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This document is a collection of summaries of various research articles in the field of sport and exercise psychology. The articles cover a range of topics, including coaches' leadership, emotional abuse experiences of male college athletes, pride and greed in sports psychology, gendered discourses in youth sport coaching, psychosocial mechanisms of weight loss maintenance, and ballroom as activism for black queer and trans+ individuals. The articles provide insights into the predictors and outcomes of coaches' leadership, the pressures of orthodox masculinity in sports, the relationship between pride and greed, the impact of gendered discourses on coaching girls, the psychosocial mechanisms of weight loss maintenance, and the challenges faced by black queer and trans+ individuals in leisure spaces. The articles highlight the complexities and individual experiences within the field of sport and exercise psychology, emphasizing the need for reflection, understanding, and integration of emotions for personal growth and flourishing. [Extracted from the article]

Introduction: This study investigated the impact of dog training intervention (DTI) on verbal, non-verbal, and maladaptive behaviors in autistic preschoolers. Previous research has demonstrated the benefits of animal-assisted interventions, but this study specifically focused on changes during the DTI. Methods: We analyzed video recordings of 37 autistic children (mean age 4:7 years, SD = 1:1) from special education preschools, comparing their behaviors during the initial and final intervention sessions. The intervention, consisting of 17 structured stages, progressively introduced the children to dog interactions, ultimately allowing them to act as dog trainers. Behavioral analysis was divided into two main areas: responses to the therapist's instructions and self-initiated behaviors observed in interactions with the therapist and the dog. Results: Post-intervention results indicated a notable increase in non-verbal communication, with more sustained self-initiated eye contact, gestures, and facial expressions and increased verbal commands directed toward the dog. Improvements were also seen in therapist-prompted gestures and joint attention, and question-answer interactions with the therapist. However, a decrease was observed in self-initiated eye contact, duration of eye contact, and verbal sharing with the therapist. Maladaptive behaviors, such as inappropriate physical contact and repetitive movements, decreased. The study found a moderate negative correlation between autism severity and responsiveness to therapist instructions and a moderate positive correlation between IQ and improvements in therapist responsiveness. Discussion: These findings support the growing evidence for the efficacy of dog-assisted interventions and emphasize the importance of tailoring interventions to individual child characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empathy plays a crucial role in promoting older adults' interpersonal experiences, but it remains unclear how these benefits of empathy occur. To address this gap, we examined associations between empathy and how older adults behave and express emotions during their daily interpersonal encounters. Participants included 268 adults aged 65+ (46% men, n = 124) from the Daily Experiences and Well-being Study. They reported background characteristics and empathy in baseline interviews and indicated interpersonal encounters every 3 hours across 5 to 6 days. Participants wore electronically activated recorders (EAR), an app that captured 30-second snippets of ambient sounds every 7 minutes. Verbatim transcripts were coded for positive and negative social behaviors (e.g., praise, complain) and text was analyzed via Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) software for verbal expressions of positive and negative emotions (e.g., happy, hope, hate, hurt). Multilevel models showed that greater empathy was associated with greater variety in positive social behaviors throughout the day. More empathic older adults expressed more positive emotions while engaging in positive behaviors and less negative emotions when engaging in negative behaviors. This study innovatively draws on naturalistic data to delineate how more empathic older adults may have more positive and less negative social experiences than their less empathic counterparts. Findings may inform interventions that can incorporate empathy training to target those at higher risk of poor interpersonal experiences and outcomes (e.g., social isolation). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different channels of nonverbal behavior can serve important functions in live music performances. In this paper, we look at cross-channel nonverbal behavior in a Chinese freestyle rap battle, investigating what categories of nonverbal behavior are used and what functions these behaviors serve. Using the theoretical frameworks of dyadic power theory and the coordination of verbal and nonverbal behaviors, we analyzed four video clips of two Chinese rappers in a freestyle rap battle. We found that nonverbal behaviors were crucial to helping them articulate the verbal content of their raps, displaying power and exerting dominance. Theoretical implications were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Embodied collaborative learning, intertwining verbal and physical behaviors, is an intricate learning process demanding a multifaceted approach for comprehensive understanding. Prior studies in this field have often neglected the temporal dynamics and the interplay between verbal and bodily behaviors in collaborative learning settings. This study bridges this gap by employing an integrative approach combining social constructivism, situated cognition, and embodied cognition theories through multimodal learning analytics (MMLA) to dissect the temporal dynamics of embodied collaborative learning in a simulated clinical setting. The study operationalized the linguistic, contextual, and bodily elements of each theoretical perspective, focusing on analyzing the verbal communication, spatial behavior, and physiological responses of 56 students across 14 sessions. These multimodal data were analyzed using correlation analysis and epistemic network analysis. The results illustrated the interconnected nature of students' verbal communication and spatial behaviors during collaborative learning and demonstrated that an MMLA approach could effectively capture the temporal dynamics of these behaviors across different learning phases. The study also identified significant differences in the behaviors of efficient and inefficient teams and between satisfied and dissatisfied students, primarily linked to spatial behaviors. These insights underline the utility of MMLA in providing a nuanced understanding of collaborative learning behavior from an integrated theoretical perspective, with implications for learning design and the development of reflection and in-the-moment analytics. This study sets the stage for further exploration of the multifaceted dynamics of collaborative learning, underscoring the value of a multimodal approach to learning analytics and educational research. Educational Impact and Implications Statement: This study enhances our understanding of embodied collaborative learning in clinical simulations by integrating social constructivism, situated cognition, and embodied cognition theories. Utilizing multimodal learning analytics (MMLA), it reveals how students' verbal, spatial, and physiological behaviors intricately interact during learning processes. The findings highlight the potential of MMLA in supporting feedback and reflection practices by identifying key behavioral differences in collaborative environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intervention using social stories is a widely used strategy for children with autism spectrum disorder. However, empirical studies on the efficacy of social stories in improving social interaction have yielded mixed results, and such research in China is scarce. This study examined the effectiveness of social stories for increasing social interaction, particularly initiation and response, verbal exchange, body language, eye contact, and combined interaction of a child with autism spectrum disorder. A single-subject experimental study was conducted with two baseline sessions, two intervention phases, and a follow-up period. The results demonstrated immediate and maintained effects after utilising social story intervention. The participant's response behaviours improved more than initiation, and body language as well as eye contact improved more than verbal and combined interaction. Social validity findings revealed positive evaluations of the participant's mother and head teacher. Social story intervention is a promising strategy for improving the social interaction of children with autism spectrum disorder and that should be explored further in future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The study addresses the phenomenon of referential gaps between Arabic and English, highlighting the distinct referential behaviors each language employs during communication. These differences pose challenges to both language recipients and educators, creating obstacles for Arabic and English teachers and learners alike. Understanding these gaps is crucial for improving language learning and teaching processes. Methods: The study investigates referential gaps by analyzing their manifestations across four linguistic levels: phonetic, lexical, morphological, and syntactic systems in both Arabic and English. Results: The