Characteristics of Family Interaction of Individuals with Hikikomori (Prolonged Social Withdrawal) From the Viewpoint of Behavior Theory

The cognitive behavioral approach for families of individuals with hikikomori (IWH) places importance on assessing family interaction from a behavior theory. However, there is no gold standard method for the assessment of family interaction of IWH. Additionally, the characteristics of the family interactions of IWH have not been clarified. This study aims to (a) develop the Family Interaction Scale for Hikikomori (FIS‐H) using parent‐reported data, and (b) clarify the characteristics of hikikomori cases. First, the FIS‐H factor structure was examined. Second, to examine the reliability and validity of the FIS‐H and the characteristics of hikikomori cases, parents of IWH (hikikomori‐group) and unaffected parents (without‐group) completed the FIS‐H and the Relationship Happiness Scale. Based on data from 146 parents, the FIS‐H preliminary version consisted of four factors with a total of 12 items (Study 1). The reliability and validity of the FIS‐H were also confirmed to be acceptable using data from 246 hikikomori‐group participants. The hikikomori‐group had higher FIS‐H scores than did the without‐group (Study 2). These results show that it is important to appropriately assess family interactions.     

Assessing preference for types of social interaction

To date, few researchers have evaluated methods for assessing preference for social interactions. Due to concerns that commonly used stimulus preference assessment methods may be inappropriate, or at least cumbersome, for the assessment of social reinforcers, we developed and evaluated a new method of assessing preference for social interactions. A social interaction preference assessment (SIPA) and a concurrent operant reinforcer assessment were conducted with five participants diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. A differentially preferred and reinforcing social interaction was identified for all five participants. The SIPA procedures, results, and the implications of these results are discussed.     

Mitigating the Harmful Effect of Perceived Organizational Compliance on Trust in Top Management: Buffering Roles of Employees’ Personal Resources

This study considers how employees’ POC—defined as their beliefs that the organizational climate stifles change and values compliance with the status quo—reduce their trust in top management, as well as how this negative relationship might be buffered by access to two personal resources that support organizational change: openness to experience and affective commitment to change. Data from a sample of Pakistan-based organizations reveal that POC reduce trust in top management, but this effect is weaker at higher levels of openness to experience and affective commitment to change. These findings are significant in that they indicate that employees who operate in organizational climates marked by “yea-saying” can counter the difficulty of improving their job situation by drawing from adequate personal resources.     

LMX in team-based contexts: TMX,authority differentiation,and skill differentiation as boundary conditions for leader reciprocation

The purpose of the current study is to develop an integrated theoretical model based upon social exchange theory focused on the simultaneous interplay of leader–member exchange (LMX) and team–member exchange (TMX) in team-based contexts. We propose a model that extends current theories related to social exchange by integrating currently independent propositions in the literatures on LMX and TMX, showing how these propositions are contingent on the nature of the team in which leaders and followers are embedded. In a sample of 439 employees on 61 teams, the results show that when it comes to predicting individual performance (a) high TMX quality eliminates the otherwise negative effects of low LMX quality, (b) low authority differentiation weakens the otherwise positive effects of LMX, and (c) high skill differentiation weakens the otherwise positive effects of high LMX quality on performance. We discuss how the role of LMX may be changing in contemporary team-based work contexts relative to what was true in the historical literature when the construct was originally developed.     

Longitudinal effects of human supremacy beliefs and vegetarianism threat on moral exclusion (vs. inclusion) of animals

Stronger beliefs in human supremacy over animals, and stronger perceived threat posed by vegetarianism to traditional practices, are associated with stronger speciesism and more meat consumption. Both variables might also be implicated in the moral exclusion of animals. We tested this potential in a 16-month longitudinal study in the USA (N = 219). Human supremacy showed longitudinal effects on the moral exclusion of all animals. Vegetarianism threat only predicted moral exclusion of food animals (e.g., cows and pigs), and, unexpectedly, appealing wild animals (e.g., chimps and dolphins). These findings demonstrate the importance of both human supremacy and perceived threat in explaining moral exclusion of animals and highlight potential paradoxical negative consequences of the rise of vegetarianism.     

