The effect of rearing environments on the contrafreeloading phenomenon in rats

Eight naive rats were reared in enriched or impoverished environments for 39 days after weaning and then lived in operant chambers, in which they could obtain food pellets freely or by lever pressing, for 25 or 30 days. The animals raised in an impoverished environment acquired the bar-press response quickly when placed in the operant chambers and maintained a preference for obtaining food via bar pressing. Animals raised in an enriched environment did not learn to lever press, as demonstrated by low levels of responding and the lack of bar pressing when free food was subsequently removed. It was concluded that restricting animals' postweaning environments facilitated learning in a choice situation, probably because of increased activity levels. The results are interpreted in relation to previous studies on rearing environments and on contrafreeloading.     

Alexithymia as a potential source of symptom over‐reporting: An exploratory study in forensic patients and non‐forensic participants

The traditional interpretation of symptom over‐reporting is that it indicates malingering. We explored a different perspective, namely that over‐reporting of eccentric symptoms is related to deficits in articulating internal experiences (i.e., alexithymia). Given that alexithymia has been linked to sleep problems and that fatigue may fuel inattentive responding to symptom lists, we administered measures of alexithymia (TAS ‐20) and symptom over‐reporting (SIMS ), but also sleep quality (SLEEP ‐50) to forensic psychiatric outpatients (n = 40) and non‐forensic participants (n = 40). Forensic patients scored significantly higher on all three indices than non‐forensic participants. In the total sample as well as in subsamples, over‐reporting correlated positively and significantly with alexithymia, with r s being in the 0.50–0.65 range. Sleep problems were also related to over‐reporting, but in the full sample and in the forensic subsample, alexithymia predicted variance in over‐reporting over and above sleep problems. Although our study is cross‐sectional in nature, its results indicate that alexithymia as a potential source of over‐reporting merits systematic research.     

THE COMMUNITY VIEW REVISITED

Abstract: Joining a vast Wittgensteinian anti‐theoretical movement, John Canfield has argued that it is possible to read the claims that (1) “language is essentially communal” and (2) “it is conceptually possible that a Crusoe isolated from birth should speak or follow rules” in such a way that they are perfectly compatible, and, indeed, that Wittgenstein held them both at once. The key to doing this is to drain them of any theoretical content or implications that would put each claim at odds with the other. I argue here, first of all, that it is not possible to detheorize both (1) and (2) and still hope to say anything illuminating about the nature of language. In fact, Canfield himself does not succeed in detheorizing both (1) and (2) but ends up trivializing (1) and leaving (2) with quite a bit of theoretical content. I further argue, however, that this is getting the matter the wrong way around. Contra Canfield et al., it is only when we recognize this that we can appreciate how radical and innovative Wittgenstein's claims about language really are.     

Decision Support System and Multi‐Criteria Decision Aid: A State of the Art and Perspectives

The aim of this paper is to highlight the role of the Decision Support System within the field of multi‐criteria decision aid (MCDA). The MCDA tools have been incorporated into systems to create Multi‐Criteria Decision Support Systems (MCDSSs). In our literature review, we noticed that more than 100 papers have been written over a 20‐year period in which MCDSS was used as a decision‐making tool. The present paper describes some real applications of MCDSS in different fields, harmoniously combined with decision‐making methods such as analytic hierarchy process, Utility Additive, and Goal Programming. The present study proposes an integrative MCDSS evaluation through guidance on the tools most useful for a specific user with a particular decision problem. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparing Traditional and Ebook-Augmented Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT): A Randomized Control Trial of Pocket PCIT

Disruptive behavior in young children is one of the most common referrals to behavioral health providers. While numerous effective parenting programs, such as parent–child interaction therapy (PCIT), exist for improving children’s behaviors, challenges with treatment engagement and retention limit the intended positive impact on child and caregiver outcomes, particularly for racial and ethnic minority families. In an effort to address barriers contributing to poor engagement and retention in traditional PCIT service delivery and among ethnic and racial minority families, a multimedia PCIT ebook was developed and evaluated. In a sample of the general public that utilized the ebook, users were found to be more engaged in viewing embedded videos within the ebook that were related to expert skill explanations and skill demonstrations than caregiver testimonies. A randomized controlled trial was also conducted to evaluate the extent that the ebook + PCIT improved treatment engagement, retention, parenting skills, skill acquisition efficiency, and child behavior above and beyond traditional PCIT. Participating families were randomly assigned to either the traditional PCIT (n = 71) or ebook + PCIT (n = 107) group using an online random number generator. Forty-nine caregivers (traditional PCIT n = 24, ebook + PCIT n = 25) were excluded from analyses because they were lost to follow-up during the intervention. Families in both the traditional PCIT and ebook + PCIT groups demonstrated generally equivalent positive outcomes in treatment engagement (i.e., attendance, treatment length, completion rate) and caregiver skill acquisition efficiency at midtreatment, posttreatment, and 3-month follow-up. The addition of the ebook to PCIT also reduced child disruptive behavior at midtreatment, above and beyond traditional PCIT, but not at posttreatment or follow-up. Clinical implications and future directions are discussed.     

