Age-of-acquisition and cumulative frequency have independent effects

Lewis (1999) argued that effects of age of acquisition (AoA) are entirely attributable to cumulative frequency. He reported an instance-based model in which the number of instances of the stimulus stored in memory predicts reaction time. We note four aspects of the literature on AoA that cannot be explained by this instance-based approach. Firstly, an effect of AoA has been observed in the absence of an effect of frequency. Secondly, an effect of AoA has been observed when cumulative frequency has been controlled. Thirdly, the effect of AoA is dependent on task. Fourthly, the effect of word frequency is dependent on stimulus modality. Lewis reported an experiment in which participants make a decision based on identity-specific semantic information to celebrity faces to demonstrate an effect of the number of instances in memory, which he interpreted as an effect of AoA. We note that effects of AoA have been found in lexical and perceptual tasks, but to date all attempts to demonstrate an advantage for early-acquired items in semantic classification tasks have failed. We conclude that the effects of AoA cannot be attributed solely to the effects of cumulative frequency.     

Influences of age, performance, and item relatedness on verbatim and gist recall of verb-noun pairs

Age differences in adults' memory for performed actions (e.g., wave hand) are sometimes smaller than age differences in memory for nonperformed phrases. In this study, we examined the conditions under which performance reduces age differences in recall. Younger and older adults performed or read verb-noun phrases that were either related (e.g., actions performed in a kitchen) or unrelated. Performance did not reduce age differences in recall of the exact verbs and nouns used to describe an action, but performance did reduce age differences in memory for the gist of related actions. Older adults especially had difficulty recalling the exact verb used to describe the action. These results suggest that older adults may have better memory for actions than is revealed by tests of verbatim recall. They may remember performing the action but not remember the exact words used to describe the action.     

A test of the circumvention-of-limits hypothesis in scientific problem solving: the case of geological bedrock mapping

Sources of individual differences in scientific problem solving were investigated. Participants representing a wide range of experience in geology completed tests of visuospatial ability and geological knowledge, and performed a geological bedrock mapping task, in which they attempted to infer the geological structure of an area in the Tobacco Root Mountains of Montana. A Visuospatial Ability × Geological Knowledge interaction was found, such that visuospatial ability positively predicted mapping performance at low, but not high, levels of geological knowledge. This finding suggests that high levels of domain knowledge may sometimes enable circumvention of performance limitations associated with cognitive abilities.     

Personality and Legislative Politics: The Big Five Trait Dimensions Among U.S. State Legislators

The impact of personality traits on people's attitudes and behaviors is widely recognized, yet systematic attention to personality in large‐N research on elected officials has been rare. Among psychologists, five‐factor frameworks that focus on openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and emotional stability have gained tremendous prominence in the past two decades. Applications of these frameworks to the study of mass political behavior have been highly fruitful, but corresponding applications in the study of legislators have been rare. In an effort to assess the utility of a Big Five approach in the study of legislative politics, this article addresses three questions: whether elected officials will be willing to provide personality self‐assessments, whether any data they do provide will exhibit meaningful variance, and whether the Big Five trait dimensions will correspond with patterns in respondents' attitudes and behaviors. These questions are addressed using data from members of the state legislatures in Arizona, Connecticut, and Maine. Results provide considerable grounds for optimism regarding the likely utility of more extensive applications of the Big Five in research on elected officials.     

A national examination of poverty and interactive caregiving practices among parents of young children

Journal of Child and Family Studies - Interactive caregiving practices can be protective for the development of the brain in early childhood, particularly for children experiencing poverty. There...