Social marking,socio-cognitive conflict and cognitive development

This study is concerned with assessing whether social marking, i.e. the correspondence between the cognitive solution of a task and the social relation expressed in the material, is a mechanism of cognitive progress which depends on specific forms of socio-cognitive conflict or on presence of familiar social relations in the material. In the first experiment 5-6-year-old non-conserver children were selected during a pre-test that comprised three spatial transformation tasks. During the test phase, 56 children worked on spatial transformation tasks with an adult partner in four socially marked conditions in which the correctness of the adult model varied. All subjects were individually post-tested on the same tasks with unmarked content. Results showed that, under the same marked conditions in the test phase, more progress took place, at the post-test phase, when subjects had interacted with an incorrect adult model than when they had interacted with a correct one. In the second experiment the hypothesis of an interaction between the nature of the material and the kind of social interaction was examined by means of a factorial design in which the factors were adult versus child partner and marked versus unmarked material. The procedures in the pre- and post-test phase were carried out in the same way as in Experiment I. In the test phase 61 non-conserver children interacted with partners who presented completely incorrect model. The results of post-test phase indicated that there was a main effect of social marking although findings of a condition in which children interact with another child on unmarked material also have shown a certain amount of progress. The findings are discussed with respect to the psycho-social model of cognitive development.     

The Effect on Behavior of Being in a Control Group

This study examined how individuals react when they know they are missing an experimental treatment as a function of having been assigned to a control group. Subjects in one condition were informed that they were a control group and would miss receiving extra money for doing well on experimental tasks. Subjects in a second condition were informed that they would miss receiving electric shocks for doing poorly on the same tasks. In the third condition subjects were given no information about missed conditions. Subjects who believed they were missing the chance to receive extra money tended to do worse, while those who believed they were missing the shocks did better on the experimental tasks than did subjects unaware of any other condition. In addition, missing-reward subjects made more errors and did less work than did missing-punishment subjects. There were no differences in attitude towards the experiment as a function of experimental condition. Differences in task performance were discussed in terms of inequity theory (Adams, 1963), the evaluation of social programs, and Campbell's (Note 1) suggestion of "informed randomization.     

Independence training vs modeling procedures for teaching phone conversation skills to the mentally retarded

Forty-five mildly mentally retarded adults were assessed for deficits in telephone conversational skills. They were ranked on the basis of their pretest scores and matched into triplets on skill level. One member from each of these groups was then randomly assigned to either a no-treatment control group, a modeling condition or independence training—a treatment that incorporated social reinforcement, instructions, performance feedback, modeling, shaping by successive approximations and self-monitoring and evaluation. For the two latter conditions, treatment was provided three times weekly for 2 months in group sessions (N = 5) of 1 hr duration. The dependent variable, conversational skills of subjects was assessed at pretest, posttest and at a 3-month follow-up based on verbal responses that subjects made to nine questions asked by an experimenter and related social responses during a phone call. Independence training proved to be significantly more effective than the other two experimental conditions at posttest and follow-up. In addition, modeling proved to be significantly more effective than the no-treatment controls at both of these assessment points.     

EMG biofeedback training, relaxation training, and placebo for the relief of chronic back pain

24 patients with chronic low back pain were randomly assigned to three treatment conditions: EMG biofeedback, relaxation training, and a placebo condition. Patients were seen for eight sessions and were evaluated before Session 1 and after Session 8. Eight analyses of covariance which were adjusted for age and pretest scores were computed on the final scores to find which variables could detect significant difference between treatments. Age was included as a covariate because the differences in age between conditions were significant. Four variables with significant and nearly significant differences were chosen for analysis. The second set of analyses identified the nature of the differences among the three conditions. These included a priori planned comparisons among conditions, and paired t tests. Relaxation-trained subjects were significantly superior to subjects in the placebo condition, in decreasing pain during the function test, increasing relaxation, and decreasing Upper Trapezius EMG. They were superior to EMG Biofeedback training in increasing reported activity. Both Relaxation and EMG trained subjects were able to reduce Upper Trapezius EMG by Session 8. Relaxation-trained subjects showed significant change on eight of the 14 possible comparisons for each treatment condition. EMG biofeedback training showed significant favorable results in only one condition; the placebo condition showed no significant results. Relaxation training gave better results in reducing EMG and pain, and in increasing relaxation and activity than either EMG biofeedback alone or a placebo condition.     

