Movement-based compatibility in simple response tasks

Previous studies reported that movement observation affected movement execution. Using one and the same set of responses (i.e., lifting or tapping the finger), correspondence effects were observed for simple responses when the go-signals were similar to the responses (i.e., movies of finger movements) but not when they were dissimilar (i.e., moving squares). The difference was attributed to a higher degree of ideomotor compatibility with visible limb movements. We tried to provide further evidence for ideomotor theory by manipulating the degree to which different responses matched one and the same set of stimuli (drifting sine-wave gratings). To this end, we measured simple reaction time of dynamic (hand movements) or static (key presses) movements in response to the onset of object motion. Object motion and dynamic responses showed ideomotor compatibility without looking alike; however, both stimulus and response involved continuous displacements. Correspondence effects were observed for dynamic responses, but not for static responses.     

The relevance of the first two eye fixations for recognition memory processes

ABSTRACT

Stimuli can be recognised based on information from only one or two eye fixations. With only one fixation, item recognition is typically above chance level and performance generally saturates by the second fixation. Thus, the first two eye fixations play an important role for recognition memory performance. However, little is known about the involved processes. Therefore, two experiments were conducted to investigate hypotheses regarding the role of the first two eye fixations for specific recognition memory processes, that is, familiarity and recollection. In addition, we looked in detail at the unique contributions of (a) longer input duration and (b) additional information provided by a second fixation for familiarity- and recollection-based recognition, using a gaze-contingent stimulus presentation technique. The experiments showed that recollection- but not familiarity-based recognition increased with two compared to only one fixation, and that the second fixation boosted recollection both due to longer availability of the input and additional stimulus information gathered.     

A sentence completion procedure as an alternative to the Autobiographical Memory Test for assessing overgeneral memory in non-clinical populations

Overgeneral memory (OGM) has been proposed as a vulnerability factor for depression (Williams et al., 2007 Williams , J. M. G. , Barnhofer , T. , Crane , C. , Hermans , D. , Raes , F. , Watkins , E. , & Dalgleish , T. ( 2007 ). Autobiographical memory specificity and emotional disorder . Psychological Bulletin , 133 , 122 – 148 .[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) or depressive reactivity to stressful life-events (e.g., Gibbs & Rude, 2004 Gibbs, B. R. and Rude, S. S. 2004. Overgeneral autobiographical memory as depression vulnerability. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 28: 511–526. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Traditionally, a cue word procedure known as the Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT; Williams & Broadbent, 1986 Williams, J. M. G. and Broadbent, K. 1986. Autobiographical memory in suicide attempters. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 95: 144–149. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) is used to assess OGM. Although frequently and validly used in clinical populations, there is evidence suggesting that the AMT is insufficiently sensitive to measure OGM in non-clinical groups. Study 1 evaluated the usefulness of a sentence completion method to assess OGM in non-clinical groups, as an alternative to the AMT. Participants were 197 students who completed the AMT, the Sentence Completion for Events from the Past Test (SCEPT), a depression measure, and visual analogue scales assessing ruminative thinking. Results showed that the mean proportion of overgeneral responses was markedly higher for the SCEPT than for the standard AMT. Also, overgeneral responding on the SCEPT was positively associated to depression scores and depressive rumination scores, whereas overgeneral responding on the AMT was not. Results suggest that the SCEPT, relative to the AMT, is a more sensitive instrument to measure OGM, at least in non-clinical populations. Study 2 further showed that this enhanced sensitivity is most likely due to the omission of the instruction to be specific rather than to the SCEPT's sentence completion format (as opposed to free recall to cue words).     

Category priming with aliens: Analysing the influence of targets' prototypicality on the centre surround inhibition mechanism

Marginally perceptible prototypes as primes lead to slowed reactions to related category exemplars as compared to unrelated ones. This at first glance counterintuitive finding has been interpreted as evidence for a particular mechanism of lateral inhibition, namely the centre surround inhibition mechanism. We investigated the semantic surround of category labels by experimentally manipulating the prototypicality of stimuli. Participants first learned two new categories of fantasy creatures in a 5-day-long learning phase before they worked through a semantic priming task with the category prototypes as primes and category exemplars as targets. For high-prototypical targets we observed benefit effects from related primes, whereas for low-prototypical targets we observed cost effects. The results define when the centre surround inhibition mechanism is applied, and furthermore might explain why previous studies with word stimuli (i.e., material that prevents experimental manipulation of prototypicality) observed mixed results concerning the prototypicality of targets.     

