Effects of directional uncertainty on visually-guided joystick pointing

Reaction times generally follow the predictions of Hick's law as stimulus-response uncertainty increases, although notable exceptions include the oculomotor system. Saccadic and smooth pursuit eye movement reaction times are independent of stimulus-response uncertainty. Previous research showed that joystick pointing to targets, a motor analog of saccadic eye movements, is only modestly affected by increased stimulus-response uncertainty; however, a no-uncertainty condition (simple reaction time to 1 possible target) was not included. Here, we re-evaluate manual joystick pointing including a no-uncertainty condition. Analysis indicated simple joystick pointing reaction times were significantly faster than choice reaction times. Choice reaction times (2, 4, or 8 possible target locations) only slightly increased as the number of possible targets increased. These data suggest that, as with joystick tracking (a motor analog of smooth pursuit eye movements), joystick pointing is more closely approximated by a simple/choice step function than the log function predicted by Hick's law.     

The origins of empathic concern

Recent developments in research cast doubt on early conceptions of young children as primarily egocentric and uncaring of others' needs. Studies reviewed indicate a broad range of social competencies children bring to their interpersonal relationships. As early as 2 years of age, they show (a) the cognitive capacity to interpret, in simple ways, the physical and psychological states of others, (b) the emotional capacity to experience, affectively, the state of others, and (c) the behavioral repertoire that permits the possibility of attempts to alleviate discomfort in others. Both temperament and environment may contribute to individual differences in concern for others. Early socialization experiences that lead to adaptive and maladaptive patterns of responsiveness to others' needs are described. Examples of environmental risk conditions include parental depression, marital discord, parental maltreatment. Implications of this work for broadening existing conceptualizations of empathy and related prosocial orientations are addressed.     

Remembering ads: The effects of encoding strategies,retrieval cues,and emotional response

This study uses the encoding specificity principle ( Tulving & Thomson, 1973 ) and the distinction between episodic and semantic knowledge to test predictions about the effects of processing goals and retrieval cues on memory for emotional and neutral TV commercials. Subjects viewed five emotional and five neutral ads embedded in programming. Encoding instructions asked subjects to either (a) evaluate each product or (b) “just watch” as they viewed the ads. Retrieval cues were either the opening scene of each ad (executional cue) or the product category (categorical cue). Both recall and response-time measures were used to index ad memory-trace accessibility. The results showed that when encoding and retrieval conditions were compatible (evaluation instructions with categorical cue, and just-watch instructions with executional cue) ad memory traces were retrieved more rapidly than when encoding and retrieval conditions were incompatible. In addition, subjects who “just watched” emotional ads were able to retrieve those ad memory traces more rapidly when given an executional cue compared to a categorical cue, whereas subjects who evaluated neutral ads at encoding recalled more ads, and retrieved them more rapidly, when given a categorical cue compared to an executional cue. Finally, we show that searching memory first with an executional cue and then with a product-category cue leads to an increase in ad recall for both emotional and neutral ads, whereas searching first with a categorical cue and then with an executional cue leads to a decrease in ad recall for neutral ads.     

The change in perceived motor competence and motor task values during elementary school: A longitudinal cohort study

Participation in motor activities is essential for social interaction and life satisfaction in children. Self‐perceptions and task values have a central position in why children do or do not participate in (motor) activities. Investigating developmental changes in motor self‐perceptions and motor task values in elementary school children would provide vital information about their participation in motor activities. We therefore examined the change in, and associations between, self‐perceptions and task values of fine motor competence, ball competence, and athletic competence in 292 children from kindergarten to grade 4. We also investigated differences between boys and girls, and between children with motor problems and typically developing children. Results indicated that self‐perceptions and task values are domain specific and differ between boys and girls, but not between children with motor problems and typically developing children. Self‐perceptions were not associated with task values. Educators should address specific self‐perceptions to enhance participation into the corresponding motor activities in children between kindergarten and grade 4, and differences in self‐perceptions and task values between boys and girls should be taken into account.     

Shifting attention among working memory representations: testing cue type, awareness, and strategic control

It is well known that visual working memory (VWM) performance is modulated by attentional cues presented during encoding. Interestingly, retrospective cues presented after encoding, but prior to the test phase also improve performance. This improvement in performance is termed the retro-cue benefit. We investigated whether the retro-cue benefit is sensitive to cue type, whether participants were aware of their improvement in performance due to the retro-cue, and whether the effect was under strategic control. Experiment 1 compared the potential cueing benefits of abrupt onset retro-cues relying on bottom-up attention, number retro-cues relying on top-down attention, and arrow retro-cues, relying on a mixture of both. We found a significant retro-cue effect only for arrow retro-cues. In Experiment 2, we tested participants' awareness of their use of the informative retro-cue and found that they were aware of their improved performance. In Experiment 3, we asked whether participants have strategic control over the retro-cue. The retro-cue was difficult to ignore, suggesting that strategic control is low. The retro-cue effect appears to be within conscious awareness but not under full strategic control.     

The bonnie baby: experimentally manipulated temperament affects perceived cuteness and motivation to view infant faces

Attractive individuals are perceived as having various positive personality qualities. Positive personality qualities can in turn increase perceived attractiveness. However, the developmental origins of the link between attractiveness and personality are not understood. This is important because infant attractiveness (‘cuteness’) elicits caregiving from adults, and infant personality (‘temperament’) shapes caregiving behaviour. While research suggests that adults have more positive attitudes towards cuter infants, it is not known whether positive infant temperament can increase the perception of infant cuteness. We investigated the impact of experimentally established infant temperament on adults' perception of cuteness and desire to view individual faces. Ataseline, adults rated the cuteness of, and keypressed to view, images of unfamiliar infants with neutral facial expressions. Training required adults to learn about an infant's ‘temperament’, through repeated pairing of the neutral infant face with positive or negative facial expressions and vocalizations. Adults then re‐rated the original neutral infant faces. Post‐training, there were significant changes from baseline: infants who were mostly happy were perceived as cuter and adults expended greater effort to view them. Infants who were mostly sad were not perceived as cuter and adults expended less effort to view them. Our results suggest that temperament has clear consequences for how adults perceive ‘bonnie’ babies. Perception of infant cuteness is not based on physical facial features alone, and is modifiable through experience.     

An investigation into the effects of meditation with children in a Catholic primary school

This article reports on some findings of a small research project that examined the role of meditation in enhancing the relational lives of children, in particular, their relationship with God. It begins by discussing the literature on relevant research studies that investigate different aspects of meditation. The research method in the project was a case study that involved one Catholic primary school in the Melbourne Archdiocese. Different data collecting strategies were utilised, and this article presents and discusses the analysis and findings from one data source – the analysis and interpretation of a drawing activity which was designed to follow one of the weekly meditation exercises that had been observed by the researchers. Finally, the implications of the findings for education and, in particular, religious education are presented.