Extinction of conditioned taste aversions: Effects of concentration and overshadowing

Extinction of conditioned taste aversions was examined as a function of taste concentration and of the presence of an additional taste. The results of Experiment 1 were consistent with previous evidence in that a conditioned aversion to high concentration saline was more persistent in extinction than an aversion to a low concentration. However, when floor effects were avoided the rate of extinction was faster for the higher (1%) concentration than for 0.2% saline (Experiment 2), a result consistent with accounts of extinction in other preparations. Three further experiments examined extinction of a conditioned sucrose aversion. The addition of 1% saline, but not of 0.2% saline, to sucrose during extinction produced overshadowing ("protection from extinction"; Experiment 3). Such overshadowing by saline was detected after two, but not after a single extinction trial (Experiment 4). This last finding suggests that under the conditions of the present experiments sweet and salty tastes function as elemental stimuli competing for loss of associative strength. No overshadowing was found when almond (an aqueous odour) was used in place of saline as the added stimulus, even when high concentrations of almond were used that produced observable neophobia (Experiments 5A and 5B).     

Developmental changes in the recognition and comprehension of facial expression: implications for frontal lobe function.

Children aged 6-15 years old and adults (over 18) were given three tests designed to test perception and comprehension of facial expression. In the first test subjects were given two composite symmetrical faces made from the left or right half of a normal face, the subjects' task being to indicate which composite more closely resembled the original face. In the second test the subjects matched a series of photographs from Life magazine with key photographs of one of six distinct emotions (sad, fear, happy, anger, disgust, surprise). In the third test the subjects chose a key photograph that was appropriate for the face of a faceless character in a cartoon. On the composite faces test the subjects in all groups exhibited a preference for the left visual field composite, implying that all age groups were processing the faces in a similar manner. The results of the other two tests showed that there was an improvement in the perception of facial expression between the ages of 6 and 8 years, little change until about 13 years, and then a second improvement to adult performance at about 14 years. The performance of the 8- to 13-year-old children was similar to that of adult patients with frontal lobe injuries, which could be taken as evidence that the regions of the frontal lobe involved in the performance of these tasks may not be mature until about 14 years of age.     

Unfamiliar Untrained Observers’ Ratings of Adolescent Safety Behaviors Within Social Interactions with Unfamiliar Peer Confederates

Adolescents experiencing social anxiety often engage in safety behaviors―covert avoidance strategies for managing distress (e.g., avoiding eye contact)―that factor into the development and maintenance of their concerns. Prior work supports the psychometric properties of the Subtle Avoidance Frequency Examination (SAFE), a self-report survey of safety behaviors. Yet, we need complementary methods for assessing these behaviors within contexts where adolescents often experience concerns, namely, interactions with unfamiliar peers. Recent work indicates that, based on short, direct social interactions with adolescents, individuals posing as unfamiliar peers (i.e., peer confederates) and without assessment training can capably report about adolescent social anxiety. We built on prior work by testing whether we could gather valid SAFE reports from unfamiliar untrained observers (UUOs), who observed adolescents within archived recordings of these short social interactions. A mixed clinical/community sample of 105 adolescents self-reported on their functioning and participated in a series of social interaction tasks with peer confederates, who also provided social anxiety reports about the adolescent. Based on video recordings of these tasks, trained independent observers rated adolescents’ observed social skills, and an additional set of UUOs completed SAFE reports of these same adolescents. Unfamiliar untrained observers’ SAFE reports (a) related to adolescents’ SAFE self-reports, (b) distinguished adolescents on clinically elevated social anxiety concerns, (c) related to trained independent observers’ ratings of adolescent social skills within interactions with peer confederates, and (d) related to adolescents’ self-reported arousal within these same interactions. Our findings support use of unfamiliar observers’ perspectives to understand socially anxious adolescents’ interpersonal functioning.     

Coping and Mental Health in Early Adolescence during COVID-19

Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology - The current longitudinal study examines changes in overall mental health symptomatology from before to after the COVID-19 outbreak in youth from...     

Correction to: Suicidal Mental Imagery in Psychiatrically Hospitalized Adolescents

Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology - A correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-021-00827-8     

Bibliometric Analysis and Visualization of Catholic Health Care Research: 1973–2019

Journal of Religion and Health - A multi-dimensional construct of Catholic health care is examined using a bibliometric analysis of 181 scientific studies from the Web of Science database. Medical...     

An Intersectional Approach to the Glass Ceiling: Gender,Race and Share of Middle and Senior Management in U.S. Workplaces

A robust body of research examines factors affecting the likelihood that women experience increasing barriers to promotion in workplaces. However, limited research examines how racialized and gendered processes may intersect and work differently for racially and gender marginalized workers. Specifically, the processes relating to a worker’s ability to reach middle-level management positions (e.g., those managers who oversee a small group of employees) and senior-level management positions (e.g., CEOs and other executive positions) may vary based on workers’ race and gender. Using 2015 EEO-1 data collected by the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC), we examine how the characteristics of a workplace affect Black men, Black women, White men, and White women’s share of middle- and senior-level management. We find Black women and Black men are strikingly under-represented in both middle and senior management in private-sector workplaces. Our results demonstrate that access to middle- and senior-management varies by the characteristics of the workplace and workers’ race and gender. Overall, our findings point to an important implication: Greater oversight of workplaces, including by the EEOC, is associated with marginalized race/gender groups having higher shares of management.

     

Teaching Partial-Interval Recording of Problem Behavior with Virtual Reality

Journal of Behavioral Education - Virtual reality (VR) places individuals within a simulated experience using an array of visual, auditory, and tactile interfaces. Research suggests VR, which...