Phonological similarity in free and serial recall: The effect of increasing retention intervals

The phonological similarity effect (or acoustic confusion effect) consists of poor serial recall performance for lists composed of similar‐sounding words compared to lists of dissimilar‐sounding items. Building on the work of Nairne and Kelley (1999), the extent to which this classical verbal short‐term memory effect changes over the course of a retention interval was investigated. The impact of the phonological similarity on memory performance over time was compared in three paradigms: order reconstruction, serial recall, and free recall. Participants were presented with two blocks of 15 lists composed of five monosyllabic words, one block containing phonologically similar words and the other phonologically distinct words. Recall occurred either after 2, 8, or 24 seconds retention interval filled with a digit shadowing task. Our results confirmed and extended those of Nairne and Kelley. In order reconstruction and serial recall tasks, a classical phonological similarity effect (i.e., decrement in performance with similar lists) was observed for the 2‐s retention interval. This effect disappeared after a brief period of digit shadowing (i.e., 8‐s delay) and a beneficial effect of similarity was observed for the 24‐s retention interval. In the free recall task, the phonological similarity produced better performance whatever the delay between presentation and recall. Those results are discussed in the light of Nairne's (1990a) feature model and confirm the role of item‐specific and inter‐item processes in order reconstruction, serial recall, and free recall. L'effet de similarité phonologique se manifeste par une performance de rappel plus faible lorsque les listes sont composées de mots dont la sonorité est proche que lorsque les mots sont de sonorité éloignée. Sur la base de la recherche de Nairne et Kelley (1999), nous nous sommes intéressés à la manière dont évolue cet effet classique de mémoire à court terme verbale dans le temps, C'est‐à‐dire à L'issue d'intervalles de rétention de durées variables. L'impact de la similarité phonologique sur la performance mnésique a été évaluée sur la base de trois paradigmes, la reconstruction de L'ordre, le rappel sériel et le rappel libre. Les participants ont été soumis à deux blocs de 15 listes comportant 5 mots monosyllabiques, un bloc comprenant des mots similaires phonologiquement et un bloc comprenant des mots dissimilaires phonologiquement. Le rappel est demandé après un intervalle de rétention d'une durée de 2, 8 ou 24 secondes durant lequel une tâche de shadowing de chiffres est proposée. Nos résultats confirment et étendent ceux obtenus par Nairne et Kelley. Pour les tâches de reconstruction de L'ordre et de rappel sériel, un effet de similarité phonologique classique (i.e., chute des performances pour les listes similaires) est observé avec un intervalle de rétention de 2 secondes. Cet effet disparaît après une courte période consacrée au shadowing de chiffres (i.e., 8 secondes) et un effet bénéfique de la similarité est observé pour un intervalle de rétention de 24 secondes. En rappel libre, la similarité phonologique provoque une amélioration des performances quel que soit le délai entre présentation et rappel. Ces résultats sont discutés à la lumière du modèle des traits de Nairne (1990a). Ils confirment le rôle des traitements spécifiques à L'item et des traitements inter‐items lors de tâches telles que la reconstruction de L'ordre, le rappel sériel et libre. El efecto de la similitud fonológica (o efecto de confusión acústica) se manifiesta en fallas en el recuerdo de series para las listas compuestas por palabras que tienen sonidos similares en comparación con aquéllas que poseen elementos distintos. Con base en el trabajo de Nairne en Kelley (1999), se investigó la medida en la que este efecto clásico de memoria reciente cambia a lo largo del curso de un intervalo de retención. El impacto de la similitud fonológica sobre el desempeño de la memoria a lo largo del tiempo se comparó en tres paradigmas, reconstrucción del orden, recuerdo de series y recuerdo libre. Se presentó a los participantes dos bloques de 15 listas compuestas por 5 palabras monosilábicas, un bloque contenía palabras fonológicamente similares y, el otro, palabras fonológicamente distintas. El recuerdo ocurrió después de un intervalo de retención de 2, 8 ó 24 segundos lleno de una tarea digital de sombreado. Los resultados confirmaron y extendieron los de Nairne en Kelley. En las tareas de reconstrucción del orden y en la recuerdo de series, se observó un efecto clásico de similitud fonológica para el intervalo de retención de 2 segundos (es decir, disminución de la ejecución con listas similares). Este efecto desapareció después de un breve periodo de sombreado digital (es decir, un retraso de 8 segundos) y se observó un efecto benéfico de similitud para el intervalo de retención de 24 segundos. En la tarea de recuerdo libre, la similitud fonológica produjo mejor ejecución independientemente del retraso entre la presentación y el recuerdo. Tales resultados se discuten a la luz del modelo de Nairne (1990a) y confirman el papel que desempeñan los procesos de reactivo específico e interreactivo en la reconstrucción del orden, y en el recuerdo de series y libre.     

