Hyperfocus Research Articles

Validation of the dispositional adult hyperfocus questionnaire (AHQ-D)

Hyperfocus (HF), or intense, deep concentration on a task, has gained significant research attention in recent years, particularly in regard to clinical populations such as Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The present work aims to provide validation of the 12-item dispositional adult hyperfocus questionnaire (AHQ-D) as a quantitative metric of HF in adults. We preregistered the study design and hypotheses. We administered the AHQ-D and several additional questionnaires to 347 adults (mean ± SD age: 33 ± 11 years; 47% female). Exploratory factor analysis revealed high factor loadings (0.57–0.81) on a single HF factor; item response theory analysis suggested that the questionnaire items had high discrimination and covered a wide range of responses; and we report strong internal consistency metrics (Cronbach’s alpha 0.93, mean split-half reliability 0.93). Replicating our previous work, HF was positively correlated with Conners’ Adult ADHD Rating Scale (CAARS) scores (r(345) = 0.53), suggesting that HF may be related to ADHD traits (though in this sample we did not specifically recruit individuals with ADHD). The AHQ-D demonstrated the hypothesized convergent validity; HF on the AHQ-D was positively correlated with HF measured using a different HF scale (r(344) = 0.69), as well as flow (r(345) = 0.12) and mind wandering (r(345) = 0.39) scores. AHQ-D HF scores showed a weak negative correlation with grit (r(345) = − 0.29). Though there was a weak negative correlation between HF and social desirability response tendency (r(345) = − 0.24), suggesting that those who care more about what others think may report less HF, there was no relationship between HF and extrasensory perception beliefs (r(345) = 0.01), suggesting that participants were not simply biased in their response tendencies. Taken together, we demonstrate strong scale metrics for the AHQ-D, the expected convergent validity, and a general lack of response bias, in addition to replicating our previous association of HF with ADHD traits. We suggest that the AHQ-D can be confidently used in future work as a valid way to measure HF in adults.

Data-driven program adaptation and continuous improvement: A case study of the Adolescents 360 (A360) project in Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Tanzania

Interventions benefit from ongoing continuous quality improvement during implementation to refine and strengthen them in response to changing contexts and emerging opportunities. This article reflects on the experience from the Adolescents 360 (A360) project in implementing user-centered, adaptive programming across Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Nigeria from 2018 to 2020. During this implementation period, A360 progressed through three distinct phases: an ‘optimization’ of project interventions in pursuit of efficiency and preparation for scale; a re-focusing on user-centered programming to go beyond efficiency and pursue greater impact; and a rapid course correction in response to the emerging COVID-19 pandemic. A360’s approach to data-informed adaptation evolved throughout these phases. From a hyper focus on cost-efficiency during optimization to a more expansive use of mixed methods data for adaptation during its second phase and finally iteration in response to an extremely restrictive service delivery environment during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this article we reflect on how these periods of adaptation and course correction contributed to the evolution of the project’s interventions and provided significant lessons which the project has taken into its new investment phase. Balance is key – utilizing a range of mixed methods data instead of a singular focus on cost-efficiency, streamlining interventions while not compromising long-term impact, and retaining a user-focus even while considering sustainability.

How Should We Think About Clinicians' Individual Antibiotic Stewardship Duties?

The language of antibiotic stewardship is often used to capture the moral importance of individual prescribers doing their part to combat antibiotic resistance. "Stewardship" as an ethics concept borrows from collective action problems-those that cannot be solved by individuals only-like those discussed in the environmental ethics literature. This article suggests that hyper focus on stewardship, however, risks misunderstanding individual prescribers' reasons to limit antibiotic use.

