While a breadth of literature has asserted the potential physiological benefits of cold-water-immersion (CWI) activities (such as sea swimming, ice baths, and cold showers), analyses on their possible psychological effects is more limited. The current analysis (N=164) aimed to explore the relationship between CWI and a number of psychological variables pertaining to mental health and psychological fortitude by comparing those who engage in CWI via various modalities (n = 120) and at various levels of frequency to those who do not (n = 44). When controlling for levels of daily stress, engagement in cold-water activities was found to be associated with lower levels of depression, anxiety, and stress, as well as higher levels of resilience, self-efficacy, and mental toughness. Furthermore, analyses suggested a " dosage effect" as more frequent CWI was associated with significantly more positive levels of mental toughness and self-efficacy.

The current study examined the effect of an online relational skills training program, strengthening mental abilities with relational training (SMART), on scores on standardized classroom diagnostic assessments. Several previous studies suggested that this novel intervention has a reliable impact on intelligence scores and some domains of cognitive ability relevant in the educational setting. The current study employed a single-blind design and a matched control group in the delivery of the SMART intervention in 45-min sessions 1–3 times per week over approximately 10 weeks, with students completing the intervention within two weeks of each other. Standardized classroom diagnostic assessments were delivered pre- and post-intervention. The results showed that, controlling for baseline scores, the intervention group performed significantly better than the controls in the mathematics and reading domains post-intervention. Gains in both reading and mathematics were large and significant from pre- to post-intervention for the treatment group, but modest significant gains were also found for the control group.

Relational Frame Theory (RFT, Hayes et al., 2001) predicts that some topographies of relational responding should map onto one another more closely than others. By extension, training one type of relational responding should differentially improve other relational responses as a function of their relatedness to the trained relation. We investigated these predictions in two experiments. Using an elaborated version of the Relational Abilities Index (Colbert et al., 2020) in Experiment 1, we investigated the correlations between various types of relational responding. In Experiment 2, we then provided targeted relational training to two separate groups. Both groups trained on a different relation (either difference or containment relations). We found that this training not only increased performance on the directly trained relation, but also performance on other related relations.

Previous literature has indicated that perceptions of social support (PSS) may be an important predictor of parental stress levels, particularly for parents of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The current study implemented structural equation modelling to further investigate the relationship between PSS and parental stress in a sample of 454 parents of children diagnosed with ASD. Results indicate that PSS derived from friends was the most important factor in protecting against stress, with PSS from both a significant other and family appearing to be less pervasive in this regard. In addition, the importance of PSS was further underlined by the finding that it remained a significant predictor of parental stress after controlling for the absence/presence of professional support.

The Relational Abilities Index (RAI) has shown considerable utility as a functional proxy measurement of intellectual performance by providing a metric of an important skill set known as relational skills, which are proposed to underlie much of what we conceive of as intellectual behavior. The Relational Abilities Index+ (RAI+) assesses performance across an extended range of relational skills (Same/Opposite, More/Less, Same/Different, Before/After, and Analogy), and has been designed to provide a more comprehensive and nuanced assessment of relational skills. The current study aims to investigate the validity and utility of the RAI+ by assessing its degree of correlation with well-established assessments of intelligence (WASI), numeracy (WAIS: Arithmetic), and educational attainment (WIAT-T-II). Results indicate that the RAI+ displays considerable efficacy in predicting intellectual performance and numeracy, but not educational attainment.

A burgeoning research stream supports the efficacy of a novel behavior-analytic intervention, known as SMART training, in raising general intelligence by training a set of crucial cognitive skills, referred to as relational skills. A sample of Irish secondary school students (n = 26) was divided into two IQ matched groups, with the experimental group receiving 12 weeks of SMART training delivered in bi-weekly 45-min sessions. WASI IQ assessments were administered at baseline and follow-up to all participants by blind testers. For each of the three WASI IQ indices and the four IQ subtests, significant follow-up rises were found for the experimental group only. Analyses of variance indicated a significant effect of training on Verbal IQ, Matrix Reasoning and Vocabulary scores. Results lend further support for the efficacy of the SMART training program in enhancing intellectual skills.

Relational Frame Theory proposes that levels of sophistication with relational concepts may underlie intellectual performance. In order to further elucidate this relationship, the current study examined correlations between scores on a novel Relational Abilities Index (RAI) and a range of widely-used cognitive ability measures, including Full Scale IQ. In Study 1, 35 adult participants completed a battery of cognitive assessments, comprising of the National Adult Reading Test, the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, the Trail Making Test, the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire and a RAI assessment at two time periods. In Study 2, a full WAIS-III assessment and RAI was administered to 25 college students. Results indicate that performance on the RAI displayed impressive degrees of correlation with the three main IQ indices, three of the four IQ subindices, and three of the four cognitive ability measures, suggesting that the RAI assessment may represent a promising potential proxy measure of Full Scale IQ.

This study aimed to replicate and extend the pilot findings of Cassidy et al. (2011) which found that teaching children to derive various relations among stimuli leads to increases in the full scale IQ scores of both typically developing children and those with educational and learning difficulties. In Experiment 1, fifteen 11–12 year old children were exposed over several months to an intensive training intervention to improve their understanding of the relations Same, Opposite and More and Less. Significant increases in full scale IQ of around one standard deviation were recorded for each child. In Experiment 2, the same intervention was delivered to thirty 15–17 year old children. Significant increases in verbal and Numerical Reasoning were recorded for almost every child. These findings corroborate the idea that relational skills may underlie many forms of general cognitive ability.