Processing resources and age differences in working memory

This study investigated the performance of young and old subjects on a modified version of the working memory task developed by Baddeley and Hitch (1974). Subjects were required to verify a set of sentences of varying complexity while they repeated aloud zero, two, or four words. The older subjects took longer to verify the sentences, especially when the sentences were grammatically complex, but the effect of concurrent memory load on verification latency was the same in both groups. These results cast doubt on the notion that there is an age-related decline in one general pool of processing resources. They also suggest that older people have greater difficulty with the active processing aspects, rather than with the passive holding aspects, of working memory tasks.     

Similar as well as dissimilar contextual stimuli increase rated similarity

Contextual stimuli from one category increase the rated similarity of stimuli from a second category. In Experiment 1, associates of one of the members of pairs of target words increased the rated similarity of the members slightly more than did much less similar contextual stimuli. In Experiment 2, contextual category names and good exemplars increased the rated similarity of pairs of poor to medium target exemplars and were also rated as more similar to these targets than the targets were to each other. In both cases, the category names resulted in the stronger effect. This ability of contextually similar stimuli to increase rated similarity opposes the distance-density and averaging-judgmental theories of the effect of context on similarity. However, the theory that a positive association exists between the perceived similarity of stimuli and the strength of the category to which they belong explains how both contextually dissimilar and contextually similar stimuli can increase rated similarity.     

Hindsight bias: An interaction of automatic and motivational factors?

If subjects are asked to recollect a former response after having been informed about the correct response, their recollection tends to approach the correct response. This effect has been termedhindsight bias. We studied hindsight bias in an experiment requiring numerical responses to almanac-type questions for physical quantities. We varied (1) the time at which the correct information was provided, (2) the encoding of the original responses by asking/not asking subjects to give a reason for the respective response, and (3) the motivation to recall correctly. We found that hindsight is less biased if reasons are given and if the correct information is provided at an earlier time. Motivation had only interactive effects: (1) With high motivation to recall correctly, the time the correct information was provided had no influence. (2) With reasons given, the variation of motivation showed no effect. These results rule out purely motivational and purely automatic explanations.     

Resilient children,psychological wellness,and primary prevention

The concept of heightened resilience or invulnerability in young profoundly stressed children is developed in terms of its implications for a psychology of wellness and for primary prevention in mental health. Relevant literature is reviewed, a skeletal model for studying resilience is outlined, and needed research directions are considered. The latter include expansion of the construct's nomological definitional net, inquiry into the antecedents and determinants of resilience, and the application of such generative information to frame preventive interventions for young, profoundly stressed children.     

Force variability in isometric responses

In the present study we examined the contribution of different impulse parameters to peak force variability in an isometric task. Five experiments are reported that each held constant a different impulse parameter while allowing the other impulse parameters to vary. The results indicate that change in force level is the parameter that has the greatest effect on peak force variability, although time to peak force and preload also systematically influence response variability. A formula that accommodates the relation between impulse parameters and force variability is proposed. The data suggest that even in isometric tasks, it is the force-time properties of the impulse, rather than discrete parameters such as peak force, that determine the outcome variability.     

Modulation of male mouse genital sniff, attack, and mount behaviors by urogenital substances from estrous females

The modulation of attacks, genital sniffs, and mounts in male SJL/J mice by ovarian-dependent urogenital substances in the urine voided by estrous females was examined. Urogenital substances were applied onto the external urogenital areas of ovariectomized mice. When compared with urine voided by estrous females, which stimulated genital sniffing, mounting, and reduced aggression, bladder urine was ineffective. Genital sniffing and mounting was stimulated by estradiol-17 beta, vaginal fluids, and preputial extract. Aggression was reduced by estradiol-17 beta, urethral catheterized urine, and vaginal fluids. Preputialectomy reduced, but did not eliminate, urinary stimulation of genital sniffing and mounting. Preputial extract stimulated aggression. Urogenital substances from ovariectomized females were ineffective in reducing attacks and stimulating genital sniffs and mounts. It was concluded that the ovarian-dependent chemosignals in the urine voided by estrous females are contributed by the urethra, vagina, and preputial gland, perhaps in part through the excretion of unconjugated estrogens.     

Does nondirectional signalization of target distance contribute to navigation in the Morris water maze?

The possibility that rats can navigate in the Morris water maze by reducing the difference between the memorized platform scene and the current sensory input was tested in nine blind rats. A computerized videosystem monitored the rats' movements in the pool and converted the rat-target distance into tones the frequency of which increased in 64 equal steps from 120 Hz at 128 cm to 7680 Hz at 0 cm. During 15 days of training to find a fixed platform position from different starting points (12 trials per day) average escape latencies decreased from 39.0 to 25.4 s. The performance significantly deteriorated when the acoustic distance signalization was omitted and/or when the target position was changed form trial to trial. It is concluded that blind rats solved the task by simultaneously employing search strategy based on position responses, mapping using acoustic background beacons, and distance reduction navigation. It is argued that the various strategies are additive and that their relative significance depends of the conditions of the experiment.