The formation of a generalized categorization repertoire: effect of training with multiple domains,samples, and comparisons

The present experiment explored the effects of three variables on the spontaneous categorization of stimuli in perceptually distinct and novel domains. Each of six stimulus domains was created by morphing two images that were the domain endpoints. The endpoints of the domains were male and female faces, two abstract drawings, a car and a truck, two banded-elevation satellite land images, a tree and a cat, and two false-color satellite images. The stimulus variants at each end of a domain defined two potential perceptual classes. Training was conducted in a matching-to-sample format and used stimuli from one or two domains, one or three variants per class as samples, and one or three variants per class as comparisons. The spontaneous categorization of stimuli in the untrained stimulus domains showed the emergence of a generalized categorization repertoire. The proportion of spontaneously categorized stimuli in the new domains was positively related to the number of domains and samples used in training, and was inversely related to the number of comparisons used in training. Differential reaction times demonstrated the discriminability of the stimuli in the emergent classes. This study is among the first to provide an empirical basis for a behavior-analytic model of the development of generalized categorization repertoires in natural settings.     

Intraadministration associations: conditional hyperalgesia elicited by morphine onset cues

There is evidence that exteroceptive cues associated with drug administration elicit conditional compensatory responding (e.g., hyperalgesia in organisms with a history of morphine administration). Recently it has become apparent that, within each administration, interoceptive early-drug onset cues (DOCs) may become associated with the later, larger drug effect (intraadministration associations). The present experiments evaluated DOC-elicited conditional hyperalgesia in rats intravenously infused with morphine. The results indicated that DOC-elicited hyperalgesia contributes to tolerance to the analgesic effect of morphine, and such DOC-elicited hyperalgesia is an associative phenomenon, rather than a sensitized response to the opiate. The findings suggest that associative analyses of tolerance should acknowledge the conditional responding elicited by DOCs, and extinction-based addiction treatments should incorporate extinction of DOC-elicited conditional responding.     

Regularities of source recognition: ROC analysis

Source memory has become the focus of a growing number of investigations in a variety of fields. An appropriate model for source memory is, therefore, of increasing importance. A simple 2-dimensional signal-detection model of source recognition is presented. The receiver operating characteristics (ROCs) obtained from 3 experiments are then used to test the model. The data demonstrate 3 regularities: convex ROCs, z-ROCs with linear slopes of 1.00, and slightly concave z-ROCs. Two of these regularities support the model. The 3rd requires a revision of the model. This revised model is fitted to the data. The implications of these regularities for other theories are also discussed.     

Differential functioning of the Beck depression inventory in late-life patients: use of item response theory

The present analyses examined age-related measurement bias in responses to items on the revised Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) in depressed late-life patients versus midlife patients. Item response theory (IRT) models were used to equate the scale and to differentiate true-group differences from bias in measurement in the 2 samples. Baseline BDI data (218 late life and 613 midlife) were used for the present analysis. IRT results indicated that late-life patients tended to report fewer cognitive symptoms, especially at low to average levels of depression. Conversely, they tended to report more somatic symptoms, especially at higher levels of depression. Adjusted cutoff scores in the late-life group are provided, and possible reasons for age-related differences in the performance of the BDI are discussed.     

Minimizing error in measurement of error: a proposed method for calculation of error in a two-dimensional motor task

Traditional one-dimensional error scores are still consistently used in research on motor learning to quantify two-dimensional error; however, the inherent differences in two-dimensional tasks render that application inappropriate and often misleading. Consequently, the purpose of this paper was to propose a novel method of presenting errors, which more precisely represents the accuracy, direction, and variability of error in two-dimensional settings. Although closely related to several alternatives for representing errors, the methodology used and the results obtained provide a more accurate procedure for pinpointing critical trends in what have been commonly referred to as AE (absolute error), VE (variable error), CE (constant error), and E (total variability). The proposed measurements of AVE (adjusted variable error), DE (directional error), TSE (total spread of error), and RE (radial error) provide composite error scores carrying a variety of information about performance on two-dimensional tasks. Formulas and examples are provided to facilitate computation and enhance understanding of the proposed scores.     

Psychometric Study of the Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale: Prediction of Contact with the Law and Poor School Attendance

The predictive validity of the Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale (CAFAS) is investigated using the data set generated by the national evaluation of the demonstration service grants funded by the Center for Mental Health Services. Logistic regressions were performed separately for contact with the law and poor school attendance, which were both assessed at 6 months postintake. Other variables included in the model besides the CAFAS total score at intake were age, gender, and family risk factors. The results show that the CAFAS total score at intake was a positive predictor of the likelihood of contact with the law and poor school attendance, even after controlling for age, gender, and risk factors. Furthermore, the CAFAS total score was predictive even after excluding scores on CAFAS subscales, which may have been influenced by absenteeism or delinquency. These findings are consistent with recent research indicating that the CAFAS predicts recidivism in juvenile delinquents.This research was conducted while the author was a Research Associate at the Population Studies Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI     

The Temple-Wisconsin Cognitive Vulnerability to Depression Project: lifetime history of axis I psychopathology in individuals at high and low cognitive risk for depression

The authors tested the cognitive vulnerability hypotheses of depression with a retrospective behavioral high-risk design. Individuals without current Axis I diagnoses who exhibited either negative or positive cognitive styles were compared on lifetime prevalence of depressive and other disorders and the clinical parameters of depressive episodes. Consistent with predictions, cognitively high-risk participants had higher lifetime prevalence than low-risk participants of major and hopelessness depression and marginally higher prevalence of minor depression. These group differences were specific to depressive disorders. The high-risk group also had more severe depressions than the low-risk group, but not longer duration or earlier onset depressions. The risk group differences in prevalence of depressive disorders were not mediated by current depressive symptoms.     

Perceiving circular heading in noncanonical flow fields

Five experiments examined circular heading perception with optical flows that departed from the canonical form. Noncanonicity was achieved through nonrigidity of the environment (Experiments 1 and 2), oscillations of the point of observation (Experiment 3), and the bending of light (Experiments 4 and 5). In Experiments 1 and 2, perception was impaired more by nonrigidity of the ground plane than by nonrigidity of the medium. In Experiment 3, perception was unimpaired by noncanonical flows induced by the bounce and sway of observer locomotion. In Experiments 4 and 5, perception was not impaired when light paths were distorted by a spherical projection, but perception was impaired when they were distorted by a sine function. Results are discussed in relation to the hypothesis that the information for perceiving heading is the ordinal pattern of optical flow.     

The clergyman's use of mental health resources

Pastoral Psychology -     

The course of depressive symptoms in men from early adolescence to young adulthood: identifying latent trajectories and early predictors

Heterogeneity in the longitudinal course of depressive symptoms was studied through the use of general growth mixture modeling for young men in the Oregon Youth Study (N=206), who ranged in age from 15 to 24 years. Four trajectory classes were identified: the very-low, the moderate-decreasing, the high-decreasing, and the high-persistent classes. The 3 lowest classes differed primarily quantitatively with the initial level or mean level across time being the major determinant of class differences, whereas the high-persistent class appeared qualitatively different in terms of long-term developmental trends and variation. Findings from univariate and multivariate analyses revealed specific effects of childhood, parental, contextual, and individual risk factors on the class membership as well as on the growth within each trajectory class.