findings demonstrate that the distinct referential behaviors in Arabic and English differ significantly across the analyzed linguistic levels. These differences contribute to the challenges faced by language learners and educators. Discussion: The study underscores the importance of understanding referential gaps to address the challenges they present. By highlighting these differences, it provides insights into improving teaching strategies and fostering better communication between Arabic and English speakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study is to explore the relationship between personality and peer-rated team role behavior on the one hand and team role behavior and verbal behavior on the other hand. To achieve this, different data types were collected in fifteen professional teams of four members (N = 60) from various private and public organizations in Flanders, Belgium. Participants' personalities were assessed using a workplace-contextualized personality questionnaire based on the Big Five, including domains and facets. Typical team role behavior was assessed by the team members using the Team Role Experience and Orientation peer rating system. Verbal interactions of nine of the teams (n = 36) were recorded in an educational lab setting, where participants performed several collaborative problem-solving tasks as part of a training. To process these audio data, a coding scheme for collaborative problem solving and linguistic inquiry and word count were used. We identified robust links and logical correlation patterns between personality traits and typical team role behaviors, complementing prior research that only focused on self-reported team behavior. For instance, a relatively strong correlation was found between Altruism and the Team builder role. Next, the study reveals that role taking within teams is associated with specific verbal interaction patterns. For example, members identified as Organizers were more engaged in responding to others' ideas and monitoring execution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IntroductionMethodsResultsDiscussionGuidelines for developing complex interventions include implementing strategies to monitor intervention delivery. These can include tracking therapist behaviors, which are connected to therapist effectiveness. In this project, we examine a music therapist’s (MT) behaviors during the implementation of the Musical Contour Regulation Facilitation (MCRF) intervention, a complex music-based intervention to support emotion regulation development in preschoolers.This was a retrospective analysis of videotaped footage from four weeks of MCRF sessions facilitated from May through July 2014. From a representative sample of 30% of sessions (n = 12), we randomly selected one per week for analysis. Three research assistants independently coded the videos, tracking the frequency of verbal, nonverbal, and musical behaviors in 15-second intervals (interrater agreement = 80.6%). We conducted descriptive analyses on observed therapist behavior overall and during different intervention components.Results showed the MT exhibited an average of 365.0 behaviors per 11-minute session, grouped into five verbal, four nonverbal, and seven musical behaviors. We noted differences in behaviors demonstrated between intervention components and within-session transitions, including differences in the type of behavior and the number of behaviors presented.Findings suggest differences in the frequency and type of verbal, nonverbal, and musical behaviors demonstrated by the MT that reflected specific intervention components. Future MCRF intervention research should include monitoring of therapist behaviors to help determine behaviors necessary for fidelity of effective implementation and those that will aid in intervention scalability and translation to clinical practice between different therapists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Receptive language, the ability to comprehend and respond to spoken language, poses significant challenges for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). To support communication in autistic children, interventions like Lovaas' simple-conditional method and Green's conditional-only method are commonly employed. Personalized approaches are essential due to the spectrum nature of autism. Advancements in technology have opened new avenues for personalizing therapeutic interventions. This single case study compares traditional and technology-based learning sets in a receptive labeling teaching program using Green's method. Methods: An alternating treatments design assessed the number of sessions required to achieve mastery in receptive identification of stimuli presented on flashcards or tablets. The study involved a six-year-old Italian child with ASD named Pietro. Initial assessment using the Verbal Behavior Milestone Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP) determined Pietro's strengths and weaknesses. Six stimuli were selected and divided into two sets: traditional and technology-based. Sessions were semi-randomly alternated, and the teaching procedures remained constant across conditions. In the traditional condition, sessions were conducted twice a week, using flashcards. Correct responses received immediate social reinforcement. In the technological condition, the same stimuli were presented on a tablet via PowerPoint slides. Results: Pietro achieved mastery more quickly with flashcard instruction than with tablet instruction. Learning was exponential in the traditional condition and linear in the digital condition. Follow-up assessments three weeks post-treatment showed no differences in the generalization and maintenance of skills between the two modalities. Discussion: The findings indicate that the format of stimulus delivery affects the learning process, with traditional flashcards leading to faster mastery in this case. Individual motivation appears crucial, suggesting that Pietro's learning history influenced his performance. Personalized approaches remain vital in autism interventions. Further research is needed to determine if these differences extend to other skills or contexts. Conclusion: While technology-based interventions offer new opportunities, they are not universally more effective than traditional methods. Careful consideration of individual differences, especially motivational factors, is essential in designing effective autism intervention programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: PRO measures of symptoms in clinical trials have historically utilized visual and numerical scales but verbal descriptors may make it easier for patients to clearly differentiate between response options. This study assessed content validity and meaningful change in five verbal response scales (VRSs) used to assess chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyp (CRSwNP) symptom severity. Methodology: This qualitative, semi-structured interview study recruited adults from the US, Germany, and China with confirmed moderate-to-severe CRSwNP. Interviews included a concept elicitation section, where participants were asked about their experience of living with CRSwNP including symptoms and health-related quality-of-life impacts, and a cognitive debriefing section, where participants were debriefed and participant understanding and real-life relevance of the CRSwNP symptom VRS content were assessed. Interview transcripts were qualitatively analyzed using thematic analysis methods. Results: Among the 24 participants interviewed, the most frequently reported CRSwNP symptoms were nasal obstruction, runny nose, mucus in the throat, loss of smell and facial pain/pressure. Participants demonstrated good understanding of the CRSwNP symptom VRS instructions, items, recall period, and response options. The five CRSwNP symptom VRS items were relevant to the majority of participants' experience of CRSwNP. At the item level, a one-category within-person improvement was the level most frequently reported by participants to be a meaningful change. Conclusion: The CRSwNP symptom VRSs assess relevant and bothersome symptoms experienced by patients with moderate-to-severe CRSwNP, supporting content validity of this measure. The findings of this study provided preliminary insights into meaningful change in the VRS. Further quantitative assessment of meaningful change is needed, and psychometric evaluation of the CRSwNP symptom VRSs will be required to evaluate their appropriateness for assessment of clinical trial endpoints in patients with CRSwNP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This article provides an overview of Sam Leith's book "Words Like Loaded Pistols: The Power of Rhetoric from the Iron Age to the Information Age," examining the historical significance and influence of rhetoric in politics and activism. It also explores the role of rhetoric in shaping cultural beliefs, particularly in online communities, and emphasizes the importance of effective communication in addressing issues like climate change. The text further delves into relational frame theory, behavioral cusps, and rule-governed behavior in social contexts, discussing topics such as compliance with traffic rules, equivalence relations, adherence to COVID-19 guidelines, climate misinformation, and social categorization. Researchers interested in behavior analysis and social behavior will find the sources cited in the article to be a valuable resource for further exploration. [Extracted from the article]

