Relationship between working memory capacity and contingent involuntary orienting

Individual differences in working memory capacity are related to the ability to control attention; where less working memory capacity is associated with less attentional control. A well-known demonstration of attentional control is contingent involuntary orienting (Folk, Remington, & Johnston, 1992), which is the finding that visuospatial attention is captured by a salient peripheral cue, but only if the cue is featurally similar to the target of search and not if the cue is featurally dissimilar. This control of attention and ability to resist shifting attention towards an irrelevant visual cue is believed to be moderated by attentional settings for target-specific features. This study establishes that working memory capacity is related to contingent involuntary orienting of attention. Lower working memory capacity was associated with larger stimulus-driven cueing effects at short cue-to-target onset asynchronies, than at longer asynchronies, suggesting working memory capacity was associated with the ability to control covert orienting of attention at early processing stages.     

Thinking meta-theoretically about the role of internalization in the development of body dissatisfaction and body change behaviors

Internalization of societal standards of physical attractiveness (i.e., internalization of the thin ideal for women and internalization of the mesomorphic ideal for men) is a widely studied and robust risk factor for body dissatisfaction and maladaptive body change behaviors. Substantial empirical research supports internalization as both a mediator and a moderator of the relation between societal influences and body dissatisfaction. In this paper, a primer on mediation and moderation is followed by a review of literature and discussion of the extent to which internalization can theoretically fulfill the roles of both mediation and moderation. The literature review revealed a stark contrast in research design (experimental versus non-experimental design) when alternate conceptualizations of internalization are adopted. A meta-theoretical, moderated mediation model is presented. This model integrates previous research and can inform future empirical and clinical endeavors.     

The European Early Promotion Project: A new primary health care service to promote children's mental health

The number of children in Europe with significant psychologic and social problems is large and increasing. This article describes an innovative crosscultural method of working with families to promote the psychosocial well being of children and prevent the development of psychologic and social problems. A study designed to evaluate the effects of the service is also presented. Primary health care workers in five European countries have been trained to conduct promotional interviews with all prospective mothers in their area one month before and one month after birth. They have also been taught to work with mothers identified as in need of support as a parent by using a specific counselling model to try to prevent the onset of child mental health difficulties. Effects of the intervention on children's psychologic development and family adaptation are being evaluated at two years in comparison with matched groups not receiving the intervention. ©2002 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.     

The Continuity Strategy,Human Behavior,and Behavior Analysis

The Psychological Record - In behavior analysis, continuity refers to the assumption of a similarity of behavioral principles or processes between nonhumans and humans, which is often considered to...     

Spatial memory of four species of parus: Performance in an open-field analogue of a radial maze

The performance of four species of tit (marsh tit, Parus palustris; coal tit, P. ater; blue tit, P. caeruleus; and great tit, P. major) and one finch (greenfinch, Carduelis choris) was compared in an open field analogue of the radial maze. There were no differences between the tit species in either acquisition or asymptotic performance. The greenfinch showed less improvement with experience than the tits. When the retention interval between forced choice of four goal boxes and free choice of all eight was varied between 30 sec and 24 hr, performance declined with increasing interval. After 24 hr some individuals still performed above chance, and the food-storing tits combined (marsh and coal tit) were above chance, whilst the non-storers (blue and great tits) were not (this was primarily due to the poor performance of great tits). The results are discussed in relation to the hypothesis that food-storing tits have a specialized spatial memory.