Reinforcer pathology II: Reward magnitude,reward delay,and demand for alcohol collectively relate to college students' alcohol related problems

The reinforcer pathologies model of addiction posits that two characteristic patterns of operant behavior characterize addiction. Specifically, individuals suffering from addiction have elevated levels of behavioral economic demand for their substances of abuse and have an elevated tendency to devalue delayed rewards (reflected in high delay discounting rates). Prior research has demonstrated that these behavioral economic markers are significant predictors of many of college students' alcohol-related problems. Delay discounting, however, is a complex behavioral performance likely undergirded by multiple behavioral processes. Emerging analytical approaches have isolated the role of participants' sensitivity to changes in reinforcer magnitude and changes in reinforcer delay. The current study uses these analytic approaches to compare participants' discounting of money versus alcohol, and to build regression models that leverage these new insights to predict a wider range of college students' alcohol related problems. Using these techniques, we were able to 1) demonstrate that individuals differed in their sensitivity to magnitudes of alcohol versus money, but not sensitivity to delays to those commodities and 2) that we could use our behavioral economic measures to predict a range of students' alcohol related problems.     

Behandlungsmotivation und Indikation von Psychotherapie

Concepts and results of research into treatment motivation under psychotherapy are discussed with regard to the question whether decisions for indications on the basis of the motivational characteristics of patients are reasonable. Established concepts and broader theories of treatment motivation as well as diagnostic tools for the assessment are presented. Subsequently, empirical results for the effects of motivational factors on the maintenance and success of psychotherapy are briefly sketched. Approaches aimed at the enhancement of treatment motivation before and during psychotherapeutic processes are then illustrated. Finally, it is emphasized that, in turn, features of individual therapeutic processes may provide a basis for the indication of motivational enhancement interventions, thus supporting the notion of a dynamic nature of treatment motivation.     

Efficient versus flexible mentalizing in complex social settings: Exploring signature limits

Wu, Sheppard, and Mitchell (Br. J. Psychol., 2016; 107, 1–22) investigate in a fascinating study the fact that adults can detect empathic traits in others after only briefly watching or listening to a person. In this commentary, we highlight how the processes of an efficient, implicit, but inflexible mentalizing system are likely to operate in such situations. Further, we specify how testing signature limits over time‐, attribute‐, and protagonist‐restrictions can help distinguish whether an efficient‐implicit or flexible‐explicit mentalizing system is of relevance when processing complex social settings.     

Examining Direct and Indirect Mechanisms of Parental Influences on Youth Physical Activity and Body Mass Index

Journal of Child and Family Studies - This study used social cognitive theory to compare the direct versus indirect effects of parent physical activity, sedentary behavior, and body mass index...     

Culturally-Modified Recruitment Strategies for Latino Families in Clinical Child Research: A Critical First Step

The goals of the current study were to develop and employ culturally-modified recruitment strategies utilizing flexibility and creativity to combat practical and cultural barriers to Latino participation in clinical child research, as well as to quantitatively examine individual and cultural factors related to the different recruitment strategies. In total, 45 Latino parents were successfully recruited and primarily included married mothers of Mexican origin with varied socioeconomic backgrounds. To address the first study goal, an initial culturally-modified recruitment strategy (i.e., postcard strategy, n = 23) was developed to combat both practical and cultural barriers; an augmented strategy (i.e., face-to-face strategy, n = 22) was later employed to further combat potential barriers. Unfortunately, neither strategy resulted in the desired sample size of 150 parents. To examine the second study goal, an exploratory, quantitative examination of individual and cultural factors related to the different strategies was conducted. In general, results suggested that there were differences in the demographics of the parents who responded to the different recruitment strategies, such that those recruited through the face-to-face strategy were more educated, more acculturated, and spoke more English than those recruited through the postcard strategy. Much needed future directions are discussed.