Equivalence relations and the contextual control of multiple derived stimulus functions

Contextual control is a key aspect in equivalence research to support the claim that stimuli may have multiple functions or symbols may have multiple meanings. The present study investigated the contextual control of multiple derived stimulus functions in two experiments. In Experiment 1, equivalence classes were formed and one stimulus set from each class was used to establish two different functions: one via positive reinforcement (key-pressing) and another via negative reinforcement (button clicking), both under contextual control of two different background colors. Later, other stimuli from the equivalence class were presented on those background colors and contextual control of multiple derived stimulus functions was assessed. Experiment 2 added a third background in which no programmed response was reinforced, that is, responses were extinguished. Transfer-of-function tests revealed contextual control of three different functions, including derived extinction. Implications for equivalence relations as a behavior-analytical model of symbolic functioning are discussed.     

Bilinguals who stutter: A cognitive perspective

PurposeBrain differences, both in structure and executive functioning, have been found in both developmental stuttering and bilingualism. However, the etiology of stuttering remains unknown. The early suggestion that stuttering is a result of brain dysfunction has since received support from various behavioral and neuroimaging studies that have revealed functional and structural brain changes in monolinguals who stutter (MWS). In addition, MWS appear to show deficits in executive control. However, there is a lack of data on bilinguals who stutter (BWS). This literature review is intended to provide an overview of both stuttering and bilingualism as well as synthesize areas of overlap among both lines of research and highlight knowledge gaps in the current literature.MethodsA systematic literature review on both stuttering and bilingualism studies was conducted, searching for articles containing “stuttering” and/or “bilingualism” and either “brain”, “executive functions”, “executive control”, “motor control”, “cognitive reserve”, or “brain reserve” in the PubMed database. Additional studies were found by examining the reference list of studies that met the inclusion criteria.ResultsA total of 148 references that met the criteria for inclusion in this paper were used in the review. A comparison of the impact of stuttering or bilingualism on the brain are discussed.ConclusionPrevious research examining a potential bilingual advantage for BWS is mixed. However, if such an advantage does exist, it appears to offset potential deficits in executive functioning that may be associated with stuttering.     

Distinct performance profiles on the Brixton test in frontotemporal dementia

The Brixton Spatial Anticipation Test is a well-established test of executive function that evaluates the capacity to abstract, follow, and switch rules. There has been remarkably little systematic analysis of Brixton test performance in the prototypical neurodegenerative disorder of the frontal lobes: behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) or evaluation of the test’s ability to distinguish frontal from temporal lobe degenerative disease. We carried out a quantitative and qualitative analysis of Brixton performance in 76 patients with bvFTD and 34 with semantic dementia (SD) associated with temporal lobe degeneration. The groups were matched for demographic variables and illness duration. The bvFTD group performed significantly more poorly (U = 348, p < .0001, r = .58), 53% of patients scoring in the poor–impaired range compared with 6% of SD patients. Whereas bvFTD patients showed problems in rule acquisition and switching, SD patients did not, despite their impaired conceptual knowledge. Error analysis revealed more frequent perseverative errors in bvFTD, particularly responses unconnected to the stimulus, as well as random responses. Stimulus-bound errors were rare. Within the bvFTD group, there was variation in performance profile, which could not be explained by demographic, neurological, or genetic factors. The findings demonstrate sensitivity and specificity of the Brixton test in identifying frontal lobe degenerative disease and highlight the clinical value of qualitative analysis of test performance. From a theoretical perspective, the findings provide evidence that semantic knowledge and the capacity to acquire rules are dissociable. Moreover, they exemplify the separable functional contributions to executive performance.     

Neurocognitive functioning in patients with conversion disorder/functional neurological disorder

Neurocognitive symptoms are common in individuals with somatic symptom and related disorders (SSRD), but little is known about the specific impairments in neurocognitive domains in patients with conversion disorder (CD)/functional neurological disorder (FND). This study examines neurocognitive functioning in patients with CD/FND compared to patients with other SSRD. The sample consisted of 318 patients. Twenty-nine patients were diagnosed with CD/FND, mean age 42.4, standard deviation (SD) = 13.8 years, 79.3% women, and 289 patients had other SSRD (mean age 42.1, SD = 13.3, 60.2% women). Patients completed a neuropsychological test battery that addressed a broad range of neurocognitive domains, including information processing speed, attention and executive functioning. Patients with CD/FND had clinically significant neurocognitive deficits in all neurocognitive domains based on normative data comparison. Patients with CD/FND also performed significantly worse than patients with other SSRD on information processing speed (Digit Symbol Substitution Test (V = .115, p = .035), Stroop Color–Word Test (SCWT) card 1 (V = .190, p = .006), and SCWT card 2 (V = .244, p < .001). No CD/FND vs. other SSRD differences were observed in other neurocognitive domains. These findings indicate the patients with CD/FND perform worse on information processing speed tests compared to patients with other SSRD.     

