Theories of spatial representations and reference frames: What can configuration errors tell us?

The issue of reference frame is central to theories of spatial representations. Various classifications have been made for different types of reference frames, along with prototypical research paradigms to distinguish between them. This article focuses on the configuration error paradigm proposed by Wang and Spelke (Cognition 77:215-250, 2000) that has been used to examine the nature of the spatial representations underlying object localization during self-movement. Three basic models of spatial memory and spatial updating are discussed, as well as the assumptions behind the configuration error paradigm, to distinguish between static representations, such as the traditional allocentric cognitive map and the egocentric snapshots, and dynamic representations, such as the egocentric updating system. Recent experimental findings are reexamined and shown to be consistent with multiple models, among which the egocentric-updating-and-reload model with an enduring egocentric component provides the simplest interpretations.     

Inhibition, interference, and conflict in task switching

The role of inhibition in the task-switching process has received increased empirical and theoretical attention in the literature on cognitive control. Many accounts have suggested that inhibition occurs when a conflict must be resolved—for example, when a target stimulus contains features of more than one task. In the two experiments reported here, we used variants of backward inhibition, or N – 2 repetition, designs to examine (1) whether inhibition occurs in the absence of conflict at the stimulus or response level, (2) when in the task-switching process such inhibition may occur, and (3) the potential consequences of inhibition. In Experiment 1, we demonstrate that neither stimulus- nor response-level conflict is necessary for inhibition to occur, while the results of Experiment 2 suggest that inhibition may be associated with a reduction of proactive interference (PI) from a previously performed task. Evidence of inhibition and the reduction of PI both occurred at the task-set level. However, inhibition of specific stimulus values can also occur, but this is clearly separable from task-set inhibition. Both experiments also provided evidence that task-set inhibition can be applied at the time of the new task cue, as opposed to at the onset of the target or at the response stage of the trial. Taken together, the results from these experiments provide insight into when and where in the task-switching process inhibition may occur, as well as into the potential functional benefits that inhibition of task sets may provide.     

Cross-modal recognition of human individuals in domestic horses (Equus caballus)

This study has shown that domestic horses are capable of cross-modal recognition of familiar humans. It was demonstrated that horses are able to discriminate between the voices of a familiar and an unfamiliar human without seeing or smelling them at the same moment. Conversely, they were able to discriminate the same persons when only exposed to their visual and olfactory cues, without being stimulated by their voices. A cross-modal expectancy violation setup was employed; subjects were exposed both to trials with incongruent auditory and visual/olfactory identity cues and trials with congruent cues. It was found that subjects responded more quickly, longer and more often in incongruent trials, exhibiting heightened interest in unmatched cues of identity. This suggests that the equine brain is able to integrate multisensory identity cues from a familiar human into a person representation that allows the brain, when deprived of one or two senses, to maintain recognition of this person.     

Spatial working memory for clustered and linear configurations of sites in a virtual reality foraging task

Two experiments using an immersive virtual reality foraging environment determined the spatial strategies spontaneously deployed by people in a foraging task and the effects on immediate serial recall of trajectories though the foraging space, which could conform or violate specific organisational constraints. People benefitted from the use of organised search patterns when attempting to monitor their travel though either a clustered "patchy" space or a matrix of locations. The results are discussed within a comparative framework.     

Do Historical Changes in Parent–Child Relationships Explain Increases in Youth Conduct Problems?

The coincidence of historical trends in youth antisocial behavior and change in family demographics has led to speculation of a causal link, possibly mediated by declining quality of parenting and parent–child relationships. No study to date has directly assessed whether and how parenting and parent–child relationships have changed. Two national samples of English adolescents aged 16–17 years in 1986 (N = 4,524 adolescents, 7,120 parents) and 2006 (N = 716 adolescents, 734 parents) were compared using identical questionnaire assessments. Youth-reported parental monitoring, expectations, and parent–child quality time increased between 1986 and 2006. Ratings of parental interest did not change. Parenting differences between affluent and disadvantaged families narrowed over time. There was thus little evidence of a decline in quality of parenting for the population as a whole or for disadvantaged subgroups. Parent-reported youth conduct problems showed a modest increase between 1986 and 2006. Findings suggested that the increase in youth conduct problems was largely unrelated to observed change in parent–child relationships.     

