Repetition Errors in Habitual Prospective Memory: Elimination of Age Differences via Complex Actions or Appropriate Resource Allocation

ABSTRACT

A challenge in habitual prospective memory tasks (e.g., taking medication) is remembering whether or not one has already performed the action. Einstein, McDaniel, Smith, and Shaw (1998 Einstein, G. O., McDaniel, M. A., Smith, R. E. and Shaw, P. 1998. Habitual prospective memory and aging: Remembering intentions and forgetting actions. Psychological Science, 9: 284–288. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], Psychological Science, 9, 284) showed that older adults were more likely to incorrectly repeat an action on habitual prospective memory tasks. Extending this research, we (a) biased participants either toward repetition or omission errors, (b) investigated whether performing a more complicated motor action can reduce repetition errors for older adults, and (c) examined participants' resource allocation to the prospective memory task. Older adults committed more repetition errors than younger adults regardless of biasing instructions when ongoing task demands were challenging (Experiment 1). Performing the more complex motor action, however, reduced repetition errors for older adults. Further, when the ongoing task was less demanding, older adults' repetition errors declined to levels of younger adults (Experiment 2). Consistent with this finding, the resource allocation profiles suggested that older participants were monitoring their output (prospective memory execution) in each trial block.     

Problem Anger in Psychotherapy: An Emotion-Focused Perspective on Hate, Rage, and Rejecting Anger

This paper explores applies emotion-focused theory, for the first time, to the emotions of hate, rage, and destructive anger. The general case formulation proposed in this paper is that these emotions are always an elaboration of secondary anger. The body of the paper describes three clinical case formulations. First, problem anger is described in terms of an individual’s self-criticism. Second, we present a form of secondary anger, in which hostility and rage are reactive feelings to avoid more vulnerable (primary) experiences. An unfortunate example of this is has been described as a common underlying process in domestic violence. A alternate manifestation of secondary anger results from the deterioration of what may have initially been adaptive anger; thus, excessive arousal and the loss of meaning or focus that one’s anger embodied also leads to rage or destructive anger. Finally, the experience and expression of hate is described as a primary maladaptive and/or instrumental anger. This appears in-session particularly among those with certain personality disorders. The paper highlights implications for research and practice.     

Emotional expressivity in men and women: Stereotypes and self-perceptions

Three studies were conducted to assess prevalent stereotypes regarding men's and women's emotional expressivity as well as self-perceptions of their emotional behaviour. Emotion profiles were employed to assess both modal emotional reactions and secondary emotional reactions to hypothetical events and personal experiences. In Study 1 we asked how men and women in general would react to a series of hypothetical emotional events. In Study 2 we asked how participants themselves expected to react to these same situations and in Study 3 we asked participants to report a personal emotional event in narrative form. Two gender differences emerged across all three studies. Specifically, women were expected to be more likely to react with sadness to negative emotion-eliciting events in general. They also expected themselves to be more likely to react with sadness as well as to cry and to withdraw more when experiencing negative emotional events. Finally, women report more sadness when describing personal events. In contrast, men were expected to react with more happiness/serenity during negative emotional situations. Also, they expect themselves to react more frequently this way as well as to laugh and smile more and to be more relaxed in negative situations. Finally, men tend to report more happiness when describing negative personal events. In sum, the present study gives a more detailed portrayal of how men and women are expected and expect themselves to react to specific emotional situations and presents some evidence that these expectations may influence the way they reconstruct emotional events from their past.     

Importance effects on performance in event-based prospective memory tasks

In the present study we manipulated the importance of performing two event-based prospective memory tasks. In Experiment 1, the event-based task was assumed to rely on relatively automatic processes, whereas in Experiment 2 the event-based task was assumed to rely on a more demanding monitoring process. In contrast to the first experiment, the second experiment showed that importance had a positive effect on prospective memory performance. In addition, the occurrence of an importance effect on prospective memory performance seemed to be mainly due to the features of the prospective memory task itself, and not to the characteristics of the ongoing tasks that only influenced the size of the importance effect. The results suggest that importance instructions may improve prospective memory if the prospective task requires the strategic allocation of attentional monitoring resources.     

