Assessing the associative deficit of older adults in long-term and short-term/working memory

Older adults exhibit a deficit in associative long-term memory relative to younger adults. However, the literature is inconclusive regarding whether this deficit is attenuated in short-term/working memory. To elucidate the issue, three experiments assessed younger and older adults' item and interitem associative memory and the effects of several variables that might potentially contribute to the inconsistent pattern of results in previous studies. In Experiment 1, participants were tested on item and associative recognition memory with both long-term and short-term retention intervals in a single, continuous recognition paradigm. There was an associative deficit for older adults in the short-term and long-term intervals. Using only short-term intervals, Experiment 2 utilized mixed and blocked test designs to examine the effect of test event salience. Blocking the test did not attenuate the age-related associative deficit seen in the mixed test blocks. Finally, an age-related associative deficit was found in Experiment 3, under both sequential and simultaneous presentation conditions. Even while accounting for some methodological issues, the associative deficit of older adults is evident in short-term/working memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

Effects of an experimental social stressor on resources loss,negative affect,and coping strategies

This experimental study, grounded in Hobfoll's conservation of resources (COR) theory, assessed the effects of manipulating a social stressor on loss of psychological resources, negative affect, and coping strategies. Israeli student volunteers were randomly allocated to one of two conditions: (1) social stressor (n = 66) and (2.) nonstressor (n = 59). The social stressor, aimed at reducing participant's personal resources, was experimentally induced via the Trier Social Stress Test protocol. The protocol consisted of a mock job interview administered under evaluative conditions, followed by performing a difficult arithmetic calculation task. The nonstressor condition involved a neutral interaction with an experimenter, followed by performing a relatively easy mental calculation task. Consistent with our hypotheses, the social stressor, compared to the nonstressor condition, resulted in statistically significant lower mean levels of psychological resources, higher levels of negative affect, and increased emotion-oriented and avoidance-oriented coping. Furthermore, under the social stressor condition, compared with the nonstressor condition, negative affect was more strongly related to loss of psychological resources and various coping strategies. Overall, the data provide experimental support for key tenets of COR theory     

Culture,religion, ethnicity and the meaning of work: Jews and Muslims in the Israeli context

The work values of Arabs in general, and of Muslims in particular, have not yet been studied in Israel. This study examines the meaning of work (MOW) of 1201 Jews and 219 Muslims, who work in the Israeli labour market. The findings reveal significant differences in the MOW dimensions and demonstrate different perceptions and internalisation of work values between the two ethno-religious groups. While the Jews have a higher economic and intrinsic orientation and a higher need for interpersonal relations than the Muslims, the Muslims have higher work centrality. The findings attributed to cultural differences, ethnic conflict, occupational discrimination and high degree of segregation.     

Is Rape-Related Self Blame Distinct From Other Post Traumatic Attributions of Blame? A Comparison of Severity and Implications for Treatment

Rape treatment generally takes the form of standard trauma intervention, which may limit its ability to resolve rape-specific symptoms. For the sake of optimizing such treatment, the present study seeks to distinguish specific post-rape symptoms from those observed following other forms of trauma, particularly in respect to self-blame and related PTSD. Given typical societal victim-blaming following rape, self-blame is expected to be considerably more extreme among survivors of rape than in other victims, and predictive of relatively elevated post-trauma symptoms. Three hundred and four participants completed measures of blame attribution and PTSD, substantiating the hypotheses. Implications for rape treatment and social change are discussed.     

