Assessing the age-related effects of proactive interference on working memory tasks using the Rasch model

Inhibition-reduction theory (L. Hasher & R. Zacks, 1988) hypothesizes that the age-related decline in working memory (WM) span is a result of a decrease in the ability to inhibit irrelevant information in WM. Using the Rasch psychometric model, this study found that later trials on 2 WM span tasks were more difficult for older adults than for younger adults, consistent with inhibition-reduction theory's hypothesis that older adults are more susceptible to the effects of proactive interference (PI). Furthermore, after accounting for differential susceptibility to the effects of PI, age-related variance in WM span was reduced by about half. These results suggest that differential susceptibility to PI may account for a substantial portion, although not all, of the age-related decline in WM span.     

Scoring reliability on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition (WAIS-III)

Nineteen psychologists and 19 graduate students scored two Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition patient protocols. Mean IQs and indexes were similar across groups, but the ranges for Verbal IQ (VIQ), Performance IQ (PIQ), and Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) on one protocol were 25, 22, and 11 points, respectively. For both protocols taken together, percentages of agreement with the "actual" IQs for psychologists were only 26.3 for VIQ, 36.8 for PIQ, and 42.1 for FSIQ. For students, percentages were 15.8 for VIQ, 23.7 for PIQ, and 31.6 for FSIQ. The percentages of FSIQs that fell within +/- 1 standard error of measurement of the actual IQs were 89.5 for psychologists and 76.3 for students. Scoring error also had a negative impact on index scores. Both groups were confident about their scoring accuracy.     

A study of the differential effects of Tomm's questioning styles on therapeutic alliance

To replicate and extend Dozier's (1992) test of Tomm's hypothesis about the differential effects of questioning styles on therapeutic alliance, an analogue study was conducted. Twenty-eight family triads, each including a son and his parents, viewed four videotaped, simulated family therapy scenarios in which Tomm's four questioning styles were separately portrayed. Participants were asked to identify with the client whose role corresponded to theirs (that is, father, mother, or son) and, on the basis of this, to rate the client's alliance with the therapist. They were also asked to rate the overall alliance between the family and the therapist. Finally, having viewed all four scenarios, they were invited to rate comparatively the quality of the therapeutic alliance across the four questioning styles. Compared with strategic and lineal questioning styles, circular and reflexive questions led to higher ratings of therapeutic alliance on all three measures. The results of this study support Tomm's hypothesis that questioning styles based on circular assumptions lead to a better therapeutic alliance at an individual and systemic level than do questions based on lineal assumptions.     

Extracting parity and magnitude from Arabic numerals: developmental changes in number processing and mental representation.

Children from Grades 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8 (7.8, 9.2, 9.8, 11.7, and 13. 6 years old, respectively) made speeded, bimanual parity (odd/even) judgments of the Arabic numerals 0-9. Analysis of response times indicated that from fourth grade on, parity information is retrieved directly from memory rather than being extracted by means of a mental calculation strategy. As early as Grade 3, children exhibited the SNARC (Spatial-Numerical Association of Response Codes) effect, where small numbers were responded to faster with the left hand than with the right hand, while the converse held true for large numbers. This finding, previously demonstrated only in adults, confirms that (a) children represent magnitude information in the form of a left-to-right oriented mental number line, and (b) this information is accessed obligatorily even when irrelevant. Finally, although the SNARC effect remained strong at Grade 4, it was attenuated at Grades 6 and 8 by a linguistic effect based on associations between the unmarked adjectives "even" and "right" and between the marked adjectives "odd" and "left." Copyright 1999 Academic Press.     

Performance Monitoring as a Moderator of the Relations Between Two Conscientiousness Measures and Task Performance

The present study investigated the moderating effects of performance monitoring on the relations between two measures of conscientiousness (general and business-oriented) and performance on a data entry task. A significant interaction was evidenced between conscientiousness and performance monitoring in predicting task performance for the general measure of conscientiousness; however, it was opposite than expected. No significant interaction was evidenced between conscientiousness and performance monitoring in predicting task performance for the business-oriented measure of conscientiousness. Possible explanations for these findings are suggested. Implications and limitations of the present research are identified and various suggestions for future research in this area are recommended.     