While traditional English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms often lack context and authenticity, immersive virtual reality (iVR) provides a valuable alternative opportunity to practice and acquire the target language in a replica of the real world. The present study used iVR (Immerse) for communicative tasks and investigated how iVR, as an authentic learning environment, promoted students' speaking. For six weeks, Korean EFL university students (N = 19) participated in various communicative tasks in simulated real-life-like places in iVR. The study employed a qualitative research method and analyzed the students' physical and verbal behaviors based on the recordings and their perceptions of learning in iVR through interviews. Analysis of the recordings revealed that the students engaged in authentic conversations in response to the surrounding virtual environments, manipulated virtual objects to engage in dynamic and contextualized conversations, and showed enjoyment and comfort. Triangulating the results of the recording analysis, the interviews confirmed the students' preference for iVR over traditional teaching due to more realistic English-speaking contexts, more natural interactions, more opportunities to speak, and the connection of each scene to their own real-life experiences. Finally, pedagogical implications are proposed to integrate iVR to facilitate students' authentic and meaningful learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aimed to determine the reasons why respondents engage in bullying practices among Grade seven and eight students at Talacogon Integrated School during the 2019-2020 school year. The school is situated between Lower and Upper Talacogon, Lugait, Misamis Oriental. Employing a descriptive correlation design, this study examined the correlation between two variables: the level of bullying practices and the academic performance of the respondents. The subjects comprised 35 identified Grade seven and eight students from Talacogon Integrated School. Pearson correlation coefficient was utilized to ascertain the significant relationship between respondents' level of bullying and their academic performance, as well as the significant relationship between respondents' profiles and their bullying practices. The hypothesis regarding the relationship between demographic profile variables (age, gender, grade level) and bullying practices revealed that while age did not significantly correlate with physical bullying, it did with verbal and social bullying. Similarly, gender showed no significant correlation with physical bullying but did with verbal and social bullying. Grade level, however, exhibited a significant correlation with physical bullying but not with verbal and social bullying. The researcher identified revenge, amusement, and feelings of inferiority as the main reasons behind bullying. The study found that the level of bullying practices in terms of verbal and social behavior, as well as academic performance, were within acceptable standards. However, the level of physical bullying practices was significantly correlated with academic performance, as the level of significance was lower than the standard value. Consequently, the researcher recommends implementing a teachers' training matrix for character formation to address bullying behaviors effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the effects of noise and hearing impairment on conversational dynamics between pairs of young normal-hearing and older hearing-impaired interlocutors. Twelve pairs of normal-hearing and hearing-impaired individuals completed a spot-the-difference task in quiet and in three levels of multitalker babble. To achieve the rapid response timing of turn taking that has been observed in normal conversations, people must simultaneously comprehend incoming speech, plan a response, and predict when their partners will end their turn. In difficult conditions, we hypothesized that the timing of turn taking by both normal-hearing and hearing-impaired interlocutors would be delayed and more variable. We found that the timing of turn starts by talkers with hearing impairment had higher variability than those with normal hearing, and participants with both normal hearing and hearing impairment started turns later and with more variability in the presence of noise. Overall, in the presence of noise, talkers spoke louder and slower, increased the duration of their pauses but decreased their rate of occurrence, and produced longer interpausal units, that is, units of connected speech surrounded by silence. However, when compared to previous studies of conversations between normal-hearing partners, the pattern of changes in conversational behavior by the normal-hearing participants was very different in the most challenging noise condition. The extent to which these adaptations are made to reduce the difficulty experienced by their partner with hearing impairment vs. the difficulty they experience themselves is not clear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A review of recent applied research in observation suggests researchers could profit from a new account of observational learning. Current research in the identification and establishment of verbal developmental cusps demonstrates the importance of the range of observational cusps necessary for the acquisition of language. These cusps encompass learning through imitation, duplication of outcomes, understanding consequences of observed behaviors, acquiring new reinforcers, incidental unidirectional and bidirectional naming, and more. This account offers solutions to bridge gaps in the literature and complements related research, providing a comprehensive understanding of observational learning processes. This updated account of observational learning is especially relevant when we consider its implications for human language acquisition. In this article, we emphasize that language acquisition is not solely an individual cognitive development, but a socially mediated process, where observation plays a fundamental role in linguistic growth and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the core principles of a behavioral systems theory (BST) that incorporates dynamical systems concepts and applies them to a behavior analysis of early language development. The tenets of BST include multiple determinism, coalescent organization, nonlinearity, emergence, phase shifts, and developmental cusps. Developmental changes are marked by the transactions between genetic inheritance, interactional history, current physiological and environmental conditions, and behavior dynamics. Certain key emergent behaviors, known as cusps, enable further cascading development. Contingencies operating in the young child's current social environment are the catalysts for the coalescence of conditions into the early learning of precursors to communication cusps in early childhood including orienting responses, eye contact, joint attention, and social referencing. In turn these social interaction cusps enable the development of organized patterns of verbal behavior that include imitation, mands, tacts, intraverbals, autoclitics, and naming. Some of these emergent patterns are the product of derived relational responding that enable further verbal behavioral cusps to develop. Early language results from an intensive, naturally occurring, skills learning process consisting of a massive number of contingent interactions between the child and the caregivers. This naturally occurring process resembles the use of multiple exemplars procedures employed by experimental researchers in training language skills to children but are employed intuitively by caregivers. These skills facilitate the emergence of new and more advanced sociocognitive skills later in childhood such as perspective taking, the self, and complex rule-following. We recommend further collaborations with other behavioral and developmental scientists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to introduce a new way of understanding human speech, the article connects two independent lines of Skinner's research: his work on verbal behavior and on connecting behavior analysis to evolution. The article discusses an empirical study as an example motivated by this connection. Similar to biologists' suggestion that natural selection can operate on multiple nested levels, Baum (The Behavior Analyst, 36(2), 283–293, 2013) argues that operant behavior is best understood in terms of nested units. Because verbal behavior is operant behavior, Baum's view should apply to verbal behavior. We conducted the first experiment designed to explore empirical implications of applying this framework. Six pairs of native Norwegian speaking participants communicated verbally while solving a puzzle task together. We investigated if verbal signals occurred to aid navigation between nested levels of the task. 25,191 words were transcribed, revealing that "Ok" was most frequently spoken at the start of the whole activity with a decreasing trend when starting the description of lower-level units, whereas "Også" / "Og så" ("and" / "and well") became more frequent as the level of activity decreased. "Ja" ("yes") most frequently concluded all activity levels. These findings can benefit future studies aiming at experimentally manipulating the verbal stimuli found to guide movement between activity levels. The conceptual argument and empirical example are spelled out to inspire further refinements of the connection between verbal behavior and evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The behavior-analytic approach to language and cognition is consistent with parsimony and coherence in explanatory systems within and across fields of science. Some disagreement exists regarding the appropriate composition of the conceptual tool kit that