Can survival processing enhance story memory? Testing the generalizability of the adaptive memory framework

Research from the adaptive memory framework shows that thinking about words in terms of their survival value in an incidental learning task enhances their free recall relative to other semantic encoding strategies and intentional learning (Nairne, Pandeirada, & Thompson, 2008). We found similar results. When participants used incidental survival encoding for a list of words (e.g., "Will this object enhance my survival if I were stranded in the grasslands of a foreign land?"), they produced better free recall on a surprise test than did participants who intentionally tried to remember those words (Experiment 1). We also found this survival processing advantage when the words were presented within the context of a survival or neutral story (Experiment 2). However, this advantage did not extent to memory for a story's factual content, regardless of whether the participants were tested by cued recall (Experiment 3) or free recall (Experiments 4-5). Listening to a story for understanding under intentional or incidental learning conditions was just as good as survival processing for remembering story content. The functionalist approach to thinking about memory as an evolutionary adaptation designed to solve reproductive fitness problems provides a different theoretical framework for research, but it is not yet clear if survival processing has general applicability or is effective only for processing discrete stimuli in terms of fitness-relevant scenarios from our past.     

The Stammering Information Programme: a Delphi study

Purpose

To find out what information children, parents and education staff feel would be important to know to support a child who stutters in the educational environment, in order to develop appropriate resources.

Method

A Delphi study was carried out to seek the opinions of experts about the information to include. A structured six stage process was completed in order to gain consensus within four expert panels: children who stutter (CWS) aged 7-11 (n = 25); young people who stutter aged 12-18 (n = 27); parents of children and young people who stutter aged 2-18 (n = 67); and members of the education workforce (n = 35).

Results

In response to the questions, 538 statements were generated across the four expert panels, categorised and reduced to 276. Of the 154 rating questionnaires sent out, 99 were returned (64.2% response rate). The top 32 statements, which were those most highly rated and with the greatest consensus, were retained to inform the resources.

Conclusions

This study demonstrates the value of including service users when devising materials aimed for the benefit of CWS. The methodology employed ensured that ideas, perceptions and needs were representative of a range of people who experience stuttering from different perspectives. The results indicated that each expert panel had different priorities of what should be included. The resulting resources may therefore be considered to have high content validity and would be predicted to meet the needs of those who require them.Educational Objectives: The reader will be able to (1) define the Delphi Approach (2) discuss the development of a user led resource for raising awareness about stuttering.     

On the Usefulness of “Value” in the Definition of Creativity: A Commentary

From the mid-1950s to the present time, creativity researchers have typically adopted the view that any new piece of work must be statistically novel as well as non-trivially valuable to some group of people if it is to be considered creative. A few scholars have suggested that a new piece of work must also be surprising, non-obvious, or interesting if it is to be considered truly creative. The utility of these traditional definitions of creativity has recently been sharply questioned in an article published in a previous volume of this journal (Weisberg, 2015). The commentary presented here took issue with a suggestion presented in that article that creativity researchers replace their traditional definitions of creativity with a simpler definition according to which any statistically novel and intentionally generated product is considered creative “regardless of whether it is ever of value to anyone” and with a logically related suggestion that the creativity of any intentionally-generated product be assessed purely in terms of its statistical novelty (Weisberg, 2015). After carefully evaluating both of these suggestions on conceptual and practical grounds, it was recommended that creativity researchers not follow either suggestion.     

Testosterone and Proactive-Reactive Aggression in Youth: the Moderating Role of Harsh Discipline

This study tests a biosocial model of the link between testosterone and proactive-reactive aggression in youth at varying levels of harsh discipline. Given that proactive aggression is used to gain power and status and the importance of social learning in its formation, we hypothesized that testosterone would be associated with proactive aggression at higher levels of harsh discipline, and that this relationship would be more pronounced in boys than girls. Participants (n?=?445; 50% male; M age?=?11.92 years; 80% African-American) and their caregivers completed questionnaires including demographics, conflict tactics, and proactive-reactive aggression. Youth also provided a saliva sample for testosterone. Analyses revealed an interaction between testosterone and harsh discipline on proactive aggression in both boys and girls, and an interaction between testosterone and harsh discipline on reactive aggression in boys only. For those experiencing high levels of harsh discipline, testosterone was positively associated with proactive aggression, with the magnitude of the association increasing as harsh discipline increased. For below average levels of harsh discipline, there were protective effects of high testosterone for boy’s reactive aggression and for girl’s proactive aggression. The findings support basic tenets of the biosocial model which suggest that links between testosterone and aggressive behavior are dependent on contextual forces, highlighting the complex relationship between hormones, social context, and aggression. Novel findings include protective effects of high testosterone for those exposed to low levels of harsh discipline. Findings are discussed in light of the context-contingency effect and also within the differential susceptibility framework.