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We examined whether positive schizotypy (i.e., reports of hallucinatory and delusional-like experiences) in nonclinical participants could predict false perceptual experiences during detection of fast-moving words beyond a possible response bias. The participants (N = 160) were assigned to one of two conditions: they were asked either to make presence/absence judgments (loose criterion) or to read aloud every detected word (strict criterion). Regression analysis showed that high levels of positive schizotypy predicted false alarms in the loose condition and false perceptions of words in the strict condition. The obtained effects were independent of detection accuracy, task order, impulsivity, and social desirability. We discuss the results in the context of information processing biases linked to the positive symptomatology of schizophrenia. Clinical and theoretical implications are also considered.

Adopting a dimensional approach to experimental psychopathology, and taking into account inconsistencies in the previous literature, we examined whether reports of psychotic-like experiences in undergraduate students were associated with shift-learning deficits, akin to those seen in schizophrenia. The participants (N=72) were tested on a new compound stimulus discrimination task (CSDT) before and after a target shift, and were administered a multi-dimensional schizotypy inventory (O-LIFE). Performance impairment following a target shift was associated with the negative (Introvertive Anhedonia) and the impulsive (Impulsive Non-conformity) dimension of schizotypy, but not with the positive (Unusual Experiences), nor the disorganised (Cognitive Disorganisation) dimension. None of the schizotypy measures were associated with performance on discrimination learning before the target shift. The obtained results are in line with past evidence that shift learning is associated with the severity of the negative symptomatology of schizophrenia. The possibility that psychotic-like features may contribute differentially to performance deficits across successive stages of learning is considered.

This study examined whether set-shifting ability for children with autism spectrum disorder without intellectual disability would be affected differentially by verbal or nonverbal feedback as the outcome of previous research tentatively suggests that verbal feedback may lead to slower set-shifting. Overall, 56 children participated (42 male; 14 female); 28 with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (24 male) and 28 (21 male) typically developing children matched on cognitive and verbal abilities. Each group was exposed to a set-shifting task using cards varying in three dimensions. One group of typically developing children, and one group of autism spectrum disorder children, received verbal feedback on their performance, and one group received nonverbal feedback. Children with autism spectrum disorder learned an initial categorisation rule as fast as matched typically developing children. There was little difference in the impact of the type of feedback on acquisition. However, on shifting the classification rule, children with autism spectrum disorder showed slower rates of learning the new rule, relative to matched controls, which was worse when verbal feedback was used compared to nonverbal feedback. This finding has implications for the interpretations of set-shifting performance and for classroom use of feedback strategies.

The current study explored similarities and differences in parenting stress (PSI) and behaviours in parent reports of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attachment disorder (AD). 155 parents whose children had developmental delays and disorders completed the social communication questionnaire, Randolph attachment questionnaire, strengths and difficulties questionnaire, PSI, and parent-child relationship inventory. Parents of children with AD reported greater levels of PSI than parents of children with ASD. Parents of children reaching criteria for both disorders reported the greatest levels of PSI. Limit setting was poorest in parents of children with both classifications, followed by parents of children with AD, and then ASD. Limit setting mediated the relationship between PSI and child behaviour problems for parents of children with ASD < but not for parents of children with AD. These findings suggest different areas of difficulty for parents of children with these conditions, which may be of help in designing interventions.

The current study explored similarities and differences in parenting stress (PSI) and behaviours in parent reports of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attachment disorder (AD). 155 parents whose children had developmental delays and disorders completed the social communication questionnaire, Randolph attachment questionnaire, strengths and difficulties questionnaire, PSI, and parent-child relationship inventory. Parents of children with AD reported greater levels of PSI than parents of children with ASD. Parents of children reaching criteria for both disorders reported the greatest levels of PSI. Limit setting was poorest in parents of children with both classifications, followed by parents of children with AD, and then ASD. Limit setting mediated the relationship between PSI and child behaviour problems for parents of children with ASD < but not for parents of children with AD. These findings suggest different areas of difficulty for parents of children with these conditions, which may be of help in designing interventions., Author(s): Joanna Davies [sup.1] , Laura Glinn [sup.1] , Lisa A. Osborne [sup.2] [sup.3] , Phil Reed [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.4827.9, 0000 0001 0658 8800, Department of Psychology, Swansea [...]

