Familiarity decisions for faces presented to the left and right cerebral hemispheres

Right-handed subjects were asked to decide whether or not faces presented briefly in the RVF or in the LVF were familiar (familiar faces were those of famous people). This task avoids the need for extensive semantic processing or temporary storage involved in conventional naming or identification tasks, and thus eliminates the contribution of such factors to any observed asymmetry. The resulting finding of faster reaction times to LVF faces, with no overall visual hemifield difference in error rates, is taken to indicate a right-hemisphere superiority either in the processes used to construct facial representations or in the accessing of face recognition units, or both.     

Positive and negative patterning in human causal learning

Investigations of patterning discriminations by nonhuman animals have generally found that positive patterning is easier to learn than negative patterning. Studies of patterning discriminations in human causal learning tasks have failed to document any differences between positive and negative patterning. In the present study, human participants predicted an outcome on trials involving either a compound cue or its elements. Positive and negative patterning problems were successfully solved in a within-subjects design; negative patterning problems proved to be more difficult when an additional, 50% contingent cue was included (Experiment 2), but not when it was excluded (Experiment 1). Possible reasons for these results are discussed. The discussion concludes with an analysis of exemplar models (e.g., Pearce, 1994) of human causal learning and considers the conditions under which these models do and do not anticipate our results.     

A performance comparison between the two language versions of the Affective Go/No‐Go test: A randomised crossover study

The purpose of this randomised crossover study is to validate the Korean version of the Affective Go/No‐go (AGN) test. The Korean words for the AGN test were selected after careful evaluation of emotional valences, word length and frequency. Fifteen Korean advanced learners of English were administered both Korean and English versions, yielding 30 data points. The performance of both language versions was compared for each of the AGN test parameters (response latency, commission error and omission error) using two‐way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were estimated to evaluate associations between the two versions. The ICCs were high for response latencies of all valences and commission errors of positive and neutral words, but not for that of negative words and omission errors of all valences. A similar pattern of test results, as revealed by the high ICCs and non‐significant interaction effects between language and word valence, suggests that the psychometric properties of the AGN test may be comparable over different language versions.     

Factors Influencing Adolescents’ Self-control According to Family Structure

We compared factors influencing adolescents’ self-control according to their family structure. Participants were 944 adolescents in five cities in South Korea (115 from single-parent families, 65 from grandparent-led families, and 764 from two-parent families). Data were collected using self-report questionnaires containing items on self-control, stress, parenting attitude, parent–adolescent communication, and family cohesion. Data were analyzed using stepwise multiple regressions with SPSS program. The factors influencing adolescents’ self-control differed across the three family structure groups. For single-parent families, stress and parental attitudes were significantly related to adolescents’ self-control (adjusted R²?=?0.37, p?<?0.001). In contrast, for grandparent-led families, family cohesion and parental attitude were significantly related to adolescents’ self-control (adjusted R²?=?0.31, p?<?0.01), while for two-parent families, stress, parental attitude, and parent–adolescent communication were related to the outcome (adjusted R²?=?0.24, p?<?0.001). Parental attitude was thus a common factor relating to self-control, regardless of family structure. On the other hand, the main factors influencing adolescents with low self-control were gender and stress. Our results confirm that adolescents’ self-control is not only affected by personal factors but also by parental and family factors. It is important to improve individual program to improve adolescents’ self-control according to family structure. The results of study may act as a base for improving individual intervention programs aimed at promoting adolescents’ self-control by factoring in family structure.     

Why do older adults have difficulty with semantic fluency?

Aging involves many cognitive declines, particularly in fluid intelligence, with relative maintenance of crystallized intelligence. This paradox is evident in the language domain: lexical retrieval becomes slower and less accurate, despite well preserved vocabularies. Verbal fluency assesses both crystallized and fluid aspects of language. Semantic fluency hypothetically reflects semantic knowledge, while letter fluency putatively reflects executive functioning, which would predict a greater impact of aging on the latter. However, the opposite is typically observed.

To investigate factors contributing to such asymmetries, we examined verbal fluency in 86 adults (30-89 years). Multiple regression analyses indicated that semantic fluency depends largely on lexical retrieval speed, as well as visualization strategies to support controlled retrieval, skills which may disproportionately decline with age. By contrast, letter fluency relies heavily on vocabulary knowledge, providing some protection against age-related declines. These findings contribute to our understanding of the mechanisms of typical age-related declines in word retrieval.