The effects of weather on daily mood: a multilevel approach

The present study examines the effects of six weather parameters (temperature, wind power, sunlight, precipitation, air pressure, and photoperiod) on mood (positive affect, negative affect, and tiredness). Data were gathered from an online diary study (N = 1,233), linked to weather station data, and analyzed by means of multilevel analysis. Multivariate and univariate analyses enabled distinction between unique and shared effects. The results revealed main effects of temperature, wind power, and sunlight on negative affect. Sunlight had a main effect on tiredness and mediated the effects of precipitation and air pressure on tiredness. In terms of explained variance, however, the average effect of weather on mood was only small, though significant random variation was found across individuals, especially regarding the effect of photoperiod. However, these individual differences in weather sensitivity could not be explained by the Five Factor Model personality traits, gender, or age.     

The effects of recoding and presentation format on recency and suffix effects

The primary linguistic theory of Shand and Klima (1981) hypothesizes that stimuli that cannot be directly processed without recoding are not in the primary linguistic mode of the subject and thus should lead to lesser recency and associated suffix effects. In three experiments, different normal hearing subjects learned to pair American Sign Language (ASL) stimuli, visual "quasivocables" (QVs), word-like letter strings, and auditory QVs with common English words. In the first experiment, the subjects were given sequences of ASL or QV stimuli and required to recall the associated words in strict serial order. In two other experiments involving auditory and visual presentation, respectively, subjects who had never been given paired associate training were required to recall the English words that had previously been associated with the ASL and QV stimuli, in a standard suffix paradigm. The results showed recency and suffix effects to be present only with auditorily presented QVs and words. Contrary to the predictions of the primary linguistic hypothesis, greater recency and larger suffix effects were present with the auditory QVs than with the auditory words, although the QVs were not primary linguistic and the task involved forced recoding. Previous results showing recency with ASL stimuli in normal subjects were not replicated. It is concluded that recency and suffix effects are not related either to the primary linguistic mode of the subject or to stimulus recoding, as we and Shand and Klima have defined them.     

The effects of childbirth-related post-traumatic stress disorder on women and their relationships: a qualitative study

There is converging evidence that 1%-2% of women develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of childbirth. The current study aimed to explore the long-term effects of childbirth-related PTSD on women, their relationship with their partner and their relationship with their child. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with six women who reported clinically significant PTSD after birth, ranging from 7 months to 18 years beforehand. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. Childbirth-related PTSD was found to have wide-ranging effects on women and their relationships. Women reported changes in physical well-being, mood and behaviour, social interaction, and fear of childbirth. Women reported negative effects on their relationship with their partner, including sexual dysfunction, disagreements and blame for events of birth. The mother-baby bond was also seriously affected. Nearly all women reported initial feelings of rejection towards the baby but this changed over time. Long-term, women seemed to have either avoidant or anxious attachments with their child. It is concluded that childbirth-related PTSD can have severe and lasting effects on women and their relationships with their partner and children. Further research is needed to compare this to normal difficulties experienced by women after having children.     

The evolution of cognition—a hypothesis

Behavior may be controlled by reactive systems. In a reactive system the motor output is exclusively driven by actual sensory input. An alternative solution to control behavior is given by “cognitive” systems capable of planning ahead. To this end the system has to be equipped with some kind of internal world model. A sensible basis of an internal world model might be a model of the system's own body. I show that a reactive system with the ability to control a body of complex geometry requires only a slight reorganization to form a cognitive system. This implies that the assumption that the evolution of cognitive properties requires the introduction of new, additional modules, namely internal world models, is not justified. Rather, these modules may already have existed before the system obtained cognitive properties. Furthermore, I discuss whether the occurrence of such world models may lead to systems having internal perspective.     

The effects of visual presentation method on single-trial free recall

In two experiments four different conditions of visual presentation were studied with the purpose of furthering our understanding of the role of temporal and spatial factors underlying modality effects in single-trial free recall. Enriching spatial factors in the visual presentation did not produce a higher performance in the recency part of the serial-position curve, and it was therefore concluded that the modality effect could not be due to any visual handicap. A lag distribution measure was suggested and applied to the data to characterize output order (the order of recall) in single-trial free recall. The two experiments carried out used a within-subjects and a between-subjects design, respectively, and illustrate the importance of the methodological difference between these two designs.     

The effects of distinctiveness,presentation time and delay on face recognition

Abstract

The distinctiveness of a face has been found to be an important factor in face recognition. We investigated the effect of the distinctiveness of a face upon subjects' speed and accuracy of recognition following different presentation times and retention intervals. It was found that (1) hits decreased with increasing delay; (2) false alarms increased and d primes decreased with a presentation time of 1 sec compared with 5 sec; (3) distinctive faces received more hits and higher d primes than non-distinctive faces; and (4) response latencies were shorter for distinctive targets than for distinctive distraction or non distinctive targets or distractors. These results were discussed in terms of the literature on the distinctiveness effect in face recognition.     

Studies in desensitization—I: The separate effects of relaxation and desensitization

The purpose of the study was to investigate the separate effects of desensitization and relaxation in Wolpe's technique of “systematic desensitization”. Four small groups of spider-phobic, normal subjects were allocated to the following treatments: desensitization with relaxation, desensitization without relaxation, relaxation only, no-treatment controls. The effects of treatment were assessed by subjective reports, avoidance tests and fear estimates. Marked reductions in fear were obtained only in the desensitization-with-relaxation group and it was concluded that the combined effects of relaxation and desensitization are greater than their separate effects.     

