Citations of Murray Sidman's work in JEAB: Evidence of a long and large contribution

We examined citations of Murray Sidman's publications in the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior from the journal's inception in 1958 through May 2020. On average, he was cited 35.6 times per year. The rate of citation did not change substantially across time and the cumulative citation count was 2,212. His 10 publications cited most often deal with behavior-analytic research methods, stimulus equivalence, and unsignaled free-operant (or Sidman) avoidance. Our data provide clear evidence of the breadth and depth of Sidman's influence on the experimental analysis of behavior across 7 decades. His contributions were both exceptional and praiseworthy and his legacy will long endure.     

共情可控?以自上而下视角考察共情的可调节性

以往研究表明共情的特点包括自动化与情境依赖性。但是, 有关共情的理论模型与潜在神经机制仍存有争议。为更好地适应现实需求, 研究重点从共情的结构和功能角度逐渐向塑造和调节共情发展。近年来, 有研究者提出自上而下的心理过程与共情调节有关, 特别是共情的目标表征形式, 以及目标的价值权衡。因此, 考虑到共情的目标导向性对于共情的内部构建与外部表现形式的影响, 建议未来研究考虑从自上而下视角考察共情的可调节性。     

Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Women With Generalized Anxiety Disorder in the Perinatal Period: Impact on Problematic Behaviors

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is the most frequently diagnosed anxiety disorder among women in the perinatal period (pregnancy to one year postpartum). Recent studies have examined the relationship between problematic behaviors and GAD symptoms. Studies in nonperinatal samples indicate that adults with GAD engage in avoidance and safety behaviors and these behaviors are associated with greater symptom severity. Little research has examined the use of problematic behaviors among pregnant or postpartum women. However, preliminary research suggests that these behaviors may have a negative impact on both anxious women and their children. Our aim was to examine the extent to which women with GAD in pregnancy or the postpartum engage in problematic behaviors and whether cognitive behavioral therapy is effective in reducing these behaviors. Fifty-eight women with GAD in pregnancy or postpartum were recruited from a larger clinical trial (Clinicaltrials.gov ID NCT02850523) evaluating the effectiveness of group-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBGT) for perinatal anxiety disorders. The results indicated that women with perinatal GAD reported high levels of avoidance and safety behaviors and greater engagement in these behaviors was associated with higher levels of worry and related symptoms. CBGT was effective in reducing GAD symptoms and problematic behaviors and a bidirectional relationship was found between changes in worry and problematic behaviors during treatment. Limitations and future directions are discussed.     

Value-based choice: An integrative,neuroscience-informed model of health goals

Objective: Traditional models of health behaviour focus on the roles of cognitive, personality and social-cognitive constructs (e.g. executive function, grit, self-efficacy), and give less attention to the process by which these constructs interact in the moment that a health-relevant choice is made. Health psychology needs a process-focused account of how various factors are integrated to produce the decisions that determine health behaviour.

Design: I present an integrative value-based choice model of health behaviour, which characterises the mechanism by which a variety of factors come together to determine behaviour. This model imports knowledge from research on behavioural economics and neuroscience about how choices are made to the study of health behaviour, and uses that knowledge to generate novel predictions about how to change health behaviour. I describe anomalies in value-based choice that can be exploited for health promotion, and review neuroimaging evidence about the involvement of midline dopamine structures in tracking and integrating value-related information during choice. I highlight how this knowledge can bring insights to health psychology using illustrative case of healthy eating.

Conclusion: Value-based choice is a viable model for health behaviour and opens new avenues for mechanism-focused intervention.     

Does psychosocial stress exacerbate avoidant responses to cancer information in those who are afraid of cancer? A population-based survey among older adults in England

Objective: Communication of cancer information is an important element of cancer control, but cancer fear may lead to information avoidance, especially when coping is low. We examined the association between cancer fear and cancer information avoidance, and tested whether this was exacerbated by psychosocial stress.

Design: Cross-sectional survey of 1258 population-based adults (58–70 years) in England.

Main outcome measures: Cancer fear (intensity and frequency), perceived psychosocial stress and cancer information avoidance. Control variables were age, gender, ethnicity, marital status and education.

Results: A quarter (24%) of respondents avoided cancer information. Ordinal logistic regression analyses showed main effects of psychosocial stress (OR = 1.17, 95% CI 1.07–1.29) and cancer fear: cancer information avoidance was lowest in those with no cancer fear (13%), followed by those with moderate (24%; OR = 2.15, 95% CI: 1.49–3.12), and high cancer fear (35%; OR = 3.90, 95% CI: 2.65–5.73). In the adjusted model, the interaction between cancer fear and stress was significant (OR = 1.14, 95% CI 1.004–1.29, p < .05): 40% of those with high fear/high stress avoided cancer information compared with 29% with high fear/low stress.

