Implications of Person Perception Across Development: The Reciprocal Influences of Problem Behavior and Facial Trustworthiness

People of all ages and ethnicities implicitly use others’ facial characteristics to evaluate their personalities. The field of person perception has identified several mechanisms through which one’s facial appearance may be associated with one’s behavior. For example, a person with an untrustworthy-looking face may elicit negative reactions from social partners, which may then cause the person to engage in more delinquency than they otherwise would have (expectancy effects), with negative outcomes for both the actor and those affected by their delinquent behavior. Alternatively, engagement in delinquency may cause a person to develop an untrustworthy appearance (a Dorian Gray effect). Such degradations in facial trustworthiness may in combination with expectancy effects interfere with desistence of delinquency during early adulthood or disadvantage persons who have desisted antisocial behavior. Thus, it is paramount to understand and interrupt both processes across development in order to reduce incidence of delinquency and encourage desistence. Yet the investigation of facial trustworthiness has rarely been generalized to a developmental context. The present project examined both the target of interpersonal perceptions (Study 1) and the processes that lead perceivers to behave differently toward those targets (Study 2). Study 1 leveraged methods from developmental psychology to follow a sample of 206 at risk boys from ages 13 to 38. This was the first study to chart the development of facial trustworthiness across adolescence and into adulthood. Initial levels of facial trustworthiness at age 13 predicted slower escalation in delinquency during adolescence and faster declines in delinquency during adulthood (expectancy effects), and initial levels of delinquency at age 13 predicted more rapid degradations in facial trustworthiness across adolescence (Dorian Gray effects). Study 2 utilized methods from experimental psychology to investigate the extent to which ambiguous behavioral information may intensify the effect of facial trustworthiness on perceivers’ evaluations, a process that may contribute to expectancy effects. However, Study 2 failed to replicate an effect of facial trustworthiness on perceivers’ evaluations of targets, thus, findings were equivocal regarding the primary hypothesis. It is the thesis of this project that 1) highlighting experiences of the perceiver and the target, and 2) utilizing methods from developmental and experimental psychology, are both necessary to understand the broader implications of person perception research

Measuring inhibitory control in preschool children : A multi-method perspective

Inhibitory control, a salient component of self-regulation, predicts child academic and social competency into the college years. Typical measures of self-regulation (including teacher report, direct assessment, and observation) focus on inhibitory control and are each susceptible to unique flaws. The current study examined whether informant bias or differential contextual environments influenced the resulting measure of inhibitory control in preschool children and whether this varied by child gender. Three measures of inhibitory control were given to 22 preschoolers in the Pacific Northwest. The results suggest that context has a greater effect on measured inhibitory control than does teacher bias, and that this tendency may be stronger for girls than for boys. Child inhibitory control may be a reaction to contextual cues as much as an innate capacity. Acknowledging the flexibility of self-regulatory skills may allow teachers to draw out hidden potential in their students and to prevent the destructive labeling that can lead to self-fulfilling prophecies. Key Words: self-regulation, inhibitory control, preschool children, early childhood education, teacher-child relationships, development of self-regulation, development of inhibitory control, HTKS, teacher report, direct observation, inCLASS observation

Prospective Associations Between Boys' Substance Use and Problem Behavior Histories and Their Facial Trustworthiness in Adulthood

Introduction: People whose faces look untrustworthy tend to receive harsher social evaluations, including more severe criminal sentences. Yet little is known about how much facial trustworthiness reflects individuals’ behavioral histories. We examined whether adolescent histories of delinquency and substance use predict strangers’ perceptions of young men’s facial trustworthiness. Methods: Boys (n = 206) recruited from schools with higher juvenile crime rates were assessed repeatedly from ages 10-24 years, including arrest records and self-reported delinquency and substance use. Coders blind to the study’s purpose rated participants’ facial trustworthiness from photographs taken at ages 14 and 24; parent-reported childhood family income and coder ratings of attractiveness and positive affect at age 24 were considered as controls. Results: Facial trustworthiness at age 24 (but not age 14) negatively correlated with all measures of problem behavior. Yet, self-reported tobacco use occasions from ages 12-23 had the strongest association with facial trustworthiness at age 24, a relation that persisted when controlling for arrests and delinquency from ages 12-23, other substance use, family income, ratings of age-24 positive facial affect, attractiveness, and age-14 facial trustworthiness (β = -.29, 95% CI [-.42, -.15], p < .001). Discussion: Although boys’ early facial trustworthiness did not relate to their later problem behavior, men with histories of more delinquency and tobacco use appeared less facially trustworthy as adults. Appearance-related biases may have forensic and healthcare implications for young men. Additionally, prevention efforts could leverage information about the early impacts of tobacco use on appearance

