Negative Reinforcement Research Articles

Modeling Deception: A Case Study of Email Phishing

Information manipulation for deception continues to evolve at a remarkable rate. Artificial intelligence has greatly reduced the burden of combing through documents for evidence of manipulation; but it has also enabled the development of clever modes of deception. In this study, we modeled deception attacks by examining phishing emails that successfully evaded detection by the Microsoft 365 filtering system. The sample population selected for this study was the University of North Texas students, faculty, staff, alumni and retirees who maintain their university email accounts. The model explains why certain individuals and organizations are selected as targets, and identifies potential counter measures and counter attacks. Over a one-year period, 432 phishing emails with different features, characters, length, context and semantics successfully passed through Microsoft Office 365 filtering system. The targeted population ranged from 18 years old up to those of retirement age; ranged across educational levels from undergraduate through doctoral levels; and ranged across races. The unstructured data was preprocessed by filtering out duplicates to avoid overemphasizing a single attack. The term frequency-inverse document frequency (TF-IDF) and distribution of words over documents (topic modeling) were analyzed. Results show that staff and students were the main target audience, and the phishing email volume spiked in the summer and holiday season. The TF-IDF analysis showed that the phishing emails could be categorized under six categories: reward, urgency, job, entertainment, fear, and curiosity. Analysis showed that attackers use information gap theory to bait email recipients to open phishing emails with no subject line or very attractive subject line in about thirty percent of cases. Ambiguity remains the main stimulus used by phishing attackers, while the reinforcements used to misinform the targets range from positive reinforcements (prize, reward) to negative reinforcements (blackmail, potential consequences).

The Stop Signal Task for Measuring Behavioral Inhibition in Mice With Increased Sensitivity and High-Throughput Operation.

Ceasing an ongoing motor response requires action cancelation. This is impaired in many pathologies such as attention deficit disorder and schizophrenia. Action cancelation is measured by the stop signal task that estimates how quickly a motor response can be stopped when it is already being executed. Apart from human studies, the stop signal task has been used to investigate neurobiological mechanisms of action cancelation overwhelmingly in rats and only rarely in mice, despite the need for a genetic model approach. Contributing factors to the limited number of mice studies may be the long and laborious training that is necessary and the requirement for a very loud (100 dB) stop signal. We overcame these limitations by employing a fully automated home-cage-based setup. We connected a home-cage to the operant box via a gating mechanism, that allowed individual ID chipped mice to start sessions voluntarily. Furthermore, we added a negative reinforcement consisting of a mild air puff with escape option to the protocol. This specifically improved baseline inhibition to 94% (from 84% with the conventional approach). To measure baseline inhibition the stop is signaled immediately with trial onset thus measuring action restraint rather than action cancelation ability. A high baseline allowed us to measure action cancelation ability with higher sensitivity. Furthermore, our setup allowed us to reduce the intensity of the acoustic stop signal from 100 to 70 dB. We constructed inhibition curves from stop trials with daily adjusted delays to estimate stop signal reaction times (SSRTs). SSRTs (median 88 ms) were lower than reported previously, which we attribute to the observed high baseline inhibition. Our automated training protocol reduced training time by 17% while also promoting minimal experimenter involvement. This sensitive and labor efficient stop signal task procedure should therefore facilitate the investigation of action cancelation pathologies in genetic mouse models.

Clinical Efficacy and Psychological Mechanisms of an App-Based Digital Therapeutic for Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Randomized Controlled Trial

