Assessing the evidence for a cue-induced trade-off between capacity and precision in visual working memory using mixture modelling and Bayesian model comparison

There is considerable debate regarding the ability to trade mnemonic precision for capacity in working memory (WM), with some studies reporting evidence consistent with such a trade-off and others suggesting it may not be possible. The majority of studies addressing this question have utilized a standard approach to analysing continuous recall data in which individual-subject data from each experimental condition is fitted with a probabilistic model of choice. Estimated parameter values related to different aspects of WM (e.g., the capacity and precision of stored items) are then compared using statistical tests to determine the presence of hypothesized differences between experimental conditions. However, recent research has suggested that the standard approach is flawed in several respects. In this study, we presented participants with behavioural pre-cues informing them about the upcoming number of to-be-remembered items (high- vs. low-load) with the goal of inducing a trade-off between capacity and precision. The data were then analysed using the standard analytical approach and a more rigorous Bayesian model comparison (BMC) approach. The second approach involved generating a set of probabilistic models whose priors reflect different hypotheses regarding the effect of our key experimental manipulations on behaviour. Our results demonstrate that these two approaches can produce notably different results. More specifically, the standard analysis revealed that a high- versus a low-load cue resulted in higher capacity and lower precision parameter estimates, suggesting the presence of a trade-off between capacity and precision. However, the more rigorous BMC analysis revealed that it was very unlikely that participants employed a behavioural strategy in which they sacrificed mnemonic precision to achieve higher storage capacity. In light of these differences, we advocate for a more stringent approach to model selection and hypothesis testing in studies implementing mixture modelling.     

Hot executive function following moderate‐to‐late preterm birth: altered delay discounting at 4 years of age

Interest in monitoring long‐term neurodevelopmental outcomes of children born moderate‐to‐late preterm (32–36 weeks gestation) is increasing. Moderate‐to‐late preterm birth has a negative impact on academic achievement, which may relate to differential development of executive function (EF). Prior studies reporting deficits in EF in preterm children have almost exclusively assessed EF in affectively neutral contexts in high‐risk preterm children (< 32 weeks gestation). Disrupted function in motivational or emotionally charged contexts (hot EF) following preterm birth remains uninvestigated, despite evidence that preterm children show differential development of neural circuitry subserving hot EF, including reduced orbitofrontal cortex volume. The present study is the first to examine whether low‐risk, healthy children born moderate‐to‐late preterm exhibit impairments in the development of hot EF. Preterm children at age 4.5 years were less likely to choose larger, delayed rewards across all levels of reward magnitude on a delay discounting task using tangible rewards, but performed more similarly to their full‐term peers on a delay aversion task involving abstract rewards and on measures of cool EF. The relationship between gestational age at birth and selection of delayed rewards extended across the entire gestational age range of the sample (32–42 weeks), and remained significant after controlling for intelligence and processing speed. Results imply that there is not a finite cut‐off point at which children are spared from potential long‐term neurodevelopmental effects of PT birth. Further investigation of reward processing and hot EF in individuals with a history of PT birth is warranted given the susceptibility of prefrontal cortex development to early environmental variations.     

Motivation in a MOOC: a probabilistic analysis of online learners’ basic psychological needs

Self-determination theory (SDT) is one of the most well-known approaches to achievement motivation. However, the three basic psychological needs of SDT have not received equivalent attention in the literature: priority has been given to autonomy, followed by the need for competence, with research into relatedness lacking (Bachman and Stewart in Teach Psychol 38: 180–187, 2011. doi: 10.1177/0098628311411798). One new educational setting where relatedness may be particularly important is massive open online courses (MOOCs), which provide unprecedented opportunities for either relatedness or isolation. The purpose of the research was to use Bayesian networks (BN) to establish probabilistic relationships between learners’ basic psychological needs in the context of one MOOC. The majority (59 %) of participants (N = 1037; 50 % female and 50 % male) were under 45 (age range was 18–74 years). This sample represented approximately 88 regions and countries. Participants completed a revised Basic Student Needs Scale (Betoret and Artiga in Electron J Res Educ Psychol 9(2): 463–496, 2011). In order to reveal the best structural understanding of SDT within a MOOC learning environment, analysis of the data involved the development of a BN probabilistic model. The best fitting BN model included autonomy, competence, and relatedness—resulting in a probabilistic accuracy of 77.41 %. Analyses revealed participants with high autonomy had an 80.01 % probability of having a moderate level of competence. Relatedness was distinct from the autonomy and competence relationship. The strong inter-connections between autonomy and competence support existing research. The notion that relatedness may be a distinct need, at least in this context, was supported and warrants future research.     

