The effects of proactive interference (PI) and release from PI on judgments of learning

In three experiments, we investigated metacognitive monitoring in a variant of an A–B A–C learning paradigm in which the repetition of cues, but not targets, led to increasing proactive interference (PI) across trials. Judgments of learning (JOLs) correctly predicted decreases across trials in this paradigm but incorrectly continued to predict decreases on a final release trial in which new cues were introduced and performance consequently increased. Experience with the paradigm did not ameliorate this metacognitive failure (Experiment 3). In addition, JOLs decreased equally for pairs with repeated and with novel cue terms, even though recall of the latter group of items did not decrease across trials (Experiment 2). These results suggest that metacognizers’ naïve theories of remembering and forgetting include a role for global, but not cue-specific, interference.     

Overshadowing between landmarks on the touchscreen and in arena with pigeons

The role of generalization decrement in spatial overshadowing was evaluated using a landmark-based spatial search task in both a touchscreen preparation (Experiment 1a) and in an Automated Remote Environmental Navigation Apparatus (ARENA, Experiment 1b). A landmark appeared as a colored circle among a row of eight (touchscreen) or six (ARENA) potential locations. On overshadowing trials, Landmark X was located two positions away from a hidden goal, while another landmark, A, was in the position between X and the goal. On control trials, Landmark Y was positioned two locations away from the goal but without a closer landmark. All subjects were then tested with separate trials of A, X, Y, and BY. Testing revealed poor spatial control by X relative to A and Y, thereby replicating the spatial overshadowing effect. Spatial control by Y was similar when tested in compound with novel landmark (BY) and on trials of Y alone. Thus, overshadowing in a small-scale environment does not appear to be due to a process of generalization decrement between training and testing.     

Longitudinal Modeling of Adolescents' Activity Involvement, Problem Peer Associations, and Youth Smoking

Longitudinal associations among different types of organized activity involvement, problem peer associations, and cigarette smoking were examined in a sample of 1040 adolescents (mean age = 15.62 at baseline, 16.89 at 15-month assessment, 17.59 at 24 months) enriched for smoking experimentation (83% had tried smoking). A structural equation model tested longitudinal paths between three categories of involvement (team sports, school clubs and activities, and religious activities, measured at baseline and 15 months), problem peer associations (baseline and 15 months), and cigarette smoking behavior (baseline and 24 months). Multi-group analyses indicated pathways differed by type of activity and adolescent gender. Boys' baseline team sports and religious involvement predicted lower levels of smoking at 24 months via continued activity involvement at 15 months. Girls' involvement in school clubs and activities and religious activities indirectly predicted lower levels of smoking at 24 months via reduced exposure to problem peers at 15 months.     

“Does degree of asymmetry relate to performance?” A critical review

In a recent paper, Chiarello, Welcome, Halderman, and Leonard (2009) reported positive correlations between word-related visual field asymmetries and reading performance. They argued that strong word processing lateralization represents a more optimal brain organization for reading acquisition. Their empirical results contrasted sharply with those of another such large-scale study, by Boles, Barth, and Merrill (2008). We reported negative correlations between asymmetry and performance when both were measured using the same visual lexical tasks. Most recently, within-task negative correlations were also reported by Hirnstein, Leask, Rose, and Hausmann (2010). Here two major differences between studies are explored. Task purity refers to the influence of the same mental processes on both the asymmetry and performance measures, and is arguably maximal in studies measuring both within the same task. The other difference concerns the measurement of asymmetry. Linear corrections for ceiling and floor effects were used by Chiarello et al. and Hirnstein et al., while we used a more appropriate nonlinear one. Their results are difficult to interpret for those reasons. The operation of a third variable to which both asymmetry and performance are positively correlated could also be a factor in the Chiarello et al. findings. The Boles et al. findings reflect a negative correlation between an asymmetric visual lexical process and performance measured within the same task.     

Genomic Counseling in the Newborn Period: Experiences and Views of Genetic Counselors

As newborn screening (NBS) technology expands, genetic counselors will become more involved in counseling for NBS results, including those potentially generated from whole exome sequencing (WES) and eventually whole genome sequencing (WGS). Members of the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) responded to an online survey (n?=?208) regarding genomic counseling in the context of NBS. The majority of participants (82.1 %) did not feel prepared to counsel for WGS results from NBS. Counselors with previous WES/WGS counseling experience felt more prepared (p?=?0.005) to counsel for WGS results from NBS than those without WES/WGS experience. Overall, counselors expressed ethical and practical concerns regarding WGS in NBS, as well as a need for additional training regarding this application of the technology before it is implemented. Based on the results of this study, genetic counselors voice caution to the larger genetics community regarding expansion of NBS to incorporate genomic sequencing and advocate for additional education prior to initiating WGS into NBS.     

Time,space, and memory for order

Information about the order of items in a sequence can be conveyed either spatially or temporally. In the present investigation, we examined whether these different modes of presentation map onto compatible mental representations of serial order. We examined this issue in three immediate serial-recall experiments, in which participants recalled lists of letters in the temporal order in which they had appeared. Each letter in a to-be-remembered sequence was presented in a unique spatial position, with the order of these spatial positions progressing from either left to right or right to left. In this way, the visually presented lists contained both temporal and spatial order information. Recall of the temporal order information was more accurate with congruent spatial order information—that is, when the letters progressed from left to right, following the typical reading direction of English—than when the spatial order information was incongruent. These results suggest compatible representations of serial order when sequences are conveyed spatially and temporally.     

Mind-Wandering and Childhood ADHD: Experimental Manipulations across Laboratory and Naturalistic Settings

Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology - The conceptual overlap between mind-wandering and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)-related impairments is considerable, yet little...     

Partnering for Success Symptom Monitoring Outcomes: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Plus for Children and Youth in Child Welfare

Journal of Child and Family Studies - A substantial proportion of children and youth in the child welfare system have mental health concerns that warrant attention. While these youth are more...     

Beyond slots and resources: Grounding cognitive concepts in neural dynamics

Research over the past decade has suggested that the ability to hold information in visual working memory (VWM) may be limited to as few as three to four items. However, the precise nature and source of these capacity limits remains hotly debated. Most commonly, capacity limits have been inferred from studies of visual change detection, in which performance declines systematically as a function of the number of items that participants must remember. According to one view, such declines indicate that a limited number of fixed-resolution representations are held in independent memory “slots.” Another view suggests that such capacity limits are more apparent than real, but emerge as limited memory resources are distributed across more to-be-remembered items. Here we argue that, although both perspectives have merit and have generated and explained impressive amounts of empirical data, their central focus on the representations—rather than processes—underlying VWM may ultimately limit continuing progress in this area. As an alternative, we describe a neurally grounded, process-based approach to VWM: the dynamic field theory. Simulations demonstrate that this model can account for key aspects of behavioral performance in change detection, in addition to generating novel behavioral predictions that have been confirmed experimentally. Furthermore, we describe extensions of the model to recall tasks, the integration of visual features, cognitive development, individual differences, and functional imaging studies of VWM. We conclude by discussing the importance of grounding psychological concepts in neural dynamics, as a first step toward understanding the link between brain and behavior.