The Impact of Depression on Self–Other Discrepancies in Decision Making

Although there is a small but growing body of literature on how people make risky decisions for others and predict others' decisions, results seem to be contradictory. The authors contribute to the understanding of these mixed results by investigating how depression affects self–other discrepancies in decision making and the psychological processes that underlie these discrepancies. In an experiment, depressed and nondepressed individuals read a series of scenarios involving decisions about health, money, and interpersonal relationships. They then indicated which of two options they would choose for themselves or for another person, or predicted which option this person would choose for himself or herself. Finally, participants reported benefits and drawbacks of the decisions (i.e., cognitions) and feelings about risk. Depressed individuals were less prone to bias when they predicted others' decisions than nondepressed individuals. Feelings about risk played a key role in determining the direction and the magnitude of this bias. In contrast, both depressed and nondepressed individuals showed bias when they made decisions for others. This bias affected their decisions in opposing ways and was determined by cognitions. This bias is consistent with literature showing that depression is associated with an increased sensitivity to social risks. The authors provide a theoretical explanation of self–other discrepancies in decision making in depressed and nondepressed individuals and conclude that the results support the assumption that depression is associated with psychological processes whose role is to increase sensitivity to social threats rather than with a more general negative bias in cognitive functioning. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Mediating Role of Street Code Attitudes on the Self-Control and Crime Relationship

Research has demonstrated strong but independent attention to the role of self-control and street code attitudes in predicting criminal and violent behavior. Yet, there are good theoretical notions to believe that street code attitudes may be a salient mechanism in the self-control–offending relationship. Specifically, the present study investigates: (1) the extent to which self-control predicts adopting street code attitudes and (2) whether street code attitudes mediate the effect of self-control on criminal behavior. Using data collected from a multisite sample of over 900 young adults, we assess this mediation hypothesis for three distinct types of criminal activity: violent, property, and drug use. Our results reveal that individuals with lower self-control are more likely to adopt street code attitudes, that self-control is related to all three forms of offending, and that street code attitudes fully mediate the effect of self-control on violence, partially on property crime, but not in the case of drug use. Findings and directions for future research are discussed.     

A qualitative inquiry of Latino immigrants' work experiences in the Midwest

Latino immigrants are the largest source of immigrant workers in the United States. In this study, 11 first-generation Latino immigrants (8 men, 3 women) living in the Midwest were interviewed about their work experiences. Interview data were analyzed using consensual qualitative research methods (Hill, Thompson, & Williams, 1997). Five domains associated with the data included work for survival and power, work for social connections, work as self-determination, work barriers in the Midwest, and access to work in the Midwest. We identify ways in which vocational psychologists can intervene to work effectively with Latino newcomers seeking employment in the United States and to support their transition into new settlement communities. Suggestions for future research with immigrant workers are discussed.     

Culturally adapting an evidence-based parenting intervention for Latino immigrants: the need to integrate fidelity and cultural relevance

Latinos constitute the largest ethnic minority group in the United States. However, the cultural adaptation and dissemination of evidence-based parenting interventions among Latino populations continues to be scarce despite extensive research that demonstrates the long-term positive effects of these interventions. The purpose of this article is threefold: (1) justify the importance of cultural adaptation research as a key strategy to disseminate efficacious interventions among Latinos, (2) describe the initial steps of a program of prevention research with Latino immigrants aimed at culturally adapting an evidence-based intervention informed by parent management training principles, and (3) discuss implications for advancing cultural adaptation prevention practice and research, based on the initial feasibility and cultural acceptability findings of the current investigation.     

