Attentional and anatomical considerations for the representation of simple stimuli in visual short-term memory: evidence from human electrophysiology

Observers encoded the spatial arrangement of two or three horizontal line segments relative to a square frame presented for 150 ms either in left or right visual field and either above or below the horizontal midline. The target pattern was selected on the basis of colour (red vs. green) from an equivalent distractor pattern in the opposite left–right visual hemifield. After a retention interval of 450 or 650 ms a test pattern was presented at fixation. The task was to decide whether the test was the same as the encoded pattern or different. Selection of the to-be-memorised pattern produced an N2pc response that was not influenced by the number of line segments nor by the length of the retention interval, but that was smaller in amplitude for patterns presented in the upper visual field compared with patterns presented in the lower visual field. A sustained posterior contralateral negativity (SPCN) followed the N2pc. The SPCN was larger for patterns with three line segments than for two, was larger for patterns encoded from lower visual field than from upper visual field, and returned to baseline sooner for the shorter retention interval than for the longer interval. These results, and others, provide an interesting and complex pattern of similarities and differences between the N2pc and SPCN, consistent with the view that N2pc reflects mechanisms of attentional selection whereas the SPCN reflects maintenance in visual short-term memory.     

Perception-action coupling and expertise in interceptive actions

The goal of this experiment was to show that expertise in interceptive actions can be explained by a shorter delay in movement regulation. In this contribution, we tested tennis experts and non-experts using a simulated interceptive task. The experimental device simulated linear motion of an object toward a target on a horizontal runway. Participants had to intercept the simulated moving object with their right hand holding a cart that could slide along a horizontal track perpendicular to the runway. Three different velocity conditions were used: a constant velocity condition that maintained the initial velocity (2m/s) constant until arriving on the target; the decelerated and accelerated velocity conditions, in which the velocity suddenly changed (400 ms before its arrival on the target) from 2 to 1m/s or 3m/s, respectively. Timing accuracy and movement correction after the unexpected velocity change were analysed. The experts were more accurate in the decelerative case (-29 and -124 ms respectively), in the accelerative case (69 and 116 ms respectively), but not in the constant velocity case (2 and 13 ms respectively). Findings can be explained by the shorter visuo-motor delay (VMD: the time required to adapt the movement to the new velocity) for the experts (162 ms) than for the non-experts (221 ms). This shorter VMD offers more time to adapt the interceptive movement to the new velocity. These results can be interpreted as an optimization of the perception-action coupling with expertise.     

A Parent–Child Interactional Model of Social Anxiety Disorder in Youth

In this paper, one of the most common disorders of childhood and adolescence, social anxiety disorder (SAD), is examined to illustrate the complex and delicate interplay between parent and child factors that can result in normal development gone awry. Our parent–child model of SAD posits a host of variables that converge to occasion the onset and maintenance of this disorder. Specifically, five risk factors—temperamental characteristics of the child, parental anxiety, attachment processes in the parent–child dyad, information processing biases, and parenting practices—will be highlighted. While it is acknowledged that other factors including genetic influences and peer relationships may also be important, they are simply not the focus of this paper. Within these constraints, the implications of our parent–child interaction model for prevention, treatment, research, and practice will be explored.     

The Impact of Type of Examples on Originality: Explaining Fixation and Stimulation Effects

There are obstacles to creativity: one of them is called fixation effect, the fact that some knowledge about existing or obvious solutions is spontaneously activated and constrains the generation of new solutions. Converging evidence in cognitive psychology has indicated that the ability to generate original ideas can be limited by recently activated knowledge, such as examples of solutions. On the other hand, neuroimaging studies have recently demonstrated that exposure to examples could, on the contrary, have a stimulating effect on originality. To make sense of what seems to be contradictory studies, we hypothesized that two types of examples could have opposite effects on originality: (1) restrictive examples—within the fixation effect—could lead to a reduction in the originality of the solutions, whereas (2) expansive examples—outside the fixation effect—could provoke solutions of higher originality. Results from a total of 160 participants confirmed that the solutions proposed by the group exposed to restrictive examples were less original than those given by the group exposed to expansive examples.     