Intra‐active refractions

Responding to the analyses that Andreas Losch and Lucas John Mix offer regarding Living with Tiny Aliens: The Image of God for the Anthropocene, this article begins to address how their respective concerns regarding ratiocentric and anthropocentric ideas haunt the construction of a planetary account of the imago Dei. The article then introduces a subsequent line of critique not mentioned by Losch or Mix related to decentering the human individual from accounts of the imago Dei in order to highlight an ongoing challenge for transdisciplinary theological projects that involve astrobiology.     

Maintenance of Relationship and Individual Functioning Gains Following Online Relationship Programs for Low‐Income Couples

Initial evidence suggests that gains in relationship functioning from brief, web‐based programs are maintained through one year following the intervention; however, whether these results generalize to a low‐income sample is unclear. Furthermore, previous research from in‐person couple therapy suggests there may be different shapes of maintenance slopes for behavioral versus acceptance‐based techniques. This study contacted 668 individuals who enrolled in online behavioral (ePREP) or acceptance‐based (OurRelationship) programs one year following completion of the program. Multilevel modeling was used to examine linear and quadratic rates of change in the year following the online intervention as well as total amount of change from pretreatment to 12‐month follow‐up for both relationship and individual functioning. The majority of couples who responded continued to be in a relationship with the same partner (68.3%). Examinations of relationship functioning indicated couples in both programs maintained their gains over follow‐up (i.e., no significant linear or quadratic changes), with medium‐to‐large within‐group effect sizes from pre‐ to one‐year follow‐up. There were no significant differences in relationship outcomes between OurRelationship and ePREP. Similarly, examinations of individual functioning outcomes indicated couples maintained their gains over follow‐up or continued to improve. In total, couples experienced small‐to‐medium within‐group effect sizes from pretreatment to one‐year follow‐up, with larger effects for individuals who were initially distressed. These results suggest that online programs create lasting change for low‐income couples in relationship and individual functioning, with minimal differences between behavioral and acceptance‐based orientations.     

Searching for Positive Aspects of Excessive Reassurance-Seeking

We investigated positive aspects of excessive reassurance-seeking in interpersonal relationships. Previous studies have emphasized that excessive reassurance-seeking leads to interpersonal rejection by significant others. However, Fowler & Gasiorek (2017) suggested that excessive reassurance-seekers tend to make efforts to maintain relationships with their romantic partners, and that these efforts affect their own satisfaction with the relationships. We investigated whether the findings of Fowler and Gasiorek in students could be replicated in general heterosexual couples (N = 437 couples). Data were analyzed using the modified actor–partner interdependence model. Results indicated that excessive reassurance-seeking had no actor or partner effects on the efforts to maintain the relationships, which predicted relational satisfaction. However, the actor and partner effects of excessive reassurance-seeking on relational satisfaction through the efforts to maintain the relationships differed according to the relational duration. These findings, despite certain inconsistencies with Fowler and Gasiorek, suggest that excessive reassurance-seeking might have positive effects on relationships.     

Using a Fork as a Hairbrush: Investigating Dual Routes to Release from Functional Fixedness

Functional fixedness involves difficulty with conceptualizing creative object uses. When it obstructs problem‐solving, individuals must reframe their approach. We examined how different training techniques—chunk decomposition (i.e., considering an object’s basic parts and physical properties) and constraint relaxation (i.e., considering an object’s different functions)—might rely upon different routes to creative reframing. Additionally, we investigated how different forms of cognitive load interact with these dual routes. Participants learned one of three techniques. Chunk decomposition participants created object breakdown diagrams; constraint relaxation participants created object functions lists; and free association (control) participants wrote a word that they associated with each of several concrete nouns. After training, participants attempted to solve five functional fixedness problems. E1 investigated how increasing germane cognitive load via either direct or indirect prompting affected training transfer. Experiment 2 investigated how reducing extraneous cognitive load by providing no transfer instructions and using an eye‐closure strategy. Across both experiments, results supported differences in accuracy and response latency by training. However, chunk decomposition and constraint relaxation did not follow the same pattern, suggesting different mechanisms of the effect. We discuss possible applications to increase innovation in real‐world domains such as education, business, and engineering.