Observations of families in structured interactions: Parenting therapists provide reliable ratings of mothers' parenting

The reliability of observations of parenting by parenting therapists was assessed. An important predictor of externalizing behavior in children is quality of parenting. Data were videotapes of structured interactions in families with a child age 8–12 years referred to the evidence based Parent Management Training Oregon (PMTO) treatment program for child behavior problems. The therapists had clinical PMTO training but no training in systematic observation. PMTO observational coders with specific coder training were included as a reference for the therapists. Five therapists and two coders observed videotapes of 10 families and performed global evaluations of mothers' parenting skills. They used the coder's impression measure used in PMTO research. Scores were analyzed in a generalizability theory framework for the two groups of observers separately. Both observer types reliably rank‐ordered the mothers and assessed the level of parenting skills. PMTO therapists without coder training provided reliable ratings of parenting constructs relevant to the clinical PMTO program in a manner comparable to that of the trained reference coders.     

Global dot integration in typically developing children and in Williams Syndrome

Williams Syndrome (WS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that results in deficits in visuospatial perception and cognition. The dorsal stream vulnerability hypothesis in WS predicts that visual motion processes are more susceptible to damage than visual form processes. We asked WS participants and typically developing children to detect the global structure Glass patterns, under “static” and “dynamic” conditions in order to evaluate this hypothesis. Sequentially presented Glass patterns are coined as dynamic because they induce illusory motion, which is modeled after the interaction between orientation (form) and direction (motion) mechanisms. If the dorsal stream vulnerability holds in WS participants, then they should process real and illusory motion atypically. However, results are consistent with the idea that form and motion integration mechanisms are functionally delayed or attenuated in WS. Form coherence thresholds for both static and dynamic Glass patterns in WS were similar to those of 4–5 year old children, younger than what is predicted by mental age. Dynamic presentation of Glass patterns improved thresholds to the same degree as typical participants. Motion coherence thresholds in WS were similar to those of mental age matches. These data pose constraints on the dorsal vulnerability hypothesis, and refine our understanding of the relationship between form and motion processing in development.     

Examining the role of psychological need satisfaction in sleep: A Self-Determination Theory perspective

Although ample research has shown the satisfaction of the basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, as defined within Self-Determination Theory, to be related to well-being, the relation with sleep-related functioning has not yet been examined. Hence, the present study explored the association between basic psychological need satisfaction and subjective measures of sleep and daytime dysfunction, as well as the explanatory role of need satisfaction in the relation between mindfulness and financial strain and these outcomes, in an adult sample (N = 215, 61% female; Mean age = 31). The results indicated that low psychological need satisfaction related to poor sleep quality, lower sleep quantity, and more daytime dysfunction. Finally, mindfulness and financial strain related, respectively, negatively and positively to poor sleep quality and daytime dysfunction through need satisfaction, suggesting that need satisfaction represents a critical explanatory mechanism. The role of psychological need satisfaction in the adequate regulation and satisfaction of the physiological need for sleep is discussed.     

Ignition’s glow: Ultra-fast spread of global cortical activity accompanying local “ignitions” in visual cortex during conscious visual perception

Despite extensive research, the spatiotemporal span of neuronal activations associated with the emergence of a conscious percept is still debated. The debate can be formulated in the context of local vs. global models, emphasizing local activity in visual cortex vs. a global fronto-parietal “workspace” as the key mechanisms of conscious visual perception. These alternative models lead to differential predictions with regard to the precise magnitude, timing and anatomical spread of neuronal activity during conscious perception. Here we aimed to test a specific aspect of these predictions in which local and global models appear to differ – namely the extent to which fronto-parietal regions modulate their activity during task performance under similar perceptual states. So far the main experimental results relevant to this debate have been obtained from non-invasive methods and led to conflicting interpretations. Here we examined these alternative predictions through large-scale intracranial measurements (Electrocorticogram – ECoG) in 43 patients and 4445 recording sites. Both ERP and broadband high frequency (50–150 Hz – BHF) responses were examined through the entire cortex during a simple 1-back visual recognition memory task. Our results reveal short latency intense visual responses, localized first in early visual cortex followed (at ∼200 ms) by higher order visual areas, but failed to show significant delayed (300 ms) visual activations. By contrast, oddball image repeat events, linked to overt motor responses, were associated with a significant increase in a delayed (300 ms) peak of BHF power in fronto-parietal cortex. Comparing BHF responses with ERP revealed an additional peak in the ERP response – having a similar latency to the well-studied P3 scalp EEG response. Posterior and temporal regions demonstrated robust visual category selectivity. An unexpected observation was that high-order visual cortex responses were essentially concurrent (at ∼200 ms) with an ultra-fast spread of signals of lower magnitude that invaded selected sites throughout fronto-parietal cortical areas. Our results are compatible with local models in demonstrating a clear task-dependence of the 300 ms fronto-parietal activation. However, they also reveal a more global component of low-magnitude and poor content selectivity that rapidly spreads into fronto-parietal sites. The precise functional role of this global “glow” remains to be elucidated.     

