Relations between subjective evaluations of memory and objective memory performance.

Several explanations for the weak relations between subjective memory judgements and objective memory performance were investigated in two groups of normal older adults. Group 1 sampled a general population (mean age 61.6 yr., range 46-89), while Group 2 sampled subjects who were on a waiting list for memory training (mean age 63.0 yr., range 45-85 years). In both groups, subjective memory judgments were assessed with global ratings of memory capacity and with ratings of frequency of forgetting in specific memory situations. Memory performance was assessed with several well-known tests and with recently developed tests for domain-specific aspects of memory. Most tests concerned episodic memory. Study 1 also included measures of semantic, incidental and working memory. Study 2 further examined the influence of the domain-specificity of objective and subjective measures for remembering names, intentions, and texts. Relations between memory self-reports and performance were weak in both groups and for all kinds of tests. Against expectations, the low correlations could not be explained by differences between ecological and laboratory tests or incidentally and intentionally remembered information, or by differences between specific failures compared to global, stereotyped judgments. Surprisingly, correlations did not increase when subjective and objective measures assessed the same ability, like remembering names. Also noncognitive variables (mood and lifestyle) did not influence the relations. The (weak) relations between subjective and objective memory measures were comparable for subjects over and under 65 years of age. Furthermore, relations were comparable for the general population sample and the memory compliant group.     

Evaluating the Etiology of Anxiety Sensitivity: Relation to Cardiovascular Perception and Reactivity

A large body of research has suggested that anxiety sensitivity (AS) acts as a specific vulnerability factor in the development of anxiety pathology. More recently, attention has turned to the etiology of AS per se. The present study tested several related etiological hypotheses derived from Expectancy theory. S. Reiss and R. J. McNally (1985) originally proposed that greater physiological reactivity would increase risk for developing heightened AS. Reactive individuals are believed to have greater opportunity to perceive unpleasant bodily perturbations, thereby increasing the likelihood that concerns and fears could be attached to the sensations. Nonclinical participants (N = 86) completed physical (e.g., orthostatic) and biological (e.g., 35% CO₂) challenges and a heart beat perception task. AS was not related to heart beat perception but was related to greater tonic heart rate and greater diastolic blood pressure (DBP) reactivity to both the challenges. Higher DBP and higher heart beat accuracy interacted to predict higher AS.     

The patient's progress from this world to that which is to come: commentary on the Consensus Statement of the Working Group on Roman Catholic Approaches to Determining Critical Care.

The author comments on the consensus statement from the point of view of an ethics consultant in Germany. Since many hospitals in Germany are under considerable competitive pressure, mission statements are becoming more and more important in order to draw a distinction between the different hospital types and to convey the meaning of the corporate identity both internally and externally. The Consensus Statement, which provides basic orientation without going into too much detail, can be a helpful initial document. However, it does not deal with two specific problem areas which are examined more closely in the commentary: the application of risk-of-death algorithims in ICUs and the question of church membership of the caregivers to enable a proper preparation for death. The commentary also reveals certain difficulties in the discussion taking place in Anglo-Saxon countries and Continental Europe.     

On the dark side of the moon: Voice and the event of the word

Continental Philosophy Review -     

Incidental learning of abstract rules for non-dominant word orders

One way in which adult second language learners may acquire a word order that differs from their native language word order is through exposure-based incidental learning, but little is known about that process and what constrains it. The current studies examine whether a non-dominant word order can be learned incidentally, and if so, whether the rule can be generalized to new words not previously seen in the non-dominant order. Two studies examined the incidental learning of rules underlying the order of nouns and verbs in three-word strings. The self-timed reading speeds of native English speakers decreased as a result of practice with a non-dominant rule (words ordered either as “verb noun noun” or “noun noun verb”). The same pattern of results was also found for new words ordered according to the previously encountered rule, suggesting learning generalized beyond the specific instances encountered. A second experiment showed such rule learning could also occur when the nouns were replaced with pronounceable pseudowords. Learning was therefore possible in the absence of any pre-existing relationships between the items. Theoretical and educational implications are discussed. Gwen Schmidt is now with the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania. Tom Carr has returned to the Department of Psychology, Michigan State University. Ben Clegg’s contribution to this research was supported in part by Army Research Office Grant W9112NF-05-1-0153.     