Relationship Between Anxiety Levels and Exercise Addiction of Higher School Students Studying in the Field of Sports Sciences During Covid-19 Pandemic Process

Background: The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between anxiety levels and exercise addiction of higher school students studying in the field of sports sciences during Covid-19 pandemic period. Aim: It is to determine relationship between anxiety levels and exercise addiction of higher school students studying in field of sports sciences during Covid-19 pandemic period. Methods: 184 students participated in the study. Gender, age, educational class, having regular exercise and exercise periods were learned as demographical information. In order to determine anxiety and exercise addiction levels of students, Corona virus anxiety scale and Exercise addiction scale survey were applied. In the analysis of study SPSS-24 statistical packet program was used. Results: When demographic information of students are reviewed, it is seen that gender of 51.1% of them was male and gender of 48.9% of them were female. It was determined that 44% of students were at the age of 22. 28.3% of educational class was 2nd class. While 62.5% of students did regular exercise and active sports, 37.5% of them did not deal with these. While 38% of those doing regular and active sports did not do exercises, 4.3% of them did regular exercise and active sports. When coronavirus anxiety scale applied to students is examined, it is seen that gender had impact of diziness, dullness, lose of appetite, and nausea and that situation of doing regular exercises and active sports had impact on lack of appetite and nausea. When exercise addiction scale applied to students is examined, it is seen that doing regular exercise and active sports and its period had impact on hyper focus and mood swings. When relationship between coronavirus anxiety and exercise addiction levels of students are reviewed, it was seen that postponement of individual social needs and conflict had negative impacts on the person's anxiety level, drowsiness, loss of appetite, and nausea. Conclusion: When coronavirus anxiety levels and exercise addiction of students during Covid-19 pandemic period are examined, the process they are in have had various negative impacts on the students. Gender of students studying in the field of sports sciences affects their anxiety status. At the same time, regular exercise students do and its period plays a role in relation to focusing and emotional changes. Keywords: Covid-19, Anxiety, Exercise Addiction, Sports Sciences

The Thing About the Other, or What We Can Hear in Leaving Neverland

ABSTRACT This article explores how what appears to be a weakness or limitation of the film Leaving Neverland—hearing only from the victims, being one-sided in its investigation, lack of empirical evidence, narratively episodic—proves to be the film’s greatest strength. More precisely, the film’s patient and hyper focus on the victim’s speaking, coupled with editing decisions to prolong certain points of emphasis, creates the uncanny effect that Jacques Lacan termed das ding, which, therein, has the effect of gesturing to another scene, indeed, the very scene that cannot be seen but that can be heard, and that thus implicates Michael Jackson’s guilt and the victims’ (real) trauma.

Social Inclusion in Brazil from 2003 to 2014: Insights of Bolsa Família Program and the Brasil Sem Miséria Plan

ABSTRACT This article examines the Complementary Programs component of Bolsa Família Program (PBF) and the Brasil Sem Miséria Plan (BSM), implemented in Brazil from 2003 to 2014. The authors sustain that the cash-condition package offered may not have been enough to reduce all dimensions of social inequality. Data were collected from academic literature, official reports, laws and regulations. In Brazil, the PBF and BSM, linked to a minimum wage raise policy, contributed to the reduction of economic inequality, reducing the Gini Index from 2003 to 2014, and for dropping the levels of extreme poverty from 2003 to 2014, to 2.7 percent of the population living on less than R$70.00 (USD 29.8) per month. Our study finds that, according to the differentiated citizenship concept by Iris Young and the concept of justice developed by Nancy Fraser, the complementary programs of PBF and the multidimensional strategy of BSM were effective in reducing extreme poverty and social exclusion. It achieved this through an intersectorial and transversal approach, involving new interactions between State and society, the recognition of social needs, the leadership role played by the government, and a hyper focus strategy. This, in turn, made available to the poorest families a more expressive set of government actions and policies to overcome their economic and social vulnerability.

Mapping the Autistic Advantage from the Accounts of Adults Diagnosed with Autism: A Qualitative Study.

