Transporting a school-based intervention for social anxiety in Canadian adolescents.

Prevention/intervention programs for anxiety disorders, the most common form of psychological distress reported by children and adolescents, are critical, as unaddressed anxiety has been associated with a host of negative life-outcomes. This study examines the transportability and dissemination of the Skills for Academic and Social Success (SASS), an early intervention program that can be delivered in high school settings and is aimed at reducing symptoms of anxiety among adolescents. A total of 27 adolescent high school students participated. Teachers and adolescent peer counselors were trained to deliver a modified version of SASS, involving ten 60-minute sessions. The results reveal that at-risk adolescents participating in the SASS program showed a reduction in anxiety, behavioural avoidance, and depression symptoms from pre- to posttesting, which provides further support for the transportability and dissemination of the SASS program in secondary schools. Limitations of the study and future directions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Young children's awareness of the origins of their mental representations.

A series of studies addressed preschool-age children's ability to identify and remember the epistemic and imaginal origins of their mental representations. Study 1 revealed that children as young as 3 were able to differentiate imaginal from perceptual origins. Study 2 explored children's ability to differentiate representations formed through inference from those formed through imagination and seeing. Results revealed that 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds differed significantly in their ability to identify and remember the sources of their mental representations. Identifying and remembering inference was the most difficult for all age groups. Results from Study 3 rule out the possibility that incorrect performance in Studies 1 and 2 resulted from an inability to remember the objects used in the tasks. Results from these studies indicate that children as young as 3 are able to differentiate mental representations based on fiction from those based on fact, but that this ability continues to develop throughout the preschool years. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dissemination and effectiveness of multisystemic treatment in New Zealand: A benchmarking study.

The transportability of Multisystemic Therapy (MST) for the treatment of juvenile offenders in a community-based context was examined in the current study. Results of this New Zealand study showed that significant pre- to posttreatment improvements occurred on most indicators of ultimate (i.e., offending behavior) and instrumental (i.e., youth compliance, family relations) treatment outcomes. Reductions in offending frequency and severity continued to improve across the 6- and 12-month follow-up intervals. In comparison to benchmarked studies, the current study demonstrated a more successful treatment completion rate. Additionally, overall treatment effect sizes were found to be clinically equivalent with the results of previous MST outcome studies with juvenile offenders and significantly greater than the effect sizes found in the control conditions. The findings of this evaluation add to the growing body of evidence that supports MST as an effective treatment for antisocial youth. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Issues in the transportability of treatment: The case of anxiety disorders in youths.

This article reviews factors working against or in favor of the transportability of manual-based child treatments from research clinics to service practitioners. The review examines client factors, service clinic therapist factors, and researcher factors that may contribute to the reported gap between research and practice outcomes. As requested for this special section, this article uses work with anxiety-disordered youths as an example of a potentially transportable manual-based treatment. Issues and future directions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Learning rule-described and non-rule-described categories: A comparison of children and adults.

Three experiments investigated the ability of 3-, 5-, and 8-year-old children as well as adults to learn sets of perceptual categories. Adults and children performed comparably on categories that could be learned by either a single-dimensional rule or by associative learning mechanisms. However, children showed poorer performance relative to adults in learning categories defined by a disjunctive rule and categories that were nonlinearly separable. Increasing the task demands for adults resulted in child-like performance on the disjunctive categories. Decreasing the task demands for children resulted in more adult-like performance on the disjunctive categories. The authors interpret these results within a multiple-systems approach to category learning and suggest that children have not fully developed the same explicit category learning system as adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of integration processes using ability and effort information to predict outcome.

Conducted 3 studies to examine developmental changes in the integration of ability and effort information to predict performance. Functional measurement procedures were used to determine whether it is possible to use some simple algebraic operation (e.g., addition or multiplication) to describe the way these cues are combined. A total of 176 6-11 yr old children and 24 adults (college students) were asked to predict how many puzzles a child could put together as a function of 3 levels of ability and 3 levels of effort. Results show a developmental progression in the integration process in which an additive rule characterized the responses of the youngest children, while a multiplicative rule characterized the responses of the older children and adults. Even the youngest children were able to use both cues in forming judgments and did not center on only 1 cue as would be predicted from Piaget. Also, effort was increasingly more important than ability in predicting outcomes. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Progress in validity generalization: Comments on Callender and Osburn and further developments.

