Tests of encoding tradeoffs between item and associative information

The assumption that item and associative information are processed separately and that there is a tradeoff in the amount of each type of information that can be encoded in a given study interval (e.g., Anderson & Bower, 1972; Murdock, 1982, 1992) was examined. When item information was emphasized at study, recognition memory for associative information was poor, demonstrating that item information can be emphasized over associative information. In contrast, when associative information was emphasized, associative recognition greatly improved but item recognition did not suffer. This pattern of results was found at both fast and slow presentation rates, and for both high and low word concreteness and word frequency. Measures of confidence and response latency were also consistent with this pattern. Thus, the encoding of associative information did not measurably diminish item recognition performance.     

Pre-entry Characteristics,Perceived Social Support,Adjustment and Academic Achievement in First-Year Spanish University Students: A Path Model

Transition to university is a multifactorial process to which scarce consideration has been given in Spain, despite this being one of the countries with the highest rates of academic failure and attrition within the European Union. The present study proposes an empirical model for predicting Spanish students' academic achievement at university by considering pre-entry characteristics, perceived social support and adaptation to university, in a sample of 300 traditional first-year university students. The findings of the path analysis showed that pre-university achievement and academic and personal–emotional adjustment were direct predictors of academic achievement. Furthermore, gender, parents' education and family support were indirect predictors of academic achievement, mediated by pre-university grades and adjustment to university. The current findings supporting evidence that academic achievement in first-year Spanish students is the cumulative effect of pre-entry characteristics and process variables, key factors that should be taken into account in designing intervention strategies involving families and that establish stronger links between research findings and university policies.     

Association between obesity and suicide in woman,but not in man: a population-based study of young adults

The relationship between obesity and suicide risk is still unclear with controversial research results. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between obesity and suicide risk for men and women in a population-based study of young adults. This is a cross-sectional population-based study that identified young adults between 18 and 35 years of age. Suicide risk was investigated through the structured clinical interview Mini. Weight and height were assessed, and participants were classified as normal-weight body mass index (BMI < 30) or obese (BMI > 30). The prevalence of obesity was of 19.9% of the total sample (n = 1953). Obesity was more prevalent among women and participants between 27 and 35 years of age. Suicide risk was present in 13.0% of the sample and more prevalent among women. In our study we found an association between obesity and suicide risk for women, but not for men. Obesity was associated with a higher prevalence of suicide risk in women. Given the strength of the relationship between BMI and suicide, identifying the mechanisms associated with obesity, especially for women, can lead to new insights into the prevention of suicide risk     

Happiness and health behaviours among university students from 24 low,middle and high income countries

The aim of this study was to examine health behaviours and happiness and associated factors in low, middle and high income countries. In a cross-sectional survey, 17 508 undergraduate university students (mean age 20.9, SD = 2. 8) from 25 universities in 24 countries across Asia, Africa and the Americas self-completed anonymous questionnaires. Results indicate that the overall happiness mean score among university students across 24 countries was 13.7 (range 4–20). Generally, the study found that university students from countries of the Caribbean, South America and sub-Saharan Africa had greater happiness scores than students from countries in North Africa and Asia. In multivariate linear regression analysis, better subjective socio-economic status, coming from an higher income country, higher social support, higher intrinsic religiosity, higher personal mastery, positive health behaviours (regular breakfast, adequate physical activity, habitual seatbelt use, regular dental check-ups, not having had an injury, not drinking and driving) and negative health behaviours (not having three or more servings of vegetables and eating red meat daily) were correlated with happiness. Improvement to the happiness of university students should consider regional differences in socio-economic environment.     

Cueing the interpretation of a Necker Cube: a way to inspect fundamental cognitive processes

The term perceptual bistability refers to all those conditions in which an observer looks at an ambiguous stimulus that can have two or more distinct but equally reliable interpretations. In this work, we investigate perception of Necker Cube in which bistability consists of the possibility to interpret the cube depth in two different ways. We manipulated the cube ambiguity by darkening one of the cube faces (cue) to provide a clear cube interpretation due to the occlusion depth index. When the position of the cue is stationary the cube perceived perspective is steady and driven by the cue position. However, when we alternated in time the cue position (i.e. we changed the position of the darkened cube face) two different perceptual phenomena occurred: for low frequencies the cube perspective alternated in line with the position of the cue; however for high frequencies the cue was no longer able to bias the perception but it appears as a floating feature traveling across the solid with the cube whole perspective that returns to be bistable as in the conventional, bias-free, case.     

