Reading strategies and prior knowledge in learning from hypertext

In two experiments, we identified two main strategies followed by hypertext readers in selecting their reading orders. The first consisted in selecting the text semantically related to the previously read section (coherence strategy), and the second in choosing the most interesting text, delaying reading of less interesting sections (interest strategy). Comprehension data revealed that these strategies affected learning differently as a function of the reader's prior knowledge. For low-knowledge readers, the coherence strategy supported better learning of the content. This effect seems to rely on the improvement of reading order coherence induced by this strategy. By contrast, for intermediate-knowledge readers the coherence and the interest strategies benefited comprehension equally. In both cases, learning was supported through the active processing induced by these strategies. Discussion focuses on resolving inconsistencies in the literature concerning whether or not hypertext supports better comprehension than does traditional linear texts.     

The Impact of the Built Environment on Children’s School Conduct Grades: The Role of Diversity of Use in a Hispanic Neighborhood

A population-based study examined the relationship between diversity of use of the built environment and teacher reports of children’s grades. Diversity of use of the built environment (i.e., proportion of a block that is residential, institutional, commercial and vacant) was assessed for all 403 city blocks in East Little Havana, Miami—a Hispanic neighborhood. Cluster analysis identified three block-types, based on diversity of use: Residential, Mixed-Use, and Commercial. Cross-classified hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine the impact of diversity of use, school, gender, and year-in-school on academic and conduct grades for 2857 public school children who lived in these blocks. Contrary to popular belief, mixed-use blocks were associated with optimal outcomes. Specifically, follow-up analyses found that a youth living on a residential block had a 74% greater odds of being in the lowest 10% of conduct grades (conduct GPA <2.17) than a youth living on a mixed-use block. In fact, an analysis of the population attributable fraction suggests that if the risk associated with residential blocks could be reduced to the level of risk associated with mixed-use blocks, a 38% reduction in Conduct GPAs <2.17 could be achieved in the total population. These findings suggest that public policy targeting the built environment may be a mechanism for community-based interventions to enhance children’s classroom conduct, and potentially related sequelae.     

An ingroup advantage for confidence in emotion recognition judgments: the moderating effect of familiarity with the expressions of outgroup members

The confidence we have in our assessment of an interaction partner's emotional state can have important consequences for the quality of the interaction. Two studies assessed the hypothesis that immigrants are more confident in their judgment of others' emotional facial expressions if the expresser is a member of their cultural ingroup rather than a member of the host community or another cultural group. In addition, the effects of the perceived familiarity with the type of expression, the length of residence in the host country, the quality of cross-cultural contact, the level of acculturation, and the intensity of the facial expressions were assessed. Overall, the results revealed an ingroup advantage effect for confidence ratings as well as support for the notion that individuals are more confident when judging expressions that they consider as more frequently displayed in everyday life. Furthermore, individuals were more confident when judging happiness expressions as well as more intense expressions in general.     

Context switch effects on acquisition and extinction in human predictive learning

Four experiments tested context switch effects on acquisition and extinction in human predictive learning. A context switch impaired probability judgments about a cue-outcome relationship when the cue was trained in a context in which a different cue underwent extinction. The context switch also impaired judgments about a cue trained in a context different from the extinction context, whenever this training was concurrent with extinction of another cue. After extinction, new cue-outcome relationships learned, even in a different task, became context specific. Moreover, renewal was consistently observed. It is suggested that context switch effects result from a process by which ambiguity leads participants to attend to the contexts.     

Simulating the 'other-race' effect with autoassociative neural networks: further evidence in favor of the face-space model

Other-race (OR) faces are less accurately recognized than same-race (SR) faces, but faster classified by race. This phenomenon has often been reported as the 'other-race' effect (ORE). Valentine (1991 Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology A: Human Experimental Psychology 43 161-204) proposed a theoretical multidimensional face-space model that explained both of these results, in terms of variations in exemplar density between races. According to this model, SR faces are more widely distributed across the dimensions of the space than OR faces. However, this model does not quantify nor state the dimensions coded within this face space. The aim of the present study was to test the face-space explanation of the ORE with neural network simulations by quantifying its dimensions. We found the predicted density properties of Valentine's framework in the face-projection spaces of the autoassociative memories. This was supported by an interaction for exemplar density between the race of the learned face set and the race of the faces. In addition, the elaborated face representations showed optimal responses for SR but not for OR faces within SR face spaces when explored at the individual level, as gender errors occurred significantly more often in OR than in SR face-space representations. Altogether, our results add further evidence in favor of a statistical exemplar density explanation of the ORE as suggested by Valentine, and question the plausibility of such coding for faces in the framework of recent neuroimaging studies.     