The role of importance/consequentiality appraisal in flashbulb memory formation: the case of the death of Pope John Paul II

This study investigates how flashbulb memories (FBMs) relative to the death of Pope John Paul II vary according to the persons' evaluation of the event's importance and consequences. In particular, FBMs were investigated in persons who were expected to attribute different degrees of importance/consequentiality to the event as a function of two factors: (1) religious involvement, (2) nationality (Polish, Italian, Swiss). The comparison was made with respect to the following hypothesized determinants of FBMs: surprise, emotional reaction, rehearsal, event memory and especially the attitudes towards the Pope and the appraisal of the importance and the consequences of his death. Structural equation modelling indicates that importance/consequentiality is a fundamental determinant of FBM and is influenced by antecedent personal and social characteristics reflected in the person's attitudes. Moreover, memory consistency seems to be both directly influenced by emotional intensity and indirectly through rehearsal, whereas surprise seems not a critical determinant of FBM. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Response bias in judging deceptive movements

Two not mutually exclusive explanations, perceptual and motor expertise, account for the finding that experts outperform novices in recognizing deceptive actions from bodily (kinematic) cues. The aim of the present study was twofold: First, we sought to examine the impact of motor and perceptual expertise on distinguishing deceptive and non-deceptive actions. Second, we tested the hypothesis that differences in perceptual judgments on deceptive movements vs. non-deceptive movements do not necessarily need to be caused by either perceptual or motor expertise differences, but can also be a result of response bias. Skilled handball players (field players and goalkeepers) and novices had to detect whether a penalty-taker shot or faked a shot at the goal. Signal detection theory (SDT) analysis revealed that skilled handball players outperformed novices in discriminating shots from fakes. No differences in perceptual sensitivity were found between the goalkeepers and the field players. However, SDT analysis showed that goalkeepers were significantly biased to judge movements as deceptive, while neither field players nor novices showed this response bias.     

Pedestrians at the kerb – Recognising the action intentions of humans

Aim of the presented research is the development of a cognitive driver assistance system, which can capture the traffic situation, analyse it, and warn the driver in case a pedestrian is a potential hazard. Hence parameters have to be identified by which the intention of the pedestrian can be unambiguously predicted. Two approaches to the topic are addressed. First, the pedestrian’s perspective was taken. The question was how crossing decisions were influenced by the parameters distance and velocity of the car. Following a signal, participants had to choose to cross the road in front of or behind the car. The data analysis showed that pedestrians relied on the distance of the car rather than the time to collision for their decision. In the second experiment the observer’s perspective raised the question what parameters humans use to predict pedestrians’ intentions. Videos of natural traffic scenes were presented. Participants had to make statements about whether the shown pedestrian would cross the street during the next moment. In a baseline and four experimental conditions, certain information was masked in the videos. Just the condition in which only the trajectory information of the pedestrian was available produced a higher error rate.     

Comparison of ability tests administered online and in the laboratory

As the Internet, the global medium of the future, expands exponentially, it has become increasingly relevant to scientific research. So far, there is but little evidence that online testing is suitable for collecting ability-test data. The present article aims to shed light on some aspects of the issue by comparing the performance in a computer-administered ability test of one lab sample and two online samples using a quasi-experimental design. Mean score differences appeared, but can be explained by differences in age and education, and were not due to the test setting (online vs. laboratory). Also, there were no structural differences between the achievement scores of both samples. Some limitations on generalizability are discussed.     

Can low-cost motion-tracking systems substitute a Polhemus system when researching social motor coordination in children?

Functionally stable and robust interpersonal motor coordination has been found to play an integral role in the effectiveness of social interactions. However, the motion-tracking equipment required to record and objectively measure the dynamic limb and body movements during social interaction has been very costly, cumbersome, and impractical within a non-clinical or non-laboratory setting. Here we examined whether three low-cost motion-tracking options (Microsoft Kinect skeletal tracking of either one limb or whole body and a video-based pixel change method) can be employed to investigate social motor coordination. Of particular interest was the degree to which these low-cost methods of motion tracking could be used to capture and index the coordination dynamics that occurred between a child and an experimenter for three simple social motor coordination tasks in comparison to a more expensive, laboratory-grade motion-tracking system (i.e., a Polhemus Latus system). Overall, the results demonstrated that these low-cost systems cannot substitute the Polhemus system in some tasks. However, the lower-cost Microsoft Kinect skeletal tracking and video pixel change methods were successfully able to index differences in social motor coordination in tasks that involved larger-scale, naturalistic whole body movements, which can be cumbersome and expensive to record with a Polhemus. However, we found the Kinect to be particularly vulnerable to occlusion and the pixel change method to movements that cross the video frame midline. Therefore, particular care needs to be taken in choosing the motion-tracking system that is best suited for the particular research.