Effects of emotion on prospection during decision-making

In two experiments we examined the role of emotion, specifically worry, anxiety, and mood, on prospection during decision-making. Worry is a particularly relevant emotion to study in the context of prospection because high levels of worry may make individuals more aversive toward the uncertainty associated with the prospect of obtaining future improvements in rewards or states. Thus, high levels of worry might lead to reduced prospection during decision-making and enhance preference for immediate over delayed rewards. In Experiment 1 participants performed a two-choice dynamic decision-making task where they were required to choose between one option (the decreasing option) which provided larger immediate rewards but declines in future states, and another option (the increasing option) which provided smaller immediate rewards but improvements in future states, making it the optimal choice. High levels of worry were associated with poorer performance in the task. Additionally, fits of a sophisticated reinforcement-learning model that incorporated both reward-based and state-based information suggested that individuals reporting high levels of worry gave greater weight to the immediate rewards they would receive on each trial than to the degree to which each action would lead to improvements in their future state. In Experiment 2 we found that high levels of worry were associated with greater delay discounting using a standard delay discounting task. Combined, the results suggest that high levels of worry are associated with reduced prospection during decision-making. We attribute these results to high worriers' aversion toward the greater uncertainty associated with attempting to improve future rewards than to maximize immediate reward. These results have implications for researchers interested in the effects of emotion on cognition, and suggest that emotion strongly affects the focus on temporal outcomes during decision-making.The open access fee for this work was funded through the Texas A&M University Open Access to Knowledge (OAK) Fund

A Survey to Measure the Effects of Forced Transition to 100% Online Learning on Community Sharing, Feelings of Social Isolation, Equity, Resilience, and Learning Content During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Survey of student perceptions and experiences with online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic.The vast majority of the 19.9 million students and 1.5 million faculty at U.S. colleges and universities have been suddenly forced to replace their physical classes with online class formats. Many instructors and students are not prepared nor used to teaching/learning virtually, causing a number of unwanted effects, including social isolation, exacerbated inequity, and potentially reduced learning. Thus, there is a critical need to determine what the effects are and how we can best address them. In the absence of such knowledge, the effects of the coronavirus may expand well beyond the illness and fatalities and cause irreparable damage to our nation’s students’ education and mental and physical wellness. It is a crucial time to react and collect pertinent data immediately. As such we have created a survey to measure and monitor the effects of forced transition to 100% online learning on community sharing, feelings of social isolation, equity, resilience, and learning content during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are sharing this survey as a Texas A&M University tech report so that other universities can use this survey to measure the effects elsewhere

A Survey to Measure the Effects of Forced Transition to 100% Online Learning on Community Sharing, Feelings of Social Isolation, Equity, Resilience, and Learning Content During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Survey of student perceptions and experiences with online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic.The vast majority of the 19.9 million students and 1.5 million faculty at U.S. colleges and universities have been suddenly forced to replace their physical classes with online class formats. Many instructors and students are not prepared nor used to teaching/learning virtually, causing a number of unwanted effects, including social isolation, exacerbated inequity, and potentially reduced learning. Thus, there is a critical need to determine what the effects are and how we can best address them. In the absence of such knowledge, the effects of the coronavirus may expand well beyond the illness and fatalities and cause irreparable damage to our nation’s students’ education and mental and physical wellness. It is a crucial time to react and collect pertinent data immediately. As such we have created a survey to measure and monitor the effects of forced transition to 100% online learning on community sharing, feelings of social isolation, equity, resilience, and learning content during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are sharing this survey as a Texas A&M University tech report so that other universities can use this survey to measure the effects elsewhere

Assessor Effects On The Evaluation Of The WISC-III

There have been many theories about cultural differences found between groups on intelligence test scores. The main debate has been between those in favor of a genetic explanation versus those in favor of a more environmental one. When considering environmental influences, one explanation has been that there could be differential effects due to the assessor. Although there have been several studies that have considered this possibility, the results are inconclusive. The current study attempted to tease apart the assessor effects by focusing on biases in the assessor alone and by eliminating effects from the test taker. The study is an experimental design where participants were randomly assigned a WISC-III protocol of members of different ethnic groups. It was hypothesized that different groups may score these IQ tests differentially depending on the race/ethnicity of the person who was assessed. Results showed that when given identical protocols, participants scored African American protocols lower than Caucasian American protocols in both high and average IQ conditions. Clinical implications of these results are discussed