Discrimination of five-dimensional stimuli by pigeons: Limitations of feature analysis

Pigeons were trained to discriminate between stimuli constructed using five orthogonal two-valued features. The stimuli consisted of stylized monochrome drawings of seeds. Two different training procedures (conditional and simultaneous discrimination) were used. In the first two experiments, the discrimination required was between polymorphous categories, in which a positive stimulus was defined as one in which three or more of the five features took their positive values. Discrimination in both experiments was imperfect; the pigeons' behaviour only came under the control of a subset of the available features (one to three in Experiment 1, three or four in Experiment 2). In Experiment 3, single features had to be discriminated, while the remaining features varied. It was found that all five features of the “seed” stimuli could be discriminated, but one of them was exceptionally difficult. The results show that pigeons do not reliably use all the features available to them when making category discriminations. This casts doubts on feature analysis as a basis for the excellent performance pigeons show when required to discriminate between categories of natural objects.     

Marines,medics, and machismo: Lack of fit with masculine occupational stereotypes discourages men's participation

Women have made substantial inroads into some traditionally masculine occupations (e.g., accounting, journalism) but not into others (e.g., military, surgery). Evidence suggests the latter group of occupations is characterized by hyper‐masculine ‘macho’ stereotypes that are especially disadvantageous to women. Here, we explore whether such macho occupational stereotypes may be especially tenacious, not just because of their impact on women, but also because of their impact on men. We examined whether macho stereotypes associated with marine commandos and surgeons discourage men who feel that they are ‘not man enough’. Study 1 demonstrates that male new recruits' (N = 218) perceived lack of fit with masculine commandos was associated with reduced occupational identification and motivation. Study 2 demonstrates that male surgical trainees' (N = 117) perceived lack of fit with masculine surgeons was associated with reduced identification and increased psychological exit a year later. Together, this suggests that macho occupational stereotypes may discourage the very men who may challenge them.     

The residual spatial abilities of hippocampally lesioned rats can be enhanced by peripheral sympathetic-adrenal interventions

In order to test the possible effectiveness of peripheral interventions with the adrenergic system for the alleviation of certain disorders that typically follow bilateral hippocampal lesions, rats with bilateral lesions of the hippocampus, the overlying neocortex, or sham operations were tested at two postoperative times in the Morris water maze, a frequently used "spatial task." Half of the animals in all groups were exposed to the adrenergic manipulations, i.e., a chronic, 7-day, systemic bretylium regime (5 mg/kg) and, in addition, a peripheral injection of norepinephrine (4 micrograms/kg) 30 min before the start of each training day. The other half received saline chronically and a single saline injection before each training day. Five days of training were given at each of the two training periods. The first began 7 days after surgery while the second began 33 days after surgery. As expected, the hippocampally lesioned animals were severely impaired in the task. The adrenergic treatment produced enhanced performances in the rats with hippocampal lesions at both training sessions, although the improvement was greatest at the later period. Although the animals receiving the pharmacologic treatment located the general area of the hidden platform better than the saline-treated animals with hippocampal lesions, the treated animals were still impaired, swimming directly to the hidden platform on fewer trials than did animals in the other groups.     

Perceiving a calling, living a calling, and job satisfaction: testing a moderated, multiple mediator model

The current study examined the relation between perceiving a calling, living a calling, and job satisfaction among a diverse group of employed adults who completed an online survey (N = 201). Perceiving a calling and living a calling were positively correlated with career commitment, work meaning, and job satisfaction. Living a calling moderated the relations of perceiving a calling with career commitment and work meaning, such that these relations were more robust for those with a stronger sense they were living their calling. Additionally, a moderated, multiple mediator model was run to examine the mediating role of career commitment and work meaning in the relation of perceiving a calling and job satisfaction, while accounting for the moderating role of living a calling. Results indicated that work meaning and career commitment fully mediated the relation between perceiving a calling and job satisfaction. However, the indirect effects of work meaning and career commitment were only significant for individuals with high levels of living a calling, indicating the importance of living a calling in the link between perceiving a calling and job satisfaction. Implications for research and practice are discussed.