Is optimal vision required for the successful execution of an interceptive task?

The importance of optimal visual function in demanding interceptive tasks is far from established. The aim of the study was to determine whether induced myopic blur and hence sub-optimal visual function would give rise to a detrimental effect on performance in the execution of an interceptive task. The batting performance of grade level cricket players was assessed facing a bowling machine whilst wearing contact lenses of four different refractive conditions (plano (nil), +1.00, +2.00 and +3.00D over-refraction), inducing increasing amounts of myopic blur. Performance for each condition was assessed based both on the shot quality against each delivery judged by a qualified cricket coach blind to each condition, along with an evaluation of the quality of ball-bat contact for each delivery. No significant change was found in batting performance with the introduction of +1.00 and +2.00D of induced myopic blur. A +3.00D over-correction was required before any significant decrease in batting performance was detected, demonstrating that batters needed to be essentially legally blind (as simulated through the use of the +3.00D over-refraction) before there was any significant measurable decrement in batting performance. We concluded that optimal visual correction is not necessarily required for optimal performance in a demanding interceptive task, and that the human perceptual-motor system is capable of compensating for marked alterations in input.     

The role of matching job resources in different demanding situations at work: A vignette study

This study examines human service employees' beliefs about the availability, relevance, and use of specific types of job resources (i.e. cognitive, emotional, and physical) in similar types of demanding situations at work. To gain a better understanding of these intra‐psychic processes assumed to underlie the relation between job demands, job resources, and job‐related outcomes, a quasi‐experimental survey study with vignettes was developed. Results showed that different patterns could be observed between the availability, relevance, and use of matching and non‐matching job resources in a physically demanding situation at work. No such differences were observed in a cognitively and emotionally demanding job. Further, it was shown that there generally seems to be a dominant role for emotional job resources in the job stress process, whereas the role of physical job resources and, to a lesser extent, cognitive job resources appears much weaker and mainly restricted to corresponding types of job demands. Finally, results suggested that employees who are faced with a particular type of job demands may take advantage of both matching and non‐matching job resources, implying that the ‘matching hypothesis’ is a probabilistic rather than a static principle.     

The puzzle of joking: Disentangling the cognitive and affective components of humorous distraction

Studies in cognitive psychology, marketing, and education indicate that humor distracts attention from non‐humorous information presented at the same time. Two experiments investigated why humor distracts attention. The two basic components of humor comprise (1) incongruency resolution, which poses cognitive demands and (2) positive affect. We disentangled the contributions of cognitive demands and positive affect on distraction based on the notions that (a) both components are possible sources of distraction, and (b) the components were always confounded in previous research. In an evaluative conditioning paradigm, novel products were consistently paired with humorous stimuli, whereas other products were paired with stimuli that were either (1) equally demanding but neutral, (2) equally positive but undemanding, and (3) undemanding and neutral. The results showed that cognitively demanding stimuli distracted attention, irrespective of stimulus positivity. These findings suggest that the cognitive demands of humor, not the positive affect it evokes, underlie the distraction effect. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Characteristics of the Florida cognitive activities scale in older African Americans

Substantial research effort has recently focused on the potential protective effect of cognitively demanding activities on cognitive decline in late life. A significant methodological issue in this effort has been the lack of consistency in approaches to the operational measurement of cognitive activity. In this study, data in support of the reliability and construct validity of the recently developed Florida Cognitive Activities Scale (FCAS) in a sample of 223 African American older adults are provided. Consistent with the findings of the Schinka et al. study using a sample of Whites, the FCAS full scale showed a reasonably high level of internal consistency, small negative correlations with age and a measure of depressive symptomatology, and moderate positive correlations with years of education and neuropsychological measures of overall cognitive functioning, memory, and executive functioning. Even after controlling for the effects of age, education, and gender, the full scale score contributed significantly to the prediction of global cognitive functioning. The results of this study suggest that the FCAS is a reliable and valid measure of cognitive activities in older African Americans and provides additional, although not causative, evidence in support of the hypothesis of a protective effect of cognitive activity against cognitive decline regardless of ethnicity or race.     

