How to avoid aging effects in free recall

This brief review was prompted by an article appearing in an earlier issue of this journal (Cohen & Stewart, 1982). It identifies several conditions under which aging effects in free recall of complex materials may be avoided. Under these conditions the diminution of aging effects may occur even when strategic requirements are evident. Results are interpreted in terms of the contextual approach to life-span cognitive developmental psychology.     

Everyday Problem Solving and Emotion: An Adult Developmental Perspective

ABSTRACT— Despite cognitive declines that occur with aging, older adults solve emotionally salient and interpersonal problems in more effective ways than young adults do. I review evidence suggesting that older adults (a) tailor their strategies to the contextual features of the problem and (b) effectively use a combination of instrumental and emotion-regulation strategies. I identify factors of problem-solving contexts that affect what types of problem-solving strategies will be effective. Finally, I discuss how this identification of factors affects what we know about developmental differences in everyday problem-solving competence.     

Lifecourse Social Conditions and Racial and Ethnic Patterns of Cognitive Aging

A lifecourse perspective is key for understanding and interpreting racial and ethnic patterns in neuropsychological test performance. In this article, we discuss contextual factors that shape the environmental conditions encountered by racial and ethnic minorities in the United States, in particular African-Americans. These conditions include geographic segregation at the level of regions, metropolitan areas, and neighborhoods; intra- and inter-national migration patterns; socioeconomic position, including financial resources, and occupational and educational opportunities; discrimination; and group resources. Each of these exposures sets in course a cascade of individual mediators that ultimately manifest in neuropsychological outcomes. The physiological and behavioral consequences of these pathways likely accumulate across the lifecourse. We focus on cognitive aging, although the processes discussed here begin in infancy and likely influence cognitive outcomes throughout life from childhood into old age. A lifecourse framework can help inform clinical encounters, neuropsychological research, and surveillance regarding the population prevalence of cognitive impairments.     

Contextual judgments of quality of life and adolescent cognitive development

This research explored the relationship between adolescents' level of cognitive reasoning and their contextual judgments of the factors affecting quality of life. In comparison to adolescents at relatively lower levels of cognitive development, it was predicted that those who have achieved higher levels of cognitive reasoning would be: (1) more likely to identify social and interpersonal aspects of life as factors related to quality of life and (2) less likely to identify self issues. Subjects were 443 tenth-grade students from four Michigan school districts. The students were administered the Reasoning Level Test (RLT) and also asked to identify the aspects of their lives that they felt were the most and least satisfying at the moment. A median split was performed and each student was assigned to either a high or low cognitive-level group based upon his/her RLT score. The findings supported the above predictions, but more so in regard to negative than positive factors. The findings are also in line with cognitive-developmental theories of adolescence and indicate that cognitive structures and the specific nature of the factors perceived to influence one's life may mediate contextual judgments of these factors.     

Empathy and contextual social cognition

Empathy is a highly flexible and adaptive process that allows for the interplay of prosocial behavior in many different social contexts. Empathy appears to be a very situated cognitive process, embedded with specific contextual cues that trigger different automatic and controlled responses. In this review, we summarize relevant evidence regarding social context modulation of empathy for pain. Several contextual factors, such as stimulus reality and personal experience, affectively link with other factors, emotional cues, threat information, group membership, and attitudes toward others to influence the affective, sensorimotor, and cognitive processing of empathy. Thus, we propose that the frontoinsular-temporal network, the so-called social context network model (SCNM), is recruited during the contextual processing of empathy. This network would (1) update the contextual cues and use them to construct fast predictions (frontal regions), (2) coordinate the internal (body) and external milieus (insula), and (3) consolidate the context–target associative learning of empathic processes (temporal sites). Furthermore, we propose these context-dependent effects of empathy in the framework of the frontoinsular-temporal network and examine the behavioral and neural evidence of three neuropsychiatric conditions (Asperger syndrome, schizophrenia, and the behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia), which simultaneously present with empathy and contextual integration impairments. We suggest potential advantages of a situated approach to empathy in the assessment of these neuropsychiatric disorders, as well as their relationship with the SCNM.     

