Orientational manoeuvres in the dark: dissociating allocentric and egocentric influences on spatial memory

Subjects in a darkroom saw an array of five phosphorescent objects on a circular table and, after a short delay, indicated which object had been moved. During the delay the subject, the table or a phosphorescent landmark external to the array was moved (a rotation about the centre of the table) either alone or together. The subject then had to indicate which one of the five objects had been moved. A fully factorial design was used to detect the use of three types of representations of object location: (i) visual snapshots; (ii) egocentric representations updated by self-motion; and (iii) representations relative to the external cue. Improved performance was seen whenever the test array was oriented consistently with any of these stored representations. The influence of representations (i) and (ii) replicates previous work. The influence of representation (iii) is a novel finding which implies that allocentric representations play a role in spatial memory, even over short distances and times. The effect of the external cue was greater when initially experienced as stable. Females out-performed males except when the array was consistent with self-motion but not visual snapshots. These results enable a simple egocentric model of spatial memory to be extended to address large-scale navigation, including the effects of allocentric knowledge, landmark stability and gender.     

Inhibition and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in adults

The inhibitory account of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was tested by examining the performance of college-aged adults on a variety of inhibitory tasks. The poorer performance of adults with ADHD compared with controls on negative priming, stopping, and continuous performance tasks, combined with similar group performances on a test of working memory capacity, indicates a specific inhibitory deficit as opposed to a general limitation in attentional capacity. Overall results provide evidence for extending the inhibitory deficit hypothesis to adult ADHD, not only for mechanisms of response (or motor) inhibition but also for mechanisms of cognitive inhibition.     

Sex and cross-cultural differences in the estimated multi-faceted intelligence quotient score for self, parents and siblings

Over four hundred young people from Britain, Hawaii and Singapore estimated their own, their parents and their siblings IQ score on each of Gardner (1983) fundamental human intelligences: verbal (linguistic), logical (mathematical), spatial, musical, body-kinesthetic, interpersonal and intrapersonal. They also answered six simple questions concerning intelligence tests. There were both cultural and sex differences in the estimation of overall own intelligence score. Males gave higher scores than females (109 vs 107) while the British gave the highest score (109) compared with the Singaporeans (106) and Hawaiians (104). Factor analysis of the seven dimensions yielded either a two or three factor solution, the latter being verbal (verbal, inter-intrapersonal), mathematical (mathematical and spatial), and musical (musical, body-kinesthetic). There were consistent sex differences in the estimations of the three factors for self, but not of parents, and only marginally of sisters. Males more than females, and the British more than the other groups, were more likely to believe in sex and race difference in intelligence.     

Developing a model for online support group use, empowering processes and psychosocial outcomes for individuals living with HIV/AIDS

This study examined the mechanism through which online support group (OSG) participation may promote patient empowerment among 340 individuals living with HIV/AIDS. Results from structural equation modelling revealed that greater use of OSGs was associated with more frequent occurrence of the empowering processes as measured by receiving useful information, receiving social support, finding positive meaning and helping others. Receiving useful information and finding positive meaning were related to higher levels of adaptive coping and lower levels of maladaptive coping, while receiving social support and helping others were related to higher levels of self-care self-efficacy, which in turn was related to higher levels of adaptive coping, and lower levels of maladaptive coping. Finally, higher levels of maladaptive coping were related to poorer quality of life, while higher levels of adaptive coping were related to better quality of life. Results suggest that OSG participation may offer some benefits for those living with HIV/AIDS.     

Perceived stress in prodromal Huntington disease

This study examines perceived stress and its relationship to depressive symptoms, life changes and functional capacity in a large sample of individuals who are positive for the Huntington disease (HD) gene expansion but not yet diagnosed. Participants were classified by estimated proximity to HD diagnosis (far, mid, near) and compared with a non-gene-expanded comparison group. Persons in the mid group had the highest stress scores. A significant interaction between age and time since HD genetic testing was also found. Secondary analyses using data from a different data collection point and including a diagnosed group showed the highest stress scores in the diagnosed group. Possible explanations and implications are discussed.     

Patterns of theorizing about chess skill – Commentary on Linhares and Freitas (2010) and Lane and Gobet (2011)

Although Linhares and Freitas (2010) have failed to characterize earlier experimental work in chess skill accurately, their conceptual approach of “experience-recognition”-driven problem solving points to the need to incorporate analogical reasoning mechanisms into explanations of how chess players choose the best move in chess. The Lane and Gobet (2011) commentary and the cognitive simulation models that they espouse consist of plausible mechanisms to support choosing a good move, but need additional development to incorporate abstract/semantic information. One possible avenue for future exploration will be to produce hybrid models that use both “piece-on-square” chunk and template representations and abstract high-level representations to guide search in chess.     

The reciprocal relationship between psychological contract fulfilment and employee performance and the moderating role of perceived organizational support and tenure

This study investigated the reciprocal relationship between perceptions of psychological contract fulfilment and employee performance (sales made and sales targets), and whether this was moderated by the quality and length of the social exchange relationship captured, respectively, through perceived organizational support (POS) and organizational tenure. We used a sample of 146 sales advisors and a four‐point longitudinal design and found support for reciprocal links where performance predicted subsequent psychological contract fulfilment and vice versa. The strength of the relationship between performance and psychological contract fulfilment increased over time. The quality of the social exchange relationship (i.e., POS) moderated reciprocal links between sales made and sales targets met and perceptions of psychological contract fulfilment at earlier, but not later, time points. One way to interpret the findings is the changing nature of the unfolding relationship between support, psychological contract fulfilment, and performance, where a supportive relationship buffers failing to deliver at earlier time points, but at later time points employee performance and psychological contract fulfilment associate more strongly as both parties prioritize delivery.