Understanding the central processing limit in consistent-mapping visual search tasks

Effects of load (i.e., the number of stimuli in the display) have been observed in multiple-frame studies using a consistent mapping of stimuli to responses (e.g., Fisher, 1982, 1984). In a series of four experiments, it is shown that these effects are not the consequence of differences across the high- and low-load conditions in either decision noise or peripheral masking. Additionally, it is shown that of two modes of limited capacity (a limited-channel and divided-capacity model) considered as possible explanations of load effects in tasks where subjects are required to locate a target, only one--the limited-channel model--is consistent with the results from all three location tasks. Finally, it is argued that the limited-channel model predicts not only the behavior observed in the four consistent-mapping experiments reported in this article but also the behavior observed in several related consistent-mapping tasks (Kleiss & Lane, 1986; Shiffrin & Gardner, 1972).     

General slowing alone cannot explain age-related search effects: reply to Cerella (1991)

Cerella (1991) has argued that the performance of older adults in the Fisk and Rogers (1991) study is a linear function of the performance of younger adults that is independent of task-specific cognitive requirements. We demonstrate that this is not the case. First, we show that the scatter plot analyses used by Cerella can hide the very task-specific age-related slowing they were designed to reveal. Second, we demonstrate that the percentage of variance explained by such analyses can be misleading. Third, we show that there are reliable differences across tasks in the parameters relating younger and older adults' performance. Finally, we argue that the general, task-independent proportionate slowing that Cerella suggested explains so much of the variance in age-related performance is actually an average slowing that is a function of a relatively small task-independent and a relatively large task-dependent factor.     

Association between paired subtests of auditory sequential memory administered to preschool children

Auditory sequential memory subtests of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence and the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities were administered individually to 20 normal preschool children. Poor performance on the McCarthy words/sentences subtest suggests retention difficulties associated with isolated words in the absence of linguistic context. Correlations of only moderate strength and large unexplained variance indicate poor predictability between subtests despite similarities in content and procedural details.     

Assessing the relationship of Type A beliefs to cardiovascular disease risk and psychosocial distress

Investigators have begun to take a multimodal approach to the assessment and treatment of psychosocial risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). For instance, cognitive responses have become the focus of contemporary research along with continued examination of overt Type A behaviors. Price (1982) has outlined a set of beliefs purportedly associated with Type A behavior and subsequent CVD risk. The current study examines the validity of this belief set as represented by a newly developed measure, the Type A Cognitive Questionnaire (TACQ). Subjects were 221 employed adults participating in a worksite CVD risk reduction program. They completed the TACQ as part of a pretreatment CVD risk screening protocol. As hypothesized, TACQ scores were significantly associated with Type A behavior, hostility, physiological mediators of CVD, and psychosocial distress. Discussion addresses continued refinement of the Type A belief construct.     

The wilderness therapy program: An empirical study of its effects with adolescents in an outpatient setting

The results of a study of the Wilderness Therapy Program involving 23 adolescents in outpatient counseling are presented. Data were collected before and after four trips on measures of locus of control, behavioral symptoms, self-efficacy, self-esteem, and a number of measures designed specifically for this program. Following a one and one-half to two week backpacking trip that included daily therapy, significant change was found for locus of control, self-esteem and symptom reduction. Positive changes were noted on the other measures as well. Future directions and social work implications were discussed.     

Effects of test anxiety, tests, and sleep on children''s performance

This study examined the interrelationship between children's test anxiety, sleep, and performance. The subjects, 239 sixth and seventh graders, responded to questionnaires examining sleep behavior and test anxiety on a day when they had a major exam in school, and on a day when they did not. They also completed a vigilance task on both days. The results showed that partial sleep loss (i.e., under 3 hr) did not adversely influence subjects' performance on the vigilance task or on the actual class exam. However, the results did reveal that test anxiety was negatively related to performance on the class exam.     

The inequivalence of self-reports of Type A behavior: Differential relationships of the Jenkins Activity Survey and the Framingham cale with affect,stress, and control

The Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS) and the Framingham Type A Scale (FTAS) have been found to have different psychological correlates. The JAS is typically unrelated to anxiety, while the FTAS is consistently correlated with trait anxiety. The present study of 200 male and female college students clarifies further the psychological heterogeneity of these measures. Enhanced motivation to control the environment has been suggested as an underlying psychological component of Type A behavior (Glass, 1977). Dysphoric emotions and the perception of more environmental stresses, on the other hand, are typical of neuroticism or negative affectivity (Watson & Clark, 1984). Although the results indicate that the JAS and FTAS are highly correlated, the JAS is more closely related to control motivation than is the FTAS. Further, compared to the JAS, the FTAS is more closely correlated with dysphoric emotions and perceived daily stresses. Thus, the results indicate that the JAS is closely correlated with core psychological components of the Type A pattern, while the FTAS has a relatively unique association with general emotional distress. Such differences may account for the fact that these measures are related to different disease end points.     

Evidence for extending the circumplex model of personality trait language to self-reported moods

We show that self-ratings by 141 undergraduates on 17 items form a circumplex that closely agrees with Conte and Plutchik's (1981) circumplex of personality traits. The order of items on a circumplex, generated by self-ratings following a here-and-now instruction set, scarcely differs from that of a circumplex representing the same ratings averaged over a 2-week period. The configuration becomes more elliptical as one moves from the state-like measures (here-and-now ratings) to pure trait measures (averages), but measurement bias is shown to be the most probable cause of the distortion. Allowing for the limitations of small samples of items and raters, the findings show that the circumplex model represents a valid theoretical construct and does not arise from measurement error or from an illusory implicit personality theory.     

Development and evaluation of an inventory to assess adult stutterers'' communication attitudes

The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate a procedure to assess adult stutterers' communication attitudes. To this end, the investigation was divided into two phases. In Phase I, an assessment inventory based on a tripartite attitudinal model was developed and administered to 107 adult stutterers. Reliability and validity of these procedures were examined, and the inventory was refined. In Phase II, reliability and validity of the attitude assessment procedures were reassessed, and the attitudes of 26 stutterers and 56 nonstutterers were examined. Assessment procedures involved a self-report inventory, which obtained ratings of items in 13 situational subscales representing different speaking situations. These situations were rated using four response scales reflecting behavioral, affective, and cognitive aspects of attitude. Situational responding, response scale scores, and response scale interrelationships are examined. Findings are discussed in terms of the potential value of the inventory and future investigations.     

Parent-child communication about sex and young adolescents' sexual knowledge and attitudes

Previous studies indicate that adolescents whose parents talk to them about sex tend to be less sexually active and more likely to use an effective means of contraception. This study sought to determine the relationship between parent-child communication about sex and young adolescents' reproductive and contraceptive knowledge and sexual attitudes. Twenty-two 12- to 14-year-olds and their parents completed sexual-knowledge, sexual-attitude, and contraceptive-choice questionnaires. Families were divided into high-communication and low-communication groups. There were no significant differences in the sexual knowledge, attitudes, or contraceptive choices of the children in the two groups, but the correlation between parents' and children's sexual attitudes in the high-communication group was significantly higher than that of the low-communication group. Although this was a correlational study, it seems likely that the similarity in sexual values was the result of parent-child discussion about sex.