Probabilistic Inferences Under Emotional Stress: How Arousal Affects Decision Processes

Many models of decision making neglect emotional states that could affect individuals' cognitive processes. The present work explores the effect of emotional stress on people's cognitive processes when making probabilistic inferences. Two contrasting hypotheses are tested against one another: the uncertainty‐reduction and attention‐narrowing hypotheses of how emotional stress affects decision making. In the experimental study, emotional stress was induced through the use of highly aversive pictures immediately before each decision. Emotional state was assessed by both subjective (state anxiety, arousal, and pleasantness ratings) and objective (skin conductance) measures. The results show that emotional stress impacts decision making; in particular, emotionally aroused participants seem to have focused on the most important information and selected simpler decision strategies relative to participants in a control condition. The results are in line with the attention‐narrowing hypothesis and suggest that emotional stress can impact decision making through limited predecisional information search and the selection of simpler decision strategies. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Functional Synergy Between Postural and Visual Behaviors When Performing a Difficult Precise Visual Task in Upright Stance

Previous works usually report greater postural stability in precise visual tasks (e.g., gaze‐shift tasks) than in stationary‐gaze tasks. However, existing cognitive models do not fully support these results as they assume that performing an attention‐demanding task while standing would alter postural stability because of the competition of attention between the tasks. Contrary to these cognitive models, attentional resources may increase to create a synergy between visual and postural brain processes to perform precise oculomotor behaviors. To test this hypothesis, we investigated a difficult searching task and a control free‐viewing task. The precise visual task required the 16 young participants to find a target in densely furnished images. The free‐viewing task consisted of looking at similar images without searching anything. As expected, the participants exhibited significantly lower body displacements (linear, angular) and a significantly higher cognitive workload in the precise visual task than in the free‐viewing task. Most important, our exploration showed functional synergies between visual and postural processes in the searching task, that is, significant negative relationships showing lower head and neck displacements to reach more expended zones of fixation. These functional synergies seemed to involve a greater attentional demand because they were not significant anymore when the cognitive workload was controlled (partial correlations). In the free‐viewing task, only significant positive relationships were found and they did not involve any change in cognitive workload. An alternative cognitive model and its potential subtended neuroscientific circuit are proposed to explain the supposedly cognitively grounded functional nature of vision–posture synergies in precise visual tasks.     

Bicycle helmet law does not deter cyclists in Finland

Bicycle helmet legislation (BHL) in Finland went into effect in January 2003 and applies to cyclists of all ages. There are no mechanisms to fine cyclists riding without a helmet; however, helmet wearing rates are 64% in Helsinki and 42% across Finland. Our aim was to discuss possible effects of BHL on cycling in Finland. We used data from the 1998/1999, 2004/2005 and 2010/2011 Finnish National Travel Surveys. Data across three surveys suggest cycling has declined from before to after BHL. In a 2004/2005 survey, however, only 0.063% (95% CI: 0.02–0.10%) of responders identified helmet use as their most important obstacle to cycling. It is unlikely BHL is a causal factor in the downward trend in Finnish cycling. Lack of cycling infrastructure and concerns for safety are much more common reasons given.     

Assessment Center Procedures: Cognitive Load During the Observation Phase

This study explores the traditional procedure of observing assessment center exercises while taking notes vs. an alternative procedure where assessors merely observe and postpone note‐taking until immediately after the exercise. The first procedure is considered to be cognitively demanding due to the requirement of simultaneous note‐taking and observing. Also, dual task processing (concurrent observing and note‐taking) is considered to be especially demanding for assessors without rating experience. The procedures are evaluated using a 2 × 2 design (with note‐taking/without note‐taking × experienced/inexperienced). Some 121 experienced and inexperienced assessors rated videotaped candidates, observing either with or without taking notes. Results showed that experienced assessors yield significantly higher differential accuracy than inexperienced assessors. We did not find an effect of observation procedure on accuracy, interrater reliability or halo. Implications for future research are described.     

The aging decision maker: cognitive aging and the adaptive selection of decision strategies

Are older adults' decision abilities fundamentally compromised by age-related cognitive decline? Or can they adaptively select decision strategies? One study (N = 163) investigated the impact of cognitive aging on the ability to select decision strategies as a function of environment structure. Participants made decisions in either an environment that favored the use of information-intensive strategies or one favoring the use of simple, information-frugal strategies. Older adults tended to (a) look up less information and take longer to process it and (b) use simpler, less cognitively demanding strategies. In accordance with the idea that age-related cognitive decline leads to reliance on simpler strategies, measures of fluid intelligence explained age-related differences in information search and strategy selection. Nevertheless, both young and older adults seem to be equally adapted decision makers in that they adjust their information search and strategy selection as a function of environment structure, suggesting that the aging decision maker is an adaptive one.     