Error, falsification and scientific inference: An experimental investigation

This paper reports the results of four experiments designed to test the methodological falsificationist's assumption that replication is sufficient to prevent the possibility of error from being used to immunize hypotheses against disconfirmation. The first three experiments compare the performance of subjects on tasks that simulate scientific reasoning under two conditions: (1) where there is a 0-20% possibility of error in experimental results, but no actual error; and (2) a control condition.

All experiments used Wason's 2-4-6 task, in which subjects propose triples and are told whether each corresponds to a rule. In Experiment 1, subjects in the possible-error condition proposed significantly more triples than control subjects. Experiment 2 added colour and letter dimensions to the 2-4-6 task; possible-error subjects proposed significantly more triples and replicated the same triple more often than control subjects. Experiment 3 made replication more difficult by limiting the number of experiments subjects could perform and by altering the rule to make the results of the current trial dependent on previous ones. Control subjects solved this problem significantly more often than possible-error subjects.

Experiment 4 was run in a manner very similar to Experiment 1, except that an actual 20% error condition was added. Subjects in this condition solved the rule significantly less often than subjects in other conditions, and also took more time and replicated more often. Implications of these results for the methodological falsificationist's position are discussed.     

Play and cognition: Studies of pretence play and conservation of quantity

Study 1 examined the relative effectiveness of four different training conditions on the attainment of conversation of quantity. Subjects were 75 nonconserving preschoolers, ranging in age from 3.10 to 5.0 years. Treatment consisted of pretense play training, direct conservation training, a combination of pretense play and conservation training, mere exposure to the conservation tasks without the benefits of instruction, and a control condition which provided only conservation pre- and post-tests. The results of the two conservation post-tests indicated that a combination of pretense play and conservation training was the most effective condition, followed by the conservation training and then by the pretense play training. The data also suggested that the effects of the conservation-only training condition might be less stable than those attained with pretense play training. Study 2 compared the effectiveness of child initiated pretense play training with adult initiated play. Subjects were 47 nonconserving children ranging in age from 4.0 to 5.8. Treatment consisted of child initiated pretense play, adult initiated play, a condition which combined both treatments, and a control group. The results of the two conservation post-tests indicated that the child initiated pretense play training was most effective, followed by the combined condition and by the adult initiated training. The three pretense play training conditions induced significantly more conserving responses in previously nonconserving children than the control group.     

Neuropsychological effects of stress on social phobia with and without comorbid depression

BACKGROUND: The influence of stress on neuropsychological functioning was assessed in socially phobic (SP), comorbid socially phobic/major depression (CM), and asymptomatic control subjects (AC) under baseline and stressor conditions. METHODS: Subjects were 33 clinically diagnosed undergraduates aged 18 to 41 years. Neuropsychological measures included the Trail Making Test, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), Spatial Span, and Digit Span administered during a baseline condition and a psychosocial stress condition (videotaping). RESULTS: Spatial Span scores were reduced for SP during stress, improved for AC, and showed no change for CM. TMT B times showed an interaction effect, with completion time improving significantly less for SP than for AC and CM during stress. Analyses of the normative data for WCST total errors indicated that AC and CM improved significantly during stress, while SP performance declined during stress. CONCLUSIONS: The present findings suggest that comorbid depressed versus non-depressed SP subjects respond uniquely to stress in terms of their neuropsychological functioning and self-reported mood and experiences; generalized social phobia may be associated with spatial working memory disturbance during social stress. Therefore, situations involving potential social and personal evaluation (e.g., examinations or presentations) may have a significant impact on the neuropsychological functioning of SP individuals.     

What people say and what they do: The differential effects of informational cues and task design

Do ratings of tasks accurately reflect the influences on people's choices of tasks? Does information from others have strong effects on attitudes toward tasks, but weak effects on task choices? What effect does direct experience with tasks designed to be stimulating or dull have on task ratings and task choices? To answer these questions, we collected data from 24 male and female undergraduates who individually worked on four tasks involving the analysis of cartoons. Informational cues and task design were cross-cut so that each task was either enriched or unenriched and received either positive or negative cues. Subjects rated the tasks on scales that measured how motivating each task was perceived to be, and how interesting and enjoyable each task was. Then subjects worked on a freely chosen sequence of tasks for 10 min. Cues had significant main effects on task ratings, but not on overall choice of tasks. Task design had no main effect on ratings, but did significantly affect overall choices. These results suggest that behavioral choices are determined more by direct experience with tasks than by information provided by others.     

