A neurocomputational system for relational reasoning

The representation and manipulation of structured relations is central to human reasoning. Recent work in computational modeling and neuroscience has set the stage for developing more detailed neurocomputational models of these abilities. Several key neural findings appear to dovetail with computational constraints derived from a model of analogical processing, 'Learning and Inference with Schemas and Analogies' (LISA). These include evidence that (i) coherent oscillatory activity in the gamma and theta bands enables long-distance communication between the prefrontal cortex and posterior brain regions where information is stored; (ii) neurons in prefrontal cortex can rapidly learn to represent abstract concepts; (iii) a rostral-caudal abstraction gradient exists in the PFC; and (iv) the inferior frontal gyrus exerts inhibitory control over task-irrelevant information.     

Depression in Older Adults

The purpose of this article is to address selected aspects of depression in older adults. Specifically, symptoms, risk factors, diagnosis, and interventions for depression in older adults are reviewed.     

Cognitive Resources and Leadership Performance

Le rôle et la fonction des ressources cognitives que sont les aptitudes intellectuelles, l'expérience et les connaissances spécialisées ont longtemps été une énigme tacitement ignorée dans la théorie du leadership. En pratique, tout protocole de sélection ou de promotion d'un manager ou d'un leader évalue soigneusement les aptitudes intellectuelles du candidat, ses connaissances et son expérience professionnelle. Pourtant, rien de tout cela n'est en forte corrélation, voire tout simplement en corrélation, avec les performances de leader. Cet article, qui s'appuie sur la théorie des ressources cognitives (CRT), fait la synthèse aussi bien des recherches récentes que de nouveaux travaux qui éclairent le rôle des ressources cognitives dans le phénomène de leadership, et en tire des indications permettant d'améliorer les performances des leaders.
The role and function of such cognitive resources as intellectual abilities, experience, and expertise, have presented a long-standing but tacitly ignored enigma in leadership theory. Practically all managerial and leadership selection and promotion processes carefully weigh the leader's intellectual abilities, expertise, and job-related experience. However, none of these correlates highly, if at all, with leadership performance. This paper, based on Cognitive Resource Theory (CRT), summarises recent research, as well as new findings, that clarifies the role of cognitive resources in the leadership process, and spells out implications for more effective leadership performance.     

Occupational Attachment and Met Expectations as Predictors of Retirement Adjustment of Naval Officers1

Attachment to one's former occupation and met expectations regarding retirement were proposed as predictors of the adjustment of military retirees. While results suggested that occupational attachment had a minimal impact, the extent to which expectations of civilian work, financial, and family aspects of life were met emerged as significant predictors of satisfaction and adjustment after military retirement. These findings suggest that the characteristics of the post‐retirement environment, and expectations regarding this environment, outweigh the importance of occupational attachment in determining post‐retirement adjustment in this setting.     

Naturalizing the essential tension

Kuhn’s “essential tension” between conservative and innovative imperatives in enquiry has an empirical analogue—between the potential benefits of collectivization of enquiry and the social dynamic impediments to effective sharing of information and insights in collective settings. A range of empirical materials from social psychology and organization theory are considered which bear on the issue of balancing these opposing forces and an institution is described in which they are balanced in a way which is appropriate for collective knowledge production.     

Young children’s analogical reasoning across cultures: Similarities and differences

A cross-cultural comparison between U.S. and Hong Kong preschoolers examined factors responsible for young children’s analogical reasoning errors. On a scene analogy task, both groups had adequate prerequisite knowledge of the key relations, were the same age, and showed similar baseline performance, yet Chinese children outperformed U.S. children on more relationally complex problems. Children from both groups were highly susceptible to choosing a perceptual or semantic distractor during reasoning when one was present. Taken together, these similarities and differences suggest that (a) cultural differences can facilitate better knowledge representations by allowing more efficient processing of relationally complex problems and (b) inhibitory control is an important factor in explaining the development of children’s analogical reasoning.