Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Artificial Neural Network Approach For Revealing Individuality, Group Membership And Age Information In Goat Kid Contact Calls, Livio Favaro, Elodie F. Briefer, Alan G. Mcelligott

Alan G. McElligott, PhD

Machine learning techniques are becoming an important tool for studying animal vocal communication. The goat (Capra hircus) is a very social species, in which vocal communication and recognition are important. We tested the reliability of a Multi-Layer Perceptron (feed-forward Artificial Neural Network, ANN) to automate the process of classification of calls according to individual identity, group membership and maturation in this species. Vocalisations were obtained from 10 half-sibling (same father but different mothers) goat kids, belonging to 3 distinct social groups. We recorded 157 contact calls emitted during first week, and 164 additional calls recorded from the same individuals at …

Assortative Mating In Fallow Deer Reduces The Strength Of Sexual Selection, Mary E. Farrell, Elodie Briefer, Alan G. Mcelligott

Alan G. McElligott, PhD

Background: Assortative mating can help explain how genetic variation for male quality is maintained even in highly polygynous species. Here, we present a longitudinal study examining how female and male ages, as well as male social dominance, affect assortative mating in fallow deer (Dama dama) over 10 years. Assortative mating could help explain the substantial proportion of females that do not mate with prime-aged, high ranking males, despite very high mating skew. We investigated the temporal pattern of female and male matings, and the relationship between female age and the age and dominance of their mates.

Results: The peak of …

Acoustic Analysis Of Cattle (Bos Taurus) Mother–Offspring Contact Calls From A Source–Filter Theory Perspective, Mónica Padilla De La Torre, Elodie F. Briefer, Tom Reader, Alan G. Mcelligott

Alan G. McElligott, PhD

Cattle vocalisations have been proposed as potential indicators of animal welfare. How-ever, very few studies have investigated the acoustic structure and information encoded in these vocalisations using advanced analysis techniques. Vocalisations play key roles in a wide range of communication contexts; e.g. for individual recognition and to help coordinate social behaviours. Two factors have greatly assisted our progress in developing an understanding of animal vocal communication. Firstly, more rigorous call analysis methods allow us to describe the variation in the vocal parameters in unprecedented detail. Secondly, the adoption of the “source–filter theory” of call production links the acoustic structure of …

61. The Relation Between Young Children’S False Statements And Response Latency, Executive Functioning, And Truth–Lie Understanding., Shanna Williams, Elizabeth C. Ahern, Thomas D. Lyon

Thomas D. Lyon

60. The Effects Of Promising To Tell The Truth, The Putative Confession, And Recall And Recognition Questions On Maltreated And Non-Maltreated Children’S Disclosure Of A Minor Transgression., Jodi A. Quas, Stacia N. Stolzenberg, Thomas D. Lyon

Thomas D. Lyon

Ethical Issues In Dealing With An Online Reputation, Elizabeth V. Swenson

Elizabeth V. Swenson

Clients who are satisfied or dissatisfied by the service they receive from their psychologists may write an online review for a site such as Yelp or Healthgrades. This article discusses how to respond and how not to respond when the review is negative. The Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (APA, 2010) are cited to show important ethical issues. Vignettes illustrate each relevant standard, covering ethical mistakes that might easily be made.

Usability Of A Smartphone Application To Support The Prevention And Early Intervention Of Anxiety In Youth, Ryan D. Stoll, Armando A. Pina, Kevin Gary, Ashish Amresh

Ashish Amresh

Groups Are Unpredictably Transformed By Their Internal Dynamics, R Scott Tindale

R. Scott Tindale

No abstract provided.