Environmental determinants of altruism: The effects of stimulus overload and perceived control on helping

In an experiment designed to measure the effects of stimulus overload on altruism, 60 female subjects were randomly assigned to three stimulus conditions of 20 subjects each: (1) overload, (2) overload with perceived control, and (3) no overload. Subjects performed simultaneous proofreading and number attention tasks while at the same time listening to distracting or nondistracting background sound, and one group believed they could have the sound turned off if they desired. Following task performance, all subjects received a request for a favor from an ostensibly unrelated confederate. Although all subjects performed the tasks about equally well regardless of stimulus condition, altruism increased significantly across the three conditions. Results were discussed in terms of stimulus overload associated with the urban environment.     

Gender Differences in Problem Solving: Expectancy and Problem Context

In this study, we investigated gender differences in problem solving as a function of problem context and expectations for success. Subjects were 90 women and 56 men from introductory psychology classes who were administered a set of mathematical problems varying in gender context under male-expectancy, female-expectancy, and neutral-expectancy conditions. No significant gender differences or interaction of gender with problem context were found. However, significant effects of problem context and expectancy were found. Both male and female subjects made higher scores on female-context problems and lower scores in the female-expectancy condition. When mathematics aptitude was used as a covariate, an interaction of gender with expectancy was found. Men in the female-expectancy condition made significantly lower scores than either men or women in the male-expectancy condition.     

Effects of variable practice on retention and motor schema development in Down syndrome subjects

Portions of Schmidt's schema theory, the effects of variable practice on retention and ability to learn a novel motor task, were tested using Down syndrome subjects. 23 subjects ranged in mental and chronological ages from 3.0 to 5.1 yr. and 4.6 to 22 yr., respectively. IQs ranged from 32 to 62. The two throwing tasks were closed, discrete movements requiring no feedback or error detection during movement. Subjects were randomly assigned to a specific-practice, variable-practice, or control group. Specific group subjects practiced 100 trials from the test-target location. Variable-practice subjects also practiced 100 trials but from four different practice locations. The control group practiced an unrelated kicking activity. All subjects participated in identical pretests, posttests, and retention tests to assess accuracy on these throwing tasks. A standard archery target was used to score tosses. To examine the effects of practice on a novel task, two target conditions, or tasks, were employed. On Task A the subject tossed a bean bag at the archery target placed flat on the floor. For Task B, the novel task, the target was placed upright on the wall. Subjects were assigned higher scores for tosses landing closer to the center of the target. Analysis of variance indicated no significant differences between groups on Task A pretest or posttest. Significance was detected for the main effect of group for Task B. However, the Scheffé post hoc test indicated that the simple main effects were nonsignificant. This research did not support Schmidt's schema theory.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Record keeping in two types of relationships

On the basis of a distinction between communal and exchange relationships (Clark & Mills, 1979; Mills & Clark, 1982), the following predictions were made: (a) Members of exchange relationships would keep track of individual inputs into joint tasks and (b) members of communal relationships would not. These hypotheses were tested in three studies. In each study, subjects worked on a task with a partner with whom they (a) desired or had a communal relationship or (b) desired or had an exchange relationship. The task involved locating and circling number sequences in a large matrix. Whether subjects used a pen of the same or of a different color from that used by their partner served as the dependent measure. If partners worked with pens of the same color individual inputs wee obscured. If they worked with different color pens, individual inputs were clear. Given this, if the proportion of subjects in a condition choosing different color pens was greater than 50% (chance), it was taken as evidence that subjects in that condition were trying to keep track of individual inputs. If this proportion was less than 50%, it was taken as evidence that subjects were trying to avoid keeping track of individual inputs. As predicted, in all three studies the proportion of subjects in the exchange conditions who chose a different color pen was significantly greater than 50% and was significantly greater than the proportion of subjects in the communal conditions who chose a different color pen. Also as expected, in no study was this percentage greater than 50% in he communal conditions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

