Blocked vs. interleaved presentation and proactive interference in episodic memory

Although a number of theoretical accounts of proactive interference (PI) in episodic memory have been proposed, existing empirical evidence does not support conclusively a single view yet. In two experiments we tested the predictions of the temporal discrimination theory of PI against alternative accounts by manipulating the presentation schedule of study materials (lists blocked by category vs. interleaved). In line with the temporal discrimination theory, we observed a clear buildup of (and release from) PI in the blocked condition, in which all the lists of the same category were presented sequentially. In the interleaved condition, with alternating lists of different categories, a more gradual and smoother buildup of PI was observed. When participants were left free to choose their presentation schedule, they spontaneously adopted an interleaved schedule, resulting again in more gradual PI. After longer delays, we observed recency effects at the list level in overall recall and, in the blocked condition, PI-related effects. The overall pattern of findings agrees with the predictions of the temporal discrimination theory of PI, complemented with categorical processing of list items, but not with alternative accounts, shedding light on the dynamics and underpinnings of PI under diverse presentation schedules and over different time scales.     

Chaplaincy and Mental Health Care in Aotearoa New Zealand: An Exploratory Study

This paper summarizes an initial exploratory study undertaken to consider the ministry of New Zealand chaplaincy personnel working within the mental health care context. This qualitative research (a first among New Zealand mental health care chaplains) was not concerned with specific health care institutions per se, but solely about the perspectives of chaplains concerning their professional contribution and issues they experienced when trying to provide pastoral care to patients, families, and clinical staff involved in mental health care. Data from a single focus group indicated that chaplains were fulfilling various WHO-ICD-10AM pastoral interventions as a part of a multidisciplinary and holistic approach to mental health care; however, given a number of frustrations identified by participants, which either impeded or thwarted their professional role as chaplains, a number of improvements were subsequently identified in order to develop the efficiency and effectiveness of chaplaincy and thus maximize the benefits of pastoral care to patients, families, and clinical staff. Some implications of this exploratory study relating to mental health care chaplaincy, ecclesiastical organizations, health care institutions, and government responsibilities and the need for further research are noted.     

Editorial: Sex,Shit, Money and Marxism – The Continued Demise of the ‘Third Way’

Existential phenomena such as ‘thrownness’, ‘angst’, authenticity, being-with-others, co-constitutionality, being-in-time and death are linked to aspects of the transition to retirement such as ageing, choice paralysis, identity, persona use, continuity, nostalgia, conformity, friendships and the end of existence. The attempt to integrate these two different but overlapping perspectives upon experiencing the transition to retirement is intended to promote a broader perspective for those counsellors and psychotherapists with clients who have retired or are close to doing so.     

Age Differences in Multiple Outcome Measures of Time-Based Prospective Memory

ABSTRACT

This study examined time-based prospective memory performance in relation to age, monitoring strategy, response accuracy, and dual-task demands. Young, middle-aged and older adults (N?=?115) completed a prospective memory task, in which they indicated the passing of time every 5 min while listening to a short story (low task demands) or completing a series of cognitive tasks (high task demands). Young and older adults showed similar patterns of monitoring behavior, with low rates of clock checking during the early phase of each 5-min interval, followed by linearly accelerating monitoring functions. However, to obtain the same level of prospective memory performance older adults needed more frequent clock checks than young adults. Furthermore, older adults' compensatory monitoring strategy was associated with an additional cost in primary task performance. Finally, increased primary task demands shifted age differences in prospective memory from monitoring frequency to response accuracy. These findings suggest that goal-directed behavior requires efficient task coordination and resource allocation, and that age-related differences in time-based prospective memory should be evaluated by using multiple outcome measures.     

Effects of chronic cocaine administration on spatial learning and hippocampal spine density in two genetically different strains of rats

Lewis and Fischer-344 rats have been proposed as an addiction model because of their differences in addiction behaviour. It has been suggested that drug addiction is related to learning and memory processes and depends on individual genetic background. We have evaluated learning performance using the eight-arm radial maze (RAM) in Lewis and Fischer-344 adult rats undergoing a chronic treatment with cocaine. In order to study whether morphological alterations were involved in the possible changes in learning after chronic cocaine treatment, we counted the spine density in hippocampal CA1 neurons from animals after the RAM protocol. Our results showed that Fischer-344 rats significantly took more time to carry out test acquisition and made a greater number of errors than Lewis animals. Nevertheless, cocaine treatment did not induce changes in learning and memory processes in both strains of rats. These facts indicate that there are genetic differences in spatial learning and memory that are not modified by the chronic treatment with cocaine. Moreover, hippocampal spine density is cocaine-modulated in both strains of rats. In conclusion, cocaine induces similar changes in hippocampal neurons morphology that are not related to genetic differences in spatial learning in the RAM protocol used here.     

Relative and absolute stability in perceived parenting behaviour: a longitudinal study with children and adolescents

Patterns of relative and absolute stability in parental behaviour with children and adolescents are reported. The sample comprised 523 youth (58.7% girls). Data were collected at three time periods: T1 (M age = 11.1 yr.), T2 (M age = 12.2 yr.), and T3 (M age = 13.2 yr.), each separated by one year. According to children's reports, relative consistency was moderate in both mothers and fathers, particularly as regards communication and strict control. In contrast, as children got older, parental rearing practices related to strict control and hostility decreased. There was a similarity between fathers and mothers in terms of relative and absolute stability. Relative stability was affected by the child's sex, the parenting variable, and the time period; however, the patterns of absolute stability reveal no differences by sex.