SEX DIFFERENCES IN VISUAL ENCODING SKILLS: READING SYMBOLS

Written language in all cultures is composed of symbols to which sounds have been attached somewhat arbitrarily. Meanings are also attached somewhat arbitrarily to letters and groups of letters. The transformation of symbols into sounds is generally seen to be part of the reading process, though it is not clear whether it is of equal importance at all stages of competence. It is possible that, at some stages, the skilled reader may have direct access to the meaning of a word or phrase from its visual representation. There is evidence from work of Coltheart, Hull and Slater (1975) that females tend to use phonological encoding to a greater extent than males when reading. Naish (1980) found that females encoded phonologically at a faster rate than males, and suggested that this might explain why the preferred mode of access to meaning appeared to be phonological for females but visual for males.     

The Causal Structure of Utility Conditionals

The psychology of reasoning is increasingly considering agents' values and preferences, achieving greater integration with judgment and decision making, social cognition, and moral reasoning. Some of this research investigates utility conditionals, ‘‘if p then q’’ statements where the realization of p or q or both is valued by some agents. Various approaches to utility conditionals share the assumption that reasoners make inferences from utility conditionals based on the comparison between the utility of p and the expected utility of q. This article introduces a new parameter in this analysis, the underlying causal structure of the conditional. Four experiments showed that causal structure moderated utility‐informed conditional reasoning. These inferences were strongly invited when the underlying structure of the conditional was causal, and significantly less so when the underlying structure of the conditional was diagnostic. This asymmetry was only observed for conditionals in which the utility of q was clear, and disappeared when the utility of q was unclear. Thus, an adequate account of utility‐informed inferences conditional reasoning requires three components: utility, probability, and causal structure.     

The interval for interference in conscious visual imagery

Three experiments are described that use dynamic visual noise (DVN) to interfere with words processed under visual and verbal processing instructions. In Experiment 1 DVN is presented to coincide with the encoding of the words or to coincide with the interval between encoding and recall. The results show that while DVN is a robust disruptor when it is applied during encoding to words processed under visual instruction, it has no effect during encoding when the words are processed under rote instruction. Moreover, DVN has no effect when it is applied during the retention interval, no matter what means are employed to encode the words. Experiment 2 extends these findings by again showing no effect of DVN during the retention interval, yet showing robust interference effects for visually processed words during recall. Finally, Experiment 3 demonstrates that the results of Experiments 1 and 2 cannot be explained by a difference in the time duration associated with application of DVN during the retention interval compared to during encoding and recall. Moreover, the differing decay functions for visually and verbally processed words during the intervals used in Experiment 3 suggest that any failure to cause interference is not because the two processing instructions resulted in words being retained in the same medium. The functions are consistent with word storage mechanisms reflecting appropriately verbal and visual properties. The results are discussed in terms of current models of visual working memory. It is argued that a full interpretation of the results requires a buffer mechanism as an important component of any model of visual working memory.     

‘Feeling for’ and ‘feeling with’: developmental and neuroscientific perspectives on intersubjectivity and empathy

This paper discusses research by Beatrice Beebe, Bessel van der Kolk and others, exploring the interpersonal processes that underpin early relational trauma and how this contributes to adult psychopathology. An essential feature of early relational trauma, the infant's experience of being unable to evoke an empathic response from the caregiver and the feelings of shame this gives rise to, is discussed and its implications for psychotherapy are considered. The neuroscience that underpins two forms of empathy in the therapeutic relationship, of ‘feeling for’ and ‘feeling with’ the patient is discussed and explored in relation to the concordant and complementary countertransference. I argue that when therapists respond to the projection on to them of the abuser by an increasingly determined adherence to analytic technique, this may become a complementary countertransference identification with the abuser and an enactment of the abusive relationship.     

Anxiety and Repression in Attention and Retention

High- and low-anxious college students (as determined by scores on the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale; A. W. Bendig, 1956) and repressors (low anxiety and high scores on the Marlowe–Crowne Social Desirability Scale; D. P. Crowne & D. Marlowe, 1964) were compared on 3 cognitive tasks. High-anxious participants more often spelled the negative emotional meaning of ambiguous homophones (e.g., pane/pain) and forgot more of their free associations to emotional cue words than did the low-anxious participants. The repressors also detected the emotional meaning of the homophones but unlike the anxious, the repressors did recall their associations to the emotional words. In a working memory task using nonemotional items, the moderately anxious participants recalled fewer words than did the low- and high-anxious participants. The results confirm that both trait anxiety and repression affect information processing at a variety of stages but not in the same way. Repressors were sensitive to, and retentive of, negative emotional stimuli.     