The effect of peer collaboration on children's problem‐solving ability

Background. A Vygotskian framework links cognitive change to collaborative interaction with a more competent partner whereas a Piagetian perspective supports the view that cognitive conflict arising from peer interaction leads to cognitive change. Aims. The study investigated the effect of collaborative learning on children's problem‐solving ability and whether differences in knowledge status or the use of explanatory language were contributing factors. Sample. Participants were 100 Year 2 children (aged between 6 and 7 years), from schools in high socio‐economic areas, who individually completed a pre‐ and post‐test comprising a block sorting task. Method. During the experimental phase, children completed a card sorting activity, either individually or in same‐gender dyads. The dyads consisted of same or different ability children who operated under either a ‘talk’ or ‘no‐talk’ condition. Results. It was found that children who collaborated collectively obtained a significantly higher number of correct sorts than children who worked individually. However, post‐testing indicated that only those children of lower sorting ability who collaborated with higher sorting ability peers showed a significant improvement in sorting ability from pre‐test scores. In addition, it was found that when analysis was limited to this particular group, only those children who were required to explain the sort for their partner to carry out improved significantly from pre‐ to post‐test. Conclusion. It is suggested that perhaps the two theoretical positions are not as mutually exclusive as they are often portrayed. Implications of these findings for teachers and children's learning are also discussed.     

Prospects for Computerized Memory Training in Normal Elderly: Effects of Practice on Explicit and Implicit Memory Tasks

We gave 12 cognitively normal, elderly adults (mean age = 76.33 years) training and practice on the Colorado Neuropsychology Tests, a computerized battery of explicit and implicit memory tasks. Half the subjects practised on the explicit memory tasks for 1.5 hours a week for 9 weeks with the assistance of a psychologist, while the other half practised on the implicit tasks for the equivalent amount of time. Subjects in both training conditions showed significant improvement within and across training sessions, with those in the implicit memory condition showing the most overall improvement, as indicated by standardized change scores. However, the improved performance on the training tasks did not result in more positive self-assessments of memory capability. In general, subjects displayed favourable attitudes toward the computer technology and were capable of learning to operate the computer software. The results support the practical application of computerized memory training with normal elderly adults.     

EEG alpha asymmetry: task difficulty and hypnotizability

Parieto-occipital EEG alpha was recorded bilaterally, while 20 high- and 20 low-hypnotizable women performed one left-hemisphere and one right-hemisphere task of low difficulty and two other comparable tasks of high difficulty. Every task was performed twice, once with eyes open and once with eyes closed. All subjects were right-handed. The tasks were originally selected to be of high and low difficulty. The subjective rating of task-difficulty was also evaluated. The integrated amplitude alpha and the alpha ratio (R-L/R + L) were the dependent variables. The highly hypnotizable women showed significantly higher alpha amplitude in eyes-closed condition than the low scorers; this difference disappeared during task performance and in the eyes-open condition. The left-tasks showed lower alpha amplitude in both hemispheres than right-tasks and baseline. The right-hemisphere alpha amplitude was lower than left in all experimental conditions. On tasks of high and low difficulty there was different hemispheric behavior on right and left tasks. Performance reflecting the right and left hemispheres in the low-difficulty condition showed no changes between baseline, right- and left-tasks, while under high difficulty there was a decrease in alpha amplitude in the right and even more marked decrease in the left hemisphere during left-tasks. The pattern of task effects for ratio scores was the same as for alpha amplitude, however, despite the analysis of alpha scores, an interaction of hypnotizability X task-difficulty was detected. The highly hypnotizable women showed less negative alpha ratio during a task of low difficulty than during tasks of high difficulty; the reverse was true for the low-hypnotizable women. Finally, the highly hypnotizable subjects showed less subjective difficulty during performance than the low scorers.     

Effects of caffeine on performance of low intensity tasks

31 college age men and women who consume less than three caffeinated beverages per week agreed to participate as subjects in research on the effects of acute caffeine intake on low intensity task performance. All subjects performed two randomly administered test conditions: (1) caffeine (5 mg/kg) and (2) placebo on separate visits following an initial 1-hr. orientation visit. Subjects were administered the beverage 30 min. prior to performing 12 separate tests assessing basic mathematics, simple response, logical reasoning, hand-eye coordination, and spatial and assembly skills. The Spielberger State Anxiety test was administered immediately after consuming the test beverage and once again at posttest. Analysis showed that caffeine did not significantly affect performance on all tests with the exception of the peripheral awareness (hand-eye coordination) test on which performance was higher after ingesting caffeine. The placebo treatment produced no effect on state anxiety, which contrasted with a significant rise in anxiety after caffeine consumption. State anxiety values were significantly greater after caffeine treatment relative to the placebo at pretest, and this difference persisted at posttest. These results demonstrated that the dose of caffeine increased scores on state anxiety for individuals who consumed less than three caffeinated beverages weekly but had very little effect on performance of low intensity tasks, except for a hand-eye coordination test involving peripheral awareness. Perhaps longer continuous performance of more demanding tasks would be more sensitive.     