BackgroundCurrent treatments for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) often yield suboptimal outcomes, partly because of insufficient targeting of underlying psychological mechanisms (eg, avoidance reinforcement learning). Mindfulness training (MT) has shown efficacy for anxiety; yet, widespread adoption has been limited, partly because of the difficulty in scaling in-person–based delivery. Digital therapeutics are emerging as potentially viable treatments; however, very few have been empirically validated.ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to test the efficacy and mechanism of an app-delivered MT that was designed to target a potential mechanism of anxiety (reinforcement learning), based on which previous studies have shown concern regarding feedback and the perpetuation of anxiety through negative reinforcement.MethodsIndividuals with GAD were recruited using social media advertisements and randomized during an in-person visit to receive treatment as usual (n=33) or treatment as usual+app−delivered MT (Unwinding Anxiety; n=32). The latter was composed of 30 modules to be completed over a 2-month period. Associated changes in outcomes were assessed using self-report questionnaires 1 and 2 months after treatment initiation.ResultsWe randomized 65 participants in this study, and a modified intent-to-treat approach was used for analysis. The median number of modules completed by the MT group was 25.5 (IQR 17) out of 30; 46% (13/28) of the participants completed the program. In addition, the MT group demonstrated a significant reduction in anxiety (GAD-7) compared with the control group at 2 months (67% vs 14%; median change in GAD-7: –8.5 [IQR 6.5] vs –1.0 [IQR 5.0]; P<.001; 95% CI 6-10). Increases in mindfulness at 1 month (nonreactivity subscale) mediated decreases in worry at 2 months (Penn State Worry Questionnaire; P=.02) and decreases in worry at 1 month mediated reductions in anxiety at 2 months (P=.03).ConclusionsTo our knowledge, this is the first report on the efficacy and mechanism of an app-delivered MT for GAD. These findings demonstrate the clinical efficacy of MT as a digital therapeutic for individuals with anxiety (number needed to treat=1.6). These results also link recent advances in our mechanistic understanding of anxiety with treatment development, showing that app-delivered MT targets key reinforcement learning pathways, resulting in tangible, clinically meaningful reductions in worry and anxiety. Evidence-based, mechanistically targeted digital therapeutics have the potential to improve health at a population level at a low cost.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT03683472; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03683472

The relative impact of acute nicotine and tobacco administration on craving, withdrawal, and cigarette self-administration in dependent and nondependent smokers.

Negative reinforcement mechanisms, wherein individuals smoke at regular intervals to ameliorate craving and withdrawal, are integral to persistent smoking. This is consistent with the behavior of dependent smokers but does not fully account for the behavior of intermittent smokers, who do not smoke enough to maintain steady nicotine levels. This study examined the independent and combined impacts of nicotine and tobacco consumption on cigarette craving, withdrawal, and subsequent smoking behavior in 18 nondependent light and intermittent smokers (LITS) and 23 daily, dependent smokers (DDS). Participants administered conventional nicotine-containing cigarettes (NC; 18.9 mg nicotine; 1.41 mg deliverable), reduced nicotine content cigarettes (RNC; 0.4 mg nicotine, 0.05 mg deliverable), nicotine inhalers (NI; 10 mg nicotine, 4 mg deliverable), or nicotine-free inhalers (NFI) across 4 sessions following overnight abstinence. Participants rated craving and withdrawal before and after product administration, then completed a cigarette self-administration task. For cigarette self-administration, neither smoking status nor product affected latency to initiate smoking; however, LITS were more likely to abstain from smoking and administered fewer puffs than DDS. Across participants, pharmacologically active products (NC, RNC, NI) were associated with fewer cigarette puffs than the NFI. For subjective measures, only cigarettes (NC, RNC) reduced craving in both LITS and DDS. NC, RNC, and NI reduced withdrawal in DDS, while withdrawal remained at floor levels across time points among LITS. While subjective ratings and smoking behavior were largely comparable across LITS and DDS, differing patterns of withdrawal symptoms suggest that dependent smoking is motivated by negative reinforcement while nondependent smoking is not. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Explaining reinforcement and erroneous beliefs in pathological exercise: A commentary and expansion on Coniglio et al. (in press) using the pathways model of disordered gambling.

Coniglio, Cooper, and Selby proposed that behavioral reinforcement may be critical for understanding the etiology and maintenance of pathological exercise among people living with anorexia nervosa. They presented three competing hypotheses about why exercise can become problematic: (a) positive reinforcement via biological and behavioral rewards, (b) negative reinforcement via avoidance of aversive states, or (c) a synergistic interplay between positive and negative reinforcement. Herein, we extend Coniglio and colleagues' framework by drawing on theory and research from the field of disordered gambling-a behavior in which reinforcement is an etiological and maintaining mechanism. We applied the pathways model of disordered gambling to the study of pathological exercise and made the following two proposals. First, pathological exercise may be driven by positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, or both (they are not mutually exclusive), depending on the presence or absence of specific co-occurring psychopathologies. Second, erroneous beliefs about the safety and efficacy of maladaptive exercise for weight control may help maintain pathological exercise regardless of the type of reinforcement. We conclude by calling for research that assesses Coniglio and colleagues' novel hypotheses and our supposition that the pathways model can help provide a framework for those hypotheses.

