Memory predictions are influenced by perceptual information: evidence for metacognitive illusions

Although perceptual information is utilized to judge size or depth, little work has investigated whether such information is used to make memory predictions. The present study examined how the font size of to-be-remembered words influences predicted memory performance. Participants studied words for a free-recall test that varied in font size and made judgments of learning (JOLs) for each item. JOLs were influenced by font size, as larger font sizes were given higher JOLs, whereas little relationship was evident between font size and recall. The effect was modified when other, more valid, sources of information (e.g., associative strength) were available when JOLs were made and persisted despite experience with multiple study-test sessions, use of a forgetting scale to assess predictions, and explicit warning of participants that font size has little effect on memory performance. When ease of reading was manipulated, such that large font size words were made less fluent, the effect was eliminated. Thus, highly accessible perceptual cues can strongly influence JOLs, likely via encoding fluency, and this effect can lead to metacognitive illusions     

Do government brochures affect physical activity cognition? A pilot study of Canada's physical activity guide to healthy active living

Health Canada has published national physical activity (PA) guidelines, which are included in their 26-page Physical Activity Guide to Healthy Active Living (CPAG). To date, the use of CPAG as a motivational instrument for PA promotion has not been evaluated. The purpose of this study was to determine whether reading CPAG 1) increased motivational antecedents to engage in regular PA, and 2) increased regular PA intention and behaviour over 1 month. Participants included 130 randomly sampled Canadian adults (18 years or older) who were randomly mailed pack ages consisting of either 1) a questionnaire and a copy of CPAG, or 2) a questionnaire. Questionnaire items pertained to participants' sociodemographics, previous PA behaviours (Godin Leisure-Time Questionnaire) and PA motivation (theory of planned behaviour). Participants were then sent a follow-up questionnaire pertaining to their PA behaviours throughout the previous month. Results revealed significant interactions between the guide condition and previous activity status on instrumental behavioural beliefs about strength activities and subjective norms about endurance activities (p < 0.05), but all other factors were not significantly different. It was concluded that among previously inactive people, receiving this guide may change some informational/motivational constructs, but key motivational antecedents (affective attitude, perceived behavioural control) and outcomes (intention, behaviour) seem unaffected.     

Frequency and nature of rumination in chronic depression: a preliminary study

This study explores the phenomenological experience of rumination in a sample of 22 chronically depressed people and looks at the extent to which it is consistent with theoretical ideas. The findings indicate that, on average, depressed people ruminate about at least two different topics, and that there is wide variability in how long each episode lasts. Rumination is a complex process frequently involving imagery as well as verbal thoughts and is almost invariably associated with multiple emotions. Although there was some evidence for stop rules being involved, most individuals attributed ending a period of rumination to distraction, whether external or internally generated.     

Prevalence of Cognitively Intact Individuals Residing in Extended Care Nursing Facilities

There appears to be a relative absence of studies that have examined the prevalence of cognitively intact individuals who reside in extended care facilities. Prevalence data were collected on 296 persons who resided in 3 extended care nursing facilities in Central Virginia. Cognitive intactness was evaluated via the Minimum Data Set Cognitive Performance Scale (CPS) and an author-generated survey (i.e., Cognitively Intact Survey [CI Survey]) of select nursing staff members at each facility. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) was utilized to examine the accuracy of the two measures in identifying cognitive intactness. Findings indicated that prevalence rates of cognitively intact residents varied as a function of the measures utilized to assess intactness. Specifically, a significantly greater proportion of the total sample of residents was judged to be cognitively intact via the CI Survey (34.12%) as compared to the CPS (26.01%). The level of interjudge agreement between the two measures was found to be moderately high (K = 0.68). When the MMSE was employed to verify individuals' levels of intactness, the percentages of residents predicted to actually be cognitively intact were somewhat lower for each measure. Specifically, based on the data obtained via the CI Survey, 22.75% of the total sample were predicted to actually be cognitively intact, whereas 17.85% of the sample were predicted to be intact based on the CPS results. Findings are discussed in light of factors that may have contributed to the differential prevalence rates of cognitively intact individuals obtained across the measures utilized in this study. Concerns regarding the utilization of the MMSE as a criterion measure of cognitive intactness in persons residing in extended care nursing facilities are provided, along with data on the living environments/roommate statuses of those residents judged to be intact via the CI Survey. Implications for the design of future extended care nursing units, as well as future research, are also included.     

Metacognitive illusions for auditory information: Effects on monitoring and control

Prior work has demonstrated that the perceptual features of visually presented stimuli can have a strong influence on predictions of memory performance, even when those features are unrelated to recall (Rhodes & Castel, 2008). The present study examined whether this finding would hold in an auditory domain and influence study-choice allocation. Participants listened to words that varied in volume, made judgments of learning (JOLs) for each item, and were then administered a test of free recall. In Experiment 1, we showed that JOLs were influenced by volume, with loud words given higher JOLs than quiet words, and that volume had no influence on recall, illustrating a metacognitive illusion based on auditory information. In Experiment 2, we extended these findings to control processes and showed that participants were more likely to choose to restudy quiet words than loud words. These findings indicate that highly accessible auditory information is integrated into JOLs and restudy choices, even when this information does not influence actual memory performance.     

