Newborn behavioral observations system in rural Pakistan: A feasibility and acceptability study

The Newborn Behavioral Observations (NBO) system is a relationship-based tool that helps parents recognize their infant's competencies and learn their behavioral cues, with the goals of enhancing parental responsiveness and satisfaction in the infant-parent relationship. In our study, a pediatrician integrated the NBO into 44 pediatric health care visits of infants in rural Pakistan villages, under the remote guidance of two U.S.-based child psychiatrists. A clinician then gave the mothers a survey about their experience of the NBO and found that the mothers were highly satisfied, reporting greater appreciation of their infant's strengths, greater understanding of their infant's behavioral cues, stronger attachment to their infant, and greater self-confidence as a mother. In their consideration of these results, the authors explore cultural reasons for the mothers’ responses and generate hypotheses to inform an outcome study of a similar intervention. This was a feasibility and acceptability study and was not randomized, had no control group, and did not use objective measures of outcome.     

Infant’s gaze in a teasing task with an experimenter or parent: A naturalistic approach

We assessed infant’s gaze in a teasing task in New York City public spaces. The task was administered to two different groups of 5- to 13-month-old infants. We used a between participants design across two studies. In Study 1 an experimenter administered the task to these infants (n = 79), whereas a parent did so in Study 2 (n = 79). The adult engaged the infant with a toy and then pulled it away to one side by counting to 7. A second trial to the other side was repeated. Infants passed the teasing task if they looked to the adult’s face within the first 5 seconds after removing the toy in at least one trial. In Study 1, we found that infants looked to the experimenter’s face after teasing by 7 months of age. In Study 2, infants did not show any significant gazes to the parent’s face after teasing at any age. Most trained parents successfully administered the teasing task to their infant. A teasing game played by an adult stranger (e.g., experimenter) may be optimal to elicit infant’s gaze in a naturalistic setting. Implications for developing cost-effective social-cognitive milestone measures in non-laboratory settings are discussed.     

Naturalistic Recovery From Nonsuicidal Self‐Injury: A Phenomenological Inquiry

The authors conducted a phenomenological inquiry of 12 individuals who recovered from nonsuicidal self‐injury without psychotherapeutic or medical intervention. Results indicated that participants’ naturalistic recovery emanated from their recognition of serious physical damage, corrective interpersonal influences, and movement from unhealthy to healthy surroundings. Implications of these findings for clinical practice and future research are discussed.     

前瞻记忆年老化研究的自然情境和实验室情境比较

年龄—前瞻记忆矛盾现象在实验室情境和自然情境研究中普遍存在。当任务设置为日常情境时, 前瞻记忆不受年龄影响或随年龄增长而促进, 前瞻记忆成绩可能受人格、生活方式、任务材料、提示等因素的影响; 当任务是实验室情境设置时, 与年轻被试相比, 老年被试前瞻记忆成绩一般都较差, 前瞻记忆成绩可能受回溯记忆负载、线索类型和策略控制加工的需求等因素的影响。年龄-前瞻记忆矛盾现象可能来自于环境与意向的社会性特征、认知资源分配策略等方面的原因。最后, 从被试控制、任务材料的设置、动机因素的探索等方面对今后的研究提出建议和展望。     

Metaphysics Within Science: Against Radical Naturalism

In Every Thing Must Go James Ladyman and Don Ross argue for a radical version of naturalistic metaphysics and propose that contemporary analytic metaphysics is detached from science and should be discontinued. The present article addresses the issues of whether (i) science and metaphysics are separable, (ii) intuitions and understanding should be excluded from scientific theory, and (iii) Ontic Structural Realism satisfies the criteria of the radical version of naturalism advanced by Ladyman and Ross. The point underlying those topics is that successful scientific research presupposes metaphysics, and that basic epistemic virtues common to metaphysics and science may allow us—as opposed to what Ladyman and Ross suggest—to increase our understanding of the world and to put constraints on allowable metaphysical theories.     

