The contents of visual memory are only partly under volitional control

When we look around within a visual scene, is visual information automatically placed in visual memory during each saccade, or can we control which information is retained and which is excluded? We examined this question in five experiments by requiring participants to remember sequentially presented visual shapes or faces—some of which were marked for encoding (targets) and others that were supposed to be ignored (distractors)—over a 1-sec delay. The results show that distractors were retained in visual memory, regardless of stimulus category, suggesting that it is a general phenomenon. Whether or not participants were allowed to prepare for a target or distractor did not modulate distractor intrusion. When attention coupled with eye movements could be used to select targets, distractors were no longer encoded into memory. When eye movements were constrained, distractors once again intruded into memory. These findings suggest that top-down control processes are insufficient to filter the contents of visual memory.     

Sleep directly following learning benefits consolidation of spatial associative memory

The last decade has brought forth convincing evidence for a role of sleep in non-declarative memory. A similar function of sleep in episodic memory is supported by various correlational studies, but direct evidence is limited. Here we show that cued recall of face-location associations is significantly higher following a 12-h retention interval containing sleep than following an equally long period of waking. Furthermore, retention is significantly higher over a 24-h sleep-wake interval than over an equally long wake-sleep interval. This difference occurs because retention during sleep was significantly better when sleep followed learning directly, rather than after a day of waking. These data demonstrate a beneficial effect of sleep on memory that cannot be explained solely as a consequence of reduced interference. Rather, our findings suggest a competitive consolidation process, in which the fate of a memory depends, at least in part, on its relative stability at sleep onset: Strong memories tend to be preserved, while weaker memories erode still further. An important aspect of memory consolidation may thus result from the removal of irrelevant memory "debris."     

The medial temporal lobe and visual working memory: Comparisons across tasks, delays, and visual similarity

Whether the hippocampus and medial temporal lobe (MTL) play any important role in visual working memory is a relatively new and controversial research question. The primary goal of this study was to assess working memory for faces over very short delays in patients with MTL damage. Patients and matched controls were required to remember one face that was parametrically morphed to be more or less similar to a probe face, over either a 1- or an 8-sec delay. Memory was assessed using both forced choice and old-new recognition tasks. The results show that MTL damage impairs both speed and accuracy of visual working memory across tasks. We speculate that the hippocampus is generally necessary for memory encoding.     

Self‐Objectification and Lower Income Pregnant Women's Breastfeeding Attitudes1

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine self‐objectification as a correlate of pregnant women's concerns about public breastfeeding and the impact of breastfeeding on body shape and sexuality. Fifty‐two pregnant women enrolled in the Women, Infants, and Children Program responded to telephone questions regarding concerns about breastfeeding, attitudes toward breastfeeding, and self‐objectification. Women who scored higher on measures of self‐objectification reported more concern about the impact of breastfeeding on their bodies and sexuality and were less comfortable with the idea of breastfeeding in public than were women with lower self‐objectification scores. Self‐objectification was not associated with more negative attitudes toward breastfeeding or weaker intentions to breastfeed. Implications for the promotion of breastfeeding for low‐income women are discussed.     

What Does It Mean to Be Human? A Personal and Catholic Perspective

A philosopher-poet-theologian ponders the implications of the multimillion-year biogenetic process that produced Homo sapiens and is beginning to reveal itself ever more clearly as evolution of the mind and consciousness. As meaning trappers and makers, called to actualize the divine image imprinted upon us, we are now facing biological and cultural evolution with deliberate human input as well as the evolution of evolution. As communicating animals that are becoming ever more aware of our adaptive behavior, we have the potential of affecting our own destiny by listening to the spirit within and nurturing the genes and memes that give rise to physical, intellectual, creative, and moral excellence. In the matrix of cyberspace we have the opportunity to heal the two-culture split, to reinvent ourselves, to incubate/weave the emergent religions of the future, and to create our multiple "Ways" appropriate to the dawning Age of Global Dialogue.     

Gender-Linked Differences in Everyday Memory Performance: Effort Makes the Difference

Previous research has found gender differences in everyday memory tasks such as remembering shopping lists or directions, and these findings can be attributed to increased motivation or memory skill resulting from the association of different tasks with masculine or feminine gender roles. To investigate the motivational explanation, the recall of an ambiguous shopping list, labeled as grocery or hardware, was examined under instructions that stated that either women or men are good at the task, or instructions that were neutral. The findings were not consistent with the skill explanation. There was a significant interaction between list label, participant gender, and instructions, which can be explained in terms of the increased or decreased motivation that might arise from particular combinations of label and instruction.     

Halfway to Heaven: Four Types of Fuzzy Fidelity in Europe

People who are neither very religious nor specifically nonreligious are generally understudied despite comprising on average half the national population in most European countries. From its size alone, we should expect this group to hold some of the clues, not only to how religious change takes place in Europe, but also why. Using the Religious and Moral Pluralism (RAMP) survey from 10 European countries, four subtypes of “fuzzy fidelity” were identified through cluster analysis. These included both “believing without belonging” and “belonging without believing.” Detailed analysis of each type show great national differences in the ways that religion is practiced and understood. A sizable minority of the Dutch population can be classified as “Believing without belonging,” whereas Scandinavians are much more likely to belong without believing. The diversity of the religious landscape within fuzzy fidelity highlights the methodological issues involved in using single‐scale measures for multidimensional phenomena.     

Activism Against Nuclear Weapons Build-up—Student Participation in the 1984 Primary Campaigns1

This study presents longitudinal data concerning factors that influence student participation in political campaigns for candidates opposed to nuclear weapons build-up. Participation in campaigns was stimulated by nervousness about the nuclear arms race and the possibility of nuclear war, a feeling of moral obligation to act to try to prevent nuclear war, and several additional factors. The factors that contributed to participation in political campaigns are quite different from the factors found previously to be associated with other types of activism against nuclear weapons build-up. These findings suggest varied strategies for recruiting people to participate in different types of activism.