Functions of reminiscence in later life: proposition of a model and applications

Our objective is to draw some practical implications from current research on the functions of reminiscence in later life. In the first part, based on a consensual typology of reminiscence functions, a comprehensive model of reminiscence functions is presented as a theoretical framework. This model groups the various functions of reminiscence under three overarching categories: self-functions, guidance functions, and social bonding functions. In the second part, practical suggestions for using reminiscence in the realm of mental health are drawn from empirical research on possible antecedents and consequences of the various forms of reminiscence.     

The impact of age on useful visual field deterioration and risk evaluation in a simulated driving task

The primary goal of this study is to evaluate whether the driver can estimate his performance and the deterioration of his state of alertness during a simulated driving task. The second goal is to study the relation between useful visual field (UVF) deterioration and the capacity to estimate performance in a visual task and the decrease of level of alertness as a function of age. In our experiment, two groups of subjects: 10 drivers between 21 and 34 years old and nine drivers between 46 and 57 years old were required to follow a vehicle in a simulated road traffic situation for 2 hours. In addition, the driver had to detect the change of colour of a signal located in the central part of his visual field or a peripheral signal appeared on the rear light of one of the vehicles in the traffic. The analysis of data collected during this visual task confirms that UVF deteriorates with the duration of the driving task and with the driver's age. The analysis of subjective data related to the state of alertness highlights an effect both of age and of the moment when this self-evaluation was carried out. However, self-evaluation of the subject's performance does not depend on driver's age. Finally, the study shows that the correlation between objective data (performance of visual task) and subjective data (state of drowsiness and self-evaluation of performance of the visual task) is low, and the implications with regard to road safety are discussed.     

Coping with a threat to quality of life: the case of the Prestige disaster

The Prestige disaster occurred off the Galician coast (North-West Spain), after the sinking of Prestige oil tanker in November 2002. The breaking up and sinking of the ship in heavy seas resulted in the discharge of thousands of tones of toxic and heavy oil. The oil was washed up not only on the Galician coast, but also along the North coast of Spain, and the West of France. A year later, the consequences of this accident on the quality of life of Galician people are only beginning to become apparent. The present study evaluates the inhabitants' and volunteers' perceptions and evaluations of the social impact of the disaster and its effect on the population. This paper also provides a diagnosis of the changing relationship between a damaged environment and a human community, both immediately and a year after the catastrophe. A total of 1491 and 1504 interviews were undertaken in Galicia in two phases of the research amongst people over 18 years old. This paper reports on the changes in the attitudes of the population in several respects: the degree to which they were affected by the catastrophe, their understanding of what happened, their attribution of responsibility and the assessment of the consequences, and finally, their feelings and assessment of satisfaction and credibility of the political institutions, organizations, and the media.     

Cultural theory and quality of life

Sustainable development has been conceptualised as a “commonwealth of values” lying at the intersection of environmental, economic and social goals (Alternatives 17 (3) (1990) 14). This captures well the approach taken by the present study, which examines the cultural, environmental and economic components of sustainable development and framed within cultural theory. People do not perceive the world through clear eyes, but through perceptual lenses coloured by their worldview. Cultural theory provides an alternative to the conventional attitude-driven approaches to environmental perceptions. This study sought to test the relationship between the four worldviews of cultural theory (hierarchy, egalitarianism, individualism and fatalism) in the context of their cultural, environmental and economic domains, with particular reference to the costs and benefits of car use. Questionnaires, designed to measure cultural, environmental and economic worldviews, attitudes towards car use and socio-demographic indices (A theoretical and methodological examination of cultural theory applied to environmental issues. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Department of Psychology, University of Surrey (2002)) were sent to residents of a prosperous town in the south-east of England and where car ownership levels are significantly higher than the national average. The findings of this study support the predictions of cultural theory. The results are discussed in terms of their significance both for future research on understanding the predictors of environmental perceptions, attitudes and behaviour, as well as environmental interventions.     

