Psychology Commons^™

Pathways From Child Maltreatment To Proactive And Reactive Aggression: The Role Of Post-Traumatic Stress Symptom Clusters, Elizabeth M. Mcrae, Laura Stoppelbein, Sarah E. O'Kelley, Paula K. Fite, Shana B. Smith

Research, Publications & Creative Work

Objective: Childhood aggression is related to a myriad of negative concurrent and long-term outcomes. To mitigate the risks associated with childhood aggression, it is important to understand risk factors that might predispose one to aggressive behaviors. One risk factor commonly associated with aggression is the experience of child maltreatment. A common outcome associated with child maltreatment is the development of post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). Several prevailing theoretical models of both post-traumatic stress and aggression indicate that these constructs have similar underlying cognitive, behavioral, and emotional mechanisms. Therefore, the present study examined the relations between and among child maltreatment, PTSS clusters, …

Assessing Preference And Stability Of Preference For Individuals With Neurocognitive Disorder, Megan N. Ford, Makenzie W. Bayles, Jennifer L. Bruzek

Research, Publications & Creative Work

Poor engagement can lead to a reduced quality of life for individuals with neurocognitive disorder (NCD). Research on determining preference and increasing engagement with this population is limited. The purpose of this study was to compare the accuracy of four preference assessment formats in identifying preferred activities and predicting engagement for six females with NCD and to measure the stability of preference and engagement over time. We compared the predictability of single stimulus(SS) verbal and multimedia assessments, caregiver ranking (CR) assessments, and multiple-stimulus without-replacement (MSWO) assessments. Participants responded consistently on SS assessments, but we noted inconsistencies between the CR and …

An Examination Of Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms And Aggression Among Children With A History Of Adverse Childhood Experiences, Elizabeth M. Mcrae, Laura Stoppelbein, Sarah E. O'Kelley, Paula Fite, Shana B. Smith

Research, Publications & Creative Work

Childhood aggression is associated with many deleterious outcomes and is a common reason for psychiatric referral (Card and Little 2006; Gurnani, Ivanov, and Newcorn 2016). One factor associated with childhood aggression is Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs; Felitti et al. 1998). However, existing research remains equivocal on which characteristics of ACEs (e.g., cumulative impact, typology, etc.) are significantly elated to aggression, especially when considering differential effects of ACEs on proactive aggression (PA) and reactive aggression (RA; Dodge and Coie, 1987). Post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) are a common negative sequalae of ACEs and are characterized by disruptions in several cognitive, emotional, and …

Effects Of Reward Magnitude Frames On Measures Of Delay Discounting In A Hypothetical Money Scenario, Michael Harman, Tiffany Kodak, Todd Mckerchar

Research, Publications & Creative Work

The current study analyzed the effects of three frames of reward magnitude – quantity, volume, and duration – on the rate at which college students discounted hypothetical, delayed monetary rewards. Hypothetical scenarios were presented using the fill-in-the-blank discounting questionnaire and participants made choices between immediate and delayed hypothetical monetary rewards. Scenarios framed the monetary choices as (a) quantity of dollar bills, (b) height (inches) of a stack of dollar bills, and (c) duration of time spent in a hypothetical cash machine to collect dollar bills. For each scenario, participants’ subjective values were used to calculate the area under the curve …

An Evaluation Of Praise As A Reinforcer For Preschoolers' Behavior, Laura Perry Senn, Makenzie W. Bayles, Jennifer L. Bruzek

Research, Publications & Creative Work

Behavior analysts and educators often recommend using praise, particularly descriptive praise, despite mixed empirical findings to support this recommendation. We evaluated the effectiveness of praise as a reinforcer during a reinforcer assessment using known tasks with preschoolers in Study 1. Praise functioned as a reinforcer for 2 of 6 participants; the remaining 4 participants required additional reinforcers (edibles) to show a reinforcement effect. We then compared the effectiveness of descriptive versus general praise for acquisition of unknown tacts and assessed participants’ preference for the different types of praise for 4 participants from Study 1. Results showed the efficacy of and …

Tests Of An Indifference Rule In Variable-Delay And Double-Reward Choice Procedures With Humans, Todd Mckerchar, James E. Mazur

Research, Publications & Creative Work

Four-hundred and fifty participants were recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk across three experiments to test the predictions of a hyperbolic discounting equation in accounting for human choices involving variable delays or multiple rewards (Mazur, 1984, 1986). In Experiment 1, participants made hypothetical choices between two monetary alternatives, one consisting of a fixed delay and another consisting of two delays of equal probability (i.e., a variable-delay procedure). In Experiment 2, participants made hypothetical monetary choices between a single, immediate reward and two rewards, one immediate and one delayed (i.e., a double-reward procedure). Experiment 3 also used a double-reward procedure, but with …