Prospective strategies underlie the control of interceptive actions

The purpose of this study was to test whether a constant bearing angle strategy could account for the displacement regulations produced by a moving observer when attempting to intercept a ball following a curvilinear path. The participants were asked to walk through a virtual environment and to change, if (deemed) necessary, their walking speed so as to intercept a moving ball that followed either a rectilinear or a curvilinear path. The results showed that ball path curvature did indeed influence the participants' displacement kinematics in a way that was predicted by adherence to a constant bearing angle strategy mode of control. Velocity modifications were found to be proportional to the magnitude of target curvature with opposing curvatures giving rise to mirror displacement velocity changes. The role of prospective strategies in the control of interceptive action is discussed.     

Evaluating the MSCEIT V2.0 via CFA: comment on Mayer et al. (2003)

This investigation uncovered several substantial errors in the confirmatory factor analysis results reported by J. D. Mayer, P. Salovey, D. R. Caruso, and G. Sitarenios (see record 2003-02341-015). Specifically, the values associated with the close-fit indices (normed fit index, Tucker-Lewis Index, and root-mean-square error of approximation) are inaccurate. A reanalysis of the Mayer et al. subscale intercorrelation matrix provided accurate values of the close-fit indices, which resulted in different evaluations of the models tested by J. D. Mayer et al. Contrary to J. D. Mayer et al., the 1-factor model and the 2-factor model did not provide good fit. Although the 4-factor model was still considered good fitting, the non-constrained 4-factor model yielded a non-positive definite matrix, which was interpreted to be due to the fact that two of the branch-level factors (Perceiving and Facilitating) were collinear, suggesting that a model with 4 factors was implausible.     

Forgetting of intentions in demanding situations is rapid

Demanding work settings often require the deferral of intended actions. In 3 experiments, participants were to withhold a response until they encountered a task change (which occurred 5, 15, or 40 sec later). To approximate highly demanding settings, the experimenters sometimes divided attention during the delay period. During some of the delays the experimenters interrupted the participants with an additional task (Experiment 1). Demanding conditions as well as interruptions revealed rapid forgetting of intentions at levels that would be considered significant in applied settings. Experiments 2 and 3 showed that this rapid forgetting was not reduced by strategic rehearsal and implementation intention strategies. The results suggest that maintaining intentions over brief delays is not a trivial task for the human cognitive system.     

Langage et individuation

Sans résumé     

Is Group Singing Special? Health,Well‐Being and Social Bonds in Community‐Based Adult Education Classes

Evidence demonstrates that group singing improves health and well‐being, but the precise mechanisms remain unknown. Given that cohesive social networks also positively influence health, we focus on the social aspects of singing, exploring whether improvements in health and well‐being are mediated by stronger social bonds, both to the group as a whole (collective‐bonding) and to individual classmates (relational‐bonding). To do so, seven newly formed community‐based adult education classes (four singing, N = 84, and three comparison classes studying creative writing or crafts, N = 51) were followed over seven months. Self‐report questionnaire data on mental and physical health, well‐being and social bonding were collected at Months 1, 3 and 7. We demonstrate that physical and mental health and satisfaction with life significantly improved over time in both conditions. Path analysis did not show any indirect effects via social bonding of Condition on health and well‐being. However, higher collective‐bonding at timepoint 3 significantly predicted increased flourishing, reduced anxiety and improved physical health independently of baseline levels. In contrast, relational‐bonding showed no such effects, suggesting that it is feeling part of a group that particularly yields health and well‐being benefits. Moreover, these results indicate that singing may not improve health and well‐being more than other types of activities. Nonetheless, these findings encourage further work to refine our understanding of the social aspects of community‐based adult education classes in promoting health, well‐being and community cohesion. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

"Brain-Specific" Nutrients: A Memory Cure?

Contents:
Nootropics, the Aging Brain, and Neural Bases of Learning and Memory, p.13
Phosphatidylserine, p.16
Choline, p.23
Piracetam, p.24
Vinpocetine, p.26
Acetyl-L-Carnitine, p.28
Antioxidants, p.30
Future Work and More Fine-Grained Analyses of Memory, p.32
Summary and Concluding Remarks, p.34