Short-term forgetting and the articulatory loop

Two experiments explored the role of subvocal articulatory rehearsal in the Peterson short-term forgetting task. In the first of these, subjects recalled consonant trigrams after an interval of 0, 5 or 15 s during which they either counted backwards in threes, suppressed articulation by continuously uttering the word “the”, or in a third control condition continuously tapped on the table. While counting backwards caused the usual dramatic forgetting, tapping caused no forgetting, and articulatory suppression only minimal forgetting at the longest delay. A second study used the same procedure but included only two conditions, articulatory suppression during the retention interval and articulatory suppression during both input and retention. Neither showed evidence of forgetting over the 15 s delay. These results suggest that covert speech is not necessary for rehearsal in short-term verbal memory. As such they call for a re-evaluation of the nature and function of rehearsal.     

Play behaviors of handicapped preschool children in the presence and absence of nonhandicapped peers

Sixteen minimally handicapped children and 18 nonhandicapped children were observed playing as separate classes and as a combined group on their preschool playground. Play behaviors directed toward self, toys, teachers, and peers were recorded using a time sampling procedure. Repeated measures analyses revealed that: (1) handicapped children engaged in less peer-directed and more teacher-directed behaviors than the similar chronological age but developmentally more advanced normal children; (2) a comparison between a subsample of normal and handicapped children who were approximately equivalent on developmental age suggested that the normal children only vocalized more often; (3) when integrated with the normal children, handicapped children engaged in more peer-directed and less teacher-directed behaviors than when playing in the non-integrated situation; (4) during the combined group play situation, normal children directed more behaviors to their own classmates while handicapped children directed approximately equal amounts of behavior to their own classmates and to their normal peers. These results suggest that the normal children were not negatively affected and the handicapped children were positively affected by the integrated play situation.     

Dominance interactions in young adult paper wasp (Polistes dominulus) foundresses: a playlike behavior?

The idea that insects play has often aroused skepticism. Nevertheless, the authors investigated the occurrence of a playlike behavior in young individuals of a paper wasp. Polistes dominulus foundresses hibernate in aggregations and found associative nests in the spring. In aggregations, wasps exhibit most of the rank-dependent behaviors that they will use in the nest 6 months later. In aggregations, precocious dominance interactions are performed with exaggerated frequencies, whereas aggression and trophallaxis are rare. Dominance behavior in aggregations is apparently useless, but it probably allows wasps to assess their dominance potential without any apparent reproductive competition. Surprisingly, these interactions may be best interpreted as play because dominance behavior in aggregations shares several features with mammalian play fighting.     

Suicidal behaviors and personality structure

In this paper we suggest the potential clinical usefulness of two projective tests (Rorschach and Object Relation Technique) and of a clinical interview focused on the pathway to suicide, life events, and major life difficulties to better define subtypes of patients attempting suicide. Thirty-three hospitalized subjects who had attempted suicide in the previous 6 months were examined using an in-depth assessment of the pathway to suicide. The aims of this study were: (1) to compare, within a clinical sample of suicidal attempters, the psychopathological, personality, and psychosocial characteristics of subjects with mood disorders alone, personality disorders and dysfunctional personality alone, and mood disorders with personality disorders and/or dysfunctional personality; and (2) to analyze the relationship between the method chosen and the clinical characteristics of the subgroups.     

Frontal lobe dementia and subcortical vascular dementia: a neuropsychological comparison

We compared the performance of 40 patients with frontal lobe dementia to that of 40 patients with subcortical vascular dementia (80 patients including, 46 men and 34 women) in a set of tasks assessing attentional, executive, and behavioural tasks. The frontal lobe dementia represents an important cause for degenerative disruption and is increasingly recognised as an important form (up to 25%) of degenerative dementia among individuals of late-middle-age. The main involvement is the frontal-subcortical pathway, which is the final target of impairment even in subcortical vascular dementia. A wider involvement of the cortical (decisional) layers in frontal dementia, in contrast with the prominent and widespread involvement of the subcortical pathways (refinement and corrections programs) creates the different profiles of the two groups. Frontal patients have more difficulties in abstract reasoning, focusing attention, and implementing strategies to solve problems. They exhibit more profound behavioural alterations in personality and social conduct and show only moderate depression, and a total lack of insight concerning their dinical condition. In contrast, the patients with subcortical vascular dementia have poor general cognitive functions, high insight, and important depression and apathy as the principal and most salient characteristic of their behavioral conduct.     

Retrospective revaluation as simple associative learning

Backward blocking, unovershadowing, and backward conditioned inhibition are examples of retrospective revaluation phenomena that have been suggested to involve more than simple associative learning. Models of these phenomena have thus used additional concepts, for example, appealing to attentional effects or more elaborate learning mechanisms. The author shows that a suitable representation of stimuli, paired with a careful analysis of the discriminations faced by animals, leads to an account of these and other phenomena in terms of a simple elemental model of associative learning, with essentially the same learning mechanism as the R. A. Rescorla and A. R. Wagner (1972) model. The author concludes with a discussion of some implications for theories of learning.     

Solidarity across group lines: Secondary transfer effect of intergroup contact,perceived moral distance,and collective action

We tested, in three studies, whether the generalization of contact effects from primary to secondary outgroups—the secondary transfer effect (STE)—occurs for collective action. The results supported a serial mediation model: contact with immigrants by advantaged group members (Italians: Study 1, N = 146, 121 females, M_age = 28.31 years; Study 3, N = 406, 239 females, M_age = 36.35; British people, Study 2, N = 160, 113 females, M_age = 32.31) was associated with lower perceived moral distance toward primary outgroups, which in turn was associated with more positive attitudes and greater collective action intentions toward primary outgroups, and lower perceived moral distance toward secondary outgroups. Lower perceived moral distance toward secondary outgroups and stronger collective action intentions toward the primary outgroup were associated with higher collective action intentions toward secondary outgroups (results were inconsistent for attitudes). We discuss the findings with a focus on how a consideration of perceived moral distance extends current theorizing, and the relevance of generalized prejudice for the STE.