An evaluation of emerging preference for non‐preferred foods targeted in the treatment of food selectivity

Several studies have shown that the acquisition of food consumption does not occur until after escape prevention is implemented. However, the mechanism responsible for the maintenance of food consumption may be due to participants contacting the reinforcing properties of food targeted during intervention such that the food naturally reinforces food consumption. The present study extended the literature on feeding disorders by conducting pre‐ and post‐treatment preference assessments to determine if preference for non‐preferred foods (NPFs) had developed after exposure to a treatment comparison of sequential and simultaneous food presentation; presentation methods were implemented alone and combined with escape prevention in the form of a non‐removal of the spoon (NRS) procedure. Results for three participants with food selectivity indicated that preference for NPFs developed after being exposed to those foods during either treatment sessions or generalization probes. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A comparison of simultaneous versus sequential presentation of novel foods in the treatment of food selectivity

The present study extended the literature on feeding disorders by conducting a comparison of sequential and simultaneous food presentation in the treatment of food selectivity. In the simultaneous condition, a highly preferred food was presented in the same bite with a non‐preferred food (NPF), and during the sequential condition, a highly preferred food was delivered as a consequence for acceptance and consumption of NPFs. Generalization and maintenance of food consumption was assessed. Although results for two participants indicated that both presentation methods produced an increase in acceptance and consumption of NPFs when combined with an escape extinction procedure, anecdotal observations suggested that participants may have had a preference for eating foods in a sequential fashion. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Promoting self-directed hemodialysis: measurement and cognitive-behavioral intervention

Approximately 98% of hemodialysis patients who are treated in hemodialysis units currently use staff-directed treatment. This may well be the most expensive and most dependent mode of hemodialysis treatment. If an effective strategy were developed to enhance degree of self-directed care, millions of public health dollars might be saved while patients reap potentially substantial psychological benefits. The present research took two steps in the direction of promoting increased self-directed treatment of hemodialysis. First, a reliable and easily used behavioral observation system was developed to define and measure degree of self-directed treatment of hemodialysis. Second, a five-step cognitive-behavioral strategy to improve degree of self-directed treatment was developed and tested preliminarily. The strategy includes an initial rationale, decisional counseling, behavioral contracting, self-monitoring, and staff support/problem solving. Four nurses used this approach with 4 elderly patients (mean age = 70.5 years). A multiple-baseline-across-subjects design revealed substantial and relatively rapid improvements in degree of self-directedness associated with the intervention for the 3 patients who remained healthy throughout the study. The discussion focuses on the implications of the results for future research.     

Effects of long-term exposure to violent and sexually degrading depictions of women

In this study we investigated the effects of emotional desensitization to films of violence against women and the effects of sexually degrading explicit and nonexplicit films on beliefs about rape and the sexual objectification of women. Male subjects viewed either two or five R-rated violent "slasher," X-rated nonviolent "pornographic," or R-rated nonviolent teenage-oriented ("teen sex") films. Affective reactions and cognitive perceptions were measured after each exposure. Later, these men and no-exposure control subjects completed a voir dire questionnaire, viewed a reenacted acquaintance or nonacquaintance sexual assault trial, and judged the defendant and alleged rape victim. Subjects in the violent condition became less anxious and depressed and showed declines in negative affective responses. They were also less sympathetic to the victim and less empathetic toward rape victims in general. However, longer film exposure was necessary to affect general empathy. There were no differences in response between the R-rated teen sex film and the X-rated, sexually explicit, nonviolent film, and the no-exposure control conditions on the objectification or the rape trial variables. A model of desensitization to media violence and the carryover to decision making about victims is proposed.     