Altering attentional control settings causes persistent biases of visual attention

Attentional control settings have an important role in guiding visual behaviour. Previous work within cognitive psychology has found that the deployment of general attentional control settings can be modulated by training. However, research has not yet established whether long-term modifications of one particular type of attentional control setting can be induced. To address this, we investigated persistent alterations to feature search mode, also known as an attentional bias, towards an arbitrary stimulus in healthy participants. Subjects were biased towards the colour green by an information sheet. Attentional bias was assessed using a change detection task. After an interval of either 1 or 2 weeks, participants were then retested on the same change detection task, tested on a different change detection task where colour was irrelevant, or were biased towards an alternative colour. One experiment included trials in which the distractor stimuli (but never the target stimuli) were green. The key finding was that green stimuli in the second task attracted attention, despite this impairing task performance. Furthermore, inducing a second attentional bias did not override the initial bias toward green objects. The attentional bias also persisted for at least two weeks. It is argued that this persistent attentional bias is mediated by a chronic change to participants’ attentional control settings, which is aided by long-term representations involving contextual cueing. We speculate that similar changes to attentional control settings and continuous cueing may relate to attentional biases observed in psychopathologies. Targeting these biases may be a productive approach to treatment.     

REVIEWS

WOMAN-AFFIRMING SEX: AN EXAMINATION OF FEMINIST PERSPECTIVES ON WOMEN's SEXUALITY
Sexual Salvation: Affrming Women's Sexual Rights and Pleasures, Naomi B. McCormick. Westport, CT:
THE WIT AND WISDOM OF A FEMINIST SEXOLOGIST
Sex is Not a Natural Act and Other Essays, Leonore Tiefer. Boulder, CO:
THE BATTLEGROUND OF OPPOSING VIEWPOINTS
Male/Female Roles: Opposing Viewpoints. Jonathan S. Petrikin (Ed). San Diego, CA:
Feminism: Opposing Viewpoints. Carol Wekesser. (Ed.). San Diego, CA:
Sexual Values: Opposing Viewpoints. Charles P. Cozic (Ed.). San Diego, CA:
A "FADDISH PREOCCUPATION" COMES INTO ITS OWN
Women and Suicidal Behavior, Silvia Sara Canetto and David Lester (Eds.). New York:     

Functional communication training to replace challenging behaviors across two behavioral outcomes

The purpose of the present study was to demonstrate the effectiveness of an intervention that included extinction and functional communication training for the reduction of multiply controlled, self‐injurious, and aggressive behaviors in a boy with autism, in a school setting. Analysis of behavioral antecedents and consequences suggested that self‐injury and aggression served the dual behavioral outcomes of escape from difficult tasks, and access to preferred objects. Treatment consisted of teaching the boy an alternate request, while challenging behaviors were concurrently placed on extinction. Acquisition of the alternate requests was associated with a decrease to zero levels of self‐injury and aggression across the two behavioral outcomes, which was maintained when a 5 second delay was implemented. Results indicate that challenging behaviors with different behavioral outcomes can be replaced with functionally equivalent communication. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Substance use and mothers’ neural responses to infant cues

Substance use may influence mothers’ responsiveness to their infants and negatively impact the parent–infant relationship. Maternal substance use may co-opt neural circuitry involved in caregiving, thus reducing the salience of infant cues and diminishing the sense of reward experienced by caring for infants. Gaps in understanding exist with regard to the mechanisms by which substance use operates to influence mothers’ processing of infant cues and how this translates to caregiving. Therefore, we examined how substance use might relate to maternal neural responses to infant cues using event-related potentials (ERPs). Substance-using (n = 29) and nonsubstance-using (n = 29) mothers viewed photographs of infant faces and heard recordings of infant vocalizations while electroencephalography was recorded simultaneously. Three specific ERP components were used to examine initial processing of infant faces (N170) and cries (N100), and attentional allocation to infant faces and cries (P300). Substance-using mothers did not discriminate facial affect at early encoding stages (N170), were generally slower to orient to infant cries (N100), showed heightened responses to neutral faces (P300), and failed to adaptively differentiate between high-distress versus low-distress cries (P300). These differences may be important to caregiving behaviors associated with the formation of mother–child attachment. Implications are discussed, as are limitations and future directions.