Task complexity and age differences in working memory

This study investigated age-related differences in working memory using a modified version of the Daneman and Carpenter (1980) working memory task. The subjects were required to verify a series of sentences, and then at the end of each series recall the final word of each sentence. Each series varied in length from one to five sentences. Performance on this task was compared with performance in a word-alone condition, in which the subject had to remember an equivalent list of single words but without sentence verification. When sentences of positive grammatical form were used in the sentence-span condition, age differences were no greater than in the word alone condition; however, the age decrement increased when sentences of negative grammatical form were used. There were no interactions between age and pacing or between age and the number of sentences in each set. These results are discussed in relation to theories of age differences in working memory.     

THE EFFECTS OF INTERSPERSED MAINTENANCE TASKS ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN A SEVERE CHILDHOOD STROKE VICTIM

We examined the effects of task-sequencing variables on the academic performance of an 8-year-old severe stroke victim. Within a multiple baseline design, previously acquired (maintenance) task trials were systematically interspersed at designated points in treatment among new (acquisition) task trials. The results showed improvements in both academic responding and subjective ratings of motivation in each of four treated areas (spelling, reading, word-finding, and memory). Social validation data obtained from standardized school placement examinations suggested marked improvement in a variety of related areas of academic functioning. Results suggest that children suffering severe strokes may be capable of learning more than has previously been suspected, and that behavioral treatments may improve such children's functioning.     

Bilingualism,executive control,and age at diagnosis among people with early‐stage Alzheimer's disease in Wales

The observation of a bilingual advantage in executive control tasks involving inhibition and management of response conflict suggests that being bilingual might contribute to increased cognitive reserve. In support of this, recent evidence indicates that bilinguals develop Alzheimer's disease (AD) later than monolinguals, and may retain an advantage in performance on executive control tasks. We compared age at the time of receiving an AD diagnosis in bilingual Welsh/English speakers (n = 37) and monolingual English speakers (n = 49), and assessed the performance of bilinguals (n = 24) and monolinguals (n = 49) on a range of executive control tasks. There was a non‐significant difference in age at the time of diagnosis, with bilinguals being on average 3 years older than monolinguals, but bilinguals were also significantly more cognitively impaired at the time of diagnosis. There were no significant differences between monolinguals and bilinguals in performance on executive function tests, but bilinguals appeared to show relative strengths in the domain of inhibition and response conflict. Bilingual Welsh/English speakers with AD do not show a clear advantage in executive function over monolingual English speakers, but may retain some benefits in inhibition and management of response conflict. There may be a delay in onset of AD in Welsh/English bilinguals, but if so, it is smaller than that found in some other clinical populations. In this Welsh sample, bilinguals with AD came to the attention of services later than monolinguals, and reasons for this pattern could be explored further.     

Interacting effects of age and time of day on verbal fluency performance and intraindividual variability

We explored the effects of age and time of day (TOD) on verbal fluency ability with respect to performance level and intraindividual variability (IIV). Verbal fluency, which involves complex cognitive operations, was examined in 20 older (mean age = 72.8 years) and 20 younger (mean age = 24.2 years) adults with test start time alternating between morning and evening across four days. Older adults generated more words in the morning and younger adults more in the evening, corresponding with self-report peak TOD. Age by TOD interactions were also observed across fluency tasks on the number of switches among subcategory exemplars during word generation and on the IIV observed in switching behavior. Older adults exhibited greater variability in switching in the evening than in the morning, whereas younger adults showed the opposite pattern. These findings demonstrate that processes involving energization (initiating and sustaining) and attentional control may be particularly sensitive to age differences in TOD influences on cognition.     

Emotional Distress Intolerance,Experiential Avoidance,and Anxiety Sensitivity: The Buffering Effect of Attentional Control on Associations with Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms

A number of individual difference factors, including emotional distress intolerance (EDI), experiential avoidance (EA), and anxiety sensitivity (ASI), have been implicated in the development and maintenance of posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptomatology. Attentional control (AC) has been shown to serve as a protective factor against the development of maladaptive psychological outcomes across a number of studies, even among those with outcome-specific vulnerabilities. The purpose of the present study was to examine AC as a moderator of the relations between three constructs pertaining to the way that people relate to their internal experiences (i.e., EDI, EA, AS) and PTS symptoms among a trauma exposed community sample (N?=?903). As predicted, AC moderated the relations between each individual difference factor and PTS symptoms, such that as attentional control decreased, the strength of the association between each individual difference factor and PTS symptoms increased. Study results suggest that AC abilities may be one factor that differentiates those who recover from trauma from those who do not, even among those who may be vulnerable for developing PTS symptomatology. Clinical implications and results of a PTS cluster level analysis will be discussed.     

A COMPARISON OF SIMULTANEOUS AND DELAYED REINFORCEMENT AS TREATMENTS FOR FOOD SELECTIVITY

This study compared the relative efficacy of providing simultaneous or delayed reinforcement on food acceptance during meals. The participant was a 7-year-old boy with pervasive developmental disorder and a history of food selectivity. Results indicated that both procedures were effective in increasing acceptance; however, the simultaneous reinforcement procedure produced more rapid behavior change and a higher overall percentage of food acceptance.     

Some properties of binormamin

Three properties of the binormamin criterion for analytic transformation in factor analysis are discussed. Particular reference is made to Carroll's oblimin class of criteria.The research reported in this note was supported in part by the Program in Applied Mathematics and Statistics. National Science Foundation, and by the National Institute of Education, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.     

Age differences in recognition memory

It is generally believed that short-term memory (STM) performance decreases from maturity to old age, but the present paper questions the generality of this conclusion. The first experiment reported is a short-term recognition probe study—no significant age differences were found in either acquisition or the rate of forgetting. It is suggested that age decrements in STM are limited to situations where attention is divided at input or where the material must be manipulated during storage. Experiment II confirmed previous findings of minimal age losses in secondary memory word recognition. The results of this second study support the conclusion that there is poorer accessibility to stored verbal material with advancing age.