Low-and high-anxious participants performed arithmetical tasks under task-switching or nontask-switching conditions. These tasks were low or high in complexity. The task on each trial was either explicitly cued or not cued. We assumed that demands on attentional control would be greater in the task-switching condition than in the nontask-switching condition, and would be greater with high-complexity tasks than with low-complexity ones. We also assumed that demands on attentional control would be greater when cues were absent rather than present. According to attentional control theory (Eysenck, Derakshan, Santos, & Calvo, 2007), anxiety impairs attentional control processes required to shift attention optimally within and between tasks. We predicted that there would be greater negative effects of high state anxiety in the task-switching condition than in the nontask-switching condition. Our theoretical predictions were supported, suggesting that state anxiety reduces attentional control.
Limited research exists regarding healthcare professionals' knowledge and practice of physical activity promotion for cancer survivors in Ireland. There is also a lack of research identifying the barriers experienced by oncology professionals when promoting physical activity, or referring patients to community-based exercise programmes. This study aims to identify healthcare professionals' knowledge, barriers and practices in relation to physical activity promotion for cancer survivors, and to generate guidance regarding the optimisation of the referral process to community-based exercise programmes. Oncology healthcare professionals (n = 114) were invited to participate in two rounds of an online Delphi study. The response rates in rounds one and two were 38% (43/114) and 70% (30/43). Most respondents acknowledged the value of physical activity for cancer survivors (≥86%) and agreed that discussing physical activity with cancer patients was part of their role (88%). However, the majority of recommendations provided to patients did not align with the current physical activity guidelines. Strategies related to four themes that could optimise the referral process to community-based exercise programmes achieved consensus, including providing education to healthcare professionals and patients regarding the benefits of physical activity and the logistics and quality of programmes, and optimising the logistics of the referral process.
Two experiments investigated the derived transfer of functions through equivalence relations established using a stimulus pairing observation procedure. In Experiment 1, participants were trained on a simple discrimination (A1+/A22) and then a stimulus pairing observation procedure was used to establish 4 stimulus pairings (A1-B1, A2-B2, B1-C1, B2-C2). Subsequently, a transfer of the simple discrimination functions through equivalence relations was observed (e.g., C1+/C22). These procedures were modified in Experiment 2, which demonstrated that spider-fearful and non-spiderfearful participants show differing levels of a transfer of self-reported arousal functions for stimuli used in equivalence relations with video-based material depicting scenes with spiders. The results demonstrate that the stimulus pairing observation procedure provides a viable alternative to matching-to-sample, and also offer tentative support for a derived-relations model of the acquisition of anxiety responses in at least one sub-clinical population.
This study investigated the Caught Being Good Game (CBGG), for use with an adolescent student population. The CBGG is a positive variation of the Good Behavior Game (GBG), a popular group contingency intervention in classroom management literature. In this positive version, teams of students receive points for engaging in desirable behavior, rather than marks for breaking class rules. Research on the CBGG has garnered empirical interest in recent years; however, there is little published research on the game with adolescent populations. This study investigated if visual feedback displayed on a scoreboard during the CBGG is a necessary part of the game. This was examined by implementing the game both with and without overt visual feedback, using an ABACABAC reversal design. Academically engaged behavior and disruptive behavior were monitored. The CBGG was effective in both formats, leading to increases in academically engaged behavior and decreases in disruptive behavior in the participating class group. This suggests that perhaps immediate visual feedback is not an essential component of the CBGG for adolescent, mainstream students. This may be a time-saving measure for teachers wishing to implement the game. Students and their teacher rated the game favorably on social validity measures.
Seventy-eight primary school teachers completed an online questionnaire comprised of demographic questions and a standardised measure of attitudes towards inclusion. It was found that the teachers who completed the questionnaire had predominantly negative or neutral attitudes towards the inclusion of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in mainstream education. Gender, number of years teaching experience, training in Special Educational Needs (SEN) and/or inclusion or type of training in SEN and inclusion did not influence attitudes. However, teachers who believed they had the adequate resources to facilitate inclusion had significantly more positive attitudes than teachers who did not believe they had the adequate resources to facilitate inclusion. Although future research is needed to further explore the impact of student profile on teacher attitudes towards the inclusion of students with ASD, thought needs to be given to the type and content of teacher training in SEN and inclusion.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.