behavior analysts apply to problems in language and cognition, but ultimately these differences in perspective are minor within the context of shared goals and assumptions. This article summarizes two lines of research guided by the analyses of derived relational responding in terms of contingencies or stimulus correlations acting directly upon its components. The two lines of research eventually produced different conclusions regarding the utility of the analysis within the boundaries of the parameters that were studied. Successful prediction and control of DRR should serve to identify strength and boundaries of utility of different levels of analysis, which could lead to theoretical progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Skinner and relational frame theory (RFT) present different behavioral perspectives on language. Although some bridges can be found between Skinner's account to verbal behavior and RFT at the conceptual level, the units of analysis presented by each tradition are not fully integrated. The unit of analysis suggested by RFT allows the components that constitute the practices of a verbal community (arbitrary, conventional relations) to be investigated within an operant point of view. Moreover, understanding relational responses as generalized operants, defined functionally by RFT, highlights the reinforcement contingencies involved in the multiple-exemplar training that gives rise to the generativity that hallmarks language as a phenomenon. The present article aims to explore an integration between the Skinnerian text and RFT. Such integration is grounded in the concept of mediated reinforcement contingencies that shape the practices of the verbal community. A conceptual treatment is offered whereby these practices can be better understood on a continuum of complexity that shapes specific instances of verbal responses (echoic, tact, mand etc.) up to purely functional generalized operants. Possible advantages of such an integrative view, as well as some of its limitations and practical challenges are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Word emotion data were used to explore whether the two languages of bilingual speakers represent one or two verbal repertoires. Spanish–English bilinguals and monolingual speakers of Spanish and English rated the pleasantness of behavior analysis and general clinical terms in Spanish and English translations. Bilinguals' pleasantness ratings of Spanish and English terms were more similar than those made by Spanish and English monolinguals. This finding suggests that the Spanish and English listener repertoires of bilinguals are integrated, as one might expect from a derived stimulus relations perspective. Two control studies ruled out alternative explanations. We discuss the general importance of bilingual research in behavior analysis and the challenges of replicating and extending this finding and of reconciling it with the apparently contrasting results of mainstream investigations of bilingual repertoires. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2016, separated parents in Sweden are expected to pay child maintenance directly to each other unless special reasons, such as intimate partner violence (IPV), can be invoked. Problems with maintenance payments, which may involve expressions of financial abuse, have become a common topic in interactions between parents and the Swedish Social Insurance Agency (SSIA) that handles these cases. This article examines 132 phone calls to the SSIA, and the results show that payment problems are typically framed as relating to inability or negligence and not as possible indications of abuse. This highlights the need for training and capacity building regarding IPV in the Swedish welfare state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by progressive cognitive decline, including impairments in speech production and fluency. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a prodrome of AD, has also been linked with changes in speech behavior but to a more subtle degree. Objective: This study aimed to investigate whether speech behavior immediately following both filled and unfilled pauses (post-pause speech behavior) differs between individuals with MCI and healthy controls (HCs), and how these differences are influenced by the cognitive demands of various speech tasks. Methods: Transcribed speech samples were analyzed from both groups across different tasks, including immediate and delayed narrative recall, picture descriptions, and free responses. Key metrics including lexical and syntactic complexity, lexical frequency and diversity, and part of speech usage, both overall and post-pause, were examined. Results: Significant differences in pause usage were observed between groups, with a higher incidence and longer latencies following these pauses in the MCI group. Lexical frequency following filled pauses was higher among MCI participants in the free response task but not in other tasks, potentially due to the relative cognitive load of the tasks. The immediate recall task was most useful at differentiating between groups. Predictive analyses utilizing random forest classifiers demonstrated high specificity in using speech behavior metrics to differentiate between MCI and HCs. Conclusions: Speech behavior following pauses differs between MCI participants and healthy controls, with these differences being influenced by the cognitive demands of the speech tasks. These post-pause speech metrics can be easily integrated into existing speech analysis paradigms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated whether the age of examiner effect, that is, the positive relation between cognitive performance of older people and age of their examiner, relies on stereotype threat. Data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), European Social Survey, European Statistical Office (Eurostat) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe were crossed. Older people from different countries were tested on verbal short‐ and long‐term recall components of memory, by examiners of different ages. Country‐specific indicators of negative age stereotypes, related to the stereotype threat mechanism, were used. We expected that the age of examiner effect would be stronger in countries with more negative age stereotypes. The results replicated the age of examiner effect, but contrary to our hypothesis, this effect was not moderated by countries' indicators of negative age stereotypes. Negative age stereotypes across countries, such as experienced discrimination among older people, lack of active ageing index, unemployment ratio and perceived negative competence of older people decrease memory. The results are discussed in relation to stereotype threat theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Prior research extensively documented challenges in recognizing verbal and nonverbal emotion among older individuals when compared with younger counterparts. However, the nature of these age-related changes remains unclear. The present study investigated how older and younger adults comprehend four basic emotions (i.e., anger, happiness, neutrality, and sadness) conveyed through verbal (semantic) and nonverbal (facial and prosodic) channels. Method: A total of 73 older adults (43 women, Mage = 70.18 years) and 74 younger adults (37 women, Mage = 22.01 years) partook in a fixed-choice test for recognizing emotions presented visually via facial expressions or auditorily through prosody or semantics. Results: The results confirmed age-related decline in recognizing emotions across all channels except for identifying happy facial expressions. Furthermore, the two age groups demonstrated both commonalities and disparities in their inclinations toward specific channels. While both groups displayed a shared dominance of visual facial cues over auditory emotional signals, older adults indicated a preference for semantics, whereas younger adults displayed a preference for prosody in auditory emotion perception. Notably, the dominance effects observed in older adults for visual and semantic cues were less pronounced for sadness and anger compared to other emotions. These challenges in emotion recognition and the shifts in channel preferences among older adults were correlated with their general cognitive capabilities. Conclusion: Together, the findings underscore that age-related obstacles in perceiving emotions and alterations in channel dominance, which vary by emotional category, are significantly intertwined with overall cognitive functioning. Supplemental Material: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.27307251 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this research was to test the effect of training impure tact versus pure tact and intraverbals on the emergence of new verbal operants (impure tacts), thus establishing a conceptual and methodological differentiation on these operants. This was done by varying the training order of intraverbal or impure tact to analyze and confirm whether or not impure tact is the mere sum of pure tact plus intraverbal and therefore has different functions and consequences in learning. An experiment was conducted with 30 participants randomly assigned to three groups. In Group 1, pure tact plus intraverbal and then impure tact were trained. In Group 3 the training order of these operants was counterbalanced. Group 2 was the control group, training only pure tact plus intraverbal. After the training phases, the emergence of impure tacts was tested. The results of this research indicate that the training of impure tacts favors the emergence of new impure tacts to a greater extent than the training of