Are multiple visual short-term memory storages necessary to explain the retro-cue effect?

Recent research has shown that change detection performance is enhanced when, during the retention interval, attention is cued to the location of the upcoming test item. This retro-cue advantage has led some researchers to suggest that visual short-term memory (VSTM) is divided into a durable, limited-capacity storage and a more fragile, high-capacity storage. Consequently, performance is poor on the no-cue trials because fragile VSTM is overwritten by the test display and only durable VSTM is accessible under these conditions. In contrast, performance is improved in the retro-cue condition because attention keeps fragile VSTM accessible. The aim of the present study was to test the assumptions underlying this two-storage account. Participants were asked to encode an array of colors for a change detection task involving no-cue and retro-cue trials. A retro-cue advantage was found even when the cue was presented after a visual (Experiment 1) or a central (Experiment 2) interference. Furthermore, the magnitude of the interference was comparable between the no-cue and retro-cue trials. These data undermine the main empirical support for the two-storage account and suggest that the presence of a retro-cue benefit cannot be used to differentiate between different VSTM storages.     

When stepping outside the self is not enough: A self-distanced perspective reduces the experience of basic but not of self-conscious emotions

Despite recent increased interest in self-conscious emotions, few studies have investigated their regulation. The current research examines the effectiveness of self-perspective in regulating negative self-conscious (guilt, shame) versus basic (anger, sadness) emotions. We predict that adopting a distanced perspective on the self would attenuate the experience of anger and sadness, as previous research has shown (e.g., Kross et al., 2005). However, because the experience of self-conscious emotions involves self-evaluation as well as the evaluation of the self from the perspective of others, a self-distanced perspective may enable these emotions and fail to attenuate the experience of shame and guilt. As predicted, a self-distanced perspective attenuated feelings of sadness and anger, but not of shame and guilt. These findings suggest the appraisal of the experienced emotion (i.e., whether it involves self-evaluations and/or the perspective of others) may influence the effectiveness of emotion-regulation strategies.     

Stakeholders’ Perceptions of Science-Day Programs at University-Based Science Outreach Centers

Abstract

University-based science youth centers offer science-day activities for students that include lectures and sometimes a laboratory experience. This phenomenological study explores stakeholders’ views of science-day programs at 3 different university-based science outreach centers. The study describes the characteristics, the goals, the pedagogy, and the challenges of science days as voiced by the different informants. We found that the main goal was exposing students to science and “showing STEM is fun." Some teachers sought added value of learning in out-of-school environments and pointed to the importance of hands-on activities. The centers’ staff did not address pedagogy and viewed teachers’ role as being chaperons. Teachers felt patronized by the young guides who did not acknowledge their experience and expertise. Some differences in approaches of junior and senior teachers are discussed. In conclusion, we recommend mutual discussion of goals, and finding ways for teachers and centers' staff to collaborate in planning and enactment of science days.     

Brain electrical activity from encoding to retrieval while maintaining and manipulating information in working memory

ABSTRACT

Differences between working memory maintenance (Mt) and manipulation (Mp) have been studied, mostly in the absence of stimuli (delay period); encoding and retrieval phases have been less explored. The present study assessed differences between Mt and Mp, by means of event-related potentials (ERPs) and event-related synchronisation (ERS) and desynchronisation (ERD) for theta, alpha and beta bands at: encoding, delay period and retrieval; using a delayed-match to sample task (DMST). Twenty-six young volunteers solved two DMST conditions (one for Mt and one for Mp). Higher behavioural accuracy for Mt than for Mp was observed. At encoding, higher amplitude for Mt at posterior regions to N1, P2 and P3 components were observed. In the delay period, differences in ERP components and frontal theta ERD were observed. Meanwhile, at retrieval, P3 amplitude and latency, as well as the theta band were modulated by both process (Mt or Mp) and type of trial (target or non-target stimuli). These findings mainly suggest different attentional implications at encoding, differences at the delay period related with task difficulty, and differential retrieval for Mt or Mp dependent on the process which the information comes from, suggesting that Mt and Mp differ at the very beginning of the processing.     

The pros and cons of temporally near and distant action

The present research demonstrated that in considering an action, considerations against (con) the action tend to be subordinate to considerations in favor of (pro) the action in that cons are considered only if the level of pros is sufficient, whereas pros are considered independent of the level of cons (Studies 1A and IB). The authors therefore concluded that pros constitute a higher construal level than cons and predict, on the basis of temporal construal processes (Y. Trope & N. Liberman. 2003). that pros would be more salient in making decisions for the more distant future, whereas the reverse should hold for cons. As predicted, participants generated more pros and fewer cons toward new exam procedures (Study 2), public policies (Study 3), and personal and interpersonal behaviors (Studies 4-6) that were expected to take place in the more distant future. This research also examined the limiting conditions and the evaluative consequences of these shifts.     

Localization judgments under various levels of attention

We investigated the effects of attention on localization with two converging manipulations of attention. The results indicated that whereas attention improved localization, minimally attended stimuli were nonetheless localized fairly accurately. The distributions of localization responses around peripheral stimuli were asymmetric, with a greater dispersion along the axis linking fixation to stimulus location relative to its perpendicular axis. We propose that the unattended field comprises attentional receptive fields that are mediated by coarse location detectors. We speculate that attention produces fine localization by facilitating computations that integrate the relative activation of overlapping detectors.     

Psychoanalysis--with whom, for what, and how? Comparisons with psychotherapy

If psychoanalytic treatment is to survive in the era of evidence-based medicine and managed care systems, empirical evidence is needed to demonstrate its unique nature and effectiveness. To address this need, comprehensive analyses were conducted of data from the Menninger Psychotherapy Research Project (Wallerstein 1986). These analyses addressed three questions: (1) What are the differences in outcome between psychoanalysis (PSA) and supportive-expressive psychotherapy (SEP)? (2) With what types of patient, and in what ways, are these two psychodynamic treatments differentially effective? (3) Are these differences in outcome the consequence of possibly different mechanisms of therapeutic action? PSA was found to contribute significantly to the development of adaptive interpersonal capacities and to the reduction of maladaptive interpersonal tendencies, especially with more ruminative, self-reflective, introjective patients, possibly by extending their associative capacities. SEP, by contrast, was effective only in reducing maladaptive interpersonal tendencies and only with dependent, unreflective, more affectively labile anaclitic patients, possibly by containing or limiting their associative capacities.     

Portrayal of the Other in Palestinian and Israeli Schoolbooks: A Comparative Study

The present study examined how Israelis and Palestinians present their narratives related to their conflict in school textbooks used by the state educational system and the ultraorthodox community in Israel and by all Palestinian schools in Palestinian National Territories. The focus was on how each side portrays the Other and their own group. The content analysis was based on a developed conceptual framework and standardized and manualized rating criteria with quantitative and qualitative aspects. The results showed in general that (1) dehumanizing and demonizing characterizations of the Other are rare in both Israeli and Palestinian books; (2) both Israeli and Palestinian books present unilateral national narratives that portray the Other as enemy, chronicle negative actions by the Other directed at the self‐community, and portray the self‐community in positive terms with actions aimed at self‐protection and goals of peace; (3), there is lack of information about the religions, culture, economic and daily activities of the Other, or even of the existence of the Other on maps; (4) the negative bias in portrayal of the Other, the positive bias in portrayal of the self, and the absence of images and information about the Other are all statistically significantly more pronounced in Israeli Ultra‐Orthodox and Palestinian books than in Israeli state books.