Auditory speed tasks as potential candidates for the study of cognitive ageing

Speed of information processing is an important cognitive ability. It facilitates the efficient operation of higher order cognitive functions, such as reasoning, and is implicated in various models of cognitive decline. The present study considers the potential benefits of expanding the measurement of processing speed to include the auditory modality. It examines the reliability and factorial structure of a variety of auditory and visual speed tasks in a sample of N = 138 older adults aged between 51 and 82 years. Our findings demonstrate that auditory measures can be used to assess processing speed as indexed by existing widely used tests of this ability. Moreover, the inclusion of auditory tasks significantly increases the relationship between processing speed and general cognitive ability. This novel research provides strong evidence of the suitability of auditory speed tasks for the study of cognitive function in older people, and demonstrates the importance of expanding cognitive measurement to include alternate modalities.     

Belief and believing

Conclusion This essay has been somewhat programmatic in quality but that is not accidental. It has tried to identify some elements, historical and philosophical, that might provide a context within which an adequate discussion of the concept of belief and its recent diverse employment might be measured. Not very much has been solved, but perhaps some issues have become clearer.     

Usage of spatial scales for the categorization of faces, objects, and scenes

The role of spatial scales (or spatial frequencies) in the processing of faces, objects, and scenes has recently seen a surge of research activity. In this review, we will critically examine two main theories of scale usage. The fixed theory proposes that spatial scales are used in a fixed, perceptually determined order (coarse to fine). The flexible theory suggests instead that usage of spatial scales is flexible, depending on the requirements of visual information for the categorization task at hand. The implications of the theories are examined for face, object, and scene categorization, attention, perception, and representation.     

The discrimination of graphical elements

A model is proposed to account for how people discriminate quantities shown in pie charts and divided bar graphs (i.e. which proportion is larger, A or B?). The incremental estimation model assumes that an observer sequentially samples from the available perceptual features in a graph. The relative effectiveness of sampled perceptual features is represented by the spread of probability distributions, in the manner of signal detection theory. The model's predictions were tested in two experiments. Participants took longer with pies than divided bars and longer with non‐aligned than aligned proportions in Experiment 1. In Experiment 2, participants took longer with divided bars than pies when graphs were of unequal size. Generally, graphical formats producing longer response times incurred a greater time penalty when the difference between proportions was reduced. These results were in accordance with the model's predictions. Implications for graphical display design are discussed. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Profiling key purchase influencers: Those perceived as consumer savvy

The concept of consumer intelligence or consumer savvy is defined and the way in which this can be measured is examined with a view to determining if and how being perceived to be savvy affects decision‐making influence in a family setting in the UK. A sample of 524 matched pairs (mother and her child) drawn from the TNS postal panel responded to a questionnaire that determined the mother's perception of how savvy her child is with regard to shopping in general and with regard to two product categories (casual clothes for the child and a summer holiday). The child's reported influence on decision making in these categories as well as their money management is also explored. The children perceived to be more savvy were female and older. Mothers in lower socio‐economic groups were also more likely to perceive their children as ‘savvy’. The more savvy children were more involved in the purchase decision process. Implications and future research avenues are presented. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Facial reactions reveal that slim is good but fat is not bad: Implicit and explicit measures of body‐size bias

Facial electromyography (EMG) was used to gauge emotional responding towards images of slim and overweight individuals, and findings were compared with data from a series of alternative measures including two implicit attitudinal procedures, the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) and the Implicit Association Test (IAT), and explicit measures of anti‐fat prejudice and discriminatory behavior. Images of slim individuals elicited EMG responses consistent with more positive affect. Data from both the IRAP and IAT indicated higher levels of bias than were revealed on the explicit measures, and the IRAP also corroborated the EMG pattern by indicating responses consistent with pro‐slim rather than anti‐fat bias. The IRAP was moderately correlated with both EMG and the IAT and was the only measure to predict behavioral intentions. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Does length or neighborhood size cause the word length effect?

Jalbert, Neath, Bireta, and Surprenant (2011) suggested that past demonstrations of the word length effect, the finding that words with fewer syllables are recalled better than words with more syllables, included a confound: The short words had more orthographic neighbors than the long words. The experiments reported here test two predictions that would follow if neighborhood size is a more important factor than word length. In Experiment 1, we found that concurrent articulation removed the effect of neighborhood size, just as it removes the effect of word length. Experiment 2 demonstrated that this pattern is also found with nonwords. For Experiment 3, we factorially manipulated length and neighborhood size, and found only effects of the latter. These results are problematic for any theory of memory that includes decay offset by rehearsal, but they are consistent with accounts that include a redintegrative stage that is susceptible to disruption by noise. The results also confirm the importance of lexical and linguistic factors on memory tasks thought to tap short-term memory.     

Marital status and reproduction: Associations with childhood intelligence and adult social class in the Aberdeen children of the 1950s study

Childhood intelligence (age 11) and occupational social status at midlife (age 46 to 51) was associated with marital status and reproduction in a sample from the Aberdeen Children of the 1950s cohort study (N = 9614).Male and female divorcees had lower childhood intelligence test scores than their married counterparts, but no meaningful difference was found between ever- and never-married individuals. Lower occupational social status increased the odds of being never-married, divorced, separated or widowed compared to being married by 53% to 26% in men (N = 2716) but not in women (N = 2920). Higher intelligence scores were associated with being married rather than divorced at midlife with odds ratios (OR) of 0.86 (Confidence Interval of 95% of 0.76 to 0.99) in men, and 0.87 (0.77 to 0.98) in women.In men, lower intelligence predicted having offspring (0.69; 0.59 to 0.81), while in women, higher occupational status was associated with lower odds of having children (0.66; 0.55 to 0.76). An interaction term showed that high intelligence women remained childless in the top occupational classes but, in the lower social groups, mothers were more intelligent than their childless peers. Intelligence or occupational status were not associated with the number of offspring in both sexes.