The time course of implicit and explicit concept learning

The present experiment investigated the development of implicit and explicit knowledge during concept learning. According to Cleeremans and Jiménez (2002), the content of a representation can be conscious only when the representation is of a sufficiently good quality; on this theory, increasing explicit and decreasing implicit knowledge might be expected with training. The view that implicit knowledge arises from compilation of explicit knowledge makes the opposite prediction. The present research tested these possibilities using subjective measures based on confidence ratings. One group of participants was presented with blocks of category exemplars that activated prior knowledge, whereas another group was presented with blocks of categories that did not elicit any useful prior knowledge. The results showed that, irrespective of the knowledge group participants were allocated to, explicit knowledge increased over the course of learning, whereas implicit knowledge either stayed the same or decreased, consistent with Cleeremans and Jiménez's prediction.     

Bayesian modeling of the microscopic traffic characteristics of overtaking in two-lane highways

Bayesian networks are employed to model the uncertainty hindering in the overtaking behavior of young drivers in two-lane highways and reveal the traffic related microscopic characteristics that may influence the decision to overtake. Results using data from an experiment conducted on driving simulator show that male drivers, on average, accept smaller gaps for overtaking than female drivers. For both male and female drivers, the spacing with the lead and the opposing vehicle is more influential to the probability to overtake compared to vehicle speed. Moreover, a thorough look at the relationships between the microscopic traffic characteristics and the probability to overtake reveals differences between male and female drivers regarding the road traffic scene appraisal mechanism on the emergence of an opportunity to overtake.     

Ageism and psychological testing with elderly immigrant women

The focus on aging and ageism are fairly recent in psychology. Nevertheless, it is clear that these processes are of particular interest to many psychologists involved in psychological assessment, since both of these affect the content and the process of the assessment. In the present paper some key issues are raised regarding ageism and stereotypes of the aging held by mental health professionals and psychologists in particular. On the assumption that psychological testing with the aging is required to achieve accurate diagnoses and therapeutic interventions, some concerns about how psychological testing with the aging should proceed is presented.     

Associations on dimensions of burnout and family support for a sample of Greek nurses

To assess correlations for perceived family support with burnout in Greek nurses, the Julkunen Family Support Questionnaire and the Maslach Burnout Inventory were administered to nurses (22 men and 88 women; M age = 35.6 yr., SD = 5.7 yr.; M work experience = 12.2 yr., SD = 6.2 yr.). The correlation was positive but low for family support and sense of personal accomplishment by women; all the other correlations were low, accounting for very small variance.     

Making sense of nonsense in British Sign Language (BSL): The contribution of different phonological parameters to sign recognition

Do all components of a sign contribute equally to its recognition? In the present study, misperceptions in the sign-spotting task (based on the word-spotting task; Cutler &; Norris, 1988) were analyzed to address this question. Three groups of deaf signers of British Sign Language (BSL) with different ages of acquisition (AoA) saw BSL signs combined with nonsense signs, along with combinations of two nonsense signs. They were asked to spot real signs and report what they had spotted. We will present an analysis of false alarms to the nonsense-sign combinations&;#x2014;that is, misperceptions of nonsense signs as real signs (cf. van Ooijen, 1996). Participants modified the movement and handshape parameters more than the location parameter. Within this pattern, however, there were differences as a function of AoA. These results show that the theoretical distinctions between formbased parameters in sign-language models have consequences for online processing. Vowels and consonants have different roles in speech recognition; similarly, it appears that movement, handshape, and location parameters contribute differentially to sign recognition.     

A comparative quantitative analysis of Greek orthographic transparency

Orthographic transparency refers to the systematicity in the mapping between orthographic letter sequences and phonological phoneme sequences in both directions, for reading and spelling. Measures of transparency previously used in the analysis of orthographies of other languages include regularity, consistency, and entropy. However, previous reports have typically been hampered by severe restrictions, such as using only monosyllables or only word-initial phonemes. Greek is sufficiently transparent to allow complete sequential alignment between graphemes and phonemes, therefore permitting full analyses at both letter and grapheme levels, using every word in its entirety. Here, we report multiple alternative measures of transparency, using both type and token counts, and compare these with estimates for other languages. We discuss the problems stemming from restricted analysis sets and the implications for psycholinguistic experimentation and computational modeling of reading and spelling.     

Processing pronunciation variants: the role of probabilistic knowledge about lexical form and segmental co-occurrence

Two experiments investigated the contribution of lexical knowledge to processing nasal flap variants (e.g. “mental” produced as “mennle”). High and low variant production frequency nasal flap words and nonword counterparts were presented in a “t” detection task. More “t” detections were found in high than low variant frequency nasal flap words; no difference was found in control nasal flap nonwords but control nonwords with a nasal had more “t” detections than nonwords without a nasal. The findings suggest that access to lexical knowledge of an alternative NT pronunciation is modulated by variant frequency of the reduced form and pre-lexical phonotactic knowledge.     

Intensity and direction dimensions of competitive state anxiety: a time-to-event approach

The purpose of the present study was to examine the temporally patterned changes in intensity and direction of competitive state anxiety prior to and during competition as well as correlations among intensity and direction on the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2D subscale scores. 99 athletes completed the inventory one day before and an hour before the competition, based on how they felt during that time, and 30 min. after the competition with reference to how they felt during the competition. Analysis indicated different temporal patterning in subscale scores prior to competition. Correlations were medium (.40) for Intensity and Direction dimensions. Significant differences were noted between scores of those classified as Facilitators and Debilitators on the Intensity dimension. The results support the multidimensional nature of competitive anxiety. Moreover, additional information lies in directional interpretation of competitive anxiety and self-confidence.     

Preliminary report: psychological assessment of Greek women with diabetes during pregnancy

23 Greek pregnant women with type 1 diabetes had a higher mean score on the Maudsley Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy than 13 women with gestational diabetes. Long-term changes in the lifestyle of the former may apparently lead to this higher mean. For those with gestational diabetes, higher scores of alexithymia were correlated with slightly worse glycemic control.     

Comorbidity and WISC-III profiles of Greek children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, learning disabilities, and language disorders

The aim of the present study was to (a) examine the prevalence of ADHD and the comorbid difficulties in a sample of 114 children, 3.6 to 17.6 yr. of age (89 boys, 25 girls) referred to our Unit and (b) evaluate the discriminative ability of the WISC-III scores for children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (n = 22), Learning Disability (n = 50), and Language Disorder (n = 42). Analysis showed only 18% of 114 children had an Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder diagnosis. Multivariate analysis of variance and stepwise discriminant function analysis were applied. Vocabulary and similarities were the best predictors for distinguishing between language disorders and the other two groups. Moreover, the Language Disorder group scored significantly lower on all the subtests while the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Learning Disability groups scored lower on coding and information, respectively. Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Learning Disability could not be accurately identified from the WISC-III test or their ACID profile.