Individual differences in need for cognition and decision making in the Iowa Gambling Task

Differences in decision making between individuals differing in Need for Cognition (NFC) are examined using the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). Previous work using normative one time decisions suggests that individual low in NFC process gains and losses differently than those high in NFC and are more susceptible to decision biases. The IGT is a popular laboratory task that involves making risky decisions from experience involving both gains and losses. In the first experiment, low NFC participants performed significantly worse than the high NFC participants. A second experiment designed to examine the nature of these differences provides evidence that low NFC participants place more importance on gains as opposed to losses when performing the IGT. Results are discussed in light of previous work suggesting that low NFC participants place more importance on losses in mixed outcome decisions.     

Parent-Child Engagement in Decision Making and the Development of Adolescent Affective Decision Capacity and Binge Drinking

The goal of this study was to investigate how parents’ engagement of their child in everyday decision-making influenced their adolescent’s development on two neuropsychological functions, namely, affective decision-making and working memory, and its effect on adolescent binge-drinking behavior.We conducted a longitudinal study of 192 Chinese adolescents. In 10th grade, the adolescents were tested for their affective decision-making ability using the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and working memory capacity using the Self-ordered Pointing Test (SOPT). Questionnaires were used to assess perceived parent-child engagement in decision-making, academic performance and drinking behavior. At one-year follow-up, the same neuropsychological tasks and questionnaires were repeated.Results indicate that working memory and academic performance were uninfluenced by parent-child engagement in decision-making. However, compared to adolescents whose parents made solitary decisions for them, adolescents engaged in everyday decision-making showed significant improvement on affective decision capacity and significantly less binge-drinking one year later.These findings suggest that parental engagement of children in everyday decision-making might foster the development of neurocognitive functioning relative to affective decision-making and reduce adolescent substance use behaviors.     

Perceptions Among Child Welfare Staff when Modifying A Child Mental Health Intervention to be Implemented in Child Welfare Services

In order to increase access to child mental health evidence‐based interventions (EBIs) for vulnerable and hard‐to‐engage families involved in the child welfare (CW) system, innovative approaches coupled with input from service providers are needed. One potential solution involves utilizing task‐shifting strategies and implementation science theoretical frameworks to implement such EBIs in CW settings. This study examined perceptions among CW staff who were members of a collaborative advisory board involved in the implementation of the 4Rs and 2Ss Strengthening Families Program (4R2S) in CW placement prevention settings, utilizing task‐shifting strategies and the Practical, Robust, Implementation, and Sustainability Model. Advisory board members reported difficulties in engaging families, heavy workloads, and conflicting implementation initiatives. While 4R2S was perceived as generally aligned with their organization's mission, modifications to the intervention and to agency procedures were recommended to promote implementation success. Suggested modifications to the existing 4R2S training and supervision are discussed. Findings underscore the importance of understanding the experiences of CW service providers, which can inform future efforts to implement child mental health EBIs in CW services.     

Strengthening and Expanding Child Services in Low Resource Communities: The Role of Task‐Shifting and Just‐in‐Time Training

In the United States, the demand for child mental health services is increasing, while the supply is limited by workforce shortages. These shortages are unlikely to be corrected without significant structural changes in how mental health services are provided. One strategy for bridging this gap is task‐shifting, defined as a process by which services that are typically delivered by professionals are moved to individuals with less extensive qualifications or training. Although task‐shifting can increase the size of the workforce, there are challenges related to training new workers. In this paper, we propose Just‐In‐Time Training (JITT) as one strategy for improving task‐shifting efforts. We define JITT as on‐demand training experiences that only include what is necessary, when it is necessary, to promote competent service delivery. We offer a proof of concept from our own work shifting counseling and academic support tasks from school mental health professionals to pre‐baccalaureate mentors, citing lessons learned during our iterative process of JITT development. We conclude with a series of key considerations for scaling up the pairing of task‐shifting and JITT, including expanding the science of JITT and anticipating how task‐shifting and JITT would work within the context of dynamic mental health service systems.     

Retrieval practice can improve classroom review despite low practice test performance

Review is often more effective when it involves deliberate memory retrieval. However, this advantage may depend on a high rate of retrieval success; students who are less capable with the material may be better served by another activity. In our study, year 9 geography students listened to factual information, then reviewed some of it with a retrieval practice and feedback activity, some with a reading activity and left some unreviewed. We also manipulated the presence of hints during review—hints can affect the rate of retrieval success during practice and are relatively easy for teachers to provide. When tested 1 week later, most students showed a benefit of retrieval practice, even those who had performed poorly during review. There was also some evidence that hints improved learning when they made retrieval practice easier. Our findings suggest that retrieval practice, properly implemented, is advantageous for students of all ability levels.     

