Divergent thinking in the grasslands: thinking about object function in the context of a grassland survival scenario elicits more alternate uses than control scenarios

The survival processing effect is a recall advantage for information processed in the context of a grassland survival scenario. The current studies build upon previous research suggesting the effect is due to elaborative encoding and functional thinking. In two experiments, participants completed the “alternate uses test” under five conditions: baseline, grassland survival, Ebola survival, moving to a new home and planning a bank heist. Experiment 1 stimuli were everyday objects. Experiment 2 stimuli were functionally ambiguous “mystery” objects. Number of generated uses was highest in the baseline, but the grassland scenario was consistently highest of the schematic conditions. Recall data lend support to the mnemonic superiority of the grassland condition. Results suggest that grassland scenarios place fewer attenuating constraints on divergent thinking. It is suggested that the survival processing effect might be usefully conceptualised as an effect of creatively thinking about object function in response to broadly defined problems.     

Using Force: Australian Newspaper Depictions of Contacts Between the Police and Persons Experiencing Mental Illness

The media creates and sustains knowledge about socially relevant issues such as crime, mental illness, and policing. Past research suggests that while the media portrayal of the police is undoubtedly complex, their portrayal of people experiencing mental illness remains mainly negative. The depiction of their encounters in the mass media is of considerable interest because of the influential role the media has on public opinion and debate; however, there is a lack of current research in this area. This study aimed to examine media items in the major newspapers across Australia between January 2006 and December 2007 (n = 77) to investigate their portrayal of this interface. The dominant themes encountered in the initial analysis depicted people experiencing mental illness as dangerous and a threat to the public, where the mental health system has failed to manage them adequately. Further analyses found that people experiencing mental illness were stigmatised in a third of the media items reviewed and were represented significantly more negatively in these encounters than the police. Implications of these findings and some suggestions regarding possible strategies that could improve socially responsible media reporting and public discourse on mental illness are proposed.     

Electroencephalogram and heart rate measures of working memory at 5 and 10 months of age

We recorded electroencephalogram (EEG; 6-9 Hz) and heart rate (HR) from infants at 5 and 10 months of age during baseline and performance on the looking A-not-B task of infant working memory (WM). Longitudinal baseline-to-task comparisons revealed WM-related increases in EEG power (all electrodes) and EEG coherence (medial frontal-occipital electrode pairs) at both ages. WM-related decreases in HR were only present at 5 months, and WM-related increases in EEG coherence became more localized by 10 months. Regression analyses revealed that baseline-to-task changes in psychophysiology accounted for variability in WM performance at 10 but not 5 months. HR and EEG power (medial frontal and lateral frontal electrodes) were unique predictors of variability in 10-month WM performance. These findings are discussed in relation to frontal lobe development and represent the first comprehensive longitudinal analysis of age-related changes in the behavioral and psychophysiological correlates of WM.     

The effect of gender on the N1-P2 auditory complex while listening and speaking with altered auditory feedback

The effect of gender on the N1-P2 auditory complex was examined while listening and speaking with altered auditory feedback. Fifteen normal hearing adult males and 15 females participated. N1-P2 components were evoked while listening to self-produced nonaltered and frequency shifted /a/ tokens and during production of /a/ tokens during nonaltered auditory feedback (NAF), frequency altered feedback (FAF), and delayed auditory feedback (DAF; 50 and 200 ms). During speech production, females exhibited earlier N1 latencies during 50 ms DAF and earlier P2 latencies during 50 ms DAF and FAF. There were no significant differences in N1-P2 amplitudes across all conditions. Comparing listening to active speaking, N1 and P2 latencies were earlier among females, with speaking, and under NAF. N1-P2 amplitudes were significantly reduced during speech production. These findings are consistent with the notions that speech production suppresses auditory cortex responsiveness and males and females process altered auditory feedback differently while speaking.     

Just Tell Us What Happened to You: Autobiographical Memory and Seeking Asylum

When someone flees their country and seeks the protection of another state, they usually have to describe what happened to make them afraid to return. This task requires many psychological processes, a key one being autobiographical memory. Memory for events of a specific time and place in one's personal past is the subject of a huge literature, much of it showing that recall is vulnerable to distortions and biases. We review selected areas of this literature, shedding light on some of the processes at work when someone seeks to be recognised as a refugee—in particular, the effects of emotion, including emotional disorder. We then turn to the differing types of memory styles seen in different cultures. Crucial to this area, we briefly examine the current literature on deception. Finally, we draw on the reviewed literature to present conclusions about the reliance on autobiographical memories in the asylum process. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Links between Family Social Status and Preschoolers' Persistence: The Role of Maternal Values and Quality of Parenting

Children who develop persistence in the preschool years are likely to function more effectively during the transition into school. In this study of 231 3‐year‐old children and their mothers, we examined the relations among family social status, maternal values of self‐direction, quality of parenting, and children's persistence in challenging tasks. Results of structural equation modelling path analysis indicated that family social status was related to maternal values of self‐direction, which in turn were associated with the quality of maternal cognitive stimulation and emotional support and child persistence at preschool age. Family social status and maternal values were indirectly related to child persistence through emotional support. Focusing on parental values of self‐direction and provision of support during challenging tasks may help to reduce the gap in school success between children from lower and higher social status families. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.