Cognitive Load While Learning to Use a Computer Program

There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that many traditional instructional techniques may unnecessarily overload limited working memory and impede learning. Based on cognitive load theory, it was hypothesised that instructional design only takes on a crucial role when there is a high level of interaction between learning elements resulting in those elements having to be simultaneously held in working memory. When there is little, if any, interaction between individual learning elements, then the format of presentation should be inconsequential. These hypotheses were tested using a computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacture (CAD/CAM) package with trainees from a Sydney company. Results showed that when instructions involved high element interactivity, a self-contained manual that physically integrated disparate information and did not require the use of the computer hardware was vastly superior to instructional formats that involved continual interaction with the computer. No differences were found between instructional formats when the learning material entailed low element interactivity. Evidence that these findings were due to cognitive load rather than other factors came from secondary task analysis. In light of these and previous results, suggestions are made for cognitively guided instructional packages.     

The Rand school of social science during the progressive era: Will to power of a stratum of the American intellectual class

Boldly asserting the existence of an intellectual class, this article details the efforts of one stratum of that class to rise to political power through the creation and development of the Rand School of Social Science in New York. The author argues that the founders of the Rand School used the social sciences—disciplines which they were themselves shaping and popularizing—to promote their political agenda. The school's founders trained an intelligentsia from the working class in the outlook and methods of the social sciences as part of their efforts to redirect the nation's political agenda toward socialism. Finding the social sciences a politically contested terrain, the author offers a history of the founding and administration of the Rand School, describes the pedagogical role of men and women in it, and details the political repression which the school endured as its influence grew. A number of notable intellectuals were associated with the school, among them Franklin H. Giddings, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Morris Hillquit, Algernon Lee, and Scott Nearing. Previously unpublished information regarding the renowned historians Charles and Mary Beard's involvement with the American Socialist Society and the Rand School is of particular interest.     

Commentary on Corradi et al.’s (2019) new conception of aesthetic sensitivity: Is the ability conception dead?

Corradi et al. (British Journal of Psychology, 2019) argue that their new conception of visual aesthetic sensitivity (as responsiveness to aesthetic features in one’s preferences) presents several advantages in comparison with the current ability view of aesthetic sensitivity, usually defined as the ability to judge aesthetic stimuli in accordance with standards (The Journal of Psychology, 1964, 57 and 49). Although the measure they propose is interesting and presents advances to the field, we point to important issues. Notably, the authors conveniently base their comparison between the two conceptions on psychometric double standards, discard a century of research on aesthetic sensitivity by focusing on Eysenck’s speculations, and disguise an extension of already existing aesthetic preference tests (e.g., The Journal of Psychology, 1952, 33 and 199; Empirical Studies of the Arts, 2005, 23 and 165) as a redefinition of aesthetic sensitivity. We conclude that both aesthetic preference and aesthetic sensitivity research are legitimate objects of study, that the authors present interesting ideas to further the study of aesthetic preferences, but that their approach is not new and that its proposed renaming only adds confusion to the field.     

Toward law–gospel harmony in Lutheran theology and ethics

Lutheran antipathy toward the law is harmful to Christian ethics. This antipathy arises from the false notion that law and gospel are opposed. However, the Lutheran Confessions show that law–gospel distinction does not necessarily imply law–gospel opposition. When law and gospel are properly defined, they interrelate harmoniously within a multiperspectival model of Christian ethics. Moreover, the third use of the law then emerges as the basic and primary use.     

COVID-19 Pandemic: Applying a Multisystemic Lens

The COVID-19 pandemic has a pervasive effect on all aspects of family life. We can distinguish the collective societal and community effects of the global pandemic and the risk and disease impact for individuals and families. This paper draws on Rolland’s Family Systems-Illness (FSI) model to describe some of the unique challenges through a multisystemic lens. Highlighting the pattern of psychosocial issues of COVID-19 over time, discussion emphasizes the evolving interplay of larger systems public health pandemic challenges and mitigation strategies with individual and family processes. The paper addresses issues of coping with myriad Covid-19 uncertainties in the initial crisis wave and evolving phases of the pandemic in the context of individual and family development, pre-existing illness or disability, and racial and socio-economic disparities. The discussion offers recommendations for timely family oriented consultation and psychoeducation, and for healthcare clinician self-care.     

Evaluating discrete trial teaching with instructive feedback delivered in a dyad arrangement via telehealth

Telehealth research in the field of applied behavior analysis (ABA) has focused on the training and supervision of others to implement various behavior analytic procedures. Current guidelines for practicing telehealth suggest that direct telehealth services may be appropriate for some individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, but more research is needed. This study evaluated the effects of discrete trial teaching with instructive feedback in a dyad arrangement delivered directly via telehealth to teach tact relations to 6 children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. All participants and the experimenter were located in different physical locations. All participants learned their primary and secondary targets, and 5 of the participants acquired the observational primary and secondary targets without direct teaching. Areas of future research and clinical implications are discussed in the context of telehealth service delivery.     

Fibromyalgia impact and depressive symptoms: Can perceiving a silver lining make a difference?

Individuals with fibromyalgia are at greater risk for depressive symptoms than the general population, and this may be partially attributable to physical symptoms that impair day-to-day functioning. However, individual-level protective characteristics may buffer risk for psychopathology. For instance, the ability to perceive a “silver lining” in one’s illness may be related to better mental and physical health. We examined perceived silver lining as a potential moderator of the relation between fibromyalgia impact and depressive symptoms. Our sample of persons with fibromyalgia (N = 401) completed self-report measures including the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire-Revised, Depression Anxiety Stress Scales, and the Silver Lining Questionnaire. Moderation analyses covaried age, sex, and ethnicity. Supporting hypotheses, increasing impact of disease was related to greater depressive symptoms, and perceptions of a silver lining attenuated that association. Despite the linkage between impairment and depressive symptoms, identifying positive aspects or outcomes of illness may reduce risk for psychopathology. Therapeutically promoting perception of a silver lining, perhaps via signature strengths exercises or a blessings journal, and encouraging cognitive reframing of the illness experience, perhaps via Motivational Interviewing or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, may reduce depressive symptoms in persons with fibromyalgia.