Background: Autism has been associated with specific cognitive strengths. Strengths and weaknesses have traditionally been conceptualized as dichotomous.Methods: We conducted 28 semi-structured interviews with autistic adults. Maximum variation sampling was used to ensure diversity in relation to support needs. We asked which personal traits adults attributed to their autism, and how these have helped in the workplace, in relationships, and beyond. Data were collected in two stages. Responses were analyzed using content and thematic techniques.Results: The ability to hyperfocus, attention to detail, good memory, and creativity were the most frequently described traits. Participants also described specific qualities relating to social interaction, such as honesty, loyalty, and empathy for animals or for other autistic people. In thematic analysis we found that traits associated with autism could be experienced either as advantageous or disadvantageous dependent on moderating influences. Moderating influences included the social context in which behaviors occurred, the ability to control behaviors, and the extent to which traits were expressed.Conclusions: Separating autistic strengths from weaknesses may be a false dichotomy if traits cannot be isolated as separate constructs of strengths or deficits. If attempts to isolate problematic traits from advantageous traits are ill conceived, there may be implications for interventions that have reduction in autistic traits as a primary outcome measure.Lay SummaryWhy was this study done?The study was done to find out what autistic adults could tell us about their own abilities. They told us about their abilities and how these abilities had helped them in their everyday lives: at work, in their relationships with other people, and at home.What was the purpose of this study?To tell a story about what aspects of their autism adults thought were of benefit, when going about their daily lives.What did the researchers do?The researchers interviewed 24 adults who had an autism diagnosis. Some lived in residential care and others lived alone in rented apartments. Some people were interviewed twice. Most people said they enjoyed the experience of being interviewed.Once the interviews were done, they were typed up and the researchers tried to figure out what were the common themes over all the stories they had heard. They thought about the themes, then did some more interviews with autistic adults to check they were on the right lines. After discussing them, they wrote the story.What were the results of the study?Hyper focus, attention to detail, and the ability to remember were the abilities that autistic people said benefitted them most often. But autistic adults who were interviewed said although their autistic traits were sometimes helpful, at other times they hindered their progress. So the same trait might be useful in some circumstances and unhelpful in other situations. For example, hypersensitivity led one person to enjoy nature, but was difficult to cope with in crowded streets. The study highlights this interchangeability.What do these findings add to what was already known?Before, autistic people were known to have both strengths and challenges, but studies tended to separate autistic strengths and weaknesses as different things. We theorize that some traits are expressed as behaviors that may serve to improve or hinder autistic people's progress, but this depends on their situation (context).What are potential weaknesses in the study?Because the researchers used interviews, they did not include any nonverbal autistic people in the study.How will these findings help autistic adults now or in the future?It could be useful to think about autism in a way that does not focus on deficits and this study will help us to do that. Plus, if an autistic trait can give people an advantage or a disadvantage, interventions aimed at reducing autistic behaviors might risk dampening advantageous traits as they seek to help with difficulties. That means, autistic adults and children might lose useful abilities when and if they are treated for traits that can also be problematic. The researchers hope their study will lead to more discussion about these types of ideas.

Effective Leadership through Bioentrepreneurship and Bioinnovation

For biotechnology firms need leaders that can lead scientists beyond the science and turn new discoveries into commercially viable products. Bioentrepreneurial leaders are continuous learners; they are adaptable to change and flexible, they are not afraid to take risks, and they challenge existing assumptions with the objective of generating greater value through novel bioinnovative discoveries. Without bioentrepreneurial leadership, many discoveries will not make it to the marketplace. Biotechnology scientists, by nature, tend to work for the greater good and hope that their discoveries will benefit mankind. Yet it is often the hyper focus on addressing the scientific and technical aspects of a problem that leads to difficulties. Scientists do not generally have the necessary skills or mindsets required to meet commercial or monetary milestones to successfully commercialize products. Therefore, bioentrepreneurial leaders must themselves be willing to continuously learn and adapt to a dynamic industry and at the same time they must inspire and motivate employees at all levels of biotechnology firm to also learn and adapt. Creativity and innovative thinking are required at all stages, and across all disciplines in the organization. Only when this happen will the firm succeed with new innovations through product development and commercialization.