The impact of error frequency on errorless and errorful learning of object locations using a novel paradigm

ABSTRACT

Errorless learning (EL) is an approach in which errors are eliminated or reduced as much as possible while learning of new information or skills. In contrast, during trial-and-error???or errorful???learning (TEL) errors are not reduced and are often even promoted. There is a complex and conflicting pattern of evidence whether EL or TEL may result in better memory performance. One major confound in the extant literature is that most EL studies have not controlled for the number of errors made during TEL, resulting in a large variability in the amount of errors committed. This variability likely explains why studies on the cognitive underpinnings of EL and TEL have produced mixed findings. In this study, a novel object-location learning task was employed to examine EL and TEL in 30 healthy young adults. The number of errors was systematically manipulated, allowing us to investigate the impact of frequency of errors on learning outcome. The results showed that recall from memory was significantly better during EL. However, the number of errors made during TEL did not influence the performance in young adults. Altogether, our novel paradigm is promising for measuring EL and TEL, allowing for more accurate analyses to understand the impact of error frequency on a person’s learning ability and style.     

Acceptance,well-being and goals in adolescents with chronic illness: a daily process analysis

Objective: The main aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between acceptance and well-being in adolescents with chronic illness from a daily process perspective. Furthermore, we explored the role of daily experienced interference and facilitation of life goals by treatment goals as mediating mechanisms.

Methods: Thirty-eight adolescents with cystic fibrosis (CF) or diabetes completed questionnaires assessing acceptance, negative life events and goal-related self-efficacy. Furthermore, an online diary assessing daily mood, daily experienced interference and facilitation of life goals by treatment goals was completed during three consecutive weeks.

Results: Acceptance of illness was positively related to daily well-being, but unrelated to daily goal interference and facilitation. Furthermore, daily goal interference and facilitation were unrelated to same-day and next-day well-being.

Conclusion: This study suggests that acceptance of illness plays an important role in the daily mood of adolescents with CF and diabetes. This relationship, however, was not mediated by daily experienced interference and facilitation of life goals by treatment goals. Further research is needed to determine whether interventions promoting acceptance are beneficial for adolescents with CF and diabetes.     

Mediation analysis with structural equation models: Combining theory,design, and statistics

Statistical tests of indirect effects can hardly distinguish between genuine and spurious mediation effects. The present research demonstrates, however, that mediation analysis can be improved by combining a significance test of the indirect effect with assessing the fit of causal models. Testing only the indirect effect can be misleading, because significant results may also be obtained when the underlying causal model is different from the mediation model. We use simulated data to demonstrate that additionally assessing the fit of causal models with structural equation models can be used to exclude subsets of models that are incompatible with the observed data. The results suggest that combining structural equation modeling with appropriate research design and theoretically stringent mediation analysis can improve scientific insights. Finally, we discuss limitations of the structural equation modeling approach, and we emphasize the importance of non‐statistical methods for scientific discovery.     

Consistent Differential Discrimination Model Estimation

A novel factor-analytic model—the differential discrimination model—for assessing individual differences in scale use has been recently introduced, together with a three-stage estimation approach for model fitting. Unfortunately, the second-stage estimator and, as a consequence, the third-stage estimator of this procedure are not consistent. In this article we show that (a) the differential discrimination model can be expressed in a structural equation model framework, and (b) consistent and simultaneous estimation of all model parameters can be achieved using standard SEM software.     

Extraversion and its positive emotional core--further evidence from neuroscience

Converging evidence from self-report data demonstrated that extraversion and dispositional positive affect are systematically related. Several authors therefore considered positive affect as the conceptual core of extraversion. Because the ventral striatum is regarded as a core region in the physiological basis of extraversion, the present study examines the importance of this neural substrate with a special focus on positive affect. Baseline cerebral blood flow was measured in 38 participants and regressed to the extraversion and dispositional positive affect scales. Partial correlational and indirect-effects analyses indicated that striatal blood flow was no longer associated with extraversion when positive affect was statistically controlled. In contrast, when extraversion was statistically controlled, striatal blood flow was still associated with positive affect. This finding suggests that the striatal region is not a biological basis of extraversion per se. Rather, this region sustains positive affect, which in turn appears to be a core feature of extraversion.