The value of proactive goal setting and choice in 3‐ to 7‐year‐olds' use of working memory gating strategies in a naturalistic task

Rule‐guided behavior depends on the ability to strategically update and act on content held in working memory. Proactive and reactive control strategies were contrasted across two experiments using an adapted input/output gating paradigm (Neuron, 81, 2014 and 930). Behavioral accuracies of 3‐, 5‐, and 7‐year‐olds were higher when a contextual cue appeared at the beginning of the task (input gating) rather than at the end (output gating). This finding supports prior work in older children, suggesting that children are better when input gating but rely on the more effortful output gating strategy for goal‐oriented action selection (Cognition, 155, 2016 and 8). A manipulation was added to investigate whether children's use of working memory strategies becomes more flexible when task goals are specified internally rather than externally provided by the experimenter. A shift toward more proactive control was observed when children chose the task goal among two alternatives. Scan path analyses of saccadic eye movement indicated that giving children agency and choice over the task goal resulted in less use of a reactive strategy than when the goal was determined by the experimenter.     

Is it possible to be too happy? Happiness,personality, and psychopathology

The types of relationship between happiness, personality and psychopatholgy are assessed in an available sample (n = 321, adults, both sexes). Empirical results from two happiness scales and two questionnaires, one of personality (NEO-PI-R) and other of personality disorders (Loranger's scale), do not confirm the Diener's threshold hypothesis, that makes a distinction between optimum and maximum happiness; or the Seligman's supposition, that assumes that happiness has no limits; The main results are: a) negative affect (Neuroticism) is negatively related to happiness across its full range; b) Extraversion and Openness to experience are positively related to happiness across its full range; c) in the rest of the basic personality factors, relationships are not linear, though not in the sense anticipated by Diener, and d) in personality disorders, the tendencies observed diversify according to the type of disorder, and the type of happiness factor. On most occasions, the close relationship between personality disorders and the Neuroticism dimension is verified in a consistent manner. These results are discussed within the context of clinical psychology, and the general theory about happiness.     

The Effects of Adult Suggestion and Child Consistency on Young Children's Reports1

The purpose of the present study was to contrast the effects of children's response consistency and adult leading questions in a structured memory interview. Children (N = 70) who viewed a 2‐min video clip were asked 3 questions (leading, misleading, and neutral) related to the video. Children's responses (assent vs. deny) were predicted by the type of question asked by the adult (neutral, leading, and misleading), but not by the previous response given by the child or the child's age in months. Specifically, children assented the least often to misleading questions. Accuracy was predicted by both question type and in the last question–answer pair, children's previous response accuracy. These findings are discussed with relation to interview dynamics.     

A data-driven approach to neuropsychological features in isolated REM behaviour disorder: A latent class analysis

Recent evidence demonstrated that neuropsychological assessment may be considered a valid marker of neurodegeneration in idiopathic REM sleep behaviour disorder (iRBD). However, little is known about the possible neuropsychological heterogeneity within the iRBD population. This retrospective study aimed to identify and describe different neuropsychological phenotypes in iRBD patients by means of a data-driven approach using latent class analysis. A total of 289 iRBD patients underwent a neuropsychological assessment evaluating cognitive domains: global cognition, language, short- and long-term memory, executive functions and visuospatial abilities. The presence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) was also assessed. Latent class analysis was carried out to identify iRBD subtypes according to neuropsychological scores. The most parsimonious model identified three latent classes. Groups were labelled as follows: Class 2 “severely impaired” (n = 83/289): mean pathological scores in different tests, a high percentage of MCI multiple-domain and impairment in all neuropsychological domains. Class 1 “moderately impaired” (n = 44/289): mean neuropsychological score within the normal value, a high percentage of MCI (high risk to phenoconversion) and great impairment in the visuospatial domain. Class 3 “slightly impaired” (n = 162/289): no deficit worthy of attention except for short- and long-term memory. Our results suggest three different clinical phenotypes within the iRBD population. These findings may be relevant in the future for predicting the clinical trajectories of phenoconversion in iRBD.     

