Lexical,conceptual and motor information in memory for action phrases: a multi-system account

According to the multi-system account [J. Engelkamp, H.D. Zimmer, The Human Memory: A Multi-Modal Approach, Hogrefe & Huber, Seattle, 1994], the enactment effect in free recall of action phrases (e.g. break the stick) is independent of inter- and intra-phrase associations because it emerges from the nonverbal encoding processes under enactment. Two experiments have been reported which tested these and further assumptions of the multi-system account of the enactment effect. In both experiments, inter- and intra-phrase (verb-object) associations were varied simultaneously in addition to enactment. In Experiment 1, the memory test was free recall, and in Experiment 2, it was cued recall. Independent effects of all three factors were observed in free recall. Enacted phrases were recalled better than phrases learned only verbally. Phrases with high-associated objects and verbs were better recalled than phrases with low-associated objects and verbs, and categorically related phrases were better recalled than unrelated phrases. In cued recall, there was no effect of categorical list structure. The effects of intra-phrase structure and enactment corresponded to those in free recall. All interactions were nonsignificant. The findings were interpreted as support for the multi-system account.     

Konzeptualisierung in inkrementell-integrativer Sprachverarbeitung

Conceptualization in incremental-integrative\hb language processing Summary. Language is a versatile instrument in co-operatively solving a construction task. In order to understand instructions given during such a task, objects have to be identified and the type of action to be performed has to be determined. The experiments presented show that the way in which objects and actions are conceptualized depends on the linguistic and the non-linguistic, visually available context. Both kinds of information are processed incrementally in an integrative way. The impact of relevant factors, such as the specificity of verbs and object namings, object properties such as color, size, location and the dynamically determined class to which the object belongs was studied. Conclusions for models of language understanding and language production are drawn and requirements for a grammatical formalism suitable for incremental and integrative processing are formulated. Zusammenfassung. Sprache ist ein wichtiges Instrument bei der kooperativen Lösung einer Konstruktionsaufgabe. Zum Verstehen von Handlungsanweisungen im Rahmen dieser Aufgabe müssen Objekte identifiziert und die Art der Handlung erkannt werden. Es werden empirische Untersuchungen vorgestellt, die zeigen, daß die Konzeptualisierung der Objekte und Handlungen vom sprachlichen und nichtsprachlichen, visuell verfügbaren Kontext abhängt. Beide Arten von Kontextinformation werden inkrementell und integrativ verarbeitet. Dazu wurde der Einfluß einzelner Faktoren wie die Spezifität von Verben und Objektbezeichnungen, Objekteigenschaften wie Farbe, Größe und Position sowie die dynamisch zugewiesene Objektklasse und die Wortstellung der benutzten Sprache untersucht. Es werden Folgerungen für die Modellierung von beiden Richtungen der Sprachverarbeitung, Rezeption und Produktion, gezogen und Anforderungen an einen Grammatikformalismus zur inkrementell-integrativen Satzverarbeitung dargestellt.     

Towards a socially situated rumouring: Historical and critical perspectives of rumour transmission

Rumours are an ubiquitous feature of people's social life and one of the oldest topics in social psychology. Rumours, which tend to spread during crisis situations, allow people to mitigate unpleasant feelings and construct a meaning of the surrounding world. Rumour transmission has been associated with a number of specific individual (e.g., anxiety, personal involvement) and situational (e.g., ambiguity, uncertainty) characteristics and studied with the serial reproduction paradigm (Allport & Postman, 1947) in laboratory settings. The main criticism of rumour research has been its focus on primarily individual‐level analyses in an attempt to explain a social phenomenon. Furthermore, the classic serial reproduction paradigm tends to omit the essential properties of interpersonal interactions and communication processes. Despite the recent and rapidly growing trend of social network methods in social and behavioural sciences, rumour research could also include a finer analysis of individuals' social characteristics and the related complexity of real‐life communication processes. Therefore, the integration of a socially situated approach to rumour transmission might be especially relevant for rumour research and promising for the study of other social phenomena by extension.     

Imitating step by step: a detailed analysis of 9- to 15-month-olds' reproduction of a three-step action sequence

To investigate what infants around their first birthday learn from observing an action sequence, 9- to 15-month-olds' imitative behavior was compared in three conditions: a demonstration group watched three target action steps and a final outcome, a control group observed only the third step and final outcome, and a baseline group received no demonstration. After a short delay, the demonstration infants of all ages produced more target actions than the control and baseline infants. Moreover, the latency to the first step was shortest in the demonstration condition. Data about the performance of the single steps in each age sample revealed which target actions were novel to the infants, and which steps were learned by observation. Infants in the control condition did not generate the unseen target action steps. It is concluded that infants' memory capacity and their ability to encode action-effect relations contribute to their imitation of an action sequence.     

Suitable stimuli to obtain (no) gender differences in the speed of cognitive processes involved in mental rotation

Gender differences in speed of perceptual comparison, of picture-plane mental rotation, and in switching costs between trials that do and do not require mental rotation, were investigated as a function of stimulus material with a total sample size of N=360. Alphanumeric characters, PMA symbols, animal drawings, polygons and 3D cube figures were used with an otherwise completely equivalent experimental design in which age and speed-based IQ were comparable across male and female groups. Small gender-related differences in speed of perceptual comparison were found with the magnitude as well as the direction depending upon the stimulus material. Polygons were the only material that produced substantial and reliable gender differences in mental rotation speed, and additionally revealed gender differences in switching costs. Thus, whereas gender differences in paper-pencil mental rotation tests constitute an empirical reality, the generalization that men outperform women in the speed of mental rotation was not supported in the present experiment.     

Enjoying influence on others: Congruently high implicit and explicit power motives are related to teachers’ well-being

The present study examined the associations of implicit and explicit power motives with the well-being of teachers. Teachers (N = 170) participated in an online assessment, which included measures for implicit motives (assessed by the operant motive test), explicit motives, and well-being. We expected congruently high power motives to be linked with the highest levels of well-being. We tested this assumption using polynomial regressions with response surface analysis. Results were consistent with our hypothesis. Additionally, there was an effect of directional motive incongruence (a combination of a low implicit and a high explicit power motive was associated with higher well-being than a high implicit/low explicit combination), which did not hold when controlling for emotional stability. Results for achievement were comparable, but weaker, and there was no effect for motive incongruence. No significant associations were found for motive (in)congruence in the affiliation domain. Our findings underline the importance of the power motive in understanding individual differences in teachers’ well-being.     

Inhibition difficulties in preterm children: Developmental delay or persistent deficit?

Among executive functions (EFs), research has highlighted specific inhibition difficulties in preterm children. The present paper reviews and classifies the studies that assessed response inhibition and interference control abilities in preterm children and adolescents aged 3 to 16 years. Most behavioral studies agree on a developmental delay at early school age in inhibition abilities and a catch-up before adolescence, with lesser response inhibition difficulties at pre-adolescence. However, persisting interference control difficulties have been reported into early adulthood. These results are discussed, along with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) findings. Finally, this paper outlines methodological issues that need to be overcome in order to define the developmental trajectory of inhibition abilities in the preterm population.