Investment Decisions By Individuals And Groups In 'Sunk Cost' Situations: The Potential Impact Of Shared Representations, Christine M. Smith, R. S. Tindale, Linda Steiner

R. Scott Tindale

Past research has shown that individuals prefer to continue investing resources into a failing endeavor once a considerable investment has been made, even when abandoning the project would be more rational economically. This phenomenon has been labeled the sunk cost effect (Arkes & Blumer, 1985). Since investment decisions are often made by groups, we compared individual and group propensities for falling prey to the sunk cost effect. we also varied whether or not individuals and groups needed to justify their investment decision to a superior. Both individuals and groups showed the sunk cost effect. Group process analyses showed that error-prone …

Decisional And Behavioral Procrastination: How They Relate To Self-Discrepancies, Lucia E. Orellana-Damacela, R Scott Tindale, Yolanda Suárez-Balcázar

R. Scott Tindale

A self-discrepancy is a gap between the perceived real self and other standards like the ideal self. One hundred and eighty-one college students completed a self-report measure of self-discrepancies and decisional and behavioral procrastination. Regression analysis showed that overall dysfunctional procrastination (the composite measure of both kinds of procrastination) significantly varied as a function of self-discrepancies. The amount of variance explained was small. Those scoring high in self-discrepancies were more likely to be dysfunctional procrastinators than those scoring low. The discrepancy between the actual-self and the ought-to self was the strongest predictor of dysfunctional procrastination. When decisional and behavioral procrastination …

Good And Bad Group Performance: Same Process—Different Outcomes, R. S. Tindale, Christine M. Smith, Amanda Dykema-Engblade, Katharina Kluwe

R. Scott Tindale

Much of the research on small group performance shows that groups tend to outperform individuals in most task domains. However, there is also evidence that groups sometimes perform worse than individuals, occasionally with severe negative consequences. Theoretical attempts to explain such negative performance events have tended to point to characteristics of the group or the group process that were different than those found for better performing groups. We argue that typical group processes can be used to explain both good and bad group performance in many instances. Results from a pair of experiments focusing on two different task domains are …

Communication And Essentialism: Grounding The Shared Reality Of A Social Category, Yoshihisa Kashima, Emiko S. Kashima, Paul Bain, Anthony Lyons, R Scott Tindale, Gary Robins, Cedric Vears, Jennifer Whelan

R. Scott Tindale

Essentialism is an ontological belief that there exists an underlying essence to a category. This article advances and tests in three studies the hypothesis that communication about a social category, and expected or actual mutual validation, promotes essentialism about a social category. In Study 1, people who wrote communications about a social category to their ingroup audiences essentialized it more strongly than those who simply memorized about it. In Study 2, communicators whose messages about a novel social category were more elaborately discussed with a confederate showed a stronger tendency to essentialize it. In Study 3, communicators who elaborately talked …

Neurocognitive Process Constraints On Analogy: What Changes To Allow Children To Reason Like Adults?, Robert G. Morrison, Soohyun Cho

Robert Morrison

Analogy employs a neurocognitive working-memory (WM) system to activate and bind relational representations, integrate multiple relations, and suppress distracting information. Analogy experiments exploring these processes have used a variety of methodologies including dual tasks, neuropsychology, and functional neuroimaging, as well as experiments with children and older adults. Collectively, these experiments provide a rich set of results useful in evaluating any model of analogy and its development.

A Neurocomputational Model Of Analogical Reasoning And Its Breakdown In Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration, Robert G. Morrison, Daniel C. Krawczyk, Keith J. Holyoak, John E. Hummel, Tiffany Chow, Bruce L. Miller, Barbara J. Knowlton

Robert Morrison

Analogy is important for learning and discovery and is considered a core component of intelligence. We present a computational account of analogical reasoning that is compatible with data we have collected from patients with cortical degeneration of either their frontal or anterior temporal cortices due to frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). These two patient groups showed different deficits in picture and verbal analogies: frontal lobe FTLD patients tended to make errors due to impairments in working memory and inhibitory abilities, whereas temporal lobe FTLD patients tended to make errors due to semantic memory loss. Using the ‘‘Learning and Inference with Schemas …

Is Analogical Reasoning Just Another Measure Of Executive Functioning?, Lindsey E. Richland, Robert G. Morrison

Robert Morrison

A commentary on: Deficits in analogical reasoning in adolescents with traumatic brain injury.