Direct Application of Specially Formulated Scent Compositions (AromaStick®) Prolongs Attention and Enhances Visual Scanning Speed

Recently, a series of experiments demonstrated that direct stimulation of the olfactory system by means of an odor inhaler targets brain areas associated with stress reduction and pain relief. This paper follows up on these findings and investigates whether such effects can also be found for inhalers specially designed to increase attention and concentration. In a three‐armed, randomized, controlled experiment participants' cognitive ability to discriminate between similar visual stimuli was tested either with or without the use of an odor inhaler. Concentration, visual scanning speed, and accuracy were assessed to gauge differential effects. Both odor inhalers outperformed the control condition where no odor was used. The effects were large and showed in all parameters. The direct application of specially designed essential oil compositions enhances attention and concentration when used during short‐term breaks in a stressful and attention‐demanding cognitive task.Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effects of exercise at different temperatures on cognitive function: A systematic review

To date, no review has focused specifically on the potential modulating role of environmental temperature on the effects of exercise on cognitive function. Despite this, a range of occupations and performance contexts exist (e.g., military personnel, emergency services, sport) where the maintenance of cognitive function in environmentally challenging environments is crucial. Therefore, this systematic review aimed to evaluate the experimental research investigating how manipulating environmental temperature influenced the effects of acute bouts exercise on cognitive functioning from pre-to-post exercise, or during exercise. Studies to be included were assessed by two authors reviewing title, abstract, and then full-text. From the searches conducted, twenty articles were identified which met the inclusion criteria. For the purpose of this review, exercise involved in each study was categorised into low, moderate, and vigorous dosages (dependent on intensity and duration). The results indicate that moderate dosages of exercise help stimulate improved cognitive performance from pre-to-post exercise in temperate conditions, where cold exposure appears to blunt these effects. In addition, hot environments led to cognitive decrements during and post exercise which were often identified in studies that implemented prolonged moderate or vigorous exercise protocols. Therefore, suggesting a combination of heightened physiological strain from increased dose of exercise, alongside heat exposure, can be detrimental to optimal cognitive functioning, whereby executive functioning tasks appeared to be most affected. The findings from this systematic review highlight the potential modulating role of environmental temperature on the effects of exercise on cognitive function. Thus, highlighting the importance of considering the role of environmental temperature for individuals either exercising to elicit desired cognitive benefits or for those involved in physically demanding occupations or performance domains.     

The transactional psychobiological nature of cognitive appraisal during exercise in environmentally stressful conditions

Background and Purpose: Successful adaptation to the stress of physical exertion in adverse environmental conditions (heat, cold, high altitude) is of great concern when optimal performance within safe parameters is the goal. The perception of the psychophysical demands imposed by the stressful situation and the perceived capability to cope with these demands is a process that can dramatically alter the intensity of the ensuing physiological activation. Thus, exercise in environmentally stressful conditions provides an excellent model for examining the relationship between the cognitive appraisal of the physical stress and the ensuing stress response. A brief review of the research on cognitive appraisals during exercise in stressful environments provides evidence of the connection between cognitive appraisals and the stress response during exercise under environmental stress and demonstrates a need for a transactional psychobiological model proposed in this paper. This model attributes a central role to the continuous cognitive appraisal of the situation by the individual.Methods: Computer searches of psychological, sport science, and medical databases using the terms exercise, heat, cold, high altitude, environmental stress, and ratings of perceived exertion were conducted. Additionally, the reference citations in the obtained articles were searched for relevant studies. An abridged integrated review summarizes the critical findings and limitations. Furthermore, literature supporting the proposed transactional psychobiological model is presented.Results and Conclusions: Further investigation into the psychophysical and the affective responses to exercise in adverse environmental conditions can be facilitated through the utilization of the proposed transactional psychobiological model.     

