Autistic features in the general population: Implications for sensing purpose in life

Purpose in life has been discussed as a psychosocial process in which individuals construct their life aims in relation to other people. Consequently, difficulty attending to social cues could limit the extent to which individuals feel purposeful. The present study (N = 252) examined links between subclinical autistic features found in the general population and perceived purpose in life. Results showed that autistic features were negatively associated with purpose even after accounting for age, gender, positive mood, and dispositions in Big 5 personality traits. Findings are discussed in terms of directions for future research aimed at elucidating the mechanisms that may explain the observed associations. In completing this study, it is hoped that the present findings can be utilized as groundwork for the investigation of psychosocial development in special populations.     

应用Rasch模型分析Rosenberg自尊量表

采用Rosenberg自尊量表(RSES)对425名在校大学生进行施测,应用项目反应理论的Rasch模型对项目指标进行分析及DIF检验。结果表明,Rosenberg自尊量表具有单维性,量表的信度为0.84; 除项目8以外,其他项目拟合指标良好,较适用来区分中等及偏低自尊水平的个体,项目功能差异检验发现在项目1和项目5上存在DIF,表现为男生自尊水平要高于女生。相对于经典测量理论,应用Rasch模型分析Rosenberg自尊量表具有优势,为进一步的完善和使用该自尊量表提供依据。     

Further evaluation of differential exposure to establishing operations during functional communication training

Recent research findings (DeRosa, Fisher, & Steege, 2015 ) suggest that minimizing exposure to the establishing operation (EO) for destructive behavior when differential reinforcement interventions like functional communication training (FCT) are introduced may produce more immediate reductions in destructive behavior and prevent or mitigate extinction bursts. We directly tested this hypothesis by introducing FCT with extinction in two conditions, one with limited exposure to the EO (limited EO) and one with more extended exposure to the EO (extended EO) using a combined reversal and multielement design. Results showed that the limited‐EO condition rapidly reduced destructive behavior to low levels during every application, whereas the extended‐EO condition produced an extinction burst in five of six applications. We discuss these findings in relation to the effects of EO exposure on the beneficial and untoward effects of differential reinforcement interventions.     

Prevalence of resurgence of destructive behavior when thinning reinforcement schedules during functional communication training

Functional communication training is a well‐established treatment for socially reinforced destructive behavior that typically includes differential reinforcement of the functional communication response (FCR) in combination with extinction of destructive behavior. However, when the schedule of reinforcement for the FCR is thinned, destructive behavior may resurge (e.g., Greer, Fisher, Saini, Owen, & Jones, 2016). Currently, data are unavailable on the prevalence and characteristics of resurgence during reinforcement schedule thinning. In this study, we evaluated the prevalence of resurgence during reinforcement schedule thinning on a per‐case and per‐schedule‐step basis and also evaluated the magnitude of resurgence in relation to the functions of destructive behavior. We observed resurgence in 19 of the 25 (76%) applications of reinforcement schedule thinning. In some cases, the magnitude of resurgence exceeded the mean levels of destructive behavior observed in baseline. We discuss these results relative to prior translational and applied research on resurgence.     

认知诊断框架下多级评分题目的DIF检测方法及其应用

本文对多级计分认知诊断测验的DIF概念进行了界定,并通过模拟实验以及实证研究对四种常见的多级计分DIF检验方法的适用性进行理论以及实践性的探索。研究结果表明：四种方法均能对多级计分认知诊断中的DIF进行有效的检验,且各方法的表现受模型的影响不大;相较于以总分为匹配变量,以KS为匹配变量时更利于DIF的检测;以KS为匹配变量的LDFA方法以及以KS为匹配变量的曼特尔检验方法在检测DIF题目时有着最高的检验力。     

Siblings' Direct and Indirect Contributions to Child Development

Abstract— Since the early 1980s, a growing body of research has described the contributions of sibling relationships to child and adolescent development. Interactions with older siblings promote young children's language and cognitive development, their understanding of other people's emotions and perspectives, and, conversely, their development of antisocial behavior. Studies address the ways in which parents' experiences with older children contribute to their rearing of younger children, which in turn contributes to the younger children's development. Finally, by virtue of having a sibling, children may receive differential treatment from their parents. Under some conditions, differential treatment is associated with emotional and behavioral problems in children.     

