The drawing effect: Evidence for reliable and robust memory benefits in free recall

In 7 free-recall experiments, the benefit of creating drawings of to-be-remembered information relative to writing was examined as a mnemonic strategy. In Experiments 1 and 2, participants were presented with a list of words and were asked to either draw or write out each. Drawn words were better recalled than written. Experiments 3–5 showed that the memory boost provided by drawing could not be explained by elaborative encoding (deep level of processing, LoP), visual imagery, or picture superiority, respectively. In Experiment 6, we explored potential limitations of the drawing effect, by reducing encoding time and increasing list length. Drawing, relative to writing, still benefited memory despite these constraints. In Experiment 7, the drawing effect was significant even when encoding trial types were compared in pure lists between participants, inconsistent with a distinctiveness account. Together these experiments indicate that drawing enhances memory relative to writing, across settings, instructions, and alternate encoding strategies, both within- and between-participants, and that a deep LoP, visual imagery, or picture superiority, alone or collectively, are not sufficient to explain the observed effect. We propose that drawing improves memory by encouraging a seamless integration of semantic, visual, and motor aspects of a memory trace.     

Attempts to Improve Children's Identifications From Sequential-Presentation Lineups

The effectiveness of practice and stringent lineup instructions in improving children's identifications from sequential-presentation lineups was investigated. Elementary school children ( N = 144) viewed a slide sequence of a crime followed by practice or control procedures. In the practice conditions, children either practiced themselves (self) or watched a videotape of a child practicing (modeled). Practice consisted of 2 target-absent lineups (unmixed) or a target-absent lineup and a target-present lineup (mixed) of female photos unrelated to the crime. The control conditions did not engage in identification practice. All witnesses were given stringent instructions for identifying the criminal from target-present or target-absent sequential-presentation lineups. Multiple responding was dramatically reduced. Practice affected gender differentially. Female children increased in correct identifications, whereas male children increased in false rejections. None of the practice procedures reduced foil identifications from target-absent lineups.     

Genetics and the Interpersonal Elaboration of Ethics

Confidentiality in genetic testing posesimportant ethical challenges to the currentprimacy of respect for autonomy and patientchoice in health care. It also presents achallenge to approaches to decision-makingemphasising the ethical importance of theconsequences of health care decisions. In thispaper a case is described in which respect forconfidentiality calls both for disclosure andnon-disclosure, and in which respect forpatient autonomy and the demand to avoidcausing harm each appear to call both fortesting without consent, and testing only withconsent. This creates problems not only forclinicians, families and patients, but also forthose who propose clinical bioethics as a toolfor the resolution of such dilemmas.In this paper I propose some practical waysin which ethical issues in clinical geneticsand elsewhere, might be addressed. Inparticular I call for a closer relationshipbetween ethics and communication in health caredecision-making and describe an approach to theethics consultation that places particularemphasis on the value of interpersonaldeliberation in the search for moralunderstanding. I reach these conclusionsthrough an analysis of the concept of `moraldevelopment' in which I argue that theachievement of moral understanding is anecessarily intersubjective project elaboratedby moral persons.     

The effects of response interruption,DRO and positive reinforcement on the reduction of hand-mouth behavior

The present study was designed to determine the effects of response interruption and differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) on the reduction of hand-mouthing behavior in a quadriparesic adult male client who functions at the profound level of mental retardation. In order to determine the effectiveness of the treatment package, a withdrawal design was used in which baseline (A) and treatment (B) conditions were alternated in an ABAB sequence. The treatment phase consisted of two 10 min treatment periods per day for four consecutive days. Two treatment/withdrawal rotations were followed by nine follow-up observation periods. A preliminary fading process was started following the follow-up periods, which included removal of the reinforcer. Hand-mouthing was reduced by 80% through the use of response interruption and DRO. Hand-mouthing continued to decrease during the nine follow-up observation periods and formal fading procedure. Implications for the extended use of such nonaversive procedures to decrease hand-mouthing behavior in persons with developmental disabilities are discussed. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Does sex sell? The effect of sexual programme content on the recall of sexual and non-sexual advertisements

This study looked at the recall of sexual and non‐sexual television advertisements embedded within programmes, with or without, sexual content. It was predicted that there would be a detrimental effect of sexual programme content, and a beneficial effect of sexual advertisement content on ability to recall advertisements. Further, when programme and advertisement content were congruous (i.e. both sexual), this also would hinder recall. Participants aged between 18 and 31 were placed in one of four conditions and were shown either ‘Sex and the City’ (sexual programme) or ‘Malcolm in the Middle’ (non‐sexual programme) with sexual or non‐sexual advertisements embedded in each. Participants were then asked to recall advertisement details from the advertisements. The results indicated that there was a main effect of programme type, demonstrating that sexual programme content hindered recall of advertisements. However, there was no main effect of the type of advertisements seen (sexual or non‐sexual) on recall, nor was there a negative effect on recall when programme and advertisement content were congruous. An interaction between advertisements and sex of participants showed that males recalled sexual advertisements better and females recalled non‐sexual advertisements better. Limitations of the study are considered. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

"Show me" bioethics and politics

Missouri, the "Show Me State," has become the epicenter of several important national public policy debates, including abortion rights, the right to choose and refuse medical treatment, and, most recently, early stem cell research. In this environment, the Center for Practical Bioethics (formerly, Midwest Bioethics Center) emerged and grew. The Center's role in these "cultural wars" is not to advocate for a particular position but to provide well researched and objective information, perspective, and advocacy for the ethical justification of policy positions; and to serve as a neutral convener and provider of a public forum for discussion. In this article, the Center's work on early stem cell research is a case study through which to argue that not only the Center, but also the field of bioethics has a critical role in the politics of public health policy.     