A quantitative review of overjustification effects in persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities

The overjustification hypothesis suggests that extrinsic rewards undermine intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic rewards are common in strengthening behavior in persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities; we examined overjustification effects in this context. A literature search yielded 65 data sets permitting comparison of responding during an initial no‐reinforcement phase to a subsequent no‐reinforcement phase, separated by a reinforcement phase. We used effect sizes to compare response levels in these two no‐reinforcement phases. Overall, the mean effect size did not differ from zero; levels in the second no‐reinforcement phase were equally likely to be higher or lower than in the first. However, in contrast to the overjustification hypothesis, levels were higher in the second no‐reinforcement phase when comparing the single no‐reinforcement sessions immediately before and after reinforcement. Outcomes consistent with the overjustification hypothesis were somewhat more likely when the target behavior occurred at relatively higher levels prior to reinforcement.     

The relationship between the parents and the premature baby

Abstract

The arrival of a newborn baby confronts the parents with the loss of their own childhood and the process of mourning that this entails. In the case of a premature birth, where the often brutal experience of birth is followed by a forced separation of hospitalization, the situation is even more complicated, making it sometimes difficult for the mother to invest in the baby libidinally. The presence of a psychoanalyst working with the resuscitation team can facilitate the encounter with the parents, the baby, and the caretakers, and can, by “supposing a subject” in the baby, help to restore the bond between mother and child.     

Cognitive Interventions for Cognitively Healthy,Mildly Impaired,and Mixed Samples of Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized-Controlled Trials

Cognitive interventions may improve cognition, delay age-related cognitive declines, and improve quality of life for older adults. The current meta-analysis was conducted to update and expand previous work on the efficacy of cognitive interventions for older adults and to examine the impact of key demographic and methodological variables. EBSCOhost and Embase online databases and reference lists were searched to identify relevant randomized-controlled trials (RCTs) of cognitive interventions for cognitively healthy or mildly impaired (MCI) older adults (60+ years). Interventions trained a single cognitive domain (e.g., memory) or were multi-domain training, and outcomes were assessed immediately post-intervention using standard neuropsychological tests. In total, 279 effects from 97 studies were pooled based on a random-effects model and expressed as Hedges’ g (unbiased). Overall, results indicated that cognitive interventions produce a small, but significant, improvement in the cognitive functioning of older adults, relative to active and passive control groups (g = 0.298, p < .001, 95% CI = 0.248–0.347). These results were confirmed using multi-level analyses adjusting for nesting of effect sizes within studies (g = 0.362, p < .001, 95% CI = 0.275, 0.449). Age, education, and cognitive status (healthy vs. MCI) were not significant moderators. Working memory interventions proved most effective (g = 0.479), though memory, processing speed, and multi-domain interventions also significantly improved cognition. Effects were larger for directly trained outcomes but were also significant for non-trained outcomes (i.e., “transfer effects”). Implications for future research and clinical practice are discussed. This project was pre-registered with PROSPERO (#42016038386).     

The Agency Paradigm: A Pedagogical Tool to Facilitate Nuanced Thinking on Sensitive Issues

Sensitive issues, rife in religious studies and in theology, present a pedagogical challenge when teaching students to nuance their thinking around positions that are often sharply defined and elicit strong feelings. I developed a learning tool that I call the “Agency Paradigm.” The purpose of this tool is to help students comprehend diversity within religious traditions, particularly regarding the agencies of women who are committed to them. Drawing on the open and critical dialogue of emancipatory pedagogy, the Agency Paradigm encourages students to explore a range of ways women in world religions choose to act in varying contexts. This approach to teaching world religions increases students’ cognitive knowledge base and expands their understanding of each of the religions studied in the course, as examined through the perspective of differing women; it also assists them in developing their own agency through thoughtful reflection.     