pure tact plus intraverbal and that they therefore have different functions. It is also shown that variation in the order of presentation of the type of training influences the subsequent emergence of new operants (impure tacts), so that creating a previous history of learning in impure tacts favors emergence even when the intraverbal alone is subsequently trained. This has important implications at both conceptual and methodological levels as it would contribute to the development of more effective language training technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This systematic review examines the role of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) in enhancing communication for individuals who are hard of hearing. Method: Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines, we conducted a comprehensive search across databases including PubMed, WoS, EMBASE, and IEEE. Of the 5,981 records initially identified, 22 studies met our inclusion criteria after screening. Most of these studies (68%) focused on nonverbal communication modalities using tools such as sign language and visual cues, while the remainder focused on verbal communication. A descriptive synthesis was used due to the expected diversity in study characteristics. Results: Our assessment showed a substantial emphasis on educational impacts, speech perception, and cognitive skills development through AR and VR. The reviewed articles provide preliminary evidence on the efficacy of these technologies in teaching sign language, enhancing cognitive skills such as reasoning, and improving speech perception among the deaf or hard of hearing individuals. Conclusion: This review underscores the transformative potential of AR and VR in addressing communication challenges faced by individuals who are hard of hearing, emphasizing the need for further research with diverse, larger sample sizes to investigate these technologies for broader communication support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both expressive and receptive language difficulties in autism emerge early and significantly have an impact on social functioning and quality of life. Despite their wide heterogeneity, autistic language abilities can be stratified into three distinct profiles. Language unimpaired exhibit near-typical verbal performance, language impaired show significant alterations in language structure, and minimally verbal display limited verbal abilities. However, little is known about the early trajectories and moderators specific to each profile. Here, we used a longitudinal sample of 286 preschoolers with autism and 85 typically developing (aged 1.5–5.7 years old), yielding 1164 visits. Our cluster analysis replicated the three well-established autistic language profiles (language unimpaired, n = 86; language impaired, n = 85; minimally verbal, n = 44) and revealed their specific early trajectories in expressive vocabulary, syntax, and pragmatics. At age 2.4, non-verbal cognition moderated the participants' attribution to each language profile. Moreover, early stereotyped language specifically moderated the later verbal performance of language unimpaired participants, while the language outcome of language impaired participants was moderated by early intensive behavioral intervention. In conclusion, we provided a fine-grained description of language acquisition trajectories and moderators of autistic language profiles in a longitudinal sample exposed to French language, paving the way toward personalized medicine to autistic language difficulties. Language development can greatly vary among autistic children. Children who struggle with language acquisition often face many challenges and experience lower quality of life. However, little is known about the early language trajectories of autistic preschoolers and their moderators. Autistic language can be stratified into three profiles. Language unimpaired experience little to no language difficulties; language impaired show significant difficulties in language; minimally verbal never develop functional language. In this study, we used a longitudinal sample of preschoolers with autism and with typical development (aged 1.5–5.7 years). We replicated the three language profiles through a data-driven approach. We also found that different factors modulated the language outcome within each group. For instance, non-verbal cognition at age 2.4 moderated the participants' attribution to each language profile. Moreover, early intervention moderated verbal outcome in the language impaired profile. In conclusion, we provided a detailed description of how autistic preschoolers acquire language, and what factors might influence their trajectories. Our findings could inspire more personalized intervention for early autistic language difficulties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Antipsychotic-induced prolactin elevation may impede protective effects of estrogens in women with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (SSD). Our study sought to confirm whether the use of prolactin-raising antipsychotics is associated with lower estrogen levels, and to investigate how estrogen and prolactin levels relate to symptom severity and cognition in premenopausal women with SSD. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 79 premenopausal women, divided in three groups of women with SSD treated with prolactin-sparing antipsychotics (n = 21) or prolactin-raising antipsychotics (n = 27), and age-matched women without SSD (n = 31). Circulating 17β-estradiol was compared among groups. In patients, we assessed the relationship between prolactin and 17β-estradiol, and the relationships of these hormones to symptom severity and cognition, using correlation analyses and backward regression models. Results: In women receiving prolactin-raising antipsychotics, 17β-estradiol levels were lower as compared to both other groups (H(2) = 8.34; p = 0.015), and prolactin was inversely correlated with 17β-estradiol (r=-0.42, p = 0.030). In the prolactin-raising group, 17β-estradiol correlated positively with verbal fluency (r = 0.52, p = 0.009), and 17β-estradiol and prolactin together explained 29% of the variation in processing speed (β17β−estradiol = 0.24, βprolactin = -0.45, F(2,25) = 5.98, p = 0.008). In the prolactin-sparing group, 17β-estradiol correlated negatively with depression/anxiety (r = -0.57, p = 0.014), and together with prolactin explained 26% of the variation in total symptoms (β17β−estradiol = -0.41, βprolactin = 0.32, F(2,18) = 4.44, p = 0.027). Conclusions: In women with SSD, antipsychotic-induced prolactin elevation was related to lower estrogen levels. Further, estrogens negatively correlated with symptom severity and positively with cognition, whereas prolactin levels correlated negatively with cognition. Our findings stress the clinical importance of maintaining healthy levels of prolactin and estrogens in women with SSD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals who vary their preferred hand when performing different types of manual activities, so-called mixed handers (MH), have been frequently reported to outperform individuals with a consistent (right) hand preference (cRH) on tasks assessing declarative-memory functions. For example, in one influential study, this MH advantage extended to incidental learning from presumed "deep" semantic processing of verbal stimuli but not from "shallow" phonemic or structural processing. In the present study, we aimed to replicate this research finding in two separate participant samples. First, in a pre-registered and sample-size planned experiment we confronted 49 participants (23 MH; 26 cRH) with "phonemic" and "semantic" word evaluation tasks (using a within design), followed by a surprise delayed recognition test. In a second experiment, we repeated the same procedure with 65 other participants (31 MH, 34 cRH). A mixed-effect analyses of variance found a significant main effect of Encoding Condition (phonemic vs. semantic tasks) in both experiments (effect size: η p 2 =.81 to.85), indicating the classical level-of processing effect with higher recognition hits and sensitivity (d') for words that followed semantic versus phonemic encoding. However, the predicted interaction effect of Encoding Condition with Handedness Group was not statistically significant for either sample (all η p 2 <.03), nor was the main effect of Handedness Group. Thus, our findings conflicted with those of the original study in two independent samples. As we had sufficient statistical power to be confident in our failure to detect a genuine group difference, we cannot confirm the previously reported MH over cRH advantage in incidental learning of verbal material. We discuss possible reasons for these contradictory results and the theoretical implications of this discovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present multifaceted validity evidence for machine learning models (referred to as automated video interview personality assessments (AVI‐PAs) in this research) that were trained on verbal data and interviewer ratings from low‐stakes interviews and applied to high‐stakes interviews to infer applicant personality. The predictive models used RoBERTa embeddings and binary unigrams as predictors. In Study 1 (N = 107), AVI‐PAs more closely reflected interviewer ratings compared to applicant and reference ratings. Also, AVI‐PAs and interviewer ratings had similar relations with applicants' interview behaviors, biographical information, and hireability. In Study 2 (N = 25), AVI‐PAs had weak‐moderate (nonsignificant) relations with subsequent supervisor ratings of job performance. Empirically, the AVI‐PAs were most similar to interviewer ratings. AVI‐PAs, interviewer ratings, self‐reports, and reference‐reports all demonstrated weak discriminant validity evidence. LASSO regression provided superior (but still weak) discriminant evidence compared to elastic net regression. Despite using natural language embeddings to operationalize verbal behavior, the AVI‐PAs (except emotional stability) exhibited large correlations with interviewee word count. We discuss the implications of these findings for pre‐employment personality assessments and effective AVI‐PA design. Practitioner points: We present multifaceted validity evidence for automated video interview personality assessments (AVI‐PAs) that were trained on low‐stakes data and applied to high‐stakes interviews to infer applicant personality.AVI‐PAs more closely reflected interviewer ratings compared to applicant and reference ratings.AVI‐PAs had weak‐moderate (nonsignificant) relations with subsequent supervisor ratings of job performance.The results suggest that AVI‐PAs provide insights into applicant personalities that differ from the ratings provided by applicants and references. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite having predictive validity above other selection methods, structured interviews are not always used. Using the Theory of Planned Behavior as a framework, this study examines the role of interview training in increasing structured interview acceptance (SIA). Based on a survey of 190 practitioners in the fields of Human Resources, I‐O Psychology, and other professionals who conduct employment interviews, our results show that not all interviewer training programs are equally effective in increasing SIA. While participation in formal interviewer training is related to SIA, SIA could be influenced more by incorporating certain training components, including training on how to avoid rating errors (r =.21), learning how to evaluate interview answers (r =.19), interview practice/roleplaying (r =.17), training on job analysis (r =.15), legal issues (r =.15), background and purpose of the interview (r =.13), job requirements for the position(s) being filled (r =.13), and a discussion about interview verbal and nonverbal behaviors to avoid (r =.13). Additionally, we found that training components display different relationship with SIA across our two sub‐samples. For example, in the MTurk sample (i.e., composed primarily from a managerial population) including job analysis, how to evaluate answers, and how to avoid rating errors correlated significantly with SIA. However, in the non‐MTurk sample (i.e., composed primarily from a HR professional population), interview practice/role playing, rapport building, use of a videotaped interview to guide instructions, and how to make decisions from interview data correlated significantly with SIA. This highlights the importance of training needs analysis to better understand the audience before training. We suggest that organizations incorporate the identified components into interviewer training to enhance the structured interviews acceptance and ensure that interviewers are more likely to implement structured interview techniques in practice. Practitioner points: A recent meta‐analysis (Sackett et al., 2022) demonstrates that the structured interview outperforms all other selection procedures, including cognitive ability and work sample tests.Despite this advantage, previous studies have also demonstrated that structured interviews are largely underutilized.This study suggests that interviewer training may enhance structured interview acceptance.This study also identifies eight training components that enhance acceptance of structured interviews.We suggest that organizations incorporate the identified components into interviewer training.Our results also highlight the importance of training needs analysis to better understand the audience before training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effects of tact and match-to-sample instructions on the increase and maintenance of intraverbal responses to subcategorical questions (i.e., naming multiple items in a subcategory of a category). Three Chinese children on the autism spectrum (2 boys, 1 girl, aged 6–8 years old) participated in this study. Results indicated that intraverbal responses to subcategorical questions emerged or increased for most subcategories for all three participants following the completion of instruction without direct training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given that not all suggestions can be implemented, understanding how supervisors can turn down employee voiced suggestions while not discouraging employees voicing in the future is critical for theoretical and practical reasons. Supervisors may use humour when not endorsing employees' suggestions as they attempt to ease tension by injecting something lighthearted, but doing so, we argue, is not uniformly beneficial. Hence, we conducted a preregistered study that tests how supervisors' use of humour when turning down an employee's voiced suggestion affects voice resilience. Utilizing signaling theory, we theorize supervisors' use of humour when turning down voice strengthens voice safety but weakens voice impact perceptions. Indirectly, humour therefore may constitute a mixed blessing for voice resilience (voice behaviour after voice non‐endorsement). Additionally, we hypothesized that the positive link between humour and voice safety and the negative link between humour and voice impact are moderated by supervisor–employee relationship quality (leader–member exchange (LMX)). We tested these predictions in a time‐lagged study of 343 employees whose voice was recently turned down. Humour indeed increased voice resilience via voice safety; against expectations, humour positively related to voice impact (via it, resilience). LMX is significantly moderated. However, unexpectedly, humour helped voice safety, impact and the resilience of low LMX employees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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While there is evidence that human-like characteristics in robots could benefit child-robot interaction in many ways, open questions remain about the appropriate degree of human likeness that should be implemented in robots to avoid adverse effects on acceptance and trust. This study investigates how human likeness, appearance and behavior, influence children's social and competency trust in a robot. We first designed two versions of the Furhat robot with visual and auditory human-like and machine-like cues validated in two online studies. Secondly, we created verbal behaviors where human likeness was manipulated as responsiveness regarding the robot's lexical matching. Then, 52 children (7–10 years old) played a storytelling game in a between-subjects experimental design. Results show that the conditions did not affect subjective trust measures. However, objective measures showed that human likeness affects trust differently. While low human-like appearance enhanced social trust, high human-like behavior improved children's acceptance of the robot's task-related suggestions. This work provides empirical evidence on manipulating facial features and behavior to control human likeness in a robot with a highly human-like morphology. We discuss the implications and importance of balancing human likeness in robot design and its impacts on task performance, as it directly impacts trust-building with children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate the ability of a large language model to perform evolutionary optimization for materials discovery. Anthropic's Claude 3.5 model outperforms an active learning scheme with handcrafted surrogate models and an evolutionary algorithm in selecting monomer sequences to produce targeted morphologies in macromolecular self-assembly. Utilizing pre-trained language models can potentially reduce the need for hyperparameter tuning while offering new capabilities such as self-reflection. The model performs this task effectively with or without context about the task itself, but domain-specific context sometimes results in faster convergence to good solutions. Furthermore, when this context is withheld, the model infers an approximate notion of the task (e.g., calling it a protein folding problem). This work provides evidence of Claude 3.5's ability to act as an evolutionary optimizer, a recently discovered emergent behavior of large language models, and demonstrates a practical use case in the study and design of soft materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Gestures or manual signing are valid options for augmentative and alternative communication. However, the data in the literature are limited to a few neurodevelopmental disorders, and less is known about its application in the community setting. Objectives: This case report explores the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of tact training with augmentative gestural support intervention for a child affected by a language disorder with challenging behaviors in a community setting. Methods: Baseline assessments were conducted using the Verbal Behavior Milestone Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP) and Griffiths Mental Developmental Scale-III (GMDS-III). The patient received six months of standard treatment, consisting of neuropsychomotor and speech therapy each twice a week, with improved cooperation in proposed activities, but no improvement in language. Afterward, a total of 24 sessions of tact training with augmentative gestural support interventions were performed. Data were collected by two independent observers and analyzed to measure