Negative emotional outcomes impair older adults’ reversal learning

In a typical reversal-learning experiment, one learns stimulus–outcome contingencies that then switch without warning. For instance, participants might have to repeatedly choose between two faces, one of which yields points whereas the other does not, with a reversal at some point in which face yields points. The current study examined age differences in the effects of outcome type on reversal learning. In the first experiment, the participants’ task was either to select the person who would be in a better mood or to select the person who would yield more points. Reversals in which face was the correct option occurred several times. Older adults did worse in blocks in which the correct response was to select the person who would not be angry than in blocks in which the correct response was to select the person who would smile. Younger adults did not show a difference by emotional valence. In the second study, the negative condition was switched to have the same format as the positive condition (to select who will be angry). Again, older adults did worse with negative than positive outcomes, whereas younger adults did not show a difference by emotional valence. A third experiment replicated the lack of valence effects in younger adults with a harder probabilistic reversal-learning task. In the first two experiments, older adults performed about as well as younger adults in the positive conditions but performed worse in the negative conditions. These findings suggest that negative emotional outcomes selectively impair older adults’ reversal learning.     

Upon Further Reflection: View from the Other Side of “Windows on the 21st Century”

Three points discussed in Glenn (1993) are reviewed in the context of current events: the discipline of behavior analysis as a cultural system, the importance of that discipline in the training and regulation of behavior analytic practitioners, and Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI) as a cultural subsystem that links to all the other parts and therefore links the other parts to one another. Noting similarities between behavior analysis and biology, I consider the growth of biological sciences as a model for behavior analysis. Of particular importance for biology has been the role of basic biological sciences in the practice of medicine and the resulting feedback loops that have developed among its basic sciences, applied sciences, and medical practice. I suggest that behavior analysis explicitly follow this model and that ABAI has a critical role to play in leading the field to developing the feedback loops that have integrated the biological sciences and medicine.     

Sexuality and the drive for muscularity: Evidence of associations among British men

Previous studies have documented associations between sexuality and body image, but the directionality of this association is unclear among men. This study examined whether men's drive for muscularity can be considered a correlate of their sexuality. A community-based sample of 292 heterosexual men from London, UK, completed a survey consisting of measures of drive for muscularity, sociosexuality, sexual assertiveness, sexual esteem, and sexual sensation seeking. A multiple regression analysis showed that greater drive for muscularity was predicted by more unrestricted sociosexuality (i.e., a greater proclivity for short-term, transient relationships), greater sexual sensation seeking, and greater sexual assertiveness, once the effects of participant age and body mass index had been accounted for. Possible avenues for intervention based on a sex-positive approach are discussed in conclusion.     

Illusory correlations revisited: The role of pseudocontingencies and working-memory capacity

Three experiments investigate illusory correlations in a feedback learning paradigm. Diverging from a standard paradigm, in which stimuli consist of joint observations of group–behaviour pairs, participants were asked to guess the group reference of positive and negative stimulus behaviours. They only knew that one group was larger than the other, and the stimulus series soon revealed that positive (negative) behaviours appeared more frequently in the stimulus series than negative (positive) behaviours. Regardless of whether feedback of the actual group reference was provided or not, the predominant valence was more strongly associated with the large than the small group. This illusory-correlation effect was evident in memory-based measures at the end of the stimulus series as well as in the online predictions during stimulus presentation. The strength of illusory correlations increased with decreasing working-memory capacity, operationalized either by an interpersonal differences measure or a cognitive-load manipulation. The occurrence of illusory correlations in the absence of joint observations about group–valence pairs (in the no-feedback condition and in the early phase of the online prediction task) can be explained as a reflection of pseudocontingency inferences.     

基于网络干预的心理健康素养提升有效性研究

研究旨在探索中国文化背景下心理健康素养干预的有效性,以及心理健康素养的提升对专业心理求助意愿、心理健康和幸福感的影响。研究采用实验组对照组前后测设计。结果表明:1.基于网络教育的干预方法能够有效提升心理健康素养,进而促进专业心理求助意愿,改善心理健康状况。但是对大学生的幸福感没有产生明显影响; 2.心理健康素养可以通过专业心理求助意愿分别影响心理健康状况和幸福感,且专业求助意愿和心理健康在心理健康素养和幸福感之间起着完全链式中介作用。总的来说,心理健康素养的有效提升不仅可以改善专业心理求助意愿,提高人们的心理健康水平,还可能增添生活幸福感。     

好奇心的机制及作用

作为一种常见的心理状态和人格特质, 好奇心是认知心理学研究领域中的重要主题。大脑多个脑区的分工和协同作用, 使个体形成了产生与评估预测误差、触发与缓解好奇心以及产生惊奇与新预测误差的认知过程。这些认知过程能够减少对事物和环境的预测误差与信息差距, 消除对事物的不确定性。好奇心在个体终生发展过程中, 对促进认知功能, 保持心理和身体健康有积极的作用。未来研究可以从跨物种、跨学科和多领域交叉的角度切入, 推动好奇心主题研究的深入、研究手段的发展以及研究成果的应用。     

Antecedents and consequences to perceived career goal–progress discrepancies

Informed by a goal setting and self-regulation perspective, we tested a model of perceived career goal–progress discrepancies (i.e., perception of progress made towards achieving career goals relative to where one should be if the goals were to be attained), which proposed that negative feedback from significant others predicts career goal–progress discrepancies, which, in turn, predicts levels of career-related distress. The model also proposes that active feedback seeking strengthens the relationship between feedback from significant others and goal–progress discrepancies, and that career self-regulatory behaviours (career exploration and planning) weaken the relationship between career goal–progress discrepancies and career distress. Using a sample of 420 young adults (mean age = 20.3 years, 73% female), we found that feedback from significant others was related to both career goal–progress discrepancies and career distress, career goal–progress discrepancies were related to career distress, and goal–progress discrepancies partially mediated between feedback from significant others and career distress. Supporting the moderated effects, goal–progress discrepancies were higher at higher levels of negative feedback for those more actively seeking feedback, and career distress was lower at lower levels of discrepancy for those more engaged in exploration and planning.     

Associations between sexual sensation seeking and AIDS-related knowledge,attitudes and behaviors among young men who have sex with men in China

Young men who have sex with men (YMSM) have become high risk groups for HIV infection in China. Recent researches suggest that sexual sensation seeking is significantly associated with AIDS-related knowledge, attitudes and behaviors, but the relationship is not clear in the field of YMSM in China. The present study aimed to evaluate the relationship between sexual sensation seeking and AIDS-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors among YMSM in China. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Wuhan, China from May to November 2013. 403 YMSM were recruited and 373 of them completed the questionnaire. Regression analyses indicated that YMSM with high sexual sensation seeking score are more likely to have low awareness of knowledge and negative attitude about condom use, as well as more risky sexual behaviors.