Eye movements reflect and shape strategies in fraction comparison

The comparison of fractions is a difficult task that can often be facilitated by separately comparing components (numerators and denominators) of the fractions—that is, by applying so-called component-based strategies. The usefulness of such strategies depends on the type of fraction pair to be compared. We investigated the temporal organization and the flexibility of strategy deployment in fraction comparison by evaluating sequences of eye movements in 20 young adults. We found that component-based strategies could account for the response times and the overall number of fixations observed for the different fraction pairs. The analysis of eye movement sequences showed that the initial eye movements in a trial were characterized by stereotypical scanning patterns indicative of an exploratory phase that served to establish the kind of fraction pair presented. Eye movements that followed this phase adapted to the particular type of fraction pair and indicated the deployment of specific comparison strategies. These results demonstrate that participants employ eye movements systematically to support strategy use in fraction comparison. Participants showed a remarkable flexibility to adapt to the most efficient strategy on a trial-by-trial basis. Our results confirm the value of eye movement measurements in the exploration of strategic adaptation in complex tasks.     

Basic psychological needs and work motivation: A longitudinal test of directionality

Most work-related studies of self-determination theory (SDT) have focused either on satisfaction of basic psychological needs or on types of work motivation when studying motivational processes at work. The few studies that have considered both mechanisms have usually assumed that satisfaction or frustration of basic psychological needs is a prerequisite of different types of work motivation. Nevertheless, the directionality of this relation has not been explicitly tested in previous studies of the workplace. The current study explored the relations among managerial need support, basic psychological need satisfaction at work, and work motivation. It tested competing sets of hypotheses regarding the directionality of these three core constructs within SDT’s model of work motivation. A longitudinal analysis suggested that managerial need support was positively directly related to basic psychological need satisfaction but not directly related to work motivation. Further, results indicated that basic psychological need satisfaction was related to work motivation over time and not the other way around. In addition, it was found an indirect relation between in managerial need support and in work motivation through in basic psychological need satisfaction. These findings have important implications for future SDT research testing process models in the workplace.     

Associations Between Dopamine D2 Receptor (<Emphasis Type="Italic">DRD2</Emphasis>) Gene,Maternal Positive Parenting and Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms from Early to Mid-Adolescence

Using data from the Longitudinal Study of Chinese Children and Adolescents (LSCCA), this study is the first to examine the roles of the dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) gene polymorphisms (i.e., TaqIA and A241G) and maternal positive parenting at ages 10 and 11 years in the trajectories of depressive symptoms from early to mid-adolescence (ages 11 to 16 years). In a sample of 1090 Chinese adolescents (50% girls), three trajectories of depressive symptoms were identified: (i) low-stable (36.1%), (ii) moderate-increasing (44.5%), and (iii) high-increasing (19.4%). A241G AA homozygotes and youth exposed to lower levels of maternal positive parenting were both at increased odds to follow the high-increasing vs. low-stable trajectory. Moreover, the A241G polymorphism interacted with maternal positive parenting to distinguish the moderate-increasing trajectory from the high-increasing and the low-stable trajectories. For A241G G-allele carriers, but not AA homozygotes, exposure to high quality of maternal parenting decreased the odds to follow the high-increasing vs. moderate-increasing trajectory of depressive symptoms. For AA homozygotes, but not G-allele carriers, high quality of maternal parenting increased the odds to follow the low-stable vs. moderate-increasing trajectory. The DRD2 TaqIA polymorphism had neither a direct nor an interactive effect with maternal positive parenting on trajectory membership. The current findings highlight the importance of investigating gene-by-environment interactions (G × E) in trajectories of depressive symptoms over adolescence, and support a developmental versus static nature of G × E effects.     

A review and empirical comparison of motivation scoring methods: An application to self-determination theory

Motivation and Emotion - Self-determination Theory differentiates various types of motivation, each of which have different consequences for well-being and behavior. Despite broad agreement...     

Learning artificial grammars: No evidence for the acquisition of rules

Two experiments investigated whether there is evidence for acquisition of rules in implicit artificial grammar learning (AGL). Two different methods were used in meeting this goal, multiple regression analysis and analysis of receiver-operating characteristics (ROCs). By means of multiple regression analysis, several types of knowledge were identified that were used in judgments of grammaticality, for example, about single letters and about larger stimulus fragments. There was no evidence for the contribution of rule knowledge. The ROCs were in accord with a similarity-based account of AGL and thus did not support the notion that rule knowledge is acquired in AGL either. Simulations with a connectionist model corroborated the conclusion that the results were in accord with a similarity-based, associative account.     

Self-Report Measures of Parental Self-Efficacy: A Systematic Review of the Current Literature

Parenting self-efficacy (PSE) describes a parent’s belief in their ability to perform the parenting role successfully. Higher levels of PSE have consistently been shown to be correlated with a wide range of parenting and child outcomes. Consequently, many parenting interventions aim to improve PSE. PSE measurement has typically been via self-report measures. However, the wide range of available measures has resulted in their limited use, inconsistent terminology and ambiguous theoretical grounding. The purpose of this systematic review was to examine the psychometric and administrative qualities of the available PSE measures and offer clarity to the terminology and the theory underpinning their use so that the future use of PSE measures can be appropriate. Eleven electronic databases were searched. Articles were included if they introduced a new measure or were psychometric evaluations of an available measure of PSE for parents of children (from infancy until 18 years of age). Thirty-four measures were identified and their psychometric and administrative qualities were examined. Overall, the quality of the available measures was varied. Whilst this review makes recommendations regarding PSE measures for parents of infants through to adolescents, some caution should be applied when choosing the most appropriate measure. The theoretical grounding of each measure was clarified so that appropriate measures can be chosen under the relevant circumstances. The implications of refinement of the available measures are discussed and further research into improving PSE measurement is identified.     

Connectionist models of artificial grammar learning: what type of knowledge is acquired?

Two experiments are presented that test the predictions of two associative learning models of Artificial Grammar Learning. The two models are the simple recurrent network (SRN) and the competitive chunking (CC) model. The two experiments investigate acquisition of different types of knowledge in this task: knowledge of frequency and novelty of stimulus fragments (Experiment 1) and knowledge of letter positions, of small fragments, and of large fragments up to entire strings (Experiment 2). The results show that participants acquired all types of knowledge. Simulation studies demonstrate that the CC model explains the acquisition of all types of fragment knowledge but fails to account for the acquisition of positional knowledge. The SRN model, by contrast, accounts for the entire pattern of results found in the two experiments.

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Interstitial deletion on chromosome 5q33.3q35.1 in a 6-year-old girl -- neuropsychological findings and follow-up in an extremely rare chromosomal aberration.

Interstitial deletion on chromosome 5q33.3q35.1 is an extremely rare chromosomal aberration for which a characteristic syndrome could not yet be delineated. In most patients with 5q deletions severe mental retardation is described. Recently, Spranger et al. (2000) described the case of a 4-year-old girl with a de novo deletion on 5q33.3q35.1 presenting only with mild psychomotor delay, minor facial anomalies, and seizures. The patient was admitted for outpatient neuropsychological assessment when she was 6.2 years old. Neurocognitive tests revealed an overall developmental delay of about 32 months and an intelligence score in the range of mild mental retardation. Her cognitive phenotype was characterized by a considerable visual-spatial deficit in the form of disorganized drawings or block designs indicating a profound lack of cohesion and overall global organization (decay of gestalt). The patient's behavioral phenotype was dominated by a distinct disinhibition syndrome demonstrating severe hyperactivity, utilization behavior, and aggressive behavior.