成功老化内涵及影响因素分析

本文在Rowe和Kahn成功老化模型的基础上,结合中国文化背景,提出了生理健康、心理功能、社会参与、生活满意度的四维度成功老化模型。人口学特征、早期经历、社会互动环境、社会历史文化等被动因素,生活方式和习惯、认知活动与训练、老化态度等主动因素,都会影响老年人的成功老化。成功老化是老年人为之奋斗的目标,积极老化是通往该目标的途径。     

情景记忆成功年老化的神经机制

随着年龄的增长,大部分老年人的情景记忆会出现衰退,但也会有一部分老年人的情景记忆表现出成功的年老化,即记忆成绩较好或随增龄的衰退程度较小。脑保持理论、神经去分化理论、认知储备理论以及神经补偿理论分别从不同角度解释了情景记忆成功年老化的神经机制。基于选择性优化与补偿模型对现有理论进行整合,发现情景记忆成功年老化可能与个体的认知储备水平直接相关：高认知储备的老年人能够对情景记忆相关的脑区和脑网络进行优化且具备更强的神经补偿能力,因而其脑功能(比如,神经表征和神经加工通路的特异性)可能会保持地更好。未来研究需要更多地采用纵向设计来考察各理论之间的关系及其影响因素,从而更好地解释记忆成功年老化的神经机制并为提升老年人的脑与认知健康提供支持。     

情境对共情的影响

共情指的是个体在与人交往的过程中共享并理解他人的情绪状态的倾向, 包括认知共情和情绪共情两种成分。现实生活中的共情总是发生在一定的具体情境中, 受到情境因素的影响。其中, 情境的公开性或私密性、意义性等均在不同程度上影响了共情的产生或共情反应的强烈程度。共情对象在特定情境中与共情主体之间的群际关系、人际关系等也是重要的情境因素, 共情主体对于和自己属于同一群体或拥有较亲密人际关系的他人更容易产生共情。情境对共情的影响通过自上而下和自下而上两种方式实现。有关情境对共情的影响研究虽然取得了一定的成果, 但仍然有进一步拓展的空间, 未来的研究需要在情境因素的内涵上进行深入挖掘, 从认知加工的角度对情境影响共情的机制做更为细致、微观地解析, 还可以从共情主体的视角明确个体差异如何调节了情境对共情的影响作用。     

Compensation and recoding: A framework for aging and memory research

This article introduces a conceptual frame of reference for the area of aging and memory. The framework is based upon the superordinate concepts of compensation and recoding . It is suggested that older adults are capable of compensating for deficits in episodic remembering by utilizing various types of contextual and cognitive support. A classificatory scheme comprising three subcategories of memory compensation in the elderly is proposed: "compensation via experimenter-provided support" (CEPS), compensation via inherent task properties (CITP), and "compensation via cognitive support systems" (CCSS). The aspect of compensation as an adaptive activity of older adults is also discussed. Further, it is suggested that younger adults because of a superior ability for various recoding operations are less dependent on contextual and cognitive support in order to remember successfully. Recoding is defined as all the cognitive operations an individual possesses that, when applied, enriches the originally registered information. The superordinate nature of the concepts of compensation and recoding is indicated by the fact that they bring together a vast number of empirical findings previously regarded as support for opposed theoretical accounts.     

Examining the Incremental Validity and Adverse Impact of Cognitive Ability and Conscientiousness on Job Performance

Using archival data from a large home improvement organization, the current study examined the incremental validity of conscientiousness over cognitive ability in predicting different performance criteria. Also, the study examined the effects of conscientiousness and cognitive ability on adverse impact. Results indicated that conscientiousness provided incremental validity over cognitive ability in the prediction of several performance criteria. Specifically, conscientiousness had the highest increases in validity over cognitive ability in the prediction of contextual performance factors (e.g., contextual performance, customer service orientation, dealing with others). However, the addition of conscientiousness failed to ameliorate the adverse impact associated with cognitive ability. In addition, limitations of the study and future directions of research are addressed.     

