Systematic manipulations of the order in which questions are presented in hypothetical discounting tasks have shown that individual responses vary as a result of these manipulations. For example, Robles and Vargas (2007, 2008) and Robles, Vargas, and Bejarano (2009) demonstrated that individual discounting rates systematically change if questions are presented in a random, ascending, or descending order. The purpose of this study was to examine if specific sequential manipulations affected individual k values when using the Kirby, Petry, and Bickel (1999) 27-item Monetary Choice Questionnaire (MCQ). In a single session, participants (undergraduate students, N = 80), answered two MCQs. One of the MCQs was the standard Kirby et al. (1999) MCQ and the other was the MCQ with the question sequence altered systematically. Within-subject results suggest that individual k values are consistent when comparing k values from the two MCQs completed by each individual. In most cases, individual k values between MCQs did not vary substantially. Additionally, there was a statistically significant correlation between both MCQ administrations for each group. Results from this study indicate that k values obtained using the MCQ are reliable when question sequence is altered.

Parent training, utilizing the principles of applied behavior analysis to teach effective parenting skills, is a widely used intervention to decrease child behavior problems. The extent to which these interventions are successful in improving behavior, and the degree to which the effects are maintained, relies heavily on the behavior of the parent after the completion of the training. Research suggests that parents' ability to use the skills taught during training diminishes over time. One variable suggested to contribute to parent nonadherence is negative reinforcement. To further investigate, the current study first taught parents correct implementation of a time out procedure, then through a series of practice sessions, manipulated role-player behavior in an attempt to directly observe and measure the effects of negative reinforcement on parent integrity. However, due to lack of responding and contact with the contingency, the effects of negative reinforcement could not be assessed. The investigation did corroborate previous evidence on the effectiveness of the parent-training model used to teach participants the time out protocol. Several areas of future research are presented for parent training and collecting in-home naturalistic observations to assess parent and child behavior.

Several researchers posit the tendency of adults and children to behave positively towards individuals similar to themselves (in-group bias) and to behave hostilely towards those dissimilar to themselves (out-group bias) is not learned, but is instead innate. Using infant-parent dyads, Mahajan and Wynn (2012) examined this question by asking infants ( n = 32), seated in their parents' lap, to choose between two foods, watch a puppet show during which two puppets verbally stated a liking or disliking of these foods, and then choose one of the puppets. They found more infants chose the puppet that “liked” the same food the infants chose. Based on these results, Mahajan and Wynn suggest this tendency is innate. However, methodological limitations including the unintentional effects of parent bias and use of a single choice-trial make this conclusion premature. The purpose of the current study was to replicate and extend the methodology of Mahajan and Wynn by addressing these limitations. Twenty-four infant-parent dyads were separated into two groups. After choosing a food and watching the puppet show, infants in Group 1 (multiple-baseline across participants design) chose a puppet 3-5 times before their parents were exposed to the parent bias measure and then chose an additional five times; parents in Group 2 (between-subjects comparison group) were exposed to the parent bias measure first, then infants chose a puppet five times. In Group 1, 7 of 12 infants (58%) selected the similar puppet on the first choice trial. In Group 2, 2 of 12 infants (17%) selected the similar puppet on the first choice trial. Repeated choice trials showed no influence of parent bias but did show patterns of side stability with 18 of 24 infants making a majority of their puppet selections on the same side.

Past research has investigated parameters of time-out such as duration, mostly with individuals with developmental disabilities. Existing research and popular parenting sources do not coincide in terms of the suggested duration of time-out. The current study sought to find the shortest effective duration(s) of time-out necessary to reduce sibling aggression in eight typically developing girls ages 3-7. The intervention took place in participants’ homes using a minute-by-minute incremental increase and reversal design. All participants reached a minimum reduction in sibling aggression of 60% after experiencing a 1-min time-out. The majority (75%) of participants also demonstrated clear reversals of behavior when returned to the baseline condition. The current findings suggest that a 1-min time-out may be sufficient for children as old as 7— contrary to the common 1-min per year of age rule. Limitations include the presence of a graduate assistant during sibling play and some loss of experimental control in the natural setting. Future research should seek to replicate the current methodology with the same population and populations of different ages and developmental levels.

Evidence suggests that physical inactivity is increasingly prevalent among young children. A common recommendation provided to parents suggests that they become actively involved in increasing their child's physical activity. However, this recommendation does not specify how a parent should become involved. Further, the evaluation of parental involvement in children's physical activity has yet to be conducted. The purpose of the current study was to conduct a functional analysis to identify a social, environmental variable that would engender a higher level of physical activity in young children. Once a social consequence was identified, reinforcement provided contingently on higher levels of physical activity and according to a fixed-time schedule was compared in an intervention analysis. The overall results of the study indicated that children were most active when receiving a form of social reinforcement contingent on higher levels of physical activity. These results suggest that parents of young children should become involved in increasing their child's physical activity by providing attention or physical engagement contingent on higher levels of physical activity.

The CDC (2016) recommends children engage in 60 min of moderate to vigorous physical activity daily to achieve health benefits. Recess in school settings can provide opportunities for children to try and meet these guidelines. However, research suggests that recess alone does not increase physical activity levels. To combat this problem, antecedent manipulations (e.g., manipulating the physical environment or introducing planned activities) are commonly implemented as an intervention to increase physical activity. These interventions, however, do not provide salient consequences for physical activity to ensure the likelihood that these behaviors will occur again in the future. A more promising approach might be to develop interventions that assess the use of group contingencies in an effort to increase physical activity during recess time. The purpose of the current study was to implement the Step it UP! game (a modified version of the good behavior game) in three different classrooms during their recess periods and to evaluate the effect of group contingencies on physical activity levels in elementary school-aged children. The Step it UP! game was compared to traditional recess periods (i.e., without the game) in an alternating treatment design. The overall results of the study indicated that the Step it UP! game engendered higher mean step counts than traditional recess periods. These results suggest that schools should provide contingent reinforcement for children’s increased physical activity during recess.

