Norms for word lists that create false memories

Roediger and McDermott (1995) induced false recall and false recognition for words that were not presented in lists. They had subjects study 24 lists of 15 words that were associates of a common word (called the critical target or critical lure) that was not presented in the list. False recall and false recognition of the critical target occurred frequently in response to these lists. The purpose of the current work was to provide a set of normative data for the lists Roediger and McDermott used and for 12 others developed more recently. We tested false recall and false recognition for critical targets from 36 lists. Despite the fact that all lists were constructed to produce false remembering, the diversity in their effectiveness was large--60% or more of subjects falsely recalled window and sleep following the appropriate lists, and false recognition for these items was greater than 80%. However, the list generated from king led to 10% false recall and 27% false recognition. Possible reasons for these wide differences in effectiveness of the lists are discussed. These norms serve as a useful benchmark for designing experiments about false recall and false recognition in this paradigm.     

Academic and Extracurricular Predictors of Peer Victimization: Evidence of Similarities Across Diverse Racial and Ethnic Categories

Scholars of aggression in educational settings have long been interested in studying sanctions against academic achievement. Though many studies focus on minority students’ experiences, research has not tested the relationship between academic success and peer victimization within individual groups of students that are representative of the United States’ racial and ethnic diversity. The same can be said of studies of extracurricular activities and peer victimization, despite the academic involvement and enrichment those activities entail. This study examines how academic success and extracurricular activities impact the risk of being victimized by peers through verbal, physical, and other bullying-related incidents. Further, this relationship is compared across four racial/ethnic categories (Asian, Black, Hispanic, White). The study analyzes data from the most recent racially diverse and nationally representative education data set (the 2002 Education Longitudinal Study) to do so. Multilevel regression analyses indicate that participation in academic extracurricular activities and academic effort put students at increased risks for victimization. White students’ victimization helps to account for these relationships. The findings not only provide evidence of stigma against academically enriching activities, but also provide additional evidence against the assumption that only marginalized minority groups are stigmatized for academic effort and involvement.     

Natural Disasters in Indonesia: Relationships Among Posttraumatic Stress,Resource Loss,Depression, Social Support,and Posttraumatic Growth

ABSTRACT

Indonesia is at significant risk for catastrophic natural disasters, including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis. Few studies have examined psychological functioning following disaster exposure in Indonesia, the fourth most populous country in the world. This study assesses variables associated with posttraumatic stress and posttraumatic growth following a devastating earthquake in Central Java that ranks as one of the costliest in Indonesia. The participants were 85 men and women living in rural farming villages. Almost all (95%) experienced major home damage or total home destruction. Posttraumatic stress symptoms were associated with resource loss, depression, and concerns about future earthquakes. Participants reported moderate posttraumatic growth. Posttraumatic growth was associated with energy resource loss and social support. The findings support conservation of resources stress theory. The implications of the findings for intervention and recovery programs are discussed.     

Testing protects against proactive interference in face–name learning

Learning face–name pairings at a social function becomes increasingly more difficult the more individuals one meets. This phenomenon is attributable to proactive interference—the negative influence of prior learning on subsequent learning. Recent evidence suggests that taking a memory test can alleviate proactive interference in verbal list learning paradigms. We apply this technique to face–name pair learning. Participants studied four lists of 12 face–name pairings and either attempted to name the 12 faces just studied after every list or did not. Recall attempts after every list improved learning of the fourth list by over 100%. Moreover, no reduction in learning of face–name pairings occurred from list 1 to list 4 for participants who attempted to name studied faces between lists. These results suggest that testing oneself on the names of a group of new acquaintances before moving on to the next group is an effective mnemonic technique for social functions.     

