A follow-up study of cognitive bias in generalized anxiety disorder

Patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) without concurrent depression (n = 11) and normal controls (n = 17) were tested twice, about 2 months apart, on a modified Stroop colour-naming task, which presented anxiety-related, depression-related and neutral words in masked and unmasked exposure conditions. GAD patients received cognitive behaviour therapy in the test-retest interval, and were also retested at follow-up, about 20 months after initial testing. GAD patients showed interference in colour-naming negative words across both masked and unmasked conditions before treatment, but not post-treatment, compared with controls. Reduced interference effects of masked threat words over time correlated with reduced ratings of anxious thoughts at post-treatment, and at follow-up, in GAD patients. Thus, the preconscious bias for threat information in GAD appears to vary over time in association with changes in anxious thoughts and worries.     

Desktop flight simulators: Simulation fidelity and pilot performance

Improvements in the computing power and visual resolution of modern desktop computing systems, as well as advances in software technology for displaying high-speed animations, have encouraged the development of relatively sophisticated real-time flight simulators for the PC and Macintosh. We review some of the factors that determine how well such programs capture the actual experience of flight. The most significant factor limiting the quality of performance in flying a simulated aircraft is the “frame rate” problem: at low altitudes and in highly detailed visual environments, as in approaching a runway threshold during landing, the computational demands of the animation may necessitate a reduction in the number of frames displayed per second on the screen. The delayed sensory feedback that results proves to be very detrimental to sustaining smooth control of the aircraft, especially during the flare to touchdown where such control is needed most. This finding parallels the well-known effects of delayed auditory feedback (Lee, 1950) and delayed visual feedback (Smith, 1962).     

Spectral redundancy: Intelligibility of sentences heard through narrow spectral slits

The intelligibility of word lists subjected to various types of spectral filtering has been studied extensively. Although words used for communication are usually present in sentences rather than lists, there has been no systematic report of the intelligibility of lexical components of narrowband sentences. In the present study, we found that surprisingly little spectral information is required to identify component words when sentences are heard through narrow spectral slits. Four hundred twenty listeners (21 groups of 20 subjects) were each presented with 100 bandpass filtered CID ( “everyday speech ”) sentences; separate groups received center frequencies of 370, 530, 750, 1100, 1500, 2100, 3000, 4200, and 6000 Hz at 70 dBA SPL. In Experiment 1, intelligibility of single 1/3-octave bands with steep filter slopes (96 dB/octave) averaged more than 95% for sentences centered at 1100, 1500, and 2100 Hz. In Experiment 2, we used the same center frequencies with extremely narrow bands (slopes of 115 dB/octave intersecting at the center frequency, resulting in a nominal bandwidth of l/20 octave). Despite the severe spectral tilt for all frequencies of this impoverished spectrum, intelligibility remained relatively high for most bands, with the greatest intelligibility (77%) at 1500 Hz. In Experiments 1 and 2, the bands centered at 370 and 6000 Hz provided little useful information when presented individually, but in each experiment they interacted synergistically when combined. The present findings demonstrate the adaptive flexibility of mechanisms used for speech perception and are discussed in the context of the LAME model of opportunistic multilevel processing.     

The old English rune poem: elements of mnemonics and psychoneurologic beliefs

Some rune verses are, apparently, thematically derived from Chinese Radical sequences. The 33 runes are, like the Sanskrit letters, mnemonically valenced and formally associated with the nervous system.     

Development of infant ear asymmetries for speech and music

Groups of 2-, 3-, and 4-month olds were tested for dichotic ear differences in memory-based phonetic and music timbre discriminations. A right-ear advantage for speech and a left-ear advantage (LEA) for music were found in the 3- and 4-month-olds. However, the 2-month-olds showed only the music LEA, with no reliable evidence of memory-based speech discrimination by either hemisphere. Thus, the responses of all groups to speech contrasts were different from those to music contrasts, but the pattern of the response dichotomy in the youngest group deviated from that found in the older infants. It is suggested that the quality or use of lefthemisphere phonetic memory may change between 2 and 3 months, and that the engagement of right-hemisphere specialized memory for musical timbre may precede that for left-hemisphere phonetic memory. Several directions for future research are suggested to determine whether infant short-term memory asymmetries for speech and music are attributable to acoustic factors, to different modes or strategies in perception, or to structural and dynamic properties of natural sound sources.     

PEER TUTORING WITH OR WITHOUT HOME-BASED REINFORCEMENT,FOR READING REMEDIATION

An operant-based corrective reading program was established to study effectiveness of peer tutoring in the school, for reading deficient children. Sixty-nine second to fourth grade students were matched on measures of initial reading ability and level of reading retardation, and randomly assigned to three groups: Peer Tutoring Only, Peer Tutoring with Home Based Reinforcement, and Control. SRA materials were used in training for the experimental groups, supplemented with additional reading materials. The program continued for 15 weeks, in seven public schools. Changes in oral reading accuracy and comprehension were assessed. Both reading and comprehension were significantly increased by peer tutoring, relative to the control group. The addition of home-based reinforcement doubled this increase. The measured gain in oral reading, based upon standardized testing, was 0.19 years for the controls and 1.27 years for peer tutoring with home-based reinforcement. Internal measures of gain showed similar results, and comprehension gains were also comparable. A high rate of compliance with the tutoring program was maintained by the tutors. High ratings of satisfaction were obtained for the program, from all groups of participants. The feasibility of the program for application in the school system is discussed.     

Effects of "favorability" and type of assessment device upon acceptance of general personality interpretations

College students' acceptance of general personality interpretations was evaluated as a function of type of test and assessment device employed and interpretation favorability. Unlike previous studies, only interpretation favorability influenced acceptance. The effect of interpretation favorability upon acceptance, however, was shown to be due to the higher base-rate accuracy of favorable, relative to unfavorable, interpretations. It was concluded that the universal validity of general interpretations may supersede the effects of situational factors upon acceptance.     

Optimal scaling for ordered categories

This paper deals with the determination of optimal weights for points on scoring scales for subjective comparative experiments. A scoring scale with a specific number of points is considered, and it is assumed that verbal or other indications imply an order to the scale points. The optimal spacing for the scale points is obtained in the sense that treatment or item differences are maximized relative to error or within-treatment variation. The method is presented in sufficiently generalized form to be used directly with any experimental design leading to the analysis of variance. An iterative procedure, suitable for computer use, yields the optimal differences among the ordered scale points. Properties of this procedure are discussed.Research sponsored in part by the Statistics Branch, Office of Naval Research, and in part by the Research Center, the General Foods Corporation. Reproduction in whole or in part is permitted for any purpose of the United States Government.     

Associative strength level and retrieval inhibition in semantic memory

In a series of investigations, E. F. Loftus (1973; G. R. Loftus & E. F. Loftus, 1974; E. F. Loftus, Senders, & Turkletaub, 1974) discovered that the latency of item retrieval from a semantic category was reduced if it immediately followed an earlier retrieval from the same category, a phenomenon attributed to spreading activation. Subsequently, Brown (1981) discovered an increase in latency across extended retrievals from a single semantic category. The present investigation followed up this finding by comparing exemplars that varied in strength of association to the category name. The probability of obtaining inhibition (longer latencies and increased errors) was inversely related to the associative strength of the exemplars. The results suggest that low-strength category associates build up inhibition more rapidly because they accrue situational strength relatively more rapidly than high-strength associates.