Some results on extensions and modifications of the Theil — Sen regression estimator

Many robust regression estimators have been proposed that have a high, finite‐sample breakdown point, roughly meaning that a large porportion of points must be altered to drive the value of an estimator to infinity. But despite this, many of them can be inordinately influenced by two properly placed outliers. With one predictor, an estimator that appears to correct this problem to a fair degree, and simultaneously maintain good efficiency when standard assumptions are met, consists of checking for outliers using a projection‐type method, removing any that are found, and applying the Theil — Sen estimator to the data that remain. When dealing with multiple predictors, there are two generalizations of the Theil — Sen estimator that might be used, but nothing is known about how their small‐sample properties compare. Also, there are no results on testing the hypothesis of zero slopes, and there is no information about the effect on efficiency when outliers are removed. In terms of hypothesis testing, using the more obvious percentile bootstrap method in conjunction with a slight modification of Mahalanobis distance was found to avoid Type I error probabilities above the nominal level, but in some situations the actual Type I error probabilities can be substantially smaller than intended when the sample size is small. An alternative method is found to be more satisfactory.     

The effects of thematic context and presentation mode on memory for sentence voice

A sentence in discourse may appear in the passive voice to emphasize the logical object rather than the logical subject when it is thematically more important. Two experiments are reported that explore the impact of this textual function of voice on sentence memory. The first experiment required subjects to listen to prose passages and then recall them. Sentences were recalled predominantly in the active voice regardless of voice or thematic focus in the prose passage, showing that the English-language bias for the active voice was a more important determinant of sentence reconstruction than was the experimental manipulation of thematic context. The second experiment required subjects to listen to or read either prose passages or lists of unrelated sentences and then to try to recognize key sentences that were either unchanged or changed lexically, semantically, or in voice. Recognition, both overall and specifically for voice, was better for sentences that were read than for those that were heard, and recognition for semantic change was consistently higher than for any other. Only when passages were read was there evidence in support of a thematic textual influence on memory for sentence voice.This research was supported in part by NIMH Grant 32063.     

Using temporal logics of knowledge for specification and verification—a case study

Temporal logics of knowledge are useful for reasoning about situations where the knowledge of an agent or component is important, and where change in this knowledge may occur over time. Here we use temporal logics of knowledge to reason about the game Cluedo. We show how to specify Cluedo using temporal logics of knowledge and prove statements about the knowledge of the players using a clausal resolution calculus for this logic. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using this logic to specify and verify the game Cluedo and describe related implementations.     

The effects of different learning environments on students’ motivation for learning and their achievement

Background. Research in higher education on the effects of student‐centred versus lecture‐based learning environments generally does not take into account the psychological need support provided in these learning environments. From a self‐determination theory perspective, need support is important to study because it has been associated with benefits such as autonomous motivation and achievement. Aim. The purpose of the study is to investigate the effects of different learning environments on students’ motivation for learning and achievement, while taking into account the perceived need support. Sample. First‐year student teachers (N= 1,098) studying a child development course completed questionnaires assessing motivation and perceived need support. In addition, a prior knowledge test and case‐based assessment were administered. Method. A quasi‐experimental pre‐test/post‐test design was set up consisting of four learning environments: (1) lectures, (2) case‐based learning (CBL), (3) alternation of lectures and CBL, and (4) gradual implementation with lectures making way for CBL. Results. Autonomous motivation and achievement were higher in the gradually implemented CBL environment, compared to the CBL environment. Concerning achievement, two additional effects were found; students in the lecture‐based learning environment scored higher than students in the CBL environment, and students in the gradually implemented CBL environment scored higher than students in the alternated learning environment. Additionally, perceived need support was positively related to autonomous motivation, and negatively to controlled motivation. Conclusions. The study shows the importance of gradually introducing students to CBL, in terms of their autonomous motivation and achievement. Moreover, the study emphasizes the importance of perceived need support for students’ motivation.     

The effect of study time distribution on learning and retention: a Goldilocks principle for presentation rate

In 2 experiments, we investigated the effect of presentation rate on both immediate (5 min) and delayed (2 days) cued recall of paired associates. Word pairs were presented for a total of 16 s per pair, with presentation duration of individual presentations varying from 1 to 16 s. In Experiment 1, participants studied word pairs with presentation rates of 16 × 1 s, 8 × 2 s, 4 × 4 s, 2 × 8 s, or 1 × 16 s. A nonmonotonic relationship was found between presentation rate and cued recall performance. Both short (e.g., 1 s) and long (e.g., 16 s) presentation durations resulted in poor immediate and delayed recall, compared with intermediate presentation durations. In Experiment 2, we replicated these general findings. Moreover, we showed that the 4 s condition resulted in less proportional forgetting than the 1 s and the 16 s conditions.     

The effects of relaxation response meditation on the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome: results of a controlled treatment study.

In this study, Herbert Benson's (1975) Relaxation Response Meditation program was tested as a possible treatment for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Participants were 16 adults who were matched into pairs based on presence of Axis I disorder, primary IBS symptoms and demographic features and randomized to either a six week meditation condition or a six week wait list symptom monitoring condition. Thirteen participants completed treatment and follow-up. All subjects assigned to the Wait List were subsequently treated. Patients in the treatment condition were taught the meditation technique and asked to practice it twice a day for 15 minutes. Composite Primary IBS Symptom Reduction (CPSR) scores were calculated for each patient from end of baseline to two weeks post-treatment (or to post wait list). One tailed independent sample t-tests revealed that Meditation was superior to the control (P=0.04). Significant within-subject improvements were noted for flatulence (P=0.03) and belching (P=0.02) by post-treatment. By three month follow-up, significant improvements in flatulence (P<0.01), belching (P=0.02), bloating (P=0.05), and diarrhea (P=0.03) were shown by symptom diary. Constipation approached significance (P=0.07). Benson's Relaxation Response Meditation appears to be a viable treatment for IBS.