Influence of impulsivity-reflexivity when testing dynamic spatial ability: sex and g differences

This work analyzes the possibility that the differences in the performance of men and women in dynamic spatial tasks such as the Spatial Orientation Dynamic Test-Revised (SODT-R; Santacreu & Rubio, 1998), obtained in previous works, are due to cognitive style (Reflexivity-Impulsivity) or to the speed-accuracy tradeoff (SATO) that the participants implement. If these differences are due to cognitive style, they would be independent of intelligence, whereas if they are due to SATO, they may be associated with intelligence. In this work, 1652 participants, 984 men and 668 women, ages between 18 and 55 years, were assessed. In addition to the SODT-R, the "Test de Razonamiento Analitico, Secuencial e Inductivo" (TRASI [Analytical, Sequential, and Inductive Reasoning Test]; Rubio & Santacreu, 2003) was administered as a measure of general intelligence. Impulsivity scores (Zi) of Salkind and Wright (1977) were used to analyze reflexivity-impulsivity and SATO. The results obtained indicate that (a) four performance groups can be identified: Fast-accurate, Slow-inaccurate, Impulsive, and Reflexive. The first two groups solve the task as a function of a competence variable and the last two as a function of a personality variable; (b) performance differences should be attributed to SATO; (c) SATO differs depending on sex and intelligence level.     

Argentine validation of the Purpose in Life Test / Validación argentina del Test de Propósito en la Vida

Despite the fact that the Purpose in Life Test developed by James Crumbaugh and Leonard Maholick in the 1960s is considered to be one of the most commonly used measures in positive psychology, there are no validations of it into the Argentine context. This paper aims to assess the psychometric properties of PIL in a sample of 336 university students residing in Buenos Aires. The results suggest that PIL has adequate psychometric properties for the Argentine context. The confirmatory factor analysis presents a good fit of the data as proposed by the authors. These results favour the assessment of psychological well-being in this local context. Future studies should use different samples in order to provide more robust support to the construct.     

The Emotion Regulation Strategies of Adolescents and their Parents: An Experience Sampling Study

Parents are the main socialization agents in the development of emotion regulation (ER). In this study, we evaluated adolescents’ and their respective parents’ perspectives about their use of two ER strategies (cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression) in daily life. In addition, we evaluated the within-family associations between adolescents’ and their parents’ use of strategies. We controlled for adolescents’ gender and age and the perceived quality of their relationships with their parents (mothers and fathers). The sample consisted of 33 12- to 18-year-old adolescent–father–mother triads, totaling 99 participants. Parents and adolescents reported their use of ER strategies in response to eight random prompts throughout the day, by means of the experience sampling method for 1 week. Participants provided 4082 reports on their momentary experiences. The data were analyzed using multilevel modeling to account for the hierarchical structure of the repeated daily assessments. The significant association between parents’ and adolescents’ use of ER strategies was specific to mother–adolescent dyads. The significant association between adolescents’ and their mothers’ ER strategies varied as a function of the adolescents’ age and the quality of their relationship with their mothers according to adolescents’ reports, but not as a function of adolescent gender. These findings suggest that mothers have a role in their adolescents’ emotion regulation in a developmental period characterized by autonomy from parental guidance.     

Tactile sensitivity in Asperger syndrome

People with autism and Asperger syndrome are anecdotally said to be hypersensitive to touch. In two experiments, we measured tactile thresholds and suprathreshold tactile sensitivity in a group of adults with Asperger syndrome. In the first experiment, tactile perceptual thresholds were measured. Two frequencies of vibrotactile stimulation were used: 30 and 200 Hz. The results demonstrated significantly lower tactile perceptual thresholds in the Asperger group at 200 Hz but not at 30 Hz, thus confirming tactile hypersensitivity but only for one class of stimulus. A second experiment investigated whether self-produced movement affected the perception of touch in a group of adults with Asperger syndrome. A suprathreshold tactile stimulus was produced either by the participant (self-produced condition) or by the experimenter (externally produced condition) and participants were asked to rate the perception of the tactile stimulation. The results demonstrated that, while both Asperger and control groups rated self-produced touch as less tickly than external touch, the Asperger group rated both types of tactile stimulus as significantly more tickly and intense than did the control group. This experiment confirms the finding of tactile hypersensitivity, but shows that the perceptual consequences of self-produced touch are attenuated in the normal way in people with Asperger syndrome. An abnormality in this process cannot therefore account for their tactile hypersensitivity.     