自然情境下舌尖效应的认知年老化——日记研究

舌尖效应是一种话到嘴边却说不出来的单词提取失败现象(Tip-of-the-Tongue, TOT)。本研究通过TOT回溯问卷和日记记录方法对青年人和老年人进行了为期28天的追踪, 考察了自然情境下舌尖效应认知年老化的发生特点及机制。结果表明：(1)自然情境下TOT存在认知老化现象, 老年人TOT发生频率比青年人更高; (2) TOT发生时, 个体存在替代词和语义相关信息的提取, 且青年人比老年人产生了更强烈的兴奋感和疲惫感的元认知体验; (3) TOT发生后目标词几乎都能获得提取, 老年人TOT的解决时间比青年人长, 但其解决率无年龄差异。TOT的解决时间受目标词熟悉性、是否存在替代词和个体主观体验的认知和元认知因素影响。(4)对TOT认知状态和元认知状态的记录会影响后续发生TOT的状态, 且延长其解决时间, 表明被试付出了更多努力和时间解决TOT。TOT的认知状态和元认知状态的因素都对TOT的解决时间产生了影响。     

Family predictors of antisocial behavior in adolescence

The goal of the present study was to examine the combined and unique ability of different aspects of family functioning to predict involvement in antisocial behavior in a large nonclinical (community) sample of adolescents. Distinction was made between global (e.g., family socioeconomic status), distal (dispositional characteristics of parents), contextual (family characteristics), and proximal (parent-child interaction) factors that operate within families. Results show that proximal factors were significant predictors of antisocial behavior, independent of their shared variance with other factors. Consistent with the hypothesized mediational model, the effects of distal and contextual factors appear to be mostly indirect: after their association with proximal factors was taken into account, these factors were no longer significantly related to antisocial behavior. The implications of these findings for planning of developmentally appropriate interventions for adolescents and their families are discussed.     

Memory and aging in context

Much research has indicated that aging is accompanied by decrements in memory performance across a wide variety of tasks and situations. A dominant perspective is that these age differences reflect normative changes in the integrity and efficiency of the information-processing system. Contextual perspectives of development, however, argue for consideration of a broader constellation of factors as determinants of both intraindividual change and interindividual variation in memory functioning. The validity of the contextual perspective in characterizing the relationship between aging and memory is examined through a review of studies exploring a variety of alternative mechanisms associated with age differences in performance. It is concluded that a more multidimensional approach to the study of aging and memory is warranted.     

路径知识习得的认知老化效应

年龄与路径知识习得的关系是空间与认知老化两大领域研究的重要议题。老年人在面对不同的路径学习环境时呈现出不同的认知老化表现。以往与年龄相关的路径知识习得能力变化的研究, 主要支持了认知老化衰退理论。然而近来发现随着年龄增长, 老年人保留了一种空间认知补偿能力。由此, 在对前人文献进行回顾和反思的基础上, 整合路径知识习得的认知老化表现及机制以探究缓解空间认知老化可能的内部因素和外部有效措施。     

Varieties of cognitive penetration in visual perception

Is our perceptual experience a veridical representation of the world or is it a product of our beliefs and past experiences? Cognitive penetration describes the influence of higher level cognitive factors on perceptual experience and has been a debated topic in philosophy of mind and cognitive science. Here, we focus on visual perception, particularly early vision, and how it is affected by contextual expectations and memorized cognitive contents. We argue for cognitive penetration based on recent empirical evidence demonstrating contextual and top-down influences on early visual processes. On the basis of a perceptual model, we propose different types of cognitive penetration depending on the processing level on which the penetration happens and depending on where the penetrating influence comes from. Our proposal has two consequences: (1) the traditional controversy on whether cognitive penetration occurs or not is ill posed, and (2) a clear-cut perception–cognition boundary cannot be maintained.     

