The development of episodic future thinking in middle childhood

The ability to imagine future events (episodic future thinking—EFT) emerges in preschoolers and further improves during middle childhood and adolescence. In the present study, we focused on the possible cognitive factors that affect EFT and its development. We assessed the ability to mentally project forward in time of a large cohort of 135 6- to 11-year-old children through a task with minimal narrative demands (the Picture Book Trip task adapted from Atance and Meltzoff in Cogn Dev 20(3):341–361. doi:10.1016/j.cogdev.2005.05.001, 2005) in order to avoid potential linguistic effects on children’s performance. The results showed that this task can be used to assess the development of EFT at least until the age of 8. Furthermore, EFT scores correlated with measures of phonological short-term and verbal working memory. These results support the possibility that cognitive factors such as working memory play a key role in EFT.     

The orienting response,and future directions of its development

The orienting response (OR) is a specific behavioral act directed towards extraction of information from the environment. Head and eye movements represent only the tip of the iceberg of internal responses, which includes vascular modifications, EEG changes, and event-related potentials. Two mechanisms of the OR have to be differentiated: voluntary and involuntary. In the event-related potential, such a differentiation is expressed in mismatch negativity (involuntary effect) and processing negativity (voluntary effect). Single unit studies have shown that hippocampal neurones are simulating specific features of the OR as a response to novelty. Repeated presentation of stimuli results in a selective habituation of novelty detectors in hippocampus and of the OR. The trace of a standard stimulus formed at the level of hippocampal neurones matches the features of the standard stimulus and can be called a “neuronal model of the stimulus.” The OR is triggered by mismatch between the test stimulus and the elaborated neuronal model, and is activated by verbal instruction, by reinforcement during the initial stage of conditioned reflex elaboration, and by differentiation of signal and non-signal stimuli. A promising new area of practical application of the OR lies in the evaluation of a corridor of optimal functional state for efficient computer-based learning. Registration of the OR and defensive responses can be used for an objective evaluation of the functional state of the student, or, in a wider sense, of the industrial operator. New avenues of OR research are opened by recent techniques that isolate single-trial event related potentials, and their correlation with autonomic and behavioral manifestations of the OR. The combination of single unit recording with such isolated event related potentials can elucidate the neuronal basis of OR generation. Intracellular recording combined with dye injection can be used for analysis of the synaptic contacts involved in generation of the OR. Integration of macro and micro levels of OR organization can be achieved in a computerized model that can be used for simulation and planning of experiments. A step-by-step improvement of the model will accumulate knowledge about the OR as an important mechanism of information processing.     

Exploring the implications of social change for human development: Perspectives,issues and future directions

Researchers have investigated the implications of social change for human development from different perspectives. The studies published in this special section were conducted within Greenfield's theoretical framework (2009). The findings concerning links between specific sociodemographic features (e.g., commercial activities, schooling) and individual cognition and social behaviour are particularly interesting because they tap the underlying forces that drive human development. To further understand the issues in these studies and in the field, a pluralist‐constructive perspective is discussed, which emphasises the integration of diverse values and practices in both Western and non‐Western societies and its effects on the development of sophisticated competencies in individual adaptation to the changing global community. In addition, several issues are highlighted and some suggestions are provided for future explorations in this field.     

Countertheses: Communication,material conditions,and future sociocultural development

Chaos in brain function. Edited by Erol Basar Springer‐Verlag, 1990, Berlin. Softcover, 176 pp., 66 figures, index.     

The development of prudence in the face of varying future rewards

The choice to delay gratification, opting for a greater reward later instead of a smaller reward now, has been used as a measure of preschoolers' ability to make future-oriented decisions. The present studies investigated to what extent these choice tasks reflect children's ability to make choices in favour of their future self. In Experiment 1, preschoolers were presented with choices between a smaller immediate reward of one sticker and larger delayed rewards varying in amount from two to five stickers. Whereas 3-year-olds showed no increased tendency to choose the delayed option as quantity increased from two to five, 4-year-olds' future-oriented choices reflected the value of the delayed reward. In Experiment 2, preschoolers chose between immediate and delayed rewards that were equal in amount and varied between one and four stickers. Three-year-olds reliably chose the immediate reward and showed no differentiation among rewards, whereas 4-year-olds chose in a manner that suggested they were trying to satisfy both immediate and future desires. Together these results support the notion that future-oriented prudence reflects growth in concern for the future self.     