On the requirement of nitric oxide signaling in the amygdala for consolidation of inhibitory avoidance memory

Evidence suggests that the NO/sGC/PKG pathway plays a key role in memory processing but the actual participation of this signaling cascade in the amygdala during memory consolidation remains unknown. Here, we show that when infused in the amygdala immediately after inhibitory avoidance training, but not later, the NO synthase inhibitor L-NNA hindered long-term memory retention without affecting locomotion, exploratory behavior, anxiety state or retrieval of the avoidance response. The amnesic effect of L-NNA was not state-dependent and was mimicked by the soluble guanylyl cyclase inhibitor LY83583 and the PKG inhibitor KT-5823. On the contrary, post-training intra-amygdala infusion of the NOS substrate L-Arg, the NO-releasing compound SNAP or the non-hydrolysable analog of cGMP 8Br-cGMP increased memory retention in a dose-dependent manner. Co-infusion of 8Br-cGMP reversed the amnesic effect of L-NNA and LY83583 but not that of KT-5823. Our data indicate that the NO-induced activation of PKG in the amygdala is a necessary step for consolidation of inhibitory avoidance memory.     

Tangibles as predictors of customer satisfaction in sports services

This study investigates the power of tangible dimensions of service quality to predict customer satisfaction. For this purpose, we statistically controlled the effects of dimensions of service quality that describe social interaction between employees and customers, both functionally and relationally. A field survey was conducted with the participation of 556 customers of a sports centre. The results showed that tangible dimensions of service quality predicted an additional and significant amount of customer satisfaction variance, beyond the effects of service quality of the social interaction. The article concludes with the discussion of the implications of these results.     

Making sense of word senses: the comprehension of polysemy depends on sense overlap

Studies of polysemy are few in number and are contradictory. Some have found differences between polysemy and homonymy (L. Frazier & K. Rayner, 1990), and others have found similarities (D. K. Klein & G. Murphy, 2001). The authors investigated this issue using the methods of D. K. Klein and G. Murphy (2001), in whose study participants judged whether ambiguous words embedded in word pairs (e.g., tasty chicken) made sense as a function of a cooperating, conflicting, or neutral context. The ambiguous words were independently rated as having low, moderate, or highly overlapping senses to approximate a continuum from homonymy to metonymic polysemy. The effects of meaning dominance were examined. Words with highly overlapping meanings (e.g., metonymy) showed reduced effects of context and dominance compared with words with moderately or low overlapping meanings (e.g., metaphorical polysemy and homonymy). These results suggest that the comprehension of ambiguous words is mediated by the semantic overlap of alternative senses/meanings.     

Predictors of post-traumatic stress symptoms following occupational accidents: A longitudinal study

Objective: Occupational accidents are highly stressful events that frequently occur and impact both the physical and mental health of workers. The aim of this study was to longitudinally assess a predictive model of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in workers who have suffered a recent accident. Method: Two hundred and forty-four workers (77.8% men), aged 18 to 73 years, who had experienced an accident during the last month that resulted in hospitalization and/or ten or more days of sick leave, were surveyed. A second survey was carried out six months later. Regression analyses included psychological predictors (i.e. subjective severity of event, brooding and positive and negative religious coping), along with objective predictors (i.e. hospitalization, sick leave days and unemployment). Results: It was found that the main predictors of PTSS were brooding, negative religious coping, days of sick leave and unemployment, with a large effect size (R²?=?.45). Conclusions: The discussion is based on the usefulness of including selected psychological and objective predictors for detecting people more susceptible to developing psychopathology due to the stress following an accident. Identifying at-risk people for developing PTSS after an accident may help to introduce selective preventive strategies or early interventions in this population.