Unconscious processing: Comment on Hornsey and Fielding (2017).

The goals of this comment are to emphasize the positive contribution made by Hornsey and Fielding (2017) and to present reasons why their contribution is neither theoretic nor transtheoretic. This comment seeks to provide a theoretic and transtheoretic explanation that involves unconscious processing. It indicates that connectionist neural network models provide relevant mechanism information for how unconscious processing works.

Basing clinical practice on unified psychological science: Comment on Melchert (2016).

The article by Melchert (2016) called for professional psychology to leave its preparadigmatic past behind and move forward based upon a single unified theoretical orientation. Although leaving the preparadigmatic past behind is important, the claim that psychology has recently transitioned to a unified paradigmatic science based on a unified theoretical orientation seems premature at this time. However, the prospect of progress toward a unified psychological science is fostered by a large and growing literature not cited in the Melchert article.

Integrating psychology and neuroscience: Comment on Schwartz et al. (2016).

This article calls attention to a large body of uncited literature that renders the levels of analysis argument upon which Schwartz, Lilienfeld, Meca, and Sauvigné (2016) based their reappraisal of the role of neuroscience within psychology obsolete. Examples of effective integration of psychology and neuroscience without benefit of any bridging laws are provided. Implications for training are mentioned.

Underreliance on mechanistic models: Comment on Ferguson (2015).

Ferguson (see record 2015-39598-004) proposed that our overreliance on mechanistic models is responsible for the public’s negative view of psychology. On the contrary, I claim that our explanations do not actually explain because they lack mechanism information and that is why the public has a negative view of psychology. Some of the mechanism information required to move from interpretations to explanations can be found in parallel distributed processing connectionist neural network models of psychology and behavior.

Replication is about effect size: Comment on Maxwell, Lau, and Howard (2015).

The view that a single study can be trusted is an attractive but false promise provided by null hypothesis testing. The replication question should be to what extent investigators can reproduce effect sizes and how narrow their 95% confidence interval can become. Cumulative meta-analyses will enable us to determine how replicable psychological effects are and what their effect size is.

The relationship between the hypnotic induction profile and the stanford hypnotic susceptibility scale, form C: revisited.

Hilgard's comment raises some important issues, although many of these have little to do with the primary purpose of the study under discussion. This purpose was to objectively examine the relationship between three conceptually and operationally different procedures for measuring hypnotic responsivity. Hilgard's concern over the magnitude of the correlation between the HIP and SHSS:C is unfounded.

Emergence vs. reductionism.

Lilienfeld (see record 2011-12007-001) made several cogent points regarding "public skepticism of psychology." He persuasively documented the prevalence of public skepticism with regard to psychology. He also provided sound rebuttals to six common criticisms of psychology.

No ownership of common factors.

Comments on the original article, "The efficacy of psychodynamic psychotherapy," by J. Shedler (see record 2010-02208-012). Shedler's informative article raised several issues worthy of comment.

Game-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (GB-CBT) group program for children who have experienced sexual abuse: a preliminary investigation.

This preliminary investigation examined the efficacy of a game-based cognitive-behavioral therapy group program for elementary school-aged children who have experienced sexual abuse. Treatment aimed to improve: (a) internalizing symptoms, (b) externalizing behaviors, (c) sexually inappropriate behaviors, (d) social skills deficits, (e) self-esteem problems, and (f) knowledge of healthy sexuality and self-protection skills. Results indicate that game-based cognitive-behavioral therapy was effective for improving internalizing and externalizing symptoms, reducing sexually inappropriate behaviors, and improving children's knowledge of abuse and self-protection skills.

Are children diagnosed with the combined form of ADHD pervasively hyperactive?

Diagnostic criteria specified by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR ; American Psychological Association [APA], 2000) require that motor excess be present across situations, at home and school, in order to establish that this condition is a characteristic of the child. The article discusses a study whose primary purpose was to use actigraphy to validate teacher and parent reports of hyperactivity at home and school. Continuous activity measurements were recorded for each minute of each 24-hr period (1,440 measurements per child per day) for a full 7-day week, during school and at home, on 9 children clinically diagnosed with the combined form of ADHD and 9 control children clinically examined at the same community mental health clinic and determined not to meet diagnostic criteria.

Social functioning in predominantly inattentive and combined subtypes of children with ADHD.

Objective: The objective of this study was to compare the social functioning of children with the Combined (CB) and Predominantly Inattentive (PI) subtypes of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), controlling for comorbidity and medication-status, which may have confounded the results of previous research.

Method: Parents and teachers of rigorously diagnosed unmedicated children with PI or CB subtypes of ADHD, and typical comparison children, rated them on the multidimensional Social Skills Rating Scale (SSRS).