Semantic Distance Modulates The N400 Event-Related Potential In Verbal Analogical Reasoning, Matthew J. Kmiecik, Robert G. Morrison

Robert Morrison

Computational accounts have traditionally focused on mapping between structured representations as fundamental to analogical processing. However, a recent connectionist model has been used to argue that structured representations may not be necessary to solve verbal analogies. Green and colleagues (2010) have shown that brain areas associated with analogical mapping become more engaged as semantic distance increases between verbal analogy source and targets. Herein, we had participants verify verbal analogies characterized for semantic distance while we monitored their brain waves using EEG. Our results suggest that the semantic distance between the source and target of a verbal analogy does influence early …

The Contribution Of Lexical Diversity To College‐Level Writing, Melanie C. González

Melanie González

Online Option For Therapeutic Uses Of Photography And Creative Processing Of Dreams In Clinical Supervision And Treatment, Robert Irwin Wolf

Robert Irwin Wolf

No abstract provided.

Psychological And Neural Mechanisms Of Trait Mindfulness In Reducing Depression Vulnerability, Natalie A. Paul, Steven J. Stanton, Jeffrey M. Greeson, Moria J. Smoski, Lihong Wang

Jeffrey M. Greeson

Mindfulness-based interventions are effective for reducing depressive symptoms. However, the psychological and neural mechanisms are unclear. This study examined which facets of trait mindfulness offer protection against negative bias and rumination, which are key risk factors for depression. Nineteen male volunteers completed a 2-day functional magnetic resonance imaging study. One day utilized a stress-induction task and the other day utilized a mindful breathing task. An emotional inhibition task was used to measure neural and behavioral changes related to state negative bias, defined by poorer performance in inhibiting negative relative to neutral stimuli. Associations among trait mindfulness [measured by the Five …

Pilates, Mindfulness And Somatic Education, Karen Caldwell, Marianne Adams, Rebecca Quinn, Mandy Harrison, Jeffrey M. Greeson

Jeffrey M. Greeson

The Pilates Method is a form of somatic education with the potential to cultivate mindfulness – a mental quality associated with overall well-being. However, controlled studies are needed to determine whether changes in mindfulness are specific to the Pilates Method or also result from other forms of exercise. This quasi-experimental study compared Pilates Method mat classes and recreational exercise classes on measures of mindfulness and well-being at the beginning, middle and end of a 15 week semester. Total mindfulness scores increased overall for the Pilates Method group but not for the exercise control group, and these increases were directly related …

Loss Of Sustained Activity In The Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex In Response To Repeated Stress In Individuals With Early-Life Emotional Abuse: Implications For Depression Vulnerability, Lihong Wang, Natalie Paul, Steven J. Stanton, Jeffrey M. Greeson, Moria J. Smoski

Jeffrey M. Greeson

Repeated psychosocial stress in early-life has significant impact on both behavior and neural function which, together, increase vulnerability to depression. However, neural mechanisms related to repeated stress remain unclear. We hypothesize that early-life stress may result in a reduced capacity for cognitive control in response to a repeated stressor, particularly in individuals who developed maladaptive emotional processing strategies, namely trait rumination. Individuals who encountered early-life stress but have adaptive emotional processing, namely trait mindfulness, may demonstrate an opposite pattern. Using a mental arithmetic task to induce mild stress and a mindful breathing task to induce a mindful state, we tested …

Dispositional Mindfulness Uncouples Physiological And Emotional Reactivity To A Laboratory Stressor And Emotional Reactivity To Executive Functioning Lapses In Daily Life, Greg Feldman, Jayne Lavalle, Kelsea Gildawie, Jeffrey M. Greeson

