Effect of attention control on sustained attention during induced anxiety

Anxiety has wide-reaching and complex effects on cognitive performance. Although it can intrude on cognition and interfere with performance, it can also facilitate information processing and behavioural responses. In a previous study, we showed that anxiety induced by threat of shock facilitates performance on the Sustained Attention to Response Task, a vigilance test, which probes response inhibition to infrequent nogo stimuli. The present study sought to identify factors that may have contributed to such improved performance, including on- and off-task thinking (assessed with thought probes) and individual differences in attention control, as measured with the Attention Control Scale. Replicating our prior finding, we showed that shock threat significantly reduced errors of commission on the nogo trials. However, we extended this finding in demonstrating that this effect was driven by subjects with low attention control. We therefore confirm that anxiety increases inhibitory control of prepotent responses—a mechanism which is adaptive under threat—and show that this effect is greater in those who rely more upon such prepotent responding, i.e., those with low attentional control.     

Religiousness,religious coping methods,and cognitive test anxiety among African-American college students

This study explored the roles of religiousness and religious coping methods in predicting cognitive test anxiety. A convenience sample of 121 African-American students (97 females and 24 males) ranging in age from 18 to 39 (M_age?=?20.16), attending a historically Black university completed an online questionnaire assessing demographic information, religiousness, religious coping methods, and cognitive test anxiety. Results showed that negative religious coping methods were significant factors in predicting cognitive test anxiety. These relationships may be pertinent for understanding salient factors that influence cognitive test anxiety in African-American college students.     

Evaluation of a telehealth parent training program in teaching self-care skills to children with autism

The present study used synchronous video conferencing to remotely deliver a behavioral skills training-based (BST) parent training program to 3 parents of children with autism in the family home. Parents were taught to implement graduated guidance to teach their children several important self-care skills. Parents did not correctly implement graduated guidance after receiving detailed written instructions only. After parents received the BST parent training package, however, all parents implemented graduated guidance with near-perfect levels of fidelity, and all children completed the targeted self-care skills with substantially higher levels of accuracy and independence. Furthermore, parents reported high levels of satisfaction with graduated guidance, the telehealth BST training package, and their children's ability to complete self-care skills.     

Social roles as mechanisms for psychological need satisfaction within social groups.

The authors explored ways in which needs for autonomy and relatedness can be simultaneously met within the context of group life. Specifically, it was hypothesized that social role performances provide means of both expressing the self and connecting with group members. Consistent with the assumption that autonomy and relatedness are complementary rather than conflictual, these needs were positively correlated in all 5 studies. Consistent with the authors' assumption that these needs are both important, feelings of autonomy and relatedness in social roles independently predicted subjective well-being, as measured by concurrent (Studies I and 3), peer-report (Study 2). and longitudinal (Studies 4 and 5) methodologies. Study 5 showed that participants whose characteristics matched an assigned role experienced more autonomy and relatedness and thus more positive mood during a group task. Implications for optimal functioning in group contexts are discussed.     

Performance of disabled and normal readers on the continuous performance test

Twelve-year-old reading-disabled children of normal intelligence were compared on the Continuous Performance Test with two control groups of normal intelligence and reading ability either of the same age or of the same reading age as the reading-disabled group. Signal-detection analysis showed that the reading-disabled were more conservative than chronological-age controls in their willingness to identify the target letter sequence. Although this conservative performance was shared by the reading-age controls, the readingdisabled suffered an additional handicap of relatively frequent anticipatory errors. Groups also differed on a sensitivity measure, suggesting a deficit in working memory in the reading-disabled children.This research was supported by the New Zealand Neurological Foundation. We thank the children and school staff for their willing cooperation. We are indebted to the research students who found the subjects and helped collect the data.