Modeling single versus multiple systems in implicit and explicit memory

It is currently controversial whether priming on implicit tasks and discrimination on explicit recognition tests are supported by a single memory system or by multiple, independent systems. In a Psychological Review article, Berry and colleagues used mathematical modeling to address this question and provide compelling evidence against the independent-systems approach.     

Mothers' and Fathers' Internal State Language with Their Young Children: An Examination of Gender Differences During an Emotions Task

The current study examined gender differences in mothers' and fathers' internal state language (ISL), children's use of ISL, and whether ISL was related to parents' ratings of the children's social skills. Fifty‐seven (28 boys, 29 girls) toddler/preschool children (M age = 32.5 months, SD = 5.38 months) were observed separately with their mothers and fathers in their homes while they discussed pictures of children's facial expressions of emotions. Parents completed a questionnaire concerning their child's social–emotional behaviours (i.e. BASC‐2). Parents used more ISL with sons compared with daughters, and sons used more ISL with mothers than with fathers. No overall differences were found between mothers' and fathers' ISL. Children's social skills as rated by mothers were predicted by mothers' ISL comments, whereas children's social skills as rated by fathers were predicted by children's age and fathers' ISL clarifications. Implications and limitations of the study are discussed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

It depends on how you look at it: Scanpath comparison in multiple dimensions with MultiMatch, a vector-based approach

Eye movement sequences??or scanpaths??vary depending on the stimulus characteristics and the task (Foulsham & Underwood Journal of Vision, 8(2), 6:1?C17, 2008; Land, Mennie, & Rusted, Perception, 28, 1311?C1328, 1999). Common methods for comparing scanpaths, however, are limited in their ability to capture both the spatial and temporal properties of which a scanpath consists. Here, we validated a new method for scanpath comparison based on geometric vectors, which compares scanpaths over multiple dimensions while retaining positional and sequential information (Jarodzka, Holmqvist, & Nystr?m, Symposium on Eye-Tracking Research and Applications (pp. 211?C218), 2010). ??MultiMatch?? was tested in two experiments and pitted against ScanMatch (Cristino, Math?t, Theeuwes, & Gilchrist, Behavior Research Methods, 42, 692?C700, 2010), the most comprehensive adaptation of the popular Levenshtein method. In Experiment 1, we used synthetic data, demonstrating the greater sensitivity of MultiMatch to variations in spatial position. In Experiment 2, real eye movement recordings were taken from participants viewing sequences of dots, designed to elicit scanpath pairs with commonalities known to be problematic for algorithms (e.g., when one scanpath is shifted in locus or when fixations fall on either side of an AOI boundary). The results illustrate the advantages of a multidimensional approach, revealing how two scanpaths differ. For instance, if one scanpath is the reverse copy of another, the difference is in the direction but not the positions of fixations; or if a scanpath is scaled down, the difference is in the length of the saccadic vectors but not in the overall shape. As well as having enormous potential for any task in which consistency in eye movements is important (e.g., learning), MultiMatch is particularly relevant for ??eye movements to nothing?? in mental imagery and embodiment-of-cognition research, where satisfactory scanpath comparison algorithms are lacking.     

When distance pays off: The role of construal level in spending predictions

Self predictions are often optimistically biased, even for recurrent events. People could generate more realistic predictions by using information about past experiences, however they tend to disregard this cognitive approach. Drawing on Construal Level Theory, we propose that increases in construal level facilitate the use of information from past experience, and thereby increase prediction accuracy. This proposal was tested in two studies examining predictions of personal spending. Consistent with the hypotheses, individuals induced to construe the prediction target at a higher level of abstraction generated more accurate predictions (Study 1) and the effect of increased construal level on prediction was attributable to a greater reliance on past experience (Studies 1 and 2). The findings indicate that high-level construal can sometimes benefit prediction accuracy.     

Negative moods and the motivated remembering of past selves: the role of implicit theories of personal stability

This research program explored how the positivity of people's memories of their past personal attributes is influenced by their desire to cope with negative mood states. The studies tested the hypothesis that beliefs and motives regarding the stability of personality will determine whether people idealize or derogate their earlier attributes in an attempt to repair distressing feelings. When knowledge structures or motives implying personal change are activated, people should derogate their past selves in response to negative moods; in contrast, when these factors imply personal stability, people should idealize their past selves in response to negative moods. Studies 1-3, which assessed the impact of mood negativity (neutral vs. negative) and theories (or motives) regarding personal change (change vs. stability) on the positivity of people's memories of their past attributes, supported this reasoning. Study 4 extended these findings by examining how an underlying mediating variable--mood-repair motivation--guides the effect of negative moods on recall of past selves. Implications of the results for research on temporal comparison, mood-congruent recall, and posttraumatic growth are discussed.     

Reading times and adaptive styles among patients diagnosed with psychosis as assessed by the Serial Color-Word Test

The present study focuses on how patients diagnosed with psychosis deal with a conflicting situation. In the study, two groups of patients were assessed. One group consisted of patients diagnosed with psychosis (n = 41), while the comparison group (n = 135) consisted of inpatients diagnosed either with anorexia nervosa or with bulimia nervosa. The groups were assessed using the Serial Color Word Test (S-CWT), designed for studying an individual's successive adaptation over time to a conflicting situation. The S-CWT differentiated the two groups regarding both reading time and adaptive styles. Patients diagnosed with psychosis had longer reading times and an adaptive style that was deviant throughout the test, indicating poorer cognitive functioning and more serious psychopathology. These problems may in turn influence functioning in work or study and daily living, all of which are important in treatment planning.     

The relationship between performance-based self-esteem and self-reported work and health behaviors among Danish knowledge workers

Since knowledge intensive work often requires self-management, one might fear that persons who are dependent on work success for self-esteem will have difficulties in finding a healthful and sustainable balance between internal needs and external demands. Accordingly, we examined to what degree work-related performance-based self-esteem (PBS) was linked to work and health behaviors in 392 knowledge workers (226 women, 166 men). In the women group, multiple binary logistic regression analyses with repeated measurements showed that the PBS score was associated with 10 of the 17 examined work and health behaviors. For men the corresponding figure was 3 of 17. In both men and women, higher PBS scores were positively associated with reports of efforts and strivings for work as well as attending work while ill. In conclusion, statistically significant relationships between PBS and work and health behaviors were more clearly visible among women than men. Whether this gender difference is dependent on the study design, or on true inherent differences between women and men, cannot be concluded with any certainty. However, persons who described themselves as being relatively more dependent on work accomplishments for a high self-esteem, as expressed by the PBS score, seem to display work behaviors that may lessen their restitution time. In addition, they also seem to be more prone to work while sick.     

Brain activity in adults who stutter: similarities across speaking tasks and correlations with stuttering frequency and speaking rate

Many differences in brain activity have been reported between persons who stutter (PWS) and typically fluent controls during oral reading tasks. An earlier meta-analysis of imaging studies identified stutter-related regions, but recent studies report less agreement with those regions. A PET study on adult dextral PWS (n = 18) and matched fluent controls (CONT, n = 12) is reported that used both oral reading and monologue tasks. After correcting for speech rate differences between the groups the task-activation differences were surprisingly small. For both analyses only some regions previously considered stutter-related were more activated in the PWS group than in the CONT group, and these were also activated during eyes-closed rest (ECR). In the PWS group, stuttering frequency was correlated with cortico-striatal-thalamic circuit activity in both speaking tasks. The neuroimaging findings for the PWS group, relative to the CONT group, appear consistent with neuroanatomic abnormalities being increasingly reported among PWS.