Supporting Out‐of‐School Time Staff in Low Resource Communities: A Professional Development Approach

Federally funded out‐of‐school time (OST) programs provide academic support, enrichment, and safety for students and families in low‐resource communities. However, programs struggle to meet these aims, in part because of the lack of program structure and limited training and support for staff. This observational case study documents the training and technical assistance (TA) delivered to OST frontline staff and program leadership to implement Positive Behavior in Out‐of‐School Time (Positive BOOST), an adaptation of positive behavior interventions and supports conducted in multiple settings. Findings across three programs indicate that varied levels of TA (i.e., business as usual, performance feedback, coaching) are associated with different levels of staff‐ and program‐level implementation. Taken together with previous research, these findings suggest that targeted investment in developing the skills of OST staff and improving program‐wide outcomes is critical for supporting youth in low‐resource communities.     

Winky Dink and Me: Origins

Through early childhood experiences and then recollections of the many cyberneticians he knew in the 1970s and 1980s, the author traces his personal trajectory toward interaction design and cybernetics. He moves from fascination with technology, through disillusionment about Artificial Intelligence, to seeing that living in cybernetics is a journey of return to uncertainty, risk, and possibility.     

理解双人肢体运动表达的友好和敌对意图的ERP证据

已有的意图理解神经成像研究大多关注理解单一个体的中性或负性意图的脑功能定位, 而大脑理解依靠双人肢体运动表达的友好和敌对意图的动态时间过程尚不清楚。本研究记录了20名健康被试完成三种不同意图推理任务时的脑电成分。三种意图分别为：1)友好意图; 2)敌对意图; 3)中性无互动意图。行为结果发现理解敌对意图的反应时最短。电生理学结果表明, 在额中区的N250 (170~270 ms)上, 中性意图比友好和敌对意图均更负, 且友好意图比敌对意图也更负; 在大脑右半球的P300 (270~450 ms)上, 敌对意图比友好和中性意图均更正, 且友好意图比中性意图也更正。对友好和敌对意图的N250和P300进行溯源分析分别定位于额中回(BA10)和脑岛(BA45)。结果表明大脑在多个阶段对双人肢体运动表达的互动意图进行分类理解, 对负性敌对意图表现出较早的理解且晚期持续性的评价加工。     

Considering the role of early discrimination experiences and the parent–child relationship in the development of disruptive behaviors in adolescence

Discrimination has been shown to be related to diminished psychological adjustment and greater risk for substance use when personally experienced by adolescents and when their caregivers experience discrimination. Our research considers the impact of primary caregiver experiences of racial- and socioeconomic-based discrimination in early (age 3–5 years) and late childhood (age 9½) on adolescent disruptive behaviors (age 14) with a large sample of diverse caregiver–child dyads (N = 634). In addition, we examine the potential protective effects of parent–child relationship quality in early and late childhood in buffering the effects of caregiver discrimination on adolescent disruptive behaviors. We also explore possible gender differences in children's vulnerability to engage in disruptive behaviors in the context of caregiver experiences of discrimination. The findings from this study indicate that at trend level, early childhood experiences of primary caregiver discrimination (ages 3–5) predicted adolescent disruptive behaviors, accounting for the effects of more recent (age 9½) caregiver discrimination. In addition, parent–child relationship quality at age 9½ years was found to buffer the effects of late childhood (age 9½) primary caregiver discrimination on adolescent disruptive behaviors for both male and female youth. The findings highlight the need for prevention and intervention techniques that foster healthy and positive primary caregiver–child relationships.     

Maternal depression and infant attachment security: A meta-analysis

The purpose of this study is to clarify the magnitude of the association between maternal depression and infant attachment nonsecurity, and to identify possible moderators of this relationship. An extensive literature search was conducted using multiple databases of both published and unpublished studies. A meta-analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between maternal depression and infant attachment security and to establish the effect size. The main findings from this meta-analysis, which included 42 studies, indicate that there is a small, yet significant, relationship between maternal depression and infant attachment nonsecurity. The rate of nonsecurity in infants of mothers with depression was approximately 20% higher than expected rates in a nonclinical population, and the association between depressive symptoms and nonsecurity was small, but significant. Infants of mothers with depression were nearly twice as likely to have a nonsecure attachment than were infants of healthy mothers. Depression measure and maternal sample source were identified as significant moderators of the odds ratio effect size. Results of this study demonstrate that there is a significant relationship between maternal depression and infant attachment nonsecurity, and suggest that interventions that focus on both maternal mental health and the attachment relationship are warranted.