Experiments and models in sequential integration of information

Using the example of bimodal temporal order judgments, we investigate and explain the transition from static designs mapping single stimulus presentations to single responses to designs which require some kind of integration of the processed information. First, we estimate the parameters of several well-known channel-oriented models (Baron, 1969; Gibbon & Rutschmann, 1969) for temporal order judgments. Subsequently, we generalize these models to explain the results of two more complex experimental designs and derive and test their predictions. Special concern is given to the question whether or not the models parameters remain invariant across the experiments. The basic assumptions of the channel-oriented models are confirmed by our data, they represent a well-suited platform to explain more complex integrative processes. Within a sequential decision design, where subjects are allowed to observe a stimulus arbitrarily often before their terminal decision, the individual representations of the stimuli are additively integrated. Hence, even information, which did not yet lead to a terminal decision, will generally influence the later outcome. This representation of the stimuli is accompanied by a dynamic decision rule, which is clearly time-dependent. Several too simplizistic alternative models can be rejected if (and only if) one derives their predictions in some detail and tests them with sufficient statistical power.     

Response scales as frames of reference: The impact of frequency range on diagnostic judgements

In social and psychological research, respondents are often asked to report the frequency of a behaviour by checking the appropriate alternative from a list of response categories provided to them. Previous research indicated that respondents extract comparison information from the range of the response alternatives, assuming that the average respondent is represented by values in the middle range of the scale, and that the extremes of the scale represent the extremes of the distribution. Extending this line of research, the present studies demonstrate that the users of a respondent's report are also likely to use the range of the response alternatives as a frame of reference in evaluating the implications of the report. Specifically, subjects are found to draw different conclusions about the respondent's personality (Experiment l ), or the severity of his or her medical condition (Experiment 21, from the same absolute frequency report, depending upon the range of the response scale on which the frequency was checked. Moreover, experienced medical doctors were as likely to be influenced by scale range as first-year medical students, suggesting that the phenomenon is of considerable applied importance. Implications for the use of response alternatives in psychological research and diagnostic judgement are discussed.     

Memory Strategy Development: Lessons from Longitudinal Research

Most research in memory strategy development involves cross-sectional studies, with the implicit assumption that the patterns found in these studies are an accurate reflection of intraindividual changes over time. In this article, we review briefly the development of rehearsal and organizational strategies based on cross-sectional research and then review the findings from the few longitudinal studies assessing intraindividual change in these strategies, focusing on results from the Munich Longitudinal Study (LOGIC). Although average, age-related patterns obtained from longitudinal samples provide similar development functions as those obtained from cross-sectional samples, there is much greater individual variability in strategy acquisition observed in the longitudinal data. This suggests that the canonical development patterns inferred from cross-sectional studies often obfuscate actual intraindividual patterns. Longitudinal evidence also indicates that utilization deficiencies are observed less frequently than assumed in cross-sectional research.     

Inability to Withdraw from Work as Related to Poor Next‐Day Recovery and Fatigue among Women

Recovery from work stress is crucial in avoiding stress‐related ill‐health. The aim of this longitudinal study was to investigate whether processes that prolong the mental exposure to work stressors, such as inability to withdraw from work (IW), the core construct in overcommitment, predicts fatigue and poor next‐day recovery 6 months later over what is predicted by job control and job demands. Self‐ratings in questionnaires were completed by 160 women working in dental care at two time points, 6 months apart. Job demands, job control, and IW were used to predict fatigue and poor next‐day recovery, respectively. Multiple regression analyses show that having children living at home, high job demands, and high IW were associated with fatigue 6 months later. Job demands and IW, but not having children at home, predicted poor next‐day recovery. Mediation analyses using a bootstrapping procedure indicated that IW partly mediated the relationship between job demands and fatigue and between job demands and next‐day recovery. These findings highlight the importance of considering IW in relation to fatigue and recovery from work and that such factors should be included in interventions targeting work‐related stress.     

Die Bedeutung der Aufmerksamkeitsdefizit-/Hyperaktivitätsstörung für die Entstehung und Prognose von Störungen des Sozialverhaltens im Kindes- und Jugendalter

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Conduct Disorder (CD) are two of the most common neurobehavioral disorders of childhood. Despite of their high comorbidity rate both disorders can be reliably differentiated. Especially the comorbid condition is associated with a poor outcome and some of the affected children develop an Antisocial Personality Disorder. This article summarizes diagnostic criteria and epidemiological data of both disorders and emphasises the role of ADHD in the aetiology and pathogenesis of antisocial behavior. ADHD seems to have a negative impact particular in children of the early-starter subtype of CD. Findings from genetic, psychophysiological and neuroimaging studies emphasise the relevance of biological risk factors in the etiological models and developmental pathways of antisocial behavior. We present so far unpublished data of children with ADHD and ADHD/disruptive behavior disorders which indicate group-specific neurocognitive impairments in the comorbid condition. ADHD and CD seem to constitute a synergistic and interactive relationship in that each disorder aggravates the other. Recent findings point to a “true hybrid” of ADHD/CD. Considering the negative outcome of the comorbid condition, several findings suggest that high-quality treatments may have considerable impact on restoring ADHD children to better functioning.     

Local probability effects of repeating irrelevant attributes

We present two experiments in which participants classify stimuli having two potentially conflicting attributes, one of which is response-relevant whereas the other (“irrelevant”) attribute is logically and statistically independent of the response. We introduce a novel design not used with filtering tasks before in which the main factor is the local (i.e., one-step) transition probability π (= 0.25, 0.50, 0.75) that the irrelevant attribute is repeated from one trial to the next. Experiment 1 involved a visual Simon task in which the color of the stimulus is relevant and its location is irrelevant. Experiment 2 used a semantic classification task in which the parity of a digit presented is relevant and its numerical magnitude is irrelevant. The results of both experiments demonstrate that participants in the π = 0.75 group responded faster when the irrelevant attribute is in fact repeated rather than alternated; in contrast, participants in the π = 0.25 group responded faster (Experiment 1) or equally fast (Experiment 2) when the irrelevant attribute is alternated rather than repeated. These expectancy-related effects cannot be attributed to spurious design contingencies as the irrelevant attribute was independent of the relevant attribute (and thus of the response), of the congruency status, and also of their alternation/repetition. One interpretation of our findings is that information about the irrelevant attribute in the previous trial is used much as an informative central precue, so that participants can prepare early processing stages in the current trial, with the corresponding benefits and costs typical of standard cueing studies.