Examined the simulation study of J. C. Callender and H. G. Osburn (see record 1981-27033-001) aimed at determining the relative accuracy of equations used in validity generalization (transportability) research to estimate the variance of true validities. Certain incorrect statements about equations derived and used by the present authors and their associates (1980, 1981) shown to be predicated on the mistaken impression that their derivational assumptions were the same as those of Callender and Osburn. The following conclusions are made: There is only 1 model for validity generalization, although there are different equations for estimating its parameters. There are now 3 accurate equations available for estimating the variance of true validities: All 3 equations are correctly derived and are of necessity approximations rather than perfect reflections of reality, although for different reasons. Validity generalization is such a robust phenomenon that it is possible based on only corrections for simple sampling error. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Visual discrimination and detection of configurational invariance in 3-month infants.

Investigated 40 3-mo-old infants' discrimination of simple visual arrangements of discrete elements, using an operant high-amplitude sucking technique in a stimulus familiarization–novelty paradigm. In Exp I, response recovery was found following changes in the arrangement of 3-dot patterns. To rule out contour density and position as possible cues, Ss were familiarized in Exp II with sets of stimuli varying in size and position but of constant arrangements. Response recovery was found following new arrangements of similar size and position, but Ss failed to recover to the familiarized arrangement presented in novel sizes and positions. Results of Exp III indicate the ability of infants to discriminate changes in size and position similar to the variations received during familiarization in Exp II. Results suggest sensitivity to pattern configuration and the ability to detect pattern invariance. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Why recent researchers have not assessed the capacity of neuropsychologists to detect malingering.

Comments on the original article, "Neuropsychologists' capacity to detect adolescent malingerers" (see record 1989-09946-001) by D. Faust, K. Hart, T. J. Guilmette, and H. R. Arkes, in which Faust et al raised doubts about neuropsychologists' ability to detect malingering. In their study, Faust et al presented neuropsychologists with actual test results, a fabricated history, but neither collateral reports nor direct client contact during the assessment. In this comment, Schmidt asserts that this represented insufficient data on which to base a neuropsychological diagnosis; therefore, it was not surprising to him that neuropsychologists experienced great difficulty in detecting malingering. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Detection of chromatic and luminance contrast modulation by the visual system

The data presented in this paper examine the ability of observers to detect a modulation in the contrast of chromatic and luminance gratings as a function of the carrier contrast, duration, and spatial frequency. The nature of the signal underlying this ability is investigated by examining both the paradigm used to make the measurement and the effect of grating masks on performance in the tasks. The results show that observers' ability to discriminate amplitude modulation from an unmodulated carrier is dependent on carrier contrast but only up to approximately 5-8 times carrier-detection threshold. Discrimination is, however, independent of spatial frequency [10-1 cycles per degree (cpd) component-frequency range], carrier color, and, most surprisingly, stimulus duration (1000-30 ms). This set of experiments compliments data from previous papers and assimilates many of the conclusions drawn from this previous data. There is absolutely no evidence for the existence of a distortion product mediating performance under any of the current conditions, and the data seriously question whether the visual system might use such a signal even if it does exist under more extreme conditions than those used here. The evidence suggests that the visual system detects variations in both chromatic and luminance contrast by means of a mechanism operating locally upon the spatial structure of the carrier.     

Mental model organization.

Previous research (G. A. Radvansky and R. T. Zacks; see record 1992-04153-001) has shown that the fan effect is mediated not by the number of nominal associations paired with a concept but by the number of mental models into which related concepts are organized. Specifically, newly learned "facts" about different objects in one location are integrated into a single mental model and no fan effect is produced, whereas facts about one object in different locations are not integrated and a fan effect is produced. In 6 experiments the authors investigated several factors' influence on location-based organization preferences. No impact on either article type (definite or indefinite) or object transportability was found. However, animate sentence subjects (people) reduced preference for location-based organizations. A clear person-based organization emerged by using locations that typically contain only a single person (e.g., phone booth) to make location-based situations less plausible. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of age on object exploration, habituation, and response to spatial and nonspatial change.