Recoding low-level simulator data into a record of meaningful task performance: The integrated task modeling environment (ITME)

The Integrated Task Modeling Environment (ITME) is a user-friendly software tool that has been developed to automatically recode low-level data into an empirical record of meaningful task performance. The present research investigated and validated the performance of the ITME software package by conducting complex simulation missions and comparing the task analyses produced by ITME with taskanalyses produced by experienced video analysts. A very high interrater reliability (> or = .94) existed between experienced video analysts and the ITME for the task analyses produced for each mission. The mean session time:analysis time ratio was 1:24 using video analysis techniques and 1:5 using the ITME. It was concluded that the ITME produced task analyses that were as reliable as those produced by experienced video analysts, and significantly reduced the time cost associated with these analyses.     

Humans (Homo sapiens) fail to show an inequity effect in an “up-linkage” analog of the monkey inequity test

Brosnan and de Waal (Nature 425:297–299, 2003) claimed that if a capuchin sees another capuchin receiving a superior food, she tends to reject an inferior, previously acceptable food. They related this phenomenon to human inequity aversion. This phyletic extension is “down linkage,” because nonhuman research is interpreted in terms of human research. The present experiment makes an “up-linkage” test of this claimed connection by attempting to reproduce the capuchin-inequity effect in humans. In Experiment 1’s equity condition, a subject and an adjacent confederate each clicked a computer mouse to mark the number “7” from a random numbers table, earning 0.5 yen per mark. In the inequity condition, the confederate’s pay rate was twice that of the subject. There was no between-condition difference in quitting times or likelihoods. Experiment 2 replicated Experiment 1 except, before beginning, the subject and confederate clicked a mouse over a rapidly switching message that said they would earn either 0.5 or 1 yen per marked seven. For the equity condition in this rigged test, subject and confederate stopped the message at 0.5 yen, while in the inequity condition, these values were 0.5 and 1 yen, respectively. Now, inequity-condition subjects quit sooner than equity-condition subjects. Experiment 1 found no inequity effect, but Experiment 2 did. These results show that: (a) a sense of control/responsibility may be critical to an inequity effect and (b) the inequity effect putatively present in capuchins cannot be reproduced in an up-linkage human analog of that research, thereby calling this linkage into question. This report exemplifies that up- and down-linkage tests are often requisite to establish commonality of psychological process between nonhuman primates and humans.     

The Role of Inflexible Friendship Beliefs,Rumination, and Low Self-worth in Early Adolescents’ Friendship Jealousy and Adjustment

Two focal social cognitive processes were evaluated in a structural model for their direct and indirect roles in early adolescents’ jealousy surrounding their closest friend in a sample of 325 early adolescents (169 girls and 156 boys) ages 11–14 years. Individuals who are rigid and unrealistic about meeting their friendship needs were more vulnerable to feelings of jealousy than individuals who think more flexibly. Inflexible individuals also engage in more jealousy-driven surveillance and other problem behavior towards their friends. Stronger jealous feelings and behavior were related, in turn, to greater conflict with friends and to a vulnerability to emotional maladjustment. In addition, young adolescents who tended to ruminate over friendship problems were also more vulnerable to jealousy. Inflexible attitudes and friendship rumination were positively associated. Results extend recent models of friendship jealousy that focus only on early adolescents’ self-worth.

Exploring Exceptions and Discovering Solutions: A Case Presentation of Autism and the Family

As the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) continues to rise, there is a rapidly increasing need for treatment services among individuals diagnosed with ASD and families. Currently, the majority of the evidence-based treatments, such as Applied Behavior Analysis, overlook the notable systemic effects of ASD and maintain a problem-focused lens. There is a growing body of research calling for strength-based, relational interventions that build on existing resources to enhance coping, efficacy, and well-being among families affected by ASD. Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) is a widely practiced clinical approach that is increasingly being used among clinicians to address the systemic effects of developmental disabilities in the family. However, particular modifications to specific interventions may better accommodate autism-associated deficits in executive functioning (e.g., goal development and impulsivity), perspective taking, or restricted interests when using an SFBT approach. This article offers recommendations for adapting a solution-focused approach by modifying commonly used SFBT interventions to address family-driven treatment goals using a collaborative stance with families of children with ASD. A case presentation is included to demonstrate SFBT as informed by the unique challenges and inherent resources of families affected by ASD that have been identified in the extant literature.