The relationship between WAIS-R abilities and speed of processing in a word identification task

Matched to the proportions found in the U.K. census data for a range of demographic variables (age, sex, and socioeconomic status) 123 participants were tested on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) and a test of the minimum presentation time required to identify tachistoscopically presented words. The correlations between the sum of the scaled scores for Full, Verbal, and Performance subtests and the log of the identification measures were -0.40, -0.22, and -0.51, respectively. These results are in line with those observed between the WAIS-R measures and standard visual inspection time (IT). Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that a three-factor model of intelligence with Verbal, Performance, and Attention/Concentration factors, and with the identification threshold loaded on the Performance factor alone, represented a better fit to the data than either a single general factor model or a two-factor model with Verbal and Performance factors. These results are in line with findings in the IT literature (Deary, 1993) that speed of information processing is significantly related to performance IQ but not to verbal IQ.     

Cognitive Developmental Theory and Spiritual Development

Traditional conceptions of cognitive development have failed to account for changes in adult cognition as well as more subjective and intuitive features of human experience. This paper reviews recent theories and research in cognitive development and spirituality with the aim of providing connections between the two domains. Neo-Piagetian and postformal theories of cognitive development suggest that advances in cognition are domain-specific, dependent on individual experience, and can occur at any point in the lifespan. However, theories of spiritual development have not adequately addressed these points. Thus, a novel account of spiritual development is presented that addresses these features with respect to individuals' changing conceptions of their relation to an External Power.     

The influence of preferred coping style and cognitive strategy on laboratory-induced pain.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of matching an individual's coping style (low, mixed, or high monitoring) to an appropriate cognitive strategy (distraction or sensation monitoring) to improve pain management. DESIGN: This study used a split-plot factorial design in a laboratory setting. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Main outcomes were pain threshold, pain tolerance, pain intensity, pain affect, and anxiety. RESULTS: The results of the 2 x 3 x 3 (Experimental Condition x Coping Style x Trial) analysis of variance (ANOVA) interaction were significant for pain threshold scores, F(4, 178) = 2.95, p < .01. Low monitors in the matched distraction trial had higher pain threshold scores than during baseline, t(15) = -2.68, p = .017, and the mismatched sensation monitoring trial, t(15) = 2.80, p = .014. High monitors' pain threshold scores were higher than baseline only during the matched sensation monitoring trial, t(27) = -2.75, p = .010. The results of the 2 x 3 x 3 ANOVA interaction were not significant for pain tolerance scores; however, when the mixed monitors were excluded, the 3-way interaction was significant, F(2, 124) = 3.48, p < .05. The results were nonsignificant for pain intensity, pain affect, and anxiety. CONCLUSION: Results demonstrate that matching coping style to the appropriate cognitive strategy is important for improving pain threshold and pain tolerance; however, matching did not reduce pain intensity, pain affect, or anxiety. Future studies should explore the explanation for differential responses of high and low monitors and should test these hypotheses in a clinical setting.     

NONCONTINGENT REINFORCEMENT AS TREATMENT FOR SEVERE PROBLEM BEHAVIOR: SOME PROCEDURAL VARIATIONS

Noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) as a treatment for problem behavior has typically included (a) continuous access to reinforcers at the onset of treatment and (b) extinction. We extended research on NCR by conducting a three-phase preliminary investigation of these components. In Phase 1, a functional analysis showed that the problem behavior of 3 participants with developmental disabilities was maintained by tangible positive reinforcement. In Phase 2, treatment started with the initial NCR interval based on the latency to the first problem behavior during baseline. In Phase 3, treatment consisted of NCR without extinction to determine whether extinction was an essential treatment component. Results showed that the initial NCR schedule based on latency (Phase 2) and NCR without extinction (Phase 3) were effective for reducing rates of problem behavior compared with baseline. Findings are discussed regarding the initial schedule of reinforcement and extinction as components of NCR.     

The effects of widowhood on physical and mental health, health behaviors, and health outcomes: The Women's Health Initiative.

This study examined whether widowhood was associated with physical and mental health, health behaviors, and health outcomes using a cross-sectional (N=72,247) and prospective (N=55,724) design in women aged 50-79 years participating in the Women's Health Initiative observational study (85.4% White). At baseline, married women reported better physical and mental health and generally better health behaviors than widowed women. Whereas women who remained married over the 3-year period showed stability in mental health, recent widows experienced marked impairments and longer term widows showed stability or slight improvements. Both groups of widows reported more unintentional weight loss over the 3-year period. Changes in physical health and health behaviors were inconsistent, with generally small effect sizes. Findings underscore the resilience of older women and their capacity to reestablish connections, but point to the need for services that strengthen social support among women who have difficulty during this transition.     

History matters: the preview benefit in search is not onset capture

Visual search for a conjunction target is made easier when distractor items are temporally segregated over time to produce two separate old and new groups (the new group containing the target item). The benefit of presenting half the distractors first is known as the preview effect. Recently, some researchers have argued that the preview effect occurs because new stimuli capture attention. This account was tested in the present study by using a novel "top-up" condition that exploits the fact that when previews appear only briefly before the search display, there is minimal preview benefit. We show that effects of a brief preview can be "topped up" by an earlier exposure of the same items, even when the preview disappears between its first and second presentations.This top-up effect demonstrates that the history of the old stimuli is important for the preview benefit, contrary to the account favoring onset capture. We discuss alternative accounts of how the preview benefit arises.