Implementation of Reinforcement Skill in Teaching English in The Pandemic Situation

This study aimed to identify the types of reinforcement skills and investigate the implementation of reinforcement skills used during the online learning process at SMP Laboratorium Undiksha Singaraja. This study used a qualitative descriptive method as the research design. This study also used an English teacher as the research subject. In collecting data, this study used three methods, namely; observation, interview, and questionnaires. This research was conducted online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the data obtained, this study found the results of the type of reinforcement and the implementation used by teachers during online learning. There are four types of reinforcement used by the teachers, such as; (1) positive verbal reinforcement in the form of praise and partial reinforcement, (2) positive non-verbal reinforcement in the form of gestures, (3) negative verbal reinforcement in the form of enforceable statements, questions, calling out the students' names, and (4) negative non-verbal reinforcement in the form of facial expressions and record the students' misbehavior. In addition, the reinforcement implementation was relevant to the theories suggested by experts by following the five principles in giving reinforcement. Further study is needed to get a deeper understanding toward the implementation of reinforcement in EFL classroom.

Attitudes of dental students towards paediatric dental behaviour guidance

Aim: To compare the pre-clinical and clinical students` perceptions about the non-pharmacological behaviour management techniques in paediatric dentistry and to investigate the influence of the dental curriculum on the students` knowledge regarding this issue. Methods: A total of 283 students from the IV-and X-semester completed a questionnaire, consisted of 12 statements, describing the nonpharmacological behaviour management techniques for the treatment of paediatric dental patients. The acceptability rate was evaluated with a Likert scale ranging from 1 to 5. Results: The students from all courses demonstrated high acceptance for Reinforcement and Desensitization techniques and low for the Negative reinforcement and Physical restraint. The comparison between the perceptions of the pre-clinical and clinical students demonstrated a statistically significant increase in the acceptance of the physical restraint, along with Nonverbal communication, Modelling and Parental presence/absence (p&lt;0.05). Conclusion: The results provide information about the students’ knowledge and skills in behaviour management techniques together with some insights about how the educational process can modify the students` perceptions and views in dealing with paediatric dental patients.

Descended Social Anxiety Disorder and Craving in Women Heroin Dependence Through Exercise Alerts Plasma Oxytocin Levels.

Purpose: This study explored the association between peripheral blood oxytocin (OT) and social anxiety disorder (SAD) and cue-induced cravings in female heroin addicts. The effect of exercise on alleviation of SAD and OT levels was also explored.Methods: A total of 72 females with heroin dependence were assigned to three groups based on SAD severity. The three groups were Non-SAD control, SAD control, and SAD exercise groups. Subjects in the SAD exercise group underwent aerobic exercise and resistance training for 8 weeks (60 min/day, 5 days/week). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay analysis and Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) scores were used to determine plasma OT concentration and SAD, respectively. Cue-induced craving was assessed using Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Desires for Drug Questionnaire (DDQ). Mixed-effect analysis of variance and Pearson correlation analysis were used to explore the effect and correlation between different parameters.Results: OT levels in the SAD exercise group were significantly high after exercise (p < 0.01). LSAS, VAS, and DDQ (“Desire and Intention” and “Negative reinforcement”) scores in the SAD exercise group were significantly lower after exercise (p < 0.01). Plasma OT level was negatively correlated with LSAS score (r = −0.534, p < 0.001), VAS score (r = −0.609, p < 0.001), “Desire and Intention” score (r = −0.555, p < 0.001), and “Negative reinforcement” score (r = −0.332, p < 0.01) and positively correlated with the “control” score (r = 0.258, p < 0.05). LSAS was positively correlated with VAS score (r = 0.588, p < 0.001) and “Desire and Intention” score (r = 0.282, p < 0.05).Conclusions: The findings of the present study indicate that plasma OT is a potential peripheral biomarker for prediction of the severity of social anxiety in female heroin withdrawal patients. Aerobic exercise combined with resistance training plus incremental load for 8 weeks can increase plasma OT levels and significantly reduce severity of SAD and cue-induced cravings in female heroin addicts.

