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<p>Few scales exist to measure greed; researchers remain unclear if perceptions of greed vary based on situational factors. Thus, the researcher developed a greed survey, completed by 48 adults, to determine if willingness to participate in or overlook greedy behaviors varies by situation. Across the survey?s greed scenarios, respondents perceived greed 63%-89% of the time, suggesting that perceptions of greed vary based on situational factors. Furthermore, 17% reported that the scenarios did not definitively indicate, but only possibly indicated, greedy behaviors. Only 3 subjects failed to rate at least one scenario with uncertainty, suggesting that most attended to situational factors in assessing greediness. Subjects were more certain in assessing behaviors? morality than greed, again suggesting that greed assessments are situationally moderated. Collectively, results suggest that for most people, whether or not an action is perceived as greedy depends on the situation and not merely on the action itself. In contrast, only 10-15% of subjects indicated that their feelings about persons/organizations would affect their likelihood of engaging in greed behaviors; that they would be less likely to engage in greed behaviors if this would cause material harm to others; and that their decisions to engage in greed behaviors would depend on their own needs. Thus, results further indicate that, for only a minority of persons, willingness to participate in greed behaviors varies based on situation. These findings contribute to the science of greed by clearly indicating that most persons assess the presence of greed using situational modifiers and not merely an action in itself, but that only a small percentage of persons would engage in greedy behaviors because of situational factors.

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abstract: Existing theories suggest that evidence is accumulated before making a decision with competing goals. In motor tasks, reward and motor costs have been shown to influence the decision, but the interaction between these two variables has not been studied in depth. A novel reward-based sensorimotor decision-making task was developed to investigate how reward and motor costs interact to influence decisions. In human subjects, two targets of varying size and reward were presented. After a series of three tones, subjects initiated a movement as one of the targets disappeared. Reward was awarded when participants reached through the remaining target within a specific amount of time. Subjects had to initiate a movement before they knew which target remained. Reward was found to be the only factor that influenced the initial reach. When reward was increased, there was a lower probability of intermediate movements. Both target size and reward lowered reaction times individually and jointly. This interaction can be interpreted as the effect of the expected value, which suggests that reward and target size are not evaluated independently during motor planning. Curvature, or the changing of motor plans, was driven primarily by the target size. After an initial decision was made, the motor costs to switch plans and hit the target had the largest impact on the curvature. An interaction between the reward and target size was also found for curvature, suggesting that the expected value of the target influences the changing of motor plans. Reward, target size, and the interaction between the two were all significant factors for different parts of the decision-making process. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Biomedical Engineering 2019

<p> Many people in the United States do not engage in the recommended levels of physical activity. Self-management strategies, including self-monitoring and goal setting, are among the interventions that have been used to increase physical activity in adults. Visual feedback has also been incorporated into interventions to increase physical activity. Minimal research has focused on increasing swimming behavior. The current study investigated the effectiveness of self-management strategies to increase swimming activity in adults. An automated recording device (watch) was used to collect data on participants&rsquo; swimming behavior. The effect of self-monitoring in the form of a self-graphing intervention to increase swimming activity was evaluated. If self-graphing alone was not effective, goal setting was added to the intervention. Three participants showed an increase in swimming activity when self-graphing was implemented. Two participants showed little or no change in activity across all phases. This study did not include any reinforcement contingencies for engaging in an increase in swimming activity. Future research directions are discussed.</p>

<p> Modeling, a process by which a learned behavior is observed and imitated, has been demonstrated to be effective in the acquisition of skills. Several factors appear to enhance or detract from the effect a model has on subsequent observer behavior and contradictory findings have been reported based on the type of model used. A less explored factor is the impact of correct and incorrect models as often employed in parent training packages when teaching skills that are to be acquired by the observer. To further investigate, the current study compared the effectiveness of correct and incorrect video models using an empirically supported treatment for child behavior problems: The Incredible Years. Using a fairly minimal, and mostly remote intervention 5 out of 6 participants improved from baseline sessions. Several areas of future research are presented for modeling and parent training to assess effectiveness of model types and treatment programs used.</p>

