The role of processing resources in age-related prospective and retrospective memory within old age

This study investigated the role of processing speed and working memory in prospective and retrospective memory (i.e., free recall) performance within old age. The aim was to examine age-related differences in both memory domains within the age range of 65 to 80 years. The sample consisted of 361 older adults from Wave 1 data of the Zurich Longitudinal Study on Cognitive Aging. Using structural equation modeling, prospective memory, free recall, working memory, and processing speed were identified as latent constructs. Age effects were found to be larger for prospective memory than for free recall. Furthermore, when controlling for individual differences in working memory and processing speed, unique age effects remained for prospective, but not retrospective, memory performance. Results indicate that, within old age, prospective memory represents a distinct memory construct that is partially independent of age-related individual differences in speed of processing, working memory, and retrospective memory.     

Ambiguity attitudes in qualitative contexts: The role of prior beliefs

Most studies of ambiguity aversion rely on experimental paradigms involving monetary bets. Thus, the extent to which ambiguity aversion occurs outside of such contexts is much less understood, particularly when the situation cannot easily be reduced to numerical terms. The present work seeks to understand whether people prefer to avoid ambiguous decisions in a variety of different qualitative domains (e.g., work, family, love, friendship, exercise, study, and health), and, if so, to determine the role played by prior beliefs in those domains. Across three studies, we presented participants with 24 vignettes and measured the degree to which they preferred risk to ambiguity in each. We also asked them for their prior probability estimates about the likely outcomes in the ambiguous events. Ambiguity aversion was observed in the vast majority of vignettes, but at different magnitudes. It was predicted by whether the vignette involved gain or loss as well as by people's prior beliefs; however, the heterogeneity between people meant that the role of prior beliefs was only evident in an individual-level analysis (i.e., not at the group level). Our results suggest that the desire to avoid ambiguity occurs in a wide variety of qualitative contexts but to different degrees for different people and may be partially driven by unfavorable prior estimates of the likely outcomes of the ambiguous events.     

Social participation attenuates decline in perceptual speed in old and very old age

Does an engaged and active lifestyle in old age alleviate cognitive decline, does high cognitive functioning in old age increase the possibility of maintaining an engaged and active lifestyle, or both? The authors approach this conundrum by applying a structural equation model for testing dynamic hypotheses, the dual change score model (J. J. McArdle & F. Hamagami, 2001), to 3-occasion longitudinal data from the Berlin Aging Study (Time 1: n=516, age range=70-103 years). Results reveal that within a bivariate system of perceptual speed and social participation, with age and sociobiographical status as covariates, prior scores of social participation influence subsequent changes in perceptual speed, while the opposite does not hold. Results support the hypothesis that an engaged and active lifestyle in old and very old age may alleviate decline in perceptual speed.     

Obligatory and optional personal life investments in old and very old age: Validation and functional relations

Personal life investment (PLI) measures motivational energy invested in central life domains. We distinguished between obligatory PLIs, that is, required investments, and optional PLIs, that is, investments that are possible but not necessary. Data from the Berlin Aging Study (N = 516; 70–103 years) were employed to investigate the validity of this distinction. We further explored how both PLI types relate to aging satisfaction and whether associations with validation variables and satisfaction differed depending on resource limitations (poor health). As expected based on conceptual affinities between the distinctions of obligatory-optional PLI and approach-avoidance tendencies, both PLI types showed positive relations with extraversion (a correlate of approach), but only obligatory PLI was positively related to neuroticism (a correlate of avoidance). Optional PLI (not obligatory PLI) was related to higher aging satisfaction, but only in fairly healthy people. This underscores differential functional relations of optional PLI depending on resource availability.

Self-pity: exploring the links to personality,control beliefs,and anger

Self-pity is a frequent response to stressful events. So far, however, empirical research has paid only scant attention to this subject. The present article aims at exploring personality characteristics associated with individual differences in feeling sorry for oneself. Two studies with N = 141 and N = 161 university students were conducted, employing multidimensional measures of personality, control beliefs, anger, loneliness, and adult attachment. With respect to personality, results showed strong associations of self-pity with neuroticism, particularly with the depression facet. With respect to control beliefs, individuals high in self-pity showed generalized externality beliefs, seeing themselves as controlled by both chance and powerful others. With respect to anger expression, self-pity was primarily related to anger-in. Strong connections with anger rumination were also found. Furthermore, individuals high in self-pity reported emotional loneliness and ambivalent-worrisome attachments. Finally, in both studies, a strong correlation with gender was found, with women reporting more self-pity reactions to stress than men. Findings are discussed with respect to how they support, extend, and qualify the previous literature on self-pity, and directions for future empirical research are pointed out.     