IN-GROUP IDENTIFICATION AS A FUNCTION OF DEPERSONALIZATION, DISTINCTIVENESS, AND STATUS

Abstract— Artificial social categories were created in a laboratory context in order to test predictions regarding the relative importance of group size and status as determinants of in-group favoritism. Subjects were assigned to categories of "overestimator" or "underestimator" and were told that one category included a majority of college students while the other represented a minority. Prior to category assignment, half of the subjects had been given confidentiality instructions designed to make them feel highly depersonalized. Based on feedback about test performance, status differentials between the two estimation categories were introduced.
Consistent with predictions, there was a three-way interaction between depersonalization, in-group size, and in-group status as determinants of evaluative in-group bias on social trait ratings. Under control conditions (no depersonalization), group status and majority size both contributed to positive valuations of the in-group. Under the depersonalization condition, however, subjects valued minority group membership more than majority categorization, and the effect of status was eliminated.     

Forms of social awareness and helping

People encounter situations from different forms of awareness; that is, they can attend to different focal topics (e.g., self, other person, or other person's situation) from different perspectives (e.g., the self's viewpoint, the other person's viewpoint). Two studies assessed whether brief interactions would produce different forms of social awareness, whether the form of awareness would persist to a subsequent interaction, and whether it would influence helping in that encounter. Pedestrians on a city sidewalk were induced to become self-focused (experimenter took their picture), become other-focused (they took experimenter's picture), or empathically adopt the perspective of another person (they advised experimenter where to take a picture). In Study 1, subjects were interviewed after leaving the experimenter. First- and third-person pronoun use and self-ratings suggested that subjects had different forms of awareness. In Study 2, pedestrians participated in one of the same three interaction conditions or a control noninteraction condition and subsequently encountered a confederate in need of help. Subjects in the self-focused and empathic condition helped more than subjects in the other-focused or control condition. Results suggest that forms of awareness created in a brief interaction do persist to subsequent interactions and influence helping. Other variables may influence helping by altering forms of social awareness.     

Changes in values cognition after rating values-associated feelings

This study investigated values change as an outcome of assessing feelings elicited by contemplating the actualization of the same values. The subjects were divided into an experimental and a control group. They completed three tests in a single session. In the pretest, all subjects were asked to rate the importance of 20 values items on a 4-point scale. Subjects in the experimental group were then asked to rate the degree of pleasure they would feel in actualizing each of the values, while those in the control group rated the degree of inequality they considered women suffer in the actualization of each of the values. The post-test consisted of the same items as the pretest. The subjects in the experimental group completed a second post-test 3 months later. It was found that the experimental procedure produced significant change in the ratings of 15 values at the post-test, whereas the control procedure produced change in only five. The results suggest that rating one's emotional response to a value-related situation can change one's cognition of that value. At the post-test 3 months later, only 3-value ratings remained changed.     

Effects of training intensity on observers' ratings of anxiety, social skills, and alcohol-specific coping skills

Few studies have addressed the amount of training needed to obtain reliable ratings in behavioral observation data. The current study examined the effects of differing intensities of frame-of-reference (FOR) rater training on observers' ratings of anxiety, social skills, and alcohol-specific coping skills in community volunteers with and without social anxiety and alcohol use disorders. Interrater reliability was assessed by comparing three training conditions (no-training, moderate FOR, and intensive FOR) on discrepancies between raters'scores and the strength of association between raters'scoring patterns. The discrepancies between raters' scores were significantly larger in the control condition than in the intensive and moderate training conditions. Generally, small and nonsignificant differences were found between intensive and moderate training's discrepancy scores. Strength of association results showed significantly lower correlations in the control group compared to the intensive group. However, these correlational results showed less consistent differences between the moderate and other training conditions; differences when found were in the expected directions. Study findings suggest that differing training intensities can affect rating scores and that interrater reliability may be meaningfully assessed through multiple methods.