Awareness of memory task impairment versus everyday memory difficulties in dementia

The study investigated different types of awareness of memory dysfunction in dementia, specifically judgements concerning memory task performance or appraisal of everyday memory functioning and also exploring the neuropsychological correlates of such awareness. This was investigated in 76 people with dementia, comprising 46 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and 30 patients with vascular dementia (VaD). The Memory Awareness Rating Scale (Clare et al., 2002, Neuropsychol Rehabil, 12, 341–362) was used, which includes an Objective‐Judgement Discrepancy (OJD) technique involving comparison of subjective evaluation of performance on specific memory tasks with actual performance, and a Subjective Rating Discrepancy (SRD) technique, which compares self versus informant judgement of everyday memory function. The AD and VaD groups showed lower awareness than a normal control group for both types of measures, the AD group showing less awareness than the VaD group on the OJD measure. Regression analyses supported associations for both groups between memory impairment and the OJD measure and between naming impairment and the SRD measure. The findings are discussed in terms of neurocognitive theories accounting for loss of awareness in dementia.     

Executive control in older Welsh monolinguals and bilinguals

Evidence for a bilingual advantage in executive control has led to the suggestion that being bilingual might protect against late-life cognitive decline. We assessed the performance of socially homogeneous groups of older (≥60 years) bilingual Welsh/English (n?=?50) and monolingual English (n?=?49) speakers on a range of executive control tasks yielding 17 indices for comparison. Effect sizes (>.2) favoured monolinguals on 10 indices, with negligible differences observed on the remaining 7 indices. Univariate analyses indicated that monolinguals performed significantly better on 2 of 17 indices. Multivariate analysis indicated no significant overall differences between the two groups in performance on executive tasks. Older Welsh bilinguals do not show a bilingual advantage in executive control, and where differences are observed, these tend to favour monolinguals. A possible explanation may lie in the nature of the socio-linguistic context and its influence on cognitive processing in the bilingual group.     

The role of dichotomous thinking and rigidity in perfectionism

Perfectionism is a complex psychological construct that has been defined in many different ways. Recent conceptualisations of perfectionism have involved dividing the construct into positive and negative components. Negative perfectionism is associated with high emotional distress whereas positive perfectionism is associated with positive affect and lower levels of distress. Although these distinctions have been made it remains unclear as to how distinct the two aspects of perfectionism are particularly in terms of their cognitive profiles. This study investigated two cognitive constructs that have been theoretically linked to perfectionism. Dichotomous thinking and rigidity were examined in three samples (40 clinical participants, 111 athletes, 101 students). As hypothesised, the clinical sample had the highest score on negative perfectionism, however, no differences were observed between groups on positive perfectionism. Dichotomous thinking emerged as the variable most predictive of negative perfectionism, and was less strongly related to positive perfectionism. These results highlight the importance of dichotomous thinking as a cognitive construct worthy of further research to understand negative perfectionism. Implications for the development of cognitive therapy interventions for negative perfectionism are discussed.     

Memory for moving and static images

Despite the substantial interest in memory for complex pictorial stimuli, there has been virtually no research comparing memory for static scenes with that for their moving counterparts. We report that both monochrome and color moving images are better remembered than static versions of the same stimuli at retention intervals up to one month. When participants studied a sequence of still images, recognition performance was the same as that for single static images. These results are discussed within a theoretical framework which draws upon previous studies of scene memory, face recognition, and representational momentum.     

Life Satisfaction and Associated Factors Among People Aged 60 Years and Above in Six European Countries

Life satisfaction is a concept frequently used to measure wellbeing of older people. However, there is still a lack of cross-national comparative research investigating factors associated with life satisfaction. There may be unique and common factors associated with life satisfaction across European countries. This study aimed to investigate life satisfaction among people aged 60–89 years in six European countries in relation to health problems, ADL capacity, self-esteem, social and financial resources. A cross-sectional study was performed, including 7,699 people aged 60–89 years, in Sweden, the UK, The Netherlands, Luxemburg, Austria and Italy, participating in the European Study of Adult Wellbeing, using questions from the Older Americans Resources and Services schedule, Multidimensional Functional Assessment Questionnaire, Life Satisfaction Index Z and Rosenberg’s Self-esteem scale. Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine factors associated with life satisfaction in the six national samples. In cases where people were less satisfied with their life it was fairly satisfactory and unsatisfactory social contacts (Odds Ratio (OR) 1.5–13.8), poor financial resources (OR 1.7–15.1), feeling greatly hindered by health problems (OR 2.2–5.4) and self-esteem (OR 2.1–5.1) rather than the ability to perform activities of daily living and the extent of social contacts that gave the greatest risk of low life satisfaction in all the six European countries. There were both common and country-specific factors important for life satisfaction in the six European countries. However, the importance of satisfactory social contacts, financial resources, self-esteem and feeling hindered by health problems seems universal in the six included countries and thus important to target in preventive interventions.     

The Feminist Identity Development Model: Relevant for Young Women Today?

We explored whether the Downing and Roush model of feminist identity development is relevant for young women today. Two-hundred seventeen older and younger feminists and non-feminists were recruited on a college campus and online in the United States. They completed, online, the Feminist Identity Composite and reported whether they would have endorsed items for each stage more strongly in the past. Qualitative data was collected about prior stage experience. Older feminists scored higher in active commitment, and younger feminists scored higher in revelation. Feminist self-identification did not relate to synthesis scores, and young women high in synthesis did not report much prior stage experience. We postulate that synthesis is a starting point for young women, rather than an ending point.     

Adolescent and adult reasoning about gender roles and fairness in Benin,West Africa

This study examined reasoning about gender roles in a traditional society in Benin, West Africa. Ninety-seven male and female adolescents and adults evaluated conflicts between a husband and a wife over gender norms to determine whether gender norms, are judged to be moral or conventional. Although most attributed decision-making power to the husband, justifications and evaluations that supported challenges to traditional gender roles indicate that social roles were seen as alterable conventions. In addition, concerns with punishment of one spouse were associated with endorsing the other spouse as decision-maker, indicating that endorsements of authority may be coerced. Very few age differences were found, indicating that adults are not more enculturated into an acceptance of hierarchy than adolescents. However, adults were more likely than adolescents to perceive coercion.     

Measuring preschool cognitive growth while it's still happening: The Learning Express

Educators need accurate assessments of preschool cognitive growth to guide curriculum design, evaluation, and timely modification of their instructional programs. But available tests do not provide content breadth or growth sensitivity over brief intervals. This article details evidence for a multiform, multiscale test criterion-referenced to national standards for alphabet knowledge, vocabulary, listening comprehension and mathematics, developed in field trials with 3433 3–5¹/₂-year-old Head Start children. The test enables repeated assessments (20–30 min per time point) over a school year. Each subscale is calibrated to yield scaled scores based on item response theory and Bayesian estimation of ability. Multilevel modeling shows that nearly all score variation is associated with child performance rather than examiner performance and individual growth-curve modeling demonstrates the high sensitivity of scores to child growth, controlled for age, sex, prior schooling, and language and special needs status.