Longitudinal Evaluation of a Preparation Program for Mandatory Military Service

This multivariate longitudinal study explored the relative contribution of 12th-grade students' (a) participation in a preparation program for mandatory military service, (b) feelings of adjustment at high school, and (c) perceptions of school climate to their evaluation of the program's impact on them, as well as to their later adjustment to military service. The sample included 247 male and female 12th graders, divided into an intervention group and a control group. The intervention group participated in a 10-meeting preparation program focusing on the enhancement of empowerment feelings regarding entrance into military service. We conducted measurements at three points in time: (a) before exposure to the preparation program, (b) after exposure to the preparation program, and (c) 6–12 months after military enlistment. Research findings supported the notion that the preparation program had a short-term impact on students' feelings of preparedness for military service. Activities in which students were directly exposed to military life or to Army representatives gained more positive evaluations. But some of the activities conducted by school staff were also positively related to the overall evaluation of the program's contribution to preparedness. However, in the long run, students' later military adjustment was not related to participation in the preparation program but rather to their pre-intervention attitudes toward military enlistment as well as their preliminary general feeling of adjustment. Altogether, study findings indicate that the preparation program had a positive impact mainly for those students who manage well in high school before enlistment. Hence, it is suggested that efforts to foster school-to-Army transition should unfold in a three-step process: (a) preliminary screening for maladaptive behavior, (b) pre-enlistment preparation, and (c) post-enlistment support to all recruits.     

Sex and Sociocultural Correlates of Urinary Incontinence in Israeli Preschool Children

Urinary incontinence in children aged 2 to 6 years whose mothers varied in ethnic descent, in level of education, and in immigration status was studied in Israel. Mothers of 302 children were interviewed in well-baby clinics regarding primary and secondary urinary incontinence of their children. A significant age trend was found for attaining primary urinary continence. However, various interactions between mothers' ethnic descent, mothers' level of education, and mothers' immigration status were associated with different rates of primary and secondary urinary incontinence in their children. Moreover, sex differences in rates of primary and secondary urinary incontinence were also associated with mothers' ethnic descent and level of education. It is suggested that different levels of maternal emotional availability to the child in the various subgroups can account for most of the findings.     

Working memory capacity for spoken sentences decreases with adult ageing: recall of fewer but not smaller chunks in older adults

Previous studies show that older adults have poorer immediate recall for language but the reason is unknown. Older adults may recall fewer chunks from working memory, or may have difficulty binding words together to form multi-unit chunks. We examined these two hypotheses by presenting four types of spoken sentences for immediate free recall, differing in the number and length of chunks per trial: four short, simple sentences; eight such sentences; four compound sentences, each incorporating two meaningful, short sentences; and four random word lists, each under a sentence-like intonation. Older adults recalled words from (accessed) fewer clauses than young adults, but there was no ageing deficit in the degree of completion of clauses that were accessed. An age-related decline in working memory capacity measured in chunks appears to account for deficits in memory for spoken language.     

Verdi's Rigoletto: The dialectic interplay of the psychic positions in seemingly 'mindless' violence

In this paper the author demonstrates the interplay of the psychic positions (paranoid-schizoid and depressive, alongside more primitive mental states) as they may appear in experiences of overwhelming anxieties relating to fragmentation and disintegration. These are examined in relation to the appearance of what has been described in the literature as 'mindless' violence. The vehicle for this demonstration is Verdi's opera Rigoletto , which the author examines using Fonagy and Target's model for the understanding of mindless violence. The opera is 'read' as a case study of the protagonist, using the drama as a reflection of Rigoletto's internal object representations. The author attempts to extend Fonagy and Target's model to include primitive mental states, in order to understand 'mindless' violence as a result of collapse of the dialectical relationship of the psychic positions, leading to the violent act as a desperate attempt at re-establishing a sense of self. From this perspective, the moment of the violent act may be seen as use of an autistic object and as supplying of autistic shape. The violence is ultimately directed against the already fragmenting self, especially cherished parts of it, however it may enable acknowledgement of repudiated, unmentalised emotions previously experienced as a void.     

Short Communication: Helpers' characteristics and problem intimacy as determinants of emotions associated with help-seeking

Female university students (N = 158) rated their readiness to seek help from a professional helper described to them, as well as the emotions that would accompany their decision. Readiness to seek help was associated with the anticipation of positive emotions. A significant 3-way interaction indicated that helpers' emotional behavior is especially meaningful when either the helper is not perceived as an expert and the help-seeker is bothered by a non-intimate problem, or when the helper is an expert and the help-seeker is bothered by an intimate problem. It is suggested that helper's characteristics may significantly influence the amount of positive, rather than negative, emotions anticipated through help-seeking, as well as the readiness to ask for help.