Neither separate nor equivalent: Relationships between feature representations within bound objects

Evidence suggests that binding, or encoding a feature with respect to other features in time and space, can convey cognitive advantages. However, evidence across many kinds of stimuli and paradigms presents a mixed picture, alternatively showing cognitive costs or cognitive advantages associated with maintaining bound representations. We examined memory for colored letters drawn from similar and distinct color sets under circumstances that encouraged or discouraged the maintenance of color-letter binding. Our results confirmed previous change recognition research showing feature recognition improvement under explicit instructions to maintain binding. Color memory improved during binding, showing a reduced detrimental effect of feature similarity on retrieval, particularly when the letter served as the retrieval cue for a letter-color object. We found that feature recognition improved when two conditions were met: 1) relationships between features were to-be-remembered, and 2) the feature conjunction was relevant at test. Our results further suggest that this feature advantage arises because the encoded relationship between the features facilitates retrieval, not because features and objects are represented simultaneously in separate buffers.     

Visual short-term memory always requires general attention

The role of attention in visual memory remains controversial; while some evidence has suggested that memory for binding between features demands no more attention than does memory for the same features, other evidence has indicated cognitive costs or mnemonic benefits for explicitly attending to bindings. We attempted to reconcile these findings by examining how memory for binding, for features, and for features during binding is affected by a concurrent attention-demanding task. We demonstrated that performing a concurrent task impairs memory for as few as two visual objects, regardless of whether each object includes one or more features. We argue that this pattern of results reflects an essential role for domain-general attention in visual memory, regardless of the simplicity of the to-be-remembered stimuli. We then discuss the implications of these findings for theories of visual working memory.     

Preschoolers Use Questions as a Tool to Acquire Knowledge From Different Sources

How do children use questions as tools to acquire new knowledge? The current experiment examined preschool children's ability to direct questions to appropriate sources to acquire knowledge. Fifty preschoolers engaged in a task that entailed asking questions to discover which special key would open a box that contained a prize. Children solved simple and complex problems by questioning two puppet experts who knew about separate features of each key. Results indicate dramatic developmental differences in the efficiency and efficacy of children's questions. Although even 3-year-olds asked questions, their questions were largely ineffective and directed toward inappropriate sources. Four-year-olds directed questions toward the appropriate sources but asked approximately equal numbers of effective and ineffective questions. Only 5-year-olds both asked the appropriate sources and formulated effective questions. Implications for the development of problem-solving abilities are discussed.     

Parent‐implemented behavioral skills training of social skills

Impairment in social skills is a primary feature of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). Research indicates that social skills are intimately tied to social development and negative social consequences can persist if specific social behaviors are not acquired. The present study evaluated the effects of behavioral skills training (BST) on teaching four parents of children with ASDs to be social skills trainers. A nonconcurrent multiple baseline design across parent–child dyads was employed and direct observation was used to assess parent and child behaviors Results demonstrated substantial improvement in social skills teaching for all participants for trained and untrained skills. Ancillary measures of child performance indicated improvement in skills as well. High levels of correct teaching responses were maintained at a 1 month follow‐up. This study extends current literature on BST while also providing a helpful, low‐effort strategy to modify how parents can work with their children to improve their social skills.     

The Relations among Measurements of Informant Discrepancies within a Multisite Trial of Treatments for Childhood Social Phobia

Discrepancies between informants’ reports of children’s behavior are robustly observed in clinical child research and have important implications for interpreting the outcomes of controlled treatment trials. However, little is known about the basic psychometric properties of these discrepancies. This study examined the relation between parent-child reporting discrepancies on measures of child social phobia symptoms, administered before and after treatment for social phobia. Participants included a clinic sample of 81 children (7–16 years old [M = 11.75, SD = 2.57]; 39 girls, 42 boys) and their parents receiving treatment as part of a multisite controlled trial. Pretreatment parent-child reporting discrepancies predicted parent-child discrepancies at posttreatment, and these relations were not better accounted for by the severity of the child’s pretreatment primary diagnosis. Further, treatment responder status moderated this relation: Significant relations were identified for treatment non-responders and not for treatment responders. Overall, findings suggest that informant discrepancies can be reliably employed to measure individual differences over the course of controlled treatment trials. These data provide additional empirical support for recent work suggesting that informant discrepancies can meaningfully inform understanding of treatment response as well as variability in treatment outcomes.     

Effects of safety behaviors on fear reduction during exposure

The use of safety behaviors has been considered one of the primary maintaining mechanisms of anxiety disorders; however, evidence suggests that they are not always detrimental to treatment success (Milosevic & Radomsky, 2008). This study examined the effects of safety behaviors on behavioral, cognitive, and subjective indicators of fear during exposure for fear of spiders. A two-stage design was used to examine fear reduction and approach distance during an in vivo exposure task for participants (N = 43) assigned to either a safety behavior use (SBU) or no safety behavior use (NSB) condition. Overall, both groups reported significant and comparable reductions in self-reported anxiety and negative beliefs about spiders at posttest and 1-week follow-up. Participants in the SBU group approached the spider more quickly than did participants in the NSB condition; however, participants in the SBU condition showed a small but significant decrease in approach distance at follow-up. These results call for a reconceptualization of the impact of safety behaviors on in vivo exposure.