The use of source memory to identify one's own episodic confusion errors

In 4 category cued recall experiments, participants falsely recalled nonlist common members, a semantic confusion error. Errors were more likely if critical nonlist words were presented on an incidental task, causing source memory failures called episodic confusion errors. Participants could better identify the source of falsely recalled words if they had deeply processed the words on the incidental task. For deep but not shallow processing, participants could reliably include or exclude incidentally shown category members in recall. The illusion that critical items actually appeared on categorized lists was diminished but not eradicated when participants identified episodic confusion errors post hoc among their own recalled responses; participants often believed that critical items had been on both the incidental task and the study list. Improved source monitoring can potentially mitigate episodic (but not semantic) confusion errors.     

Test of a potential link between analytic and nonanalytic category learning and automatic, effortful processing

The link between automatic and effortful processing and nonanalytic and analytic category learning was evaluated in a sample of 29 college undergraduates using declarative memory, semantic category search, and pseudoword categorization tasks. Automatic and effortful processing measures were hypothesized to be associated with nonanalytic and analytic categorization, respectively. Results suggested that contrary to prediction strong criterion-attribute (analytic) responding on the pseudoword categorization task was associated with strong automatic, implicit memory encoding of frequency-of-occurrence information. Data are discussed in terms of the possibility that criterion-attribute category knowledge, once established, may be expressed with few attentional resources. The data indicate that attention resource requirements, even for the same stimuli and task, vary depending on the category rule system utilized. Also, the automaticity emerging from familiarity with analytic category exemplars is very different from the automaticity arising from extensive practice on a semantic category search task. The data do not support any simple mapping of analytic and nonanalytic forms of category learning onto the automatic and effortful processing dichotomy and challenge simple models of brain asymmetries for such procedures.     

Distinguishing narcissism and hostility: similarities and differences in interpersonal circumplex and five-factor correlates

Narcissism and hostility are both characterized by dysfunctional social interactions, including tendencies to perceive slights, experience anger, and behave aggressively. The aim of this study was to examine the similarities and differences of narcissism and hostility, using 2 conceptual tools-the interpersonal circumplex and the Five-factor model. In a sample of 292 undergraduate men and women, composite measures of hostility (i.e., Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire [Buss & Perry, 1992] and Cook-Medley Hostility [Cook & Medley, 1954] total scores) were inversely correlated with affiliation and unrelated to dominance. In contrast, composite narcissism scores (i.e., Narcissistic Personality Inventory) were positively correlated with dominance and inversely correlated with affiliation. Examination of components of these traits revealed additional similarities and differences, as did associations with other dimensions of the Five-factor model. These findings suggest that the traits of narcissism and hostility are distinguishable by their interpersonal referents, as are their components.     

Children's perceptions of unfair reward and punishment.

Being able to judge the fairness of a personal encounter and having an appreciation of the associated feelings are important components of prosocial development. This study explored a common feature of everyday experience: unfair reward and unfair punishment. Scenarios depicting 4 possible variants of unfairness were read to children aged 9 to 11 years, who then made judgments regarding the degree of unfairness and the nature and strength of the feelings experienced by the characters. Our hypothesis that children with classroom conduct problems would judge the non-receipt of a deserved reward as worse than the receipt of an undeserved punishment was not confirmed. This differentiation, however, did prove to be characteristic of boys in general, but not girls. Being asked to think of unfair things that had actually happened did not appear to influence the children's responses to hypothetical unfair situations, but did reveal that children experience and remember a variety of unfair events in everyday family contexts. This study provides evidence that children actively monitor the receipt of social reward and punishment according to their perception of fairness.     

The Early Marital Roots of Conjugal Distress and Divorce

This article summarizes research that challenges conventional wisdom about the early roots of marital distress and divorce. We abstract results from a 13-year study that focused on the extent to which long-term marital satisfaction and stability could be forecast from newlywed and early marital data. We explore the usefulness of three models emergent distress, enduring dynamics, and disillusionment designed to explain why some marriages thrive and others fail. The dominant paradigm, the emergent-distress model, sees newlyweds as homogeneously blissful and posits that distress develops as disagreements and negativity escalate, ultimately leading some couples to divorce. The results we summarize run counter to this model and suggest instead that (a) newlyweds differ considerably in the intensity of both their romance and the negativity of their behavior toward one another and, for those who remain married, these early dynamics persist over time; and (b) for couples who divorce, romance seems to deteriorate differently depending on how long the marriage lasts. Soon after their wedding, "early exiters" seem to lose hope of improving an unpromising relationship; "delayed-action divorcers" begin marriage on a particularly high note, yet quickly show signs of disillusionment. These delayed-action divorcers reluctantly give up on the marriage long after the romance has faded.     