Using Person-Centered Scheduling With Geriatric Patients To Reduce Anxiety With Telepsychiatry, Jody Long, Patricia A. Wilkerson, Evi Taylor, John Hall, Christopher Peters

Research, Publications & Creative Work

This study explored using person-centered scheduling with telepsychiatry for rural community geriatric patients. Quantitative research approaches were used to determine the level of satisfaction participants experienced with person-centered scheduling and geriatric telepsychiatry. Quantitative data were collected by using the Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) before scheduling the first appointment and to assess the intervention’s effectiveness after the telepsychiatry session. Person-centered telepsychiatry scheduling decreased geriatric patients’ anxiety as evidenced by Zung SAS scores. Conclusion: Older adult patients saw telepsychiatry as a viable means of treatment. Future research with geriatrics from different regions is needed. Implications and future directions include exploring patient …

A Comparison Of The Social-Adaptive Perspective And Functionalist Perspective On Guilt And Shame, Heidi L. Dempsey

Research, Publications & Creative Work

Within the field of guilt and shame two competing perspectives have been advanced. The first, the social-adaptive perspective, proposes that guilt is an inherently adaptive emotion and shame is an inherently maladaptive emotion. Thus, those interested in moral character development and psychopathology should work to increase an individual’s guilt-proneness and decrease an individual’s shame-proneness. The functionalist perspective, in contrast, argues that both guilt and shame can serve a person adaptively or maladaptively—depending on the situational appropriateness, duration, intensity, and so forth. This paper reviews the research conducted supporting both positions; critiques some issues with the most widely used guilt- and …

Automating Scoring Of Delay Discounting For The 21- And 27-Item Monetary Choice Questionnaires, Brent A. Kaplan, Michael Amlung, Derek D. Reed, David P. Jarmolowicz, Todd L. Mckerchar, Shea M. Lemley

Research, Publications & Creative Work

Delay discounting describes the process wherein rewards lose value as a function of their delayed receipt; how quickly rewards lose value is termed the rate of delay discounting. Rates of delay discounting are robust predictors of much behavior of societal importance. One efficient approach to obtaining a human subject’s rate of delay discounting is via the 21- and 27-item Monetary Choice Questionnaires, brief dichotomous choice tasks that assess preference between small immediate and larger delayed monetary outcomes. Unfortunately, the scoring procedures for the Monetary Choice Questionnaires are rather complex, which may serve as a barrier to their use. This report …

Human Choices Between Variable And Fixed Rewards In Hypothetical Variable-Delay And Double-Reward Discounting Procedures, Todd Mckerchar, James E. Mazur

Research, Publications & Creative Work

Prior research has shown that nonhumans show an extreme preference for variable- over fixed-delays to reinforcement. This well-established preference for variability occurs because a reinforcer’s strength or “value” decreases according to a curvilinear function as its delay increases. The purpose of the present experiments was to investigate whether this preference for variability occurs with human participants making hypothetical choices. In three experiments, participants recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk made choices between variable and fixed monetary rewards. In a variable-delay procedure, participants repeatedly chose between a reward delivered either immediately or after a delay (with equal probability) and a reward after …

The Empty Chair Appointment, Jody Long, Ken Sakauye, Khaja Chisty, John Upton

Research, Publications & Creative Work

The objective was to test an intervention to reduce failed rates for psychiatric appointments. We collected data for this study of the characteristics of patients who missed appointments from March 2011 through September 2012. A phone triage assessment intervention was implemented to address chronic first-time failed attendance appointments (N = 78). The main reason for failed appointments was transportation difficulties. The first-time appointment show rate increased after implementing an assessment intervention. Phone assessment intervention was practical and may improve nonattendance for psychiatric appointments. The discussion reflects speculations about causes and possible measures to make services more accessible.