Global and Local Feature Distinctiveness Effects in Language Acquisition

Various aspects of semantic features drive early vocabulary development, but less is known about how the global and local structure of the overall semantic feature space influences language acquisition. A feature network of English words was constructed from a large database of adult feature production norms such that edges in the network represented feature distances between words (i.e., Manhattan distances of probability distributions of features elicited for each pair of words). A word's global feature distinctiveness is measured with respect to all other words in the network and a word's local feature distinctiveness is measured relative to words in sub-networks derived from clustering analyses. This paper investigates how feature distinctiveness of individual words at local and global scales of the network influences language acquisition. Regression analyses indicate that global feature distinctiveness was associated with earlier age of acquisition ratings, and was a stronger predictor of age of acquisition than local feature distinctiveness. These results suggest that the global structure of the semantic feature network could play an important role in language acquisition, whereby globally distinctive concepts help to structure vocabulary development over the lifespan.     

Psychological implications of the COVID-19 pandemic around the world: Introduction to the special issue

Although psychological researchers have long studied the implications of major crises, the outbreak and spread of the COVID-19 pandemic have confronted the global community of psychologists and psychological researchers with new challenges. This special issue contributes to the growing empirical literature on the immediate psychological implications of the COVID-19 pandemic. We present and discuss diverse work from authors that followed our call for papers in May 2020, shortly after the World Health Organisation declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. The studies focus on the early phases of the pandemic by addressing (a) implications of the pandemic for psychological well-being and mental health, (b) psychological effects of lockdown scenarios as well as (c) individual compliance with COVID-19 prevention and intervention measures. We conclude by highlighting the need for new research efforts, with a special focus on low- and middle-income regions, international research collaborations and cross-cultural research designs.     

Relational Spending in Funerals: Caring for Others Loved and Lost

Funeral rituals perform important social functions for families and communities, but little is known about the motives of people planning funerals. Using mixed methods, we examine funeral planning as end-of-life relational spending. We identify how relational motives drive and manifest in funeral planning, even when the primary recipient of goods and services is dead. Qualitative interviews with consumers who had planned pre-COVID funerals (N = 15) reveal a caring orientation drives funeral decision-making for loved ones and for self-planned funerals. Caring practices manifest in three forms: (a) balancing preferences between the planner, deceased, and surviving family; (b) making personal sacrifices; and (c) spending amount (Study 1). Archival funeral contract data (N = 385) reveal supporting quantitative evidence of caring-driven funeral spending. Planners spend more on funerals for others and underspend on their own funerals (Study 2). Preregistered experiments (N = 1,906) addressing selection bias replicate these results and find generalization across different funding sources (planner-funded, other-funded, and insurance; Studies 3A–3C). The findings elucidate a ubiquitous, emotional, and financially consequential decision process at the end of life.     

Complexity and Communication 3.0

There is an increasing interest in the complexity of mainstream communication education, and in the management of today's Global Media Organizations. Real world systems in communication processes cannot be completely designed, controlled, understood, or predicted, even by the sciences of complexity, but they are more effectively understood and explained as complex systems. I explore complexity in this article, analyzing the new paradigm of Agenda-Setting of today's New Media and Communication.     

Global Leadership,Education, and Human Survival

Global leadership is the pivotal point for appropriate policies and action to ensure human survival, but a fast-changing world requires a learning leadership. How can potential and serving leaders acquire the necessary skills, abilities, and attributes for them to recognize and address the threats and challenges to our survival in the contemporary world? Serving leaders have little time for formal learning. They learn on the job through reciprocal peer interaction and transactional relationships with their followers. But the global aspect demands another dimension, cybernetic learning, within which an awareness of global ethics is central.