Why 8-year-olds cannot tell the difference between Steve Martin and Paul Newman: factors contributing to the slow development of sensitivity to the spacing of facial features

Children are nearly as sensitive as adults to some cues to facial identity (e.g., differences in the shape of internal features and the external contour), but children are much less sensitive to small differences in the spacing of facial features. To identify factors that contribute to this pattern, we compared 8-year-olds' sensitivity to spacing cues with that of adults under a variety of conditions. In the first two experiments, participants made same/different judgments about faces differing only in the spacing of facial features, with the variations being kept within natural limits. To measure the effect of attention, we reduced the salience of featural information by blurring faces and occluding features (Experiment 1). To measure the role of encoding speed and memory limitations, we presented pairs of faces simultaneously and for an unlimited time (Experiment 2). To determine whether participants' sensitivity would increase when spacing distortions were so extreme as to make the faces grotesque, we manipulated the spacing of features beyond normal limits and asked participants to rate each face on a "bizarreness" scale (Experiment 3). The results from the three experiments indicate that low salience, poor encoding efficiency, and limited memory can partially account for 8-year-olds' poor performance on face processing tasks that require sensitivity to the spacing of features, a kind of configural processing that underlies adults' expertise. However, even when the task is modified to compensate for these problems, children remain less sensitive than adults to the spacing of features.     

Effects of the periodic administration of odor or vibration on a 3-hr. vigilance task

The present study examined performance during 3 hr. of simulated sentry duty with and without the intermittent administration of low-level sensory stimuli (odor or vibration). For odor and control conditions, target-detection latency increased steadily over the course of the 3-hr. session. Administration of a tactile stimulus reduced the increase in detection latency compared to that found in odor and control conditions. For all conditions, there were no significant differences in target-detection frequency, shot accuracy, or friend-foe discrimination. Across all conditions, restlessness (motor activity) increased significantly the first hour and remained elevated for the rest of the session. Subjective measures of workload (NASA-TLX) indicated that the 3-hr. task rated high on physical demand, mental demand, frustration, and overall workload. These findings suggest that the intermittent delivery of a clearly detectable tactile stimulus can reduce reaction-time decrements that occur as time on task increases.     

Semantic context influences memory for verbs more than memory for nouns

Three experiments revealed that memory for verbs is more dependent on semantic context than is memory for nouns. The participants in Experiment 1 were asked to remember either nouns or verbs from intransitive sentences. A recognition test included verbatim sentences, sentences with an old noun and a new verb, sentences with an old verb and a new noun, and entirely new sentences. Memory for verbs was significantly better when the verb was presented with the same noun at encoding and at retrieval. This contextual effect was much smaller for nouns. Experiments 2 and 3 replicated this effect and provided evidence that context effects reflect facilitation from bringing to mind the same meaning of a verb at encoding and at retrieval. Memory for verbs may be more dependent on semantic context because the meanings of verbs are more variable across semantic contexts than are the meanings of nouns.     

A meta-analytic review of prospective memory and aging

A meta-analysis of prospective memory (PM) studies revealed that in laboratory settings younger participants outperform older participants on tests of both time- and event-based PM (rs=-.39 and -.34, respectively). Event-based PM tasks that impose higher levels of controlled strategic demand are associated with significantly larger age effects than event-based PM tasks that are supported by relatively more automatic processes (rs=-.40 vs. -.14, respectively). However, contrary to the prevailing view in the literature, retrospective memory as measured by free recall is associated with significantly greater age-related decline (r=-.52) than PM, and older participants perform substantially better than their younger counterparts in naturalistic PM studies (rs=.35 and.52 for event- and time-based PM, respectively).     

Infants' comprehension of toy replicas as symbols for real objects

Infants' understanding of toy model-real exemplar relations was assessed through preferential looking and habituation tasks. Results from the preferential looking task suggest that 18-month toddlers are just beginning to demonstrate comprehension of symbolic relations between iconic models and their real object counterparts. Performance of 10- and 14-month-old infants in the preferential looking task did not improve when across-domain pairs of videos were used in place of within-domain pairs. Habituation task results indicated that 10-month-olds do not comprehend symbolic relations between miniature toy replicas and their "real" counterparts, but that such understanding begins to emerge by age 14 months. Interactions between symbolic processing and early lexical development are considered, as are methodological implications for the study of infant categorization.     

Too proud to let go: narcissistic entitlement as a barrier to forgiveness

Narcissistic entitlement impedes forgiveness in ways not captured by other robust predictors (e.g., offense severity, apology, relationship closeness, religiosity, Big Five personality factors), as demonstrated in 6 studies. Narcissistic entitlement involves expectations of special treatment and preoccupation with defending one's rights. In Study 1, entitlement predicted less forgiveness and greater insistence on repayment for a past offense. Complementary results emerged from Study 2, which used hypothetical transgressions, and Study 3, which assessed broad forgiveness dispositions. Study 4 examined associations with the Big Five, and Study 5 extended the findings to a laboratory context. Study 6 demonstrated that entitlement predicted diminished increases in forgiveness over time. Taken together, these results suggest that narcissistic entitlement is a robust, distinct predictor of unforgiveness.     

Accuracy of blood glucose estimation by children with diabetes: an investigation of repeated practice with growth curve modeling

This study used growth curve modeling to explore whether practicing the task of estimating blood glucose levels would increase accuracy in children with type 1 diabetes. It was predicted that accuracy would improve with practice and that younger, anxious, poorly adjusted children would improve most. 43 attendees at a diabetes summer camp participated. Their mean age was 13.4 yr. (SD = 1.6). All were Euro-American, and 22 were girls. Change in accuracy was best represented by a quadratic function, and this model fit the data well. Overall, participants' accuracy improved initially and then deteriorated. Results indicate that older children were more likely to improve and then deteriorate. Younger children were more likely to improve and sustain those improvements. Results indicate that practicing the task of estimating is not an effective way to increase accuracy and may be contra-indicated. These results can help guide research and clinical use of glucose estimation in children.     

Gender, grade, and relationship differences in emotional closeness within adolescent friendships

Previous research has examined gender and grade differences in the emotional closeness of adolescents' same- and cross-sex friendships. However, findings from these studies have been inconsistent because they have failed to (1) differentiate between cross-sex friendships and romantic relationships and (2) compare same- and cross-sex friendships. In an attempt to clarify previous findings, gender and grade differences in adolescent reports of emotional closeness within same- and cross-sex friendships were examined in the current study. Responses from two hundred seventy adolescents indicated gender differences in reports of time spent with their friends daily and levels of relationship closeness, cohesion, and commitment. Further, grade moderated relationship differences in reports of relationship cohesion and closeness. Differences in predictors of intimacy support previous studies that have found grade and gender differences in levels of intimacy in adolescents' same- and cross-sex friendships. Results also elaborate on previous research by indicating grade differences in adolescents' perceptions of cohesion and closeness in their same- and cross-sex friendships. Findings are discussed in terms of understanding differences in adolescent reports of intimacy within same- and cross-sex friendships.     

Prevention opportunities in health care settings

Psychologists have an opportunity to offer their expertise at a time when health care settings are beginning to recognize the importance of behaviorally based interventions for improving health and health care. The authors review the changing patterns of health and illness that have led to an increased interest in the role of patient and provider behavior and discuss the many advantages of using health care settings as prevention sites. Examples of successful behaviorally based prevention programs are presented, along with the evidence supporting the cost-effectiveness of such programs. Challenges presented by working in health care settings are described. Throughout, the authors emphasize the multiple opportunities for psychologists' involvement across a wide variety of health care delivery sites.