Envy and difference

This paper explores five examples of envy, examining the similarities and differences between the clinical situations. The theory relating to envy is extensively reviewed and a critique of the Kleinian position is offered, suggesting that the aversion to separation and difference is not only prior to, but also has explanatory precedence over, the functioning of envy. Kleinian examples are explored in this light. The experience of separateness and difference is understood to lead to a number of outcomes: envy, admiration, competitiveness, a sense of low self-esteem and inadequacy, or a fear of being envied. It is argued that the individual's particular personality organization and their associated relational pattern will determine their experience of envy. Examples of schizoid, borderline, narcissistic and hysteric functioning in relation to envy are examined in some depth. The link between these phenomena and the death instinct is touched on.     

Linking social axioms with indicators of positive interpersonal, social and environmental functioning in Iran: an exploratory study

Social axioms are people's general beliefs about how the world functions and always involve the relationship between two conceptual entities. Social axioms have been proposed as a construct that can be useful in helping researchers interpret cultures and explain people's behaviors in different cultural contexts. Despite the growth of studies on social axioms in various countries, no effort has been made so far to investigate specifically the relation between social axioms and indicators of interpersonal, social, and environmental functioning. To fill this gap, this exploratory study sought to examine the relation between social axioms and a set of variables indicating positive interpersonal, social, and environmental functioning (namely, gratitude, connectedness to nature, social participation, perspective-taking, and empathic concern) in a sample of 303 Iranian university students. Findings showed that reward for application, religiosity, and social complexity significantly predicted gratitude when sex was controlled for. Social complexity and reward for application significantly contributed to explaining the variance in connectedness to nature over and above sex. Social cynicism and social complexity also predicted perspective-taking significantly after controlling for sex. Social axioms were not successful in predicting social participation and empathic concern. Overall, it is possible to conclude that the findings support the utility of social axioms in predicting interpersonal, social, and environmental functioning. That is, generalized beliefs about oneself, the social and physical environment, or the spiritual world are associated with individuals' interpersonal, social, and environmental functioning in this Iranian sample.     

Context influences preference for and level of physical activity of adolescents with intellectual and developmental disabilities

The purpose of the current study was to replicate and extend Hustyi, Normand, Larson, and Morley (2012) by determining the effects of different contexts on physical activity displayed by adolescents with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and determining preference for various activities. Results indicated that an exergaming condition produced the highest levels of activity. Results of a preference assessment indicated that 2 out of 3 participants preferred the physical activity context to the sedentary. For the third participant, an intervention was included to increase activity. Although the intervention was successful, participant preference for the sedentary activity context remained unchanged.     

Establishing initial auditory‐visual conditional discriminations and emergence of initial tacts in young children with autism spectrum disorder

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often display impaired listener skills, and few studies have evaluated procedures for establishing initial auditory‐visual conditional discrimination skills. We developed and evaluated a treatment package for training initial auditory‐visual conditional discriminations based on the extant research on training such discriminations in children with ASD with at least some preexisting skills in this area. The treatment package included (a) conditional‐only training, (b) prompting the participant to echo the sample stimulus as a differential observing response, (c) prompting correct selection responses using an identity‐match prompt, (d) using progressively delayed prompts, and (e) repeating trials until the participant emitted an independent correct response. Results indicated all participants mastered all listener targets, and the two participants for whom we tested the emergence of corresponding tacts showed mastery of most tacts without direct training. We discuss these results relative to prior research on listener skills and tacts.