On the nature of consonant/vowel differences in letter position coding: Evidence from developing and adult readers

In skilled adult readers, transposed‐letter effects (jugde ‐JUDGE ) are greater for consonant than for vowel transpositions. These differences are often attributed to phonological rather than orthographic processing. To examine this issue, we employed a scenario in which phonological involvement varies as a function of reading experience: A masked priming lexical decision task with 50‐ms primes in adult and developing readers. Indeed, masked phonological priming at this prime duration has been consistently reported in adults, but not in developing readers (Davis, Castles, & Iakovidis, 1998). Thus, if consonant/vowel asymmetries in letter position coding with adults are due to phonological influences, transposed‐letter priming should occur for both consonant and vowel transpositions in developing readers. Results with adults (Experiment 1) replicated the usual consonant/vowel asymmetry in transposed‐letter priming. In contrast, no signs of an asymmetry were found with developing readers (Experiments 2–3). However, Experiments 1–3 did not directly test the existence of phonological involvement. To study this question, Experiment 4 manipulated the phonological prime‐target relationship in developing readers. As expected, we found no signs of masked phonological priming. Thus, the present data favour an interpretation of the consonant/vowel dissociation in letter position coding as due to phonological rather than orthographic processing.     

Religiosity/Spirituality Matters on Plant-Based Local Medical System

Journal of Religion and Health - Religiosity/spirituality can affect health and quality of life in myriad ways. Religion has been present since the first moments of our evolutionary history,...     

Putting a negative spin on it: Using a fidget spinner can impair memory for a video lecture

Fidget spinners have experienced a rapid rise in popularity, at least partially because they are marketed as attentional aides with the potential to enhance student learning. In the current study, college-aged students watched educational videos while either using a fidget spinner or not. Using a fidget spinner was associated with increased reports of attentional lapses, diminished judgments of learning, and impaired performance on a memory test for the material covered in the video. The adverse effect on learning was observed regardless of whether the use of fidget spinners was manipulated between-subjects (Experiment 1) or within-subjects (Experiment 2), and was observed even when the sample and analysis were limited to participants who came into the study with neutral or positive views on the use of fidget spinners. These results suggest that if fidget spinners are beneficial for learning, such benefits are relatively limited or at least do not extend to the conditions present in the current study.     

Step changes in the intertrial interval in the midsession reversal task: Predicting pigeons' performance with the learning-to-time model

Our goal was to assess the role of timing in pigeons' performance in the midsession reversal task. In discrete-trial sessions, pigeons learned to discriminate between 2 stimuli, S1 and S2. Choices of S1 were reinforced only in the first half of the session and choices of S2 were reinforced only in the second half. Typically, pigeons choose S2 before the contingency reverses (anticipatory errors) and S1 after (perseverative errors), suggesting that they time the interval from the beginning of the session to the contingency reversal. To test this hypothesis, we exposed pigeons to a midsession reversal task and, depending on the group, either increased or decreased the ITI duration. We then contrasted the pigeons' performance with the predictions of the Learning-to-Time (LeT) model: In both conditions, preference was expected to reverse at the same time as in the previous sessions. When the ITI was doubled, pigeons' preference reversal occurred at half the trial number but at the same time as in the previous sessions. When the ITI was halved, pigeons' preference reversal occurred at a later trial but at an earlier time than in the previous sessions. Hence, pigeons' performance was only partially consistent with the predictions of LeT, suggesting that besides timing, other sources of control, such as the outcome of previous trials, seem to influence choice.     

Telehealth for underserved families: An evidence-based parenting program

Families with a child diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder completed an 8-session parenting program, the Group Triple P Positive Parenting Program, provided by videoconferencing technology. Families reported improved child behavior (effect size of d = -1.23) and decreased parent distress (d = -0.34). Parent training implemented with videoconferencing technology can be an effective way of delivering evidence-based services to families with specialized needs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

Left hemisphere language lateralization in bilinguals and monolinguals

Tachistoscopic studies of lateralization in bilinguals suggest that there is a greater degree of right hemisphere involvement in their processing of language than is typically found in monolinguals. However, most of the studies reviewed failed to control the sex, handedness, and degree of fluency of the subjects and did not include a monolingual comparison group. The present study used adult right-handed males (Portuguese-English bilinguals and English-speaking monolinguals) in a tachistoscopic word-reading task. In Experiment 1, the words from the bilinguals’ two languages were presented in mixed blocks, while in Experiment 2, they were presented in separate blocks. The results were: (1) a similar level of left hemisphere advantage for language in the bilingual and the monolingual groups, (2) no evidence of greater heterogeneity of asymmetry patterns in bilinguals, and (3) a significant correlation (r=.61) for lateralization levels of the bilinguals’ two languages. These results indicate that language is processed primarily in the left hemisphere of both bilinguals and monolinguals.     

Gender and temporal differences in identifying sources of stress

Much of the methodology in stress research focuses on stress manifestation and organismic reactions to life’s crises. In contrast, the present study sought to identify the major sources of stress and the nature of those sources. The results revealed a consistent pattern in high and low stressors throughout the 3-year period of the study, and differences only of intensity between males and females, not type of stress. Except for individuals’ temporal variations in critical events, the highest stressors for the groups were external, primarily financial and time management. Internal sources, such as personal relationships and self-absorption, were typically the lowest concerns. Everyday problems arising from current life styles seem to be significant sources of stress.     

Psychosocial correlates of hopelessness among men

This study examined overall hopelessness, explored differences in various variables (e.g. burnout) between men reporting no/mild hopelessness and moderate/severe hopelessness, and scrutinized factors associated with hopelessness. The study design was cross-sectional, and the participants were 517 men randomly selected from the general population. About 12% of men reported moderate/severe hopelessness, and men with moderate/severe hopelessness were more often older, divorced/widowed, low educated, employed in blue-collar positions, on sick leave/other/unemployment/retirement, and financially strained. They also reported more depression, posttraumatic symptoms, and burnout. Only unemployment/retirement, depression, and posttraumatic symptoms were independently associated with an increased risk for moderate/severe hopelessness in the regression analysis, with unemployment and retirement as the most important factors. In conclusion, this study seems to corroborate previous findings and may provide new insights into men's experiences and predictors of hopelessness. More research into the predictors of hopelessness in men is warranted.