人格特质对认知老化的影响及其机制

认知老化是指与年龄相关的认知功能损害.影响认知老化的因素很多,人格是这些因素背后的重要动因.当前有关人格与认知老化的研究主要探讨了不同人格特质对认知老化的具体影响及作用机制两个方面.尽管不同人格特质与认知老化的关系逐渐清晰起来,但现有研究在一些问题上仍存在争议.未来可以从不同研究范式的结果对比、人格特质对认知老化影响机制的内在问题、人格与人格特质的稳定性及其影响、人格特质对认知老化影响的本土化研究等几个方面进一步强化和拓展.     

Cognitive skills and Finnish language inflection

Covariation of cognitive processes and mastery of inflectional forms assessed by Berko's method were studied among 2.6–4.3-year-old children. The erroneous inflections produced by the children were analysed in order to discover rules underlying their morphological test responses. The use of the different rules was guided by the children's age and cognitive skills. The effects of contextual task factors varied at different mastery levels of the morphological test. The results indicate the need for concomitant analysis of the interaction between the child's existing level of morphology, cognitive skills and contextual variables of the tasks.     

The role of sensory factors in cognitive aging research.

Performance on complex, cognitive tasks often is sensitive to low-level sensory and perceptual factors. These relations are particularly important for cognitive aging researchers because aging is associated with a variety of changes in sensory and perceptual function. In the article that follows, I first selectively outline some relations between task performance and sensory function. Next, I summarize age-related changes in visual function and the implications of these changes for task performance, using the digit-symbol subtest of the WAIS as an example. I offer some reasons why age-related sensory decline may not be important to all cognitive tasks. Finally, I provide several recommendations for cognitive gerontologists who want to minimize the risk that the age differences they observe are sensory in nature.     

AN EXAMINATION OF LEADERSHIP AND EMPLOYEE CREATIVITY: THE RELEVANCE OF TRAITS AND RELATIONSHIPS

Creativity is becoming a topic of ever-increasing interest to organizational managers. Thus, there is a need for a greater understanding of the dynamics between the personal and contextual factors responsible for creative performance in work settings. In particular, there is a need to identify the role of leadership for creativity. Until now, creativity studies have examined leadership and employee characteristics from a single-domain perspective. Data from 191 R&D employees of a large chemical company were used to test a multidomain, interactionist creativity model of employee characteristics, leader characteristics, and Leader-Member Exchange (LMX). Results suggest that employee intrinsic motivation and cognitive style, LMX, the interactions between employee intrinsic motivation and leader intrinsic motivation, and between LMX and employee cognitive style relate to employee creative performance as measured by supervisor ratings, invention disclosure forms, or research reports. Implications for practicing managers and research on leadership and creativity are discussed.     

Stability of cognitive vulnerabilities to depression: a short-term prospective multiwave study

The stability of 3 cognitive vulnerabilities--a negative cognitive style, dysfunctional attitudes, and rumination--as well as depressive symptoms as a benchmark were examined to investigate whether cognitive vulnerabilities are stable, enduring risks for depression. A sample of adolescents (6th-10th graders) completed measures of these 3 cognitive vulnerabilities and depressive symptoms every 5 weeks for 4 waves of data across 5 months. Mean-level and differential stability were examined for the sample overall and by age subgroups. A negative cognitive style exhibited mean-level stability, whereas rumination and dysfunctional attitudes showed some mean-level change. Absolute magnitudes of test-retest reliabilities were strong for depressive symptoms (mean r= .70), moderately high for a negative cognitive style (mean r= .52), and more modest for rumination (mean r= .28) and dysfunctional attitudes (mean r= .26). Structural equation modeling showed that primarily enduring processes, but not contextual forces, contributed to the patterning of these test-retest reliabilities over time for a negative cognitive style and dysfunctional attitudes, whereas both enduring and contextual dynamics appeared to underlie the stability for rumination. Theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.