Exploring the contributions of declarative and procedural information to training: A test of the procedural reinstatement principle

According to the procedural reinstatement principle, procedural information leads to strong retention but limited transfer, whereas declarative information leads to poor retention but robust transfer. To test this principle in Experiment 1, participants were trained to perform a serial response task in one of 3 conditions (declarative, procedural, mixed) and were subsequently tested in either the same or another condition. Required responses were identical in the three conditions; they differed only in the emphasis given to declarative or procedural information. Consistent with the procedural reinstatement principle, in terms of response time procedural information was more durable than declarative information. In Experiment 2, transfer was assessed using procedural and declarative conditions, but participants transferred between response sequences within those conditions. Although there was transfer in response time between sequences with procedural information, the greatest magnitude of transfer was found in one direction with declarative information, consistent with the procedural reinstatement principle.     

Parafoveal processing in reading

The present review summarizes research investigating how words are identified parafoveally (and foveally) in reading. Parafoveal and foveal processing are compared when no other concurrent task is required (e.g., in single-word recognition tasks) and when both are required simultaneously (e.g., during reading). We first review methodologies used to study parafoveal processing (e.g., corpus analyses and experimental manipulations, including gaze-contingent display change experiments such as the boundary, moving window, moving mask, and fast priming paradigms). We then turn to a discussion of the levels of representation at which words are processed (e.g., orthographic, phonological, morphological, lexical, syntactic, and semantic). Next, we review relevant research regarding parafoveal processing, summarizing the extent to which words are processed at each of those levels of representation. We then review some of the most controversial aspects of parafoveal processing, as they relate to reading: (1) word skipping, (2) parafoveal-on-foveal effects, and (3) n + 1 and n + 2 preview benefit effects. Finally, we summarize two of the most advanced models of eye movements during reading and how they address foveal and parafoveal processing.     

Still no phonological typicality effect on word reading time (and no good explanation of one, either): a rejoinder to Farmer, Monaghan, Misyak, and Christiansen

In this brief rejoinder, we respond to Farmer, Monaghan, Misyak, and Christiansen (2011). We argue that the data still do not support the claim that reading time is affected by the phonological typicality of a word for its part of speech. We also question Farmer et al.'s claim that interleaving syntactic structures in an experiment modifies grammatically based syntactic expectations.     

Search for multiple targets of different colours: Misguided eye movements reveal a reduction of colour selectivity

Searching for two targets simultaneously is often less efficient than conducting two separate searches. Eye movements were tracked to understand this dual‐target cost. Findings are discussed in the context of security screening. In both single‐target and dual‐target search, displays contained one target at most. Stimuli were abstract shapes modelled after guns and other threat items. With these targets and distractors, colour information helped more in guiding search than shape information. When the two targets had different colours, distractors with colours different from either target were fixated more often in dual‐target search than in single‐target searches. Thus a dual‐target cost arose from a reduction in colour selectivity, reflecting limitations in the ability to represent two target features simultaneously and use them to guide search. Because of these limitations, performance in security searches may improve if each image is searched by two screeners, each specializing in a different category of threat item. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Violence risk assessment and women: predictive accuracy of the HCR-20 in a civil psychiatric sample

Research to date has not adequately demonstrated whether the HCR-20 Violence Risk Assessment Scheme (HCR-20; Webster, Douglas, Eaves, & Hart, 1997), a structured violence risk assessment measure with a robust literature supporting its validity in male samples, is a valid indicator of violence risk in women. This study utilized data from the MacArthur Study of Mental Disorder and Violence to retrospectively score an abbreviated version of HCR-20 in 827 civil psychiatric patients. HCR-20 scores and predictive accuracy of community violence were compared for men and women. Results suggested that the HCR-20 is slightly, but not significantly, better for evaluating future risk for violence in men than in women, although the magnitude of the gender differences was small and was largely limited to historical factors. The results do not indicate that the HCR-20 needs to be tailored for use in women or that it should not be used in women, but they do highlight that the HCR-20 should be used cautiously and with full awareness of its potential limitations in women.     

Increasing On-Task Behavior Using Teacher Attention Delivered on a Fixed-Time Schedule

The effectiveness of fixed-time delivery of attention to increase the on-task behavior of 2 students in general education was examined. The teacher in this study provided attention to students on a 5-min fixed-time schedule and responded to students in her typical manner between cued intervals. An ABAB withdrawal design was used to test the effects of the intervention. The results of this study indicate that a fixed-time schedule of attention was effective in increasing students’ on-task behavior and decreasing their off-task behavior. Implications of the study for research and practice are discussed.     