Adolescents with Diet-Related Chronic Health Conditions (DRCHCs) and Unique Risk for Development of Eating Pathology

Diet-Related Chronic Health Conditions (DRCHCs) are a subset of chronic health illnesses, which presently includes Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), Type 1 Diabetes (T1D), Cystic Fibrosis (CF), and Celiac Disease (CD). Food and diet play integral roles in the management and progression of each condition. The diversity of treatments for DRCHCs encompass therapies that impact diet, weight, and body shape, such as steroids, insulin, and special and/or restrictive diets. Often with efforts to control unwanted side effects of the myriad of treatments, there is poor adherence to prescribed therapies. Given the psychosocial burden of DRCHCs, and the high degree of focus on weight and diet involved in managing each disorder, it is not surprising that those living with DRCHCs may be at risk for developing body image concerns, including poor body image and weight concerns, which may increase the risk for the development of eating pathology. In addition to summarizing current eating pathology risk factors present in DRCHCs, the proposed article builds on previous research by recommending an expansion of the category of DRCHCs to include Type II Diabetes and serious/anaphylactic food allergies, and hypothesizes DRCHC-specific eating pathology risk factors, such as hyper focus on weight, medically-related food restriction, and societal acceptance of thinness despite health issues. The article concludes with clinical recommendations for pediatric medical providers to potentially minimize the negative impact of DRCHC on pediatric patients’ medical and psychosocial outcomes.

Hyper-individualism and ultrasociality in a Veblenian framework

In a series of articles Gowdy and Krall (2013, 2016a, 2016b) framed the process of cumulative social change as a codevelopment of hyper-individualism and ultrasociality. They argue that at the macro level the ‘global economic system’ behaves as a superorganism which has co-opted human beings' cooperative propensity in order to continuously expand its surplus value, appropriating an ever-larger share of natural resources. At the micro level, the neoliberal era has legitimized increased competition among individuals and has led to a hyper focus on the maximization of individual consumption. In their social context individuals appear to be largely oblivious or dismissive of the growing superorganism as is evidenced by public unwillingness to address situations of global environmental stress. In the context of Veblen's evolutionary thinking, this paper comments on Gowdy and Krall's articles by discussing two potential venues to ‘tame’ the superorganism: de-growth and post-nationalism. It is argued that the former may be a solution only as a result of a severe (ecological) collapse scenario. Thus if the social desire to modify the superorganism exists it will have a greater chance to succeed as a post-national project that would provide a structural scaffolding to place the superorganism within human control.

“Clamoring Blood”: The Materiality of Belonging in Modern Ainu Identity

ABSTRACTThe tension between silence and vocalization, embrace and rejection, of Ainu ancestry has been a key factor in negotiating Ainu subjectivity since Ainu territories were colonized in 1869. As early as 1799, expressions of Ainu ethnicity were alternately cloaked and exaggerated as Japan vacillated between assimilation and segregation policies in eastern Hokkaido Ainu communities. Officially recognized as Japan's indigenous peoples in 2008, Ainu subjectivity has become increasingly politicized as the state and other stakeholders seek to define Ainu ethnicity for future legislation. Today Ainu belonging is frequently gauged by bodily metaphors of a vocalized blood. Cultural sensibility and blood are often conflated in Ainu discourses of identity: Ainu revivalists report that a sensation of “clamoring blood” (J: chi ga sawagu) inspires them to revisit ancestral memories and begin fashioning Ainu identities. Historically, intra-Ainu relations were not bound to blood but instead embodied in material expressions, such as invisible cords for women and crest-like emblems for men, symbols that enabled flexibility where needed. Since the twentieth century, the hyper focus on blood raises the specter of colonially imposed rhetorics of eugenics, assimilation policies, and specifically, the problem of race. Relatedness in the Ainu community is not exclusively defined by “consanguineal relations”; rather, a long history of adopting ethnic Japanese children and non-Ainu into Ainu families renders complex the question of identity. This article assesses how immutable notions of racial difference intersect with self-determination and current articulations of Ainu identity.