Learning of a complex arithmetic skill in amnesia: evidence for a dissociation between compilation and production

Two patients with severe amnesia following rupture of anterior communicating artery aneurysms were able to learn a complex algorithm for mentally squaring two-digit numbers. Although both patients learned the algorithm at a similar rate, one patient's improvement was accounted for by savings in the steps of the algorithm. The other patient, however, showed little improvement in the steps while performance of the whole algorithm improved dramatically. Neither patient showed savings in the Hebb Digit Span procedure. The results suggested a dissociation between amnesics in their capacity to learn the constituent "productions" or steps of a skill and their capacity to organize those productions into a single coherent act.     

Use of the maximal-operant principle to motivate children's intrinsic interest

The present research examined the hypothesis that in contrast to theory and research indicating that tangible reward decreases subsequent interest in enjoyable academic activities, rewards are perceived by adults as effective techniques to maximize long- and short-term subsequent interest for academic tasks of both high and low initial interest level. The results of our first three studies demonstrated that college students and parents view tangible reward as more effective than other less controlling techniques to enhance intrinsic motivation and value rewards more for intrinsically interesting academic behaviors in comparison with others (e.g., prosocial behaviors). Our fourth study supported the hypothesis that adults do not subscribe to the minimal-sufficiency analysis of increasing intrinsic motivation but prefer a maximal-operant principle in which the likelihood of producing long-term interest in academic tasks is assumed to vary positively with the size of a reward. Our fifth and sixth studies investigated illusory correlation as one mechanism that may perpetuate beliefs about the assumed positive relation between tangible reward and intrinsic interest in academic tasks.     

Maintenance of responding by squirrel monkeys under a concurrent shock-postponement, fixed-interval shock-presentation schedule.

A chain-pulling response was initially developed under a shock-postponement (avoidance) schedule with two squirrel monkeys. Few responses occurred on a lever where responding initially had no scheduled consequence or, subsequently, when a 3-minute fixed-interval shock-presentation schedule was concurrently arranged for lever responses. Appropriate rates and patterns of lever responding developed and were later maintained under the fixed-interval 3-minute shock-presentation schedule alone when the chain and shock-postponement schedule were removed. When both the shock-postponement and shock-presentation schedules were again simultaneously in effect, steady rates of chain pulling were maintained by the shock-postponement schedule and positively accelerated rates and patterns were maintained on the lever by the shock-presentation schedule. Response rates under both schedules were directly related to shock intensity. A history of exposure to a shock-postponement schedule, even though with a topographically different response and manipulandum, was sufficient for the development and eventual maintenance of responding by the presentation of shock. Further, differential performances can be maintained simultaneously by the presentation and postponement of electric shock.     

Accuracy of drawing in a dual-task and resistance-to-distraction study: motor or attention deficit?

To determine whether manual incoordination is caused by attention deficit or not, we used an accuracy drawing task as a primary task in dual-task and resistance-to-distraction studies, and examined if thus measured attention could differentiate inattention (IA) and combined (CO) subtypes of ADHD. The secondary tasks and distractions failed to lower the primary task performance in IA, CO and control groups. We also compared the impairment scores of the accuracy drawing tasks from the Movement Assessment Battery for Children [Henderson, S. E., & Sugden, D. A. (1992). Movement assessment battery for children. London: Psychological Corporation.] between the groups with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and/or developmental coordination disorder-inaccurate drawing type (DCD-ID). There were no group differences in the impairment score between the control and the ADHD groups, and between ADHD and ADHD plus DCD-ID groups. We concluded that inaccurate drawing is not caused by attention deficit, but that it is a manifestation of a motor deficit as a separate entity from attention deficit.     

Can manipulations of cognitive load be used to test evolutionary hypotheses?

D. DeSteno, M. Y. Bartlett, J. Braverman, and P. Salovey proposed that if sex-differentiated responses to infidelity are evolved, then they should be automatic, and therefore cognitive load should not attenuate them. DeSteno et al. found smaller sex differences in response to sexual versus emotional infidelity among participants under cognitive load, an effect interpreted as evidence against the evolutionary hypothesis. This logic is faulty. Cognitive load probably affects mechanisms involved in simulating infidelity experiences, thus seriously challenging the usefulness of cognitive load manipulations in testing hypotheses involving simulation. The method also entails the assumption that evolved jealousy mechanisms are necessarily automatic, an assumption not supported by theory or evidence. Regardless of how the jealousy debate is eventually settled, cognitive load manipulations cannot rule out the operation of evolved mechanisms.     