Jeffrey M. Greeson

Both dispositional mindfulness and mindfulness training may help to uncouple the degree to which distress is experienced in response to aversive internal experience and external events. Because emotional reactivity is a transdiagnostic process implicated in numerous psychological disorders, dispositional mindfulness and mindfulness training could exert mental health benefits, in part, by buffering emotional reactivity. The present studies examine whether dispositional mindfulness moderates two understudied processes in stress reactivity research: the degree of concordance between subjective and physiological reactivity to a laboratory stressor (Study 1); and the degree of dysphoric mood reactivity to lapses in executive functioning in daily life (Study …

Mindfulness Research Update: 2008., Jeffrey M Greeson

Jeffrey M. Greeson

OBJECTIVE: To briefly review the effects of mindfulness on the mind, the brain, the body, and behavior. METHODS: Selective review of MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar databases (2003-2008) using the terms "mindfulness", "meditation", "mental health", "physical health", "quality of life", and "stress reduction." A total of 52 exemplars of empirical and theoretical work were selected for review. RESULTS: Both basic and clinical research indicate that cultivating a more mindful way of being is associated with less emotional distress, more positive states of mind, and better quality of life. In addition, mindfulness practice can influence the brain, the autonomic nervous system, …

Stress-Induced Changes In The Expression Of Monocytic Β2-Integrins: The Impact Of Arousal Of Negative Affect And Adrenergic Responses To The Anger Recall Interview, Jeffrey M. Greeson, James G. Lewis, Karen Achanzar, Eugene Zimmerman, Kenneth H. Young, Edward C. Suarez

Jeffrey M. Greeson

Adhesion of circulating monocytes to the vascular endothelium is one of the earliest steps in the development of atherosclerosis. This leukocyte-to-endothelium interaction is mediated in part by β2-integrins, a group of cell adhesion molecules that bind to endothelial ligands. Given the significance of this interaction to atherogenesis, we examined the effects of stress, operationalized as the arousal of negative affect (NA) and cardiovascular and catecholamine responses to the Anger Recall Interview (ARI), on the expression of LFA-1 (CD11a), Mac-1 (CD11b) and p150/95 (CD11c) on circulating monocytes (CD14+). Subjects were 173 healthy, nonsmoking men and women (60% men, 40% minorities, aged …

Modifiable Disease Risk, Readiness To Change, And Psychosocial Functioning Improve With Integrative Medicine Immersion Model, Ruth Q. Wolever, Daniel M. Webber, Justin P. Meunier, Jeffrey M. Greeson, Evangeline R. Lausier, Tracy W. Gaudet

Jeffrey M. Greeson

Background—Stroke, diabetes, and coronary heart disease (CHD) remain leading causes of death in the United States and are largely attributable to lifestyle behaviors. Integrative medicine can provide a supportive partnership that focuses on improving health by identifying and implementing lifestyle changes based upon personal values and goals.

Objective—This prospective observational study was designed to assess the effectiveness of an integrative medicine intervention on modifiable disease risk, patient activation, and psychosocial risk factors for stroke, diabetes, and CHD.

Design—Sixty-three adults participated in a 3-day comprehensive, multimodal health immersion program at Duke Integrative Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina. Participants …

Integrative Medicine Research At An Academic Medical Center: Patient Characteristics And Health-Related Quality-Of-Life Outcomes., Jeffrey M Greeson, Steven Rosenzweig, Steven C Halbert, Ira S Cantor, Matthew T Keener, George C Brainard

Jeffrey M. Greeson

OBJECTIVE: To characterize patients seeking care at a university-based integrative medicine practice, and to assess short-term changes in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) associated with integrative medical treatment. DESIGN: Prospective, observational study. SETTING: This study was conducted at a large U.S. academic medical center affiliated with the Consortium of Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine. PARTICIPANTS: Seven hundred and sixty-three (763) new patients with diverse medical conditions participated in the study. Mean age was 49 years (standard deviation = 16, range = 14-93). Two thirds of patients were women and three quarters were white. The most common International Classification of …

