Attitudes towards seeking psychological help among a sample of Turkish university students: the roles of rumination and internal working models

The current study investigates how attitudes towards seeking psychological help relate to internal working models of attachment (self-model and other-model) and ruminative tendencies. The study includes 589 Turkish university students (278 females, 308 males and 3 unknown) by implementing a convenient sampling procedure. The average age of the participants was 22.4 years (SD = 2.2). Participants were administered the Attitudes toward Seeking Psychological Help-Short, the Relationship Questionnaire and the Rumination Scale. The results of the study indicate that the other-model and rumination have a relationship to women's help-seeking attitudes whereas the self-model has a relationship to men's help-seeking attitudes. The results are discussed in light of the related literature.     

Theory and teen dating violence victimization: Considering adolescent development

Teen dating violence is an important public health problem, with implications for the future health and well-being of adolescents. However, most work on teen dating violence has developed separately from literature on normative adolescent romantic relationships and development; understanding teen dating violence within the framework of adolescent psychosocial development may provide new areas for research. Thus, the present paper summarizes five theories of adolescent development that are relevant to the study of teen dating violence victimization, as well as empirical literature that demonstrates support for key theoretical tenets in research examining adolescent romantic relationships. We also present questions for future dating violence study that arise from these key theoretical tenets and past empirical research. Researchers interested in dating violence victimization can use the presented theories to guide new directions in research inquiry, so that findings are situated within the broader field of adolescent development.     

Working memory retrieval differences between medial temporal lobe epilepsy patients and controls: A three memory layer approach

Multi-store models of working memory (WM) have given way to more dynamic approaches that conceive WM as an activated subset of long-term memory (LTM). The resulting framework considers that memory representations are governed by a hierarchy of accessibility. The activated part of LTM holds representations in a heightened state of activation, some of which can reach a state of immediate accessibility according to task demands. Recent neuroimaging studies have studied the neural basis of retrieval information with different states of accessibility. It was found that the medial temporal lobe (MTL) was involved in retrieving information within immediate access store and outside this privileged zone. In the current study we further explored the contribution of MTL to WM retrieval by analyzing the consequences of MTL damage to this process considering the state of accessibility of memory representations. The performance of a group of epilepsy patients with left hippocampal sclerosis in a 12-item recognition task was compared with that of a healthy control group. We adopted an embedded model of WM that distinguishes three components: the activated LTM, the region of direct access, and a single-item focus of attention. Groups did not differ when retrieving information from single-item focus, but patients were less accurate retrieving information outside focal attention, either items from LTM or items expected to be in the WM range. Analyses focused on items held in the direct access buffer showed that consequences of MTL damage were modulated by the level of accessibility of memory representations, producing a reduced capacity.     

SAwSu: An Integrated Model of Associative and Reinforcement Learning

Successfully explaining and replicating the complexity and generality of human and animal learning will require the integration of a variety of learning mechanisms. Here, we introduce a computational model which integrates associative learning (AL) and reinforcement learning (RL). We contrast the integrated model with standalone AL and RL models in three simulation studies. First, a synthetic grid‐navigation task is employed to highlight performance advantages for the integrated model in an environment where the reward structure is both diverse and dynamic. The second and third simulations contrast the performances of the three models in behavioral experiments, demonstrating advantages for the integrated model in accounting for behavioral data.     

Beneficial effects of pro‐social behaviour on physical well‐being in Chinese samples

To confirm the relationship between pro‐social behaviour and increased physical functioning revealed by previous researchers in Western samples, we conducted four experiments with 378 Chinese undergraduates. The participants' strength to hold, to grip and to lift, as well as their vitality (walking speed), were measured after thinking of acts of kindness. The results showed that recalling pro‐social behaviour (helping others or spending money on others) that had occurred in the past or imagining pro‐social behaviour happening in the future imbued people with more physical strength and vitality. In three experiments, pro‐social behaviour boosted the positive mood of the actors, but the effect was only significant in one experiment, suggesting that the hidden gift may include increased happiness, but that enhanced physical functioning cannot be accounted for by differences in emotions. These results add to the evidence that the function of pro‐social behaviour in promoting physical functioning may be culturally universal.     