认知负荷取向下基于记忆-反应冲突的欺骗检测

欺骗检测一直是心理学的重要研究问题。基于欺骗理论的认知视角, 研究者提出欺骗检测的认知负荷取向。采用隐瞒信息测试这一测谎范式, 通过操纵认知负荷影响个体在虚假反应时的记忆-反应冲突解决过程, 考察增加认知负荷对欺骗检测的影响, 以期更好地揭示欺骗检测的认知机制。在此基础上, 以普通人群和犯罪嫌疑人为被试探查基于记忆-反应冲突的欺骗检测的行为和生理指标, 并根据获得的行为和生理指标, 采用机器学习方法进行建模, 预测个体的欺骗行为。研究结果将服务于司法、安防和人际交往等领域的欺骗检测。     

Duck! Scaling the height of a horizontal barrier to body height

Recent research shows that the body is used to scale environmental extents. We question whether the body is used to scale heights as measured by real actions (Experiments 1 and 2) or by judgments about action and extent made from a single viewpoint (Experiments 3 and 4). First, participants walked under barriers naturally, when wearing shoes, or when wearing a helmet. Participants required a larger margin of safety (they ducked at shorter heights) when they were made taller. In follow-up experiments, participants visually matched barrier heights and judged whether they could walk under them when wearing shoes or a helmet. Only the helmet decreased visually matched estimates; action judgments were no different when participants’ eye height increased. The final experiment suggested that the change in matched estimates may have been due to lack of experience wearing the helmet. Overall, the results suggest that perceived height is scaled to the body and that when body height is altered, experience may moderate the rescaling of height.     

An observational study of restraint and helmet wearing behaviour in Malaysia

Unrestrained and unhelmeted occupants are at increased risk of severe injury or death in the event of a crash, and there is evidence that children, particularly in low and middle income countries, have low restraint and helmet wearing rates.Roadside observations of occupants of passing vehicles (7247 cars, vans and taxis and 2897 motorcycles) in nearside lanes were made at seven selected road sites located around the Klang Valley (greater Kuala Lumpur) area representing a variety of demographic locations.The findings revealed an overall low rate of seat-belt wearing in vehicles (front seat drivers: 44.6%; front seat adult passengers: 33.8%; front seat child passengers: 11.8%; rear seat adult passengers: 5.2%; and, rear seat child passengers: 5.8%). For motorcyclists, the majority of adult riders and pillions wore helmets (93.4% and 85.8%, respectively), however a substantial proportion (40%) did not fasten their helmet properly. Of children observed on motorcycles, only 30.5% wore helmets.This study shows low seat-belt and helmet wearing rates, despite enactment of legislation that requires all vehicle passengers to be restrained and for all motorcyclists to wear helmets. This was particularly evident for children (front and rear seating positions) and rear seat adult passengers. It is suggested there is a general lack of awareness of safety and the benefits of restraint/helmet use, and lack of adequate and appropriate enforcement. The implications of the findings are discussed in terms of promoting restraint/helmets use, enforcement of legislation and implementation of technologies to increase appropriate restraint/helmet use.     

Combination of extinction and protective measures in the treatment of severely self‐injurious behavior

Two female adolescents with profound mental retardation and physical disabilities residing in a state facility exhibited self‐injurious behavior (SIB). They had been wearing restrictive mechanical restraints for more than two years to prevent injuries from occurring. By using an indirect method of functional analysis, social attention was found to be the factor reinforcing and maintaining their behaviors. Extinction in combination with non‐intrusive protective measures was selected as the intervention strategy to reduce SIB. The outcomes of the treatment were evaluated with an AB probe design. Incidents of SIB decreased quickly and sharply after the treatment began. Once the incidents had reached a level of zero for three consecutive sessions, a six‐month follow‐up was started. No SIB was observed or reported during the follow‐up. The advantages of using extinction, especially in conjunction with the non‐intrusive protective measures to treat SIB, are discussed. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Barriers and facilitators of bicycle helmet use among children and their parents