Basic Behavioral Processes Involved in Procrastination.

Procrastination involves an irrational putting off of engaging in a course of action, in spite of expecting to be worse off for the delay. I suggest that to understand the processes underlying procrastination one should examine its relation to several behavioral procedures that have been studied in humans and other animals. For example, in delay discounting, smaller rewards that come sooner are often preferred over larger rewards that come later. In the context of delay discounting, procrastination can be viewed as the preference for an immediate competing activity over the delay to work on a required task. Another process similar to procrastination can be seen in free operant, temporal avoidance (or Sidman avoidance) in which an animal will receive a shock (a deadline not met) if an interval passes without a specified response (task completion). Once animals learn about the interval, they often procrastinate by waiting until the interval has almost passed before responding. Finally, research with animals suggests that the persistence of procrastination may involve a form of negative reinforcement associated with the sudden decline in anxiety or fear (relief) when the task is completed prior to the deadline. Research with animals suggests that the mechanisms responsible for human procrastination may involve systems that derive from several procedures known to produce similar behavior animals.

Demonstration of a negative reinforcement preference assessment to determine aversiveness of types of social interaction

AbstractPrior researchers have validated the use of a latency assessment to create a hierarchy of demand aversiveness. Demand latency assessments help to identify high‐aversive demands for use in functional analyses and/or treatment. The current study used the same approach to evaluate aversiveness of social interaction among four individuals who engaged in target behavior maintained by social avoidance. We obtained clear hierarchies in social interaction aversiveness across all participants. For one participant, we also used the social avoidance latency assessment to demonstrate an intervention approach using gradual fading of less‐ to more‐aversive forms of social interactions. These results indicate latency assessments may be applicable to generate hierarchies of aversive situations that may evoke target behavior maintained by social negative reinforcement other than escape from demands, leading to several clinical implications, and future research directions.

Single Cell Scale Neuronal and Glial Gene Expression and Putative Cell Phenotypes and Networks in the Nucleus Tractus Solitarius in an Alcohol Withdrawal Time Series.

Alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) is characterized by neuronal hyperexcitability, autonomic dysregulation, and severe negative emotion. The nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) likely plays a prominent role in the neurological processes underlying these symptoms as it is the main viscerosensory nucleus in the brain. The NTS receives visceral interoceptive inputs, influences autonomic outputs, and has strong connections to the limbic system and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis to maintain homeostasis. Our prior analysis of single neuronal gene expression data from the NTS shows that neurons exist in heterogeneous transcriptional states that form distinct functional subphenotypes. Our working model conjectures that the allostasis secondary to alcohol dependence causes peripheral and central biological network decompensation in acute abstinence resulting in neurovisceral feedback to the NTS that substantially contributes to the observed AWS. We collected single noradrenergic and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) neurons and microglia from rat NTS and measured a subset of their transcriptome as pooled samples in an alcohol withdrawal time series. Inflammatory subphenotypes predominate at certain time points, and GLP-1 subphenotypes demonstrated hyperexcitability post-withdrawal. We hypothesize such inflammatory and anxiogenic signaling contributes to alcohol dependence via negative reinforcement. Targets to mitigate such dysregulation and treat dependence can be identified from this dataset.

