In praise of vagueness: malleability of vague information as a performance booster

Is the eternal quest for precise information always worthwhile? Our research suggests that, at times, vagueness has its merits. Previous research has demonstrated that people prefer precise information over vague information because it gives them a sense of security and makes their environments more predictable. However, we show that the fuzzy boundaries afforded by vague information can actually help individuals perform better than can precise information. We document these findings across two laboratory studies and one quasi-field study that involved different performance-related contexts (mental acuity, physical strength, and weight loss). We argue that the malleability of vague information allows people to interpret it in the manner they desire, so that they can generate positive response expectancies and, thereby, perform better. The rigidity of precise information discourages desirable interpretations. Hence, on certain occasions, precise information is not as helpful as vague information in boosting performance.     

Externalizing behavior trajectories: The role of parenting, sibling relationships and child personality

Based on longitudinal multilevel modeling and using a multi-informant strategy, this study examines trajectories of externalizing problem behavior (EPB) in childhood as predicted by parental behavior (absolute level of parenting [ALP] and parental differential treatment [PDT]), parental self-efficacy (PSE), child personality and sibling relationships. Besides main effects, several interactions were tested. The effects of changes in parenting on changes in EPB were also examined. A total of 119 families from the French-speaking area of Belgium rearing a child (3- to 5-year-olds at the onset of the study) referred for EPB were studied. The effects of both level-of and changes-in mothers' ALP were partially confirmed, but for fathers, only ALP was predictive. There were some significant interactions between ALP and PDT for both parents. Mothers' PSE explained some variance in EPB, additional to that explained by the parenting measures. Some parenting by personality and by sibling relationship interactions were found.     

Image representation,scaling and cognitive model of object perception

Neuropsychological investigations of visual imagery and representations have led to a deeper understanding of the spatial perception, representation and memory. But how each individual perceives object’s geometrical properties and how they differ from person to person, both under event-related memory and normal recollecting memory in the presence or in the absence of direct sensory stimulation is still unclear. Spatial knowledge is diverse, complex, and multi-modal, as are the situations in which it is used. All seem to agree that a cognitive map is a mental representation of an external environment. The image scaling is important in understanding the psychological dysfunctions of patients suffering from spatial cognition problems. The scaling becomes self-evident in art forms, when people are asked to draw image of objects they see actively or from their short or long term memory. In this paper we develop a comprehensive model of this scaling factor and its implications in spatial image representation and memory. We also extend its notion in understanding the perception of objects whose representations are normally not possible (like the perception of universal scales, infinities and parallel lines) but are well comprehended by the human brains. Here we give a scaling factor which is variable depending on the situations for a person based on his visual memory and drawing capabilities. And then extend it to analyse his cognitive strengths, disorders and any imperfections. This model also helps in formalizing the architectural cognitive maps needed to change the scaling factor, depending on the types of visual works one performs.     

Measuring delay discounting in a crowdsourced sample: An exploratory study

Delay discounting is a measure of preferences for smaller immediate rewards over larger delayed rewards. Discounting has been assessed in many ways; these methods have variably and inconsistently involved measures of different lengths (single vs. multiple items), forced‐choice methods, self‐report methods, online and laboratory assessments, monetary and non‐monetary compensation. The majority of these studies have been conducted in laboratory settings. However, over the past 20 years, behavioral data collection has increasingly shifted online. Usually, these experiments involve completing short tasks for small amounts of money, and are thus qualitatively different than experiments in the lab, which are typically more involved and in a strongly controlled environment. The present study aimed to determine how to best measure future discounting in a crowdsourced sample using three discounting measures (a single shot measure, the 27‐item Kirby Monetary Choice Questionnaire, and a one‐time Matching Task). We examined associations of these measures with theoretically related variables, and assessed influence of payment on responding. Results indicated that correlations between the discounting tasks and conceptually related measures were smaller than in prior laboratory experiments. Moreover, our results suggest providing monetary compensation may attenuate correlations between discounting measures and related variables. These findings suggest that incentivizing discounting measures changes the nature of measurement in these tasks.     

