Levels of processing: Past,present... and future?

In this article I first briefly survey some enduring legacies of the Craik and Lockhart (1972) article on levels of processing (LOP) and address some common criticisms. In the next section I discuss whether memory can be regarded as “pure processing”, the role of short-term memory in an LOP framework, measurement of “depth” in LOP, encoding-retrieval interactions, the concept of consolidation, and the reality of “levels” of processing. In the final section I offer some speculations on future directions, discussing the notion of levels of representation and a possible continuing role for LOP in memory research.     

The more things change…: Metamorphoses and conceptual structure

Given that mythmakers must construct stories that are comprehensible to their audience, it is reasonable to expect stories to be conceptually natural even when their topics deal with the supernatural. Thus, as stories are adapted to human conceptual structure, they should reflect characteristics of that structure. An examination of the types of magical transformations in Ovid's Metamorphoses and Grimms' Fairy Tales suggests that this is the case. It was possible to predict the patterns of transformations on the basis of structural properties of ontological knowledge, which is knowledge of the basic categories of existence (e.g., conscious beings, animals, plants, events). Other characteristics of the transformations seem to reflect the conceptual distinction between animates and inanimates as well as the relative prototypicality of various taxonomic classes of animals. It appears that aspects of conceptual structure can constrain patterns of thinking even during “the willing suspension of disbelief.”     

Intentionality and meta-awareness of mind wandering: Are they one and the same,or distinct dimensions?

Researchers have recently demonstrated that mind-wandering episodes can vary on numerous dimensions, and it has been suggested that assessing these dimensions will play an important role in our understanding of mind wandering. One dimension that has received considerable attention in recent work is the intentionality of mind wandering. Although it has been claimed that indexing the intentionality of mind wandering will be necessary if researchers are to obtain a coherent understanding of the wandering mind, one concern is that this dimension might be redundant with another, longstanding, dimension: namely, meta-awareness. Thus, the utility of the argument for assessing intentionality rests upon a demonstration that this dimension is distinct from the meta-awareness dimension. To shed light on this issue, across two studies we compared and contrasted these dimensions to determine whether they are redundant or distinct. In both studies, we found support for the view that these dimensions are distinct.     

Cognitive behavioral therapy for panic disorder and comorbidity: more of the same or less of more?

This study compared the effects of a higher dose of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for panic disorder versus CBT for panic disorder combined with "straying" to CBT for comorbid disorders in individuals with a principal diagnosis of panic disorder with or without agoraphobia. Sixty-five participants were randomly assigned to one of two treatment conditions, either CBT focused solely upon panic disorder and agoraphobia or CBT that simultaneously addressed panic disorder and agoraphobia and, to a lesser degree, the most severe comorbid condition. Results indicated a significant reduction in panic disorder severity and a decline in severity of comorbid diagnoses across both treatment conditions. However, individuals receiving CBT focused only on panic disorder were more likely to meet high end-state functioning at post-treatment, even in intent-to-treat analyses, and report zero panic attacks at the 1-year follow-up, although this effect was not retained in intent-to-treat analyses. At follow-up, CBT focused only on panic disorder yielded more substantial improvement in the most severe baseline comorbid condition, although not in intent-to-treat analyses, and a greater proportion of individuals in this treatment condition were rated as having no comorbid diagnoses, even in intent-to-treat analyses. These findings raise the possibility that remaining focused on CBT for panic disorder may be more beneficial for both principal and comorbid diagnoses than combining CBT for panic disorder with 'straying' to CBT for comorbid disorders.     

Work values and work interests: Are they the same?

The hypothesis that the VPI and WVI are measuring the same domain based on theoretical similarities was tested using 195 male freshmen students. The data were analyzed by correlational technique including discriminant analysis. The results allow for the interpretation that the VPI and WVI are in fact measuring two distinctive domains.     

Levels of processing: past,present. and future?