Judgments about estrogen replacement therapy: the role of age, cognitive abilities, and beliefs.

This study investigated age, cognitive abilities, health beliefs, and other factors in women's judgments about effective treatments for menopause. Women (N = 102) ranging in age from 20 to 79 read a vignette about a woman facing a decision about Estrogen Replacement Therapy (ERT) and then made judgments about what should be done. Participants also completed a battery of questions pertaining to ERT and cognitive abilities. Path-analytic techniques were used to determine the role of specific cognitive abilities and the representation of menopause and its treatment in making judgments about ERT treatments. Cognitive abilities had direct effects on treatment decisions. Education affected the number of perceived options for treatment. Age and education indirectly affected treatment decisions, operating through cognitive abilities. Factors related to the mental representation of menopause had no direct effects and few indirect effects on treatment decisions. Potential mechanisms that can help older adults compensate for declines in cognitive abilities in medical decisions are discussed.     

The role of age and prior beliefs in contingency judgment

This experiment investigated how prior beliefs affect young and older adults' ability to detect differences in objective contingency. Participants received new evidence that the objective contingency between two events was positive, negative, or zero when they believed that there was a positive or negative relationship between events, when they believed that the events were unrelated, and when they had no knowledge of the relationship between the events. They were then asked to estimate the objective contingency and recall the contingency evidence. Beliefs that events were or could be related improved young adults' contingency discrimination. Moreover, these beliefs did not produce biases in young adults' memory for the contingency evidence, but rather affected how they weighted this evidence at judgment. In contrast, these same beliefs did not improve older adults' contingency discrimination, but did produce biases in their memory for the evidence that were similar to those seen in their judgment. These findings are discussed in terms of age-related changes in working memory executive processes that impair older adults' ability to fully evaluate both belief-confirming and disconfirming contingency evidence and update their beliefs with this information.     

The prediction of safe sex behaviour: The role of intentions,attitudes, norms and control beliefs

Abstract

The present study was designed to examine the utility of the theory of reasoned action (Fishbein and Azjen, 1975) in relation to people's propensity to engage in a range of different safe sex strategies, including engaging in an exclusive sexual relationship, avoiding casual sex, and asking sexual partners about their previous sexual and IV drug use history. It was proposed that the intention to engage in a particular safe sex practice would be influenced by the person's attitude towards engaging in the practice, as well as his or her perception of the extent to which others thought they should do so (subjective norm), while behavioural intentions were proposed to predict actual behaviour. The study was also designed to examine whether, after control of the effects of the components of the theory of reasoned action, the person's generalised control beliefs would explain any additional variance in either behavioural intentions or actual behaviour. One hundred and two sexually active heterosexual students participated in the study. At the first wave of data collection, subjects completed measures of intentions, attitudes, and norms appropriate to each of the different behaviours. Measures of actual behaviour were obtained at follow-tip (three months after first period of data collection). The results of the study indicated that attitudes and norms predicted intentions for avoiding casual sex and asking sexual partners about their previous sexual and IV drug use history, while intentions predicted actual behaviour for all three safe sex strategies. Although there were no significant main effects of control beliefs on intentions or behaviour, subjects with internal control beliefs were more likely than their counterparts with external control beliefs to behave in accordance with their intentions to engage in an exclusive sexual relationship and ask sexual partners about their previous sexual and IV drug use history. Additional analyses revealed that the levels and determinants of intentions and actual behaviour were, in general, similar for males and females.     

The relationship between media exposure and antifat attitudes: the role of dysfunctional appearance beliefs

This study examined the relationship between media exposure, antifat attitudes, and body dissatisfaction, as well as the mediating effect of dysfunctional appearance beliefs. A sample of 112 women completed surveys measuring media exposure, antifat attitudes, body dissatisfaction, and dysfunctional beliefs about appearance. It was found that time spent reading fashion magazines was positively correlated with antifat attitudes and that this relationship was mediated by dysfunctional beliefs about appearance. Measures of antifat attitudes and body dissatisfaction were both found to be correlated with endorsement of dysfunctional beliefs about appearance and body mass index. Results suggest that time spent reading fashion magazines may be related to antifat attitudes through dysfunctional appearance beliefs.     