Relationships between the Dark Triad and humor styles: A replication and extension

Two hundred undergraduate students completed paper-and-pencil measures of the Dark Triad (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) and the Humor Styles Questionnaire, which taps two adaptive (affiliative and self-enhancing) and two maladaptive (aggressive and self-defeating) styles of humor. The first purpose of the study was to replicate relationships between these variables reported by Veselka et al. (2010). The second purpose was to expand on their results by investigating relationships between several sub-factors of the Dark Triad (in addition to global scores) and the humor styles. Results provided substantial replication of Veselka et al. at the global level and, at the sub-factor level, provided additional insights into the potential role of adaptive and maladaptive humor styles in the personality dynamics of individuals characterized by the various facets of the Dark Triad.     

A Comparison of the Construct Validity of Two Alternative Approaches to the Assessment of Psychopathy in the Community

This study compared the validity of 2 different self-report approaches to the assessment of psychopathy in nonforensic samples: the Psychopathy Resemblance Index (PRI), derived from a measure of normal personality functioning, and the Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (SRP), developed specifically to assess the maladaptive traits associated with psychopathy. In 2 adult samples (n ₁ = 260, n₂ = 250), the PRI and the SRP were positively correlated with each other and with measures of maladaptive personality traits related to Machiavellianism and narcissism. However, unlike the SRP, the PRI was independent of trait empathy and general psychopathology and was positively associated with trait emotional intelligence. These results suggest that the PRI captures a more adaptive variant of psychopathy than does the SRP.     

Is Weiner's attribution‐help model stable across cultures? A test in Brazilian subcultures

The effect of attribution of responsibility on the intention to help is a well‐studied effect. The Weiner model of attribution‐emotion‐help is the main theoretical development to describe the structural relation between these variables. Some research results have suggested that culture influences the relation between model variables. Collectivists tend to show more compassionate emotions independent of attribution of responsibility whereby emotion is no longer a mediator. The present research aims to test the Weiner model in Brazil, a country with established subcultures and clear distinctions in the collectivism–individualism dimension across its regions. An experiment with 1,569 participants from all five Brazilian regions was conducted. Path analysis revealed that more socially oriented participants tended to feel more compassion for the experimental scenario's protagonist, independent of controllability manipulation, decreasing the effect of emotions in the model. These results depict the effect of culture on the model, questioning the stability of the model across cultures.     

The relation between antisocial personality and the perceived ability to deceive

The current study investigated relations between the perceived ability to deceive and the Dark Triad personality traits in two samples. In study 1, the sample consisted of 1074 participants (329 male, 745 female) aged 17–71 years (M = 22.96, SD = 6.92). Participants completed the perceived ability to deceive scale, in which they were asked to estimate the percentage of people who are worse at lying than they are in a number of situations. Participants also completed the Short-D3 – a measure of the Dark Triad personality traits. As expected, correlational analyses demonstrated that Machiavellianism was most highly correlated with the perceived ability to deceive (r = .41), followed by psychopathy (r = .35), and narcissism (r = .33). These findings were replicated in study 2, which consisted of 1448 undergraduate students (498 males, 947 females, 3 other), aged 18–43 (M = 18.35, SD = 1.77). Study 2 also investigated the association of the Dark Triad and perceived ability to deceive with dimensions of the Big Five model of personality. Implications are discussed.     

Dopaminergic modulation of prospective memory in Parkinson's disease

Growing interest is present in literature on the study of prospective memory functioning in Parkinson's disease (PD). Current data indicate that prospective memory may be impaired in PD and a relationship with general executive dysfunctioning has been suggested. However, although the dopamine dependency of cognitive dysfunction in PD has been widely investigated, poor is known on the dopaminergic modulation of PM. In the present study we explored the effect of acute administration of levodopa on the performance of a PD sample (n=20) in a time-based prospective memory task. PD patients were evaluated in the morning after a 12-hour therapy wash-out in two experimental conditions: i) after levodopa assumption ("on"); ii) without drug administration ("off"). The experimental task required to execute three uncorrelated actions after 10' for three consecutive trials. Distinct scores for the spontaneous recall of the intention to perform the actions (prospective component) and for the correct execution of the actions (retrospective component) have been computed. Results showed that in the "off" condition PD patients were selectively impaired on the prospective component of the task. However, L-dopa administration significantly improved PD patients' performance actually restoring the prospective memory deficit. These results support a critical role of dopaminergic modulation in prospective memory processes in PD patients, possibly through the replacement of dopamine levels in fronto-striatal pathways.