Some properties of configural learning: an investigation of the transverse-patterning problem.

Little is known about the conditions that encourage animals to learn to use configural associations to guide their behavior or the consequences of such learning for transfer. This study provided some information about these issues by examining how rats solve the transverse-patterning problem, which requires a configural solution (Spence, 1952). Animals had to concurrently solve 3 simultaneous visual discriminations, represented abstractly as A+ versus B-, B+ versus C-, and C+ versus A-. Experiment 1 indicated that rats use a configural solution even when the problems have an elemental solution, provided that the significance of 1 element (e.g., B) shared by 2 problems is ambiguous (e.g., A+/B-; and B+/C-). Experiments 2 and 3 suggested that, when stimulated to use a configural solution by solving the A+/B- and B+/C- problems, rats transfer the configural solution to problems that have no ambiguous elements.     

Parenting cognitions and parent-child conflict: current issues and future directions

The chapters in this volume explore a number of important issues in parenting cognitions. It is clear that they have opened up several new areas for consideration. We have suggested yet another new direction for researchers interested in cognitions and conflict having to do with the identification of automatic styles of information processing and their separation from more considered approaches. We have come some way in the study of parenting cognitions since the early 1980s; we have some distance yet to go.     

EFFECTS OF VIDEO MODELING ON TEACHING BIDS FOR JOINT ATTENTION TO CHILDREN WITH AUTISM

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of video modeling to teach children with autism to initiate bids for joint attention. The video model consisted of a child demonstrating three components of a bid for joint attention with an adult conversational partner: orienting toward the object, emitting a vocal statement, and eye gaze shift toward unique objects in the environment. Results indicated that video modeling alone was effective in teaching all components of joint attention for two of the three children, whereas video modeling plus in vivo prompting was effective for the third participant. Further, bids for joint attention did not generalize across novel items for any of the participants. Results are discussed in terms of the social relevance and validity of the use of video modeling to teach a complex social behavior such as bids for joint attention. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Strategies for the Control of Unwanted Thoughts in Adolescents: The Adolescent Thought Control Questionnaire (TCQ-A)

A paucity of research on thought suppression exists among adolescents. The present study describes the preliminary psychometrics of the Adolescent Thought Control Questionnaire (TCQ-A) and its relationships with internalizing symptomatology in adolescents. Adolescents between 12 and 18 years of age completed the TCQ-A and other self-report instruments. Principal components analysis yielded five-factors theoretically derived from an adult measure: distraction, social, re-appraisal, worry, and punishment control strategies. The five-factor structure was well fitted to the data in a confirmatory factor analysis. Adequate evidence of reliability was obtained; however, internal consistency of the punishment factor was not adequate in the sample. The TCQ-A evidenced convergent and divergent validity with internalizing and externalizing symptomatology respectively. Future research applications of the TCQ-A, suggestions for further analyses, and refinement of the instrument are also discussed.     

The role of Dependency and Self-Criticism in the relationship between anger and depression

This study explored the role of Dependency and Self-Criticism, two personality dimensions conferring vulnerability for depression, in explaining relationships among anger, anger regulation strategies, and severity of depression in a sample of adults (n = 253) using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Dependency was associated with high levels of trait anger, the turning of anger towards the self, and low levels of anger directed towards others. Self-Criticism was associated with high levels of both state and trait anger, low anger control, and high levels of anger towards the self and others. Moreover, turning anger towards the self mediated the relationship among both Dependency and Self-Criticism and severity of depression. Problems with anger control also mediated the relationship between Self-Criticism and severity of depression. These findings suggest that Self-Criticism may be closely related to angry/hostile features in depression, while dependency may be more closely associated with the turning of anger towards the self. Although this study was cross-sectional and self-reports of anger might be biased by impression management, results suggest that these personality factors should be taken into account in both research on and treatment of anger in depression.     

Offender interviewing in custodial settings: Understanding validity,value and veracity issues

The purpose of this scoping literature review was to identify trends regarding validity, value and veracity issues when conducting (qualitative) interviews with offenders in custodial settings. We selected for review works from electronic databases in SAGE, Springer, and Taylor and Francis by using e-journals, Google Scholar and the behavioural science database, PsycINFO. The inclusion criteria for our studies were based on whether sources addressed offender interviewing as a wellspring of information, but excluded those that focused solely on the acquisition of clinical information (at the expense of focusing on validity, value and veracity issues). We utilised the content analysis approach to identify themes/ patterns in the research findings. Key findings suggest that offenders with impression management motivations deceive and manipulate in their research interview presentations. When gathering data from inmates in custodial care settings, best practice includes cross-checking offender interview data against other sources of evidence and taking into account the context in which they are serving their sentences.     

Health protection: attitudes and behaviors of LPNs, teachers, and college students

Three groups of subjects, college students, high school teachers, and licensed practical nurses (LPNs), were asked to rate 30 health-protective activities in terms of (a) importance (attitude) and (b) the frequency with which they performed them (behavior). Correlational analyses revealed reasonably high consistency between attitudes and behaviors in all three groups. Multidimensional scaling procedures identified two basic dimensions of Health-Protective Behaviors (HPBs) accounting for 57% of the variance. The two dimensions were (a) degree of effectiveness and (b) amount of effort. Although students emphasized effectiveness in rating HPBs and teachers used both dimensions equally, the LPNs tended to consider only amount of effort. Additional analyses indicated that group differences were not related to age or gender but rather to health orientation. In sum, individuals' attitudes and behaviors related to health protection are stable, simply organized, and relatively consistent, but samples of health care providers (LPNs) and lay people (students and teachers) differentially weight the importance of effort and effectiveness when considering HPBs. The implications of these results for patient-provider communication, treatment adherence, as well as an understanding of health behavior are discussed.     

Information processing complexity and leadership status

144 Subjects divided into four-person groups participated in three discussions. In each group, one member (Target subject) was preselected as either being high or low in cognitive complexity. The groups were then assigned to one of three conditions. Under Continuous Reinforcement the Target subject received a reinforcing light cue following each verbalization in the second of three discussions (no light cues used in the first and third discussions). Target subjects under Partial Reinforcement received light cues on a 50% variable ratio reinforcement schedule. Control subjects received no light cues in any session. Target subjects in both experimental groups showed conditioning effects on all dependent measures. While no differences were found between reinforcement conditions, results suggest that abstract subjects are able to make more use of feedback cues than concrete subjects.     

Activation of the infralimbic cortex in a fear context enhances extinction learning

Activation of the infralimbic region (IL) of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) reduces conditioned fear in a variety of situations, and the IL is thought to play an important role in the extinction of conditioned fear. Here we report a series of experiments using contextual fear conditioning in which the IL is activated with the GABAa antagonist picrotoxin (Ptx) during a single extinction session in the fear context. We investigate the impact of this manipulation on subsequent extinction sessions in which Ptx is no longer present. First, we demonstrate that a single treatment with intra-IL Ptx administered in a conditioned fear context greatly accelerates the rate of extinction on the following days. Importantly, IL-Ptx also enhances extinction to a different fear context than the one in which IL-Ptx was administered. Thus, IL-Ptx primes extinction learning regardless of the fear context in which the IL was initially activated. Second, activation of the IL must occur in conjunction with a fear context in order to enhance extinction; the extinction enhancing effect is not observable if IL-Ptx is administered in a neutral context. Finally, this extinction enhancing effect is specific to the IL for it does not occur if Ptx is injected into the prelimbic region (PL) of the mPFC. The results indicate a novel persisting control of fear induced by activation of the IL and suggest that IL activation induces changes in extinction-related circuitry that prime extinction learning.