language and behavioral outcomes. Results: VB-MAPP scores increased form minimal communication and social interaction at T0 (baseline) to improved compliance but unchanged language skills at T1 (after standard therapy). After tack training with augmentative gestural support (T2), VB-MAPP scores showed significant improvements, with notable increases in verbal operants, independence in communication, and intersubjectivity skills. GMDS-III scores at T2 also demonstrated growth in social, communicative, and cognitive skills. Additionally, challenging behaviors were reduced by more than 70% and nearly resolved by the end of the intervention. Conclusions: Personalized approaches appear to be essential for interventions tailored to developmental age. Further research is needed to determine the effectiveness of these approaches for other neurodevelopmental disorders, identify patient characteristics that may be predictors of outcomes to tailor the intervention, and explore the generalization of the results obtained with these strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a classification model that detects and classifies argumentative behaviors between two individuals by utilizing a machine learning application, based on the MediaPipe Holistic model. The approach involves the distinction between two different classes based on the behavior of two individuals, argumentative and non-argumentative behaviors, corresponding to verbal argumentative behavior. By using a dataset extracted from video frames of hand gestures, body stance and facial expression, and by using their corresponding landmarks, three different classification models were trained and evaluated. The results indicate that Random Forest Classifier outperformed the other two by classifying argumentative behaviors with 68.07% accuracy and non-argumentative behaviors with 94.18% accuracy, correspondingly. Thus, there is future scope for advancing this classification model to a prediction model, with the aim of predicting aggressive behavior in patients suffering with dementia before their onset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The expressive communication of 15 young Brazilian children with cerebral visual impairments and developmental disabilities including cerebral palsy was examined using the Portuguese parent version of the Communication Matrix. Results indicate that these children demonstrated pre-intentional, intentional, unconventional, and conventional communication behaviors to express refusal, requests, and social communication functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In this systematic review, conducted according to the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, we aimed to assess differences in the cognitive processes associated with social cognition—namely language, theory of mind (ToM), and executive functions (EFs)—between ADHD and control groups. Methods: The review included studies indexed in PubMed, Google Scholar, and PsycINFO up until May 2024. Eligible original peer-reviewed articles met the following criteria: they were written in English, included a clinical group with a current primary ADHD diagnosis, were empirical, included quantitative data, and utilized standardized and validated measures with adequate psychometric properties to assess social cognitive processes. Results and Discussion: A total of 1215 individuals with ADHD participated in the selected studies. Out of the 22 articles reviewed, 17 reported significant differences between ADHD and the controls across several cognitive processes related to language and EF rather than ToM. These processes included pragmatic skills, verbal and nonverbal communication, emotional prosody, interaction skills, sarcasm, paradoxical sarcasm recognition, ambiguous situations, emotion recognition, false belief, social problem solving, social behaviors, and gesture codification. We also discuss the limitations of the research and the implications of our findings. Systematic review registration: PROSPERO ID: CRD42023474681. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We test predictions from the language emergent perspective on verbal working memory that lexico-syntactic constraints should support both item and order memory. In natural language, long-term knowledge of lexico-syntactic patterns involving part of speech, verb biases, and noun animacy support language comprehension and production. In three experiments, participants were presented with randomly generated dative-like sentences or lists in which part of speech, verb biases, and animacy of a single word were manipulated. Participants were more likely to recall words in the correct position when presented with a verb over a noun in the verb position, a good dative verb over an intransitive verb in the verb position, and an animate noun over an inanimate noun in the subject noun position. These results demonstrate that interactions between words and their context in the form of lexico-syntactic constraints influence verbal working memory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although considerable research has been conducted on post‐COVID‐19 syndrome (PCS), cognitive symptoms, particularly those related to language, are still not well understood. Aims: To provide a detailed quantitative and qualitative analysis of language performance in PCS patients using a comprehensive set of semantic and verbal production tasks. Methods & Procedures: The study involved 195 PCS patients aged 26–64 years and 50 healthy controls aged 25–61 years. Participants were assessed using two semantic tasks, three naming tasks and four types of verbal fluency tasks, designed to evaluate different aspects of language processing. Outcomes & Results: PCS patients demonstrated significantly poorer performance compared with controls across all verbal fluency tasks. This was evident in both the total number of words generated and their types, with patients tending to choose more easily accessible words. In naming tasks, the pattern of errors was similar in both groups, although patients showed a higher number of non‐responses and made more errors, reflecting difficulties in word retrieval. The analysis highlighted the impact of factors such as stimulus availability, educational level and cognitive reserve on performance. Notably, younger patients performed worse than older, a paradoxical trend also observed in previous research. Conclusions & Implications: These findings reveal significant word retrieval difficulties in PCS patients, suggesting that cognitive impairment related to language may be more pronounced than previously understood. The results underscore the need for a thorough evaluation of language functions in PCS patients and the development of more targeted and individualized language rehabilitation strategies to address these specific challenges. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on the subject: Studies on the cognitive characteristics of CPS have focused mainly on broad‐spectrum neuropsychological assessments covering all cognitive functions. However, there are very few studies analysing oral production with specific lexical and semantic system tasks. Furthermore, no work has specifically included tasks assessing semantic processing or conducted qualitative analyses of the psycholinguistic variables affecting performance. Such analyses could undoubtedly help clarify the nature of the language impairments in patients with PCS. What this paper adds to the existing knowledge: This study explores in depth the evaluation and analysis of the oral production of patients with PCS using several lexical and semantic tasks. In addition, psycholinguistic variables are analysed that could undoubtedly help clarify the nature of the language impairments in patients with PCS. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?: The study allows the identification of specific lexical–semantic deficits in the spoken language in patients with this PCS. A more detailed assessment of the oral language of these patients, keeping in mind the psycholinguistic variables that may affect the performance, will facilitate the design of more efficient and individualized rehabilitation programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Perceptual and speech production abilities of children with cochlear implants (CIs) are usually tested by word and sentence repetition or naming tests. However, these tests are quite far apart from daily life linguistic contexts. Aim: Here, we describe a way of investigating the link between language comprehension and anticipatory verbal behaviour promoting the use of more complex listening situations. Methods and Procedure: The setup consists in watching the audio‐visual dialogue of two actors. Children's gaze switches from one speaker to the other serve as a proxy of their prediction abilities. Moreover, to better understand the basis and the impact of anticipatory behaviour, we also measured children's ability to understand the dialogue content, their speech perception and memory skills as well as their rhythmic skills, that also require temporal predictions. Importantly, we compared children with CI performances with those of an age‐matched group of children with normal hearing (NH). Outcomes and Results: While children with CI revealed poorer speech perception and verbal working memory abilities than NH children, there was no difference in gaze anticipatory behaviour. Interestingly, in children with CI only, we found a significant correlation between dialogue comprehension, perceptual skills and gaze anticipatory behaviour. Conclusion: Our results extend to a dialogue context of previous findings showing an absence of predictive deficits in children with CI. The current design seems an interesting avenue to provide an accurate and objective estimate of anticipatory language behaviour in a more ecological linguistic context also with young children. