Age differences in working memory tasks: The role of secondary memory and the central executive system

Two experiments are reported in which age differences in working memory performance are explored. In the first study, young and older adults held 2, 3, 4, or 5 unrelated words in mind while verifying a single or complex sentence. An age-related decrement was found in subsequent serial recall of the words, and this decrement was larger with longer word lists. Experiment 2 confirmed the interaction between age and list length, using list lengths of 4, 6, and 8 words and a free-recall procedure. There was no interaction between age and divided attention in either experiment. Surprisingly, sentence complexity had a greater detrimental effect on recall in the younger group. The results are discussed in terms of articulatory rehearsal being augmented by using secondary memory in the case of younger subjects.     

Theology in philosophy: Revisiting the Five Ways

International Journal for Philosophy of Religion -     

Assessing State Mental Contamination: Development and Preliminary Validation of the State Mental Contamination Scale

This 2-part study described the development and preliminary validation of the State Mental Contamination Scale (SMCS), a multi-item self-report measure of state mental contamination. In Study 1, community adults (N = 211) in the United States were randomly assigned to a pathogen disgust, moral disgust, or neutral condition and then completed the SMCS. Study 1 results supported a 1-factor structure of the SMCS items. Scores on the SMCS items evidenced good internal consistency and strong interitem correlations. SMCS scores were significantly greater following the 2 disgust conditions relative to the neutral condition and a full range of SMCS scores were found in the disgust conditions. An independent sample of community adults (N = 121) from the United States participated in Study 2 to extend Study 1 results. Study 2 results indicated that SMCS scores were manipulated independently of trait mental contamination, more strongly related to convergent than a discriminant measure, and shared unique variance with a criterion measure after controlling for convergent measures. The future use of the SMCS is discussed.     

Environmental events and induction of metamotivational reversals

Three administrations of the Telic State Measure were used to test the notion from reversal theory that environmental events may induce reversals in metamotivational state. Significant changes in scores on Telic State Measure items from three different groups of students experiencing three different environmental events and one student control group (total N=96) confirmed that unexpected environmental events could induce reversals from the telic to the paratelic metamotivational state.     

Asymmetry between encoding and retrieval processes: Evidence from divided attention and a calibration analysis

Two experiments provide further information on the effects of divided attention (DA) on encoding and retrieval processes. The first experiment examined the effects of decision and motor difficulty of a concurrent reaction time task. A calibration analysis was used in the second experiment to test the hypothesis that shifting attentional emphasis away from encoding to the secondary task reduces the level of processing the to-be-remembered items receive. Overall, the results confirm and extend the conclusions of Craik, Govoni, Naveh-Benjamin, and Anderson (1996) and Naveh-Benjamin, Craik, Guez, and Dori (1998), by pointing to clear differences between encoding and retrieval processes: Encoding is affected by simultaneous task demands, especially those associated with "central" resources involved in conscious decision making, whereas retrieval is obligatory in that it is largely immune to the effects of simultaneous demands. The results of the calibration analysis suggest that one reason for the poorer memory performance as a result of DA at encoding is a qualitative shift to less deep, elaborative strategies.     

Odors and the perception of hygiene

Although certain odors, such as lemon, are commonly associated with cleanliness and positive hygiene, empirical assessment of such associations for other odors and attributes is generally lacking. Moreover, differences between men and women in such associations have not been established. In this study of lemon, onion, pine, and smoke odors, ratings were obtained from 142 men and 336 women (M age= 30.1 yr., SD = 12.3) for odor intensity, gender association (masculine/feminine), and the success, sociability, intelligence, cleanliness, and attractiveness of a hypothetical person whose clothes smell like the odor in question. Ratings of the pleasantness or unpleasantness one would attribute to each odor in various rooms of the home were obtained, as well as a specification of whether such ratings are influenced by laundry habits, e.g., whether laundry is smelled before or after washing. Numerous associations were found. For example, a hypothetical person whose clothes smell of pine was rated as relatively more successful, intelligent, sociable, sanitary, and attractive than one whose clothes smelled of lemon, onion, or smoke. Sex differences, as well as differences between people who reported smelling their own laundry, were also found.     

Predicting performance times from deliberate practice hours for triathletes and swimmers: what, when, and where is practice important?

In Studies 1 and 2, the authors evaluated deliberate practice theory through analyses of the relationship between practice and performance for 2 populations of athletes: triathletes and swimmers, respectively. In Study 3, the authors obtained evaluations of practice from athletes' diaries. Across athletes, length of time involved in fitness activities was not related to performance. For the triathletes, a significant percentage of variance in performance was captured by practice. This was not so for sprint events for the swimmers, in which gender was a significant predictor. In the diaries, physical activities were perceived as enjoyable. In contrast to the results obtained from questionnaires, enjoyment did not covary with an activity's relevance to improving performance. Although these findings highlight the importance of sport-specific practice, the authors question a domain-independent account of expertise based on deliberate practice.     

Risk factors of suicidal ideations and attempts in talented, at-risk girls

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationships among suicidality, substance use, self-esteem, family structure, and eight personality characteristics (harm avoidance, impulsivity, aggression, social recognition, cognitive structure, succorance, abasement, and achievement) with 337 talented, at-risk, adolescent girls. Results indicated that girls with histories of suicidal ideations and/or attempts had significantly higher levels of substance use, impulsivity, aggression, and social recognition, and significantly lower levels of self-esteem and harm avoidance than girls without such histories. Girls without suicide histories were also more likely to come from single mother families. Consideration of these factors, by both researchers and clinicians, in assessing suicide risk is encouraged.     

The role of spatial working memory in inhibition of return: evidence from divided attention tasks

Inhibition of return (IOR) refers to a bias against returning attention to a location that has been recently attended. In the present experiments, we examined the role of working memory in IOR by introducing secondary tasks (in the temporal interval between the cue and the target) that involved a working memory component. When the secondary task was nonspatial in nature (monitoring odd digits or adding digits), IOR was present, although overall reaction times were greater in the presence of the secondary task. When the task involved a spatial working memory load (remembering the directionality of arrows or the orientation of objects), IOR was eliminated. However, when the participants had incentive to process the directionality of an arrow but did not have to use any memory system, IOR persisted at peripheral locations. Overall, the results suggest that IOR is partially mediated by a spatial working memory system.     

In Search of the Self: A Positron Emission Tomography Study

Abstract—Previous work using positron emission tomography (PET) has shown that memory encoding processes are associated with preferential activation of left frontal regions of the brain, whereas retrieval processes are associated predominantly with right frontal activations. One possible reason for the asymmetry is that episodic retrieval necessarily involves reference to the self, and the self-concept may be represented (at least partially) in right frontal regions. Accordingly, the present study investigated the possibility that encoding of self-related material might also activate right frontal areas. Eight right-handed volunteers judged trait adjectives under four separate PET scan conditions: (a) relevance to self, (b) relevance to a well-known public figure, (c) social desirability, and (d) number of syllables. The results showed that self-related encoding yielded left frontal activations similar to those associated with other types of semantic encoding, but also specific activations in the right frontal lobe. It is concluded that the concept of self involves both general schematic structures and further specific components involved in episodic memory retrieval.