Durability,Negative Impact,and Neuropsychological Predictors of Tic Suppression in Children with Chronic Tic Disorder

Chronic tic disorders are characterized by involuntary motor and vocal tics, which are influenced by contextual factors. Recent research has shown that (a) children can suppress tics for brief periods of time, (b) suppression is enhanced when programmed reinforcement is provided for tic-free intervals, and (c) short periods of suppression do not result in a paradoxical "rebound" in tic frequency when active suppression has ceased. The current study extended existing research in three important ways. First, we examined whether tic suppression ability decreased as suppression duration increased from 5 to 25 to 40 min. Second, we examined post-suppression tic frequency to test whether longer periods of suppression were more likely to be associated with a rebound effect. Finally, we explored neuropsychological predictors of tic suppression. Thirteen children with Tourette syndrome or a chronic tic disorder completed the study. Results showed that (a) tic suppression was sustained for all of the suppression durations, (b) rebound effects were not observed following any of the suppression durations, and (c) ability to suppress was correlated with omission, but not commission errors on a continuous performance task. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

The role of interdependence and perceived similarity in depressed affect contagion

This study hypothesized that perceived similarity significantly impacts depressed affect contagion only for individuals with highly interdependent self-construals. Baseline self-construal and affect were measured. Then, after reading a vignette about a depressed or nondepressed target, affect and perceived similarity were assessed. Participants reading the depressed vignette reported higher negative affect than participants reading the nondepressed vignette. Positive affect did not differ between the two conditions. For participants exposed to the depressed vignette, the hypothesized interaction between perceived similarity and interdependence significantly predicted positive affect. It appears that participants with more interdependent self-construals were more likely to "catch" the low positive affect displayed by the depressed target only if they perceived themselves as highly similar to the target.     

Randomized, controlled trial of Behavioral Family Systems Therapy for Diabetes: maintenance and generalization of effects on parent-adolescent communication

We report a randomized trial of a revised Behavioral Family Systems Therapy for Diabetes (BFST-D) intervention. Families of 104 adolescents with diabetes were randomized to standard care (SC) or to 6 months of an educational support group (ES) or BFST-D. Family communication and problem-solving skills were assessed at 0, 6, 12, and 18 months by independent rating of videotaped family problem-solving discussions. BFST-D improved individual communication of adolescents and mothers, but not fathers. BFST-D significantly improved quality of family interaction compared to SC (10 of 12 comparisons) and ES (6 of 12 comparisons). Changes in family communication were differentially associated with changes in glycemic control, adherence, and family conflict. BFST-D improved family communication and problem solving relative to SC and modestly relative to ES.     

Targeting Performance Dimensions in Sequence According to the Instructional Hierarchy: Effects on Children’s Math Work Within a Self-Monitoring Program

Four fifth-grade students were presented with frustration-level math probes while three performance dimensions were measured (i.e., percent intervals on-task, percent correct digits, and digits correct per minute (DCM)). Using a multiple baseline design across participants, students were trained to self-monitor time on-task, accuracy, and productivity in sequence and were given their choice of preferred rewards for increases in each performance dimension. The effects of self-monitoring productivity plus rewards prior to and after reaching on-task and accuracy criteria were also evaluated on a probe basis using an embedded multielement design. Results showed that three of the four students increased DCM when self-monitoring productivity plus rewards, but only after meeting on-task and accuracy criteria. Effects of self monitoring accuracy were mixed, and all students showed high levels of on-task behavior throughout the study. The implications of these results for increasing the effectiveness of self-monitoring through a sequenced approach to academic skill training are discussed.     

D-cycloserine facilitates context-specific fear extinction learning

D-cycloserine (DCS) may facilitate fear extinction learning, but the behavioral consequences and mechanisms behind this effect are not well understood at present. In this paper, we re-analyze data from previously reported null result experiments and find that rats showing above-median extinction learning during DCS treatment benefited from the drug, whereas rats showing below-median (and in this case little) extinction learning did not. Two additional experiments found that DCS facilitated extinction learning when specifically combined with a moderate, but not a small, number of extinction trials. DCS thus facilitates extinction learning only if the behavioral procedure first engages the extinction learning process. The benefits of the drug, however, were specific to the context in which extinction was learned--i.e., DCS did not prevent or influence the renewal of fear observed when the extinguished cue was tested in the original conditioning context.     

Perceptual experience and posttest improvements in perceptual accuracy and consistency

Two experiments investigated the relationship between perceptual experience (during practice) and posttest improvements in perceptual accuracy and consistency. Experiment 1 investigated the potential relationship between how often knowledge of results (KR) is provided during a practice session and posttest improvements in perceptual accuracy. Experiment 2 investigated the potential relationship between how often practice (PR) is provided during a practice session and posttest improvements in perceptual consistency. The results of both experiments are consistent with previous findings that perceptual accuracy improves only when practice includes KR and that perceptual consistency improves regardless of whether practice includes KR. In addition, the results showed that although there is a relationship between how often KR is provided during a practice session and posttest improvements in perceptual accuracy, there is no relationship between how often PR is provided during a practice session and posttest improvements in consistency.     

Recognizing National Hockey League greatness with an ignorance-based heuristic.

This study examined whether people adhered to the recognition heuristic (i.e., inferred that a recognized hockey player had more total career points than an unrecognized player) and whether using this heuristic could yield accurate decisions. On paired comparisons, having participants report whether they recognized each player plus any knowledge they had about each player permitted players to be classified as either unrecognized (UR), merely recognized (MR), or recognized with additional knowledge (RK), thus producing six possible trial types. Participants adhered to the recognition heuristic on 95% of MR-UR trials and were accurate on 81% of those trials. They chose the recognized player on 98% of RK-UR trials, yielding 94% accuracy. Women had less knowledge and recognized fewer players than men, yet they were nearly as accurate as men. Future research should examine the conditions under which the recognition heuristic is an adaptive strategy.     

The Role of Irrelevant,Class-Consistent,and Class-Inconsistent Intraverbal Training on the Establishment of Equivalence Classes

The Psychological Record - The current study evaluated whether college students’ performance on visual–visual matching-to-sample (MTS) tasks were differentially affected by learning to...     

Gender Role Beliefs and Attitudes toward Lesbians and Gay Men in Chile and the U.S.

We compared the relationship between gender role beliefs and antigay prejudice in Chile and the United States. Participants were Chilean and American university students. In Study 1, Chileans were more prejudiced than Americans, and men were more prejudiced than women. In Study 2, gender role beliefs mediated cultural and sex differences in prejudice. Chileans held more traditional gender role beliefs and were more antigay than Americans. Men were more prejudiced than women, particularly in their attitudes toward gay men. Further, sex differences in attitudes toward lesbians and gay men were completely mediated by gender role beliefs. Nationality differences in attitudes toward lesbians were completely mediated, and nationality differences in attitudes toward gay men were partially mediated, by gender role beliefs.     

A Comparison of Study Session Formats on Attendance and Quiz Performance in a College Course

We compared two formats for optional study sessions offered to students in a research methods course. Study sessions alternated between a game format (e.g., Behavioral Jeopardy) and a student-directed question and answer format, presented in counterbalanced order across different sections of the same course. The results of the alternating treatments design in Study 1 indicated that, despite improvements in quiz performance relative to baseline, there were no consistent differences between the two formats on attendance at the study sessions or on weekly quiz performance. Similar results were obtained in a systematic replication (Study 2) in which opportunities to respond to game questions were equated across study sessions.