Religious beliefs,patient–doctor interaction and resilience as predictors for treatment decisions and health outcomes of heart patients

Treatment decision-making in chronic illness poses long-lasting effects on the health status of patients. In Western individualistic cultures, they are independently taken by the individual in collaboration with doctors contrary to the collectivistic Indian context, where it’s decided by families with little or no involvement of patients. Religious beliefs, patient–doctor interaction, and resilience measures of 100 CAD patients were used to assess their religious beliefs, patient–doctor interaction, and resilience (predictors). Hierarchical Regression Analysis was conducted to test for the significance of the proposed model. Religious beliefs, patient–doctor interaction, and resilience collectively predicted the significant change in decision-making styles, somatic symptoms, anxiety, social dysfunctions, depression, and general health total of the participants. While the treatment decision-making is heavily contingent upon the social factors namely – religious beliefs, patient–doctor interaction, and resilience, there may yet be some underlying psychological factors that have not been explored in the present study.     

Effectiveness of Beck Depression Inventory-II subscales in screening for major depressive disorders in adolescent psychiatric inpatients

The Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) was administered to 45 male and 55 female psychiatric inpatients who were 12 to 17 years old, and the Mood Module from the Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders (PRIME-MD) was used to determine whether these patients met criteria for a diagnosis of a DSM-IV major depressive disorder (MDD). Binormal receiver-operating-characteristic (ROC) analyses found that BDI-II total scores, Cognitive subscale scores, Noncognitive subscale scores, and embedded BDI FastScreen for Medical Patients subscale scores were comparably effective in differentiating inpatients who were and were not diagnosed with a MDD; the areas under the ROC curves were, respectively, .92 (95% confidence interval [CI]: .85-.96), .90 (95% CI: .82-.95), .90 (95% CI: .83-.95), and .90 (95% CI: .83-.95).     

Medical burden, cerebrovascular disease, and cognitive impairment in geriatric depression: modeling the relationships with the CART analysis

Herein, the background information reflecting roles of medical burden, cerebrovascular disease and risk factors, and cognitive impairment in geriatric depression are reviewed. The authors then propose a nonparametric statistical approach to the data analysis of multiple putative causal variables for late-life depression, the Classification and Regression Tree Analysis. This analysis presents a useful approach to modeling nonlinear relationships and interactions among variables measuring physical and mental health, as well as magnetic resonance imaging and cognitive measures in depressed elderly. This method uncovers the existing interactions among multiple predictor variables, and provide thresholds for each variable, at which its predictive power becomes statistically significant. It presents a "hierarchy" of the predictors in a form of a decision tree by finding the best combination of predictors of an outcome. The authors present two models based on demographic variables, measures of vascular and nonvascular medical burden, neuroimaging indices, the Mini-Mental State Examination score, and neuropsychological test scores of 81 elderly depressed subjects. Cognitive tests of verbal fluency and executive function are identified as the best predictors of depression, followed by the frontal lobe volume and Mini-Mental State Examination. The authors observed that an interaction between frontal lobe volume, total lesion volume, and medical burden was predictive of depression.     

Beck Depression Inventory-II items associated with self-reported symptoms of ADHD in adult psychiatric outpatients

The Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II; Beck, Steer, & Brown, 1996) and the Conners' Adult ADHD Rating Scale-Self-Report: Screening Version (CAARS-S:SV; Conners, Erhardt, & Sparrow, 1999) were administered to 371 (64%) female and 204 (36%) male adult (> 18 years old) outpatients who were diagnosed with various psychiatric disorders to determine whether any of the 21 items or subsets of items in the BDI-II were related to symptoms of attention deficits and hyperactivity as measured by the CAARS-S:SV DSM-IV Total ADHD Symptoms scale (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [ADHD] Symptoms). Stepwise multiple-regression analyses found that the BDI-II Concentration Difficulty explained 30% of the variance in these total scores. Ratings > 1 for the BDI-II Concentration Difficulty item were discussed as being useful for ruling out possible symptoms of ADHD.