Direct and indirect measures of memory for modality in young and older adults.

In 2 experiments, young and older adults demonstrated modality effects of similar magnitude in perceptual identification tasks. That is, both young and older adults demonstrated more repetition priming when study and test modalities matched than when they were different, suggesting that contextual information was equally available across age. However, when asked explicitly to retrieve modality information, older adults were less accurate than young adults. These results constitute evidence for a dissociation between direct and indirect measures of memory for modality information. They call into question hypotheses that memory impairment in old age is due to deficient encoding of contextual information and challenge current accounts of modality effects in repetition priming.     

Positive and negative stimuli in relation to tennis players' reaction time

Research has indicated that negative and positive thoughts may affect sport performance. The purpose of this analogue study was to assess whether negative and positive stimuli influenced tennis performance similar to positive and negative thought. The reaction time (RT) of 40 competitive tennis players was measured during a timed response to a tennis ball rotating in a topspin, sidespin, or backspin direction on the computer screen. Immediately prior to the ball presentation, a phrase (accessory stimulus) was presented visually or aurally. The accessory stimulus provided either positive (e.g., 'nice shot') or negative information (e.g., 'bad shot') followed by the subject's name. Analysis showed a main effect only for the type of spin. The slowest RT occurred when responding to a tennis ball rotating in a backspin direction. A significant interaction was found for the sensory modality (audition vs vision) and polarity (positive vs negative) of the accessory stimulus. RT to negative stimuli was slowest when the accessory stimulus was presented aurally. The quickest RT to positive stimuli occurred when the accessory stimulus was presented aurally. These results indicated that negative and positive stimuli, when presented aurally, affected performance as positive and negative thoughts measured in other studies. Not measured was whether negative and positive stimuli actually produce the negative and positive thoughts, respectively, that have been reported to affect performance.     

God's Country?

Abstract : Religion has always been a major force in U.S. politics, but the recent surge in the number and the power of evangelicals is recasting the country's political scene—with dramatic implications for foreign policy. This should not be cause for panic: evangelicals are passionately devoted to justice and improving the world, and eager to reach out across sectarian lines.     

On-task distractors associated with totball baseball games: a preliminary study

Two totball baseball leagues in southern Louisiana were monitored to judge what type of parental involvement yielded the highest on-task behaviors among participants. 39 children ages 3 to 5 years participated in 3- or 4-inning baseball games with parents on the field. In the Parent on Bases League, a parent stood on first, second, and third base only. In the Parent with Every Child League, a parent stood next to every child on the field. Children were observed on the field at three different dates at 1-min. intervals during the first two innings of one game in both leagues. On-task behaviors were defined as standing in the correct field position and watching the ball. Off-task behaviors consisted of sitting, rolling on the field, talking to a coach or parent, and not watching the ball. A statistically significant difference in the percent of time children spent on-task favored the Parents on Bases League (75.7) versus the other league (50.3). Having fewer parents on the field in these baseball games kept players on-task more effectively than having a parent with each child.