Correlations for the Stroop Color and Word Test with measures of reading and language achievement

The present investigation examined the relationships for scores on the Stroop Color and Word Test with measures of reading and language achievement within an adult population. The Stroop Color and Word Test, Nelson-Denny Reading Test, Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery-Revised, and Wide Range Achievement Test-3 were administered to 99 men ranging in age from 18 to 27 years. Pearson product-moment correlations indicated that the Stroop Word task was positively associated with scores on the WRAT-3 Spelling task, the Woodcock-Johnson Basic and Broad Reading tasks, and the Nelson-Denny Rcading Rate and Comprehension tasks. These and other significant relationships were discussed in terms of possible implications regarding the assessment of reading achievement.     

Behavior of college baseball players in a virtual batting task

A baseball batting simulation was used to investigate the information used to hit a baseball. Measures of spatial and temporal swing accuracy were used to test whether batters (a) use speed to estimate pitch height, (b) initiate a constant swing duration at a fixed time to contact, (c) are influenced by the history of previous pitches and pitch count, and (d) use rotation direction. Batters were experienced college players. Pitch speed variance led to predictable spatial errors, and spatial accuracy was worse than temporal accuracy. Swing duration was generally variable. The history of the previous 3 pitches and the pitch count had significant effects on accuracy, and performance improved when rotation cues were added. There were significant effects of expertise on hitting strategy.     

Perception of voice and tone onset time continua in children with dyslexia with and without attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Tasks assessing perception of a phonemic contrast based on voice onset time (VOT) and a nonspeech analog of a VOT contrast using tone onset time (TOT) were administered to children (ages 7.5 to 15.9 years) identified as having reading disability (RD; n = 21), attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; n = 22), comorbid RD and ADHD (n = 26), or no impairment (NI; n = 26). Children with RD, whether they had been identified as having ADHD or not, exhibited reduced perceptual skills on both tasks as indicated by shallower slopes on category labeling functions and reduced accuracy even at the endpoints of the series where cues are most salient. Correlations between performance on the VOT task and measures of single word decoding and phonemic awareness were significant only in the groups without ADHD. These findings suggest that (a) children with RD have difficulty in processing speech and nonspeech stimuli containing similar auditory temporal cues, (b) phoneme perception is related to phonemic awareness and decoding skills, and (c) the potential presence of ADHD needs to be taken into account in studies of perception in children with RD.     

Emotional modulation of cognitive control: approach-withdrawal states double-dissociate spatial from verbal two-back task performance

Emotional states might selectively modulate components of cognitive control. To test this hypothesis, the author randomly assigned 152 undergraduates (equal numbers of men and women) to watch short videos intended to induce emotional states (approach, neutral, or withdrawal). Each video was followed by a computerized 2-back working memory task (spatial or verbal, equated for difficulty and appearance). Spatial 2-back performance was enhanced by a withdrawal state and impaired by an approach state; the opposite pattern held for verbal performance. The double dissociation held more strongly for participants who made more errors than average across conditions. The results suggest that approach-withdrawal states can have selective influences on components of cognitive control, possibly on a hemispheric basis. They support and extend several frameworks for conceptualizing emotion-cognition interactions.     

Argus: A suite of tools for research in complex cognition

Argus simulates a radar-like target classification task. It was developed to support research in measuring and modeling cognitive work load. Argus is used in both single-subject and team modes. However, the Argus systemis more than just a simulated task environment. Argus features flexible experimenter control over cognitive work load, as well as extensive data collection and data playback facilities to support the iterative nature of research in complex behaviors. In addition, embodied computational models interact with Argus using the same interface as do human subjects. In this paper, we describe these features, as well as the task simulation. In addition, we describe how the system has been used for experimentation. We conclude with a comparison of Argus with other complex task environments.     

The Impact of Breast Cancer Genetic Risk Assessment on Intentions to Perform Cancer Surveillance Behaviors

One hundred and fifty-four women undergoing breast/ovarian cancer genetic risk assessment completed questionnaires at entry into the Cancer Genetic Service for Wales (CGSW) assessment program and following risk provision, mapping the strength of intentions to engage in a number of preventive/surveillance behaviors, including seeing specialists, breast self-examination, and involvement in screening programs, including mammography. A number of potential predictors of intentions were also assessed, including participants' mood and emotional response to receiving risk information, the perceived benefits (in terms of reassurance and early disease detection) of engaging in each preventive behavior, and the perceived desires of their family and General Practitioner. Intentions to self-examine did not change following risk provision, although strength of intentions to engage in some other preventive behaviors did lessen. Family and General Practitioners appeared to be strong social influences on behavioral intentions, as were the perceived benefits of gaining reassurance and/or early detection of disease.     

Utah youth suicide study: barriers to mental health treatment for adolescents

Forty-nine suicide cases were drawn from an original sample of 151 consecutive youth suicide deaths. We used information from 270 interviews with parents and other survivors to evaluate mental health treatment sought for and by the decedent and barriers to mental health treatment. Participants reported the same primary barriers for the decedent: belief that nothing could help, seeking help is a sign of weakness or failure, reluctance to admit to having mental health problems, denial of problems, and too embarrassed to seek help. It is suggested that the stigma of mental illness is a considerable barrier to mental health treatment.     

Effects of anger suppression on pain severity and pain behaviors among chronic pain patients: evaluation of an ironic process model

OBJECTIVE: Evidence for links between anger inhibition or suppression and chronic pain severity is based mostly on studies with correlation designs. Following from ironic process theory, we proposed that attempts to suppress angry thoughts during provocation would increase subsequent pain intensity among chronic low back pain (CLBP) patients, and do so through paradoxically enhanced accessibility of anger. DESIGN: CLBP patients (N = 58) were assigned to suppression and nonsuppression conditions while performing a computer maze task with a harassing confederate. A structured pain behavior task (SPBT) followed. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Self-reported anger, anxiety, and sadness following maze task. Self-reported pain severity and number of observed pain behaviors during SPBT. RESULTS: Patients told to suppress during provocation: (a) reported greater anger following the maze task, reported greater pain intensity during the SPBT, and exhibited more pain behaviors than patients not suppressing; (b) postmaze anger levels significantly mediated group differences on pain behaviors. CONCLUSION: Attempts by CLBP patients to suppress anger may aggravate pain related to their clinical condition through ironically increased feelings of anger.     

Harm concerns predict moral judgments of suicide: Comment on Rottman,Kelemen and Young (2014)

Two prominent theories offer different perspectives on the role of harm in moral cognition. Dyadic morality suggests that harm-related concerns are pervasive, whereas moral pluralism suggests that these concerns apply only to canonically harmful violations (e.g., murder), and not impure violations (e.g., suicide). Rottman et al. (2014) contrast these two theories by examining moral judgments of suicide. They conclude that suicide wrongness is independent of harm, therefore arguing against dyadic morality and for moral pluralism. However, these conclusions may be overstated; across all these studies, a meta-analysis reveals that harm is a significant predictor of suicide judgments. Moreover, the association between harm and suicide wrongness may be suppressed in individual studies by insufficient power, restrictive exclusion criteria, a single bivariate outlier, and reliance upon the conventional significance threshold of p < .05. In revised analyses harm is robustly associated with suicide wrongness, consistent with dyadic morality.