Retrieving names in old age: Short- and (very) long-term effects of repetition

Two experiments are reported that examine the effects of repetition on name retrieval in younger adults (in their 50s and 60s) and older adults (in their 70s and 80s). In Experiment 1, the subjects were asked to name a set of famous faces four times over the course of a 1-h session. Younger subjects produced significantly more correct responses than did older subjects. There was significant improvement with repeated attempts at naming, with younger and older subjects benefiting equally in terms of increasing numbers of correct responses across the session. In contrast, there was a highly significant age deficit in picture recognition over a similar retention interval. A qualitative analysis of naming responses (full name vs. part of the name) provided support for the view that aging and nonrecent use have equivalent effects on retrieval. In Experiment 2, younger subjects (but not older subjects) were significantly more likely to correctly name famous faces that they had seen 22 months previously than to correctly name new famous faces. In contrast, older subjects (but not younger subjects) were significantly more likely to produce erroneous names to famous faces that they had seen 22 months previously than to new famous faces. It is concluded that repetition priming may be relatively unaffected by aging over short retention intervals (Experiment 1) but not over a very long retention interval (Experiment 2).     

Women abuse: beliefs and attitudes in university students

Beliefs and attitudes positives toward domestic violence are one of the risks factors for his occurrence. Among his most studied predictors are gender, gender role attitudes or educational level. In this paper, domestic violence beliefs and attitudes are analysed in 1395 university students. "Inventory of Thoughts Distorted on the Woman and the Violence" (Echeburúa and Fernández-Montalvo, 1997) and "Inventory of Social Desirability" by Crowne and Marlowe (Form C, Reynolds, 1982) were administrated. Boys and students without specific formation about this subject show more positive beliefs and attitudes toward domestic violence. Though social desirability introduces some limitations, these results suggest the importance of incorporating matters on this subject in the curriculum of university students in general and, especially, in future professional that will work with these groups.     

Impact of physical and psychological resources on functional autonomy in old age

Functional autonomy is a core condition of successful ageing. To maximize autonomous functioning is not only a claim of social policy but also primarily an individual need. Part of the challenge of preventing unnecessary dependence in old age is to recognize the diversity among the elderly and the different availability of their physical, psychological and social resources. The aim of this study is to examine the age- and time-related changes in functional autonomy (activities of daily living, ADL, and instrumental activities of daily living, IADL) and the psychophysical resources correlated with these changes in a sample of 441 healthy elderly persons aged 65-95. Furthermore, we are interested in the long-term predictive power of physical resources (objective and subjective health, physical strength) and psychological resources (memory) on functional autonomy. Results show significant age- and time-related deteriorations in functional autonomy and in most psychophysical resources. Structural equation model analyses were performed to test the long-term predictive power of these resources. Results suggest that ADL is better predicted by physical resources than by psychological ones, but for IADL the reverse is the case; here memory variables play a dominant role. Physical and psychological variables are thus specifically related to different components of functional autonomy. This has to be taken into account in the development of preventive and intervention programmes.     

Rational beliefs,happiness and optimism: An empirical assessment of REBT's model of psychological health

This study sought to test the validity of the psychological health model of Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT). Specifically, this study sought to investigate if rational beliefs were associated with happiness and optimism. A multinational sample of 397 university students completed self‐report measures of rational beliefs, happiness and optimism. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used in order to test the validity of the REBT model of psychological health. The result of the SEM analysis provided empirical support for REBT's psychological health model of happiness and optimism. The model as a whole explained 33% of variance in levels of happiness and 40% of variance in levels of optimism. Self‐acceptance beliefs were positively and directly associated with happiness and optimism. Preference beliefs were positively and indirectly associated with happiness and optimism via self‐acceptance beliefs. REBT may offer a viable psychotherapeutic method to not only alleviate psychological distress, but also build positive emotion. Current findings may help to bridge the divide between the fields of positive psychology and clinical psychology.     

The role of attitudes and beliefs in differential health care utilisation among Chinese in Singapore

Abstract One hundred and twenty-eight Chinese patients at two Western medical practices and two Chinese medical practices in Singapore completed a questionnaire regarding perceptions of illnesses. Health beliefs and attitudes towards different medical practitioners. Results indicate significant differences between those who consult only allopathic physicians (Western doctors) and those who consult both practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine (sinsehs) and Western doctors. Individuals consulting both Western doctors and sinsehs perceived a smaller proportion of "general" illness attributes (those found in both Western and Chinese medicine) to be relevant to specific diseases and showed greater endorsement of Chinese health beliefs than did individuals seeking help only from Western doctors. Also individuals consulting both types of practitioners expressed less satisfaction with the doctor's treatment than did those consulting only Western doctors and also rated sinsehs as more concerned with patient well-being and as listening more to their patients.     

