Windowed cross-correlation and peak picking for the analysis of variability in the association between behavioral time series

Cross-correlation and most other longitudinal analyses assume that the association between 2 variables is stationary. Thus, a sample of occasions of measurement is expected to be representative of the association between variables regardless of the time of onset or number of occasions in the sample. The authors propose a method to analyze the association between 2 variables when the assumption of stationarity may not be warranted. The method results in estimates of both the strength of peak association and the time lag when the peak association occurred for a range of starting values of elapsed time from the beginning of an experiment.     

Transfer-appropriate processing (TAP)

Transfer-appropriate processing (TAP), as applied to implicit memory, has tended to emphasize general forms of processing (e.g., perceptual or conceptual processing). In the present studies, the TAP principle was employed in a more specific manner in order to more precisely assess the relations between the processing engaged during first exposure and that engaged during second exposure to items. Thirteen experiments used a two-phase, cross-task design in which participants engaged in different combinations of seven specific intentional tasks between Phase 1 and Phase 2. Maximum repetition priming was found when tasks were the same in Phases 1 and 2. When Phase 1 and Phase 2 tasks differed, there were lesser, or no, repetition priming effects, depending on the particular combination of tasks. The results demonstrate the importance of the specific intentional processes engaged during repetition priming and the potential heuristic value of TAP, as a principle and methodology, for exploring the organization of memory and related process models.     

Large number discrimination in 6-month-old infants

Two experiments with the Stroop paradigm were conducted to investigate the role of phonological codes in access to the meaning of Chinese characters. Subjects named the ink color of viewed characters or color patches. Key items were color characters, their homophones with the same tone, homophones with different tones, and semantic associates. Apart from finding the usual Stroop interference effect, homophones produced significant interference in the incongruent condition, provided that they had the same tone as the color characters. The interference effect from homophones, however, was significantly smaller than that from color characters. Semantic associates generated an interference effect in the incongruent condition, an effect of the same magnitude as the effect from the same-tone homophones. Finally, in the congruent conditions, all the key items yielded facilitations compared to neutral controls, though the facilitation from color characters was larger than the facilitations from other types of characters. These findings suggest that phonological codes in Chinese are activated obligatorily and provide early sources of constraint in access to meaning.     

Anticipatory postural adjustments for altering direction during walking

The authors examined how individuals adapt their gait and regulate their body configuration before altering direction during walking. Eight young adults were asked to change direction during walking with different turning angles (0 degree, 45 degree, 90 degree), pivot foot (left, right), and walking speeds (normal and fast). The authors used video and force platform systems to determine participants' whole-body center of mass and the center of pressure during the step before they changed direction. The results showed that anticipatory postural adjustments occurred during the prior step and occurred earlier for the fast walking speed. Anticipatory postural adjustments were affected by all 3 variables (turn angle, pivot foot, and speed). Participants leaned backward and sideward on the prior step in anticipation of the turn. Those findings indicate that the motor system uses central control mechanisms to predict the required anticipatory adjustments and organizes the body configuration on the basis of the movement goal.     

Cerebral blood flow and anxiety in older men: an analysis of resting anterior asymmetry and prefrontal regions

Asymmetric resting blood flow in prefrontal and hemispheric regions, assessed by single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), was examined as a potential biological marker for enhanced trait and state anxiety in 30 older men (ages 55-81). Average and asymmetric perfusion in dorsolateral, medial, and orbital regions of the prefrontal lobes was also assessed. Results indicated a significant association between lower levels of resting dorsolateral blood flow and greater state anxiety responses to a series of stressful provocations (measured on a separate occasion). A significant curvilinear (U-shaped) relation between asymmetric dorsolateral perfusion and state anxiety was also identified; increased asymmetric blood flow favoring either the right or the left dorsolateral region related to higher levels of state anxiety. However, this association was attenuated by age and systolic blood pressure. Resting perfusion in the dorsolateral region may represent a more reliable biological marker for state anxiety than trait anxiety in older men.     

"Seeing things in my head": a synesthete's images for music and notes

We explored synesthetic experiences (photisms) elicited by music and notes for GS, a 22-year-old female college student, who is a genuine digit synesthete (Mills et al 1999 Cognitive Neuropsychology 16 181-191). After extensive interviews, we conducted five studies using synthesizer notes in different octaves and in different instrument sounds. GS described, drew, or selected her photisms from alternatives. The results were: (a) her photisms had shape, color, movement, and texture: (b) different instruments had photisms with different shapes and families of instruments had similar shapes; (c) low-pitched notes were darker and larger than high notes; (d) instrument and pitch affected each other; (e) a given note was perceived as darker after a high note than after a low note; and (f) GS's drawings of notes became more consistent with repeated trials. Theoretical observations are discussed on the basis of these results.     

Relationship Between Family Dynamics of Caregivers, Depression, and the Likelihood of Institutionalization of Alzheimer's Patients

This study examined the relationship between family dynamics (as measured by the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale-FACES III), depression, feelings of burden and institutionalization in spouse caregivers (N = 197) of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) patients. All data was previously collected at the New York University Medical Center's Aging and Dementia Research Center between 1987 and 1991. Although no significant results were found between family dynamics and the likelihood of institutionalization, a post-hoc analyses found that AD spouse caregivers with higher scores on family cohesion experienced significantly less burden and depression than caregivers with lower cohesion scores. Implications for future research examining family cohesion, depression, and feelings of burden in AD spouse caregivers are discussed.     

Finding "meaning" in psychology: a lay theories approach to self-regulation, social perception, and social development

Much of psychology focuses on universal principles of thought and action. Although an extremely productive pursuit, this approach, by describing only the "average person," risks describing no one in particular. This article discusses an alternate approach that complements interests in universal principles with analyses of the unique psychological meaning that individuals find in their experiences and interactions. Rooted in research on social cognition, this approach examines how people's lay theories about the stability or malleability of human attributes alter the meaning they give to basic psychological processes such as self-regulation and social perception. Following a review of research on this lay theories perspective in the field of social psychology, the implications of analyzing psychological meaning for other fields such as developmental, cultural, and personality psychology are discussed.