Conclusion: Cancer fear and psychosocial stress interact to produce disengagement with cancer-related information, highlighting the importance of affective processes to cancer control efforts.     

Reduced specificity and enhanced subjective experience of future thinking in ageing: the influence of avoidance and emotion-regulation strategies

Future thinking in older adults is characterised by a lack of specificity of imagined events and by an equal or even higher subjective experience, compared to younger adults. We considered whether this lack of specificity stemmed partly from the avoidance of a somewhat disturbing future and then examined the extent to which certain types of emotion-regulation strategies, namely positive reappraisal and positive refocusing, contributed to the subjective experience of future thinking. Middle-aged and older adults completed an adapted version of the AMT, in which temporal distance and cue word valence were manipulated, thus resulting in future conditions assumed to represent varying degrees of discomfort. Results indicate that distant future and negative cues restricted both the specificity and the subjective experience of future thinking. In addition, the use of avoidance strategies predicted the nature of future thoughts in the context of a supposed uncomfortable future (i.e., a distant future induced by negative cues), although it followed quite different age-related patterns. Together with the findings that positive reappraisal and positive refocusing (to a lesser extent) contributed to the subjective experience of future thinking, this study indicates that how individuals imagine their personal future also relies on affect- and emotion-regulation strategies.     

Beliefs about emotion: implications for avoidance-based emotion regulation and psychological health

People’s beliefs about their ability to control their emotions predict a range of important psychological outcomes. It is not clear, however, whether these beliefs are playing a causal role, and if so, why this might be. In the current research, we tested whether avoidance-based emotion regulation explains the link between beliefs and psychological outcomes. In Study 1 (N?=?112), a perceived lack of control over emotions predicted poorer psychological health outcomes (increased self-reported avoidance, lower well-being, and higher levels of clinical symptoms), and avoidance strategies indirectly explained these links between emotion beliefs and psychological health. In Study 2 (N?=?101), we experimentally manipulated participants’ emotion beliefs by leading participants to believe that they struggled (low regulatory self-efficacy) or did not struggle (high regulatory self-efficacy) with controlling their emotions. Participants in the low regulatory self-efficacy condition reported increased intentions to engage in avoidance strategies over the next month and were more likely to avoid seeking psychological help. When asked if they would participate in follow-up studies, these participants were also more likely to display avoidance-based emotion regulation. These findings provide initial evidence for the causal role of emotion beliefs in avoidance-based emotion regulation, and document their impact on psychological health-related outcomes.     

Between Avoidance and Problem Solving: Resilience,Self‐Efficacy,and Social Support Seeking

The authors explored resilience, self‐efficacy, and social support seeking as (a) mediators between stress and problem solving and (b) moderators buffering the effect of stress on avoidance. Participants were 220 college students. Structural equation modeling showed that resilience and self‐efficacy positively influenced problem solving but could not buffer stress's effect on avoidance. Social support seeking played a more important role than resilience and self‐efficacy in reducing avoidance when individuals intentionally used social support seeking as a source for problem solving instead of avoidance.     

The quiet passenger: Cognitions,avoidance, and onset among people with driving anxiety

BackgroundAnxiety over driving can have consequences for road safety and individual well-being. This area is under-researched in Australia, despite international research suggesting that most drivers experience some level of anxiety over driving.ObjectivesThis study aimed to contribute to the understanding of driving anxiety by 1) confirming the factor structure of two questionnaires designed to understand the concerns (Driving Cognitions Questionnaire: DCQ) and avoidance behaviours (Driving and Riding Avoidance Scale: DRAS); 2) providing evidence of anxiety manifestations in Australian drivers, and 3) understanding whether these differ according to the initial onset of this anxiety.MethodsA total of 1,600 people (77% females; age ranging from 18 to 89 [M = 27.92; ± 13.49], 75% licenced, 20% learning, 5% unlicenced) in Australia who identified as having “some” level of anxiety over driving, completed an online questionnaire regarding their anxiety.ResultsConfirmatory Factor Analyses showed the two-factor structure of the DRAS (general and traffic avoidance; and weather and riding avoidance) and the two-factor structure of the DCQ (crash-related concerns and social and panic related concerns) best fit the data. The most common anxiety onsets were crash involvement (14%), knowing someone who had been in a crash (9%) and due to criticism from others (9%). While no differences emerged between these groups on avoidance behaviour nor on crash concerns, social and panic concerns were higher for the criticism onset group.ConclusionsThe results demonstrate difference sources of anxiety and provide evidence of the importance of interactions with passengers in determining how a driver feels about the driving task.Practical implicationsAvenues for the reduction or avoidance of anxiety are proposed. These include better awareness and education for drivers regarding the importance of positive interactions and/or well as better journey management to avoid triggers of anxiety.