The role of cognitive flexibility and vocabulary abilities of younger and older users in searching for information on the web

The present study investigated the role of cognitive flexibility and vocabulary abilities in explaining age‐related differences in information searching with a search engine. Nineteen older and 20 younger participants had to carry out nine searches and to complete a battery of cognitive tests. Older participants obtained poorer search performance with fewer correct answers, and lower task completion speed. They interacted little with the system, and showed specific difficulties in getting out of impasses and reformulating unfruitful requests. Regression analyses suggested that age differences in the number of requests were moderated by differences in cognitive flexibility and that the older participants did not leverage their increased vocabulary in producing new keywords. The findings suggest that the age‐related decline in cognitive flexibility plays a role in the age‐related differences observed in searching for information, especially in the way users get out of impasses. The results have implications for designing search engine tools. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Career aspirations of youth: Untangling race/ethnicity, SES, and gender

This study examined the influence of gender, socioeconomic status, and race/ethnicity on the career aspirations of over 22,000 8th and 10th grade youth. The top five occupations identified by youth as aspirations included artist, lawyer, musician, FBI agent, and actor/actress. Top occupations were also reported for each gender × socioeconomic status × race/ethnicity group. Aspirations were coded by social prestige level, minimum education requirements, and median salary. Results revealed significant main effects for socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity as well as significant interaction effects. Further, significant gender main effects and a significant gender × ethnicity interaction were found for occupational prestige and educational requirements.     

Development and validation of a questionnaire about the main variables affecting the individual investor's behavior in the Stock Exchange

Development and validation of a questionnaire about the main variables affecting the individual investor's behavior in the Stock Exchange. There is a considerable lack of information about the methodology usually used in most of the studies about individual investor's behavior. The studies reviewed do not show the method used in the selection of the items or the psychometric properties of the questionnaires. Because of the importance of investment in the Stock Exchange nowadays, it seems relevant to obtain a reliable instrument to understand individual investor's behavior in the Stock Exchange. Therefore, the goal of the present work is to validate a questionnaire about the main variables involved in individual investors' behavior in the Stock Exchange. Based on previous studies, we elaborated a questionnaire using the Delphi methodology with a group of experts. The internal consistency (Cronbach alpha=.934) and validity evidence of the questionnaire show that it may be an effective instrument and can be applied with some assurance.     

Involuntary autobiographical memories in and outside the laboratory: How different are they from voluntary autobiographical memories?

In two studies, we compared the characteristics and retrieval times of involuntary and voluntary autobiographical memory under controlled laboratory conditions. A new laboratory task of involuntary autobiographical memories involved detecting vertical lines in a stream of stimuli with horizontal lines (an undemanding vigilance task) and recording any involuntary memories during the session. The majority of these memories were reported as being triggered by irrelevant cue phrases presented on the screen. Voluntary autobiographical memories were sampled via a standard word-cue method in Session 2. The results showed that involuntary memories were more specific and were retrieved significantly faster than voluntary memories. They were also more likely to be triggered by negative cues, whereas cue valence did not have any effect on the number of voluntary memories. Furthermore, laboratory involuntary memories did not differ from naturalistic involuntary memories recorded in a diary by the same participants (Study 2). Taken together, these results have important implications for current theories of autobiographical memory, and they open up interesting avenues for future research.     

Characteristics of problem gamblers 56 years of age or older: a statewide study of casino self-excluders

Gambling among older adults appears to be increasing, though little is known about the characteristics of older adult problem gamblers. The purpose of this study was to compare older adults to younger and middle-aged adults in a cohort of problem gamblers participating in a state-administered casino self-exclusion program. Self-reported problem gamblers (N = 1,601) who voluntary banned themselves from Missouri casinos from 2001 to 2003 were categorized by age as younger adults (ages 21 to 35; n = 490), middle-aged adults (ages 36 to 55; n = 950), and older adults (ages 56 to 79; n = 161), and were compared with respect to demographic variables, gambling participation, and reasons for self-exclusion. Older adult self-excluders typically began gambling in midlife, experienced gambling problems around age 60, reported preferences for nonstrategic forms of gambling, and identified fear of suicide as the primary reason for self-excluding. Implications for intervention, prevention and treatment are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved).     

On the participation of mTOR in recognition memory

Evidence indicates that activation of the neuronal protein synthesis machinery is required in areas of the brain relevant to memory for consolidation and persistence of the mnemonic trace. Here, we report that inhibition of hippocampal mTOR, a protein kinase involved in the initiation of mRNA translation, immediately or 180min but not 540min after training impairs consolidation of long-term object recognition memory without affecting short-term memory retention or exploratory behavior. When infused into dorsal CA1 after long-term memory reactivation in the presence of familiar objects the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin (RAP) did not affect retention. However, when given immediately after exposing animals to a novel and a familiar object, RAP impaired memory for both of them. The amnesic effect of the post-retrieval administration of RAP was long-lasting, did not happen after exposure to two novel objects or following exploration of the training arena in the absence of other stimuli, suggesting that it was contingent with reactivation of the consolidated trace in the presence of a behaviorally relevant and novel cue. Our results indicate that mTOR activity is required in the dorsal hippocampus for consolidation of object recognition memory and suggest that inhibition of this kinase after memory retrieval in the presence of a particular set of cues hinders persistence of the original recognition memory trace.     

Lexical Retrieval Deficit in Picture Naming: Implications for Word Production Models

In models of word retrieval, it is common to differentiate lexical-semantic (word meaning) and lexical-phonological (word form) levels. There has been considerable interest in the relationship between these two levels. The so-called discrete two-stage model claims that phonological activation follows selection at the lexical-semantic level and is limited only to the selected item. In contrast, nondiscrete (interactive and cascade) models assume that all activated lexical-semantic candidates are also phonologically activated to some extent. We addressed this issue by studying an anomic patient who suffered from a partial functional disconnection between lexical-semantic and lexical-phonological levels. A multitarget repeated naming task with phonological training was employed. Systematic manipulation of semantic and phonological relatedness between the to-be-named items indicated that our patient's word error patterns were sensitive to both types of lexical relatedness. A delayed repetition task employing the same items failed to show similar effects, suggesting that they were specific to naming. The discrete two-stage model is unable to explain the observed effects of semantic and phonological relatedness. However, they are consistent with assumptions of nondiscrete models of lexical retrieval. In addition to the theoretical implications of this study, the observed effects of lexical context on word retrieval have implications for treatment of anomia.     

Assessing Growth in a Diagnostic Classification Model Framework

A common assessment research design is the single-group pre-test/post-test design in which examinees are administered an assessment before instruction and then another assessment after instruction. In this type of study, the primary objective is to measure growth in examinees, individually and collectively. In an item response theory (IRT) framework, longitudinal IRT models can be used to assess growth in examinee ability over time. In a diagnostic classification model (DCM) framework, assessing growth translates to measuring changes in attribute mastery status over time, thereby providing a categorical, criterion-referenced interpretation of growth. This study introduces the Transition Diagnostic Classification Model (TDCM), which combines latent transition analysis with the log-linear cognitive diagnosis model to provide methodology for analyzing growth in a general DCM framework. Simulation study results indicate that the proposed model is flexible, provides accurate and reliable classifications, and is quite robust to violations to measurement invariance over time. The TDCM is used to analyze pre-test/post-test data from a diagnostic mathematics assessment.