Pre-cuing Target Location Reduces Interference but Not Negative Priming from Visual Distractors

Research on visual selective attention has shown that processing of distractors can produce (1) interference with response to a concurrent target, and (2) negative priming of response to a subsequent target. These results support late-selection accounts of attention. However, recent findings demonstrate that when conditions are optimal for attentional focusing, the interference effects are almost entirely eliminated. This result has been interpreted as supporting early-selection accounts. The present study investigates the impact of focusing attention on negative priming in addition to interference effects. In a letter-identification task, reliable interference and negative priming effects were observed from distractors. However, when the location of the target in the prime display was pre-cued, interference effects were significantly reduced, but negative priming effects did not decrease. This pattern of results provides further evidence that the absence of interference is insufficient to determine whether distractors have been semantically processed (Driver & Tipper, 1989).     

On the status of implicit memory bias in anxiety

The present study evaluated the status of mood congruent memory bias in implicit memory tasks for threat related information. A literature review complemented by three experiments on high and low trait anxiety participants found no implicit memory bias for threat-related information in anxious individuals on either word fragment completion or tachistoscopic word identification tasks. The theoretical implications of these results are discussed.     

A systematic review and narrative synthesis of occupational therapy-led interventions for individuals with anxiety and stress-related disorders

Anxiety and stress-related disorders are highly prevalent and impede participation in life activities. Occupational therapists work extensively with people diagnosed with these disorders but the effectiveness of their interventions is unclear. A systematic search strategy identified 19 papers describing 13 studies. Studies varied in methodology, intervention type, and theory base. The results show the potential for lifestyle approaches, occupational science-based programs, and skill-building to improve mental health. The variety of interventions and methodologies of many studies means that the effectiveness of occupational therapy interventions for this population is not yet determined. High-quality research is required to replicate interventions with emerging potential for effectiveness.     

Maze learning in Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients and normal elderly controls performed a block of 10 trials on a finger maze, followed by a 45-min period during which verbal learning measures were administered. Subjects then performed an additional 10 trials on the original maze, followed by 10 trials on a new maze. The AD patients and a subset of control subjects decreased mean completion time across Blocks 1 and 2, suggesting skill acquisition. Mean time on Block 3 was significantly less than mean time on Block 1, suggesting skill generalization. A subset of controls did not show the above pattern. The results of this study suggest that AD patients are able to acquire and generalize a cognitively mediated perceptual-motor skill.     

Older adults with chronic disease: benefits of group-mediated counseling in the promotion of physically active lifestyles.

In this 12-month trial standard exercise training was compared with a group-mediated cognitive-behavioral (GMCB) intervention with respect to effects on long-term adherence and change in physical function of older adults who were either at risk for or had cardiovascular disease. Participants (147 older men and women) were randomized to the 2 treatments. Outcomes included self-reportedphysical activity, fitness, and self-efficacy. The GMCB treatment produced greater improvements on all outcomes than did standard exercise therapy. Regardless of treatment assignment, men had more favorable change on the study outcomes than did women. Analysis of a self-regulatory process measure in the GMCB group revealed that change in barriers efficacy was related to change in physical activity and fitness. Results suggest that teaching older adults to integrate physical activity into their lives via GMCB leads to better long-term outcomes than standardized exercise therapy.     

READING IN VOCATIONAL SUBJECTS: AN ANALYSIS OF STUDENTS’ READING ABILITY AND CLASSROOM PERFORMANCE

The study investigated the reading ability and classroom performance of vocational students enrolled in the second year of study in auto mechanics, carpentry, electronics, graphics, and masonry. Performance on the California Achievement Test showed average reading achievement for electronics students and below average reading achievement for students in the remaining vocational areas. Students’ ability to read their vocational textbook was measured by a cloze task, with auto mechanics students showing an adequate level of comprehension for instruction. Carpentry, graphics, and masonry students showed performance below instructional level. Significant differences were found in reading achievement between electronics students and the other four areas, and between auto mechanics and masonry. Vocational students in the present sample represented, to some extent, separate groups for reading achievement rather than the traditional view of homogeneity across vocational subjects. Teachers’ evaluations of students’ classroom performance showed statistically significant correlations with textbook reading ability in only two subjects, auto mechanics and carpentry. Correlations suggested that success may not always be dependent on the ability to comprehend the textbook, and that the vocational teachers sampled may not have placed a high value on reading ability as an indicator of competence in a vocational subject.