Using contextual analysis to investigate the nature of spatial memory

The present study investigated the properties of episodic spatial memory by conducting contextual analysis on spatial memory tasks in a large sample of individuals (N = 778) between the ages of 18 and 92. The results suggest that episodic spatial memory as measured by a dot location task is not uniquely influenced by memory but is strongly influenced by fluid ability (Gf). The spatial memory–Gf relationship is evident and robust even when spatial memory is operationalized with a very simple single-dot location task, suggesting that allocation of attention across space may play a role in the relationship. Results also indicate that the spatial memory–Gf relations are not dependent on complexity of processing, because Gf has a similar magnitude of relations with a more complex version of the dot location task. Collectively, the results suggest that spatial memory likely represents some aspect of fluid intelligence and is not uniquely related to measures of verbal memory.     

The politics of color: Preferences for Republican red versus Democratic blue

The present study reveals that Election Day differentially affects the color preferences of US Republicans and Democrats. Voters’ preferences for Republican red and Democratic blue were assessed, along with several distractor colors, on and around the 2010 interim and 2012 presidential elections. On non-Election Days, Republicans and Democrats preferred Republican red equally, and Republicans actually preferred Democratic blue more than Democrats did. On Election Day, however, Republicans’ and Democrats’ color preferences changed to become more closely aligned with their own party’s colors. Republicans liked Republican red more than Democrats did, and no longer preferred Democratic blue more than Democrats did. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that color preferences are determined by people’s preferences for correspondingly colored objects/entities (Palmer & Schloss in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107:8877–8882, 2010). They further suggest that color preferences are calculated at a given moment, depending on which color–object associations are currently most activated or salient. Color preferences are thus far more dynamic and context-dependent than has previously been believed.     

Establishing Treatment Fidelity in Evidence-Based Parent Training Programs for Externalizing Disorders in Children and Adolescents

The current review evaluates the use of treatment fidelity strategies in evidence-based parent training programs for treating externalizing disorders. We used a broad framework for evaluating treatment fidelity developed by the National Institutes of Health Treatment Fidelity Workgroup that includes the aspects of treatment design, treatment delivery, training providers, and assessment of participant receipt of treatment and enactment of treatment skills. Sixty-five articles reporting outcome trials of evidence-based parent training programs met inclusion criteria and were coded for treatment fidelity strategies. The mean adherence to fidelity strategies was .73, which was higher than two previous review studies employing this framework in the health literature. Strategies related to treatment design showed the highest mean adherence (.83), whereas training of providers and enactment of treatment skills had the lowest (.58). In light of an increasing emphasis on effectiveness and dissemination trials, the broader treatment fidelity framework as applied in this review focuses needed attention on areas often overlooked in fidelity practices, such as training providers and generalization of treatment skills. We discuss the strengths and limitations of fidelity practices in parent training studies, implications of these findings, and areas for future research.     

Creating metacognitive environments in primary school RE classrooms

Recent reports on Religious Education (RE) in England and Wales highlight the need for guidance on pedagogy and learning. The RE-flect project addressed this by promoting the creation of metacognitively oriented learning environments in primary school RE classrooms. Six primary school teachers and 160 pupils (eight to 10 years of age) took part in the second year of this two year project. Meta-thinking, worldview and resources zones were created in each classroom. Attainment in RE and pupil perceptions of the learning environment were measured. Data from classroom observations, Worldview Profiles (WVP), and pupil and teacher interviews were analysed qualitatively. Results show an overall increase in attainment; a positive change in pupil perceptions of the learning environment; and the ability of pupils to reflect on and articulate their worldviews. Implications for RE curricular and pedagogy are discussed.     

Psychopathy: what apology making tells us about moral agency

Psychopathy is often used to settle disputes about the nature of moral judgment. The “trolley problem” is a familiar scenario in which psychopathy is used as a test case. Where a convergence in response to the trolley problem is registered between psychopathic subjects and non-psychopathic (normal) subjects, it is assumed that this convergence indicates that the capacity for making moral judgments is unimpaired in psychopathy. This, in turn, is taken to have implications for the dispute between motivation internalists and motivation externalists, for instance. In what follows, we want to do two things: firstly, we set out to question the assumption that convergence is informative of the capacity for moral judgment in psychopathy. Next, we consider a distinct feature of psychopathy which we think provides strong grounds for holding that the capacity for moral judgment is seriously impaired in psychopathic subjects. The feature in question is the psychopathic subject’s inability to make sincere apologies. Our central claim will be this: convergence in response to trolley problems does not tell us very much about the psychopathic subject’s capacity to make moral judgments, but his inability to make sincere apologies does provide us with strong grounds for holding that this capacity is seriously impaired in psychopathy.     

A Game a Day Keeps Cognitive Decline Away? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Commercially-Available Brain Training Programs in Healthy and Cognitively Impaired Older Adults

Neuropsychology Review - The rising prevalence rates of age-related cognitive impairment are a worldwide public concern, bringing about a surge in the number of “brain training”...     

Emotion Dysregulation and Eating Disorder Symptoms: Examining Distinct Associations and Interactions in Adolescents

Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology - Emotion dysregulation has been posited as a key transdiagnostic factor of mental health difficulties, including eating disorders. However, how...     

Jandu Yani U (for all families): Tailored Triple P Training and Support Promote Empowerment in Remote Aboriginal Communities

Journal of Child and Family Studies - To enhance the accessibility and acceptability of evidence-based parenting programs in Indigenous communities, there is a need to build a confident and skilled...     

Frog embryos use multiple levels of temporal pattern in risk assessment for vibration-cued escape hatching

Animal Cognition - Stereotyped signals can be a fast, effective means of communicating danger, but animals assessing predation risk must often use more variable incidental cues. Red eyed-treefrog,...