Short-term memory: Where do we stand?

Two empirical challenges to the traditional “modal model” of short-term memory are that neither the Brown-Peterson distractor technique nor the recency effect in recall is well accommodated by that position. Additionally, the status of memory stores as such, has declined in response to proceduralist thinking. At the same time, the concept of coding, on which the modal model is silent, is increasingly central to memory theory. People need to remember things in the short term, but a dedicated store does not need to be the agency.     

A decade of infant neuroimaging research: What have we learned and where are we going?

The past decade has seen the emergence of neuroimaging studies of infant populations. Incorporating imaging has resulted in invaluable insights about neurodevelopment at the start of life. However, little has been enquired of the experimental specifications and study characteristics of typical findings. This review systematically screened empirical studies that used electroencephalography (EEG), magnetoencephalography (MEG), functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) on infants (max. age of 24 months). From more than 21,000 publications, a total of 710 records were included for analyses. With the exception of EEG studies, infant studies with MEG, fNIRS, and fMRI were most often conducted around birth and at 12 months. The vast majority of infant studies came from North America, with very few studies conducted in Africa, certain parts of South America, and Southeast Asia. Finally, longitudinal neuroimaging studies were inclined to adopt EEG, followed by fMRI, fNIRS, and MEG. These results show that there is compelling need for studies with larger sample sizes, studies investigating a broader range of infant developmental periods, and studies from under- and less-developed regions in the world. Addressing these shortcomings in the future will provide a more representative and accurate understanding of neurodevelopment in infancy.     

Mentally ill or mentally handicapped? A longitudinal study of severe learning disorder

SUMMARY

In the course of some eighteen months of psychoanalytic psychotherapy, a young woman of twenty-seven once deemed braindamaged at the age of seven years, has shown herself capable of sustaining once weekly psychotherapy. Against all expectations she has taken responsibility for her own attendance, travelling by public transport alone to her sessions. She has also taken initiatives in relation to finding work for herself.

Psychotherapy has disclosed a significant component of autism in the personality which is resorted to regularly and which seems to drag the patient into a passive acceptance of half-life which she tries not to mind. In the course of her sessions the patient has come to take more notice of her predicament and to mind more about the dissatisfactions which she experiences.

The case presented here is considered to have the characteristics of a particular group of adolescents. These are often described as “just slow” and are brought for psychiatric or psychological attention by desperate parents urgently concerned about the working future of their children.

These are individuals of whom the original definition of mental handicap contained in the Mental Health Act 1913 “a state of arrested or incomplete development of mind” would seem to offer as honest, appropriate and meaningful an assessment as the formal I.Q. score introduced in 1959. Unlike the latter, it is an assessment based on a concept of mental development. Assessment by I.Q. score has led to emphasis on training to compensate for the supposed loss of functioning and also to notions like “training for development” and “education from birth”.

In the case described here it was the abandonment of training aims and approaches which produced a dramatic improvement in the well-being of the patient and her family. Treatment is now fostering the potential in this woman to bring her own mind into action and to support in her, her own wish for personal development.     

Feedback consistency effects in visual and auditory word recognition: where do we stand after more than a decade?

The role of phonology-to-spelling consistency (i.e., feedback consistency) was investigated in 3 lexical decision experiments in both the visual and auditory modalities in French and English. No evidence for a feedback consistency effect was found in the visual modality, either in English or in French, despite the fact that consistency was manipulated for different kinds of units (onsets and rimes). In contrast, robust feedback consistency effects were obtained in the auditory lexical decision task in both English and French when exactly the same items that produced a null effect in the visual modality were used. Neural network simulations are presented to show that previous demonstrations of feedback consistency effects in the visual modality can be simulated with a model that is not sensitive to feedback consistency, suggesting that these effects might have come from various confounds. These simulations, together with the authors' results, suggest that there are no feedback consistency effects in the visual modality. In contrast, such effects are clearly present in the auditory modality. Given that orthographic information is absent from current models of spoken word recognition, the present findings present a major challenge to these models.     

Do we see eye-to-eye? Implications of cultural differences for cross-cultural management research and practice.

Although observation is a common research technique, little attention has been given to the effects of culture on observer judgment making. These researchers argue that consideration of cultural differences is critical when applying observation techniques in cross-cultural research as well as in the applied contexts of performance appraisal and international management. A laboratory study was conducted to examine the potential for discrepancies in observer judgment making among Asian American and Caucasian American subjects. The results of this study affirm the importance of cultural influences in research and management.     

