The company you keep: Fear of rejection in intergroup interaction

People use many cues to infer the likelihood of acceptance or rejection in intergroup interactions. Nearly all prior research has focused on personal cues directly given off by the potential interaction partner (e.g., eye contact and smiling). However, we argue that in the context of intergroup interactions, individuals may be especially sensitive to broader social cues, such as an interaction partner's social network. Across three experiments we explored differences in White participants' evaluations of a smiling Black man presented with a Black or White friend. When this Black man was featured with a Black friend, White participants reported greater rejection concerns and a greater inclination to reject this Black man compared to when he was featured with a White friend (Experiments 1-3) or featured alone (Experiment 2). Furthermore, when participants received a simple intervention designed to buffer against social rejection, the race of the Black man's friend no longer influenced participants' interests in befriending the Black man (Experiment 3). This research demonstrates the power of friendships in interracial interactions and provides evidence for a simple intervention to reduce the weight of rejection concerns in interracial interactions.     

I only have eyes for you: Ovulation redirects attention (but not memory) to attractive men

A number of studies have found a disjunction between women’s attention to, and memory for, handsome men. Although women pay initial attention to handsome men, they do not remember those men later. The present study examines how ovulation might differentially affect these attentional and memory processes. We found that women near ovulation increased their visual attention to attractive men. However, this increased visual attention did not translate into better memory. Discussion focuses on possible explanations, in the context of an emerging body of findings on disjunctions between attention to, and memory for, other people.     

Trait impulsiveness and executive function in healthy young adults

Performance-based neuropsychological tests are often used to assess planning and impulse control, but the extent to which these measures reflect trait impulsiveness or specific dimensions of trait impulsiveness is not clear. This study used the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11 (BIS-11; [Patton, J. H., Stanford, M. S., & Barratt, E. S. (1995). Factor structure of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 51, 768–774.]) to examine the relationship between various dimensions of trait impulsiveness and performance on several executive function tests in healthy young adults. Total BIS-11 scores correlated with performance on measures of planning and impulse control. Higher non-planning impulsiveness scores, which indicate poorer self-control and lower cognitive complexity, correlated most strongly with performance on a maze test that measures planning and impulse control (r = .58). These results provide support for the convergent validity of pencil-and-paper maze-based measures of planning and impulse control.     

The Student Guided Functional Assessment Interview: An Analysis of Student and Teacher Agreement

Functional assessment strategies are used to guide the treatment of problem behavior with individuals who have severe disabilities. Also, researchers have extended functional assessment applications to individuals with emotional and behavioral disabilities. One such extension is the use of students as informants in the functional assessment process. The present study assessed an interview tool designed to elicit information directly from students regarding their problem behaviors. We examined agreement between students and their teachers. Results showed high agreement on the causes and functions of problem behavior with mixed agreement on support plan recommendations.     

Functional Analysis and Treatment of Mealtime Problem Behavior for a Person with Developmental Disabilities

We conducted a functional analysis of problem behaviors (spitting and whining) during meals and tested an intervention based on that analysis. The participant was a 13-year-old young woman with severe mental retardation and cerebral palsy. She ate all food presented to her, and the hypotheses were tested that the problem behaviors were maintained either by contingent access to trainer attention or the pace of eating. An attention analysis examined the relationship between problem behavior and trainer attention during the meal. The effect of attention following problem behavior versus ignoring was inconclusive. An analysis of the effects of teacher paced eating, student paced eating (reinforce spoon grasping) and food presented for problem behavior was conducted next. Problem behavior rates were highest when access to food was made contingent on the performance of problem behavior and lowest when spoon grasping resulted in a bite of food. Following analysis, an intervention was designed to reduce the frequency of targeted problem behaviors during mealtime. Reinforcing spoon grasping and a 10s removal of food following problem behavior dramatically reduced spitting and whining during meals. The study provides a demonstration of an extended functional analysis and treatment of a complex behavior pattern.