Vocational maturity: Its past,present, and future development

A review and critical analysis of various approaches used in studying vocational maturity revealed that its viability was generally supported, yet remained questionable because of the conflicting results of previous research and the lack of applying these results to counseling. This analysis provided the basis for conceptualizing vocational maturity development as being analogous to and not separate from personality development. Proposed research studies were mentioned which would test basic relationships between vocational maturity development and various aspects of personality development.     

Counseling for future shock

In this article the author looks at some of the searing prophecies made by Alvin Toffler in his book Future Shock and relates them to the world of the professional counselor and the clientele the counselor attempts to serve. Counselors are encouraged to take a hard look at what they are presently doing and what they might better be doing to prepare themselves and those they serve, or should serve, for tomorrow's world—today.     

The past,present, and future of computational models of cognitive development

Does modeling matter? We address this question by providing a broad survey of the computational models of cognitive development that have been proposed and studied over the last three decades. We begin by noting the advantages and limitations of computational models. We then describe four key dimensions across which models of development can be organized and classified. With this taxonomy in hand, we focus on how the modeling enterprise has evolved over time. In particular, we separate the timeline into three overlapping historical waves and highlight how each wave of models has not only been shaped by developmental theory and behavioral research, but in return also provided valuable insights and innovations to the study of cognitive development.     

Facing the future: Memory as an evolved system for planning future acts

All organisms capable of long-term memory are necessarily oriented toward the future. We propose that one of the most important adaptive functions of long-term episodic memory is to store information about the past in the service of planning for the personal future. Because a system should have especially efficient performance when engaged in a task that makes maximal use of its evolved machinery, we predicted that future-oriented planning would result in especially good memory relative to other memory tasks. We tested recall performance of a word list, using encoding tasks with different temporal perspectives (e.g., past, future) but a similar context. Consistent with our hypothesis, future-oriented encoding produced superior recall. We discuss these findings in light of their implications for the thesis that memory evolved to enable its possessor to anticipate and respond to future contingencies that cannot be known with certainty.     

A future for community psychology practice

Community psychology has never really looked at its practice as a profession, though many of us as students came to the field with high expectations that we could learn how to make a difference in communities. This article discussed what I think about community psychology practice and how I have tried to approach it. I thank and recognize several people: Paul Florin for his colleagueship, friendship and his contributions to what I have done in the field; Tom Wolff for never letting me give up on the field; Bob Newbrough for his consistent support, encouragement and as my teacher; and Julian Rappaport for his comments on an earlier draft. I thank my colleagues at Rutgers for helping make the dream come true. This article is dedicated to students, past, present, and future.     

Our desired future for personality psychology

The strengths and weaknesses of personality psychology are examined. Major strengths of the field include its breadth and integrative quality, and sophistication in methodology and analytic strategies. However, intellectual isolation stands as a potential threat to the vitality of personality, and a heavy reliance on single-time self-report measures places limitations on findings. The authors give an overview of the major topics published in JPSP in recent years, and highlight the international character of personality research. Our recommendations include continuing the tradition of employing rigorous methods, using multiple methods and multiple studies to replicate findings, and bridging the gap between childhood temperament and adult personality.     

Evidence for future cognition in animals

Evidence concerning the possibility of mental time travel into the future by animals was reviewed. Both experimental laboratory studies and field observations were considered. Paradigms for the study of future anticipation and planning included inhibition of consumption of current food contingent on future receipt of either a larger quantity or more preferred food, choice between quantities of food contingent on future pilfering or replenishment of food, carrying foods to different locations contingent on future access to those locations, and selection of tools for use to obtain food in the future. Studies of non-human primates, rats, black-capped chickadees, scrub-jays, and tayras were considered. It was concluded that current evidence favors future cognition in animals, and some theoretical issues concerning this ability were discussed.