The Role of the Theory of Planned Behavior in Therapists’ Involvement of Parents in Youth Treatment

The theory of planned behavior has been studied in a wide variety of health related research. One area that has not evaluated the relevance of the TPB is that of therapists\u27 attitudes for involving parents in treatment. The current study examined the feasibility of Ajzen\u27s (1985) Theory of Planned Behavior for explaining whether or not therapists include parents in treatment. Participants in this study were therapists with at least one-year experience in treating youth under the age of 11. It was hypothesized that all of the variables of the TPB would be significant predictors of therapists\u27 intention to include parents in treatment. Overall, results of this study provided support for the role of the Theory of Planned Behavior in predicting therapists\u27 inclusion of parents in youth treatment although subjective norm was not a significant predictor of intention and subsequent inclusion of parents in youth treatment. Results of posthoc analyses reveal that there are several therapist demographic characteristics that are related to TPB constructs. Specifically, coursework and training in Family Systems was found to be related to positive attitudes about involving parents in treatment. Also, therapists in practice settings were much more likely to intend to include parents in youth treatment than those in school settings. In addition, therapists\u27 estimate of the percentage of the percentage of time others in the field include parents in youth related treatment was significant predictor of their ratings of subjective norm. These results highlight the importance of the relationship between therapist training and orientation and attitudes toward parental involvement. They also highlight the importance of examining precursors to the development of TPB constructs. Clinical implications of these results are discussed

Assessor Effects On The Evaluation Of The WISC-III

There have been many theories about cultural differences found between groups on intelligence test scores. The main debate has been between those in favor of a genetic explanation versus those in favor of a more environmental one. When considering environmental influences, one explanation has been that there could be differential effects due to the assessor. Although there have been several studies that have considered this possibility, the results are inconclusive. The current study attempted to tease apart the assessor effects by focusing on biases in the assessor alone and by eliminating effects from the test taker. The study is an experimental design where participants were randomly assigned a WISC-III protocol of members of different ethnic groups. It was hypothesized that different groups may score these IQ tests differentially depending on the race/ethnicity of the person who was assessed. Results showed that when given identical protocols, participants scored African American protocols lower than Caucasian American protocols in both high and average IQ conditions. Clinical implications of these results are discussed

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on International Research Collaboration: Identification of the Most Critical Construct

<p>While the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant negative impact on the world economy, international research collaborations were disrupted by problems like hiring freezes, stopped lab and fieldwork, delayed research infrastructure, socio-cognitive health effects, and restricted travel. This study aims to identify the most critical constructs with the highest relevance to explain the overall impact of the pandemic on international research collaboration. For this purpose, it uses an online pilot survey conducted at a public land-grant research university in the U.S. The online survey included eleven questions on 5-point Likert scales, designed under four constructs, to rate the impact of the pandemic on international research collaboration and its indicators. Thirty-one multilingual/multicultural professors, post-docs, and research assistant Ph.D. students from different departments completed the survey. The findings of this study indicate that resiliency is the most important driver construct for the overall impact of the pandemic on international research collaboration. In other words, consideration of the impact of changes and interventions explored because of COVID-19 on project logistics, research operations, and overall research quality is the most relevant for managerial actions. The results can help design research programs, particularly those involving international collaboration, to reduce the adverse impacts of such adverse conditions.</p&gt

Getting Fathers Involved in Child-Related Therapy

Fathers are involved in treatment for child and family problems to a far lesser extent than are mothers. This article reviews the level of fathers’ inclusion in therapy, delineates possible barriers to fathers’ participation in child-related treatment, and discusses factors associated with fathers’ involvement in therapy. Empirically and clinically informed strategies to engage fathers in treatment are offered to help therapists increase fathers’ participation in the therapeutic process. Finally, future directions for clinically informed research in this area are discussed