Metabolic and attentional energy costs of interlimb coordination

The authors investigated metabolic and attentional energy costs as participants (N = 6) practiced in-phase, antiphase, and 90 degrees -phase cycling (order counterbalanced) on independent bicycle ergometers, with resistance (40 W/ergometer) and frequency (40 rpm) held constant. Coordination stabilized and became more accurate for all 3 cycling modes, as shown by measures of relative phase, but that collective variable could not account for other relevant attributes of the multifaceted motor behavior observed across the 3 coordination modes. In-phase and antiphase cycling were similar in stability and accuracy, but antiphase had the lowest metabolic and attentional energy costs. Because both homologous muscle action and perceptually symmetrical oscillations coincided in the in-phase mode, the absence of predominance of the inphase pattern showed that neither of those musculoskeletal and perceptual factors exclusively determined the strongest attractor of the coordination dynamics. Both metabolic and attentional costs declined with practice, consistent with the hypothesis that adaptive motor behavior is guided by sensory information concerning the energy demands of the task. Attentional cost was influenced not only by the information-processing demands of kinematic stability but also by the metabolic energy demands. Metabolic energy cost appeared to be the crucial determinant of the preferred solution for this coordination task.     

汉字认知倒置效应的行为学研究

通过比较被试对相同刺激在不同诱导条件和不同特征变化条件下的认知的异同,探索倒置效应对认知的影响及机理.结果发现:当呈现的刺激被诱导为汉字认知时,仅在结构变化条件下出现倒置效应;而同样的刺激被诱导为字母组合被加工时,在结构和细节变化时均不会出现倒置效应.研究结果揭示了激活诱导效应对认知的重要影响,支持了专家假说对倒置效应的解释,进一步说明了结构和整体加工对专家系统的重要意义.     

ERPs studies of cognitive processing during sleep

In the last few decades, several works on cognitive processing during sleep have emerged. The study of cognitive processing with event related potentials (ERPs) during sleep is a topic of great interest, since ERPs allow the study of stimulation with passive paradigms (without conscious response or behavioural response), opening multiple research possibilities during different sleep phases. We review ERPs modulated by cognitive processes during sleep: N1, Mismatch Negativity (MMN), P2, P3, N400-like, N300-N550, among others. The review shows that there are different cognitive discriminations during sleep related to the frequency, intensity, duration, saliency, novelty, proportion of appearance, meaning, and even sentential integration of stimuli. The fascinating results of cognitive processing during sleep imply serious challenges for cognitive models. The studies of ERPs, together with techniques of neuroimaging, have demonstrated the existence of cognitive processing during sleep. A fundamental question to be considered is if these cognitive phenomena are similar to processing that occurs during wakefulness. Based on this question we discussed the existence of possible mechanisms associated with sleep, as well as the specific cognitive and neurophysiologic differences of wakefulness and sleep. Much knowledge is still required to even understand the conjunction of dramatic changes in cerebral dynamics and the occurrence of cognitive processes. We propose some insights based on ERPs research for further construction of theoretical models for integrating both cognitive processing and specific brain sleep dynamics.     

Explaining lower-order traits through higher-order factors: the case of trait procrastination,conscientiousness, and the specificity dilemma

In proposing that the higher-order factor (lack of) Conscientiousness is the major proximal source of the lower-order trait procrastination, this study set up three approaches to examine this question: the degree to which a measure of the factor would parallel a measure of the trait in predicting dilatory behaviour and negative affect, the degree to which the factor would replace the trait in these predictions, and the extent to which the relations of the trait and the factor to negative affect would be mediated by Neuroticism. University students, 232 females and 48 males, completed a trait procrastination scale and the Conscientiousness and Neuroticism factor scales of the NEO-PI-R. They also responded to a measure of dilatory behaviour concerning their academic work, and to a measure of negative affect involving dejection and agitation. Trait procrastination was negatively related to the Conscientiousness factor and to each of its facets. Relations of trait procrastination and of Conscientiousness tended to parallel one another. Indicative of the specificity dilemma, trait procrastination outperformed Conscientiousness in predicting trait-specific dilatory behaviour. On the other hand, Conscientiousness was the better predictor of dejection. The mediating role of Neuroticism tended to be comparable in linking both the trait and the factor to negative affect. Discussion centres on additional ways to overcome the specificity dilemma when attempting to locate the proximal source of a lower-order trait within a higher-order factor. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multimethod Assessment of Psychopathology Among DSM-IV Subtypes of Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Self-, Parent, and Teacher Reports

Using data based on self-, parent, and teacher reports, we assessed various aspects of psychopathology in a large sample of control children and those with ADHD. Confirmatory factor analysis was employed to extract response bias from latent constructs of aggression, anxiety, attention problems, depression, conduct disorder, and hyperactivity. These latent constructs were then entered into logistic regression equations to predict membership in control versus ADHD groups, and to discriminate between ADHD subtypes. Results of the regression equations showed that higher levels of attention problems and aggression were the best predictors of membership in the ADHD group relative to controls. Logistic regression also indicated that a higher degree of aggression was the only significant predictor of membership in the ADHD-Combined group compared to the ADHD-Inattentive group. However, when comorbid diagnoses of Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Conduct Disorder were controlled for in the logistic regression, greater hyperactivity rather than aggression was the sole variable with which to distinguish the ADHD-Combined from the ADHD-Inattentive subtype. Results are discussed in the context of the DSM-IV ADHD nosology and the role of instrument and source bias in the diagnosis of ADHD.     

Seeing the language: a diagrammatic approach to natural discourse

The key idea behind the diagrammatic approach presented in the paper is that the sophisticated mechanisms of human visual construction also play an important role in natural languages. We propose a diagrammatic representation of English, giving examples, translation rules, and semantics. Special attention will be paid to anaphoric phenomena, in particular, the possibility of a uniform treatment of anaphoric pronouns.     

Counseling in Singapore

Singapore, a tiny island nation, rose from 3rd‐ to 1st‐world status in just 3 decades. Unlike in most developed countries, counseling in Singapore has a short history with faith‐based beginnings and currently faces challenges to remain culturally relevant. The authors trace the development of Singapore's counseling services, provide an update regarding counseling practices in the school and community, and describe counseling and its relation to psychology in the educational setting. The authors conclude by examining professional issues and future directions.     

Disentangling the Mechanisms of Symbolic Number Processing in Adults’ Mathematics and Arithmetic Achievement

A growing body of research has shown that symbolic number processing relates to individual differences in mathematics. However, it remains unclear which mechanisms of symbolic number processing are crucial—accessing underlying magnitude representation of symbols (i.e., symbol‐magnitude associations), processing relative order of symbols (i.e., symbol‐symbol associations), or processing of symbols per se. To address this question, in this study adult participants performed a dots‐number word matching task—thought to be a measure of symbol‐magnitude associations (numerical magnitude processing)—a numeral‐ordering task that focuses on symbol‐symbol associations (numerical order processing), and a digit‐number word matching task targeting symbolic processing per se. Results showed that both numerical magnitude and order processing were uniquely related to arithmetic achievement, beyond the effects of domain‐general factors (intellectual ability, working memory, inhibitory control, and non‐numerical ordering). Importantly, results were different when a general measure of mathematics achievement was considered. Those mechanisms of symbolic number processing did not contribute to math achievement. Furthermore, a path analysis revealed that numerical magnitude and order processing might draw on a common mechanism. Each process explained a portion of the relation of the other with arithmetic (but not with a general measure of math achievement). These findings are consistent with the notion that adults’ arithmetic skills build upon symbol‐magnitude associations, and they highlight the effects that different math measures have in the study of numerical cognition.