Safeguarding motorcyclists: Trialing new PRIME road markings for casualty reduction

Dedicated road markings for motorcyclists were installed on the approach to demanding bends at 10 sites across the West Highlands of Scotland. These road markings were designed as Perceptual Rider Information for Maximising Expertise and Enjoyment (PRIMEs) which presented a series of ‘gateway’ markings to encourage safer riding. Video data were collected to measure motorcycle speed, position, braking and use of the road markings, before and after the PRIMEs were installed. A total of 12,949 motorcyclists were observed. Speed reductions were observed across four of the 10 sites, changes in lateral position at the final PRIME gateway marking and apex of the bend were observed across all 10 sites and seven sites respectively; reduced braking was observed at two sites and there was an increase in the use of PRIME road markings across eight of the 10 sites. These findings are discussed in relation to the ‘Safe System’ approach to improving motorcycle safety.     

Deriving relations at multiple levels of complexity following minimal instruction: A demonstration

Recommendations for achieving generalized instructional outcomes often overlook the capacity for generative learning for most verbally competent humans. Four children (ages 5–8) participated in this project. In Study 1, we provided decontextualized discrete trial teaching to establish arbitrary relations between colors, pictures of characters, and researcher motor actions. All participants engaged in derivative responding, providing evidence of relational framing. Subsequently, we demonstrated that, with no additional instruction, these derivatives contributed to effective action within a socially valid context (i.e., Candyland gameplay). Study 2 extended the demonstration by teaching frames of opposition. Following teaching, all participants engaged in novel and contextually appropriate responding that entailed the derivation of both coordination and opposition between untrained stimuli. This outcome demonstrates how teaching simple relations can result in learning that manifests at higher levels of complexity (i.e., relational networking), providing some evidence that there can be socially valid benefits to decontextualized discrete trial instruction.     

Psychoanalytic inpatient psychotherapy of depression – Two naturalistic samples throughout the course of a decade

Background: While the general effectiveness of psychodynamic inpatient psychotherapy has been established, very few studies have specifically investigated the effectiveness of psychodynamic inpatient treatment of depression, though depressed patients represent the largest group of inpatients.

Method : This study investigated two naturalistic samples of depressed patients regarding treatment outcome as well as clinical and treatment characteristics. Patients were treated in a psychoanalytical psychosomatic hospital unit. Data was collected from 2000 to 2002 (N=234) and from 2008 to 2010 (N=514). Data was acquired at admission and discharge.

Results: The findings reveal high pre-post effect sizes for symptom reduction (SCL-90-R), general functioning (GAF) and medium changes of interpersonal problems (IIP). The improvement on the IIP was significantly higher for patients with comorbid personality disorder. Based on therapist ratings, the sample treated from 2008-2010 showed higher levels of impairment on several levels: chronic, complex, functional (GAF) and structural (OPD).

Conclusion: Findings indicate that patients show substantial short-term benefit following psychoanalytic inpatient psychotherapy, as practiced under naturalistic conditions. Open questions remain regarding the long-term nature of these benefits and the possible influence of placebo-effects.     

Victim and peer group responses to different forms of aggression among primary school children

Both behaviourist and social learning theory emphasise the importance of the consequences of a behaviour on its subsequent frequency of occurrence [e.g., Bandura, 1973, 1977; Skinner, 1953]. Despite this, very little is known about the types of consequences children receive when they aggress towards other children. The present study employed a wireless microphone and hidden camera to record victim and peer responses to primary school children's physical, verbal, indirect, and relational forms of aggression. The results showed that the most frequent consequences of aggression were victim retaliation or withdrawal, and peer support. In addition, the results showed limited support for the suggestion that sex differences in the use of different types of aggression arise due to differential reinforcement from victims and/or peers. The implications of the results for the development of interventions aimed at reducing aggression are considered along with alternative explanations for sex differences in aggression. Aggr. Behav. 31:00–00, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

观察因果学习和自主探索对学前儿童因果推理的影响

本研究采取单因素完全随机实验设计,以94名学前末期儿童(66-74月龄)为被试,在控制证据顺序的条件下探究观察因果学习结果和自主探索结果对儿童因果推理的影响,结果发现:(1)在只获得观察学习结果或自主探索结果一种证据条件下,绝大多数儿童依据所获证据推断因果关系;(2)在获得观察学习结果和自主探索结果两种证据条件下,儿童能综合两类证据推断因果关系,其中自主探索结果对儿童因果推理的影响力大于观察学习结果。