Influence of auditory tempo on the endogenous rhythm of non-nutritive sucking

The aim of this study was to examine the perception of time in the first months of life. Does the perception of contextual temporal information (an auditory tempo) induce modifications in spontaneous motor behavior (in the present case, non-nutritive sucking behavior) at birth and at 2 months? Two auditory tempos were successively tested. The first was the same as the previously recorded spontaneous motor tempo (SMT); the second was 15% faster or 15% slower than the infant's SMT according to the group. Results showed that modification of the sucking tempo depended on age and contextual temporal information. Two-month-old infants were able to adapt their endogenous sucking rhythm to an external tempo if it was faster than their spontaneous rhythm. Results also confirmed that slowing down the sucking rate was difficult for both groups of infants. In sum, the results suggest that, to a certain extent, very young infants are sensitive to contextual modifications (which indicates that they perceive them). This study has thus identified certain features of the internal time base rate from birth which could help define a developmental internal clock model of contextual temporal processing.     

The effect of the commitment to observe speed limits during rehabilitation training courses for traffic regulation offenders in France

A procedure was set up for traffic regulation offenders participating in French rehabilitation training courses to make a commitment to observe speed limits. In our research, 624 offenders from different French “départements” attended the courses. These offenders were assigned to an experimental group, a comparison group or a control group. In the experimental group, about 53% of course participants publicly committed to observing speed limits each time they drove. The effect of commitment was tested by phone interviews repeated four times, approximately 12 days, 45 days, 3.5 months and 5.5 months after the courses. Results show a positive effect of commitment on self-reported speed limits at the short term and for more than 5 months after the courses.     

Psychological parameters to understand and manage the NIMBY effect

Decision making in environmental intervention and management usually displeases someone. Public administration entities and private organisations must pinpoint and manage certain environmental and social services that though deemed necessary and essential, often carry a negative image that creates social rejection. This is known as the NIMBY effect (Not In My Backyard). This phenomenon, which to a certain extent can be considered normal, is related to social perception of risk, to the complex process of attribution of causes, and to perceived inequity. It addresses the issue of life quality in terms of the potential alteration of people's well-being that generates self-defence behaviour. This paper reviews previous literature, analyses and compares the most relevant environmental conflicts in Catalonia between 1988 and 2003, and shows that not every conflict should be considered a NIMBY effect. It then suggests some management recommendations for NIMBY conflict management from the standpoint of classical social psychology theories.     

Motivational sources of driving and their associations with reckless driving cognitions and behavior

Two studies were conducted to explore the motivational sources of driving and their associations with reckless driving among young drivers. In Study 1 (n = 290), self-report measures were developed to assess the perceived costs and benefits of driving, driver self-image, and self-efficacy as a driver. Factor analyses revealed four benefit factors (impression management, pleasure, thrill, and sense of control), four costs (distress, damage to self-esteem, annoyance, life endangerment), and four self-image factors (cautious, courteous, confident, and impulsive driver). Furthermore, significant associations were found between the various motivational sources on the one hand, and reported reckless driving, commission of traffic violations, and involvement in car accidents on the other. In Study 2 (n = 267), further associations were found between the motivational sources of driving and measures of the reckless driving scheme, namely, the perception of reckless driving as acceptable and desirable or as negative and threatening. The discussion focuses on the validity and utility of a multidimensional conceptualization of driving and reckless driving as separate entities, and on the practical implications of understanding the motivational aspects of driving.     

Impact of a personal goals management program on the subjective well-being of young retirees

A personal goal-based intervention was offered to retired people aged 50 to 65 years with the objective of increasing their subjective well-being. The program aimed to help the participants set, plan, and pursue their personal goals through a learning process based on literature on goal intervention. At the end of the program, the experimental group (N = 117) had improved significantly more than the control group (N = 177) on the majority of the goal and subjective well-being indicators, and this gain was maintained six months later. The enhanced well-being observed in the participants after the intervention stemmed from the mediating effect of the goals and was thus due to the greater focus on goals. Some ideas to make the program more effective are discussed.     

Differential effects of stimulus context in sensory processing

Stimulus contexts in which different intensity levels are presented to two sensory–perceptual channels can produce differential effects on perception: Perceived magnitudes are depressed in whichever channel received the stronger stimuli. Context differentially can affect loudness at different sound frequencies or perceived length of lines in different spatial orientations. Reported in hearing, vision, haptic touch, taste, and olfaction, differential context effects (DCEs) are a general property of perceptual processing. Characterizing their functional properties and determining their underlying mechanisms are essential both to fully understanding sensory and perceptual processes and to properly interpreting sensory measurements obtained in applied as well as basic research settings.     