How do respondents construe ambiguous response formats of affect items?

Ambiguous response formats predict correlations from -.467 to -1 between opposite items, depending on whether the respondent's interpretation of the format is unipolar or bipolar. The authors present a procedure to investigate the proper interpretation in each case. It consists of applying nonparametric and parametric item response theory models (the Mokken and the graded response models) to pairs of opposite items in order to find the locations of the response options along the latent scale and, therefore, identify the response format construction. The authors tested this procedure on 4 samples (Ns=142-1,150) and 2 item pairs ("relaxed"-"tense" and "optimistic"-"pessimistic"). The results revealed that respondents constructed the formats as bipolar and supported the bipolarity of the item pairs.     

Equivalence classes with requirements for short response latencies

Five adult humans were tested for emergent conditional discriminations under rapid-responding contingencies. During four-comparison matching-to-sample baseline training (AB and AC), limited-hold contingencies for responding to samples and comparisons were gradually restricted to the shortest duration consistent with at least 95% accuracy and no more than 5% failures to respond. The final limited-hold values were 0.4-0.5 s for samples and 1.2-1.3 s for comparisons; mean response latencies were 0.15-0.28 s for samples and 0.59-0.73 s for comparisons; inter-trial intervals were 0.4 s. With these fast-responding requirements, test blocks presented 72 probe trials interspersed among 72 baseline trials, all without programmed differential consequences. Four equivalence test blocks (BC and CB probes, which tested simultaneously for both symmetry and transitivity) were followed by four symmetry (BA and CA probes) test blocks. Three subjects' results documented emergent performances indicative of equivalence classes despite fast-responding requirements that severely limited the time available for mediating vocal or subvocal responses. For these three subjects, mean latencies were slightly shorter in baseline trials than in probes, and shorter on symmetry than on equivalence probes. These differences, however, were usually less than the differences among mean latencies on the different types of trials within the baseline and probed performances.     

A pragmatic guideline for evaluation of social intervention

Considering the many theoretical and methodological viewpoints in the field of evaluation, a guideline was established to facilitate the evaluation of social intervention programs. For this purpose, the goals of the evaluation were taken into account: (a) planning interventions, (b) learning and continuous improvement of interventions, (c) programming policies, and (d) transformation of society. These goals will determine the perspective of the analysis selected (focusing on the evaluand or the context) and the strategies for change employed (focusing on processes or results). The elements that, according to Shadish, Cook, and Levinton (1991), constitute the theory of evaluation (evaluand, value, building of knowledge, and uses) have also been considered. The analysis of all these components led to the elaboration of a guideline to orient the practice of evaluation from a pragmatic perspective, in accordance with the demands and needs of a certain social context.     

Response perseveration in psychopaths: Interpersonal/affective or social deviance traits?

In order to clarify the role of the two broad components of psychopathy (interpersonal/affective and social deviance; R. D. Hare, 2003) in explaining maladaptive response perseveration in psychopaths, as well as the role of reflection after punished responses in this deficit, the authors administered a card perseveration task to 47 Spanish male inmates assessed using the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; R. D. Hare, 1991). Hierarchical regressions showed that psychopaths' maladaptive perseveration (more cards played and less money earned) was uniquely predicted by the social deviance features of psychopathy (PCL-R Factor 2)--particularly by its impulsive and irresponsible lifestyle facet (PCL-R Facet 3)--and not by its interpersonal/affective features (PCL-R Factor 1). Moreover, perseveration was related to a lack of reflection both after punishment and after reward feedback. The authors' results, in conjunction with previous evidence indicating perseverative deficits in several impulse control disorders, suggest that response perseveration may not be specific to psychopathy but rather is associated more generally with the externalizing dimension of psychopathology.