In this article I first briefly survey some enduring legacies of the Craik and Lockhart (1972) article on levels of processing (LOP) and address some common criticisms. In the next section I discuss whether memory can be regarded as "pure processing", the role of short-term memory in an LOP framework, measurement of "depth" in LOP, encoding-retrieval interactions, the concept of consolidation, and the reality of "levels" of processing. In the final section I offer some speculations on future directions, discussing the notion of levels of representation and a possible continuing role for LOP in memory research.     

Technology’s influence on physical activity and exercise science: the present and the future

Background and purpose. Research and application in the physical activity and exercise area are increasingly impacted by technology. The exponential growth of World Wide Web access and the proliferation of personal computers highlight the importance of this development. The purpose of this article is to discuss the current impact of technology on different aspects of physical activity interventions and potential future applications.Methods. Relevant literature is reviewed within each of the areas being discussed.Results and conclusions. Technology has contributed to a secular decline in physical activity; however, it allows a) the proactive recruitment of large populations, b) the individualization of interventions on a large scale, and c) the delivery of activity promoting interventions to large populations via differing channels. Support is emerging for individualized interactive physical activity interventions delivered to large samples. Yet-untested areas where technology may have a beneficial impact on physical activity adoption and maintenance are interactive TV and virtual reality. With the increased focus on environmental strategies, technology could also be used to modify home environments to facilitate incorporating physical activity into everyday life. Technology is also increasing its role in the business of physical activity/exercise. For example, web-based health sites are now listed on the stock market. Health and fitness centers are adopting high-tech entertainment capabilities to serve each client. Combining the individualized technology used in the adoption and maintenance research with the existing infrastructures in health and fitness centers could increase adherence within these centers. Currently, however, there is limited research and utilization of this technology for the promotion of physical activity and exercise at the population level.     

The Zeigarnik effect and intrinsic motivation: Are they the same?

The present study focused on delineating the parameters under which intrinsic motivation leads an individual to reengage an activity from those that result in the Zeigarnik effect. In a posttask free-choice period, participants not completing the experimental task displayed more reengagement behavior than participants completing the task (the Zeigarnik effect). When participants were also provided self-efficacious performance feedback via a prearranged competitive outcome manipulation, there was no evidence of the Zeigarnik effect, while there was support for intrinsic motivation from competent self-efficacious performance feedback. Results were discussed in terms of distinguishing between intrinsic motivation and the Zeigarnik effect as sources of reengagement motivation. It was concluded that, in the presence of self-efficacious performance feedback, the competent-incompetent impression was more salient than task-completion feedback.Preparation of this article was supported by Texas Christian University grant TCU/RF 5-23757.     

Introduction to the symposium “What makes a philosopher (good or bad)? Philosophical virtues and vices: Past and present”

The main ambition of the eight articles in this collection is to bring together two currently distinct bodies of literature—on scholarly virtues and vices in the sciences and the humanities, and on epistemic virtues and vices—and to jointly connect them to recent work in (revisionary) historiography of philosophy. This introduction briefly reflects on this ambition, providing background and context, and offers a short overview of the eight articles.     

Future self-appraisals and global self-esteem: Who benefits more from thinking about the future,and why?

People tend to think positively about their future selves. However, it remains unclear to what extent this tendency depends on the positivity of their current self-appraisal. To study this problem, we employed the assumptions of construal level theory, the concept of self-enhancement, and the assumptions of temporal self-appraisal theory, and we examined the role of global self-esteem in the relationship between temporal distance and future self-appraisals measured in absolute (Study 1), comparative temporal (Study 2), or comparative social (Study 3) ways. In all three studies, when assessed in terms of specific dimensions, future self-appraisals increased with temporal distance only in people with low self-esteem, but when assessed in terms of general dimensions, self-appraisals were higher in the distant compared to the near future irrespective of self-esteem level.     

Domain-general and domain-specific developmental assessments: do they measure the same thing?