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on the subject: Children with cochlear implants seem to have difficulties extracting structure from and learning sequential input patterns, possibly due to signal degradation and auditory deprivation in the first years of life. They also seem to have a reduced use of contextual information and slow language processing among children with hearing loss. What this paper adds to existing knowledge: Here we show that when adopting a rather complex linguistic context such as watching a dialogue of two individuals, children with cochlear implants are able to use the speech and language structure to anticipate gaze switches to the upcoming speaker. What are the clinical implications of this work?: The present design seems an interesting avenue to provide an accurate and objective estimate of anticipatory behaviour in a more ecological and dynamic linguistic context. Importantly, this measure is implicit and it has been previously used with very young (normal‐hearing) children, showing that they spontaneously make anticipatory gaze switches by age two. Thus, this approach may be of interest to refine the speech comprehension assessment at a rather early age after cochlear implantation where explicit behavioural tests are not always reliable and sensitive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Parental input plays a central role in typical language acquisition and development. In autism spectrum disorder (ASD), characterized by social communicative and language difficulties, parental input presents an important avenue for investigation as a target for intervention. A rich body of literature has identified which aspects of grammatical complexity and lexical diversity are most associated with child language ability in both typical development and autism. Yet, the majority of these studies are conducted with English‐speaking children, thus potentially overlooking nuances in parental input derived from cross‐linguistic variation. Aims: To examine the differences in verbal parental input to Bulgarian‐ and English‐speaking children with ASD. To examine whether aspects of verbal parental input found to be concurrent predictors of English‐speaking children's expressive language ability are also predictors of the expressive language of Bulgarian‐speaking children with ASD. Methods & Procedures: We compared parental input to Bulgarian‐speaking (N = 37; 2;7–9;10 years) and English‐speaking (N = 37; 1;8–4;9 years) children with ASD matched on expressive language. Parent–child interactions were collected during free play with developmentally appropriate toys. These interactions were transcribed, and key measures of parental input were extracted. Outcomes & Results: English‐speaking parents produced more word tokens and word types than Bulgarian‐speaking parents. However, Bulgarian parents produced more verbs in relation to nouns and used more statements and exclamations but asked fewer questions than English‐speaking parents. In addition, child age and parents' use of questions were significant concurrent predictors of child expressive vocabulary. Conclusions & Implications: This is one of the first studies to conduct a cross‐linguistic comparison of parental input in ASD. The differences found emphasize the need to further study parental input to Bulgarian children and adapt naturalistic parent‐mediated interventions to the local language and its specific characteristics. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on the subject: A rich body of literature has identified the specific aspects of grammatical complexity, lexical diversity, and question‐asking that are concurrently and longitudinally associated with the language ability of children with typical development and of children with ASD. Yet, the majority of these studies are conducted with English‐speaking children. What this paper adds to the existing knowledge: The present study finds that there are specific differences in verbal parental input to Bulgarian‐ and English‐speaking children with autism in terms of lexical composition and question‐asking. Bulgarian parents used more verbs than nouns, and the opposite pattern was found for English‐speaking parents. In addition, Bulgarian parents asked fewer questions but used more statements and exclamations. Nevertheless, parental question use was significantly correlated with children's language ability across both groups, suggesting that question‐asking should be further examined as a potential target for parent‐mediated language interventions for Bulgarian children with autism. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?: Most language and social communication interventions for autism are designed and piloted with English‐speaking children. These interventions are often simply translated and used in different countries, with different populations and in different contexts. However, considering that one of the defining characteristics of autism is language difficulty, more studies should examine (1) how these language difficulties manifest in languages other than English, and (2) what characterizes verbal parental input in these other contexts. Such research investigations should inform future language and social communication interventions. The present study emphasizes the cross‐linguistic differences between Bulgarian‐ and English‐speaking parents' verbal input to their children with autism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: This study sought to explore dynamic degree centrality (DC) variability in particular regions of the brain in patients with poststroke Broca aphasia (BA) using a resting‐state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs‐fMRI) approach, comparing differences between Uyghur and Chinese BA patients. Methods: This study investigated two factors, language and BA status, and divided patients into four groups: Uyghur aphasia patients (UA), Uyghur normal control subjects (UN), Chinese aphasia patients (CA), and Chinese normal subjects (CN) who underwent rs‐fMRI analysis. Two‐way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to calculate the comprehensive differences in dynamic DC among these four groups. Correlations between DC and language behavior were assessed with partial correlation analyses. Results: Two‐way ANOVA revealed comparable results for the results of pairwise comparisons of dynamic DC variability among the four groups in the right middle frontal gyrus/orbital part (ORBmid.R), right superior frontal gyrus/dorsolateral, and right precuneus (PCUN.R), with results as follows: UA < UN, CA > CN, UA < CA, and UN > CN (p <.05, with the exception of the p‐values for UA and UN in superior frontal gyrus/dorsolateral). In contrast, the opposite results were observed for the right calcarine fissure and surrounding cortex (CAL.R, p <.05). Conclusion: The observed enhancement of dynamic DC variability in ORBmid.R and PCUN.R among Chinese BA patients and in CAL.R in Uyghur BA patients may be attributable to language network restructuring. Overall, these results suggest that BA patients who use different language families may exhibit differences in the network mechanisms that characterize observed impairments of language function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educators and parents are encouraged to arrange language‐rich environments, which provide children with exposure to language that is diverse in form and function and with repeated opportunities to emit verbal responses under a variety of conditions. Intraverbal relations constitute a large portion of these verbal interactions and may include compound antecedent verbal stimuli. Prior research has shown that responding may come under the control of limited features of compound antecedent stimuli, which may be evident when responding does not occur in the presence of individual elements or emergent performances (e.g., symmetrical relations) are absent. The current study evaluated the effects of alternating convergent intraverbal (CIV) and tact by feature, function, or class sessions on emergent tact performances in a game‐like arrangement. Participants included four children exhibiting expressive language deficits. The results revealed that correct responding on CIV trials did not consistently predict tact performances for the same targets. These findings highlight the need for additional research on the effective arrangement of compound stimuli in early educational interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the efficacy of mand for information (MFI) training in individuals with autism, with a particular focus on the extension of this training to non‐native English speakers and the promotion of generalization across various contexts. The "What is this?" MFI was taught to four native Turkish‐speaking participants under various establishing operations (EOs). Notably, these MFIs were effectively embedded within tact training trials and delivered in a language other than English, thereby extending the research on MFI to a different language. Furthermore, the generalization of the MFIs was observed as participants maintained their proficiency across individuals, settings, and novel stimuli. Social validity data confirmed the acceptability of MFI training among parents, highlighting its potential to enhance communication skills. Follow‐up assessments were conducted 4 weeks post‐training indicating maintenance of the MFIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]