What makes distributed practice effective?

The advantages provided to memory by the distribution of multiple practice or study opportunities are among the most powerful effects in memory research. In this paper, we critically review the class of theories that presume contextual or encoding variability as the sole basis for the advantages of distributed practice, and recommend an alternative approach based on the idea that some study events remind learners of other study events. Encoding variability theory encounters serious challenges in two important phenomena that we review here: superadditivity and nonmonotonicity. The bottleneck in such theories lies in the assumption that mnemonic benefits arise from the increasing independence, rather than interdependence, of study opportunities. The reminding model accounts for many basic results in the literature on distributed practice, readily handles data that are problematic for encoding variability theories, including superadditivity and nonmonotonicity, and provides a unified theoretical framework for understanding the effects of repetition and the effects of associative relationships on memory.     

Types of responses in 4-5-year-old children in conservation, classification, and theory of mind tasks

This study analyzes the type of responses that children between 4 and 5 years of age give to different tasks: conservation, classification and tasks of the theory of mind (ToM). Types of responses were observed with the Observation of Cognitive and Meta-cognitive Skills Inventory, which identifies: attention, receptive and expressive language, planning processes, and meta-cognitive processes. Significant differences were found according to the variable age in: (a) the use of attentional strategies in performance of ToM tasks, (b) the use of receptive and expressive language in the performance of all tasks, (c) the use of planning processes in the performance of conservation tasks; and (d) the use of meta-cognitive processes to solve ToM tasks.     

Polynomial Regression with Response Surface Analysis: A Powerful Approach for Examining Moderation and Overcoming Limitations of Difference Scores

Polynomial regression with response surface analysis is a sophisticated statistical approach that has become increasingly popular in multisource feedback research (e.g., self-observer rating discrepancy). The approach allows researchers to examine the extent to which combinations of two predictor variables relate to an outcome variable, particularly in the case when the discrepancy (difference) between the two predictor variables is a central consideration. We believe this approach has potential for application to a wide variety of research questions. To enhance interest and use of this technique, we provide ideas for future research directions that might benefit from the application of this analytic tool. We also walk through a step-by-step example of how to conduct polynomial regression and response surface analysis and provide all the tools you will need to do the analyses and graph the results (including SPSS syntax, formulas, and a downloadable Excel spreadsheet). Our example involves how discrepancies in perceived supervisor and organizational support relate to affective commitment. Finally, we discuss how this approach is a better, more informative alternative to difference scores and can be applied to the examination of two-way interactions in moderated regression.     

Honesty–humility and a person–situation interaction at work

Person–situation interactions have attracted researchers' attention for decades. Likewise, the current work focuses on the interaction of honesty–humility and situational conditions in bringing about counterproductive work behaviour (CWB). As such, we introduce perceptions of organizational politics as a situational construct representing an opportunity for CWB. In a sample of N = 148 employees we found that particularly individuals low in honesty–humility were affected by situational circumstances. By contrast, those high in honesty–humility reported practically the same (lower) amount of CWB independent of the level of perceptions of organizational politics. In other words, employees low in honesty–humility were especially likely to condition their behaviour on environmental factors, a result that mirrors previous findings. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Investigating the Moderating Role of Cultural Practices on the Effect of Selection Fairness Perceptions

Utilizing a sample of applicants to positions in a global corporation, we examined whether cultural practices moderate the effect of selection fairness perceptions on organizational attractiveness and job choice. Positive relationships were anticipated between fairness perceptions and outcomes, and performance orientation and uncertainty avoidance cultural practices were hypothesized to moderate the effects of structural and information sharing perceptions, respectively. Structural fairness perceptions were positively associated with both outcomes, but information‐sharing perceptions were significantly related only to organizational attractiveness. National variability in the effect of selection fairness perceptions was observed only for the effect of structural perceptions on organizational attractiveness. Performance orientation moderated this effect such that the strongest relationship was seen among applicants from more performance‐oriented countries.     

Perceptions of High-Risk Care and Barriers to Care Among Women at Risk for Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer following Genetic Counseling in the Community Setting

Data are limited regarding barriers to care among women, with or at risk for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC), following genetic counseling in the community setting. Using a telephone survey, we retrospectively addressed perceptions of post-genetic counseling medical care and barriers to care among 69 at-risk women from the non-academic setting. Of these, all agreed that following cancer screening recommendations was better than not following them; none felt recommendations were too difficult to follow; all believed screening would help keep them healthy; 57% believed screening would prevent cancer. Twenty-five percent noted discomfort with breast imaging; 29% found ovarian cancer screening uncomfortable. Close to a quarter of participants reported difficulty deciding whether or not to undergo risk-reducing mastectomy while 10% noted difficulty deciding for or against bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. There were no perceived major barriers to care, although 38% felt that screening reminders would be helpful, and 10% needed more help in following through with care. Overall, participants believed that they were benefiting from their post-genetic counseling medical care. This work identified HBOC-related support needs to include: informational resources that promote improved understanding of cancer risk and high-risk management; screening reminder systems; and decision support tools.     

Oedipus and the Oedipal

Psychoanalysts have assumed that Sophocles can be seen through the lens of Freud, and that the Oedipus complex is about the incest taboo, guilt, and aggression. However, an examination of Sophocles' Oedipus Rex (as well as other plays) suggests that these themes are only a part of the central dynamics of the play, perhaps not the most central part. This article describes discrepancies between what Freud sees of oedipal dynamics and the oedipal dynamics at work in Sophocles and suggests possible explanations. A central theme of my discussion is the shame and blindness of Oedipus.