Working memory demands in insight versus analytic problem solving

Working memory is one of the cognitive processes thought to differentiate insight and analytic forms of problem solving. The present research examined memory involvement in the solution of insight versus analytic problems. Participants completed verbal and spatial working memory and short-term memory measures and a series of analytic and insight problems. Results demonstrated a relationship between working-memory capacity and the solution of analytic problems and between verbal short-term memory capacity and the solution of insight problems. This distinction was generally though not universally supported when memory was examined in relation to individual problems. Memory involvement in insight problem solving was further examined to clarify whether restructuring in insight is the end result of active memory search or spontaneous processes. The present research supports the theory that differences exist in the cognitive processes underlying insight versus analytic problem solving, and provides support for the spontaneous theory of restructuring in insight.     

Seeing,mirroring, desiring: The impact of the analyst’s pregnant body on the patient’s body image

The paper explores the impact of the analyst’s pregnant body on the course of two analyses, a young man, and a young woman, specifically focusing on how each patient’s visual perception and affective experience of being with the analyst’s pregnant body affected their own body image and subjective experience of their body. The pre‐verbal or ‘subsymbolic’ material evoked in the analyses contributed to a greater understanding of the patients’ developmental experiences in infancy and adolescence, which had resulted in both carrying a profoundly distorted body image into adulthood. The analyst’s pregnancy offered a therapeutic window in which a shift in the patient’s body image could be initiated. Clinical material is presented in detail with reference to the psychoanalytic literature on the pregnant analyst, and that of the development of the body image, particularly focusing on the role of visual communication and the face. The author proposes a theory of psychic change, drawing on Bucci’s multiple code theory, in which the patients’ unconscious or ‘subsymbolic’ awareness of her pregnancy, which were manifest in their bodily responses, feeling states and dreams, as well as in the analyst s countertransference, could gradually be verbalized and understood within the transference. Thus visual perception, or ‘external seeing’, could gradually become ‘internal seeing’, or insight into unconscious phantasies, leading to a shift in the patients internal object world towards a less persecutory state and more realistic appraisal of their body image.     

The Relationship Between Women's Body Satisfaction and Self-Image Across the Life Span: The Role of Cognitive Control

The authors examined the relationship between body dissatisfaction and self-image across the life span. A sample of 106 women between the ages of 20 and 65 years completed questionnaire measures of body dissatisfaction, body importance, cognitive control over the body, self-concept, and self-esteem. The authors found that body dissatisfaction and body importance did not differ among the groups of women who were younger, middle aged, and older. Although body dissatisfaction was related to self-concept and self-esteem for the entire sample, the strength of that relationship reduced with increasing age and increasing perceptions of cognitive control. The authors concluded that the cognitive strategies of women who were older protect their self-concept and self-esteem from the influence of body dissatisfaction.     

Postural Asymmetries in Response to Holding Evenly and Unevenly Distributed Loads During Self-Selected Stance

The authors examined postural asymmetries during quiet stance and while holding evenly or unevenly distributed loads. Right-hand dominant subjects preferentially loaded their right lower limb when holding no load or a load evenly distributed in both hands, but no differences in center of pressure (CoP) were observed between the left and right limbs. However, longer CoP displacement was observed under the preferentially loaded limb, which may reflect a functional asymmetry that allows quick movement of one limb in response to a potential perturbation. When a load was held only in the nondominant hand, sample entropy decreased in the left (loaded) limb but increased in the right (unloaded) limb, suggesting the unloaded foot compensated for a loss of control flexibility in the loaded foot.     

Effects of Induced Emotional State on Lexical Processing in Younger and Older Adults

The authors investigated the effects of an induced emotional mood state on lexical decision task (LDT) performance in 50 young adults and 25 older adults. Participants were randomly assigned to either happy or sad mood induction conditions. An emotional mood state was induced by having the participants listen to 8 min of classical music previously rated to induce happy or sad moods. Results replicated previous studies with young adults (i.e., sad-induced individuals responded faster to sad words and happy-induced individuals responded faster to happy words) and extended this pattern to older adults. Results are discussed with regard to information processing, aging, and emotion.     

Cognitive Vulnerabilities as Predictors of Stress Generation in Early Adolescence: Pathway to Depressive Symptoms

Although individuals with depression have been found to experience a higher rate of stress in their lives, it remains unclear to what extent other personal characteristics may contribute to stress generation. The current study extended past research by examining the effects of two theoretically and empirically supported cognitive vulnerabilities to depression (negative cognitive style and rumination) as predictors of dependent interpersonal and achievement events, independent events, and relational peer victimization. In a diverse sample of 301 early adolescents (56 % female; M_age?=?12.82 years), we found that negative cognitive style prospectively predicted the experience of dependent interpersonal stress and relational victimization, and that rumination did not predict stress in any of the domains. Furthermore, the occurrence of intervening stress mediated the associations between negative cognitive style and subsequent depressive symptoms. Additionally, whereas negative cognitive style predicted relational victimization among both boys and girls, girls were particularly vulnerable to developing depressive symptoms following the occurrence of relational victimization. Thus, a negative cognitive style may contribute to the occurrence of stressful events, which in turn increases depressive symptoms. Girls may be particularly reactive to relational victimization, representing one pathway through which sex differences in depression may emerge.     

Desistance in the Transition to Adulthood: The Roles of Marriage,Military, and Gender

Research is needed on desistance from crime comparatively by gender. This research uses a national longitudinal sample of youth transitioning to adulthood. Drawing on Sampson and Laub's Age-Graded Theory of Informal Social Control, social bonds found in marriage and military involvement are examined to determine if they decrease delinquency over time. The results for the full sample revealed that marriage but not military involvement led to desistance. However, gender sub-sample analyses further showed military enlistment led females, but not males, to desist from crime. Implications and future research aims are discussed.     

Successive relearning improves performance on a high-stakes exam in a difficult biopsychology course

Successive relearning combines two effective learning techniques (retrieval practice and spaced practice) and involves practicing retrieval until some level of mastery has been reached (i.e., at least one correct retrieval attempt) in each of multiple sessions. Several laboratory studies have demonstrated the promise of successive relearning for enhancing student learning, but attempts to evaluate its effectiveness in authentic educational contexts are limited. In the current research, we implemented successive relearning in a difficult biopsychology course to examine its effectiveness at enhancing student learning on a high-stakes exam. Students successively relearned some course content via a virtual flashcard program, whereas other course content was learned with business-as-usual activities. In two experiments, successive relearning boosted students' learning of course content by at least 10% (with ds ranging from 0.54 to 1.10). These findings suggest that implementing successive relearning in courses can be an effective method of promoting student achievement.     

The Rhythm Is Gonna Get You: The Influence of Circadian Rhythm Synchrony on Self‐Control Outcomes

This article aims to bridge the circadian and self‐control literatures by suggesting that people's self‐control performance varies as a function of their circadian preferences (i.e., chronotype). We review evidence for this assertion across a wide range of self‐control domains, including cognitive processing, emotion regulation, interpersonal relationships, and social influence. Across these widely ranging behaviors, the results indicate that when people's circadian preference matches the time of day, a synchrony effect occurs, and self‐control performance is at its peak. Therefore, people are more likely to display self‐regulatory failures and give in to temptations when there is a mismatch between their circadian preferences and time of day. Overall, this article offers new insights into the relationship between circadian preferences and self‐control and suggests novel and exciting new directions for future research.