Development And Preliminary Evaluation Of A Telephone-Based Mindfulness Training Intervention For Survivors Of Critical Illness, Christopher E. Cox, Laura S. Porter, Pamela J. Buck, Mary Hoffa, Derek Jones, Brenda Walton, Catherine L. Hough, Jeffrey M. Greeson

Jeffrey M. Greeson

Rationale: Persistent symptoms of psychological distress represent an unmet need among intensive care unit (ICU) survivors. Objectives: We aimed to develop and pilot test a simple telephone-based mindfulness training intervention to address this population’s unique needs. Methods: Open trial involving survivors of medical and surgical critical illness and their informal caregivers, using a pretest–posttest design. Measurements and Main Results: We developed a six-session, telephone-delivered, ICU survivor–specific mindfulness intervention based on past focus groups, the medical literature, and the precedent of the most effective components of existing mindfulness programs. A total of 11 survivors of mechanical ventilation were enrolled, together with …

Meditation-State Functional Connectivity (Msfc): Strengthening Of The Dorsal Attention Network And Beyond, Brett Froeliger, Eric L. Garland, Rachel V. Kozink, Leslie A. Modlin, Nan-Kuei Chen, F. Joseph Mcclernon, Jeffrey M. Greeson, Paul Sobin

Jeffrey M. Greeson

Meditation practice alters intrinsic resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) in the default mode network (DMN). However, little is known regarding the effects of meditation on other resting-state networks. The aim of current study was to investigate the effects of meditation experience and meditation-state functional connectivity (msFC) on multiple resting-state networks (RSNs). Meditation practitioners (MPs) performed two 5-minute scans, one during rest, one while meditating. A meditation naïve control group (CG) underwent one resting-state scan. Exploratory regression analyses of the relations between years of meditation practice and rsFC and msFC were conducted. During resting-state, MP as compared to CG exhibited greater rsFC …

Hair Cortisol As A Biomarker Of Stress In Mindfulness Training For Smokers., Simon B Goldberg, Alison R Manley, Stevens S Smith, Jeffrey M Greeson, Evan Russell, Stan Van Uum, Gideon Koren, James M Davis

Jeffrey M. Greeson

OBJECTIVES: Stress is a well-known predictor of smoking relapse, and cortisol is a primary biomarker of stress. The current pilot study examined changes in levels of cortisol in hair within the context of two time-intensity matched behavioral smoking cessation treatments: mindfulness training for smokers and a cognitive-behavioral comparison group. PARTICIPANTS: Eighteen participants were recruited from a larger randomized controlled trial of smoking cessation. OUTCOME MEASURES: Hair samples (3 cm) were obtained 1 month after quit attempt, allowing for a retrospective analysis of hair cortisol at preintervention and post-quit attempt time periods. Self-reported negative affect was also assessed before and after …

Decreased Symptoms Of Depression After Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction: Potential Moderating Effects Of Religiosity, Spirituality, Trait Mindfulness, Sex, And Age, Jeffrey M. Greeson, Moria J. Smoski, Edward C. Suarez, Jeffrey G. Brantley, Andrew G. Ekblad, Thomas R. Lynch, Ruth Quillian Wolever

Jeffrey M. Greeson

Objective: Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is a secular meditation training program that reduces depressive symptoms. Little is known, however, about the degree to which a participant's spiritual and religious background, or other demographic characteristics associated with risk for depression, may affect the effectiveness of MBSR. Therefore, this study tested whether individual differences in religiosity, spirituality, motivation for spiritual growth, trait mindfulness, sex, and age affect MBSR effectiveness.

Methods: As part of an open trial, multiple regression was used to analyze variation in depressive symptom outcomes among 322 adults who enrolled in an 8-week, community-based MBSR program.

Results: As hypothesized, depressive …