditions that require a multidisciplinary analysis of their causes and treatment. In Chile a sustained increase in the presence of obesity and excess weight has been observed in children. However, the amount and the dynamics of the aforementioned problematic eating behaviours in Chilean children are unknown. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between restrained, external, and emotional eating, and variations in body mass index (BMI) in Chilean children. Consequently, 453 children from 7 to 12 years of age responded to the Children's Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire, Spanish version. In addition, their anthropometric data were obtained. A positive association was found between restrained eating and BMI, and a negative correlation between external eating and BMI. Emotional eating demonstrated a modest inverse relationship with BMI. A significant interaction between problematic behaviour and nutritional status (normal-weight, overweight, obese) was revealed. Restrained eating was characteristic of obese children whereas external eating of normal-weight children. These results suggest that problematic eating behaviours and their relationship with body weight are similar to those described in studies in Europe.     

Influencia de la imitación y la comprensión en la adquisición del lenguaje en niños deficientes: dos experimentos basados en un diseño de líneas de base múltiple y control concurrente

RESUMEN

En este trabajo se exponen dos experimentos relacionados con algunos aspectos de la adquisición y desarrollo del pre-lenguaje y primeras etapas del lenguaje funcional, tanto comprensivo como expresivo, con niños deficientes no-verbales. Las autoras parten del programa de Kent “Language Acquisition Program for the Retarded or Multiply Impaired”, y utilizan un diseño experimental de líneas de base múltiples y control concurrente. Los resultados confirman en gran parte la hipótesis según la cual la imitación vocal y el lenguaje comprensivo son dos repertorios básicos para el lenguaje expresivo, concluyendo que el programa adaptado de Kent es un instrumento válido para la enseñanza de diversos aspectos del lenguaje y que la técnica de control concurrente parece ser una buena alternativa en aquellos casos en que el diseño experimental intrasujeto no permite la reversión de las condiciones experimentales.     

La generalización del entrenamiento en las técnicas de evaluación del potencial de aprendizaje

Resumen

Dos cuestiones parecen ser las que requieren mayor investigación actualmente en el contexto de las técnicas de potencial de aprendizaje: los efectos diferenciales, en distintos tipos de sujetos, del entrenamiento suministrado y la posibilidad de generalización del entrenamiento en el tiempo y a otras tareas.

Se presentan una serie de investigaciones llevadas a cabo con el objeto de analizar estas cuestiones en sujetos de 10 a 15 años con distintos niveles intelectuales; todas ellas se han centrado en la técnica EPA: evaluación del potencial de aprendizaje, que utiliza material tipo Raven en sus entrenamientos.

Los resultados muestran la especificidad del entrenamiento suministrado aunque aparecen diferencias significativas en la generalización entre sujetos con y sin alteraciones orgánicas.     

Obediencia institucional en el laboratorio

Resumen

La presente investigación consistió en una réplica de los paradigmas experimentales de Milgram y Darley y Latané sobre conformidad y conducta de ayuda. Se utilizaron 28 S divididos en un grupo de control y uno experimental. La V.I. era la presencia o ausencia de una supuesta víctima que, en una estancia contigua, recibía descargas eléctricas contra su voluntad. La V.D. estudiada era la obediencia o no a las instrucciones del experimentador por parte de los S en ambas situaciones. Los resultados confirman los de anteriores trabajos al observarse altos porcentajes de conductas conformistas. Por último se discuten tales datos en base a su relevancia ecológica.     

Procesos de aprendizaje y terapia de conducta en la adicción a la heroína

Resumen

Múltiples principios de condicionamiento clásico y operante interaccionan en la adición a la heroína. Destacan la presencia de RC Compensatorias en forma de Síndrome de Abstinencia Condicionado (SAC) y distintos programas de reforzamiento en el estilo de vida, argot y efectos de la heroína. En evaluación conductual se estudian los correlatos subjetivos y psicofisiológicos del SAC; la validez externa de los autorregistros se logra mediante análisis de orina. En terapia de conducta los programas de amplio espectro se combinan con la intervención comunitaria y apoyo médico. A nivel metodológico se resalta la necesidad de usar múltiples criterios de medición, introducción del análisis multivariado y uso de diseños estadísticos, realización de seguimientos a largo plazo.