When and where do we apply what we learn? A taxonomy for far transfer

Despite a century's worth of research, arguments surrounding the question of whether far transfer occurs have made little progress toward resolution. The authors argue the reason for this confusion is a failure to specify various dimensions along which transfer can occur, resulting in comparisons of "apples and oranges." They provide a framework that describes 9 relevant dimensions and show that the literature can productively be classified along these dimensions, with each study situated at the intersection of various dimensions. Estimation of a single effect size for far transfer is misguided in view of this complexity. The past 100 years of research shows that evidence for transfer under some conditions is substantial, but critical conditions for many key questions are untested.     

Where do we look when we count? The role of eye movements in enumeration

Two experiments addressed the coupling between eye movements and the cognitive processes underlying enumeration. Experiment 1 compared eye movements in a counting task with those in a “look” task, in which subjects were told to look at each dot in a pattern once and only once. Experiment 2 presented the same dot patterns to every subject twice, to measure the consistency with which dots were fixated between and within subjects. In both experiments, the number of fixations increased linearly with the number of objects to be enumerated, consistent with tight coupling between eye movements and enumeration. However, analyses of fixation locations showed that subjects tended to look at dots in dense, central regions of the display and tended not to look at dots in sparse, peripheral regions of the display, suggesting a looser coupling between eye movements and enumeration. Thus, the eyes do not mirror the enumeration process very directly.     

Animal models of drug addiction: Where do we go from here?

Compulsion and impulsivity are both primary features of drug addiction. Based on decades of animal research, we have a detailed understanding of the factors (both environmental and physiological) that influence compulsive drug use, but still know relatively little about the impulsive aspects of drug addiction. This review outlines our current knowledge of the relationship between impulsivity and drug addiction, focusing on cognitive and motor impulsivity, which are particularly relevant to this disorder. Topics to be discussed include the influence of chronic drug administration on impulsivity, the mechanisms that may explain drug-induced impulsivity, and the role of individual differences in the development of impulsive drug use. In addition, the manner in which contemporary theories of drug addiction conceptualize the relationship between impulsivity and compulsion is examined. Most importantly, this review emphasizes a critical role for animal research in understanding the role of impulsivity in the development and maintenance of drug addiction.     

Diversion of mentally disordered offenders: A legitimate role for clinicians?

Consultations to the courts often extend beyond criminal competencies and may include implicit statements regarding the diversion of mentally disordered offenders to treatment facilities. Arguments for diversion are based on humanitarian interests and treatment needs. Arguments opposing diversion recommendations emphasize (a) the variability of opinions regarding treatability, (b) the lack of sufficient outcome data, and (c) the potential for negative consequences in offering unsolicited opinions on diversion. Initial data from 271 pretrial evaluations underscore the range in psychiatric use of diversion recommendations, although inpatient referrals in particular appear to be based on clinical status.     

Constructive or cruel? Positive or patronizing? Reactions to expressions of positive and negative stereotypes of the mentally ill

Previous research has shown that people respond with greater sensitivity to negative stereotypical comments about a group that are made from someone outside the group in question than from someone who belongs to the group. In this paper, we investigated if the same effect occurs in response to comments made about stigmatized groups. Specifically, we examined how people react to comments made about the mentally ill. The conditions under which people accept or reject stereotypes of the mentally ill may shed light on the conditions necessary for effective anti-discrimination campaigns. In the current study, participants responded to positive or negative stereotypes of the mentally ill voiced by either someone who has, or has not, suffered from a mental illness. Participants were more sensitive, agreed less, and evaluated the speaker less favourably when comments came from the out-group rather than the in-group source. The effects were strongest for negative comments, however contrary to previous research participants also responded less favourably to positive comments from the out-group source. These reactions were mediated by the perceived constructiveness of the speaker's motives. Implications for the effectiveness of anti-discrimination campaigns are discussed.     

For whom do we forgive? A functional analysis of forgiveness

We propose that people forgive to serve particular functions, depending on the extent to which forgiveness is intended to benefit the self, the offender, and their relationship. Three studies on personally experienced transgressions in valued relationships (Ns = 233, 239, and 83) indicate that victims are more likely to forgive for the sake of the self and the relationship than for an offender. Relationship focus is associated with increased benevolence and relationship quality and decreased revenge and avoidance. Offender focus is associated with nonvengeful motivations. Self focus is associated with avoidance and lower relationship closeness; in the immediate aftermath of a transgression, it is also related to unforgiving responses and reduced relationship satisfaction. The findings have important implications for forgiveness theorizing and application.     

