Forward and backward recall: different response time patterns,same retrieval order

How do people retrieve information in forward and backward recall? To address this issue, we examined response times in directional recall as a function of serial position and list length. Participants memorized lists of four to six words and entered responses at the keyboard. Recall direction was postcued. Response times exhibited asymmetry in terms of direction. In forward recall, response times peaked at the first position, leveling off for subsequent positions. Response times were slower in backward recall than in forward recall and exhibited an inverse U-shaped function with an initial slowdown followed by a continuous speedup. These asymmetries have implications for theoretical models of retrieval in serial recall, including temporal-code, rule-based, and network models. The response time pattern suggests that forward recall proceeds in equal steps across positions, whereas backward recall involves repeated covert cycles of forward recall. Thus, retrieval in both directions involves a forward search.     

Eye movement Responses of Repressors and Sensitizers to a stressful film

Groups scoring high, intermediate or low on the Byrne R-S Scale viewed an industrial accident film while horizontal eye movements were assessed by means of infrared corneal reflection. Neutral and stressful film segments were scored in terms of deviations from the center of the perceptual field (point of looking scores), and the standard deviations of these scores were calculated as an index of perceptual scanning. A stressful segment was also dichotically scored as to whether the point of looking was on or off dominant elements of the scene. Results indicated that Repressors and Sensitizers had equivalent levels of perceptual scanning (and both significantly higher than Intermediates' level) independent of film segment content, but that they differed in on/off and average point of looking for the stressful segment such that Repressors were avoiding stressful content. These data suggest that relatively high perceptual scanning can be an avoidant defensive style of attending to dynamic stimulus displays. The issue of adaptiveness of responding is considered.     

Institutional Affiliation and Satisfaction Among Feminist Professors

Do feminist professors of psychology who teach at women's colleges derive more satisfaction from their academic lives than feminist professors who teach at coed colleges or at (coed) universities? If one assumes that gynocentric environments are more pleasing to feminists, the answer should be yes. Using questionnaire and interview data from 76 self-identified feminist psychology professors, we tested the expectation that feminist women teaching at women's colleges are more satisfied than their counterparts elsewhere. We found that feminist professors were generally satisfied with their pedagogical situations and were generally dedicated to and successful at teaching. Institutional affiliation produced little difference in satisfaction or practice, but feminists at women's colleges generally did feel more supported than feminists elsewhere.     

Playing Smart: The Mating Game and Mating Intelligence

Current work investigated the extent to which mating intelligence was related to one’s own mate value as well as the value of one’s mate. We hypothesized that (1) mating intelligence is positively correlated with measures of self-perceived mate value, (2) greater mating intelligence is associated with greater partner mate value, (3) greater mating intelligence is associated with less mate settling, and according to Parental Investment Theory, females are predicted to have significantly higher mean mate value than males. Along with the adoption of the Mate Value Inventory and Mating Intelligence Scale, a method was developed to assess a more objective rating of self and partner’s physical attractiveness. A large sample (N > 500) was obtained for this study via internet survey. As predicted, mating intelligence appeared to be a valid predictor of one’s own value in the mating market, as well as the quality of mates that one can attract. High mating intelligence also corresponded to lower mate value discrepancy within a mateship. That is, high MI tended to go with a relatively small gap between the mate value of oneself and the mate value of ones partner, or less mate settling. Moreover, the positive relationship between objective and subjective ratings of self and partner’s physical attractiveness suggests that participants were able to judge themselves and their partners through the eyes of another. In all, evidence from the current work suggests that mating intelligence has important implications for individuals’ mating behavior within the mating market.     

Helping or Hovering? The Effects of Helicopter Parenting on College Students’ Well-Being

Parental involvement is related to many positive child outcomes, but if not developmentally appropriate, it can be associated with higher levels of child anxiety and depression. Few studies have examined the effects of over-controlling parenting, or “helicopter parenting,” in college students. Some studies have found that college students of over-controlling parents report feeling less satisfied with family life and have lower levels of psychological well-being. This study examined self-determination theory as the potential underlying mechanism explaining this relationship. College students (N = 297) completed measures of helicopter parenting, autonomy supportive parenting, depression, anxiety, satisfaction with life, and basic psychological needs satisfaction. Students who reported having over-controlling parents reported significantly higher levels of depression and less satisfaction with life. Furthermore, the negative effects of helicopter parenting on college students’ well-being were largely explained by the perceived violation of students’ basic psychological needs for autonomy and competence.     

At the same time or apart in time? The role of presentation timing and retrieval dynamics in generalization

Several bodies of research have found different results with regard to presentation timing, categorization, and generalization. Both presenting instances at the same time (simultaneous) and presenting instances apart in time (spacing) have been shown to facilitate generalization. In this study, we resolved these results by examining simultaneous, massed, and spaced presentations in 2-year-old children's (N = 144) immediate and long-term performance on a novel noun generalization task. Results revealed that, when tested immediately, children in the simultaneous condition outperformed children in all other conditions. However, when tested after 15 min, children in the spaced condition outperformed children in all other conditions. Results are discussed in terms of how retrieval dynamics during learning affect abstraction, retention, and generalization across time.     

Understanding Affirmative Action

The purpose of this article is to lay a conceptual groundwork that is needed if social scientists and policy makers are to design and implement fair and effective affirmative action programs. Because affirmative action is not well understood, in or out of the academy, the article starts with definitions, both general and technical, contrasts affirmative action with equal opportunity, and touches on the distinction between policy and practice. I then argue that affirmative action is a necessary policy, that it can be effective, and that it is fair. But the policy is for three other reasons: (a) it focuses on deficiencies, (b) it disturbs expectations, and (c) it poses a threat to individualism, interfering with self-congratulations.     

Cognitive behavioral therapy for compulsive buying disorder

To our knowledge, no psychotherapy treatment studies for compulsive buying have been published. The authors conducted a pilot trial comparing the efficacy of a group cognitive behavioral intervention designed for the treatment of compulsive buying to a waiting list control. Twenty-eight subjects were assigned to receive active treatment and 11 to the waiting list control group. The results at the end of treatment showed significant advantages for cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) over the waiting list in reductions in the number of compulsive buying episodes and time spent buying, as well as scores on the Yale–Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale—Shopping Version and the Compulsive Buying Scale. Improvement was well-maintained at 6-month follow-up. The pilot data suggests that a cognitive behavioral intervention can be quite effective in the treatment of compulsive buying disorder. This model requires further testing.     

Socioeconomic status modifies heritability of IQ in young children

Scores on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children were analyzed in a sample of 7-year-old twins from the National Collaborative Perinatal Project. A substantial proportion of the twins were raised in families living near or below the poverty level. Biometric analyses were conducted using models allowing for components attributable to the additive effects of genotype, shared environment, and nonshared environment to interact with socioeconomic status (SES) measured as a continuous variable. Results demonstrate that the proportions of IQ variance attributable to genes and environment vary nonlinearly with SES. The models suggest that in impoverished families, 60% of the variance in IQ is accounted for by the shared environment, and the contribution of genes is close to zero; in affluent families, the result is almost exactly the reverse.