Body Mass Index Is an Important Predictor for Suicide: Results from a Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis

Public health concerns for the independent management of obesity and suicidal behavior are rising. Emerging evidence suggests body weight plays an important role in quantifying the risk of suicide. In light of these findings, we aimed to clarify the association between body mass index (BMI) and suicidal behavior by systematically reviewing and evaluating the literature. Studies were identified by searching MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and CINAHL from inception to January 2015, supplemented by hand and grey literature searches. Study screening, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment were conducted in duplicate. We included 38 observational studies. Meta‐analyses supported an inverse association between BMI and completed suicide. Pooled summary estimates demonstrated that underweight was significantly associated with an increased risk of completed suicide (HR = 1.21, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.36, p = .002), and obesity (HR = 0.71, 95% CI 0.56 to 0.89, p = .003) and overweight (HR = 0.78, 95% CI 0.75 to 0.82, p < .0001) were significantly associated with a decreased risk of completed suicide relative to normal weight. A qualitative summary of the literature demonstrated conflicting evidence regarding the association between BMI and attempted suicide and revealed no association between BMI and suicidal ideation. BMI may be used to aid the assessment of suicide risk, especially that of completed suicide. However, unmeasured confounders and systematic biases of individual studies limit the quality of evidence.     

Forgetting the once-seen face: estimating the strength of an eyewitness's memory representation

The fidelity of an eyewitness's memory representation is an issue of paramount forensic concern. Psychological science has been unable to offer more than vague generalities concerning the relation of retention interval to memory trace strength for the once-seen face. A meta-analysis of 53 facial memory studies produced a highly reliable association (r=.18, d=0.37) between longer retention intervals and positive forgetting of once-seen faces, an effect equally strong for both face recognition and eyewitness identification studies. W. A. Wickelgren's (1974, 1975, 1977) theory of recognition memory provided statistically satisfactory fits to 11 different empirical forgetting functions. Applied to the results of field studies of eyewitness memory, the theory yields predictions relevant to fact finders' evaluations of eyewitness credibility. A plausible upper limit for witness initial memory strength corresponds to a probability of .67 of being correct on a fair six-person lineup. Furthermore, not only can the percentage of remaining memory strength be determined for any retention interval, but this strength estimate can be translated into an estimated probability of being correct on a fair lineup of a specified size.     

Caregiver-conducted experimental functional analyses of inappropriate mealtime behavior

The purpose of the current study was to replicate the use of parents as therapists for experimental functional analyses of inappropriate mealtime behavior with multiple participants while measuring procedural integrity. Clear functions were identified, and high percentages of procedural integrity were obtained.     

Teaching complex verbal operants to children with autism and establishing generalization using the peak curriculum

The present study evaluated the feasibility of the PEAK Relational Training System's Generalization Module (Dixon, 2014b) to teach and establish generalization of autoclitic mands, distorted tacts, and creative path finding in three children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Using a multiple‐baseline design across behaviors, each participant was provided with differential reinforcement and a least‐to‐most prompting hierarchy for correct responses to a subset of stimuli, and responses to other similar stimulus sets were probed for emergent generalization. Following training, each participant successfully acquired the directly trained behaviors and demonstrated generalization to the nonreinforced test exemplars. These data support the utility of Skinner's (1957) analysis to teach complex forms of verbal operants, and suggest that a manualized curriculum such as PEAK may have utility for promoting skill development and generalization for front line staff and caregivers of children with autism.     

Using stimulus variation to increase reinforcer efficacy of low preference stimuli

Recent research findings suggest that low preference stimuli can be effective reinforcers. This study compared responding to high preference and low preference stimuli under continuous reinforcement. Results demonstrated that responding was greater when a high preference stimulus was presented. Other research findings suggest that stimulus variation increases the potency of reinforcers perceived to be of high preference. This study extended this line of research by evaluating whether stimulus variation would increase the potency of low preference stimuli. Results demonstrated that when three low preference stimuli were presented in a varied fashion, responding corresponded with the levels obtained when a high preference stimulus was presented. Furthermore, a varied reinforcer presentation of low preference stimuli was found to increase and maintain high percentages of correct responding and on‐task behavior to levels equal to those obtained with a high preference stimulus during a discrete trial preparation. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.