The Phenomenon Of The Third Year, Jody Long, David Allen

Research, Publications & Creative Work

This article describes the phenomenon of the outpatient year experiences of the PGY(Post Graduate Year)-3 year psychiatry residents using participant interviews, focus groups, and research observation at a university health science center. A qualitative research approach was used to identify and understand psychiatric residents’ experiences of their third year. The research question was, “What are the important and valuable experiences of psychiatry residents and what meaning do they ascribe to these experiences in their acquisition of psychiatric skills?” Four themes emerged from the study: Specialty Choice Was a Momentous Decision, Observation and Reflection Should Be Modeled Prior to Practice, The …

Using A Visual Analogue Scale To Assess Delay, Social, And Probability Discounting Of An Environmental Loss, Brent A. Kaplan, Derek D. Reed, Todd Mckerchar

Research, Publications & Creative Work

As anthropogenic influences on climate change become more readily apparent, the role of behavioral science in understanding barriers to sustainable actions cannot be overstated. Environmental psychologists have proposed that a major barrier to sustainability is the delayed, socially distant, and probabilistic effects of public policy efforts aimed at preserving Earth’s resources. This proposal places sustainability squarely within the research topic of delay, social, and probability discounting – processes well known to behavioral scientists. To date, there has been surprisingly little behavioral research examining the role of discounting processes in environmental decision making. In the present study, we examined the degree …

Re-Interpreting Melton’S Study Of Gallery Density And Visitor Attention, Stephen Bitgood, Todd Mckerchar, Stephany Dukes

Research, Publications & Creative Work

The works of Edward Robinson and Arthur Melton conducted in the 1920s and 1930s are often cited, but rarely read. The focus of this article is on one of Melton’s (1935) classic visitor studies, re-examined in terms of several explanatory mechanisms including a decision-making model of visitor attention. Melton varied the number of paintings in a gallery from 6 to 36 in increments of 6. As the number of paintings increased, the proportion of paintings actually viewed decreased; however, the average viewing time per painting remained constant. Melton’s findings of decreased attention are discussed in terms of four possible explanations: …

Hyperboloid Discounting Of Delayed Outcomes: Magnitude Effects And The Gain-Loss Asymmetry, Todd Mckerchar, Stephen Pickford, Shannon R. Robertson

Research, Publications & Creative Work

For more than 20 years, a plethora of research has been conducted on the discounting of delayed rewards. In contrast, there has been relatively little research on the discounting of delayed aversive outcomes (e.g., monetary losses). The present study examined the discounting of delayed hypothetical gains and losses by 55 college undergraduates at two monetary amounts, $1,000 and $25,000. A simple hyperbola generally provided very poor fits to the data. In contrast, a hyperboloid provided much better fits to the discounting of all outcomes, and its exponent was frequently less than unity. Although the rate of discounting was greater for …

Systematic Evaluation Of Variables That Contribute To Noncompliance: A Replication And Extension, Paige M. Mckerchar, Layla Abby

Research, Publications & Creative Work

The effects of time-out and escape extinction were examined with 2 preschoolers after we identified variables that may have resulted in noncompliance. Results of a functional analysis showed that noncompliance was highest in the escape condition for both participants. During the treatment evaluation, escape extinction resulted in greater reductions in noncompliance relative to time-out.

A Quantitative Analysis And Natural History Of B. F. Skinner’S Coauthoring Practices, Todd L. Mckerchar, Edward K. Morris, Nathaniel G. Smith

Research, Publications & Creative Work

This paper describes and analyzes B. F. Skinner’s coauthoring practices. After identifying his 35 coauthored publications and 27 coauthors, we analyze his coauthored works by their form (e.g., journal articles) and kind (e.g., empirical); identify the journals in which he published and their type (e.g., data-type); describe his overall and local rates of publishing with his coauthors (e.g., noting breaks in the latter); and compare his coauthoring practices with his single-authoring practices (e.g., form, kind, journal type) and with those in the scientometric literature (e.g., majority of coauthored publications are empirical). We address these findings in the context of describing …

Delay Discounting Is Associated With Treatment Response Among Cocaine-Dependent Outpatients, Yukiko Washio, Stephen T. Higgins, Sarah H. Heil, Todd L. Mckerchar, Gary L. Badger, Joan M. Skelly, Robert L. Dantona

Research, Publications & Creative Work

Rationale—Delay discounting (DD) describes the rate at which reinforcers lose value as the temporal delay to their receipt increases. Steeper discounting has been positively associated with vulnerability to substance use disorders, including cocaine use disorders.

Objectives—In the present study, we examined whether DD of hypothetical monetary reinforcers is associated with the duration of cocaine abstinence achieved among cocainedependent outpatients.

