Spacing enhances the learning of natural concepts: an investigation of mechanisms,metacognition, and aging

In two experiments, we examined spacing effects on the learning of bird families and metacognitive assessments of such learning. Results revealed that spacing enhanced learning beyond massed study. These effects were increased by presenting birds in pairs so as to highlight differences among families during study (Experiment 1). Self-allocated study time provided evidence that more attention was paid during spaced than during massed study and resulted in no age differences in learning (Experiment 2). Metacognitive measures revealed sensitivity to the processing advantage of spaced study and to differences in classification difficulty across categories. No difference occurred in monitoring accuracy for young versus older adults. These findings provide evidence for discrimination- and attention-based accounts of the spacing effect in natural concept learning.     

Checking for Systematic Value Preferences Using the Method of Triads

Value preferences have long been central to research in political science and psychology. Despite their well‐established theoretical importance, however, their measurement is still an open question. Early research on values relied heavily on ranking instruments for data collection, but more recent work calls this measurement technique into question. Specifically, it is argued that traditional ranking instruments are (1) too long, (2) too complex, and (3) may force respondents to make ad hoc differentiations between values of similar importance, behind which there is no systematic preference. As a result, the reliability of the measure is called into question, and measurement error remains a concern. In this article, we discuss the method of triads—a technique used to gather rankings data that affords the researcher the opportunity to assess the extent to which random error affects preference rankings. Using the method of triads to collect preference data on five values central to American political culture, we find that Americans' value preferences are clearly structured and driven by systematic preferences, even when psychological theory suggests they may not. We also compare the predictive validity of the data collected with the method of triads against that of the data collected with traditional importance ratings. We show that models of ideology, party identification, presidential approval, and vote‐choice fit to “triads” data explain more variance than models fit to ratings data.     

Playing Princess: Preschool Girls’ Interpretations of Gender Stereotypes in Disney Princess Media

Through their 11 official princesses, Disney circulates powerful and consistent messages regarding gender norms and roles. Inspired by the princesses’ ubiquity in the lives of young girls, we examined how preschool girls interpreted gender-role stereotypes in Disney Princess media both through their pretend play behaviors and their discussions of the princesses. Participants included 31 3- to 5-year-old girls who represented an array of racial/ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds and who came from four classes at two preschools in rural New England. Data collected from a variety of methods, including pretend play observations, semi-structured interviews, and parent questionnaires revealed participants’ stereotypical beliefs about the princesses and their adherence to gendered behaviors when enacting the princesses. Thematic analyses identified four themes that defined the participants’ princess play: beauty, focus on clothing and accessories, princess body movements, and exclusion of boys. The implications of gendered princess play are discussed in relation to the social cognitive theory of gender development and differentiation. Based on the outcomes of our study, parents and educators might reconsider the type and amount of media they provide their children, acknowledging the effects of these images on their children’s behaviors and understandings of gender.     

Multinomial models reveal deficits of two distinct controlled retrieval processes in aging and very mild Alzheimer disease

Dual-process models of episodic retrieval reveal consistent deficits of controlled recollection in aging and Alzheimer disease (AD). In contrast, automatic familiarity is relatively spared. We extend standard dual-process models by showing the importance of a third capture process. Capture produces a failure to attempt recollection, which might reflect a distinct error from an inability to recollect when attempted (Jacoby et al. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 134(2), 131–148, 2005a). We used multinomial process tree (MPT) modeling to estimate controlled recollection and capture processes, as well as automatic retrieval processes, in a large group of middle-aged to older adults who were cognitively normal (N = 519) or diagnosed with the earliest detectable stage of AD (N = 107). Participants incidentally encoded word pairs (e.g., knee bone). At retrieval, participants completed cued word fragments (e.g., knee b_n_) with primes that were congruent (e.g., bone), incongruent (e.g., bend), or neutral (i.e., &&&) to the target (e.g., bone). MPT models estimated retrieval processes both at the group and the individual levels. A capture parameter was necessary to fit MPT models to the observed data, suggesting that dual-process models of this task can be contaminated by a capture process. In both group- and individual-level analyses, aging and very mild AD were associated with increased susceptibility to capture, decreased recollection, and no differences in automatic influences. These results suggest that it is important to consider two distinct modes of attentional control when modeling retrieval processes. Both forms of control (recollection and avoiding capture) are particularly sensitive to cognitive decline in aging and early-stage AD.     

Medical Psychology in Israel

Medical Psychology in Israel has been recently recognized as a separate specialty. Therefore, the thoughts and efforts of our professional community are mainly directed toward defining the concept of medical psychology and developing the field and the profession. In this article I discuss some of these issues and describe present achievements and future prospects.     

The process-dissociation approach two decades later: Convergence, boundary conditions, and new directions

The process-dissociation procedure was developed to separate the controlled and automatic contributions of memory. It has spawned the development of a host of new measurement approaches and has been applied across a broad range of fields in the behavioral sciences, ranging from studies of memory and perception to neuroscience and social psychology. Although it has not been without its shortcomings or critics, its growing influence attests to its utility. In the present article, we briefly review the factors motivating its development, describe some of the early applications of the general method, and review the literature examining its underlying assumptions and boundary conditions. We then highlight some of the specific issues that the methods have been applied to and discuss some of the more recent applications of the procedure, along with future directions.     

Quantifying phase correction in sensorimotor synchronization: empirical comparison of three paradigms

Tapping in synchrony with a metronome requires phase error correction, a process often described by a single-parameter autoregressive model. The parameter (α) is a measure of sensorimotor coupling strength. This study compares α estimates obtained from three experimental paradigms: synchronization with (1) a perfectly regular metronome (RM), (2) a perturbed metronome containing phase shifts (PS), and (3) an "adaptively timed" metronome (AT). Musically trained participants performed in each paradigm at four tempi, with baseline interval durations ranging from 400 to 1300 ms. Two estimation methods were applied to each data set. Results showed that all α estimates increased with interval duration. However, the PS paradigm yielded much larger α values than did the AT paradigm, with those from the RM paradigm falling in between. Positional analysis of the PS data revealed that α increased immediately following a phase shift and then decreased sharply. Unexpectedly, all PS α estimates were uncorrelated with the RM and AT estimates, which were strongly correlated. These results suggest that abruptly perturbed sequences engage a different mechanism of phase correction than do regular or continuously modulated sequences.