Respect for cultures,beliefs and attitudes: A way to better relationships and understanding

Beliefs and attitudes play a very important role in human behaviour. Particularly when strategies in psychological, social counselling and therpay are being forumulated, attitudes and beliefs, and beliefs about beliefs, play a crucial role. Personal, political and social considerations become more relevant and unavoidable (Lokare, 1975). When the counsellor or the therapist translates their theoretical and so-called scientific training and knowledge into gudance and advice things get tinted with the therapist's personal attudes and beliefs and mingle with those of the client (Loakare, 1974).     

The role of attitudes and beliefs in differential health care utilisation among Chinese in Singapore

Abstract

One hundred and twenty-eight Chinese patients at two Western medical practices and two Chinese medical practices in Singapore completed a questionnaire regarding perceptions of illnesses. Health beliefs and attitudes towards different medical practitioners. Results indicate significant differences between those who consult only allopathic physicians (Western doctors) and those who consult both practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine (sinsehs) and Western doctors. Individuals consulting both Western doctors and sinsehs perceived a smaller proportion of “general” illness attributes (those found in both Western and Chinese medicine) to be relevant to specific diseases and showed greater endorsement of Chinese health beliefs than did individuals seeking help only from Western doctors. Also individuals consulting both types of practitioners expressed less satisfaction with the doctor's treatment than did those consulting only Western doctors and also rated sinsehs as more concerned with patient well-being and as listening more to their patients.     

The role of authoritarianism, perceived threat, and need for closure or structure in predicting post-9/11 attitudes and beliefs

The authors examined relationships among authoritarianism, personal need for closure or structure, perceived threat, and post-9/11 attitudes and beliefs. Participants were 159 undergraduate students in the Southeastern United States. The authors collected data 1 week before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003. Correlation and regression analyses revealed that right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation were significant predictors of support for restricting human rights during the U.S.-led War on Terror, support for U.S. President George W. Bush, and support for U.S. military involvement in Iraq. Right-wing authoritarianism and perceived threat emerged as the strongest predictors of the belief that Saddam Hussein supported terrorism.     

Blind spots in the search for happiness: Implicit attitudes and nonverbal leakage predict affective forecasting errors

We investigated implicit knowledge and affective forecasting, reasoning that although conscious evaluations are available to people when predicting their future emotional responses, nonconscious evaluations are not. However, these automatically-activated evaluations should contribute to in-the-moment emotional experiences, and thus they should account for misforecasts (i.e., discrepancies between affective forecasts and actual experiences). We conducted two studies to explore affective misforecasts, using food items as stimuli. In Study 1, participants' implicit attitudes (but not their explicit attitudes) predicted misforecasts of food enjoyment, supporting the role of nonconscious evaluations in affective forecasting errors. In Study 2, we examined participants' facial expressions (another index of nonconscious evaluation) upon the presentation of food items, and we found that these nonverbal behaviors predicted affective misforecasts as well. In sum, although nonconscious evaluations are unavailable when anticipating the future, they may contribute to one's in-the-moment experiences and thus serve as blind spots in affective forecasting.     

Effects of gender diversity management on perceptions of organizational attractiveness: the role of individual differences in attitudes and beliefs

In this study, the authors examined how individual gender-related attitudes and beliefs affect the reactions of men and women to gender diversity management programs in organizations. They found that whereas there were no significant between-sex differences in the effects of gender diversity management on organizational attractiveness, there were strong within-sex differences based on individual attitudes and beliefs. Specifically, within the sexes, centrality of one's gender identity, attitudes toward affirmative action for women, and the belief that women are discriminated against in the workplace moderated the effects of gender diversity management on organizational attractiveness. The findings, combined with prior research, suggest that it is critical for organizations to incorporate efforts to manage perceptions of gender diversity management programs into their diversity management strategies.     

Influences of item organizability and semantic retrieval cues on word recall in very old age

Abstract

This research investigated the influence of organizational structure in the materials and category cues at retrieval on episodic memory performance in very old age. A community-based sample of healthy, very old adults (N = 224) between 75 and 96 years was presented with two lists of words: a list of semantically unrelated words and a list of words from four taxonomic categories randomly intermixed. Free recall was assessed for both tasks and, for the organizable list, subjects received a cued recall test as well. Results showed an overall age-related deterioration of memory performance, although the ability to utilize item organizability and retrieval cues remained intact across age. Evidence from data on memory performance, as well as analyses of the nature of organizable free recall, suggests that problems at both encoding and retrieval may underlie the age-related performance deficit. In addition, there were age-related increases in (a) forgetting between free and cued recall, and (b) intrusion errors. Finally, regression analyses indicated that, in addition to age, level of schooling as well as markers of general cognitive status (the Mini-Mental State Examination) and fluid intelligence (Block Design) accounted for performance variation across all memory tasks.