Die‐by Framing both Lengthens and Shortens Life: Further Evidence on Constructed Beliefs in Life Expectancy

Decisions regarding consumption over the lifespan require some estimate of how long that lifespan is likely to be. Payne et al. (2013) found that respondents' estimates of their own life expectancy are on average 8.6 years shorter when elicited using a die‐by frame than when elicited by a live‐to frame. If decision makers act on these life expectancies, then an arbitrary detail of framing will lead to drastically different choices. We propose that the framing effect is sensitive to the iterative probabilistic elicitation procedure employed by the previous literature. Study 1 compares the framing effect across the iterative probabilistic procedure and a point estimate procedure that simply asks respondents the age they will live to/die by. The iterative probabilistic procedure implies a life expectancy six years shorter in the die‐by frame than in the live‐to frame, replicating the results of Payne et al. (2013). With the point estimate procedure, however, the framing effect reverses: the die‐by frame increases life expectancy by three years. In Study 2, we test for the framing effect using a point estimate procedure on a representative sample of 2000 Britons. Again, and in contrast with the previous literature, we find that the die‐by frame implies longer life. Our results reinforce the previous literature that beliefs around life expectancy are constructed. We recommend caution when attempting to debias life expectancy estimates or using life expectancies in choice architecture. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Separate but interacting recognition memory systems for different senses: the role of the rat perirhinal cortex

Two different models (convergent and parallel) potentially describe how recognition memory, the ability to detect the re-occurrence of a stimulus, is organized across different senses. To contrast these two models, rats with or without perirhinal cortex lesions were compared across various conditions that controlled available information from specific sensory modalities. Intact rats not only showed visual, tactile, and olfactory recognition, but also overcame changes in the types of sensory information available between object sampling and subsequent object recognition, e.g., between sampling in the light and recognition in the dark, or vice versa. Perirhinal lesions severely impaired object recognition whenever visual cues were available, but spared olfactory recognition and tactile-based object recognition when tested in the dark. The perirhinal lesions also blocked the ability to recognize an object sampled in the light and then tested for recognition in the dark, or vice versa. The findings reveal parallel recognition systems for different senses reliant on distinct brain areas, e.g., perirhinal cortex for vision, but also show that: (1) recognition memory for multisensory stimuli involves competition between sensory systems and (2) perirhinal cortex lesions produce a bias to rely on vision, despite the presence of intact recognition memory systems serving other senses.     

Family conflict and academic performance of first-year Asian American undergraduates

This three-study investigation examined risk and protective factors for poor academic performance among Asian American first-year undergraduates. Students were surveyed prior to starting college and their GPA was collected after their first semester in college. Family conflict as a significant risk factor for poor academic performance was examined in all three studies. The results indicate that higher family conflict prior to college was related to lower first-semester college GPA, after controlling for standardized test scores and high school rank (Studies 1-3). Even though psychological distress was related to both family conflict and GPA, it did not mediate the relationship between family conflict and GPA (Studies 2 and 3). In terms of protective factors, the results indicate that life satisfaction buffered the negative effects of family conflict on first-semester college GPA (Study 3). Together, these findings support the need to take into account family variables and psychological well-being in the academic performance of Asian American students as they transition from high school to college.     

Biased interpretation in perfectionism and its modification

Perfectionism is a transdiagnostic construct associated with a range of diagnoses, including depression, eating disorders and obsessive compulsive disorder. Treatments that directly target perfectionist cognitions have been shown to successfully reduce associated pathologies. However, the way in which they do this is not clear. We set out to assess the role of one candidate mechanism of action, namely the cognitive process of interpretation of ambiguity. In one experiment we looked for associations between biased interpretation and perfectionism. In a second, we manipulated interpretations, thereby providing a strong test of their aetiological significance. Results from the first experiment confirmed the presence of biased interpretation in perfectionism and demonstrated that these are highly specific to perfection relevant information, rather than reflecting general negativity. The second experiment succeeded in manipulating these perfection relevant interpretations and demonstrated that one consequence of doing so is a change in perfectionist behaviour. Together, these data experimentally demonstrate that biased interpretation of perfection relevant ambiguity contributes to the maintenance of perfectionism, but that it is also possible to reverse this. Clinical implications include the identification of one likely mechanism of therapeutic change within existing treatments, as well as identification of an appropriate evidence-based focus for future treatment development. Targeting underlying functional mechanisms, such as biased interpretation, has the potential to offer transdiagnostic benefits.     

From over-imitation to super-copying: adults imitate causally irrelevant aspects of tool use with higher fidelity than young children

Recent research has revealed a striking tendency in young children to imitate even causally irrelevant actions, a phenomenon dubbed 'over-imitation'. To investigate whether children develop beyond this, we allowed both adults and children to witness either a child or adult model performing goal-relevant and goal-irrelevant actions to extract a reward from a transparent puzzle box. Surprisingly, copying of irrelevant actions increased with age, with the adults performing the task with less efficiency than the children. Participants of all ages were more likely to perform the irrelevant actions performed by an adult model, than by a child model. These results suggest that people may become more imitative as they mature, whilst selectively copying particular models with a high level of fidelity. We suggest that this combination of faithful copying and selectivity underwrites the powerful social learning necessary for the level of cultural transmission on which our species depends.     

