Numeracy Predicts More Effortful and Elaborative Search Strategies in a Complex Risky Choice Context: A Process‐Tracing Approach

The goal of the current study was to explore information search and processing differences between individuals who are less and more numerate in an attempt to better understand the mechanisms that might differentiate the choices they make. We did so using a computerized process‐tracing system known as MouseTrace, which presented monetary gambles in an alternative × attribute matrix with outcome (dollar amount) and probability information as attributes. This information was initially occluded but could be revealed by clicking on the cell that contained the desired information. Beginning with nine gambles offering the chance of gaining or losing a specified amount, participants (N = 110) narrowed down the options (to three and then one) using an inclusion or exclusion strategy. Consistent with previous research, inclusion was a more effortful strategy, and individuals who were higher in numeracy were more likely to select prospects with the highest expected value. Process measures revealed these individuals expended more effort (i.e., attended to and sought out more information and processed it in greater depth) and exhibited more compensatory processing than those who were lower in numeracy, but this sometimes depended on whether one was asked to include or exclude. These results serve as further evidence that individuals with higher levels of numeracy often engage in more elaborative processing of the decision task, which tends to lead to more optimal choices. However, they also suggest that individuals are adaptive and that the specific situation can matter. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

HUMEAN SUPERVENIENCE AND PERSONAL IDENTITY

Humeans hold that the nomological features of our world, including causal facts, are determined by the global distribution of fundamental properties. Since persistence presupposes causation, it follows that facts about personal identity are also globally determined. I argue that this is unacceptable for a number of reasons, and that the doctrine of Humean supervenience should therefore be rejected.     

The relationship between spirituality, religiousness, and career adaptability

The present study examined the relationship between spirituality, religiousness, and career adaptability using a sample of undergraduate students (N = 144). We proposed that higher levels of religiousness and spirituality would predict higher levels of career adaptability, defined in this study by career decision self-efficacy and career choice commitment. Results partially confirmed the hypothesis as intrinsic religiousness and spiritual awareness served as significant predictors of career decision self-efficacy. In addition, extrinsic religiousness-personal served as a significant predictor for tendency to foreclose on career choices. The results indicate that individuals who have a strong spiritual relationship with a higher power and are religious due to intrinsic motivation tend to be more confident in their ability to make career decisions and are open to exploring a variety of career options. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed and future research directions are proposed.     

Threatening pictures induce shortened time-to-contact estimates

The ability to estimate the time remaining until collision occurs with an approaching object (time-to-collision, TTC) is crucial for any mobile animal. In the present study, we report three experiments examining whether higher level cognitive factors, represented by affective value of approaching objects, could affect judgments of TTC. A theory of TTC estimates based purely on the optical variable tau does not predict an influence of the affective value of an approaching object. In Experiments 1 and 2, we compared TTC estimates of threatening and neutral pictures that approached our participants on a screen and disappeared from view before a collision would have occurred. Images were taken from the International Affective Picture System. Threatening pictures??in particular, the picture of a frontal attack??were judged to collide earlier than neutral pictures. In Experiment 3, the approaching stimuli were faces with different emotional expressions. TTC tended to be underestimated for angry faces. We discuss these results, considering the roles of affective and cognitive mechanisms modulating TTC estimation and general time perception.     

For There is Work to be Done: Poetry and Commentary

Poetry illuminates the work of health care professionals well beyond procedure guidelines, clinic schedules or best practice policy. Poems and commentary from the perspective of a nurse, an emergency medical technician and two physicians are accompanied by an exploration of the meaning of work and the role of medical humanities.     

What Does Diffusion Tensor Imaging Reveal About the Brain and Cognition in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders?

Over the past 5 years, Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) has begun to provide new evidence about the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on white matter development. DTI, which examines microstructural tissue integrity, is sensitive to more subtle white matter abnormalities than traditional volumetric MRI methods. Thus far, the available DTI data suggest that white matter microstructural abnormalities fall on a continuum of severity in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). Abnormalities are prominent in the corpus callosum, but also evident in major anterior-posterior fiber bundles, corticospinal tracts, and cerebellum. These subtle abnormalities are correlated with neurocognitive deficits, especially in processing speed, non-verbal ability, and executive functioning. Future studies using larger samples, increasingly sophisticated DTI methods, and additional functional MRI connectivity measures will better characterize the full range of abnormalities in FASD. Ultimately, these measures may serve as indices of change in future longitudinal studies and in studies of interventions for FASD.     

Alcohol-related amnesia and dementia: animal models have revealed the contributions of different etiological factors on neuropathology, neurochemical dysfunction and cognitive impairment

Chronic alcoholism is associated with impaired cognitive functioning. Over 75% of autopsied chronic alcoholics have significant brain damage and over 50% of detoxified alcoholics display some degree of learning and memory impairment. However, the relative contributions of different etiological factors to the development of alcohol-related neuropathology and cognitive impairment are questioned. One reason for this quandary is that both alcohol toxicity and thiamine deficiency result in brain damage and cognitive problems. Two alcohol-related neurological disorders, alcohol-associated dementia and Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome have been modeled in rodents. These pre-clinical models have elucidated the relative contributions of ethanol toxicity and thiamine deficiency to the development of dementia and amnesia. What is observed in these models--from repeated and chronic ethanol exposure to thiamine deficiency--is a progression of both neural and cognitive dysregulation. Repeated binge exposure to ethanol leads to changes in neural plasticity by reducing GABAergic inhibition and facilitating glutamatergic excitation, long-term chronic ethanol exposure results in hippocampal and cortical cell loss as well as reduced hippocampal neurotrophin protein content critical for neural survival, and thiamine deficiency results in gross pathological lesions in the diencephalon, reduced neurotrophic protein levels, and neurotransmitters levels in the hippocampus and cortex. Behaviorally, after recovery from repeated or chronic ethanol exposure there is impairment in working or episodic memory that can recover with prolonged abstinence. In contrast, after thiamine deficiency there is severe and persistent spatial memory impairments and increased perseverative behavior. The interaction between ethanol and thiamine deficiency does not produce more behavioral or neural pathology, with the exception of reduction of white matter, than long-term thiamine deficiency alone.     

An Examination of the Association between Difficulties with Emotion Regulation and Dating Violence Perpetration

The perpetration of aggression in dating relationships is a prevalent problem among college students. Research that examines factors related to perpetrating dating violence is needed, as this could help guide prevention programming. This study examined how emotion regulation is related to dating violence perpetration among male and female college students (N = 440). Findings showed that the association between broad difficulties with emotion regulation, as well as more specific emotion regulation problems, were associated with dating violence perpetration and could differentiate individuals who had perpetrated and not perpetrated aggression. These findings varied slightly depending on the gender of the perpetrator and the type of aggression examined. Implications of these findings for prevention programs and future research are discussed.