Quality of life and benzodiazepine drug use by community-dwelling elderly: a stress and coping perspective

Framed in Lazarus and Folkman theory of stress and coping, a model of onset of long-term benzodiazepine use among community-dwelling older adults is presented within a perspective of quality of life enhancement. We focus on heightened emotional reactivity, and subsequent effect on cognitive appraisal of life circumstances (loss of control over the event and negative appraisal of personal resources). We examine ensuing coping strategy, namely an increased reliance on both emotion-reduction and problem-solving coping strategies. The effects of benzodiazepine use on quality of life are brought forth. Alternatives to benzodiazepine use are suggested.     

Perceived residential environment quality in middle- and low-extension italian cities

This paper presents two updated instruments measuring the inhabitants perceived quality of their neighbourhood in urban places. This sphere is part of the environmental domain, which is considered one of the four components in individuals overall quality of life (Group development of the World Health Organization WHOQOL, 1998). The instruments consist of 11 scales measuring perceived residential environment quality (PREQ) indicators and one scale measuring neighbourhood attachment (NA). PREQ scales are included in the four generative criteria as follows: three scales deal with spatial aspects (i.e. architectural-planning space, organisation and accessibility of space, green areas); one scale concerns human aspects (i.e. people and social relations); four scales relate to functional aspects (i.e. welfare, recreational, commercial and transportation services); three scales deal with contextual aspects (i.e. pace of life, environmental health, upkeep). The objectives are: a) to generalise the structure and number of both the PREQ and NA indexes (previously verified on various residential areas of a large city like Rome; see Landscape and Urban Planning 65 (2003) 41; Housing Surveys. Advances in Theory and Methods, Crad, Quebec, Canada (1997), 99) on medium- and low-extension cities; b) to improve the psychometric qualities (i.e. internal consistency coefficients) of the scales; c) to verify the capacity of PREQ and NA indexes to discriminate between cities. The instruments consist of a self-report questionnaire, which was administered to 1488 residents in different neighbourhoods of 11 Italian middle- and low-extension cities (from 50,000 to 400,000 inhabitants). Results confirm the factorial structure of the scales, which include 19 PREQ indexes and one NA index. The scales show an increased level of reliability with respect to previous studies.     

The mental context for the description of odors: a semantic space

The experiments conducted in this research aimed to increase our understanding of olfactory properties and classify them hierarchically through entailment. The research objective was to build an odor classification based on internal knowledge (i.e. mental context). Twelve floral scents were described freely by 60 participants. First, three sensory judges undertook a semantic analysis of the 1145 olfactory terms gathered. Secondly, a study of the entailment between olfactory properties was conducted using 42 subjects working on four lists of terms describing the characteristics of floral perfumes. The results confirmed the hypothesis that olfactory properties show tree-like structure. This allowed us to propose a classification system composed of two superordinate categories: First, objects, being olfactory sources, constitute the first category and are considered as olfactory properties themselves (i.e. civilization, food and natural sources). Second non-objects properties are those applicable to a diversity of objects: (i.e. properties, such as objects' physical state: sensory, intensity, space, time) and those related to the subject (as personal feelings and value judgments). Based on these results, it appears that olfactory properties can be organized as a semantic network in line with the general theory of categorization.     

Effects of early sensorimotor disorder on contextual learning in autism

Cognitive explanations of autism often involve higher order cognitive functions developing late in childhood, such as theory of mind, executive functions or central coherence. In home videos of infants later diagnosed with autism, children display early signs of developmental disorders, for example impaired sensorimotor functions, attention to social and non-social stimuli and a lack of circadian regulation. We propose that these early signs need to be understood using a framework of context learning. It is also important to understand the role for context understanding in guiding the maturation of behavior. The role for inhibition in context learning as understood within learning theory provides us with helpful tools for this analysis. Our research aim is not to identify and explain early markers for autism, but to understand the cognitive developmental pathway set into rolling by an early impairment. This will help us understand the seemingly unrelated symptoms that define the complex syndrome of autism.     