A Semantic Network Approach to the Creativity Quotient (CQ)

The Creativity Quotient (CQ) is a novel metric building on ideational fluency that accounts for both the number of novel ideas (ideation) and the number of distinct categories (fluency) these ideas fall into. Categories are, however, difficult to define unambiguously and objectively. We propose that the principal contribution of this article is an entirely algorithmic approach based on concept networks, and an information metric defined thereon. It requires only measures of the similarity between concepts, which may come from databases such as Wordnet, Wikipedia, Google, or corpus analysis tools. In the special case of strong, unique categories it reduces directly to CQ.     

Managing a Sales Territory: A Comparison of Industrial Goods and Consumer Goods Sales Representatives

Abstract

What do the rapid changes in the environment faced by consumer goods marketers portend for their salesforces? They must change as well in order to meet the shifting requirements for successful marketing in the early 1980's. Effective sales territory management can be an important instrument for sales representatives in meeting these challenges. Sales territory management is one area, it would appear, where consumer goods marketers can learn a good deal from their counterparts in industrial goods salesforces.     

Belief-level markers of physical activity among young adult couples: Comparisons across couples without children and new parents

The health benefits of regular moderate–vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) are well established, yet young adults, particularly parents, often show declines in MVPA and may represent a critical population for intervention. Theory-based correlates used to guide future interventions are scant in this population. The purpose of this study was to examine theory of planned behaviour (TPB) belief-level constructs as correlates of directly assessed MVPA across cohorts of couples without children and with their first child over the initial 12?months. Participants were 238 adults (102 not expecting a child, 136 expecting first child) who completed baseline demographics, belief measures of the TPB and seven-day accelerometry, followed by assessments at 6 and 12 months. Results showed select medium-sized belief-PA correlations with sex and cohort interactions. Overall, women had larger affect-based behavioural belief associations with MVPA than men (e.g. PA relieves stress), and among new parents, mothers showed larger associations with control over MVPA than fathers. Mothers also had larger associations between control beliefs and MVPA compared to women without children (e.g. domestic duties, bad weather). Extremely high means and low variability on the behavioural beliefs show limited room for possible changes in intervention while control beliefs had low means suggesting room for change. Interventions targeting control among new mothers may be paramount for increasing MVPA, yet the TPB yielded less insight into the targets for promoting MVPA among young men.     

Psychosocial adjustment along the HIV disease continuum

Abstract

Evidence suggests that certain indices of stage of HIV disease are determinants of psychological distress, although information is lacking on how disease stage impacts on multiple domains of adjustment. The present study aimed: (1) to explore differences among clinical stages of HIV on measures of psychosocial adjustment, and (2) to explore the relationship between indices of psychosocial adjustment to HIV and self-report measures of physical health. Ninety six HIV-infected persons and 33 HIV seronegative comparison group participants were interviewed and completed self-administered scales. Participants were divided into four groups (the independent variable): a comparison group and three HIV groups, representing the three clinical indices of illness stage (asymptomatic, early symptomatic and AIDS). Three subjective health indices included number of HIV-related symptoms, global health rating, and T4 count. The dependent variables included 5 psychosocial adjustment measures. Results indicated that social and instrumental domains of adjustment were significantly associated with both clinical stage and all 3 subjective health indices. Levels of psychological distress were associated with number of physical symptoms and global health rating, but were unrelated to clinical stage and T4 count. Emotional and existential concerns were unrelated to all indices of illness stage.     

The influence of breast cancer survivors' Perceived partner social support and need satisfaction on depressive symptoms: A longitudinal analysis

The present study examines the ways in which breast cancer survivors’ perceptions of emotional and instrumental social support from an intimate partner and need satisfaction in their partner role influence depression during and after breast cancer treatment. Our sample was comprised of 163 women who were an average of 57 years old, mostly White/Caucasian, and diagnosed primarily with early-stage breast cancer. Longitudinal data were analysed using both multilevel and structural equation modelling. Results reveal that (a) greater perceived partner emotional support is associated with lowered levels of depression at each wave, (b) partner-role need satisfaction mediates the relationship between perceived partner emotional support and depression at each wave, (c) perceived partner emotional support predicts subsequent changes in depression by way of need satisfaction and (d) depression prospectively predicts lowered perceptions of partner emotional and instrumental support. The findings confirm that basic need satisfaction, within intimate relationships, is an important predictor of lowered depression among breast cancer survivors.