What if there were no psychometrics?: constructs, complexity, and measurement

McGrath (2005/this issue) has published a very significant article; it is significant because it examines the substantive issue of construct validity in a simple and informative way, noting the confusions apparent in how constructs and their variables are defined, used, and interpreted within the domain of personality and individual differences. This is a careful, thoughtful, article that quietly proceeds to outline the problems with current thinking and approaches to defining and using constructs in psychology. McGrath also suggests how some of these problems might be addressed. I note that McGrath appears to miss what might be considered an obvious rejoinder to some of his arguments, that is, the use of latent variable and item response theory. Some consideration is given to these arguments. However, a cursory examination shows that although these new methodologies offer many opportunities for new stochastic questionnaire data modeling and the construction of "instant" latent variables, the same problems caused by lack of attention to measurement and meaning remain. I find I am in agreement with many of the author's views and arguments, but I also find myself wondering whether modern psychometrics and individual differences research methods is now so dominated by psychological statisticians that any thought of substantive scientific innovation in this area that deals more properly with measurement and meaning is long gone. I think the answers to the question "What if there was no psychometrics?" would be most illuminating.     

Adolescent Adjustment to Perceived Marital Conflict

The cognitive-contextual framework of Grych and Fincham (1990) and the emotional-security framework of Davies and Cummings (1994) were used to explore both the direct and indirect pathways between marital conflict and adolescent adjustment. Two hundred and three non-clinic adolescents (114 females and 89 males) from intact families completed self-report questionnaires concerning their adjustment behavior, perceptions of parental conflict, and attachment to parents and peers. Marital conflict was found to have a direct effect upon adolescent adjustment, with adolescents from high-conflict homes displaying greater adjustment difficulties. Indirect effects of conflict were evident through both the adolescents' cognitive appraisals of conflict, and the adolescents' perceptions of the parent-child relationship. Differential gender effects were obtained, highlighting the importance of adolescent gender as a mediating variable. These findings were used to propose that an integrated, cognitive-emotional framework might be necessary to fully understand the conflict/adjustment relationship.     

Conceptualizing a Nonnatural Entity: Anthropomorphism in God Concepts

We investigate the problem of how nonnatural entities are represented by examining university students’ concepts of God, both professed theological beliefs and concepts used in comprehension of narratives. In three story processing tasks, subjects often used an anthropomorphic God concept that is inconsistent with stated theological beliefs; and drastically distorted the narratives without any awareness of doing so. By heightening subjects’ awareness of their theological beliefs, we were able to manipulate the degree of anthropomorphization. This tendency to anthropomorphize may be generalizable to other agents. God (and possibly other agents) is unintentionally anthropomorphized in some contexts, perhaps as a means of representing poorly understood nonnatural entities.     

Family enhancement of cognitive style in anxious and aggressive children

Previous research has shown that anxious adults provide more threat interpretations of ambiguous stimuli than other clinic and nonclinic persons. We were interested in investigating if the same bias occurs in anxious children and how family processes impact on these children's interpretations of ambiguity. Anxious, oppositional, and nonclinical children and their parents were asked separately to interpret and provide plans of action to ambiguous scenarios. Afterwards, Each family was asked to discuss two of these situations as a family and for the child to provide a final response. The results showed that anxious and oppositional children were both more likely to interpret ambiguous scenarios in a threatening manner. However, the two clinic groups differed in that the anxious children predominantly chose avoidant solutions whereas the oppositional children chose aggressive solutions. After family discussions, both the anxious children's avoidant plans of action and the oppositional children's aggressive plans increased. Thus, this study provides the first evidence of family enhancement of avoidant and aggressive responses in children. These results support a model of anxiety that emphasizes the development of an anxious cognitive style in the context of anxiety-supporting family processes.This research was supported by grants from The National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, The University of Queensland, and The Myer Foundation of Australia. The authors would like to thank the families, all the anxiety project staff, and Candi Peterson for her helpful feedback in the draft of this paper.