Study protocol: evaluation of the addictive potential of e-cigarettes (EVAPE): neurobiological, sociological, and epidemiological perspectives

BackgroundTobacco use is the largest preventable cause of diseases and deaths; reducing tobacco intake is, therefore, an urgent public health goal. In recent years, e-cigarettes have been marketed as a 'healthier' alternative to tobacco smoking, whilst product features have evolved tremendously in the meantime. A lively scientific debate has developed regarding the potential benefits and risks of e-cigarettes although, surprisingly, there are few studies investigating the addictive potential of nicotine-containing e-cigarettes. The present work comprises three work packages investigating the addictive potential of e-cigarettes from different perspectives: (1) the neurobiological addictive potential of e-cigarettes; (2) the experience and perception of dependence symptoms among users of e-cigarettes in a social context; and (3) the epidemiological perspective regarding factors influencing the potential for dependence.MethodsWork package I: the neurobiological study will investigate the key elements of addiction in e-cigarettes compared to tobacco cigarettes using neurobiological and neuropsychological correlates associated with craving, incentive motivation, cue reactivity and attentional bias. Work package II: the sociological study part examines self-reports on the experience and perception of dependence symptoms in a social context, using focus group interviews and the analysis of posts in online discussion forums on e-cigarettes. Work package III: the epidemiological study part focuses on tolerance development and the role of psychosocial and product factors by analyzing longitudinal data from the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project (ITC).DiscussionThe present study offers a chosen mix of three methodological approaches, thereby comprehensively examining core symptoms of positive and negative reinforcement in addiction. Whether e-cigarettes are as reinforcing and addictive as combustible tobacco cigarettes is an important public health issue with implications for prevention and treatment programs.Trial registration: Work package I: Registered at clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04772014. Work package II: Registered at OSF Registries: https://osf.io/dxgya (2021, January 14).

Psychometric Evaluation of the Short-Form Vaping Consequences Questionnaire for Use With High School Adolescents Who Use and Do Not Use E-cigarettes.

Assessing youth vaping expectancies using a psychometrically sound measure can improve understanding of e-cigarette susceptibility and use. We evaluated the psychometric properties of the Short-Form Vaping Consequences Questionnaire (SF-VCQ), an expectancy measure previously validated with adults, within a sample of 1753 high school adolescents who completed an online, school-based survey in Fall 2020 (51.6% female; 15.56 [1.22] years old; 46.6% non-Hispanic white; 26.9% reported lifetime but no past-30-day vaping; 12.6% reported past-30-day vaping). Analyses included confirmatory factor analysis, internal consistency, measurement invariance, between-group differences, and test-criterion relationships. The four-factor structure was confirmed and was scalar invariant by lifetime and past-month vaping status, sex, and race. All subscales were internally reliable (mean α = 0.94). The subscales were sensitive to differences based on sex, race, vaping susceptibility among never users, and lifetime and past-month vaping status. For example, students who vaped in the past-month held weaker expectancies for negative consequences but stronger expectancies for positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, and appetite/weight control compared to lifetime vapers. Unadjusted relationships within the subsamples of lifetime and past-month vapers provided evidence of convergent validity. Evidence for concurrent validity was observed for all samples after accounting for covariates. For example, expectancies for positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, and appetite/weight control remained significantly associated with past-month vaping frequency. The SF-VCQ evidenced excellent internal reliability, scalar measurement invariance, and construct, convergent, and concurrent validity in samples of never, lifetime, and past-month adolescent e-cigarette users. Findings support using the SF-VCQ for assessing youths' vaping-related expectancies. The current study established the psychometric properties of the SF-VCQ for use among adolescents with and without vaping experience, including measurement invariance that permits direct comparisons of expectancies across these two groups. When considered in concert with previously published research in adults, the SF-VCQ provides researchers with a measure that can be used with both youth and adult samples. Observed relationships between positive expectancies and vaping susceptibility in vaping naïve youth and indices of vaping frequency in youth with vaping experience suggest that challenging positive expectancies may be a valuable addition to prevention and intervention efforts to reduce youth vaping.