Nostalgia,reflection, brooding: Psychological benefits and autobiographical memory functions

We sought to clarify the psychological profile of experimentally induced nostalgia, compared to two other modes of thinking about one’s past—reflection and brooding—also experimentally induced. We tested both British and Chinese participants. Our main hypothesis was that nostalgia’s profile is more positive in terms of six psychological benefits and seven autobiographical memory functions. The results were consistent with the hypothesis. In regard to psychological benefits, nostalgia (vs. reflection and brooding) increased positive affect, self-esteem, self-continuity, social connectedness, and meaning in life. Furthermore, nostalgia increased optimism relative to brooding (but not reflection). In regard to autobiographical memory functions, nostalgia (vs. reflection and brooding) led to higher boredom reduction, conversation, intimacy maintenance, and death preparation, as well as lower bitterness revival. Nostalgia also elevated teach/inform relative to brooding (but not reflection). The findings were similar for British and Chinese participants.     

A global portrait of counselling psychologists’ characteristics,perspectives, and professional behaviors

Counseling psychologists in eight countries (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States) responded to survey questions that focused on their demographics as well as their professional identities, roles, settings, and activities. As well, they were asked about satisfaction with the specialty and the extent to which they endorsed 10 core counseling psychology values. This article reports those results, focusing both on areas in which there were between-country similarities as well as on those for which there were differences. These data provide a snapshot of counseling psychology globally and establish a foundation for the other articles in this special issue of the journal.     

The Dynamics of Personality Approach (DPA): 20 Tenets for Uncovering the Causal Mechanisms of Personality

Over the last few decades, most personality psychology research has been focused on assessing personality via scores on a few broad traits and investigating how these scores predict various behaviours and outcomes. This approach does not seek to explain the causal mechanisms underlying human personality and thus falls short of explaining the proximal sources of traits as well as the variation of individuals' behaviour over time and across situations. On the basis of the commonalities shared by influential process-oriented personality theories and models, we describe a general dynamics of personality approach (DPA). The DPA relies heavily on theoretical principles applicable to complex adaptive systems that self-regulate via feedback mechanisms, and it parses the sources of personality in terms of various psychological functions relevant in different phases of self-regulation. Thus, we consider personality to be rooted in individual differences in various cognitive, emotional–motivational, and volitional functions, as well as their causal interactions. In this article, we lay out 20 tenets for the DPA that may serve as a guideline for integrative research in personality science. © 2020 The Authors. European Journal of Personality published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Association of Personality Psychology     

Effects of game‐based and standard executive control training on cognitive and academic abilities in elementary school children

Several studies indicate that executive functions (EF), such as working memory (WM), inhibition or flexibility can be improved by training and that these training‐related benefits in WM capacity generalize to reading and mathematical abilities. However, the results of these studies are inconsistent and most of them focused on WM training in children with learning difficulties. Evidence for typically developing children is rare and no study has investigated inhibition training or flexibility training. There is also a lack of studies taking motivational factors into account. Therefore, this study compared the effects of game‐based and standard training regimens targeting WM, inhibition, or flexibility in children. One hundred and fifty‐three typically developing elementary school students (mean age = 9.6 years, standard deviations  = 0.8) were investigated in an intervention design with a pretest, 21 sessions of training, a posttest and a follow‐up after three months. They were randomized into one of six training groups or a control group. We found training gains in all training groups and higher self‐reported motivation in the game‐based as compared to the standard training groups. Furthermore, there was domain‐specific transfer to untrained EF tasks across all training groups. We found greater performance improvements in reading ability (but not mathematics) in the game‐based flexibility training group and the game‐based inhibition training group as compared to the control group. Transfer effects were still significant at follow‐up. In sum, our findings provide first evidence for a systematic comparison of training on different domains of EF and their differential effects on academic abilities.