Methods—Participants were 36 adults who were participating in a randomized controlled trial examining the efficacy of voucher-based contingency management (CM) using low-magnitude (N = 18) or high-magnitude (N = 18) voucher monetary values. Results—DD was associated with the number of continuous …

On The Scaling Interpretation Of Exponents In Hyperboloid Models Of Delay And Probability Discounting, Todd L. Mckerchar, Leonard Green, Joel Myerson

Research, Publications & Creative Work

Previously, we (McKerchar et al., 2009) showed that two-parameter hyperboloid models (Green and Myerson, 2004; Rachlin, 2006) provide significantly better fits to delay discounting data than simple, one-parameter hyperbolic and exponential models. Here, we extend this effort by comparing fits of the two-parameter hyperboloid models to data from a larger sample of participants (N= 171) who discounted probabilistic as well as delayed rewards. In particular, we examined the effects of amount on the exponents in the two hyperboloid models of delay and probability discounting in order to evaluate key theoretical predictions of the standard psychophysical scaling interpretation of these exponents. …

A Comparison Of Four Models Of Delay Discounting In Humans, Todd L. Mckerchar, Leonard Green, Joel Myerson, T. Stephen Pickford, Jade C. Hill, Steven C. Stout

Research, Publications & Creative Work

The present study compared four prominent models of delay discounting: a one-parameter exponential decay, a one-parameter hyperbola (Mazur, 1987), a two-parameter hyperboloid in which the denominator is raised to a power (Green and Myerson, 2004), and a two-parameter hyperbola in which delay is raised to a power (Rachlin, 2006). Sixty-four college undergraduates made choices between hypothetical monetary rewards, one immediate and one delayed, and the fit of the four models to their data was assessed. All four equations accounted for a large proportion of the variance at both the group and the individual levels, but the exponents of both two-parameter …

Investigating Behavioral Dynamics With A Fixed-Time Extinction Schedule And Linear Analysis, William L. Palya, Don Walter, Robert Kessel, Robert Lucke

Research, Publications & Creative Work

This paper describes the behavioral adaptation observed for 16 pigeons responding to a step transition in the reinforcement rate in a repeated-trial design. Within each trial, following exposure for a fixed period to a variable-interval schedule, there was an unsignaled change in the schedule to extinction. The step transition allowed an experimental test of the applicability of a linear analysis to steady-state dynamic behavior. The computations required for this test yielded, as an intermediate result, transfer functions for each of the 16 birds from 1 mHz to 256 mHz. The transfer functions obtained show greater responsiveness to lower frequencies (i.e., …

Bipolar Control In Fixed Interfood Intervals, William L. Palya

Research, Publications & Creative Work

The ability of stimuli correlated with successive periods in a fixed interfood interval to support a response that produced or removed them was examined using pigeons. The degree to which those correlated stimuli elicited directed key pecks was also obtained. Stimuli early in the interval functioned as negative reinforcers, and stimuli late in the interval functioned as positive reinforcers. Stimuli correlated with successively later portions of the second half of the interval supported successively higher rates of elicited pecking and, with the exception of the final stimulus, supported successively higher rates of stimulus production. Stimuli in successively earlier portions of …

Dynamics In The Fine Structure Of Schedule-Controlled Behavior, William L. Palya

Research, Publications & Creative Work

The variability in the behavioral equilibrium established by six basic schedules was characterized. The measures were the pause preceding the first response in each interreinforcement interval; the mean rate of responding in each interreinforcement interval; and the relative frequency of each interresponse time. The temporal windows ranged across the 780-session exposure, across a session, and across the interreinforcement intcrval. A display of individual intcrresponse times as a function of time in the interreinforcemcnt interval indicated clear recurrent responding at somewhat less than 3 Hz in every bird, even after extended exposure to a schedule and regardless of the contingency. No …

Serial Conditioning As A Function Of Stimulus, Response, And Temporal Dependencies, William L. Palya, Rick A. Bevins

Research, Publications & Creative Work

Six experiments were used to examine the effects of explicit response, stimulus, and temporal dependencies on responding in an interfood interval. The first two experiments demonstrated that 10- segment 60-s interfood clocks controlled similar distributions of key pecking in pigeons regardless of whether response-reinforcement contiguity was required, allowed, or precluded. The third and fourth experiments found that in the absence of an explicit response-reinforcement dependency, systematic explicit stimuli in an interfood interval were sufficient to establish and maintain the characteristic distribution of key pecking and that an interval without an explicit clock failed to establish or maintain key pecking. The …

Sign-Tracking With An Interfood Clock, William L. Palya

Research, Publications & Creative Work

Food was presented to pigeons, irrespective of their behavior. The fixed 60-s interfood interval was segmented into ten 6-s periods, each signaled by a distinctive stimulus color, ordered by wavelength. This "interfood clock" reliably generated and maintained successively higher rates of key pecking at stimuli successively closer to food. Under extinction, key pecking ceased. When the standard stimulus sequence was changed to a different sequence for each bird, accelerated responding again emerged and was sustained under each of the new color sequences. However, responding was neither maintained nor acquired when each successive interfood interval provided a different random sequence of …