How learning one category influences the learning of another: intercategory generalization based on analogy and specific stimulus information

We investigated the effect of learning one category structure on the learning of a related category structure. Photograph-name combinations, called identifiers, were associated with values of four demographic attributes. Two problems were related by analogous demographic attributes, common identifiers, or both to examine the impact of common identifier, related general characteristics, and the interaction of the two variables in mediating learning transfer from one category structure to another. Problems sharing the same identifier information prompted greater positive transfer than those not sharing the same identifier information. In contrast, analogous defining characteristics in the two problems did not facilitate transfer. We computed correlations between responses to first-problem stimuli and responses to analogous second-problem stimuli for each participant. The analogous characteristics produced a tendency to respond in the same way to corresponding stimuli in the two problems. The results support an alignment between category structures related by analogous defining characteristics, which is facilitated by specific identifier information shared by two category structures.     

Cross- and within-cultural variations in children's understanding of distance, time, and speed interrelationships: a follow-up study

A problem with interpretations of differences in mathematic achievement between students from Asian countries and those from the United States is the seemingly implicit assumption of the cultural homogeneity of Asian societies. Researchers rarely measure the effects of variables within cultures that are hypothesized to be related to differences across cultures. In the present study, the authors examined the effects of socioeconomic status (SES) and quality of instruction on Chinese students' (1st, 3rd, and 5th grades) understanding of distance, time, and speed. The results indicated that (a) low SES in China can impede the development of children's mathematical cognition and (b) higher SES does not guarantee better performance. The implication is that the gap in mathematical performance between socioeconomically advantaged and disadvantaged children can be narrowed or even eliminated through instructional practices that focus on the systematic training of children's mathematical thinking.     

Unmitigated communion, social constraints, and psychological distress among women with rheumatoid arthritis

The personality trait of unmitigated communion, an extreme focus on relationships that has been associated with self-neglect, has been linked to poorer outcomes for both men and women, but is more common among women. This longitudinal study is the first to examine the influence of unmitigated communion on adaptation to a chronic illness that affects a much greater proportion of women to men. Women with rheumatoid arthritis completed measures of unmitigated communion, social constraints, and psychological distress at study entry and repeated the distress measure one year later. As expected, unmitigated communion was associated with psychological distress. Cross-sectional moderation analyses indicated that low social constraints buffered the negative effects of unmitigated communion.     

Personality factors in older women's perceived susceptibility to diseases of aging

Personality correlates of older women's perceived susceptibility to breast cancer, heart disease, and osteoporosis were examined in a community sample of 312 women aged 40-86. A latent factor of general perceived susceptibility to disease was shown to underlie disease-specific perceptions of susceptibility. Affect-related personality traits (neuroticism, extraversion, optimism, worry, and self-deceptive enhancement) and internal and chance health locus of control predicted general perceived susceptibility. Perceived disease characteristics (e.g., perceived controllability, severity) and the use of cognitive heuristics (i.e., perceived similarity to those who contract each disease) also displayed marked consistency across the three distinct diseases. Finally, our results suggested that general beliefs about the characteristics of health threats and the use of cognitive heuristics may mediate the link between personality traits and perceived risk.     

Rival creator arguments and the best of all possible worlds

‘Rival creator’ arguments suggest that God must have created the best of all possible worlds. These arguments are analyzed and evaluated, and Leibniz’s position defended.     

Motor-iconicity of sign language does not alter the neural systems underlying tool and action naming

Positron emission tomography was used to investigate whether the motor-iconic basis of certain forms in American Sign Language (ASL) partially alters the neural systems engaged during lexical retrieval. Most ASL nouns denoting tools and ASL verbs referring to tool-based actions are produced with a handshape representing the human hand holding a tool and with an iconic movement depicting canonical tool use, whereas the visual iconicity of animal signs is more idiosyncratic and inconsistent across signs. We investigated whether the motor-iconic relation between a sign and its referent alters the neural substrate for lexical retrieval in ASL. Ten deaf native ASL signers viewed photographs of tools/utensils or of actions performed with or without an implement and were asked to overtly produce the ASL sign for each object or action. The control task required subjects to judge the orientation of unknown faces. Compared to the control task, naming tools engaged left inferior and middle frontal gyri, bilateral parietal lobe, and posterior inferotemporal cortex. Naming actions performed with or without a tool engaged left inferior frontal gyrus, bilateral parietal lobe, and posterior middle temporal gyrus at the temporo-occipital junction (area MT). When motor-iconic verbs were compared with non-iconic verbs, no differences in neural activation were found. Overall, the results indicate that even when the form of a sign is indistinguishable from a pantomimic gesture, the neural systems underlying its production mirror those engaged when hearing speakers name tools or tool-based actions with speech.     

Effects of orthographic and phonological word length on memory for lists shown at RSVP and STM rates

This article reports 3 experiments in which effects of orthographic and phonological word length on memory were examined for short lists shown at rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) and short-term memory (STM) rates. Only visual-orthographic length reduced RSVP serial recall, whereas both orthographic and phonological length lowered recall for STM lists in Experiment 1. Word-length effects may arise from output processes or from the temporal duration of output in recall. In 2 further experiments, output demands were reduced through the use of a recognition test. Recognition accuracy was impaired only by orthographic length for RSVP lists and by phonological length for STM lists in both experiments. The results demonstrate 2 item length effects not simply attributable to increased output time in recall, and implications for theories of STM are considered.     

Semantic ambiguity and the process of generating meaning from print

An ambiguity disadvantage (slower responses for ambiguous words, e.g., bank, than for unambiguous words) has been reported in semantic tasks (L. R. Gottlob, S. D. Goldinger, G. O. Stone, & G. C. Van Orden, 1999; Y. Hino, S. J. Lupker, & P. M. Pexman, 2002; C. D. Piercey & S. Joordens, 2000) and has been attributed to the meaning activation process. The authors tested an alternative explanation; The ambiguity disadvantage arises from the decision-making process in semantic tasks. The authors examined effects of ambiguity on unrelated trials in a relatedness decision task, because these trials are free from response competition created by ambiguous words on related trials. Results showed no ambiguity effect on unrelated trials (Experiments 2, 3c, and 5c) and an ambiguity disadvantage on related trials (Experiments 3a, 3b, 5a, and 5b).     

Anomaly detection in the right hemisphere: The influence of visuospatial factors

Previous research with both brain-damaged and neurologically intact populations has demonstrated that the right cerebral hemisphere (RH) is superior to the left cerebral hemisphere (LH) at detecting anomalies (or incongruities) in objects (Ramachandran, 1995; Smith, Tays, Dixon, & Bulman-Fleming, 2002). The current research assesses whether the RH advantage for anomaly detection is due to the RH superiority for visuospatial skills or is a distinct cognitive process. Sixty undergraduate participants completed tasks assessing anomaly detection, mental rotation, and global and local perceptual abilities. The results demonstrate that anomaly detection is negatively correlated with mental rotation. These findings suggest that anomaly detection is not simply a function of visuospatial skills.