Where do my emotions belong? A study of immigrants' emotional acculturation

The emotional experiences of people who live together tend to be similar; this is true not only for dyads and groups but also for cultures. It raises the question of whether immigrants' emotions become more similar to host culture patterns of emotional experience; do emotions acculturate? Two studies, on Korean immigrants in the United States (Study 1) and on Turkish immigrants in Belgium (Study 2), measured emotional experiences of immigrants and host group members with the Emotional Patterns Questionnaire. To obtain a measure of the immigrants' emotional similarity to the host group, their individual emotional patterns were correlated to the average pattern of the host group. Immigrants' exposure to and engagement in the host culture, but not their acculturation attitudes, predicted emotional acculturation.     

Psycho-educational group treatment for the severely and persistently mentally ill: how much leader training is necessary?

Psycho-educational groups (PEGs) have been shown to be a particularly effective form of treatment for patients classified under the rubric of severely and persistently mentally ill (SPMI). However, recent surveys suggest that certain professionals, such as nurses and clinical psychologists, called on to conduct these groups may have limited to no training. This study tested three methods (self-instructional, workshop, and workshop plus clinical supervision) designed to provide on-the-job training to practicing clinicians. Specifically, training was based on two manuals; one that operationalized the basic knowledge and skills needed to run an effective PEG and the second being a commonly used PEG program for symptom management targeted at SPMI patients. Eight nurses from four adult units at a state psychiatric hospital initially received self-instructional or workshop training and then conducted a 12-session symptom management PEG composed of four to five SPMI patients (e.g., schizophrenia, schizoaffective or major depression disorders). In a second wave of additional training, nurses received workshop training or clinical supervision and then conducted a second PEG. Differences between training methods were assessed by nurse- and patient-completed measures that tapped the knowledge and skills emphasized in the symptom management and PEG (nurses only) manuals. Results indicated limited support for the superiority of the workshop method on the nurse measures alone. Implications for training working professionals in group treatments and assessing outcomes with chronic SPMI patients are discussed.     

Why do we listen to music? A uses and gratifications analysis

Four 'uses and gratifications' studies investigated peoples' reasons for listening to music (Study 1); and whether these reasons differ significantly from those associated with other leisure activities (Study 2). In Study 3, an open-ended, qualitative research design was used to investigate why people listen to music. In Study 4, a cross-sectional design was used to investigate the possibility that people of different ages might listen to music for different reasons. Findings showed that there are a number of reasons why participants listen to music, comparison of which indicated that participants listen to music primarily to manage/regulate their moods. Comparison with other leisure activities indicated that for the most part, listening to music was rated better than other leisure activities at serving an individual's different needs. This versatility may explain why music is so important to people. Evidence was also found to suggest that the reasons for listening to music may change as people grow older.     

Law,professional practice,and university preparation: Where do we go from here?

In this time of legal decisions which call much professional practice into question, it is well to ask ourselves questions as to why we are the object of court concern and how our preparation is related to our difficulties. It is suggested that current psychological practice is basically Aristotelian in nature and that our specialty suffers as a consequence. Several suggestions are presented for adjustments in university preparation. Intelligence testing and ability grouping are referred to throughout, for they have been primary targets of the courts. Examples pertaining to personality and other often measured psychological variables could have as appropriately been offered.     

Law,professional practice,and professional organizations: Where do we go from here?

The ethical dilemmas presented to the practicing school psychologist by the plethora of laws that dictate procedures, policies, and instrumentation are discussed. The function of professional organizations, both national and state, is described as (a) anticipating legislation, (b) developing political impact, (c) affecting existing laws, and (d) affecting proposed legislation. Coordination of efforts among various groups and development of political expertise is urged as a way to approach issues of concern to both psychologists and their clients.     

What do we see in a tilted square? A validation of the figure independence scale.

The Figure Independence Scale (FIS) assesses people's preference for abstract figures that represent uniqueness. As psychological manifestations of cultural values cohere among each other within a cultural system, the authors argue that preference for uniqueness, as a psychological manifestation of the value for independence, can be used as an indirect measure of this value. Four studies examine the convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity of the FIS. The results indicate that liking for abstract, unique figures coheres with other specific manifestations of the value for independence (i.e., responses to explicit independence scale, need for personal control, liking for independence themes in advertisements, and use of social coping) and thus can be used as a measure of individuals' more global endorsement of this individualistic value.