The Influence of Rater Effects in Training Sets on the Psychometric Quality of Automated Scoring for Writing Assessments

Automated essay scoring engines (AESEs) are becoming increasingly popular as an efficient method for performance assessments in writing, including many language assessments that are used worldwide. Before they can be used operationally, AESEs must be “trained” using machine-learning techniques that incorporate human ratings. However, the quality of the human ratings used to train the AESEs is rarely examined. As a result, the impact of various rater effects (e.g., severity and centrality) on the quality of AESE-assigned scores is not known. In this study, we use data from a large-scale rater-mediated writing assessment to examine the impact of rater effects on the quality of AESE-assigned scores. Overall, the results suggest that if rater effects are present in the ratings used to train an AESE, the AESE scores may replicate these effects. Implications are discussed in terms of research and practice related to automated scoring.     

Serotonin transporter 5-HTTLPR genotype is associated with intrusion and avoidance symptoms of DSM-5 posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Chinese earthquake survivors

Background and Objectives: Prior studies have found that the serotonin transporter gene-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) interacts with trauma exposure to increase general risk for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). However, there is little knowledge about the effects of the interaction on distinct symptom clusters of PTSD. This study aimed to investigate the relation between the interaction of 5-HTTLPR and earthquake-related exposures and a contemporary phenotypic model of DSM-5 PTSD symptoms in a traumatised adult sample from China.

Design: A cross-sectional design with gene-environment interaction (G?×?E) approach was adopted. Methods: Participants were 1131 survivors who experienced 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. PTSD symptoms were assessed with the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). The 5-HTTLPR polymorphism was genotyped with capillary electrophoresis (CE) in ABI 3730xl genetic Analyzer.

Results: Although there was no significant interaction between 5-HTTLPR and traumatic exposure on total PTSD symptoms, respondents with the LL genotype of 5-HTTLPR who were highly exposed to the earthquake experienced lower intrusion and avoidance symptoms than those with the S-allele carriers.

Conclusions: The findings suggest that the 5-HTTLPR may have an important impact on the development of PTSD and add to the extant knowledge on understanding and treating of posttraumatic psychopathology.     

Investigating Individual Differences in Toddler Search with Mixture Models

Children's performance on cognitive tasks is often described in categorical terms in that a child is described as either passing or failing a test, or knowing or not knowing some concept. We used binomial mixture models to determine whether individual children could be classified as passing or failing two search tasks, the DeLoache model room task and the Berthier et al. door task. The data support categorical classification of the children and suggest that the increase in average proportion correct with age is the result of an increasing proportion of children who can solve the tasks. Performance on the two tasks was concordant, and improving performance could be due to advances in a single psychological ability, such as cognitive control. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effectiveness of a Universal,Interdependent Group Contingency Program on Children's Academic Achievement: A Countywide Evaluation

The Good Behavior Game (GBG) is a universal prevention program designed to increase academic engagement and to decrease disruptive behavior in elementary school-age children. Teachers and other school personnel use interdependent group contingencies to improve students’ behavior in the classroom. Previous research indicates the GBG is efficacious in reducing behavior problems; however, little research has examined its effects on academic achievement in real-world settings. In this study, the authors evaluated the PAX GBG, a commercially available version of the GBG, as it is typically administered in elementary schools. The authors examined standardized reading and mathematics scores across one academic year for 949 students enrolled in the GBG or comparison classrooms. Results showed significant but small effects of the GBG on reading and mathematics. Results were greatest for boys, children with lower achievement scores at baseline, and students from more economically disadvantaged school districts. School personnel may find the PAX GBG useful in improving children's behavior and academic skills.