Perception of genuine and masking smiles in children and adults: sensitivity to traces of anger

The authors examined children's and adults' sensitivity to traces of anger in masking smiles by presenting participants with short video excerpts of smiles that differed by the intensity of an anger component. Fifty-two children, aged 6 to 12 years, and 26 adults were asked to judge whether a stimulus person was really happy or pretending to be happy. Six- and 7-year-old children were found to be sensitive to traces of anger, but less so than older children and adults. Researchers found evidence of explicit knowledge of the emotion hidden in masking smiles only in adult participants.     

Knowledge of partner's ability as a moderator of group motivation gains: an exploration of the Köhler discrepancy effect

O. K?hler (1926, 1927) found that less able performers tried harder as team members under conjunctive task demands (Kohler motivation gain effect) and that the greatest gain occurred with moderately discrepant coworker abilities (K?hler discrepancy effect). Recent investigations have reproduced K?hler's overall motivation gain but not the discrepancy effect. The present research examined whether workers' foreknowledge of task abilities--present in Kohler's research, absent in contemporary studies--moderates the discrepancy effect. Participants worked alone or in 2-person teams under conjunctive task demands. Experiment 1 manipulated foreknowledge of ability. Experiment 2 manipulated discrepancy: a (confederate) teammate performed slightly, moderately, or substantially better. Both experiments found (a) overall motivation gains and (b) discrepancy moderation under foreknowledge conditions. Implications for understanding group motivation gains are discussed.     

Priming relations in ambiguous noun-noun combinations

We conducted two experiments to examine whether the interpretation of an ambiguous noun phrase is influenced by exposure to a similar combination. In Experiment 1, we found that it was easier to verify a definition for a combination (e.g., adolescent doctor, a doctor for adolescents) when the prime used the same relation as the target (e.g., adolescent magazine, a magazine for adolescents; animal doctor, a doctor for animals) than when the prime used a different relation (e.g., country doctor; adolescent experience). In Experiment 2, we found that the interpretation generated for an ambiguous combination was affected by prior exposure to sentences containing a combination with the same modifier or head noun as the target combination. The data are inconsistent with key predictions of schema-based theories of conceptual combination. Although the results do not contradict key assumptions of relation-based theories, modifications to these theories are required to account for these data.     

Postnatal handling induces long-term modifications in central beta-noradrenergic signalling in rats

Neonatal handling has been shown to induce a short-term reduction in the binding properties of beta-adrenoceptors and in their primary biochemical responses in the young rat brain, which may account for the reduced responsiveness to stress observed in the handled rats. We have studied the persistence and duration of these changes in cerebral cortex, cerebellum and hippocampus at successive stages of life in neonatally handled rats. Binding properties of the beta-adrenoceptors in handled animals were essentially similar to those of the control rats from 3 to 24 months of age. However, handling disturbed the efficacy of the beta-adrenoceptor intracellular signalling since the isoprenaline-induced accumulation of cyclic AMP was reduced in cerebral cortex at 1, 12 and 24 months; in cerebellum at 12 and 18 months; and in hippocampus at 3 and 12 months. This effect might be partially dependent on a regulatory action of handling on the adenylyl cyclase enzyme itself since both basal and forskolin-induced accumulation of cyclic AMP were persistently reduced. Therefore, postnatal handling can be considered as an effective intervention that modifies sensitivity to various hormonal and neurochemical signals; these changes may be involved over a long period of time in protection against an excessive response to stress. These results suggest that the long-lasting adaptation of the adenylyl cyclase transduction system, which affects the primary biochemical response of the beta-adrenoceptor, may participate in the effects of this manipulation.     

Measuring individual and cultural differences in implicit trait theories

A new measure of implicit theories or beliefs regarding the traitedness versus contextuality of behavior was developed and tested across cultures. In Studies 1 (N = 266) and 2 (N = 266), these implicit beliefs dimensions were reliably measured and replicated across U.S. college student samples and validity evidence was provided. In Study 3, their structure replicated well across an individualistic culture (the United States; N = 249) and a collectivistic culture (Mexico; N = 268). Implicit trait and contextual beliefs overlapped only modestly with implicit entity theory beliefs and were predicted by self-construals in ways that generally supported cultural psychology hypotheses. Implicit trait beliefs were fairly strongly endorsed in both cultures, suggesting that such beliefs may be universally held.