Examining the relationship between use of sexually explicit media and sexual risk behavior in a sample of men who have sex with men in Norway

The purpose of this study was to investigate consumption patterns of gay‐oriented sexually explicit media (SEM) among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Norway, with a particular emphasis on a possible relationship between gay SEM consumption and HIV risk behavior. Participants included 529 MSM living in Norway recruited online to complete a SEM consumption and sexual risk survey. Of the 507 participants who responded to the all items measuring exposure to SEM, 19% reported unprotected anal intercourse with a casual partner (UAI) in last 90 days, and 14% reported having had sero‐discordant UAI. Among those with UAI experience, 23% reported receptive anal intercourse (R‐UAI) and 37% reported insertive anal intercourse (I‐UAI). SEM consumption was found to be significantly associated with sexual risk behaviors. Participants with increased consumption of bareback SEM reported higher odds of UAI and I‐UAI after adjusting for other factors using multivariable statistics. MSM who started using SEM at a later age reported lower odds of UAI and I‐UAI than MSM who started earlier. Future research should aim at understanding how MSM develop and maintain SEM preferences and the relationship between developmental and maintenance factors and HIV sexual risk behavior.     

Task complexity as a driver for collaborative learning efficiency: The collective working‐memory effect

This study investigated the differential effects of learning task complexity on both learning process and outcome efficiency of 83 individual and group learners in the domain of biology. Based upon cognitive load theory, it was expected that for high‐complexity tasks, group members would learn in a more efficient way than individual learners, while for low‐complexity tasks, individual learning would be more efficient. This interaction hypothesis was confirmed, supporting our premise that the learning efficiency of group members and individuals is determined by a trade‐off between the group's advantage of dividing information processing amongst the collective working memories of the group members and its disadvantage in terms of associated costs of information communication and action coordination. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mediation of self‐regulation and mood in the relationship of changes in high emotional eating and nutritional behaviors: Moderating effects of physical activity

High emotional eating (EE) is prevalent in women with obesity. A previous study's subsample of obese women classified as high emotional eaters participated in either a physical activity‐focused experimental (n = 29) or an educationally focused comparison (n = 22) behavioral treatment and was assessed over phases of expected weight loss (baseline–month 6) and short‐ and long‐term regain (months 6–12 and 6–24, respectively). The study's aim was to assess theory‐based psychological and behavioral mediation and moderation of changes in nutritional behaviors via emotional eating change in order to inform behavioral weight‐loss treatments. During the weight‐loss phase, significant improvements in eating self‐regulation and mood significantly mediated the relationship of reduced EE and intake of both fruits and vegetables (FV) and sweets. Self‐regulation was a significant independent mediator. Physical activity significantly moderated the relationship between EE and self‐regulation changes. All variables demonstrated large positive effects and significant time × group interactions favoring the experimental group. During the short and long‐term phases of expected weight regain, there were no significant changes in FV intake, although consumption of sweets significantly increased during months 6–24. Change in FV and sweets significantly predicted weight change, which was significantly greater in the experimental vs. comparison group over both the initial 6 months (?6.1% vs. ?2.6%) and full 24 months of the study (?7.6% vs. ?1.3%). Findings suggest that behavioral treatments should address EE through improvements in self‐regulation and mood, and supported physical activity will aid in that process. The need for an improved understanding of weight‐loss maintenance remains.     

A computer art assessment system for the evaluation of space usage in drawings with application to the analysis of its relationship to level of dementia

Space usage in drawings is an important element that provides useful information about the drawer’s level of energy and psychological status. In this paper, we delineate the development of a computer system to objectively and quantitatively evaluate the space usage using regression models and computer analysis. We formulate regression models whose dependent variables are the grades and the ranks of space usages. We emphasize the contribution of the area of the painted convex hull in explaining the grades and ranks, which we propose as an independent variable. All possible independent variables including the area of painted regions and the number of colors used are evaluated by the computer algorithms developed in this study. We measure the validity of the system for evaluating grades and ranks. As an application to a real case, the system has been used to investigate the relationship between the space usage and the level of dementia.