A double dissociation of implicit and explicit memory in younger and older adults

This study examined whether age-related differences in cognition influence later memory for irrelevant, or distracting, information. In Experiments 1 and 2, older adults had greater implicit memory for irrelevant information than younger adults did. When explicit memory was assessed, however, the pattern of results reversed: Younger adults performed better than older adults on an explicit memory test for the previously irrelevant information, and older adults performed less well than they had on the implicit test. Experiment 3 investigated whether this differential pattern was attributable to an age-related decline in encoding resources, by reducing the encoding resources of younger adults with a secondary task; their performance perfectly simulated the pattern shown by the older adults in the first two experiments. Both older and younger adults may remember irrelevant information, but they remember it in different ways because of age-related changes in how information is processed at encoding and utilized at retrieval.     

More than Words: Applying the Discipline of Literary Creative Writing to the Practice of Reflective Writing in Health Care Education

This paper examines definitions and uses of reflective and creative writing in health care education classrooms and professional development settings. A review of articles related to writing in health care reveals that when teaching narrative competence is the goal, creative writing may produce the best outcomes. Ultimately, the paper describes the importance of defining literary creative writing as a distinct form of writing and recommends scholars interested in using literary creative writing to teach narrative competence study pedagogy of the field.     

Matches and mismatches between telic dominance and type of sport: Changes in emotions and stress pre- to post-performance

This study was intended to test the proposition that telic dominant individuals have a greater affinity and preference for endurance sports compared to paratelic dominant individuals who prefer explosive sports. The Telic Dominance Scale (TDS) was used to divide 66 university students into telic (high) and paratelic (low) dominance groups (n = 33 in each group). The state version of the Tension and Effort Stress Inventory (TESI) was completed before and after participation in an endurance sport (long distance running) and an explosive sport (basketball). It was predicted that participation in a preferred sport would produce a higher level of positive response for each group. This prediction was not supported. Irrespective of the type of sport, participation consistently produced positive changes in emotional tone with significant increases in excitement and decreases in anxiety, boredom, sullenness, modesty, resentment, and guilt. Some differences were found between groups and between sports. The telic group had higher levels of pride, gratitude, and virtue. Placidity, somatic tension stress and effort stress were higher for running than basketball. The findings are discussed within reversal theory’s motivational constructs and the broader context of sport and exercise adherence in health care.     

Varying Levels and Types of Engagement in an Online Relationship Enhancement Program for Couples Following Breast Cancer

Engagement in online interventions, defined as the extent to which participants are involved in and attentive to the contents of the intervention, has been shown to predict treatment outcome. However, participant engagement and program completion are often quite low. Aiming to provide insights that could help improve engagement, this study explores engagement in an online intervention for young couples with breast cancer, Couplelinks, by describing the development of a method to assess engagement, presenting a framework for understanding varying engagement levels, and discussing strategies used by Couplelinks facilitators to work with participants of differing engagement levels. The measure of engagement developed for this study was a composite consisting of indices of average completion time, accountability, and attitude. Utilizing this composite measure, the following distinct “couple types,” with varying levels of engagement, were discerned: (a) “keen” couples, (b) “compliant” couples, (c) “apologetic” couples, and (d) “straggling” couples. Facilitators’ approaches to working with each type of couple and suggestions for potential therapeutic applications are discussed. The finding that couples vary in terms of engagement level, and not solely based on facilitator skill and/or involvement, supports the need to better understand the concept of engagement in order to make online interventions more effective.     

Cognitive control and lexical access in younger and older bilinguals

Ninety-six participants, who were younger (20 years) or older (68 years) adults and either monolingual or bilingual, completed tasks assessing working memory, lexical retrieval, and executive control. Younger participants performed most of the tasks better than older participants, confirming the effect of aging on these processes. The effect of language group was different for each type of task: Monolinguals and bilinguals performed similarly on working memory tasks, monolinguals performed better on lexical retrieval tasks, and bilinguals performed better on executive control tasks, with some evidence for larger language group differences in older participants on the executive control tasks. These results replicate findings from individual studies obtained using only 1 type of task and different participants. The confirmation of this pattern in the same participants is discussed in terms of a suggested explanation of how the need to manage 2 language systems leads to these different outcomes for cognitive and linguistic functions.     

Aggression,violence, and the death of a Dutch soccer hooligan: A reversal theory explanation

In March 1997, an aggressive and violent confrontation took place between more than 3000 rival soccer hooligans in the small town of Beverwijk in the Netherlands. In the prearranged and well‐organized confrontation, a 35 year‐old man was beaten and stabbed to death and others were seriously wounded. In this paper, the details of what happened at Beverwijk and the response of the Dutch authorities, including the subsequent arrest and conviction of the main perpetrators, are reviewed. In addition, the psychological approach of reversal theory [Apter MJ. 1992. The Dangerous Edge. New York: The Free Press] is used to answer several unresolved questions about the motivation of the Dutch soccer hooligans involved in the aggressive behavior and violent fighting at Beverwijk. Aggr. Behav. 28:1–10, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

“How many bad apples does it take to spoil the whole barrel?”: Social exclusion and toleration for bad apples

In social dilemmas, where personal welfare is in conflict with collective welfare, there are inherent incentives to act non-cooperatively. Moreover, there is evidence that the example of a few uncooperative group members (“bad apples”) is more influential than the example of comparable numbers of cooperative members (a bad apple effect). Two studies are reported that examine the functional relationship between the number of likely bad apples and individual cooperation, and whether and when the threat of social exclusion for uncooperative behavior may effectively counter the temptation to follow the example of such “bad apples”. It is shown that (a) the threat of exclusion is sufficient to counter the temptation to follow a few bad apples’ example, (b) such threats cannot, however, overcome the cooperation-degrading effects of large numbers (e.g., a majority) of bad apples, and (c) the effectiveness of such threats may be greater in relatively smaller groups.     

Analysis of recent incidents of on-field violence in sport: legal decisions and additional considerations from psychology

This article focuses on two recent incidents of serious on-field violence in sports and the legal consequences for those involved. The two incidents occurred in Dutch football (soccer) and became infamous owing to the nature of the violent incidents and widespread media coverage. The legal outcomes of these two incidents are described, and some of the difficulties that legal authorities face in considering assaults on the sports field are discussed. A new way of categorizing such violent incidents and the motivation behind them, based on an established psychological theory [reversal theory, Apter, 1982, 2001] is proposed. Taken along with the other points made in this article, being aware of when and how individuals cross the boundaries between play and anger, power or thrill violence may provide an additional perspective to making informed decisions about illegal violent acts on the sports field.