To measure their ability to detect novel arrangements in a given environment, young (6 months old) and senescent (22-24 months old) male F344 rats were repeatedly exposed to a given spatial configuration of objects contained in an open field. After the rats were habituated to the novel environment (1 trial with no objects, followed by 3 trials with 5 salient objects), the spatial arrangement of the objects was modified (2 trials), and object novelty was tested (2 trials) by substituting a familiar object with a new one at the same location (nonspatial change). The results indicated that the senescent rats explored old objects less than young rats, particularly on Trial 2. On the 1st trial with displaced objects (Trial 5), the senescent rats explored the displaced objects less than the young rats. However, when a new object was placed in the field (Trials 7-8), there were no age differences in new object exploration. These results Suggest that senescent rats have decrements in the ability to build spatial representations of the environment and to use this information to detect such changes, even though object recognition is not impaired with age. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Transporting an empirically supported treatment for panic disorder to a service clinic setting: A benchmarking strategy.

This work examines the transportability of cognitive–behavioral therapy (CBT) for panic disorder to a community mental health center (CMHC) setting by comparing CMHC treatment outcome data with the results obtained in two controlled efficacy trials. Participants were 110 clients with a primary diagnosis of panic disorder with or without agoraphobia; clients were not excluded on the basis of medication use or changes, severity or frequency of panic attacks, age, or the presence of agoraphobia. Clients completed a 15-session CBT protocol. Despite differences in settings, clients, and treatment providers, the treatment outcomes for clients completing treatment in the CMHC and the efficacy studies were comparable: Of the CMHC clients who completed treatment, 87% were panic-free at the end of treatment, and clients showed significant reductions in anticipatory anxiety, agoraphobic avoidance, generalized anxiety, and symptoms of depression. The present study suggests that panic control treatment can be transported to a CMHC. Challenges facing the transportability of research-based treatment to CMHC clients, settings, and treatment providers are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early success in using the relation between stimuli and rewards to deduce an abstract rule: Perceived physical connection is key.

Are spatial proximity (0.10-12.5 cm), temporal proximity (0-, 2-, and 5-s gaps), and/or perceived connectedness of stimulus and reward key to infants' ability to deduce an abstract nonmatching rule from reward feedback? In this investigation, 3 conditions of the delayed nonmatching to sample task were administered to infants 9, 12, and 15 months old, and 5 more conditions were administered just to 12-month-olds. Results showed that connectedness is key. In its presence, neither close spatial or temporal proximity was needed. In the absence of the perception that stimulus and reward were components of a single thing, even close spatial and temporal proximity were insufficient for infants in the 1st year to grasp the rule-based association between stimuli and rewards. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Solving spatial perspective-taking problems by rule versus computation: A developmental study.

A distinction was made between 2 aspects of spatial perspective-taking competence: (a) rules, such as the generalization that 2 observers will have the same view of any object display in the same viewing position and different views in different viewing positions; and (b) computation, the actual cognitive processes used to estimate how some particular display looks to another observer at a different station point. A developmental assessment was made of knowledge and use of the above rule, unconfounded by computation ability. Groups of 24 Ss each from Grades 1, 3, and 5 participated. Older Ss proved likelier than younger ones to solve correctly problems that could only be solved by rule use and also to report that they had used the rule in a posttest inquiry. It is concluded that a number of Ss possessed the rule, consciously and deliberately used it in solving perspective-taking problems, and believed in its general veracity enough to use it when they did not have to, namely on special problems that were solvable either by rule or by computation. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An integration–theoretical analysis of cultural and developmental differences in attribution of performance.