Endogenous modulation of compatibility effects: an Investigation into the temporal dynamics

Compatibility effects (CEs) arise when multiple stimuli fall within the visual field, providing an indication of stimulus processing. Previous research demonstrated that exogenous factors (e.g., luminance) influence the magnitude of CEs and their time course. The current research investigated the influence of endogenous factors. We used a flanker paradigm with a variable temporal delay (SOA) between a flanker and a subsequent central stimulus appearing. To manipulate endogenous factors, we required responses to the flanker on either half or all of the trials. The results indicate that increasing the task relevance of the flanker strengthened the initial positive CE (measured at short SOAs), consistent with past findings related to exogenous factors. However, at longer SOAs, the CE did not reverse into a negative CE, which stands against findings related to exogenous factors. These results indicate that CEs are subject to endogenous modulation, but the temporal dynamics do not mimic exogenous modulation.     

一个新的测量过程框架——对引入认知加工模型的再思考

从认知任务分析出发的测验设计,核心在于从认知加工的角度对项目底层作答机制作出解释。其中,能够刻画任务难度的模型最有可能与心理计量模型相结合。因而,具备成熟难度法则的各种小型理论或通用理论可以进入测量过程,实现从纯粹误差结构控制的测量到内容导引的测量的转变。在这样一个框架之下,理论对任务上作答过程的理解是否恰当,刺激特性变量与任务难度关系的揭示(即难度法则)是否准确,可以在测量的过程中进行证伪。项目反应理论还未及很好回答的效度问题,可望在这一拓展的框架中获得圆满解决。本文为新的测量过程框架提供了一个示意图。     

How class cohesion and teachers’ relatedness supportive/thwarting style relate to students’ relatedness,motivation, and positive and negative outcomes in physical education

The main goal of this study was to examine the links between class cohesion and teachers’ relatedness teaching style with students’ relatedness needs, motivation, and positive and negative outcomes in Physical Education. A total of 1294 students 10–18 years old (M = 14.40, SD = 1.99), 613 males (M = 14.48, SD = 1.95) and 681 females (M = 14.33, SD = 2.02), agreed to participate. They were enrolled in 88 classes belonging to 13 different primary and secondary schools in southwestern Spain. The study followed a correlational research design. Results of the multilevel path model showed a positive relationship between teachers’ relatedness support and class cohesion and behavioral and emotional engagement through relatedness need satisfaction and autonomous and controlled motivation. Results also showed a positive relationship between teachers’ relatedness thwarting and disruptive behaviors and problematic relationships through relatedness need frustration and amotivation. In conclusion, teachers’ relatedness behaviors and class cohesion can significantly impact the students’ relatedness and motivation, which in turn will affect their engagement and behaviors. A whole cascade of consequences begins with the way teachers teach and the cohesion generated in class. These first steps cannot be overlooked.     

The List of Social Situation Problems: Reliability and Validity in an Adolescent Spanish-Speaking Sample

The aim of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties of the Spanish translation of the List of Social Situation Problems (LSSP; S. H. Spence, 1980). The questionnaire was administered to a sample of 388 adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18. Exploratory factor analysis identified four factors: Social Anxiety, Adult Oppositional, Assertiveness, and Making Friends, which accounted for 26.64% of the variance. Internal consistency of the total scale was high ( = .86). Correlations between the LSSP and two self-report measures of social anxiety, the Questionnaire about Interpersonal Difficulties for Adolescents (r = .45) and the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory (r = .48), were statistically significant. A significant difference was found between LSSP total scores for adolescents with and without social anxiety (d = 1.14), supporting the construct validity of the scale.     

Effects of task difficulty and type of contingency on students' allocation of responding to math worksheets

This study investigated students' allocation of responding as a function of task difficulty and type of reinforcement contingency (i.e., accuracy based or time based). Four regular education fourth-grade students were presented with two identical stacks of easy and then difficult math worksheets using a reversal design. Regardless of condition, completing problems from each stack of worksheets was reinforced according to a different contingency; one required correct completion of math problems (accuracy based) and one required on-task behavior (time based). Results suggested that 3 of the 4 students preferred the accuracy-based contingency when given easy material and the time-based contingency when given difficult material. One student allocated more responding to the accuracy-based contingency when given easy problems but did not show a clear preference for either contingency with difficult problems. The implications of these findings for designing reinforcement-based programs for tasks of varying difficulty are discussed.