Excessive alcohol consumption among college students is a serious problem. Alcohol education courses have been proposed as one strategy to reduce this problem, with an emphasis on teaching college students to accurately track their drinks. Many of these courses are taught in a small group format, and aim to teach students to accurately identify and pour standard servings, largely because students report using the counting of drinks as a protective strategy against high-risk drinking. Despite the promotion of this strategy, few studies have evaluated training methods to teach this skill. The current study used a nonconcurrent multiple-baseline across subjects design to investigate (1) the effectiveness of behavioral skills training (BST) to teach college students ( N = 19) to accurately pour standard servings of beer, and (2) the effects of peer modeling on maintenance of participants’ pouring skills immediately following BST. Results indicated participants who inaccurately poured a standard serving of beer at baseline ( n = 17) accurately poured following receipt of BST, and all participants ( N = 19) maintained accurate pouring in the presence of peer confederate models who poured either inaccurately or accurately. These results suggest BST can be used to teach college students to accurately pour standard servings of beer. Directions for future research include the evaluation of BST in group alcohol education courses and with different alcohol types and vessels, as well as college students’ skill maintenance following BST.

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a complex and chronic disease that ranks fourth as cause of disability worldwide. Thirteen to 14 million adults in the U.S. are believed to have MDD and an estimated 75% attempt suicide making MDD a major public health problem. Recently several genome-wide association (GWA) studies of MDD have been reported; however, few GWA studies focus on the analysis for MDD related phenotypes such as neuroticism and age at onset of MDD. The purpose of this study is to determine risk factors for MDD, identify genome-wide genetic variants affecting neuroticism and age at onset as quantitative traits, and detect gender differences influencing neuroticism. Bivariate and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed on 1,738 MDD cases and 1,618 non-MDD controls to determine phenotypic risk factors for MDD. Multiple linear regression analyses in PLINK software were used for GWA analyses for neuroticism and age at onset of MDD with 437,547 Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs). Gender (OR: 1.43; 95% CI: 1.24 - 1.64) and a family history (OR: 2.88; 95% CI: 2.48 - 3.35) were significantly associated with an increased risk of MDD, which supports the findings of prior studies. Through GWA analysis 34 SNPs were identified to be associated with neuroticism (p < 10-4). The best SNP was rs4806846 within the TMPRSS9 gene (p = 7.79 x10-6). Furthermore, 46 SNPs were found showing significant gene x gender interactions for neuroticism with p<10-4. The best SNP showing gene x gender interaction was rs2430132 (p = 5.37x10-6) in HMCN1 gene. In addition, GWA analysis showed that several SNPs within 4 genes (GPR143, ASS1P4, MXRA5 and MAGEC1/2) were significantly associated with age at onset of MDD (p < 5x10-7). This study confirmed previous findings that MDD is associated with an increased prevalence in women (about 43% more compared to men) and is highly heritable among first degree relatives. Several novel genetic loci were identified to be associated with neuroticism and age at onset. Gender differences were found in genetic influence of neuroticism. These findings offer the potential for new insights into the pathogenesis of MDD.

The α7 subunit of the nicotinic receptor, a ligand gated ion channel with an affinity for nicotine, has long been implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia due to the extremely high rate of smoking within the patient population. However, the exact role of the receptor has never fully been determined. In the following studies, various functions the receptor may assume in disease state are evaluated. There is a strong relationship between the immune system and schizophrenia, with the α7 subunit possibly serving as the link between the two. One of the following studies looks at the possibility of the receptor functioning as antigen in an autoimmune response. Blood sera of schizophrenic patients, as well as controls, were analyzed for the presence of antibodies to the α7 subunit of the nicotinic receptor. A sensitive ligand-based assay revealed schizophrenic patients could possess a pathogenic level of antibody that may exacerbate the degenerative nature of the disease, allowing for the possibility that receptor antibodies may serve as a contributing factor in the etiology of the disorder in at least a subset of patients. In other studies, the expression of the α7 receptor was investigated. Recombinant α7 receptor production has eluded researchers in non-mammalian species and this was the focus of our initial studies. In general, the lack of sufficient molecular recombinant techniques utilizing the receptor makes characterization of the α7 receptor and it's specific protein interactions difficult to evaluate. The regulatory mechanisms of the nicotinic receptor α7 subunit production and receptor formation have yet to be completely elucidated. Results in this investigation found a relationship between a functional CRE-element in the promoter region.

What is the psychosocial condition of Western man? What has happened to Apollonian man, characterized by order, harmony and leisure? Why has the ideal or Apollonian man (so well described by Nietzsche and Spengler) given way to Dionysian man ... Faustian man? Whence has gone the Apollonian safeguard, essential to measure, constraint, health and love? How really sick is Western man? Why is he not at peace with himself, his family, his associates, people in other countries who may have political philosophies different from his own ... nay, with God? An inventory of the concrete condition of Western man may perhaps be appreciated by surveying some of the high points in his current psychosocial predicament. Some of the more critical areas in the human condition of Faustian man in the latter half of the twentieth century are briefly explored in the present chapter, prior to a consideration of some salutary ways to mental health ... both West and East.