Integrating five-factor model facet-level traits with the theory of planned behavior and exercise

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to examine direct, indirect, and moderating links between facet-level personality traits of the five-factor model, the theory of planned behavior (TPB) constructs [Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 179–211.], and exercise behavior.DesignCross-sectional.MethodUniversity students (N = 507) completed the NEO-PI-R [Costa, P. T., McCrae, R. R. (1992). The NEO-PI-R personality inventory: Professional manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.], the Leisure-time Exercise Questionnaire [Godin, G., Shephard, R. J. (1985). A simple method to assess exercise behavior in the community. Canadian Journal of Applied Sport Science, 10, 141–146.], and measures assessing the TPB constructs.ResultsPreliminary analysis revealed the extraversion and conscientiousness facet-level traits of activity and self-discipline respectively were independent predictors of exercise behavior. An integrated structural model with both facet-level traits revealed that 46% of the variance in exercise behavior and 70% of the variance in intention was explained. Significant indirect effects of activity and self-discipline and the TPB constructs of affective attitude, instrumental attitude, and subjective norm, on exercise behavior through intention and perceived behavioral control were also observed. Finally, the anxiety facet trait of neuroticism significantly moderated the intention–behavior relationship.ConclusionsOur findings showed that the facet-level personality traits of activity and self-discipline are important motivational variables that link the TPB constructs to exercise behavior. Future research that integrates personality with the TPB within experimental interventions is warranted.     

The Cutest Little Baby Face: A Hormonal Link to Sensitivity to Cuteness in Infant Faces

ABSTRACT— We used computer image manipulation to develop a test of perception of subtle gradations in cuteness between infant faces. We found that young women (19–26 years old) were more sensitive to differences in infant cuteness than were men (19–26 and 53–60 years old). Women aged 45 to 51 years performed at the level of the young women, whereas cuteness sensitivity in women aged 53 to 60 years was not different from that of men (19–26 and 53–60 years old). Because average age at menopause is 51 years in Britain, these findings suggest the possible involvement of reproductive hormones in cuteness sensitivity. Therefore, we compared cuteness discrimination in pre- and postmenopausal women matched for age and in women taking and not taking oral contraceptives (progestogen and estrogen). Premenopausal women and young women taking oral contraceptives (which raise hormone levels artificially) were more sensitive to variations of cuteness than their respective comparison groups. We suggest that cuteness sensitivity is modulated by female reproductive hormones.     

Attitude and Norm Accessibility and Cigarette Smoking

Social norms and attitudes play a critical role in adolescent smoking initiation and maintenance. Focus theory predicts that making a norm more salient—and thereby temporarily increasing its accessibility from memory—will increase the influence of the norm on behavior for as long as the norm remains salient. Likewise, the process model of the attitude–behavior relationship predicts that accessible attitudes are more predictive of behavior. The present research examining the role of the chronic accessibility of smoking related normative beliefs and attitudes in predicting smoking behavior in college students. Attitude and norm accessibility independently accounted for significant variability in smoking behavior beyond that accounted for by traditional measures of attitude and subjective norm.     

自尊的毕生发展

自尊是心理学的一个重要研究领域, 文章介绍了自尊的毕生发展研究在近三十年来的进展, 主要探讨了自尊的稳定性及其毕生发展的影响因素, 包括年龄、性别、种族和文化、社会经济地位与家庭教养方式等方面, 指出自尊毕生发展的研究将来应关注自尊的纵向研究和本土化研究, 并注意区分和探讨不同形式自尊的发展变化。     

Students’ Perceptions of School Climate During the Middle School Years: Associations with Trajectories of Psychological and Behavioral Adjustment

A cross-domain latent growth curve model was used to examine the trajectories of change in student perceptions of four critical dimensions of school climate (i.e., teacher support, peer support, student autonomy in the classroom, and clarity and consistency in school rules and regulations) among 1,451 early adolescents from the beginning of sixth through the end of eighth grade; and the effects of such trajectories on the rate of change in psychological and behavioral adjustment. Findings indicated that all of the dimensions of perceived school climate declined over the 3 years of middle school. Furthermore, declines in each of the dimensions of perceived school climate were associated with declines over time in psychological and behavioral adjustment. Moreover, the direction of effects between each dimension of perceived school climate and psychological or behavioral adjustment were often unidirectional rather than bi-directional, underscoring the role of perceived school climate in the psychological and behavioral health of early adolescents. Gender and socioeconomic class differences in these patterns are noted.