Despite the fact that bicycle helmet use protects against head injuries, helmet use rate is still low even in countries with high concern for traffic safety. Earlier research shows that helmet use declines with age and that helmet use is low especially among teenagers. The aim of the present study was to investigate barriers and facilitators of helmet use among primary and secondary school pupils and their parents. Identical surveys were conducted among school children (n = 235) and their parents (n = 106). Children’s and adults’ responses concerning cycling, helmet use, helmet ownership, risk assessment and barriers and facilitators were compared and separate regression analyses conducted. Helmet use rate was lower among pupils than adults and they scored higher in most of the barrier items. The results of regression analyses showed that among children, age, gender, barriers and facilitators predicted helmet use while among adults only frequency of cycling and barriers were related to helmet use. Among children, the strongest correlates of not using a helmet were the belief of not needing a helmet and wish to use a cap or a hat instead. Having a helmet wearing as a habit and feeling safer were the strongest correlates of using helmet. Among adults, the strongest correlates of not using a helmet were “helmet looks ridiculous”, “just going to short trip” and riding close to home while the strongest correlate of using a helmet was the habit of helmet use. It was concluded that targeting the barriers in helmet wearing campaigns might work better both among children and adults than emphasising the benefits at least among Norwegian child and adult cyclists.     

Using a virtual reality cricket simulator to explore the effects of pressure,competition anxiety on batting performance in cricket

Virtual reality (VR) has created opportunities to innovatively re-imagine the way we examine the relations between pressure, competition anxiety and performance. This study aimed to determine the efficacy of VR as a means of measuring the effects of competition anxiety when pressure manipulations are applied while participants bat in a cricket batting VR simulator. The twenty-eight male participants who took part in two experiments were divided into a high (14, mean age: 22.94, SD: 5.4) and a low skill group (14; mean age: 23.55, SD: 9.9). The aim of the first experiment was to validate the VR simulator as a tool that could capture differences in batting performance between a high and low skilled group. The results showed that high skill participants not only scored significantly higher run rates than low skill participants, but they outperformed the low skill group in all performance measures including higher incidences of correct foot placements that reflect better anticipatory responses. Having established the VR batting simulator as being a reliable tool for capturing batting dynamics, experiment 2 aimed to explore the effects of a pressure manipulation on competition anxiety and batting performance. All measures of competition anxiety were significantly greater for both groups in the high-pressure condition compared to the two low-pressure conditions (p < 0.001). The magnitude of this effect was greater in the low skill group for cognitive (0.59) and somatic (0.794) anxiety. Despite anxiety levels significantly increasing in the high-pressure condition, no significant negative changes to batting performance were found for either group, with both groups actually demonstrating performance improvements. Overall, the findings show how a cricket batting virtual reality simulator can be used as a tool to measure the effects of pressure on competition anxiety and batting performance in tasks involving dynamic skill execution.     

Intelligence and neural efficiency: Measures of brain activation versus measures of functional connectivity in the brain

The neural efficiency hypothesis of intelligence suggests a more efficient use of the cortex (or even the brain) in brighter as compared to less intelligent individuals. This has been shown in a series of studies employing different neurophysiological measurement methods and a broad range of different cognitive task demands. However, most of the studies dealing with the brain–IQ relationship used parameters of absolute or relative brain activation such as the event-related (de-)synchronization of EEG alpha activity, allowing for interpretations in terms of more or less brain activation when individuals are confronted with cognitively demanding tasks. In order to investigate the neural efficiency hypothesis more thoroughly, we also used measures that inform us about functional connectivity between different brain areas (or functional coupling, respectively) when engaged in cognitive task performance. Analyses reveal evidence that higher intelligence is associated with a lower brain activation (or a lower ERD, respectively) and a stronger phase locking between short-distant regions of the frontal cortex.     

Cognitive Appraisal as a Predictor of Cognitive Emotion Regulation Choice

More attention has recently been focused on how a person may choose their emotion regulation strategies depending on the situation. The present research examined how people cognitively appraised a situation that they had actually encountered in their life and how this appraisal affected their subsequent cognitive emotion regulation strategies. Three hundred and twenty‐four participants were instructed to recall the most stressful situation in the last month, and to rate how they cognitively appraised the situation (threat, centrality, controllability, commitment, injustice/unfairness, expectedness, expectancy) and how they cognitively regulated their emotion (self‐blame, blaming others, acceptance, refocus on planning, positive refocusing, rumination, positive reappraisal, putting into perspective, catastrophizing). Multiple regression analysis revealed that even after control for other variables, such as age, sex, personality, the time when the situation occurred and the intensity of negative emotion, all criteria of cognitive appraisal except for expectedness predicted cognitive emotion regulation choice. Implications and limitations of this research are discussed.