Countering negative country of origin effects using imagery processing

A favorable product country of origin (e.g., an automobile made in Germany) is often considered an asset by marketers. Yet a challenge in today's competitive environment is how marketers of products from less favorably regarded countries can counter negative country of origin perceptions. Three studies investigate how mental imagery can be used to reduce the effects of negative country of origin stereotypes. Study 1 reveals that participants exposed to country of origin information exhibit automatic stereotype activation. Study 2 shows that self‐focused counterstereotypical mental imagery (relative to other‐focused mental imagery) significantly inhibits the automatic activation of negative country of origin stereotypes. Study 3 shows that this lessening of automatic negative associations persists when measured one day later. The results offer important implications for marketing theory and practice. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Temporal Variation in Adolescent Suicide Attempts

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between adolescent suicide attempts and temporal cycles in a multiethnic population. Medical records at two hospitals in the state of Hawaii were reviewed for all adolescents (ages 12–18) admitted for suicide attempts during the years 1987–1991. Results showed 296 adolescents attempted suicide, and as hypothesized, temporal factors were associated with the attempts. A significant increase in attempts was found during the afternoon/evening and on Mondays and Tuesdays, transition points between home and school. The results are discussed and implications for delivery and temporal theory development considered.     

Psychometric properties of the life events checklist

The Life Events Checklist (LEC), a measure of exposure to potentially traumatic events, was developed at the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) concurrently with the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) to facilitate the diagnosis of PTSD. Although the CAPS is recognized as the gold standard in PTSD symptom assessment, the psychometric soundness of the LEC has never been formally evaluated. The studies reported here describe the performance of the LEC in two samples: college undergraduates and combat veterans. The LEC exhibited adequate temporal stability, good convergence with an established measure of trauma history -- the Traumatic Life Events Questionnaire (TLEQ) -- and was comparable to the TLEQ in associations with variables known to be correlated with traumatic exposure in a sample of undergraduates. In a clinical sample of combat veterans, the LEC was significantly correlated, in the predicted directions, with measures of psychological distress and was strongly associated with PTSD symptoms.     

Music evokes vivid autobiographical memories

Music is strongly intertwined with memories—for example, hearing a song from the past can transport you back in time, triggering the sights, sounds, and feelings of a specific event. This association between music and vivid autobiographical memory is intuitively apparent, but the idea that music is intimately tied with memories, seemingly more so than other potent memory cues (e.g., familiar faces), has not been empirically tested. Here, we compared memories evoked by music to those evoked by famous faces, predicting that music-evoked autobiographical memories (MEAMs) would be more vivid. Participants listened to 30 songs, viewed 30 faces, and reported on memories that were evoked. Memories were transcribed and coded for vividness as in Levine, B., Svoboda, E., Hay, J. F., Winocur, G., & Moscovitch, M. [2002. Aging and autobiographical memory: Dissociating episodic from semantic retrieval. Psychology and Aging, 17, 677–689]. In support of our hypothesis, MEAMs were more vivid than autobiographical memories evoked by faces. MEAMs contained a greater proportion of internal details and a greater number of perceptual details, while face-evoked memories contained a greater number of external details. Additionally, we identified sex differences in memory vividness: for both stimulus categories, women retrieved more vivid memories than men. The results show that music not only effectively evokes autobiographical memories, but that these memories are more vivid than those evoked by famous faces.     

The social context as a determinant of teacher motivational strategies in physical education

ObjectivesThe purpose of the study was to provide an in-depth analysis of how the Physical Education (PE) teaching context influences teachers' motivational strategies towards students.DesignQualitative semi-structured interviewsMethodsUsing Self-determination theory (Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). Psychological Enquiry, 11, 227-268) as a guiding framework, semi-structured interviews of 22 PE teachers were examined using categorical content analysis.ResultsThe teachers perceived that an emphasis on student assessment and the time constraints associated with PE lessons often compelled them to use teaching strategies which conflicted with their beliefs about the most appropriate ways to motivate students. The teachers' own performance evaluations and pressure to conform to other teachers' methods also influenced the teachers' motivational strategies, but these influences were often congruent with their teaching beliefs. Additionally, the teachers discussed how perceived cultural norms associated with the teacher-student relationship impacted upon their chosen motivational strategies. These cultural norms were reported by different teachers as either in line, or in conflict with their teaching beliefs. Finally, the influence of the teachers' perceptions of their students helped produce strategies that were congruent with their beliefs, but often different to empirically suggested strategies.ConclusionsIt is important that teacher beliefs are targeted in education programs and that the teaching context aid in facilitating adaptive motivational strategies.