Diagnosis of cognitive impairment onset in older adults based on limitations in language skills / Diagnóstico del inicio del deterioro cognitivo en mayores a partir de limitaciones en las capacidades lingüísticas

Abstract

Progressive decline in language has been described in neuropsychological studies on Alzheimer’s disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). We investigate this decline in its early stages, as well as its manifestations and the linguistic differences between participants at risk of developing MCI and without impairment. Participants were 36 older adults, all aged over 65. They were assessed using 31 subtests grouped into eight areas: fluency, comprehension, oral expression, reading, writing, memory, perceptual organization and processing speed. Our results showed significant differences between participants at risk of developing MCI and without impairment in verbal tests but not in manipulative tests. All participants at risk of developing MCI scored lowest in these eight areas. Our findings illustrate the relevance of investigating language skills in people at risk of developing MCI. Investigating these neuropsychological changes will help design appropriate intervention programmes that affect areas with higher levels of impairment.     

Pavlovian conditioning: the CS-UR relation

A new Pavlovian procedure used fluid-elicited throat-movement responses of the pigeon (N=66) to study the effects on conditioning of the temporal relation of the conditioned stimulus (CS) to the unconditioned stimulus-unconditioned response (US-UR). Because the throat-movement response has a substantial latency and duration, the relation of the CS to the US and UR could be independently evaluated. Four experiments indicated that, operationally, the relation of the CS to the UR--not to the US--is critical for conditioning in this preparation. The conventional emphasis on CS-US relations is based on procedures that confound the occurrence of the US with the UR and that foster generalization decrement between training and testing. The authors indicate how several conditioning phenomena may be reinterpreted in terms of CS-UR relations.     

Metacognitive Therapy Focused on Psychosocial Function in Psychosis

Metacognitive Insight and Reflection Therapy is a manual-based individual psychotherapy aimed at enhancing four metacognitive processes through patient’s personal narratives which may promote recovery by helping individuals suffering from schizophrenia to develop a richer and more integrated sense of self. This study is a single case analysis of the effects of a meta-cognitively oriented CBT on residual psychotic symptoms and functional targets. Outcome measures (PANNS, PDI 21, BAVQ-R, PSP, MAS-A) were collected at two different times: pre-CBT and 1-year. Results showed reductions in the distress, preoccupation and conviction associated with delusions and improvements in metacognitive abilities, social functioning, hopefulness and of the sense of self-confidence to cope with the psychotic symptoms. Adopting a metacognitive perspective during psychotherapy had several benefits: to foster the development of therapeutic alliance, to allow the patient to assess the efficacy and acknowledge the consequences of the different strategies he could use to cope with his symptoms and to question the predominance of his delusions in his life. To conclude, Metacognitive Reflection and Insight Therapy seem particularly adapted to address psychosocial issues, such as social or work functioning.     

CREATING SINGLE‐SUBJECT DESIGN GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL™ 2007

Over 10 years have passed since the publication of Carr and Burkholder's (1998) technical article on how to construct single‐subject graphs using Microsoft Excel. Over the course of the past decade, the Excel program has undergone a series of revisions that make the Carr and Burkholder paper somewhat difficult to follow with newer versions. The present article provides task analyses for constructing various types of commonly used single‐subject design graphs in Microsoft Excel 2007. The task analyses were evaluated using a between‐subjects design that compared the graphing skills of 22 behavior‐analytic graduate students using Excel 2007 and either the Carr and Burkholder or newly developed task analyses. Results indicate that the new task analyses yielded more accurate and faster graph construction than the Carr and Burkholder instructions.     

Extended Analysis of Empirical Citations with Skinner's Verbal Behavior: 1984-2004

The present paper comments on and extends the citation analysis of verbal operant publications based on Skinner''s Verbal Behavior (1957) by Dymond, O''Hora, Whelan, and O''Donovan (2006). Variations in population parameters were evaluated for only those studies that Dymond et al. categorized as empirical. Preliminary results indicate that the majority of empirical research in the area of verbal behavior has been conducted with the younger developmentally disabled population and has focused on verbal operants from the introductory chapters of Skinner''s book. It is clear that Verbal Behavior has influenced empirical research over the past 50 years. We believe, however, that there are many underdeveloped research areas originating from Verbal Behavior that have not yet been addressed. Suggestions for extended areas of research are provided.