Age-related differences in selection by visual saliency

We examined the ability of older adults to select local and global stimuli varying in perceptual saliency—a task requiring nonspatial visual selection. Participants were asked to identify in separate blocks a target at either the global or the local level of a hierarchical stimulus, while the saliency of each level was varied (across different conditions, either the local or the global form was the more salient and relatively easier to identify). Older adults were less efficient than young adults in ignoring distractors that were higher in saliency than were targets, and this occurred across both the global and local levels of form. The increased effects of distractor saliency on older adults occurred even when the effects were scaled by overall differences in task performance. The data provide evidence for an age-related decline in nonspatial attentional selection of low-salient hierarchical stimuli, not determined by the (global or local) level at which selection was required. We discuss the implications of these results for understanding both the interaction between saliency and hierarchical processing and the effects of aging on nonspatial visual attention.     

Grape expectations: The role of cognitive influences in color–flavor interactions

Color conveys critical information about the flavor of food and drink by providing clues as to edibility, flavor identity, and flavor intensity. Despite the fact that more than 100 published papers have investigated the influence of color on flavor perception in humans, surprisingly little research has considered how cognitive and contextual constraints may mediate color–flavor interactions. In this review, we argue that the discrepancies demonstrated in previously-published color–flavor studies may, at least in part, reflect differences in the sensory expectations that different people generate as a result of their prior associative experiences. We propose that color–flavor interactions in flavor perception cannot be understood solely in terms of the principles of multisensory integration (the currently dominant theoretical framework) but that the role of higher-level cognitive factors, such as expectations, must also be considered.     

Is Maternal Fatigue Mediating the Relationship Between Maternal Depression and Child Outcomes?

Fatigue, a subjective state that has been defined as a decreased capacity for physical or mental activity, has many behavioral similarities to depression (e.g., weariness, difficulty concentrating, diminished motivation). We hypothesized that fatigue might mediate the relationship between depression and poor child outcomes. A sample of mothers (14 well women, 57 with multiple sclerosis, and 36 with rheumatoid arthritis) completed an online survey where they reported on their fatigue (using the Modified Fatigue Impact Scale), depression (using the 20-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale), child internalizing and externalizing behaviors (using the Child Behavior Checklist), and child prosocial behaviors (using a 10-item abbreviated Positive Behavior Scale). Maternal fatigue mediated the relationship between maternal depression and the total problems T-score on the Child Behavior Checklist but a mediated relationship was not found for the Positive Behavior Scale. Findings are discussed in light of the need to elucidate the relationship between maternal fatigue, depression, and child outcomes.     

Strengths Use as a Predictor of Well-Being and Health-Related Quality of Life

There is a growing body of research devoted to the examination of character strengths as conceptualized by Values-In-Action (VIA) strengths classification system. However, there remains a dearth of research examining generic strengths use and its relationship with well-being, health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and VIA character strengths. In this crosssectional study, 135 undergraduate university students completed measures of strengths use, subjective well-being (SWB), self-esteem, self-efficacy, and HRQOL, and endorsed five top VIA strengths. Results revealed strengths use is a unique predictor of SWB, but not HRQOL. The VIA strengths of hope and zest were significant positive predictors of life satisfaction. The most commonly-endorsed VIA strengths were: love, humor, kindness, social intelligence, and open-mindedness. The least-endorsed VIA strengths were: leadership, perseverance, wisdom, spirituality, and self-control. Overall, results suggest an important link between generic strengths use and specific VIA strengths and their impact on SWB.     

Accounts for the N170 face-effect: a reply to Rossion,Curran, & Gauthier

In their commentary, Rossion, Curran, and Gauthier (Rossion, B., Curran, T., Gauthier, I. (2002). A defense of the subordinate-level expertise account for the N170 component. Cognition, 85, 197-202) (RC&G) raise a series of arguments against the domain-specificity account for the N170 face-effect (Carmel, D., & Bentin, S. (2002). Domain specificity versus expertise: factors influencing distinct processing of faces. Cognition, 83, 1-29). This effect consists of a large difference (always significant) observed in the amplitude of a negative component peaking at the lower posterior-temporal sites in response to human faces relative to many other stimulus categories. As an alternative to domain specificity, RC&G advocate a "subordinate-level expertise" account, by which the N170 effect can be obtained for any type of stimulus for the individual identification of which the perceiver is an expert. While considering some of their arguments well taken and interesting, we believe that, overall, RC&G's interpretation of our current data (as well as some of theirs) and of our position ignores several important aspects and, therefore, their critique is not persuasive.     

Estimating the validity of the guilty knowledge test from simulated experiments: the external validity of mock crime studies

This experiment was designed to examine the external validity of the standard mock-crime procedure used extensively to evaluate the validity of polygraph tests. The authors manipulated the type of mock-crime procedure (standard vs. a more realistic version) and the time of test (immediate vs. delayed) and examined their effects on the validity of the Guilty Knowledge Test (GKT) and the recall rate of the relevant items. The results indicated that only the type of mock-crime affected the 2 outcome variables. The realistic procedure was associated with a lower recall rate and weaker detection efficiency than the standard procedure. However, these effects were mediated by the type of GKT questions used. Practical implications of these results are discussed.     

Computerized progressive attentional training (CPAT) program: effective direct intervention for children with ADHD.

We tested the efficacy of a pioneering intervention program grounded in a contemporary theoretical framework of attention and designed to directly improve the various attentional functions of children with ADHD. The computerized progressive attentional training (CPAT) program is composed of four sets of structured tasks that uniquely activate sustained attention, selective attention, orienting of attention, and executive attention. Performance was driven by tight schedules of feedback and participants automatically advanced in ordered levels of difficulty contingent upon performance. Twenty 6- to 13-year-old children with ADHD were assigned to the experimental group and received the CPAT sessions twice a week over an 8-week period. Sixteen age-matched control children with ADHD were assigned to the control group and participated in sessions of the same frequency, length, and format except that instead of performing the training tasks they played various computer games during the session. The experimental participants showed a significant improvement in nontrained measures of reading comprehension, and passage copying as well as a significant reduction of parents' reports of inattentiveness. No significant improvements were observed in the control group. We thus concluded that the above academic and attentional improvements were primarily due to the CPAT.     

Maintaining Successful Aging: The Role of Coping Patterns and Resources

One of the main challenges of aging societies is maintaining quality of life despite inevitable changes that occur in the lives of elderly people. This study examined the contribution of coping resources and coping patterns to successful aging among elderly persons following a decline in health and function. Data were collected from 262 elderly Israelis during two home interviews carried out at an interval of 12 months. Successful aging was assessed using a number of measures of subjective well-being. Predictive variables included change in health/functioning, coping resources, and coping patterns (proactive and reactive). Hierarchical regression analyses showed that the coping resources self-efficacy and social support and the proactive coping pattern of concrete planning positively predicted successful aging, while the proactive coping pattern deciding on preferences had a negative influence. These results indicate that elderly people have the ability to shape their quality of life in the presence of decline in health and functioning by using appropriate coping resources and coping patterns. Controlled interventions are recommended to help older people acquire and maintain effective resources and coping skills, thus further promoting their successful aging process.