Practice-related optimization and transfer of executive functions: a general review and a specific realization of their mechanisms in dual tasks

Improvements in performing demanding and complex task situations are typically related to the optimization of executive functions and efficient behavioral control. The present study systematizes and reviews the optimization of different executive function types: Shifting, Inhibition, Updating, and Dual tasking. In particular, we focus on optimisations of these functions with training and on transfer effects of related training skills to non-trained situations. The aim of the study’s empirical part (see also Appendix) was to investigate the specific mechanisms of executive functions in the context of Dual tasking, leading to improved dual-task performance after practice. More specifically, we tested the Efficient Task Instantiation (ETI) model that includes specific assumptions regarding practice-related improvements of executive task coordination skills: Dual-task performance is improved with practice because of an efficient and conjoint instantiation of sets of relevant task information in working memory at the onset of a dual task. According to our knowledge, the ETI model is one of the first that allows illustrating the contribution of cognitive mechanisms underlying practice-related improvements in performing dual tasks and the impact of task coordination skills on this performance.     

Effect of altered surfaces on postural sway characteristics in elderly subjects

Mobility is essentially based on successful balance control. The evaluation of functional strategies for postural stability is requisite for effective balance rehabilitation and fall prevention in elderly subjects. Our objective was to clarify control mechanisms of different standing positions reflecting challenges of typical everyday life situations. For this purpose, elderly subjects stood on different surfaces resulting in a change of the biomechanical constraints. Sway parameters out of time and frequency domain were calculated from center-of-pressure (COP) excursions. Besides the classic quantification of the amount of sway variability, we investigated the temporal organization of postural sway by means of nonlinear time series analysis. Limb load symmetry was quantified via foot pressure insoles. We found task dependent motor outputs: (1) asymmetrical loading in all conditions; (2) altered amount and structure of COP movements with dissimilar changes in medio-lateral and anterior–posterior direction; (3) changes of the motor output affect several time scales especially when standing on a balance board or with one foot on a step. Our results indicate that elderly subjects preferred forcefully one limb which supports a step-initiation strategy. Modifications of the postural sway structure refer to the interaction of multiple control mechanisms to cope with the altered demands. The identification of postural strategies employed in daily activities augments the ecological validity of postural control studies.     

The relationship between psychopathy and the Full Range Leadership Model

While emerging research suggests psychopathic traits and leadership behaviors may be linked, this proposition requires further empirical investigation. This study aims to examine the relationship between psychopathic traits and the Full Range Leadership Model which includes transformational, transactional, and passive leadership styles. Using a cross-sectional design, survey data was collected from 115 students who reported having management experience. Measures included the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire and Self-Report Psychopathy Scale-Revised. A four-factor structure of psychopathy positively correlated with passive leadership behavior, namely passive-management-by-exception and laissez-faire, but negatively correlated with individual consideration. This study addresses a research need, and is one of the first to empirically examine the relationship between psychopathic traits and the Full Range Leadership Model. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

The development of therapeutic attitudes during and after psychotherapy training

The aim of this study was to explore changes in psychotherapeutic attitudes of students during training in psychodynamic psychotherapy and the first few years after it. Forty-six students were asked to answer a therapeutic identity questionnaire at three times during training and at one time after it. Twenty-one students completed the questionnaire on all four occasions. The questionnaire assessed attitudes on nine scales relating to beliefs about curative elements in psychotherapy, therapeutic style, and basic assumptions about psychotherapy and human nature. At the beginning of training, students had a clear psychoanalytical orientation, similar to that of their supervisors. From the last year of training, after supervision had ended, and continuing during the post-training period, students distanced themselves from the psychoanalytical orientation and their supervisors toward a more eclectic position. This development may reflect the formation of an autonomous therapeutic identity.     

The Power of Pictures: Vertical Picture Angles in Power Pictures

Conventional wisdom suggests that variations in vertical picture angle cause the subject to appear more powerful when depicted from below and less powerful when depicted from above. However, do the media actually use such associations to represent individual differences in power? We argue that the diverse perspectives of evolutionary, social learning, and embodiment theories all suggest that the association between verticality and power is relatively automatic and should, therefore, be visible in the portrayal of powerful and powerless individuals in the media. Four archival studies (with six samples) provide empirical evidence for this hypothesis and indicate that a salience power context reinforces this effect. In addition, two experimental studies confirm these effects for individuals producing media content. We discuss potential implications of this effect.     

Aging and input processing in dual-task situations

The psychological refractory period (PRP) paradigm was used to test whether older participants suffer from input interference in dual-task situations. Young (24 years) and older (57 years) adults gave speeded responses to 2 successively presented stimuli. The results showed increased susceptibility of older participants to input interference. Further experiments revealed that this input interference is related to the salience of the 2nd stimulus and that it is specific to older participants. Our findings indicate that parallel processing at the input stages of dual-task performance requires cognitive control. An age-related decline in the control of input processes should be considered as one source of age effects in dual-task performance.     

Speech motor programming in hypokinetic and ataxic dysarthria

It is widely accepted that the cerebellar and basal ganglia control circuits contribute to the programming of movement. Converging evidence from neuroimaging, limb control, and neuropsychological studies suggests that (1) people with cerebellar disease have reduced ability to program movement sequences in advance of movement onset and (2) people with Parkinson's disease are unable to maintain a programmed response or to rapidly switch between responses. Despite a substantial supporting literature, no studies have addressed these potential areas of speech programming disruption for speakers with ataxic and hypokinetic dysarthria. Control participants and adults with dysarthria completed speech reaction time protocols designed to capture these aspects of utterance preparation. Results provided initial support for processing deficits in speakers with ataxic and hypokinetic dysarthria that are separable from motor execution impairments.     

The semantic--procedural interface model of the self: the role of self-knowledge for context-dependent versus context-independent modes of thinking

How do independent and interdependent self-construals affect cognition? The authors proposed the semantic-procedural interface model, which distinguishes 2 such mechanisms. In addition to semantic differences, different procedural modes of thinking are associated with independent and interdependent self-construals. Independent self-definitions coincide with the tendency to process stimuli unaffected by the context in which they appear. Interdependent self-construals facilitate context-bounded thinking (i.e., processing stimuli by paying attention to their relation to the given context). With semantic-free dependent variables, 4 experiments showed independence-primed participants to exhibit higher degrees of context independence than did interdependence-primed participants. The results are discussed with reference to their potential explanations for cross-cultural differences.     

Multiple bottlenecks in information processing? An electrophysiological examination

When two stimuli are to be processed in rapid succession, reaction time (RT) to the second stimulus is delayed. The slowing of RT has been attributed to a single processing bottleneck at response selection (RS) or to a central bottleneck following the initiation of the first response. The hypothesis of a response initiation bottleneck is mainly based on reports of underadditive interactions between stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) and the number of stimulus—response alternatives (simple vs. two-choice response). The present study tested the hypothesis of a response initiation bottleneck by recording the lateralized readiness potential (LRP), a brain wave, emerging during or immediately following RS. The LRP findings were consistent with a central bottleneck but did not support the late bottleneck hypothesis. Instead, the LRP provided direct evidence that the underadditive interaction of number of alternatives and SOA is due to an increase of response anticipations in the simple response condition.