Belief-level markers of physical activity among young adult couples: Comparisons across couples without children and new parents

The health benefits of regular moderate–vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) are well established, yet young adults, particularly parents, often show declines in MVPA and may represent a critical population for intervention. Theory-based correlates used to guide future interventions are scant in this population. The purpose of this study was to examine theory of planned behaviour (TPB) belief-level constructs as correlates of directly assessed MVPA across cohorts of couples without children and with their first child over the initial 12?months. Participants were 238 adults (102 not expecting a child, 136 expecting first child) who completed baseline demographics, belief measures of the TPB and seven-day accelerometry, followed by assessments at 6 and 12 months. Results showed select medium-sized belief-PA correlations with sex and cohort interactions. Overall, women had larger affect-based behavioural belief associations with MVPA than men (e.g. PA relieves stress), and among new parents, mothers showed larger associations with control over MVPA than fathers. Mothers also had larger associations between control beliefs and MVPA compared to women without children (e.g. domestic duties, bad weather). Extremely high means and low variability on the behavioural beliefs show limited room for possible changes in intervention while control beliefs had low means suggesting room for change. Interventions targeting control among new mothers may be paramount for increasing MVPA, yet the TPB yielded less insight into the targets for promoting MVPA among young men.     

Be Too Kind to a Woman, She’ll Feel Incompetent: Benevolent Sexism Shifts Self-construal and Autobiographical Memories Toward Incompetence

The present study investigated how benevolent (BS) and hostile sexism (HS) shift women’s self-construal and autobiographical memory. Belgian undergraduates (only women, N?=?45, mean age?=?21.8) were confronted either by BS, HS or neutral comments in the context of a job interview. After performing a cognitive task, participants reported the intrusive thoughts that came to their mind during the task. Later, autobiographical memory for self-incompetence was assessed. Performance response latencies were slower after BS than HS. Also, BS generated more disturbing mental intrusions related to the idea of being incompetent than HS. Autobiographical memory similarly indicated greater access for incompetence after BS. Although HS was more aggressive in tone, it did not shift women’s self-construal and autobiographical memories toward incompetence.     

“Rare,ole, dirty snacks”: Some research notes on dirt eating

This paper investigates the topic of dirt‐eating. Using a review of the literature and intensive interviews conducted with twelve dirt eaters the study investigates dirt eaters from four focal points: 1) how each individual “got started” eating dirt; 2) where they get the dirt from; 3) when do they eat dirt and 4) why do they eat dirt. A discussion is offered on the future of the phenomenon and the implications of our findings.     

Specificity and Abstraction of Examples: Opposite Effects on Fixation for Creative Ideation

Fixation is one of the major obstacles that individuals face in creative idea generation contexts. Several studies have shown that individuals unintentionally tend to fixate to the examples they are shown in a creative ideation task, even when instructed to avoid them. Most of these studies used examples formulated with high level of specificity. However, no study has examined individuals’ creative performance under an instruction to diverge from given examples, when these examples are formulated with a high level of abstraction. In the present study, we show that (a) instructing participants to avoid using common examples when formulated with a high level of specificity increases fixation; whereas (b) instructing participants to avoid such examples while using a more abstract level for stating these common examples—such as a categorization of these examples—mitigates fixation and doubles the number of creative ideas generated. These findings give new insights on the key role of categorization in creative ideation contexts.     

Correlates of suicidality among patients with psychotic depression

The independent association of age and other factors with suicidality in patients with major depression with psychotic features was examined. Of the 183 study participants, 21% had a suicide attempt during the current episode. Male gender, Hispanic background, past suicide attempt, higher depression scores, and higher cognitive scores were each independently associated with greater intensity of current suicidality. Older age was independently associated with a lower risk of a lifetime suicide attempt. These findings reinforce the evidence that patients with psychotic depression are at high risk for suicide and underscore the importance of examining correlates of suicidality specific to patients with psychotic depression.