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival

The relative value of Pre-Implementation stages for successful implementation of evidence-informed programs

Abstract Background Most implementations fail before the corresponding services are ever delivered. Measuring implementation process fidelity may reveal when and why these attempts fail. This knowledge is necessary to support the achievement of positive implementation milestones, such as delivering services to clients (program start-up) and competency in treatment delivery. The present study evaluates the extent to which implementation process fidelity at different implementation stages predicts achievement of those milestones. Methods Implementation process fidelity data—as measured by the Stages of Implementation Completion (SIC)—from 1287 implementing sites across 27 evidence-informed programs were examined in mixed effects regression models with sites nested within programs. Implementation process fidelity, as measured by the proportion of implementation activities completed during the three stages of the SIC Pre-Implementation phase and overall Pre-Implementation (Phase 1) and Implementation (Phase 2) proportion scores, was assessed as a predictor of sites achieving program start-up (i.e., delivering services) and competency in program delivery. Results The predicted probability of start-up across all sites was low at 35% (95% CI [33%, 38%]). When considering the evidence-informed program being implemented, that probability was nearly twice as high (64%; 95% CI [42%, 82%]), and 57% of the total variance in program start-up was attributable to the program. Implementation process fidelity was positively and significantly associated with achievement of program start-up and competency. The magnitude of this relationship varied significantly across programs for Pre-Implementation Stage 1 (i.e., Engagement) only. Compared to other stages, completing more Pre-Implementation Stage 3 (Readiness Planning) activities resulted in the most rapid gains in probability of achieving program start-up. The predicted probability of achieving competency was very low unless sites had high scores in both Pre-Implementation and Implementation phases. Conclusions Strong implementation process fidelity—as measured by SIC Pre-Implementation and Implementation phase proportion scores—was associated with sites’ achievement of program start-up and competency in program delivery, with early implementation process fidelity being especially potent. These findings highlight the importance of a rigorous Pre-Implementation process

Influence of provider openness and leadership behaviors on adherence to motivational interviewing training implementation strategies: Considerations for evidence-based practice delivery

BackgroundAdherence to intervention training implementation strategies is at the foundation of fidelity; however, few studies have linked training adherence to trainee attitudes and leadership behaviors to identify what practically matters for the adoption and dissemination of evidence-based practices. Through the conduct of this hybrid type 3 effectiveness-implementation cluster randomized controlled trial, we collected Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, and Sustainment (EPIS) data and merged it with tailored motivational interviewing training adherence data, to elucidate the relationship between provider attitudes toward evidence-based practices, leadership behaviors, and training implementation strategy (e.g., workshop attendance and participation in one-on-one coaching) adherence.MethodOur sample included data from providers who completed baseline (pre-intervention) surveys that captured inner and outer contexts affecting implementation and participated in tailored motivational interviewing training, producing a dataset that included training implementation strategies adherence and barriers and facilitators to implementation (N = 77). Leadership was assessed by two scales: the director leadership scale and implementation leadership scale. Attitudes were measured with the evidence-based practice attitude scale (EBPAS-50). Adherence to training implementation strategies was modeled as a continuous outcome with a Gaussian distribution. Analyses were conducted in SPSS.ResultsOf the nine general attitudes toward evidence-based practice, openness was associated with training adherence (estimate [EST] = 0.096, p &lt; .001; 95% CI = [0.040, 0.151]). Provider general (EST = 0.054, 95% CI = [0.007, 0.102]) and motivational interviewing-specific (EST = 0.044, 95% CI = [0.002, 0.086]) leadership behaviors were positively associated with training adherence (p &lt; .05). Of the four motivational interviewing-specific leadership domains, knowledge and perseverant were associated with training adherence (p &lt; .05). As these leadership behaviors increased, knowledge (EST = 0.042, 95% CI = [0.001, 0.083]) and perseverant (EST = 0.039, 95% CI = [0.004, 0.075]), so did provider adherence to training implementation strategies.ConclusionsAs implementation science places more emphasis on assessing readiness prior to delivering evidence-based practices by evaluating organizational climate, funding streams, and change culture, consideration should also be given to metrics of leadership. A potential mechanism to overcome resistance is via the implementation of training strategies focused on addressing leadership prior to conducting training for the evidence-based practice of interest