The autoshaping procedure as a residual block clock

In the first experiment, 4 pigeons were each presented with a recurring sequence of four key colors followed by the delivery of grain (block clock). Once the rate of pecking had stabilized, three of the colors were replaced, during different series of sessions, by a darkening of the key. The rate of pecking was reduced within those segments of the interval between deliveries of food during which the key was dark; when the key was dark during the final portion of the interval, rates were reduced throughout the entire interval. In the second experiment, 3 new pigeons were exposed to a different sequence of colors, and the final stimulus was replaced in successive conditions by a novel color, a darkened key, and a restoration of the original color. The data indicated that darkening the key had a more severe, more extensive, and more persistent effect than did a mere change in color. These results suggest that it may be fruitful to conceptualize the autoshaping procedure as a special version of the block clock in which pecking is suppressed throughout the greater part of the interval by darkening the key. In the final condition, the same stimulus appeared in each of the last three portions of the interval. The rate of pecking was lower during the last two portions than when distinctive colors were presented, with the peak rate now appearing in the fifth of seven equal temporal components.     

Reframing caring for parents who struggle with substance-use disorders

Nancy Suchman and the colleagues she influenced have produced ground-breaking and attitude-challenging work in understanding how parenting and substance use come together. Dr Suchman and her colleagues make the claim that there is nothing about a substance-use disorder that precludes effective and sensitive caring for children especially with interventions that focus on the parent–child relationship. Suchman's legacy is to highlight how substance use as an illness pulls individuals away from important, caring relationships and limits their giving themselves to those relationships. Restoring the salience of caring relationships and of the individual's ability to care may be as impactful on their substance use as a strict focus on the reduction of drug use and achieving abstinence.     

Telehealth parent training for a young child at risk for autism spectrum disorder

The global pandemic has highlighted the importance of telehealth to access behavioral interventions. Face-to-face parent training improves the development and behaviors of young children at risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We evaluated a telehealth parent training intervention for a child at risk for ASD. Two parents identified possible early ASD symptoms in their 30-month-old son (lack of imitation, pointing, and vocal manding). Both parents simultaneously received telehealth behavioral skills training on the Parent Intervention for Children at Risk for Autism program for 1 hour per week over 29 weeks. Multiple baseline designs across parent and child behaviors showed that both parents improved their parent teaching fidelity above 80% and the child improved on all trained behaviors. This study expands the utility of telehealth behavioral parent training to young children at risk for ASD to mitigate early symptoms of ASD.     

Can we predict non-response in developmental tasks? Assessing the longitudinal relation between toddlers' non-response and early academic skills

To date, virtually no studies have examined toddlers' non-response in developmental tasks. This study investigates data from 3667 toddlers to address (1) whether two aspects of non-response (completion and engagement) are separable, (2) how stable these aspects are from ages two to three, (3) how non-response relates to background characteristics, and (4) whether non-response at ages two and three predicts early academic skills at age six. Structural equation modelling shows that completion and engagement are separable constructs, relatively stable across age, and related to several background characteristics. Especially engagement predicts later academic performance. Results show that non-response in behavioural tasks in toddlers is not random, increasing the likelihood of sampling bias and lack of generalizability in developmental studies.     

Global self-evaluations and perceived instability of self in early adolescence: A cohort longitudinal study

A cohort longitudinal design with four adjacent cohorts of students ( n = 1689) followed over two years was used to study key issues identified in the research literature on the development of self-evaluations in early adolescence. There was no clear relationship between age/grade and self-evaluations. We found no support for a "stressful periods" hypothesis with respect to self: Possible changes were very gradual and quite small. However, there was a consistent "relative age" effect implying that younger students within a grade had more negative self-evaluations. There were small but consistent sex differences in self-evaluations in favor of the boys; more detailed analyses of very negative self-evaluations suggested that the early adolescent years are the period in which a sex difference in depression related symptomatology begins to emerge. Finally, the usefulness of some kind of effect size measure and advantages and problems associated with a cohort longitudinal design were discussed.     

Towards reflexive practice: Engaging participants as co-researchers or co-analysts in psychological inquiry

This paper considers some of the implications of reflexivity for the practice of psychological research. After a brief consideration of the theoretical background to a concern with reflexivity, the paper goes on to examine how various researchers have attempted to incorporate components of reflexivity in their research practice. While a group of sociologists of science have operationalized reflexivity by self-conscious concern for their own role in the construction of social—scientific knowledge, new paradigm co-operative inquirers interpret a need for reflexivity by including their participants as fully self-reflexive co-researchers. Mulkay's suggestion for a dialogic analytical exchange with one's participants is also considered. The second half of the paper illustrates an attempt at reflexive practice in the authors' own research. This was a project concerned with identity change during the transition to motherhood, and aimed to allow the women a strong hand in helping to shape the project's direction. Preliminary analysis of a woman's data was taken back to her for her comments, and her reflections on the data were incorporated in the final case study. A detailed example of the investigator and participant's discussion of a piece of data is provided.     

人工智能辅助的自闭症早期患者的筛查与诊断

自闭症谱系障碍(AutisticSpectrumDisorders,ASD)的症状早在婴幼儿期就会显现,越早发现,越早干预,治疗效果越好。传统自闭症早期筛查与诊断在评估方法、流程上存在局限,无法满足大规模筛查和诊断需求。随着人工智能技术的快速发展,使用智能化方法进行自闭症早期大规模无感筛查与诊断逐渐成为可能。近10年间,国内外对自闭症智能化识别方法的探索在经典任务行为、面部表情和情绪、眼动、脑影像、运动控制和运动模式、多模态6个领域积累了丰富的研究成果。未来研究应围绕构建国内自闭症早期智能医学筛查与诊断体系,开发针对婴幼儿患者的筛查工具,构建融合多模态数据的自闭症婴幼儿智能化识别模型,建立结合脑影像技术的自闭症精细化诊断方法等方面来开展。     

Growth and social behavior of previously undernourished mice

Developing mice were growth-retarded by underfeeding of their mothers during lactation. Control mothers were well nourished throughout. All offspring were fed ad libitum from weaning till their behaviour was tested in adulthood. The undernourished mice had weight deficits at weaning of 49% compared with controls. Nevertheless, they showed partial catch-up growth thereafter, in that their absolute weight deficits decreased between weaning and adulthood. Social behaviour observations were made on pairs of mice of the same treatment group. Previously undernourished mice were slower to start attacking one another, spent more time near or in contact with one another and did less tail-rattling than their controls.