Indirect Effects of Functional Communication Training on Non-Targeted Disruptive Behavior

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of functional communication training (FCT) on the occurrence of non-targeted disruptive behavior. The 10 participants were preschool-aged children with developmental disabilities who engaged in both destructive (property destruction, aggression, self-injury) and disruptive (hand flapping, spinning in circles, shrill laughter, screaming, crying) behaviors. Only destructive behavior was targeted for the functional analyses and FCT, but data were also collected on disruptive behaviors. All procedures were conducted in the participants’ homes by their mothers with investigator coaching. Phase 1 consisted of conducting a functional analysis within a multielement design. Phase 2 consisted of conducting FCT with demand fading and repeated extinction baselines within a reversal design. Single-case data are provided for 3 participants, and summary data are provided for all 10 participants. Results of phase 1 showed that all participants’ destructive and disruptive behavior was maintained, at least in part, by negative reinforcement. Results of phase 2 showed that both destructive behavior and non-targeted disruptive behavior occurred at lower levels during FCT when compared to the functional analysis demand condition and baseline conditions, suggesting that FCT was effective in decreasing both target destructive behavior and non-targeted disruptive behaviors.     

An evaluation of persistence of treatment effects during long-term treatment of destructive behavior

Eight young children who displayed destructive behavior maintained, at least in part, by negative reinforcement received long‐term functional communication training (FCT). During FCT, the children completed a portion of a task and then touched a communication card attached to a microswitch to obtain brief breaks. Prior to and intermittently throughout FCT, extinction probes were conducted within a withdrawal design in which task completion, manding, and destructive behavior were placed on extinction to evaluate the relative persistence of appropriate and destructive behavior over the course of treatment. FCT continued until appropriate behavior persisted and destructive behavior failed to recur at baseline levels during extinction probes. The completion of FCT was followed by four challenges to the persistence of treatment effects conducted within mixed‐ or multiple‐schedule designs: (a) extended extinction sessions (from 5 to 15 min), (b) introduction of a novel task, (c) removal of the microswitch and communication card, and (d) a mixed schedule of reinforcement in which both appropriate and destructive behavior produced reinforcement. The results showed that although FCT often resulted in quick reductions in destructive behavior and increases in appropriate behavior, destructive behavior often recurred during the extinction probes conducted during the initial treatment. When the effects of treatment persisted during the extinction probes, the remaining challenges to treatment effects resulted in only mild to moderate disruptions in behavior. These results are consistent with the quantitative predictions of behavioral momentum theory and may provide an alternative definition of maintenance as constituting behavioral persistence.     

The link between child temperament and low-income mothers’ and fathers’ parenting

Numerous studies have shown that children's temperamental characteristics impact the quality and quantity of parent–child interactions. However, these studies have largely focused on middle-class samples, have not compared multiple domains of parenting across mothers and fathers, and have not considered the possibility of nonlinear associations between temperament and parenting. The present study addresses these gaps by examining the potentially nonlinear role of two temperamental characteristics—negative emotionality and sociability—in predicting the quality and quantity of low-income mothers’ and fathers’ parenting. Data were drawn from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project, a study of low-income children and families. Results indicated that whereas parenting quality was somewhat impaired when children were temperamentally vulnerable (low sociability, high negativity), parents increased parenting quantity with the same vulnerable children. There was some evidence that parents were most reactive to children who scored either very high or very low on negative emotionality and sociability in both parenting domains. Patterns also suggest that mothers were more reactive to sociability, and fathers to negative emotionality.     

Selective hippocampal lesions disrupt a novel cue effect but fail to eliminate blocking in rabbit eyeblink conditioning

The classical conditioning task of blocking involves the adding of a novel but redundant stimulus to a previously trained stimulus. Both blocking and novelty detection are thought to involve the hippocampus. Previously, Solomon (1977) found that nonselective aspiration lesions of the hippocampal region eliminated blocking in rabbit eyeblink conditioning. We tested the effects of selective ibotenic acid lesions of the hippocampus on blocking, as well as on novelty detection, when training is switched from a tone conditioned stimulus (CS) to a compound tone-light CS in eyeblink conditioning. Selective hippocampal lesions did not eliminate blocking but did lead to a facilitation of conditioned response (CR) acquisition to the tone and to the light, but not to the tone-light compound. Selective hippocampal lesions disrupted a CR decrement observed in sham surgical controls when transferred from tone training to tone-light training. It appears that although selective hippocampal lesions do not eliminate blocking in eyeblink conditioning, they do disrupt novelty detection and may facilitate learning to a previously blocked cue.     