Results: After co-varying for oppositionality and anxiety, social impairment was substantial and equivalent in both ADHD groups whether rated by parent or teacher.

Memory modification as an outcome variable in anxiety disorder treatment.

Learning and memory are interdependent processes. Memories are learned, and cumulative learning requires memory. It is generally accepted that learning contributes to psychopathology and consequently to pertinent memory formation.

An inferential confidence interval method of establishing statistical equivalence that corrects Tryon's (2001) reduction factor.

Evidence of group matching frequently takes the form of a nonsignificant test of statistical difference. Theoretical hypotheses of no difference are also tested in this way. These practices are flawed in that null hypothesis statistical testing provides evidence against the null hypothesis and failing to reject H-sub-0 is not evidence supportive of it.

Dissonance induction and reduction: a possible principle and connectionist mechanism for why therapies are effective.

Several empirically supported treatments for depression are currently available with little understanding of either principles or mechanisms that are responsible for their effectiveness. This article reviews existing principles and finds that they contain little mechanism information. A connectionist mechanism used to explain why systematic desensitization and response prevention are effective in treating anxiety disorders is reviewed and generalized to understand why empirically supported treatments of depression work.

Whatever happened to symptom substitution?

Symptom substitution is a theoretical consequence of the psychodynamic model of psychopathology and symptom formation that contrasts markedly with behavioral models. Symptom substitution was a major scientific and clinical question about a half century ago that was abandoned rather than answered partly because it did not seem to occur and partly because perceived methodological problems impeded empirical research. The contemporary relevance of symptom substitution is that the psychodynamic model of psychopathology and symptom formation from which the prediction of symptom substitution stems continues to be widely taught and to broadly inform clinical practice.

Reducing hyperactivity with a feedback actigraph: initial findings.

Schulman and colleagues demonstrated that classroom activity level can be reduced in hyperactive boys using activity-level feedback and positive reinforcement. This article reports preliminary results using a device that combines modern beeper and actigraphy technology for the purpose of measuring, monitoring, and modifying motor excess in children with confirmed diagnoses of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Nine boys ranging in age from 8 to 9 years with the ADHD Combined Type wore prototype BuzzBee feedback actigraphs during school periods and were reinforced for activity-level reductions in the context of a simple pre/post research design.

The impact of borderline personality disorder and anxiety on neuropsychological performance in major depression.

Previous studies of neuropsychological performance in borderline personality disorder (BPD) have exhibited mixed results. The high rate of co-occurring major depressive disorder (MDD) in BPD makes it difficult to specify whether neuropsychological deficits in BPD predominantly reflect co-occurring MDD or unique aspects of their psychopathology. To address this issue, 22 participants with borderline personality disorder and concurrent major depressive disorder (BPD-MDD) and 33 participants with MDD and no concurrent personality disorder were compared on a neuropsychological battery that assessed seven domains of performance: general intellectual functioning, motor skill, psychomotor speed, attention, memory, working memory, and executive function.

The reliability and validity of two ambulatory monitoring actigraphs.

Evidence for the reliability and validity of two models of Ambulatory Monitoring, Inc. actigraphs was obtained by testing four instruments of each kind 10 times each on a precision pendulum. Correlation and coefficient of variation methods were used to analyze the data.

Bimodal response sensitivity and bias in a test of sustained attention contrasting patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder to normal comparison group.

This study examined response discrimination (d') and bias (likelihood ratio) differentials in a computer-generated test of auditory and visual attention functioning. Patients with bipolar disorder (n=42) and schizophrenia (n=47) were contrasted to a normal comparison group (n=89) in two conditions: (a) simple modal responsivity (auditory and visual stimuli) and (b) ipsimodal (auditory/auditory and visual/visual) and crossmodal (auditory/visual and visual/auditory) responding. The results of this study indicated that in the simple modal condition both subject groups showed differential modal preferences but in opposite directions.

Construct validation of actigraphic sleep measures in hospitalized depressed patients.

This study validated wrist actigraphic-measured sleep in depressed patients using construct validity by experimental intervention methods. The experimental participants were 18 patients hospitalized for major depression. Control participants were hospital staff.

Possible mechanisms for why desensitization and exposure therapy work.

Rosen and Davison [Rosen, G.M. and Davison, G.

Chronic fatigue syndrome impairs circadian rhythm of activity level.

Some of the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) are the same as for disrupted circadian rhythm. Activity level is frequently used to study circadian rhythm. Continuous waist activity measurements taken every minute 24 h/day for from 5 to 7 days in 10 controls and from 2 to 7 days in 8 patients with CFS yielded two primary findings: (a) lower daytime activity and (b) less regular activity-rest cycles in persons with CFS than in controls.