R. Singh et al (see record 1980-32377-001) proposed that American and Indian college students differ in their beliefs on how motivation and ability determine performance. Americans follow a multiplying rule, which implies that effort will be more effective with persons of high than of low ability. In contrast, Indians follow an equal-weight averaging, which implies that effort will be equally effective with persons of low and high ability. The present study tested this cultural-difference hypothesis using 120 Ss from 5 age groups: children 6–7, 8–9, 10–11, and 12–23 yrs old and college students 17–29 yrs old. As predicted, the Ss averaged information about past performance, motivation, and ability when predicting student performance. There was no support for the American finding that Performance?=?Motivation?×?Ability. Developmental differences appeared at the level of integrational capacity. These results illustrate the potential power of information integration theory for cross-cultural and cross-age comparisons in social perception and cognition. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Use of 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide for rapid detection of rifampin-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis

We describe a test which uses the ability of viable cells to reduce 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) to detect resistance to a bactericidal drug, rifampin, in in vitro-cultured Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The assay shows a linear relationship between the number of viable bacteria and the ability to reduce MTT. Dead mycobacteria were unable to reduce MTT. Rifampin-sensitive M. bovis (BCG) and M. tuberculosis exposed to rifampin showed a rifampin concentration-dependent inhibition of the ability to reduce MTT, while the resistant strains were unaffected. The inhibition of MTT reduction after treatment with rifampin paralleled the reduction in the number of CFU. By using mixing experiments in which the population percentages of rifampin-sensitive and -resistant strains were varied, the assay could detect the presence of rifampin resistance in the mixture when at least 1% of the bacterial population was composed of drug-resistant strains. The assay is cheap, can be visually read, and requires less than 3 days to obtain susceptibility results. The total time required to obtain results, from the time sputum is received in the laboratory, is, in most cases, less than 4 to 5 weeks, which is the time required for primary culture of the bacteria. The MTT assay could, in combination with a test to detect resistance to isoniazid, be a cheap and rapid screening method for multidrug-resistant M. tuberculosis that is affordable even by low-income countries where tuberculosis is a major public health problem.     

Eyewitness Identification Accuracy and Response Latency: The Unruly 10-12-Second Rule.

Data are reported from 3,213 research eyewitnesses confirming that accurate eyewitness identifications from lineups are made faster than are inaccurate identifications. However, consistent with predictions from the recognition and search literatures, the authors did not find support for the "10-12-s rule" in which lineup identifications faster than 10-12 s maximally discriminate between accurate and inaccurate identifications (D. Dunning & S. Perretta, 2002). Instead, the time frame that proved most discriminating was highly variable across experiments, ranging from 5 s to 29 s, and the maximally discriminating time was often unimpressive in its ability to sort accurate from inaccurate identifications. The authors suggest several factors that are likely to moderate the 10-12-s rule. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Screening for ENU-induced mutations in mice that result in aberrant ethanol-related phenotypes.

One way to investigate the genetic underpinnings of ethanol-related phenotypes is to create random mutations and screen the mutagenized mice for their behavioral phenotypes. The purposes of this article are to assess the efficacy of a novel high throughput screen to detect known strain differences and to provide evidence of the ability of this screen to detect phenodeviants, as illustrated by two new lines of mutant mice. All mice were tested for the following phenotypes after a dose of 2.25 g/kg of ethanol: ataxia, anxiolytic response, locomotor activity, core body temperature, and blood ethanol concentration, as well as ethanol consumption based on a two-bottle choice test. The authors obtained several baseline measures that allowed for the detection of phenodeviants on these measures as well. To validate this screen, A/J, DBA/2J, and C57BL/6J mouse strains were tested, and previously reported strain differences were found in all phenotypes except ethanol-induced hypothermia. Additionally, two mutant pedigrees were identified: 7TNJ, which exhibited abnormal ethanol-induced locomotor activity, and 112TNR, which exhibited an enhanced ability on the rotarod. These data demonstrate the efficacy of this screen to detect known as well as novel phenotypic differences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Biological implementation of the temporal difference algorithm for reinforcement learning: Theoretical comment on O'Reilly et al. (2007).

The ability to survive in the world depends critically on the brain's capacity to detect earlier and earlier predictors of reward or punishment. The dominant theoretical perspective for understanding this capacity has been the temporal difference (TD) algorithm for reinforcement learning. In this issue of Behavioral Neuroscience, R. C. O'Reilly, M. J. Frank, T. E. Hazy, and B. Watz (2007, see record 2007-02025-004)) propose a new model dubbed primary value and learned value (PVLV) that is simpler than TD, and they claimed that it is biologically more realistic. In this commentary, the author suggests some slight modifications of a previous biological implementation of TD instead of adopting the new PVLV algorithm. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)