This thematic analytic qualitative study used participants' oral narratives to examine primary "Cymraeg," which is the Welsh language, and English-speaking adolescents' perceptions regarding "Cymraeg"-speakers' opportunities of using their primary language on social media. Twenty-three participants were interviewed (two Welsh/Bilingual-medium schools: males = 5, females = 6; two English-medium schools: males = 6, females = 6). All of the Welsh/Bilingual-medium participants were primary "Cymraeg"-speakers. Operating at the broad thematic level, both groups provided similar responses. However, inter-group variance might be inferred at the sub-thematic level where, for instance, "Cymraeg"-speakers identified a greater array of technical limitations preventing "Cymraeg"-speakers using "Cymraeg" within the social media domain. The potential consequences of an actual or perceptual linguistic imbalance on social media are discussed.

This individual participant data meta-analysis is the most intensive possible evaluation of the effectiveness of early intensive applied behaviour analysis-based interventions for pre-school autistic children compared with treatment as usual/eclectic interventions. Data from 491 participants (originally collected in 10 studies) were included. Children receiving early intensive applied behaviour analysis-based interventions improved more on the Vineland adaptive behaviour scale (MD = 7.00; 95% confidence interval = 1.95-12.06) and cognitive ability (intelligence quotient) (MD = 14.13; 95% confidence interval = 9.16-19.10) relative to comparators at 2 years; though effects varied considerably across studies. Evidence for other outcomes was inconclusive due to insufficient evidence and there were few data on longer-term effects. All studies were at risk of bias across several domains, often due to the lack of randomisation or blinding of outcome assessors. Given the emerging evidence of modest, albeit short term, effects of a range of pre-school autism interventions and the limitations of the quality of evaluation studies to date, future research should investigate which supports and interventions are most effective for children and families prioritising outcomes measures that are meaningful for the autism community and longer-term follow-up. Further systematic reviews of the existing evidence are unlikely to add to the findings presented here.

Differentiation of speech is predictable from abilities to discriminate the speed at which a sound reaches its optimum amplitude (rise time). This study investigated whether rise time identification of an affricate-fricative continuum would be impacted upon by dyslexia. Children between 10 and 14 years old identified sounds along a continuum of fricative to affricate sounds (cha-sha continuum), using a novel automated learning rise time identification task. Those with higher dyslexia likelihoods (measured by the Dyslexia Screening Test -- Secondary), and poor reading scores (measured by the British Abilities Scales), showed a difference in rise time identification; greater distances between rise times were needed for those with a high risk of dyslexia to recognise fricative-affricate differences than for controls. These results were not impacted upon by IQ scores.

Stimulus over-selectivity is said to have occurred when only a limited subset of the total number of stimuli present during discrimination learning controls behavior, thus, restricting learning about the range, breadth, or all features of a stimulus. The current study investigated over-selectivity of 100 typically developing children, aged 3-7 (mean = 65.50 ± 17.31 SD months), using a visual discrimination task. Developmental trends in over-selectivity and their relationship to some cognitive variables (i.e., selective attention, sustained attention, and cognitive flexibility) were the target. Over-selectivity decreased with age, but this effect was mediated by the development of cognitive flexibility. Over-selectivity increased when a distractor task was introduced, which was not mediated by the other cognitive variables under investigation. The current results assist in the establishment of the theoretical underpinnings of over-selectivity by offering evidence of its underlying determinants and relating these to developmental trends.

The current study explored the relationship between problematic internet use (PIU) and motivation to learn, and examined psychological and social factors mediating this relationship. Two hundred and eighty-five students in an Italian University were recruited for the current study. There was a negative relationship between PIU and motivation to study: a negative impact on learning strategies, meaning that the students found it harder to organize their learning productively; and PIU also positively associated with test anxiety. The current results also demonstrated that there was partial mediation of this effect of PIU on learning strategies in terms of loneliness. This suggest at those with high levels of PIU may be particularly at risk from lower motivations to study, and, hence, lower actual generalized academic performance due to a number of consequences of PIU.