Flashbulb memories of the Pope's resignation: Explicit and implicit measures across differing religious groups

In the present paper, we aimed to provide evidence in support of the idea tested in a recent study by Lanciano and colleagues that flashbulb memories (FBMs) are a special class of autobiographical memories that can be assessed through the autobiographical implicit association test (aIAT). FBMs and event memories (EMs) for the news of the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI were evaluated in three samples of churchgoer Catholic, non-churchgoer Catholic and Evangelical Italian participants through the traditional self-report measures (specificity/accuracy, confidence, consistency) and aIAT indices. Results confirmed the strength of the association between FBM and true information. The aIAT effect was stronger for FBMs than for EM details, and for Catholic respondents who were the group most concerned by the original event. Furthermore, the use of implicit measures for memory assessment concurs with the traditional self-report indices of FBMs. The present evidence supports the idea that FBMs are special autobiographical memories which remain detailed, certain and consistent over time.     

A New Neurocognitive Model for Assessing Divergent Thinking: Applicability,Evidence of Reliability,and Implications for Educational Theory and Practice

A new model is presented to assess divergent thinking from a neurocognitive perspective. Evidence is presented showing its sensitivity to capture differences in divergent thinking. This observational interview-based study used a two-dimensional matrix (grid) composed of dimensions derived from neuropsychology and cognitive science theory. Each category (grid cell) is related to a particular cognitive operation that putatively is mediated by one or more functional/anatomical brain regions. Using the coding matrix, data were obtained from 30 middle school students through interviews and think-aloud responses to questions. Students were videotaped while viewing rich pictorial material and responses were coded and characterized for divergent production using 10 coefficients: higher category responses, detail, spontaneous generation, perspective switching, category switching per probe, category switches per utterance, different switches, detail per switching ratio, new subjects, higher category responses and reasoning. Reliability was obtained by interobserver concordance and Cohen's kappa coefficients were calculated for the cognitive and brain functional references dimensions (.90 and .91, respectively). Individual differences were expressed as variations in divergent thinking, providing a convenient way of assessing divergent thinking that may be related to creative thinking in education. This model may have heuristic value beyond research on creativity by providing a theoretical framework to guide further research on the cognitive correlates of divergent thinking with brain functional modules by correlating brain imaging data with concurrent interview data gathered by use of the model.     

Age-related trends in Stroop and conflicting motor response task findings

Inhibition problems are reportedly at the heart of several childhood pathologies and learning disorders, but few instruments are available for their in-depth investigation. The main aim of the present study was to investigate the development of a capacity to inhibit automatic responses in young and middle childhood. For this purpose, 100 children between 6 and 11 years old were administered two tests that measure executive inhibition: an animal Stroop task (in a paper-and-pencil version of the computerized original proposed by Wright and colleagues in 2003) and a conflicting motor response task. Our results indicate that performance clearly improves in both tests during the course of a child's development and the data obtained with the paper-and-pencil animal Stroop task overlap with those obtained with the computerized version. When the task calls for a stronger inhibitory control (the incongruent situation in the Stroop task and in the opposite condition in the conflicting motor response test) the trend of the response times is less homogeneous, peaking in the youngest and oldest age brackets considered. The positivity and significance of the correlation coefficients between the two tests also suggest that the two measures are tapping cognitive abilities that are developing in a parallel fashion.     

Assessing Interpersonal Profiles Associated With Varying Levels of Effortful Control

Research has linked individual differences in effortful control (EC) with variations in interpersonal functioning in children and adolescents. Using the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems–Short Circumplex (Hopwood, Pincus, DeMoor, & Koonce, 2008), this study investigated interpersonal problem profiles associated with EC in 763 nonclinical young adults. We found that individuals with low EC reported intrusive interpersonal problems and high levels of interpersonal distress, whereas individuals with high EC reported cold interpersonal problems but low levels of interpersonal distress. Results suggest that EC might play an important role in shaping interpersonal functioning.     

Narrating career,positioning identity and constructing gender in an Italian adolescent's personal narratives

This article explores identity career narratives as a gendered and gendering discourse. The ‘gender differences’ approach to career development conceives of gender as a dichotomous and fixed variable influencing various aspects of career. In contrast to this mainstream approach, the paper adopts a post-structural view and reads identity and gender in terms of performativity, that is to say, constituted through the productive power of discourses. Through a detailed analysis of a text written by Giada, an adolescent involved in a career counseling project in Italy, we analyze how her career narratives implicate and constitute gender in their telling. In particular, we present the discourses that frame Giada's career narrative and we highlight how these discourses position Giada as a woman and as female. These discourses can be read as regulatory discourses: shaping and reflecting particular understandings of gender. However, we also highlight Giada's agency in questioning the regulatory practice of such discourses through linguistic acts. In the conclusions, we further explore the potential implications of these research findings for a rethinking of career counseling research and practice.     

Spatial and visual working memory ability in children with difficulties in arithmetic word problem solving

Although various studies support the multicomponent nature of visuospatial working memory, to date there is no general consensus on the distinction of its components. A difference is usually proposed between visual and spatial components of working memory, but the individual roles of these components in mathematical learning disabilities remains unclear. The present study aimed to examine the involvement of visual and spatial working memory in poor problem-solvers compared with children with normal level of achievement. Fourth-grade participants were presented with tasks measuring phonological loop, central executive, and visual versus spatial memory. In two separate experiments, both designed to distinguish visual and spatial component involvement, poor problem-solvers specifically failed on spatial—but not visual or phonological—working memory tasks. Results are discussed in the light of possible working memory models, and specifically demonstrate that problem-solving ability can benefit from analysis of spatial processes, which involves ability to manipulate and transform relevant information; instead, no benefit is gained from the analysis of visual pictorial detail.     

The semantic structure of vision verbs: A psycholinguistic investigation of Italian

The aim of the present study was to investigate the semantic dimensions that contribute to the mental representation of vision verbs in Italian. In Experiment 1, a group of experts (psychology faculty members) was asked to list the semantic attributes necessary for describing a set of Italian vision verbs (Phase 1) and a group of students rated the extent to which each of these attributes was appropriate to characterise these verbs (Phase 2). In Experiment 2, the conceptual organisation of vision verbs was assessed through Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) using direct judgements of pairwise similarity between vision verbs (e.g., “vedere-guardare”). The results show that six of the attributes generated in Phase 1 are useful for describing the pattern of similarity ratings obtained in Experiment 2, namely attention, certainty, cognitive content, control, duration, and intentionality.     

Pathways Linking Child Physical Abuse,Depression, and Aggressiveness across Genders

Previous research suggests that child physical abuse, depression, and aggressiveness are linked, but gender differences remain poorly understood. This study examined gender differences in the mediational relationships among these constructs, after controlling for the confounding effects of other negative life events. Men and women completed questionnaires about physical abuse and negative life events that occurred prior to age 18, depressive symptoms, and aggressiveness. Results indicated significant gender differences in the pathways between child physical abuse and depression, and between child abuse and aggressiveness, with direct and mediating links pertaining only to men. These findings suggest that links among child physical abuse, depression, and aggressiveness are specific to men, and negative life events might play a more potent role for women.