Young Children Selectively Expect Failure Disclosure to High‐achieving Peers

Children make many decisions about whether and how to disclose their performance to peers, teachers, parents and others. Previous research has found that children's disclosure declines with age and that older children and teenagers preferentially choose a peer audience for performance disclosure based on similar achievement. This research examines younger children's choice of a disclosure audience: whether young children predict that people will distinguish between peers at different achievement levels, and whether or not younger children expect preferential selections between those peers for their performance disclosure. One hundred and thirty‐nine children, aged 3 to 6 years, were asked about a character's disclosure of classroom performance information. At least until the age of 6 years, children predicted significantly greater disclosure of failure to a high achieving peer who had been successful. When asked to predict the disclosure of success, however, children in all age groups did not discriminate between disclosing to the high‐achieving or low‐achieving peer. This evidence suggests that very young children may not show the same valence‐matching preferences as older children and that early school ages are a critical time when children begin to adopt social norms around disclosure that impinge on possible help‐seeking. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Can harmful intergroup behaviors truly represent the self?: The impact of harmful and prosocial normative behaviors on intra-individual conflict and compartmentalization

This research investigates how group members subjectively feel about their prosocial vs. harmful intergroup behaviors, and whether these behaviors can represent who they are more globally as a person. Three experiments tested how group norms (pro-merit/parity vs. pro-discrimination) and congruence with these norms predicted compartmentalization of these intergroup behaviors in the self and intra-individual conflict. Experiment 1 (N = 122) revealed that participants who conformed to a pro-discrimination norm reported compartmentalizing this behavior to a greater extent than participants who conformed to a pro-merit norm. Experiments 2 (N = 149) and 3 (N = 222) replicated and extended these findings in real and conflictual intergroup settings, also over and above the effect of relevant superordinate norms. Mediated moderation analyses also revealed that following discriminatory norms was associated with more intra-individual conflict, and that this conflict in turn predicted higher compartmentalization.     

Passion and Gambling: Investigating the Divergent Affective and Cognitive Consequences of Gambling1

Vallerand et al. (2003) developed a theoretical framework of passion where two types of passions are proposed: obsessive and harmonious passion. Obsessive passion is characterized by an internal pressure that pushes the person to engage in the passionate activity, whereas harmonious passion is characterized by the person's choice to engage in the activity. The goal of the present study was to examine the outcomes of these types of passion toward gambling. A total of 554 participants completed instruments assessing their passion toward gambling, as well as several cognitive and affective outcomes. Results indicated that, in general, harmonious passion was associated with positive outcomes, while obsessive passion was related to negative consequences. Results also showed that casino activities accentuated both positive and negative outcomes by fostering both types of passion toward the gambling activity. Conceptual and practical implications are discussed.     

Ideological beliefs as determinants of discrimination in positive and negative outcome distributions

Social identity theory proposes that discrimination contributes favourably to group members' social identity. In minimal group paradigm (MGP) studies involving positive outcome distributions (e.g. money), discrimination is associated with a more positive social identity. But studies on the positive‐negative asymmetry effect show that categorization leads to less discrimination when negative (salary cuts) than when positive outcomes (salary increases) are distributed. Using structural equation modelling, this study (N = 279) tested whether discrimination involving negative outcome distributions could contribute as much to group members' positive social identity as discrimination on positive outcomes. The study also tested if ideological beliefs (i.e. social dominance orientation, authoritarianism), measured one month before the MGP experiment, could predict positive and negative outcome discrimination. While the fit of the hypothesized model was adequate, only social dominance orientation predicted both positive and negative outcome discrimination. Also, discrimination on positive outcomes but not on negative ones contributed to positive social identity. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effect of reinforcement variables on inhibition in children with ADHD.

Behavioral inhibition, often cited as a central deficit in children with ADHD, has been shown to change in response to reinforcement. In this preliminary investigation, children with ADHD (n= 20) and matched controls (ages 7 to 12) completed a new version of the stop signal paradigm, the Fire Fighter Game, a measure of inhibition of a prepotent motor response, under three conditions: (1) no reinforcement; (2) immediate reinforcement; and (3) delayed reinforcement. In all conditions, the stop signal reaction time (SSRT) of children with ADHD was consistently longer than controls. Both groups improved significantly with reinforcement, and there was no strong evidence that immediate reinforcement was more effective than delayed reinforcement. However, it appeared that the reason for the changes in SSRT in response to reinforcement differed between the groups. Children in the control group responded faster on go trials, whereas children with ADHD improved their ability to inhibit responding with shorter stop delays. The relevance of these findings is discussed in terms of current theories of ADHD.