Locus of Control and Implicit Memory

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the influence of locus of control on implicit and explicit memory. We hypothesized that internals would rely on semantic processing, externals on perceptual processing. In Experiment 1, 80 college students studied 36 words and completed an implicit memory test in either a consistent or cross-modality condition. The results revealed that externals had higher priming scores than did internals, regardless of modality. In Experiment 2, 80 college students took either an implicit or explicit test. The results again revealed that externals showed higher priming scores than internals. The higher priming scores exhibited by the externals do not necessarily mean that they are more perceptually oriented than the internals are.     

Hypermnesia: A further examination of age differences between young and older adults

Previous studies that examined age differences in hypermnesia reported inconsistent results. The present experiment investigated whether the different study materials in these studies were responsible for the inconsistency. In particular, the present experiment examined whether the use of a video, as opposed to words and pictures, would eliminate previously reported age differences in hypermnesia. Fifteen college students and 15 older adults viewed a 3‐minute video clip followed by two free‐recall tests. The results indicated that older adults, as a whole, did not show hypermnesia. However, when older adults were divided into low and high memory groups based on test 1 performance, the high memory group showed hypermnesia whereas the low memory group did not show hypermnesia. The older adults in the low memory group were significantly older than the older adults in the high memory group – indicating that hypermnesia is inversely related to age in older adults. Reminiscence did not show an age‐related difference in either the low or high memory group whereas inter‐test forgetting did show an age difference in the low memory group. As expected, older adults showed greater inter‐test forgetting than young adults in the low memory group. Findings from the present experiment suggest that video produces a pattern of results that is similar to the patterns obtained when words and pictures are used as study material. Thus, it appears that the nature of study material is not the source of inconsistency across the previous studies.     

Overcoming cognitive obstacles in learning fractions: Equal‐partitioning and equal‐whole1

Abstract: The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that acquisition of the concepts of equal‐partitioning and equal‐whole, which constitute implicit knowledge in fractions, promotes understanding of fractions. To test the hypothesis an experimental program based on both the equal‐partitioning and equal‐whole was developed for three third‐grade classrooms in a Japanese elementary school. As a control, conventional teaching based on a Japanese textbook was provided in two third‐grade classrooms. The present study tested the hypothesis that students given such an intervention program would understand order and magnitude as central characteristics of fractions better than those who had been instructed using a traditional textbook. Students in the experimental group showed significantly better understanding of the equal‐partitioning of fractions and the representation of the sizes of fractions than did those in the textbook group. There were, moreover, no differences between the experimental and textbook groups in the performance of routine tasks frequently found in the textbook. These results are discussed in view of the important instructional aims of having students understand fractions.     

Pigeons (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Columba livia</Emphasis>) know when they will need hints: prospective metacognition for reference memory?

Despite their impressive cognitive abilities, avian species have shown less evidence for metacognition than mammals. We suspect that commonly used tasks such as matching to sample might be too demanding to allow metacognitive processing within birds’ working memory. Here, we examined whether pigeons could control their behavior as a function of knowledge levels on a three-item sequence learning task, a reference memory task supposedly requiring fewer working memory resources. The experiment used two types of lists differing in familiarity. One was familiar to the pigeons through repeated exposure, whereas the other was novel in every new session. In test sessions, pigeons could choose between a trial with a hint specifying the next item to peck and one with no hint. However, successful responses in trials with a hint resulted in lowered rates of primary reinforcement: .60 in the first test and .75 in the second. Results showed that two of four pigeons chose the trial with a hint significantly more often before receiving a novel list than the familiar list in the four sessions of the first test, and three did so in the second test. Impressively, one bird showed robust evidence in the very first sessions in both tests. These results suggest that pigeons may monitor their long-term knowledge states and thereby control their environment before starting to solve a task.     

Emotional Salience and the Isolation Effect

When a homogeneous list contains a few items that are different from the rest of the items in the list, these isolated items show enhanced recall compared to the same items in a list where these items are not isolated. This phenomenon, known as the isolation effect, has been explained on the basis of isolated items eliciting salience. In this experiment, negative pictures and neutral pictures were isolated at the early and late part of the list. The salience explanation would predict that participants would pay more attention to these isolated items resulting in higher judgments of learning (JOL) ratings compared to the same items in the control list. Negative pictures showed the isolation effect for both early and late isolation; however, for early isolation, JOL was similar between the isolated and non-isolated pictures indicating that the emotional isolation effect does not require emotional salience.     