Sexual and aggressive play fighting of sibling Richardson’s ground squirrels

Play fighting in many species of squirrels can involve sexual play and aggressive play, both of which can lead to wrestling which appears superficially similar. Such convergence can make scoring of the relative frequencies of these two types of play difficult and can lead to the mistaken conclusion that they grade into one another. In this study, both staged laboratory encounters between sibling pairs and spontaneous encounters between siblings in free‐living litters of Richardson’s ground squirrels (Spermophilus richardsonii) were videotaped. Frame‐by‐frame analyses using the Eshkol‐Wachman Movement Notation were employed to record the correlated movements of attack and defense by the partners and to reveal the body areas targeted during each play bout. Whereas sexual play was organized around access to the rump, aggressive play was organized around the shoulders. Although in most cases the defender’s tactics blocked access to the respective target, when contact did occur, it involved mounting in sexual play and nosing or biting in aggressive play. Eighty‐six percent of play fights could be unambiguously categorized as either sexual or aggressive play. Of these, the majority (?80%) involved sexual play. The sex of the participants did not affect the frequency of aggressive play, but in sexual play, males initiated more attacks than females. Once initiated, each form of play fighting remained distinct—if a bout began as sexual play, it would end as sexual play. Furthermore, a counterattack following sexual play was significantly more likely to be sexual than aggressive, and vice versa for counterattacks following aggressive play. Therefore, all the evidence suggested that the two forms of play fighting were not intermixed in Richardson’s ground squirrels. Aggr. Behav. 27:323–337, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Lesions in the Central Nucleus of the Amygdala: Discriminative Avoidance Learning, Discriminative Approach Learning, and Cingulothalamic Training-Induced Neuronal Activity

The amygdala is critically involved in discriminative avoidance learning. Large lesions of the amygdala block discriminative avoidance learning and abolish cingulothalamic training-induced neuronal activity. These results indicated that amygdalar processing is critical for cingulothalamic plasticity. The larger lesions did not allow differentiation of the specific functioning of various amygdalar nuclei. Anatomical analysis showed that damage in the central (CE) nucleus of the amygdala was correlated with the severity of the behavioral deficit. The present study was carried out to determine whether smaller lesions, centered in the CE nucleus, would impair discriminative avoidance learning and block cingulothalamic plasticity. In addition, the possible role of the CE nucleus in appetitively motivated discriminative approach learning was examined for the first time. New Zealand White rabbits with CE nuclear lesions were first trained in the discriminative approach task. After attaining asymptotic performance, discriminative avoidance training sessions were alternated with continuing approach training sessions, one session each day. The rabbits with lesions were severely impaired in avoidance learning but showed no impairment of approach learning. Surprisingly, the attenuating effects of the lesions on cingulothalamic training-induced neuronal activity were more prevalent during approach learning than during avoidance learning. These results indicated that avoidance learning can be impaired by lesions centered in the CE nucleus that leave cingulothalamic plasticity largely intact and that the CE nucleus is involved in extra-cingulothalamic learning processes.     

Stimulus fading in the treatment of adipsia

Stimulus fading procedures have repeatedly been demonstrated as effective in shaping a wide variety of new behaviors. Borrowing from this body of research, the behavioral treatment of feeding disorders presents a new area of application for stimulus fading. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the efficacy of stimulus fading in the treatment of adipsia. Two children who ate solids, but refused all liquids, were participants in the study. Results showed that a five step fading procedure starting with a spoon and thickened liquids, and ending with a cut‐out‐cup, was successful in establishing cup drinking skills for both children. Results of the study suggest that stimulus fading can facilitate feeding skill acquisition. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.