How do Hostile and Emotionally Overinvolved Relatives View Relationships?: What Relatives' Pronoun Use Tells Us

Expressed emotion (EE) has been linked to negative outcomes for a variety of psychiatric illnesses. Despite development of effective interventions to reduce EE, relatively little is known about EE's antecedents or maintaining factors. The present study uses a novel methodology (measurement of pronouns used by relatives during the Camberwell Family Interview [CFI] or a problem-solving interaction with the patient) to explore possible cognitive correlates of EE. Participants were 98 outpatients with obsessive-compulsive disorder or panic disorder with agoraphobia and their primary relative. Results showed that relatives' pronoun use was stable across situations. Relatives' hostility and criticism, as measured by objective coding of relatives' behavior during the CFI and interactions, respectively, were related to relatives' decreased we-focus and increased me-focus in the 2 situations. In contrast to expectations, relatives' emotional overinvolvement was related to their decreased we-focus during CFIs and interactions. Results support the value of using pronouns as a means to explore important aspects of relationship functioning.     

Selective storage and maintenance of an object’s features in visual working memory

It has been shown that we have a highly capacity-limited representational space with which to store objects in visual working memory. However, most objects are composed of multiple feature attributes, and it is unknown whether observers can voluntarily store a single attribute of an object without necessarily storing all of its remaining features. In this study, we used a masking paradigm to measure the efficiency of encoding, and neurophysiological recordings to directly measure visual working memory maintenance while subjects viewed multifeature objects and were required to remember only a single feature or all of the features of the objects. We found that measures of both encoding and maintenance varied systematically as a function of which object features were task relevant. These experiments show that individuals can control which features of an object are selectively stored in working memory.     

Sensitization and habituation of motivated behavior in overweight and non-overweight children

The rate of habituation to food is inversely related to energy intake, and overweight children may habituate slower to food and consume more energy. This study compared patterns of sensitization, as defined by an initial increase in operant or motivated responding for food, and habituation, defined by gradual reduction in responding, for macaroni and cheese and pizza in overweight and non-overweight 8- to 12-year-old children. Non-overweight children habituated faster to both foods than overweight children (p = .03). All children recovered motivated responding for a new food (chocolate). Overweight children consumed more energy than non-overweight children (p = .0004). Children who showed a sensitization in responding consumed more food (p = .001), and sensitization moderated the effect of overweight on habituation, with slower habituation for overweight children who sensitized (p < .001). This study replicates previous data on overweight/non-overweight differences in habituation of food and energy intake, and provides new information that individual differences in sensitization and habituation of motivated responding to obtain food may be associated with a sustained motivation to eat, resulting in greater energy intake.     

Israeli counsellors facing terrorism: coping and professional development

The current study examined the characteristics and functioning of 12 Israeli school counsellors located at different stages of professional development who worked in schools affected by terrorist attacks. Semi-structured interviews explored the counsellors' professional behaviour, activities, and coping with terror and its effects. Consensual qualitative research analysis revealed five major domains: role definition, organisational characteristics, affective reactions, dilemmas, and barriers and resources. Counsellors at different stages of professional development demonstrated different patterns of behaviour across the domains' categories and subcategories. Implications for research and supervision are discussed.     

Adolescent perceptions of overall family system functioning and parental behaviors

We used a systems perspective to examine relationships between adolescents’ perceptions of overall family system functioning and selected parental behaviors. Self-report questionnaire data from 160 ninth and tenth grade students were analyzed using MANCOVA and discriminant analysis. The results showed two parental behaviors, support and monitoring distinguished between types of overall family system functioning. Adolescents in balanced and moderately balanced overall family functioning reported greater parental support, while adolescents in balanced and extreme overall family functioning reported greater parental monitoring. We present the implications of our findings for parent education and assessment.     

Integrating haptic-tactile feedback into a video-capture-based virtual environment for rehabilitation.

Video-capture virtual reality (VR) systems are gaining popularity as intervention tools. To date, these platforms offer visual and audio feedback but do not provide haptic feedback. We contend that adding haptic feedback may enhance the quality of intervention for various theoretical and empirical reasons. This study aims to integrate haptic-tactile feedback into a video capture system (GX VR), which is currently applied for rehabilitation. The proposed multi-modal system can deliver audio-visual as well as vibrotactile feedback. The latter is provided via small vibratory discs attached to the patient's limbs. This paper describes the system, the guidelines of its design, and the ongoing usability study.     

Making and breaking habits: Revisiting the definitions and behavioral factors that influence habits in animals

Habits have garnered significant interest in studies of associative learning and maladaptive behavior. However, habit research has faced scrutiny and challenges related to the definitions and methods. Differences in the conceptualizations of habits between animal and human studies create difficulties for translational research. Here, we review the definitions and commonly used methods for studying habits in animals and humans and discuss potential alternative ways to assess habits, such as automaticity. To better understand habits, we then focus on the behavioral factors that have been shown to make or break habits in animals, as well as potential mechanisms underlying the influence of these factors. We discuss the evidence that habitual and goal-directed systems learn in parallel and that they seem to interact in competitive and cooperative manners. Finally, we draw parallels between habitual responding and compulsive drug seeking in animals to delineate the similarities and differences in these behaviors.     

Correction to: Closed but Not Protected: Excess Deaths Among the Amish and Mennonites During the COVID‑19 Pandemic

Journal of Religion and Health -