Instructed fear learning,extinction, and recall: additive effects of cognitive information on emotional learning of fear

The effects of instruction on learning of fear and safety are rarely studied. We aimed to examine the effects of cognitive information and experience on fear learning. Fourty healthy participants, randomly assigned to three groups, went through fear conditioning, extinction learning, and extinction recall with two conditioned stimuli (CS+). Information was presented about the presence or absence of conditioned stimulus–unconditioned stimulus (CS–US) contingency at different stages of the experiment. Information about the CS–US contingency prior to fear conditioning enhanced fear response and reduced extinction recall. Information about the absence of CS–US contingency promoted extinction learning and recall, while omission of this information prior to recall resulted in fear renewal. These findings indicate that contingency information can facilitate fear expression during fear learning, and can facilitate extinction learning and recall. Information seems to function as an element of the larger context in which conditioning occurs.     

Individual Differences in Training Gains and Transfer Measures: An Investigation of Training Curves in Children with Attention‐Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Currently, evidence for the beneficial effects of working memory (WM) training on transfer measures in children with attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is inconsistent. Although there is accumulating evidence for the role of individual differences in training and transfer gains of cognitive training, this area has been left unexplored for children with ADHD. In the current study, an advanced latent growth curve model analysis was used to investigate the individual differences in learning curves (training gains) of WM training tasks within a new cognitive intervention ‘Paying Attention in Class’. It was investigated whether certain baseline variables (age, intelligence quotient, externalizing behaviour problems and presence of learning disability) predicted the learning curves and how these individual learning curves influenced near‐transfer and far‐transfer measures. A total of 164 children diagnosed with ADHD, between the age of 8 and 12 years old, followed this new Paying Attention in Class intervention. WM (near‐transfer) and academic performance (far‐transfer) measures were assessed before treatment and directly after treatment. Results showed that individual differences at the start of training were predicted by age and intelligence quotient, but the individual differences in learning curves were not predicted by any of the baseline variables. Both for the verbal and the visuospatial WM training, children with larger training gains (i.e. steeper training curves) showed larger benefits on the near untrained transfer measures. These effects were absent for the far‐transfer measures. Current study shows that training WM is quite complex and has its limitations for children with ADHD. Nonetheless, it highlights that training and transfer gains are affected by many different factors and warrants the need of a more in‐depth investigation of individual differences in future studies.Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Impulsivity in non-clinical persons with obsessive-compulsive symptoms

This study explored the relations between obsessive-compulsive symptoms and four facets of impulsivity (Urgency, Lack of Premeditation, Lack of Perseverance, Sensation seeking) in 220 non-clinical individuals. The results revealed a strong link between Urgency and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. In addition, Lack of Premeditation negatively predicted the Checking and Ordering subscales, while Lack of Perseverance was positively linked with Obsessions and negatively with Ordering. Finally, no relation was found between obsessive-compulsive symptoms and Sensation seeking. These results suggest that it is necessary to differentiate between different facets of impulsivity and different obsessive-compulsive symptoms to study the relationship between these two constructs.     

Accommodation to Increased Accuracy Demands by the Right and Left Hands

This study was designed to identify the phase of rapid aimed movements responsible for hand differences in motor skill, and to evaluate potential differences between the hands in accommodating to greater accuracy demands. In both experiments, an accelerometer mounted on a stylus allowed key changes in acceleration to be used to partition the movement into phases. In Experiment 1, slower left hand movement times were attributable primarily to a terminal homing-in phase, especially as target size decreased. Since error rates varied as a function of hand and target size, speed-accuracy trade-offs may have occurred. Experiment 2 rigidly controlled error rate and confirmed the major hand difference to occur in the latter phase of the movement where error correction is presumed. Although less pronounced, adjustments were made in the earlier movement phases as well. Accommodation to greater accuracy demands involved moving the stylus closer to the target before decelerating to engage in error correction. This adjustment to gain enhanced precision was more pronounced in the left hand.     

Category priming with aliens: Analysing the influence of targets' prototypicality on the centre surround inhibition mechanism

Marginally perceptible prototypes as primes lead to slowed reactions to related category exemplars as compared to unrelated ones. This at first glance counterintuitive finding has been interpreted as evidence for a particular mechanism of lateral inhibition, namely the centre surround inhibition mechanism. We investigated the semantic surround of category labels by experimentally manipulating the prototypicality of stimuli. Participants first learned two new categories of fantasy creatures in a 5-day-long learning phase before they worked through a semantic priming task with the category prototypes as primes and category exemplars as targets. For high-prototypical targets we observed benefit effects from related primes, whereas for low-prototypical targets we observed cost effects. The results define when the centre surround inhibition mechanism is applied, and furthermore might explain why previous studies with word stimuli (i.e., material that prevents experimental manipulation of prototypicality) observed mixed results concerning the prototypicality of targets.     

L’enrichissement entre vie professionnelle et vie personnelle : revue et programme de recherché

Work-life enrichment, defined as the transfer of resources and affects from one role to another, has long remained in the shadow of the concept of work-life conflict. Several processes for work-life enrichment, for instance instrumental and affective, have been identified. Commitment to the family role predicts work-to-family enrichment (WFE), while commitment to the work role predicts family-to-work enrichment (FWE). Gender, personality and social support are other antecedents of work-life enrichment. WFE is positively associated with job satisfaction and FEW with family satisfaction. An agenda for future research suggests conducting qualitative, longitudinal and contextualized research.     

Decentration as a means for reducing aggression after exposure to violent stimuli

Studied the effects of decentration as a self-control process to reduce the aggression subsequent to exposure to filmed violence. 48 Belgian French-speaking military recruits were run in four groups of subjects. Two saw either aggressive or neutral slides without special instructions. The other two groups saw only aggressive slides but one underwent the decentration training while the fourth one performed a subsidiary task instead. The famous ‘weapons effect’ is replicated for those subjects who did not receive the special instructions (<.025 one-tailed test) and decentration significantly reduces aggression (<.05 one-tailed test). The absence of a change in the meaning of the slides is interpreted in terms of reappraisal of the stimuli. Besides practical questions, theoretical implications are raised concerning the social context of viewing filmed violence.     

Artificial intelligence and animal psychology: A response to Boden, Margolis and Sloman

We propose the elements of an epistemological framework in which to situate the fundamental problem of ascribing mentalistic concepts to animals and machines that is posed by Margaret Boden's, Aaron Sloman's and Joseph Margolis' discussion of artificial intelligence and animal psychology.