When visual and verbal memories compete: Evidence of cross-domain limits in working memory

Recently, investigators have suggested that visual working memory operates in a manner unaffected by the retention of verbal material. We question that conclusion on the basis of a simple dual-task experiment designed to rule out phonological memory and to identify a more central faculty as the source of a shared limitation. With a visual working memory task in which two arrays of color squares were to be compared, performance was unaffected by concurrent recitation of a two-digit list or a known seven-digit sequence. However, visual working memory performance decreased markedly when paired with a load of seven random digits. This was not a simple tradeoff, inasmuch as errors on the visual array and high digit load tasks tended to co-occur. Working memory for digits and visual information thus are both subject to at least one type of shared limit, not just domain-specific limitations. The nature of the shared limit is discussed.     

A preliminary evaluation of two behavioral skills training procedures for teaching abduction-prevention skills to schoolchildren

Although child abduction is a low-rate event, it presents a serious threat to the safety of children. The victims of child abduction face the threat of physical and emotional injury, sexual abuse, and death. Previous research has shown that behavioral skills training (BST) is effective in teaching children abduction-prevention skills, although not all children learn the skills. This study compared BST only to BST with an added in situ training component to teach abduction-prevention skills in a small-group format to schoolchildren. Results showed that both programs were effective in teaching abduction-prevention skills. In addition, the scores for the group that received in situ training were significantly higher than scores for the group that received BST alone at the 3-month follow-up assessment.     

Cognitive Correlates of Social Phobia Among Children and Adolescents

We examined different cognitive phenomena in relation to social phobia among children (aged 7 to 11) and adolescents (aged 12–16) separately. Fifty socially phobic youths were compared to 30 normal control children on measures of social anxiety, social expectation as well as self- and observer-rated performance during two social tasks involving a same-aged peer. Additionally, a video-mediated recall procedure was conducted immediately following the two behavioral tasks to examine specific types of self-talk. Results indicated that socially phobic youths had lower expectations of their performance and rated their actual performance worse than controls during a social interaction task, but not a read-aloud task. Self-ratings of decreased performance among socially phobic youths were corroborated by blind observers. Although differences in specific types of self-talk were found between the two groups, these findings were generally moderated by age. Furthermore, certain cognitive symptoms associated with the disorder were more commonly found among older socially phobic youths. The current findings highlight the importance of considering developmental factors in the presentation and treatment of social phobia in youths.     

"Economic man" in cross-cultural perspective: behavioral experiments in 15 small-scale societies

Researchers from across the social sciences have found consistent deviations from the predictions of the canonical model of self-interest in hundreds of experiments from around the world. This research, however, cannot determine whether the uniformity results from universal patterns of human behavior or from the limited cultural variation available among the university students used in virtually all prior experimental work. To address this, we undertook a cross-cultural study of behavior in ultimatum, public goods, and dictator games in a range of small-scale societies exhibiting a wide variety of economic and cultural conditions. We found, first, that the canonical model - based on self-interest - fails in all of the societies studied. Second, our data reveal substantially more behavioral variability across social groups than has been found in previous research. Third, group-level differences in economic organization and the structure of social interactions explain a substantial portion of the behavioral variation across societies: the higher the degree of market integration and the higher the payoffs to cooperation in everyday life, the greater the level of prosociality expressed in experimental games. Fourth, the available individual-level economic and demographic variables do not consistently explain game behavior, either within or across groups. Fifth, in many cases experimental play appears to reflect the common interactional patterns of everyday life.     

A longitudinal investigation of anxiety sensitivity in adolescence

This investigation sought to expand existing knowledge of anxiety sensitivity in a sample of high school students (N = 2,365) assessed over 4 years. The stability of anxiety sensitivity levels across assessment periods was examined, and cluster analyses were used to identify different developmental pathways in levels of anxiety sensitivity. Groups of adolescents with stable low, stable high, and escalating anxiety sensitivity levels were identified. Adolescents with stable high or escalating anxiety sensitivity were significantly more likely to report experiencing a panic attack than individuals with stable low anxiety sensitivity. Results also indicated that Asian and Hispanic adolescents tended to report higher anxiety sensitivity but that their anxiety sensitivity was less strongly associated with panic than that of Caucasian adolescents.     

Instructional Practices in Fifth-through Eighth-grade Science Classrooms of a Selected Seventh-day Adventist Conference

This investigation focused on instructional practices within fifth- through eighth-grade science classes of selected Seventh-day Adventist schools. Teachers reported regular use of discussion, student projects, and tests or quizzes. Most respondents said they did not feel prepared or had “never heard of” inquiry, the learning cycle, or constructivism. Over half the respondents felt discussion, student-projects, and hands-on laboratory work were effective instructional practices in science classrooms. Learning cycle and constructivism were described by most respondents as “not at all” effective; many respondents had “never heard of” these same two instructional approaches.     

Human risky choice in a repeated-gambles procedure: an up-linkage replication of Lakshminarayanan, Chen and Santos (2011)

Lakshminarayanan et al. (J Exp Soc Psychol 47: 689–693, 2011) showed that when choice is between variable (risky) and fixed (safe) food amounts with the same expected values, capuchins prefer the safe alternative if choice is framed as a gain, but the risky alternative if it is framed as a loss. These results seem similar to those seen in human prospect-theory tests in choice between variable and fixed gains or losses. Based on this similarity, they interpreted their results as identifying a between-species commonality in cognitive function. In this report, we repeat their experiment with humans as subjects (an up-linkage replication). Whether choices were rewarded with candy or nickels, choice approximated indifference whether framed as gains or losses. Our data mirror those of others who found that when humans make risky choices within a repeated-trials procedure without verbal instruction about outcome likelihoods, preference biases seen in one-shot, language-guided, prospect-theory tests such as Tversky and Kahneman’s (Science 211:453–458, 1981) reflection effect may not appear. The disparity between our findings and those of Lakshminarayanan et al. suggests their study does not evidence a cognitive process shared by humans and capuchins.     

Junior Tennis Players’ Preferences for Parental Behaviors

The purpose of this study was to identify junior tennis players’ preferences for parental behaviors at competitions. Eleven focus groups were conducted with 42 high performance Canadian tennis players (M age = 13.5 yrs, SD = 1.2 yrs). Analysis revealed several themes describing athletes’ views of supportive parental behaviors. Specific preferences were that parents should not provide technical and tactical advice, but they should comment on effort and attitude, provide practical advice, respect tennis etiquette, and match nonverbal behaviors with supportive comments. By providing a children's perspective, these findings offer guidance to enhance parental involvement in tennis.     

Identifying the Lone Wolf: A Team Perspective

Increased use of sales teams reduces salespeople’s latitude to operate as “lone wolves.” A lone wolf prefers to work alone when making decisions and setting goals, has little patience for group process, sees others as less effective, and seldom values others’ ideas. Research investigating lone wolves suggests they lack organizational commitment. However, no current scale exists for identifying lone wolves. Using sales representatives and student samples, we validate a lone wolf scale and demonstrate how lone wolves differ from autonomous individuals. Having good psychometric properties, the scale is useful to practitioners for assessing representatives for sales team contexts.