Visual short-term memory during smooth pursuit eye movements

Visual short-term memory (VSTM) was probed while observers performed smooth pursuit eye movements. Smooth pursuit keeps a moving object stabilized in the fovea. VSTM capacity for position was reduced during smooth pursuit compared with a condition with eye fixation. There was no difference between a condition in which the items were approximately stabilized on the retina because they moved with the pursuit target and a condition in which the items moved across the retina because they were stationary in space. The reduction of capacity for position was eliminated when miniature items were presented on the pursuit target. Similarly, VSTM capacity for color did not differ between smooth pursuit and fixation. The results suggest that visuospatial attention is tied to the target during smooth pursuit, which impairs VSTM for the position of peripheral objects. Sensory memory during smooth pursuit was only slightly impaired.     

Beliefs about power and its relation to emotional experience: a comparison of Japan, France, Germany, and the United States

This research examined the concept of power in Japan, France, Germany, and the United States, as well as beliefs about the emotions persons in power tend to elicit in others and about powerful people's regulation (specifically, inhibition) of certain emotions. Definitions of power were assessed by examining the importance of two main components: control over self versus other and freedom of action vis-à-vis social norms. Beliefs about both positive (pride, admiration) and negative (jealousy, contempt) emotions were measured. Analyses revealed that the concept of power differed across countries and that the definitions of power as well as country of origin significantly predicted beliefs about the emotions that are elicited in others by powerful people and also the regulation of expression of emotion by powerful people.     

School Mobility and Students with Emotional Disturbance

We examined the school mobility of a cross-sectional sample of 70 secondary-age youth with emotional disturbance (ED). Data were collected through an archival review of school records. Students’ school mobility histories were examined in terms of the overall number of schools attended in the elementary school years, as well as the timing of the moves that were made. Findings indicate that sample students experienced high rates of school mobility with 66% having changed schools at least once by the end of 2nd grade and 89% having changed schools at least once by the end of 5th grade. Strategies for minimizing school mobility and the impact of high rates of school mobility are reviewed.     

Preservation of autobiographical memory in a case of pure progressive amnesia

G.D., a 79 year-old female, presents with a severe and slowly progressive amnesia although she remains entirely independent in daily life and is perfectly well spatially oriented. Her amnesia is relatively isolated and her deficit does not embrace other cognitive domains. G.D. underwent extensive neuropsychological evaluation including language, executive functions, perceptual, and memory tests. Based on clinical observation, the purpose of this study was to determine whether there was a dissociation between her autobiographical and semantic memory. Results point out a severely degraded semantic knowledge of famous public events and persons while autobiographical memory of personally experienced and relevant information remains intact. Results from this study and from previous studies seem to suggest that relative sparing of hippocampal structures may be related to the preservation of autobiographical memory.     

Gender Stereotyping in Televised Media Sport Coverage

Sports spectators usually experience sportsthrough different mass media. To deepen ourunderstanding of the cultural values embedded in sportsand to explore current values and power structuresregarding men and women, it is necessary to investigatethe potential effect that mass media may have ininfluencing beliefs about gender-appropriate sportbehavior. In several cases previous studies have shownbiases in the representation and portrayal ofathletes, particularly with reference to gender. Thepresent study examined samples of televised sports inSweden during 1995/96 (1,470 minutes), with a follow-up examination in 1998 (528 minutes). The resultsindicated gender differences regarding both quantity andtype of coverage. For example, less than 10% of thetotal examined sports news time covered female athletes, and less than 2% of the time was usedto cover women athletes in sports categorized asmasculine. It seems that televised media sports coveragecontinues to reinforce constructions of divisions along lines of gender and to reproducetraditional expectations regarding femininity andmasculinity.     

Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics Index to Volume 20

Volume Contents

heoretical Medicine and Bioethics Index to Volume 20     

Who are you looking at? The influence of face gender on visual attention and memory for own- and other-race faces

Previous research suggests that the own-race bias (ORB) in memory for faces is a result of other-race faces receiving less visual attention at encoding. As women typically display an own-gender bias in memory for faces and men do not, we investigated whether face gender and sex of viewer influenced visual attention and memory for own- and other-race faces, and if preferential viewing of own-race faces contributed to the ORB in memory. Participants viewed pairs of female or male own- and other-race faces while their viewing time was recorded. Afterwards, they completed a surprise memory test. We found that (1) other-race males received the initial focus of attention, (2) own-race faces were viewed longer than other-race faces over time, although the difference was larger for female faces, and (3) even though longer viewing time increased the probability of remembering a face, it did not explain the magnified ORB in memory for female faces. Importantly, these findings highlight that face gender moderates attentional responses to and memory for own- and other-race faces.