Validation scheme and procedures to analyze consequential validity

The argument-based validation scheme guides assessment of the consequences of testing. The distinction between semantic inference and political inference allows us to combine the validation of the consequences in a single validation scheme. The validation process should produce evidence about the assumptions that support both types of inference. After presenting the validation scheme, we provide examples of its use in the assessment of the testing of two applications: the use of high-stake tests in educational contexts and the validation of adjustments made in standardized tests for people with disabilities. Finally, we propose procedures for the validation of consequences and we discuss the suitability of the argument-based validation scheme for the validation of the consequences of testing in Spain.     

Feasibility,Acceptability, and Preliminary Outcomes of the Fortalezas Familiares Intervention for Latino Families Facing Maternal Depression

This pilot study examined the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary outcomes of a linguistically and culturally adapted intervention for immigrant Latina mothers with depression and their families. Fortalezas Familiares (Family Strengths) is a community‐based, 12‐week, multifamily group intervention that aims to increase communication about family processes leading up to and affected by the mother's depression, build child coping and efficacy, enhance parenting competence and skills, and promote cultural and social assets within the family. In terms of feasibility, of 16 families who enrolled and participated in the intervention, 13 families attended more than 90% of meetings and completed the intervention. Posttests reported positive changes following the intervention, including improved psychological functioning, increased family and marital support, and enhanced family functioning, as reported by mothers and other caregivers. Mothers also reported decreased conduct and hyperactivity problems among their children. Children reported positive changes in their psychological functioning and coping, parenting warmth and acceptance, and overall family functioning. Postintervention focus groups and surveys measuring acceptability revealed families' satisfaction with the intervention and suggested areas of improvement. We discuss similarities and differences in outcomes between the adapted intervention, Fortalezas Familiares, and the original intervention, Keeping Families Strong, and propose future areas of intervention adaptation and development.     

Simultaneous interpretation selectively influences working memory and attentional networks

Recent research has shown that becoming an expert in a certain domain may lead to a transfer of the acquired skills to other domains requiring similar abilities. Thus, the cognitive skills acquired by professional interpreters after intensive training may also transfer to other domains. Simultaneous interpreters are known to develop high working memory capacity (e.g., Christoffels, de Groot, & Kroll, 2006; Signorelli, Haarmann, & Obler, 2012). However, little is known about transfer of other processes such us updating and some aspects of attention also involved in interpretation. In Experiment 1, we found that interpreters outperformed a control group in updating skills, as measured through a dual version of the n-back task (Jaeggi et al., 2007). In Experiment 2, use of the ANTI-V allowed us to reveal that interpreting differentially modulates the interactions between attentional networks. Thus, we found no group differences in conflict resolution, but the interaction between the alertness and orienting networks differed between interpreters and non-interpreters. Taken together, these results suggest that experience in simultaneous interpreting transfers to other domains, but this transfer seems specific to the cognitive processes more closely involved in the interpreting tasks.     

Exercise Improves Cognitive Control: Evidence from the Stop Signal Task

The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that exercise improves executive control. We compared the performance of physically active and passive young participants in two versions of the stop signal task: a strategic (more executive) and a standard version. The results showed that active participants were more efficient than passive at inhibiting a response in the strategic version, suggesting that (1) physical exercise appears positively associated with improved cognitive control in healthy young participants, adding to evidence gathered in children, aging and clinical populations; and that (2) the strategic version of the stop signal task constitutes a more sensitive task than executive tasks previously used. Although the data point out a link between physical activity and executive control, they also have potential practical implications for health authorities and the general public by strengthening the view that exercise, beyond its physical health benefits, also has positive effects on cognitive functioning. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.