The present study built upon an earlier study by Ebner and Ehri (in press), which examined the Internet's potential as a learning tool for enhancing college students' vocabularies. The current research sought to extend that study by determining how to make online vocabulary learning more effective. An experiment was conducted to investigate a…

Forward predictions are crucial in motor action (e.g., catching a ball, or being tickled) but may also apply to sensory or cognitive processes (e.g., listening to distorted speech or to a foreign accent). According to the "internal forward model," the cerebellum generates predictions about somatosensory consequences of movements. These predictions…

Emotion tunes cognition, such that approach-motivated positive states promote verbal cognition, whereas withdrawal-motivated negative states promote spatial cognition (Gray, 2001). The current research examined whether self-control resources become depleted and influence subsequent behavior when emotion tunes an inappropriate cognitive tendency.…

Recent evidence suggests that blindness enables visual circuits to contribute to language processing. We examined whether this dramatic functional plasticity has a sensitive period. BOLD fMRI signal was measured in congenitally blind, late blind (blindness onset 9-years-old or later) and sighted participants while they performed a sentence…

"Ginkgo biloba" has been reported to affect the neurotransmitter system and to have antioxidant properties that could impact the pathogenesis of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Based on these studies, we decided to assess the effectiveness of "Ginkgo biloba" extract (Ginko T.D., Tolidaru, Iran) as an adjunctive agent to risperidone in the treatment of…

Prison violence is a major concern in most correctional institutions. One intervention frequently used to reduce violent behavior is cognitive therapy. An involuntary cognitive program at a Midwestern state prison was evaluated for its impact on official misconduct. A total of 213 inmates were randomly assigned to the treatment (CHANGE) group (n =…

A word-length effect is often described in pure alexia, with reading time proportional to the number of letters in a word. Given the frequent association of right hemianopia with pure alexia, it is uncertain whether and how much of the word-length effect may be attributable to the hemifield loss. To isolate the contribution of the visual field…

The present study evaluated the effect of a brief mindfulness-based preventive intervention on (a) dispositional (MAAS; Brown & Ryan, 2003) and state (SMS; Tanay & Bernstein, 2010) mindfulness; (b) putative proximal factors/processes engendered through the development of mindfulness, including increased decentering (EQ-D; Fresco et al.,…

Motor skills are often demonstrated with a combination of verbal information and video demonstration. In this study, participants learned to tie nautical knots with a video clip demonstrating the motor task preceded by a descriptive or a metaphorical, picture-like verbalization. In a control condition participants learned the knots with a video…

This study examined the effects of a mass-media video intervention on expectations, attitudes, and intentions to seek help from professional mental health care services. A public service announcement-style, mass-media video intervention was developed, with prior empirical research on help-seeking behaviors organized according to the theory of…

Patients with many problems often face difficulties in modifying their behavior as desired. Uncovered basic needs may be an important barrier. This research tests the effect of patient-centered consultations for 20- to 44-year-old patients with multiple psychosocial and lifestyle problems. We focus on resources and barriers for obtaining…

Humans often make seemingly irrational choices in situations of conflict between a particular smaller-sooner reinforcer and a more abstract, temporally extended, but larger reinforcer. In two experiments, the extent to which the availability of commitment responses--self-imposed restrictions on future choices--might improve self-control in such…

A review of the literature on Rett syndrome (RS) for school-based professionals is presented from a behavioral perspective. A description of RS is provided, including distinctive physical, behavioral, and emotional features, diagnostic criteria for classic and "formes frustes" forms of RS, and stages of the disorder. The similarities and…

This study served as a pilot evaluation of the efficacy of the 1-2-3 Magic Program (Phelan, 2003) as a brief parenting intervention for families with a school-aged child. Nine Australian families assigned to either a wait-listed control group (n = 4) or to one that received immediate intervention (n = 5), participated in a randomized controlled…

The goal of the present intervention research was to test whether guided invented spelling would facilitate entry into reading for at-risk kindergarten children. The 56 participating children had poor phoneme awareness, and as such, were at risk of having difficulty acquiring reading skills. Children were randomly assigned to one of three training…