The nature of stress experienced by lesbians and gay men

Abstract

This study examined both the meanings and sources/causes of stress from the perspectives of lesbians and gay men (n=30), using a series of focus groups. The findings suggest that stress is considered a part of life itself, and is perceived to contain both negative (e.g. detrimental effects on health and overall functioning, unfairness, out-of-control), and positive (e.g. a motivator, growth-facilitator) elements. The sources/causes of stress (i.e. stressors) identified include stress experienced from the “coming out” process, stress in family relations and intimate relationships, conflict over one's sexuality given society's homophobic and heterosexist attitudes toward lesbians and gay men, as well as stress from financial and work-related issues. More importantly, this study suggests that culture/ethnicity, gender, and aging, which are interconnected with one's sexual identity, play an important role in shaping the experiences of stress among lesbians and gay men.     

Nanomachining of nanocrystalline nickel by focused ion beam

Nanocrystalline and sub-microcrystalline samples of nickel have been machined by a focused Ga⁺ ion beam (30?keV and 187?pA) at doses of 8.92?×?10¹⁶?–?2.68?×?10¹⁸ ions/cm² and their surface topography was investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Values of the root-mean-square (RMS) roughness increase with increasing ion dose. The surfaces of the nanocrystalline Ni were smoother than those of the sub-microcrystalline Ni, indicating that smoothing due to diffusion for the former works more effectively than that for the latter.     

Training in timing improves accuracy in golf

In this experiment, the authors investigated the influence of training in timing on performance accuracy in golf. During pre- and posttesting, 40 participants hit golf balls with 4 different clubs in a golf course simulator. The dependent measure was the distance in feet that the ball ended from the target. Between the pre- and posttest, participants in the experimental condition received 10 hr of timing training with an instrument that was designed to train participants to tap their hands and feet in synchrony with target sounds. The participants in the control condition read literature about how to improve their golf swing. The results indicated that the participants in the experimental condition significantly improved their accuracy relative to the participants in the control condition, who did not show any improvement. We concluded that training in timing leads to improvement in accuracy, and that our results have implications for training in golf as well as other complex motor activities.     

Building on strengths and resilience: leisure as a stress survival strategy

Exploring the ways in which leisure contributes to managing, relieving, or counteracting stress has become an increasingly popular area of study in recent years. Findings from a multi-year study of stress and coping among diverse residents of a western Canadian city are reported in this paper. In particular, the key findings presented are specific to the role of leisure in stress-coping, with an emphasis on those that are relevant to guidance and counselling. The participants in the study included: (a) Aboriginal individuals with diabetes, (b) individuals with physical disabilities, (c) older adults with arthritis, (d) gays and lesbians, and (e) a group of professional managers. Grounded in a qualitative framework, data were collected using a focus group method, while phenomenology was adopted as the analytical framework. Our findings demonstrated leisure's role as a palliative coping strategy. This strategy incorporates two elements: a positive diversion or 'time-out' from stress-inducing situations and thoughts, and a context for rejuvenation and renewal. Leisure also provided opportunities for promoting life balance, whereby the intentional creation of a leisure space became an oasis for personal renewal (physical, psychological, emotional) that facilitated resilience and the capacity to proactively cope with or counteract stress. Implications of the findings for guidance and counselling are discussed.     

The nature of stress experienced by lesbians and gay men

This study examined both the meanings and sources/causes of stress from the perspectives of lesbians and gay men (n=30), using a series of focus groups. The findings suggest that stress is considered a part of life itself, and is perceived to contain both negative (e.g. detrimental effects on health and overall functioning, unfairness, out-of-control), and positive (e.g. a motivator, growth-facilitator) elements. The sources/causes of stress (i.e. stressors) identified include stress experienced from the "coming out" process, stress in family relations and intimate relationships, conflict over one's sexuality given society's homophobic and heterosexist attitudes toward lesbians and gay men, as well as stress from financial and work-related issues. More importantly, this study suggests that culture/ethnicity, gender, and aging, which are interconnected with one's sexual identity, play an important role in shaping the experiences of stress among lesbians and gay men.