Independence of data-driven and conceptually driven priming: the case of person recognition

A central tenet of current memory theories is the independence of data-driven and conceptually driven priming. Although these types of repetition priming have different functional properties, it has remained unclear whether they are independent and additive or interact with each other. Therefore, we orthogonally combined these priming types in two experiments requiring occupation judgments for celebrities, represented by their faces or names. In both experiments, the sum of the effects of separate data-driven priming and conceptually driven priming equaled the effect of the combination of these priming types. These findings demonstrate for the first time the independence of data-driven and conceptually driven priming and so confirm a central tenet of current memory theories. This independence may thus be an important element for the development of future overarching memory theories.     

Neurobiologische Grundlagen psychotherapeutischer Verfahren

In the last few years the investigation of the neurobiological basis of psychotherapeutic treatments has gained importance. Therapy-associated functional changes have been studied in a number of different psychiatric diseases. It has been shown that diseases with a central role of emotions (e.g. depression, anxiety disorders, borderline personality disorder) often demonstrate dysfunctions in brain areas that are linked to emotional regulation. Psychotherapeutic interventions can lead to a kind of normalization of brain responses in these areas (e.g. amygdala, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, orbitofrontal cortex). In addition, therapy-associated transformations were also demonstrated in areas which are related to attention processes and visual perception. Other studies have aimed at finding neurobiological parameters that can be used to predict a therapeutic outcome or to choose between various therapeutic strategies. For instance, in depression, the amygdala and the anterior cingulate cortex are assumed to play a major role. Altogether, knowledge on the neurobiological basis of psychotherapeutic procedures is limited. A comparatively small number of studies and several methodological problems (e.g. small sample sizes, insufficient control groups, variability of methods used) make it difficult to propose reliable statements.     

The role of action and coping planning in the relationship between intention and physical activity: A moderated mediation analysis

Objective: Using a moderated mediation model, the present study investigated whether the mediation of intention into physical activity (PA) behaviour via action planning depends on the level of coping planning.

Method: A four-month prospective study was conducted among 157 French adults, who were recruited through a web-based survey. They were administrated measures of behavioural intention and sociodemographic variables at baseline and action and coping planning and PA four months later.

Results: Action planning partially mediated the contribution of intention on PA level. However, this indirect effect was conditional on the level of coping planning, insofar as action planning acted as a mediator of the intention–PA relationship only for individuals with high level of coping planning.

Conclusion: The results highlight the complexity of the relationship between intention and behaviour and provide evidence for the distinct role of both forms of planning.     

The effect of rebranding generic medicines on drug efficacy and side effects

Objectives: Subjective age is an important correlate of health, well-being, and longevity. So far, little is known about short-term variability in subjective age and the circumstances under which individuals feel younger/older in daily life. This study examined whether (a) older adults’ felt age fluctuates on a day-to-day basis, (b) daily changes in health, stressors, and affect explain fluctuations in felt age, and (c) the daily associations between felt age and health, stressors, or affect are time-ordered.

Method: Using an eight-day daily diary approach, N = 43 adults (60–96 years, M = 74.65, SD = 8.19) filled out daily questionnaires assessing subjective age, health, daily stressors, and affect. Data were analysed using multilevel modelling.

Main outcome measures: Subjective age, health, daily stressors, affect.

Results: Intra-individual variability in felt age was not explained by time but by short-term variability in other variables. Specifically, on days when participants experienced more than average health problems, stress, or negative affect they felt older than on days with average health, stress, or negative affect. No time-ordered effects were found.

Conclusion: Bad health, many stressors, and negative affective experiences constitute circumstances under which older adults feel older than they typically do. Thus, daily measures of subjective age could be markers of health and well-being.     

From outcome prediction to action selection: developmental change in the role of action–effect bindings

Ideomotor theory considers bidirectional action–effect associations to be the fundamental building blocks for intentional action. The present study employed a novel pupillometric and oculomotor paradigm to study developmental changes in the role of action‐effects in the acquisition of voluntary action. Our findings suggest that both 7‐ and 12‐month‐olds (and adults) can use acquired action–effect bindings to predict action outcomes but only 12‐month‐olds (and adults) showed evidence for employing action‐effects to select actions. This dissociation supports the idea that infants acquire action–effect knowledge before they have developed the cognitive machinery necessary to make use of that knowledge to perform intentional actions.     