The Effect of Religious Short‐Term Mission Trips on Youth Civic Engagement

Religious short‐term mission trips are an increasingly popular form of American religious practice, especially among young people. Both organizers and participants often emphasize their transformative nature. However, scholarly efforts to evaluate systematically the social consequences of religious short‐term mission trips are lacking. To address this neglect, our article investigates whether going on a religious short‐term mission trip significantly differentiates youth who engage in civic actions from those who do not. Based on quantitative analysis of Wave I of the National Survey of Youth Religion (NSYR), we find that, controlling for other important factors, taking a mission trip significantly increases the likelihood of adolescents participating in various forms of civic activity, particularly religious‐based volunteer work. Drawing on prior scholarship on religious short‐term mission and similarly focused trips and in‐depth interview data from trip participants, we outline several theoretical mechanisms that likely explain the link between taking a mission trip and civic engagement.     

How youth get engaged: grounded-theory research on motivational development in organized youth programs

For youth to benefit from many of the developmental opportunities provided by organized programs, they need to not only attend but become psychologically engaged in program activities. This research was aimed at formulating empirically based grounded theory on the processes through which this engagement develops. Longitudinal interviews were conducted with 100 ethnically diverse youth (ages 14–21) in 10 urban and rural arts and leadership programs. Qualitative analysis focused on narrative accounts from the 44 youth who reported experiencing a positive turning point in their motivation or engagement. For 38 of these youth, this change process involved forming a personal connection. Similar to processes suggested by self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000), forming a personal connection involved youth's progressive integration of personal goals with the goals of program activities. Youth reported developing a connection to 3 personal goals that linked the self with the activity: learning for the future, developing competence, and pursuing a purpose. The role of purpose for many youth suggests that motivational change can be driven by goals that transcend self-needs. These findings suggest that youth need not enter programs intrinsically engaged--motivation can be fostered--and that programs should be creative in helping youth explore ways to form authentic connections to program activities.     

The role of expectation and probabilistic learning in auditory boundary perception: a model comparison

Grouping and boundary perception are central to many aspects of sensory processing in cognition. We present a comparative study of recently published computational models of boundary perception in music. In doing so, we make three contributions. First, we hypothesise a relationship between expectation and grouping in auditory perception, and introduce a novel information-theoretic model of perceptual segmentation to test the hypothesis. Although we apply the model to musical melody, it is applicable in principle to sequential grouping in other areas of cognition. Second, we address a methodological consideration in the analysis of ambiguous stimuli that produce different percepts between individuals. We propose and demonstrate a solution to this problem, based on clustering of participants prior to analysis. Third, we conduct the first comparative analysis of probabilistic-learning and rule-based models of perceptual grouping in music. In spite of having only unsupervised exposure to music, the model performs comparably to rule-based models based on expert musical knowledge, supporting a role for probabilistic learning in perceptual segmentation of music.     

"I know what I like": stability of aesthetic preference in Alzheimer's patients

Two studies explored the stability of art preference in patients with Alzheimer's disease and age-matched control participants. Preferences for three different styles of paintings, displayed on art postcards, were examined over two sessions. Preference for specific paintings differed among individuals but AD and non-AD groups maintained about the same stability in terms of preference judgments across two weeks, even though the AD patients did not have explicit memory for the paintings. We conclude that aesthetic responses can be preserved in the face of cognitive decline. This should encourage caregivers and family to engage in arts appreciation activities with patients, and reinforces the validity of a preference response as a dependent measure in testing paradigms.     

Item–trait association, scale multidimensionality, and differential item functioning identification in personality assessment

This report documents relationships between differential item functioning (DIF) identification and: (1) item–trait association, and (2) scale multidimensionality in personality assessment. Applying [Zumbo, B. D. (1999). A handbook on the theory and methods of differential item functioning (DIF): Logistic regression modeling as a unitary framework for binary and Likert-type (ordinal) item scores. Ottawa, ON: Directorate of Human Resources Research and Evaluation, Department of National Defense.] logistic regression model, DIF effect size is found to become increasingly inflated as investigated item associations with trait scores decrease. Similar patterns were noted for the influence of scale multidimensionality on DIF identification. Individuals who investigate DIF in personality assessment applications are provided with estimates regarding the impact of the magnitude of item and trait association and scale multidimensionality on DIF occurrence and effect size. The results emphasize the importance of excluding investigated items in focal trait identification prior to conducting DIF analyses and reporting item and scale psychometric properties in DIF reports.