The concept of epistemological development is useful in psychological assessment only insofar as instruments can be designed to measure it consistently, reliably, and without bias. In the psychosocial domain, most traditional stage assessment systems rely on a process of matching concepts in a scoring manual generated from a limited number of construction cases, and thus suffer from bias introduced by an over-dependence on particular content. In contrast, the Hierarchical Complexity Scoring System (HCSS) employs criteria for assessing the hierarchical complexity of texts that are independent of specific conceptual content. This paper examines whether the HCSS and a conventional stage assessment system, Kohlberg’s Standard Issue Scoring System (SISS), measure the same dimension of performance. We scored 378 moral judgment interviews with both scoring systems. We then conducted a multidimensional partial credit analysis to determine the extent to which the two scoring systems assess the same dimension of performance. The disattenuated correlation between performance estimates on the SISS and HCSS is .92. Based on this and other evidence, we conclude that a single latent trait — hierarchical complexity — is the predominant dimension assessed by the two systems.     

Just more of the same,or different? An integrative theoretical framework for the study of cumulative interruptions at work

We propose a theoretical framework that explores the accumulation of work interruptions and their effects. Most research studies have dealt with interruptions as isolated phenomena, ignoring the simultaneous or sequential occurrence of interruptions common in everyday life. We fill this gap and provide insight into the process of the accumulation of interruptions by mapping deep-level regulation onto an observable sequence of actions. Furthermore, we explain how cumulative interruptions can lead to qualitatively different effects because of the interaction and joint development of isolated effects, identifying some mediating and moderating factors. In doing so, we disclose the relationships between the effects of single interruptions found in laboratory studies and the impacts on health and well-being of multiple interruptions found in applied research.     

Working memory and intelligence: the same or different constructs?

Several investigators have claimed over the past decade that working memory (WM) and general intelligence (g) are identical, or nearly identical, constructs, from an individual-differences perspective. Although memory measures are commonly included in intelligence tests, and memory abilities are included in theories of intelligence, the identity between WM and intelligence has not been evaluated comprehensively. The authors conducted a meta-analysis of 86 samples that relate WM to intelligence. The average correlation between true-score estimates of WM and g is substantially less than unity (p=.479). The authors also focus on the distinction between short-term memory and WM with respect to intelligence with a supplemental meta-analysis. The authors discuss how consideration of psychometric and theoretical perspectives better informs the discussion of WM-intelligence relations.     

Neurolinguistics and neuroimaging: forward to the future,or is it back?

Books reviewed in this article:
Michael Gazzaniga (ed.), Cognitive Neuroscience: A Reader
Alec Marantz, Yasushi Miyashita, and Wayne O'Neil (ed.), Image, Language, Brain: Papers From the First Mind Articulation Project Symposium
Colin Brown and Peter Hagoort, The Neurocognition of Language     

Test anxiety,anxiety disorders,and school-related wellbeing: Manifestations of the same or different constructs?

Previous studies have shown that highly test anxious persons are more likely to meet criteria for an anxiety disorder and report more frequent symptoms of anxiety disorders than their low test anxious counterparts. However, it is unclear whether test anxiety should be treated as distinct to, or a manifestation of, anxiety disorders. Furthermore, the Dual Factor Model of Mental Health proposes that high subjective wellbeing cannot be solely inferred from the absence of psychopathology. To date, no studies have examined the Dual Factor Model in relation to test anxiety. In the present study, we examined how test anxiety, two common anxiety disorders (i.e., generalized anxiety disorder [GAD] and panic disorder [PD]), and subjective wellbeing in the school domain (i.e., school-related wellbeing) were related in a sample of 918 adolescents (M age = 15.77 years) using network analysis and latent profile analysis. Results from the network analysis indicated that test anxiety, GAD, PD, and school-related wellbeing were represented as distinct constructs. Bridge nodes were identified that linked test anxiety with GAD, PD, and school-related wellbeing. The latent profile analysis identified three of the four profiles predicted by the Dual Factor Model, including (a) troubled (i.e., low school-related wellbeing, high test anxiety, GAD, and PD), (b) complete mental health (i.e., high school-related wellbeing, low test anxiety, GAD, and PD), and (c) symptomatic but content (i.e., average school-related wellbeing, test anxiety, GAD, and PD). We concluded that test anxiety was distinct from, rather than a manifestation of, GAD and PD. We found support for the Dual Factor Model, albeit not unequivocal, using test anxiety as an additional indicator of psychopathology to that of GAD and PD.