The mere acceptance effect: Can it influence responses on racial Implicit Association Tests?

The Implicit Association Test (IAT) is designed to measure the strength of mental association between each of a pair of target categories (e.g., Black vs. White) and each of a pair of attributes (e.g., negative vs. positive). Recent work on the mere acceptance effect shows that, if one of the categories is the focus of attention, then an apparent preference for the focal category can emerge on the IAT, even when no such preference actually exists. It has been suggested that mere acceptance could influence responding on names-based racial IATs, perhaps leading to an exaggeration of anti-Black/pro-White bias. Whether such IATs can be influenced by a mere acceptance effect is unknown, though. By manipulating whether “Black” or “White” was the focal category on a names-based racial IAT, the present studies addressed this very issue. The results were consistent with the operation of mere acceptance effects, but not effects large enough to fully explain the appearance of bias on the IAT.     

European starlings are capable of discriminating subtle size asymmetries in paired stimuli

Small deviations from bilateral symmetry (fluctuating asymmetries) are cues to fitness differences in some animals. Therefore, researchers have considered whether animals use these small asymmetries as visual cues to determine appropriate behavioral responses (e.g., mate preferences). However, there have been few systematic studies of animals' abilities to visually discriminate such minor asymmetries. If the asymmetries cannot be discriminated, fluctuating asymmetry can not be a visual cue. Here, we report an investigation of European starlings' (Sturnus vulgaris) abilities to discriminate small size asymmetries. We trained starlings, through operant conditioning in a free-flight aviary, to discriminate achromatic, symmetric paired stimuli from size-matched asymmetric stimuli. By starting the learning process with a large asymmetry and progressing through sequential trials of decreasing asymmetry, we elucidated a behavioral limit to asymmetry discrimination. We found that starlings are capable of discriminating a 10% size asymmetry. There was weaker evidence for discrimination of 5% asymmetry but no evidence for signal discrimination at 2.5% size asymmetry. This level of asymmetry discrimination suggests that many size asymmetry cues in nature can be discriminated by birds. At each level of asymmetry discrimination, we also tested whether starlings could generalize their learned symmetry preference to unreinforced novel images. Consistent with previous findings, we found that starlings could generalize their symmetry preferences.     

归因、自我效能和社会容认度对心理求助行为的影响

在江光荣心理求助行为的“阶段-决策模型”框架下,探查处于第三阶段的被试的求助行为,侧重研究⑴对心理问题的归因、⑵作为心理咨询当事人的自我效能和⑶心理求助行为的社会容认度这三个变量对实际求助行为的影响,同时探讨变量之间的作用机制。结果表明,这三个变量对求助行为均有预测作用。其中心理求助行为的社会容认度除了对求助行为有直接作用外,还以作为心理咨询当事人的自我效能为中介变量间接影响求助行为。整个模型对求助行为解释的变异量达到26％     

Treating food selectivity as resistance to change in children with autism spectrum disorder

Change-resistant behavior, such as rigid and selective food consumption, is a core symptom of autism that can have significant negative consequences for the child (Flygare Wallén et al., 2018; Levy et al., 2019). In the current study, we used a matching-law-based intervention (Fisher et al., 2019) to treat the change-resistant feeding behavior of 7 young children with autism. The feeder gave the participant a choice between a change-resistant and an alternative food during free- and asymmetrical-choice conditions. Alternative-food consumption increased for 2 participants during asymmetrical choice when the feeder provided a preferred item for consuming the alternative food and no programmed consequence for consuming the change-resistant food. Alternative-food consumption increased for the other 5 participants after the feeder exposed at least 1 food to single choice in which the feeder guided the participant to put the bite of alternative food in his or her mouth if he or she did not do so within 8 s of presentation. Effects of the single-choice contingencies maintained during reversals and generalized to other alternative foods the feeder did not expose to single choice. These results are important because participants consumed alternative foods even when their change-resistant foods were present, which is similar to typical mealtime contexts in which children have choices among foods.     

WHY WE NEED RELIGION TO SOLVE THE WORLD FOOD CRISIS

Scholars and practitioners addressing the global food crisis have rarely incorporated perspectives from the world's religious traditions. This lacuna appears in multiple dimensions: until recently, environmentalists have tended to ignore food and agriculture; food justice advocates have focused on food quantities, rather than its method of production; and few scholars of religion have considered agriculture. Faith‐based perspectives typically emphasize the dignity and sanctity of creation and offer holistic frameworks that integrate equity, economic, and environmental concerns, often called the three legs of sustainability. Faith‐based perspectives can provide new paradigms through which to assess food, consumption, and production and the attendant social relations; assess our scientific, economic, and social approaches; and acknowledge the moral and religious dimensions of the world food crisis.     

The development of Japanese mother–infant feeding interactions during the weaning period

During the weaning period, infants are not skilled at self-feeding and caregivers play a prominent role in feeding. Solid feeding is therefore an inherently collaborative and interactive process between infants and caregivers. The present study examined how caregivers and infants coordinate their solid feeding interactions, based on naturalistic longitudinal observations of three Japanese mother–infant dyads. The main results were as follows. Four or five months after weaning (about 10–11 months of age), children's mouth movements and mothers’ arm movements became more synchronized, and the success or failure of coordinated feeding became independent on children's gaze behavior. During this same period, both mothers’ and children's body movements accelerated. Specifically, children's food-intake motions and mothers’ food-carrying movements became faster together, although before 10–11 months fluctuations of these motions were not as correlated. Finally, at 9–11 months of age rhythmic body movements became frequent. From the first day of weaning, all three mothers swayed their bodies rhythmically while feeding, and about 2–3 months later their children also began to sway as they ate, at first infectiously but later spontaneously. These observations indicate how specific behavioral development contributes to mother–infant coordination in feeding.     

躯体症状障碍的特点及综合诊疗原则

从美国精神疾病诊断与统计手册第三版（DSM-Ⅲ）的躯体形式障碍,到甚至更早的诊断名称为DSM-5的躯体症状障碍,这类疾病的名称一直在变化;学界对躯体化症状的分类和定义也一直存在争议.进行分类和诊断的主要目的是为了治疗.本文从躯体症状障碍相关概念的变迁及本质特点入手,分析、总结躯体症状障碍的心理行为特点及接诊和治疗原则,以期对广大临床工作者治疗工作的开展有所帮助.