Item-specific processing reduces false memories

We examined the effect of item-specific and relational encoding instructions on false recognition in two experiments in which the DRM paradigm was used (Deese, 1959; Roediger & McDermott, 1995). Type of encoding (item-specific or relational) was manipulated between subjects in Experiment 1 and within subjects in Experiment 2. Decision-based explanations (e.g., the distinctiveness heuristic) predict reductions in false recognition in between-subjects designs, but not in within-subjects designs, because they are conceptualized as global shifts in decision criteria. Memory-based explanations predict reductions in false recognition in both designs, resulting from enhanced recollection of item-specific details. False recognition was reduced following item-specific encoding instructions in both experiments, favoring a memory-based explanation. These results suggest that providing unique cues for the retrieval of individual studied items results in enhanced discrimination between those studied items and critical lures. Conversely, enhancing the similarity of studied items results in poor discrimination among items within a particular list theme. These results are discussed in terms of the item-specific/ relational framework (Hunt & McDaniel, 1993).     

The dynamics of infant visual foraging

Human infants actively forage for visual information from the moment of birth onward. Although we know a great deal about how stimulus characteristics influence looking behavior in the first few postnatal weeks, we know much less about the intrinsic dynamics of the behavior. Here we show that a simple stochastic dynamical system acts quantitatively like 4-week-old infants on a range of measures if there is hysteresis in the transitions between looking and looking away in the model system. The success of this simple three-parameter model suggests that visual foraging in the first few weeks after birth may be influenced more by noise and hysteresis in underlying neural mechanisms than by how infants process visual information after a look begins.     

Group-based interpersonal psychotherapy for posttraumatic stress disorder: theoretical and clinical aspects

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a condition that engenders both symptomatic distress and severe disruption in interpersonal and social functioning. Most of the empirical research on treatment has emphasized interventions that aim to alleviate the symptoms of PTSD, despite the persisting impairments in social, occupational, and interpersonal functioning. In clinical practice, achieving relief from symptoms such as irritability or phobic avoidance is a worthwhile goal, yet significant distress and disability derived from disruptions to interpersonal attachments, social networks, and confiding intimate relationships persist. Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) has been shown to be efficacious in research settings for depression and eating disorders, in both group and individual formats. Recent pilot data also suggests the potential usefulness of IPT in anxiety disorders. The aim of this paper is to provide a rationale for the use of group-based IPT as an intervention for PTSD as part of a management package, arguing from theoretical and clinical viewpoints. The integration of IPT therapeutic processes with the therapeutic group process is discussed, and a detailed case discussion is presented as an illustration.     

Health-Risking Social Behaviors: Moving Forward

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) have a long history of supporting investigator-initiated research and research training to enhance the scientific understanding of and effective interventions for a range of problems associated with youth violence. New technologies are emerging and basic research has promise for increasing our understanding of how biological factors operate in conjunction with other factors to contribute to violent behavior, psychopathology, and drug abuse. This article describes emerging areas and directions for research in this important area of public health.The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Health and Human Services, or the U.S. Government.     

Contributions of impulsivity and callousness in the assessment of adjudicated male adolescents: a prospective study

This study examined whether delinquent adolescents with low scores on personality scales related to callousness and impulsivity would show less antisocial behavior and better psychosocial functioning compared to those elevated on 1 or both scales. A group of 162 White and African American male adolescents, recently adjudicated in a southern youth court system, were assessed at baseline and at 18-month follow-up. Dependent variables included measures of antisocial and prosocial behaviors, days detained in juvenile detention, and symptoms of psychopathology. As hypothesized, adolescents low on both callousness and impulsivity spent fewer days detained and reported less antisocial behavior and fewer symptoms of psychopathology compared to those high on I or both scales. Finally, African American participants were detained for more days, but did not report significantly more antisocial behaviors or symptoms of psychopathology compared to the White adolescents. The results suggest that being low on callousness and impulsivity may serve a protective role for future delinquent behavior for both African American and White adolescents.     

Functional neuroanatomy of the cognitive process of mapping during discourse comprehension

We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to identify brain regions involved in the process of mapping coherent discourse onto a developing mental representation. We manipulated discourse coherence by presenting sentences with definite articles (which lead to more coherent discourse) or indefinite articles (which lead to less coherent discourse). Comprehending connected discourse, compared with reading unrelated sentences, produced more neural activity in the right than left hemisphere of the frontal lobe. Thus, the right hemisphere of the frontal lobe is involved in some of the processes underlying mapping. In contrast, left-hemisphere structures were associated with lower-level processes in reading (such as word recognition and syntactic processing). Our results demonstrate the utility of using fMRI to investigate the neural substrates of higher-level cognitive processes such as discourse comprehension.     

Component mechanisms underlying the processing of hierarchically organized patterns: inferences from patients with unilateral cortical lesions

Subjects identified target letters that occurred randomly at the local or global level in a divided attention task. The visual angle of the stimuli was varied. Neurologically intact controls showed a reaction time advantage for local targets which increased as visual angle increased. Patients with lesions centered in the posterior superior temporal gyrus (STG) showed a larger local advantage than controls if the lesion was on the right and a global advantage if the lesion was on the left. STG patients were no more influenced by visual angle than were controls. Control subjects also showed the usual interference of global distractors on responding to local targets. STG patients showed little evidence of interference. Control patients with lesions centered in the rostral inferior parietal lobe performed normally. The findings suggest that several component mechanisms are involved in the processing of hierarchical levels of structure, each linked to specific anatomical regions.     

Immigrant entrepreneurship from a social psychological perspective

We examined immigrant entrepreneurship from a social psychological perspective with an emphasis on Social Identity Theory (SIT). Immigrant entrepreneurs from across Canada (N=122) completed a questionnaire about their experiences as Canadian business owners. The results showed that business decisions are, indeed, related to social psychological influences. The use of social capital, the strength of cultural and national identity, acculturation and perceived discrimination were related to decisions made throughout the course of the business, from the initial motivations for pursuing entrepreneurship, to the intention to continue running a business in Canada. Overall, being an immigrant entrepreneur had social psychological implications and, in the future, the influence of identity, acculturation and discrimination among this group deserves further attention.     

Peer and college-student tutoring as reinforcement in a token economy

Eighteen second-grade children initially received feedback in the form of nonredeemable tokens for reducing their disruptive classroom behavior. Four types of tutoring were then introduced in a Latin Square Design: noncontingent tutoring from fifth-grade peers, contingent peer tutoring, noncontingent college tutoring, and contingent college tutoring. No significant difference was found in the level of disruptive behavior of those children tutored by fifth-grade peers or college students, but contingent tutoring was significantly effective in reducing disruptive classroom behavior.