IMPORTANCE: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) represents a growing healthcare challenge that affects an estimated 1 in 68 children in the US. Early intervention can lead to improved long-term outcomes but access to these services is dependent on diagnosis. Diagnostic assessments are costly and time-consuming, making it impractical to conduct wide-scale assessments. Screening instruments such as the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) and the Social Responsiveness Scale, Second Edition (SRS-2) have been developed to efficiently screen for children who should be referred for full clinical assessment. The validity of the SCQ and the SRS-2 autism screening instruments has not yet been tested in a predominantly urban low-income minority population with lower education levels and high immigrant/English as second language prevalence. Additionally, current research suggests that children with lower socioeconomic status and children in ethnic minority groups may be underdiagnosed with ASD, which underscores the importance of an effective screening method for these underrepresented groups. Minority children are typically diagnosed with ASD at a later age than white children, which leads to a delay in critical early intervention services. OBJECTIVE: We wish to examine the effects of age, gender, ethnicity, preterm birth, maternal primary language, maternal nativity, and maternal education on the validity of the SCQ-Current and the SRS-2 for pediatric patients at Boston Medical Center. A modified screening administration process was developed to account for the higher English as a second language speakers and lower-literacy rates in this population; as such, we are also examining the validity of the screening instruments when administered under this modified procedure. This study will also examine the ability of the two screening instruments to distinguish between autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disabilities, and other developmental delays. DESIGN: The SCQ-Current and the SRS-2 screening instruments were incorporated into the existing Children's Health Study, a subset of the Boston Birth Cohort. SETTING: Boston Medical Center pediatric outpatient clinics PARTICIPANTS: A total of 108 mother-child pairs completed the SCQ-Current and the SRS-2 between September 2014 and January 2015. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: SCQ-Current Total score; SRS-2 Total raw score; Diagnosis status of autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disabilities, or other developmental delays. RESULTS: There were six cases of diagnosed autism spectrum disorder in our sample. Both screening measures were able to distinguish between ASD and non-ASD. The SCQ had a specificity of 0.833 and sensitivity of 0.892 at an optimal cut-off score of ≥ 11 (area under the curve =0.909). Boys, preterm/low-birth weight children, children of US-born mothers, and those with other developmental diagnoses were more likely to fail the SCQ, despite not having an ASD diagnosis. The SRS-2 had a specificity of 1.0 and sensitivity of 0.961 at an optimal cut-off score of ≥ 85 (0.971). Children of US-born mothers and those with other developmental diagnoses were more likely to fail the SRS-2, despite not having an ASD-diagnosis. The measures also showed good discriminative validity (area under the curve = 0.837 for SCQ, area under the curve = 0.94 for SRS-2) for ASD vs. intellectual disability/developmental delay, though not as strong as that for the entire sample. Child's age, ethnicity, maternal primary language, and maternal education did not affect the validity of the screening measures. CONCLUSIONS: In this sample, the SCQ and the SRS-2 were valid for use in our predominantly low-income urban minority population with high preterm prevalence when combined with a modified administration process. Further research with larger sample size should be conducted to generalize these findings.

<p> The present study attempted to establish a flashing or solid red light as a surrogate conditioned motivating operation (CMO-S) by pairing the light with the unconditioned motivating operation (UMO) of heat. The effects of the red light were assessed by an ABAB reversal design for three participants and an ABA reversal design for one participant. Baseline sessions consisted of presenting the red light in the absence of the UMO of heat to assess for any behavioral effects of the red light before and after pairing with the UMO of heat. Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) was recorded for all participants as an indirect measure of sweating. Additional dependent variables and the ambient temperature for each participant&rsquo;s UMO of heat were identified through a temperature and response assessment. The additional dependent variable was drinking water for Participants 2&ndash;4 and throat clearing for Participant 1. Results suggest that the flashing red light may have been conditioned as a CMO-S for Participants 2 and 3. Participant 4 did not consume any water during any baseline session, suggesting that the solid red light did not function as a CMO-S after pairing. Results for Participant 1 suggests that throat clearing was controlled by additional unknown variables and was not evoked by the UMO of heat. Results potentially supporting the CMO-S should be interpreted cautiously given study limitations involving temperature control and the extent that the UMO of heat was clearly demonstrated for each participant. </p><p>

A gene x environment interaction exists in the expression of anxiety for both human and nonhuman primates, such that individuals who are carriers of the (s) allele of the serotonin transporter genotype (5-HTTLPR) and exposed to early life stress are more at risk for exhibiting anxiety. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis has also been implicated in anxiety disorders but the relationship between early life/genotype, HPA activity, and anxiety is not well understood. Further, studies linking the HPA axis to anxiety have relied on "point" samples (blood and salivary cortisol) which reflect moments in time rather than long-term activity. The purpose of this dissertation was three fold: (1) to examine anxious behavior in monkeys with different 5-HTTLPR genotypes and rearing environments across the first two years of life, (2) to compare long-term HPA activity (as measured with hair cortisol) with acute HPA activity (as measured with salivary cortisol) in the same period, and (3) to determine which measure of HPA activity predicts anxiety and/or mediates the rearing/genotype influences on anxious behavior. Infant rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta, N=61) were mother-peer-reared (MPR, n=21), peer-reared (PR, n=20), or surrogate-peer-reared (SPR, n=20) for 8 months, then all relocated into a large social housing situation for the next 18 months. Monkeys were genotyped for 5-HTTLPR and hair and saliva samples were collected for cortisol analysis at months 6, 12, 18, and 24. Behavior was recorded twice per week per subject from 2-24 months and analyzed for the duration of anxiety, social play, and grooming. Regression analysis established predictors of these behaviors. Rearing condition and sex were significant predictors of anxiety across the two years, and HPA activity added significant predictive power in the first six months only. Mediation of the rearing/anxiety relationship by the HPA axis was not evident. Interestingly, hair (but not salivary) cortisol early in life was positively correlated with later anxious behavior. These findings demonstrate the detrimental effects of adverse early life experience on behavioral development and shed light on the interplay between environment, adrenocortical activity, and anxiety. They further demonstrate the usefulness of a long-term measure of HPA activity in predicting later behavior.

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