Problem drinking and the interaction of reward, negative emotion, and cognitive control circuits during cue-elicited craving

Individuals engage in alcohol consumption to seek reward and/or alleviate negative emotions. The neural processes subserving reward response and negative emotion thus likely play important roles in motivating alcohol use. Cognitive control, in contrast, is thought to regulate these motivational processes to keep drinking in check. As such, the balance between motivational and control processes may determine drinking behavior. Importantly, this balance is likely dictated by individual differences in drinking motives, including positive alcohol expectancy and perceived social isolation. Here, we characterized how the relative strength of the reward, negative emotion, and control circuit activities during alcohol cue exposure predicted alcohol use severity in 71 adult drinkers. Path models were employed to delineate the relationships between the neural, psychological, and drinking measures. We found that positive alcohol expectancy was associated heightened craving and greater activity of the reward relative to cognitive control circuit during cue exposure. The higher this circuit activity difference, the more severe subjects’ drinking. A similar relationship was found for social isolation, craving, activity difference of negative emotion vs. cognitive control circuits, and alcohol use severity. Thus, distinct neural pathways motivate alcohol use through reward seeking and negative emotion. By characterizing the neural circuits underlying cognitive control and motivational processes, the current study sheds light on how positive and negative reinforcement perpetuates problem drinking.

Hucul horses’ learning abilities in different learning tests and ue the association with behaviour, food motivation and fearfulness

Research on learning in domestic animals is often based on food-rewarded tasks. It is still unclear however, how much intrinsic factors such as food motivation and fearfulness influence performance in food-rewarded operant tasks. This study aimed to investigate the association between learning ability in different tests, food motivation and fearfulness. Twenty-three young, naive Hucul horses were tested. The learning tests included a negative reinforcement test (NR), where the horses were trained to yield to rope and hand pressure; a clicker test (CT), where the horses were taught to follow a target for a food reward; and a visual discrimination test (VD), where the horses had to learn to recognise a correct bucket (containing food). Food motivation was estimated through a free feeding test, where the latency to finish eating a standard meal was measured. In the fear test, a plastic bag was waved in front of the horse in a standardised manner to induce a startle response. The escape distance and latency to resume eating was measured. Further, heart rate (bmp) and salivary cortisol (ng/ml) were measured before and after each learning test and the fear test. All horses reached the learning criterion in the learning tests (number of sessions to reach criterion (mean ± SD): NR 1.87 ± 0.63; CT 1.74 ± 0.96; VD 5.00 ± 1.71). No correlations were found in learning performance between the different learning tests, and food motivation did not appear to influence the speed of learning. Behavioural reactions in the fear test correlated moderately to performance in the CT test (e.g. sessions to reach criterion and escape distance, rs = 0.43, P = 0.04), suggesting that fearfulness may affect performance in some types of learning tests. In line with previous studies, we conclude that learning performance differed between the various types of tests. We further conclude that food motivation – measured as latency to consume a meal – did not influence performance in the food-rewarded tests. This may suggest either that the small food rewards delivered in the tests triggered food motivation in all horses regardless of general food motivation; that our test was inappropriate for assessment of food motivation; or that other intrinsic and extrinsic factors govern performance in learning tests.

Self-reported emotional eaters consume more food under stress if they experience heightened stress reactivity and emotional relief from stress upon eating

Group data means from individuals who self-assess as emotional eaters do not reliably show increased food intake in response to stress or negative emotions. This inconsistency in predictive validity of self-reported emotional eating (EE) could be attributable to unconsidered moderation of the relationship between self-reported EE and behavioral measures of EE. Greater emotional relief from stress by eating may provide enhanced negative reinforcement and promote future EE in response to stress as a form of self-medication. Thus, we predicted that greater emotional relief from stress by eating (decrease in negative affect from stress to post-eating) would moderate the extent to which heightened stress reactivity (measured by systolic blood pressure, SBP) moderates the relationship between self-reported EE and food intake post-stress. We also hypothesized that self-reported EE would not predict greater food consumption on the rest day. 43 undergraduate women completed online assessments of eating behaviors. Participants were given snacks to eat after a mental stress task (TSST) or rest period on separate days in counterbalanced order. Our prediction was supported, as the moderated moderation model (PROCESS model 3) was highly significant on the stress day. Self-reported EE predicted increased food intake post-stress only under conditions of high stress reactivity and high emotional relief. On the rest day, self-reported EE predicted greater snack food intake only when SBP was high. This conditional increased intake substantiates stress as a promoter of snack food consumption for women with greater EE. Overall, our findings identified factors that may distinguish the subset of self-reported emotional eaters who are more likely to display EE behaviors in a laboratory setting, yet further studies are needed to directly test whether negative reinforcement via emotional relief from stress by eating drives enhanced EE following stress.