Athletes' inclination to play through pain: a coping perspective

Previous studies have shown how social networks lead athletes to accept pain as a “part of the game,” which generates pressure on athletes to continue competing despite being in pain. Little is known, however, about the potential coping strategies that are related to pain behavior in sport. This study of 205 combat athletes examined whether pain coping strategies, including distraction from pain, praying, reinterpreting pain sensations, ignoring pain, and pain catastrophizing, are related to athletes’ inclination to play through pain. Results revealed that pain catastrophizing led athletes to reduce their physical involvement in their sport activity. Of particular interest was the moderating effect of ignoring pain such that ignoring pain significantly attenuated the negative effect of pain intensity on athletes’ inclination to play through pain. Few studies have tested and supported the contribution of pain coping to the prediction of behavior in real sport situations. By identifying which coping strategies athletes could use to maintain their physical involvement despite being in (sometimes intense) pain, the current study makes an important contribution for tailoring pain management programs for this at-risk population.     

Assessing the Level of Structural Integration Using Operationalized Psychodynamic Diagnosis (OPD): Implications for DSM–5

In order to investigate the state-trait anxiety distinction in emotionally disturbed and normal children, the responses of 120 emotionally disturbed children and 126 normal children to the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (Spielberger, 1973) were factor analyzed separately. For the emotionally disturbed group two A-State and two A-Trait factors were found with the A-State factors accounting for significantly more of the variance than did A-Trait factors. For the normal group four A-State and two A-Trait factors were found, but there was not a significant difference between the amount of variance accounted for by A-State and A-Trait factors. Results were discussed as supporting the state-trait distinction and as having several implications for future research on anxiety.     

Spatial Conceptual Influences on the Coordination of Bimanual Actions: When a Dual Task Becomes a Single Task

When the left and right hands produce 2 different rhythms simultaneously, coordination of the hands is difficult unless the rhythms can be integrated into a unified temporal pattern. In the present study, the authors investigated whether a similar account can be applied to the spatial domain. Participants (N = 8) produced a movement trajectory of semicircular form in single-limb and bimanual conditions. In the bimanual tasks, 1 limb moved above the other in the frontal plane. Bimanual unified tasks were constructed so that the spatial paths to be produced by the 2 limbs could be easily conceptualized as parts of a unified circle pattern. Bimanual distinct tasks availed a less obvious spatial pattern that would unify the 2 tasks. Performance of the spatial patterns was more accurate in the unified task, despite similar demands placed on the coordination dynamics between the limbs in the 2 cases (e.g., the phase relations). The authors conclude that a dual task becomes a single task, and interlimb interference is reduced, when the spatial patterns produced by the 2 hands form a geometric arrangement that can be conceptualized as a unified representation.     

Bimanual Training Reduces Spatial Interference

The authors investigated whether training can reduce bimanual directional interference by using a star-line drawing paradigm, Participants (N = 30) were required to perform rhythmical arm movements with identical temporal but differing directional demands. Moreover, the effectiveness of part-task training in which each movement was practiced in isolation was compared with that of whole-task training in which only combined movements were performed. Findings revealed that bimanual training substantially reduced spatial interference, but unimanual training did not. The authors therefore concluded that the spatial coupling of the limbs is not implemented in a rigid way; instead, the underlying neural correlate can undergo plastic changes induced by training. Moreover, the practical implication that emerged from the present study is that athletic, musical, or ergonomic skills that require a high degree of interlimb coordination are best served by whole-task practice.     

Relative Phase Alterations during Bimanual Skill Acquisition

The purposes of the research reported here were (a) to examine changes in relative phase during the acquisition of a new coordination pattern and (b) to determine the effect of learning this pattern on the ability to perform other coordination patterns. Ten subjects practiced an upper limb coordination task that required a 90° phase offset and different amplitudes for each arm. A gross approximation of the mean relative phase for the intended coordination pattern occurred quickly, but the attainment of stability occurred much more gradually. These results were accompanied by changes in pattern stability across practice and on various transfer tests. Learning of the new coordination pattern also affected the stability of the anti-phase mode, but this effect was only temporary.