Improving adolescent contraceptive use: evaluation of a theory-driven classroom-based intervention

The aim of the research was to evaluate the impact of intervention materials, designed to enhance self-efficacy and anticipated regret, on contraceptive behaviour and antecedents of contraceptive use in a sample of adolescents. It was hypothesised that materials designed to enhance self-efficacy and anticipated regret would lead to improvements in outcome measures compared with controls. A 4(intervention condition) × 3(time) mixed design was used to assess the impact of intervention materials. Participants (N = 414) were recruited from five secondary schools in the north of England. They were assigned to an active control group, an anticipated regret (AR) manipulation, a self-efficacy (SE) manipulation or both AR and SE manipulations. Outcome measures included psychological antecedents of contraceptive behaviour change, intentions and behaviour. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed increases across several outcome measures over time (F[14,287] = 8.99, P < 0.001, η(p)(2) = 0.305) including intentions, but these did not differ by condition (F[42,852] = 1.35, P = 0.07, η(p)(2) = 0.062). There was evidence that the questionnaires may have caused reactivity in participants. Amongst sexually active participants with relatively low levels of intention to use contraception at the outset, increases in several outcome measures including intention and behaviour were observed (F[3,35] = 10.359, P < 0.001, η(p)(2) = 0.47). Findings support the potential for effective delivery of behaviour change theory-driven interventions in classroom settings. The possibility that the questionnaires may have acted as a form of intervention contributes to recent discussion of this issue in the literature, and the findings also strengthen the case for post-decisional and behavioural skills interventions to enhance behaviour amongst those already motivated to use contraception.     

Territorial gain dynamics regulates success in attacking sub-phases of team sports

Background and objective

Field invasion games, such as rugby union, can be conceptualised as dynamic social systems in which the agents continuously interact to contest ball possession and territorial gain. Accordingly, this study aimed to identify the collective system dynamics of rugby union phases-of-play near the try line by investigating whether ball displacement trajectory on the playing field provides insights on successful team performance.

Methods

Five rugby union matches were videotaped involving teams at a national league performance level. From these matches, 22 second phases-of-play were selected and digitized for analysis. The variable “distance gained” was investigated as a potential coordination variable describing functional coordination between players and teams. This variable concerned the distance between ball initial position and ball current position over time and was used to define the degree of territory gained by an attacking team.

Results

Analysis of distance gained dynamics in attacking sub-phases demonstrated the intermittent character of rugby union performers displacement trajectories on the playing field. Amplitude of ball movements was revealed as a distinguishing feature related to attacking effectiveness. Successful attacking phases displayed lower distances of positional retreat, with the maximum retreat distance achieved sooner in successful compared to unsuccessful phases-of-play. Autocorrelation and ApEn analyses suggested low system variability within time series data concerning both performance outcomes. However, evidence of less regularity and more complexity was found in unsuccessful phases-of-play.

Conclusion

Results suggested that distance gained dynamics manifests a characteristic collective behaviour pattern that captures the macroscopic functional order of multi-player attack–defence systems in team sports like rugby union.     

Mother–child affect and emotion socialization processes across the late preschool period: predictions of emerging behaviour problems

The current study examined concurrent and longitudinal relations between maternal negative affective behaviour and child negative emotional expression in preschool age children with (n=96) or without (n=126) an early developmental risk, as well as the predictions of later behaviour problems. Maternal negative affective behaviour, child externalizing emotional expression, and child internalizing emotional expression were observed during a number of lab tasks at child ages 4 and 5, and child externalizing and internalizing behaviour problems were assessed via maternal questionnaire at age 6. Path analyses using structural equation modeling were utilized to test the relations among the variables at ages 4, 5, and 6. A parent‐driven model of emotion socialization emerged, wherein stronger relations were found among maternal negative affect and child externalizing emotions and behaviours than among maternal negative affect and child internalizing emotions and behaviours. Early child risk did not appear to alter the overall emotion socialization process, although higher levels of maternal and child negativity were observed for the children with a developmental risk. Results underscore the complexity of emotion socialization processes throughout the preschool period. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.