Implementation of Reinforcement Skill in Teaching English in The Pandemic Situation

This study aimed to identify the types of reinforcement skills and investigate the implementation of reinforcement skills used during the online learning process at SMP Laboratorium Undiksha Singaraja. This study used a qualitative descriptive method as the research design. This study also used an English teacher as the research subject. In collecting data, this study used three methods, namely; observation, interviews, and questionnaires. This research was conducted online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the data obtained, this study found the results of the type of reinforcement and the implementation used by teachers during online learning. There are four types of reinforcement used by the teachers, such as; (1) positive verbal reinforcement in the form of praise and partial reinforcement, (2) positive non-verbal reinforcement in the form of gestures, (3) negative verbal reinforcement in the form of enforceable statements, questions, calling out the students' names, and (4) negative non-verbal reinforcement in the form of facial expressions and record the students' misbehavior. In addition, the reinforcement implementation were in line with theories suggested by experts by following the five principles in giving reinforcement.&#x0D;

Aggressive behavior: from theory to practice

The problem of aggressive behaviour predicting remains important after decades of studying aggression. A large quantity of aggression theories and models do not allow to fully explain the aggressive behaviour emergence. Unified theory of aggressive behaviour proposes to regard aggression as a balance of provoking and limiting factors, which are based on adaptive problems: retention of a sexual partner, co-opting the resources of others, defending against attack, inflicting costs on same-sex rivals, negotiating status and power hierarchies, deterring rivals from future aggression, deterring mates from sexual infidelity. Factors of aggressive behaviour include the level of physiological arousal, negative or positive reinforcement of aggressive behaviour in the past, a state of frustration, aversive stimuli and the dominant emotion. Based on the proposed theory, a aggressive behaviour predicting scale is proposed, which allows to calculate the probability of aggressive behaviour, as well as its dynamics. The aggressive behaviour predicting scale is easy to use, does not take much time and allows to quantify and assess the probability of aggression.

Pedagogical practices and challenges in cultivating moral values: A qualitative study of primary school teachers in Pakistan

ABSTRACT Holistic development is fostered when the education system allows learners to equip themselves with moral values, which is crucial in prospering a society. The current situation of moral disintegration among youth raises the importance of consolidation of moral values in education, and teachers play an important role in cultivating moral values among students. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the practices and challenges in imparting moral values by the teachers from primary schools in Karachi, Pakistan. A qualitative design was adopted, followed by semi-structured interviews and observations. All the interviews were voice-recorded, transcribed precisely, and analyzed through the thematic analysis technique. The views of teachers were confirmed by observing their classes for two days. The findings reveal that the teachers impart moral values by using different teaching practices, i.e. exemplary role, teamwork, storytelling, (positive and negative) reinforcement, and arranging activities. In contrast, most of the teachers were unaware of moral philosophies and the moral work of teaching. Results also revealed other challenges which highlight the importance of inclusion of moral education in curriculum and teaching practices by providing adequate opportunities for the professional development of teachers and allocate sufficient resources for the moral work of teaching.

Genetically identified amygdala-striatal circuits for valence-specific behaviors.

The basolateral amygdala (BLA) plays essential roles in behaviors motivated by stimuli with either positive or negative valence, but how it processes motivationally opposing information and participates in establishing valence-specific behaviors remains unclear. Here, by targeting Fezf2-expressing neurons in the BLA, we identify and characterize two functionally distinct classes in behaving mice, the negative-valence neurons and positive-valence neurons, which innately represent aversive and rewarding stimuli, respectively, and through learning acquire predictive responses that are essential for punishment avoidance or reward seeking. Notably, these two classes of neurons receive inputs from separate sets of sensory and limbic areas, and convey punishment and reward information through projections to the nucleus accumbens and olfactory tubercle, respectively, to drive negative and positive reinforcement. Thus, valence-specific BLA neurons are wired with distinctive input/output structures, forming a circuit framework that supports BLA’s roles in encoding, learning and executing valence-specific motivated behaviors.