Lack of coherence and divergent thinking: Two sides of the same coin in artistic talent?

The aim of this study was to identify some of the underlying cognitive components of artistic talent. The participants in this study were an artistically gifted group of young adults, and a group of controls with no such talent but matched on intelligence. Two components were investigated, one was a preference for local over global processing and others were measures of divergent thinking. The results supported the hypothesis that talented artists might, in contrast to others, show a distinctive cognitive style which may be linked to divergent thinking.     

Children's memory for television advertising: effects of programme–advertisement congruency

The effects of the surrounding programme environment and level of involvement upon children's memory (year 6 primary school, mean age 11.1, SD = 0.4, 48 boys and 69 girls) for television advertisements was examined by manipulating the degree of congruency between the production genre of the programme and the advertisements embedded within it. In Experiment One (n = 56) the ad‐break comprised either all cartoons (n = 4) or all non‐cartoons (n = 4). In Experiment Two (n = 61) cartoon and non‐cartoon advertisements were equally represented in each ad‐break. After viewing, participants provided evaluative ratings of the programme and completed memory tests for advertisements, using prompted recall and brand‐recognition tasks. Memory performance overall was better for cartoon advertisements than for non‐cartoon advertisements, with the latter being poorly remembered when presented in the non‐cartoon programme. In Experiment Two, the programme had no effect on overall recall of advertising, but was related to brand recognition, which was better for advertisements placed in the cartoon programme. Free recall of non‐cartoon advertisements was best when placed in the cartoon programme, while free recall only of cartoon advertisements was best when placed in the non‐cartoon programme. The measures of audience involvement (programme ratings) did not show any significant correlation with memory for advertising. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of IQ on executive function measures in children with ADHD.

The present study compared children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and controls on a selected set of clinical measures of executive function (EF). A total of 92 children (51 ADHD, 41 control), ages 6-16, completed measures chosen from a larger neuropsychological battery to illustrate diverse components of the EF construct (planning, inhibitory control, response preparation, memory search). The selected measures were moderately correlated with one another, and moderately correlated with IQ. After controlling for age, sex, presence of learning disability (LD), ADHD, and IQ test version, Full Scale IQ was significantly related to four of the five selected EF measures. A second analysis showed group differences on the EF measures at different IQ levels. After covarying for age, there was a significant multivariate effect for IQ level (average, high average, superior) and a significant multivariate interaction between group (ADHD vs. control) and IQ level. Three of the five selected EF measures showed significant univariate group effects (controls performing better than ADHD) at the average IQ level; however, there were no significant group differences between children with ADHD and controls at high average or superior IQ levels. These results suggest that clinical measures of EF may differ among children with ADHD and controls at average IQ levels, but there is poorer discriminatory power for these measures among children with above average IQ.     

Lack of coherence and divergent thinking: Two sides of the same coin in artistic talent?

The aim of this study was to identify some of the underlying cognitive components of artistic talent. The participants in this study were an artistically gifted group of young adults, and a group of controls with no such talent but matched on intelligence. Two components were investigated, one was a preference for local over global processing and others were measures of divergent thinking. The results supported the hypothesis that talented artists might, in contrast to others, show a distinctive cognitive style which may be linked to divergent thinking.     

Anxiety Symptoms as Predictors of Nursing Home Placement in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease

Anxiety symptoms are fairly common among patients with Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Such symptoms are likely to make patient care more problematic and, therefore, increase the risk of nursing home placement. Anxiety symptoms were evaluated on the basis of physician examinations, in conjunction with caregiver interviews, in 372 community-dwelling AD patients. Patients received annual follow-up for 1–12 years (M = 4.4). Patients who exhibited anxiety symptoms at baseline assessment were significantly more likely to enter nursing homes, regardless of initial cognitive status or other risks for institutionalization. There was a 15% increase in risk for each point on a 0–5 scale. This study supports the hypothesis that anxiety symptoms increase the risk of nursing home placement in patients with AD. Consequently, there is a need for better understanding of the causes of anxiety in AD and for the development of effective methods of assessment and treatment.     

Are average and symmetric faces attractive to infants? Discrimination and looking preferences

Young infants prefer to look at faces that adults find attractive, suggesting a biological basis for some face preferences. However, the basis for infant preferences is not known. Adults find average and symmetric faces attractive. We examined whether 5-8-month-old infants discriminate between different levels of averageness and symmetry in faces, and whether they prefer to look at faces with higher levels of these traits. Each infant saw 24 pairs of female faces. Each pair consisted of two versions of the same face differing either in averageness (12 pairs) or symmetry (12 pairs). Data from the mothers confirmed that adults preferred the more average and more symmetric versions in each pair. The infants were sensitive to differences in both averageness and symmetry, but showed no looking preference for the more average or more symmetric versions. On the contrary, longest looks were significantly longer for the less average versions, and both longest looks and first looks were marginally longer for the less symmetric versions. Mean looking times were also longer for the less average and less symmetric versions, but those differences were not significant. We suggest that the infant looking behaviour may reflect a novelty preference rather than an aesthetic preference.     

The effect of fast speech rate on stuttering frequency during delayed auditory feedback

Delayed auditory feedback (DAF) has been documented to improve fluency in those who stutter. The increased fluency has been attributed to the slowed speech rate induced by DAF, but recent experiments have suggested that increasing the speech rate may also decrease stuttering under DAF. This investigation described the effect of combining a fast speech rate and DAF on the fluency of four people who stutter. Fluency of the two mildly dysfluent subjects was the same for both no DAF and DAF conditions at normal and at fast oral reading rates. In contrast, the two severely dysfluent subjects improved in fluency from the no DAF to the DAF conditions. They were found to be dysfluent at both normal and fast oral reading rates without DAF. The results of the study point to the need for further research on the relationship between speech rate and stuttering frequency under conditions of DAF and no DAF. EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES: Readers will learn about and be able to describe how the frequency of stuttering is affected by: (1) speech rates; (2) DAF; and (3) how stuttering severity influences such effects.     

Perceived organizational support: a review of the literature

The authors reviewed more than 70 studies concerning employees' general belief that their work organization values their contribution and cares about their well-being (perceived organizational support; POS). A meta-analysis indicated that 3 major categories of beneficial treatment received by employees (i.e., fairness, supervisor support, and organizational rewards and favorable job conditions) were associated with POS. POS, in turn, was related to outcomes favorable to employees (e.g., job satisfaction, positive mood) and the organization (e.g., affective commitment, performance, and lessened withdrawal behavior). These relationships depended on processes assumed by organizational support theory: employees' belief that the organization's actions were discretionary, feeling of obligation to aid the organization, fulfillment of socioemotional needs, and performance-reward expectancies.