The time course of temporal attention effects on nonconscious prime processing

We presented a masked prime at various prime–target intervals (PTIs) before a target that required a speeded motor response and investigated the impact of temporal attention on the nonconscious prime processing. The allocation of temporal attention to the target was manipulated by presenting an accessory tone and comparing that condition with a no-tone condition. The results showed that, independently of the visibility of the prime, temporal attention led to an enhanced effect of prime–target congruency on the reaction times, and that the amount of the enhancement increased with increasing PTIs. This effect pattern is consistent with the assumption of increasing influences of temporal attention and of the increasing PTI on nonconscious prime processing; it argues against the hypothesis that temporal attention narrows the time period in which the prime may affect target processing. An accumulator model is proposed assuming that target-related temporal attention increases the accumulation rate for masked primes and, thus, enhances the impact of the prime on the speed of choice decisions.     

Working memory demands modulate cognitive control in the Stroop paradigm

One important task of cognitive control is to regulate behavior by resolving information processing conflicts. In the Stroop task, e.g., incongruent trials lead to conflict-related enhancements of cognitive control and to improved behavioral performance in subsequent trials. Several studies suggested that these cognitive control processes are functionally and anatomically related to working memory (WM) functions. The present study investigated this suggestion and tested whether these control processes are modulated by concurrent WM demands. For this purpose, we performed three experiments in which we combined different WM tasks with the Stroop paradigm and measured their effects on cognitive control. We found that high WM demands led to a suppression of conflict-triggered cognitive control, whereas our findings suggest that this suppression effect is rather due to WM updating than to maintenance demands. We explain our findings by assuming that WM processes interfere with conflict-triggered cognitive control, harming the efficiency of these control processes.     

Response activation in overlapping tasks and the response-selection bottleneck

The authors investigated the impact of response activation on dual-task performance by presenting a subliminal prime before the stimulus in Task 2 (S2) of a psychological refractory period (PRP) task. Congruence between prime and S2 modulated the reaction times in Task 2 at short stimulus onset asynchrony despite a PRP effect. This Task 2 congruence effect was paralleled by a Task 1 congruence effect and emerged exclusively under conditions of cross talk, whereas it did not occur under dual-task conditions preventing cross talk between tasks. This suggests that response activation operates during the PRP in dual tasks and affects the response times in Task 2 via cross talk between common processing elements at prebottleneck stages but not by directly affecting the postbottleneck stages.     

Improved intertask coordination after extensive dual-task practice

This study examines whether an improved intertask coordination skill is acquired during extensive dual-task training and whether it can be transferred to a new dual-task situation. Participants practised a visual-manual task and an auditory-vocal task. These tasks were trained in two groups matched in dual-task performance measures before practice: a single-task practice group and a hybrid practice group (including single-task and dual-task practice). After practice, the single-task practice group was transferred to the same dual-task situation as that for the hybrid practice group (Experiment 1), both groups were transferred to a dual-task situation with a new visual task (Experiment 2), and both groups were transferred to a dual-task situation with a new auditory task matched in task difficulty (Experiment 3). The results show a dual-task performance advantage in the hybrid practice group over the single-task practice group in the practised dual-task situation (Experiment 1), the manipulated visual-task situation (Experiment 2), and the manipulated auditory-task situation (Experiment 3). In all experiments, the dual-task performance advantage was consistently found for the auditory task only. These findings suggest that extended dual-task practice improves the skill to coordinate two tasks, which may be defined as an accelerated switching operation between both tasks. This skill is relatively robust against changes of the component visual and auditory tasks. We discuss how the finding of task coordination could be integrated in present models of dual-task research.     

Interference effects of stimulus–response modality pairings in dual tasks and their robustness

Recent evidence suggests that the degree of interference in dual-task situations depends crucially on the pairings of input- and output modalities of the two component tasks with increased dual-task costs for modality incompatible (i.e., visual–vocal and auditory–manual) compared to modality compatible (i.e., visual–manual and auditory–vocal) dual tasks. These effects of modality pairings in dual tasks have been related to the overlap of non-preferred processing pathways in modality incompatible tasks. Until now, modality compatibility has not yet been related to other sources of interference in a dual-task context, such as stimulus–response (S–R) compatibility or crosstalk. In the present study, we conducted two experiments using the paradigm of the psychological refractory period (PRP) to test the effects of S–R compatibility and crosstalk on the effects of modality compatibility in temporally overlapping task situations. Experiment 1 revealed an overadditive interaction between stimulus onset asynchrony and modality compatibility for tasks with S–R compatible mappings, indicating that modality compatibility effects are present in different task situations, even when S–R mappings are otherwise compatible. In Experiment 2, we aimed at pinpointing the boundaries of the effects of modality compatibility in dual-task situations. We showed that additional sources of dual-task interference in a modality compatible dual task could overwrite the pronounced PRP effect previously shown for modality incompatible tasks. Taken together, these data provide new evidence that the specific types of stimulus–response modality pairings are an additional factor that might interact with other sources of interference in dual-task situations.     

The importance of working memory updating in the Prisoner’s dilemma

Successful cooperation requires that humans can flexibly adjust choices to their partner’s behaviour. This, in turn, presupposes a representation of a partner’s past decisions in working memory. The aim of the current study was to investigate the role of working memory processes in cooperation. For that purpose, we tested the effects of working memory updating (Experiment 1) and working memory maintenance demands (Experiments 2 and 3) on cooperative behaviour in the Prisoner’s dilemma game. We found that demands on updating, but not maintenance, of working memory contents impaired strategy use in the Prisoner’s dilemma. Thus, our data show that updating a partner’s past behaviour in working memory represents an important precondition for strategy use in cooperation.     

Sexual behavior in young adulthood: a population-based twin study.

OBJECTIVE: With behavior genetic analyses of data from young adult twins, we evaluated theoretical perspectives that differentially emphasize biological dispositions, social/cultural factors, or universal pathways to explain individual differences in sexual behaviors. DESIGN: We fit biometric sex limitation models to three aspects of sexual behavior reported by 4,925 Finnish twins ages 23-27. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: From a postal questionnaire, we obtained self-report information on initiation/abstinence of sexual intercourse, onset age, and number of sexual partners. RESULTS: Genetic and non-shared environmental influences were significant for all three measures. There were trends for common environmental influences on initiation and, in females, age at first intercourse. Some differential effects in males and females were found. Results comparing onset age and number of partners among experienced twins from pairs concordant and discordant for initiation found genetic and environmental influences on initiation/abstinence overlapped those found for the other aspects of sexual behavior. CONCLUSIONS: These results document genetic variation in individual differences in sexual behavior of young adults. Incorporating genetic dispositions into integrated models of sexual behavior will facilitate more effective health promotion and risk taking intervention.     

Neuroticism,Side Effects,and Health Perceptions Among HIV-Infected Individuals on Antiretroviral Medications

Side effects from antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV disease can deter treatment, impact quality of life, and impede medication adherence. Individual differences in neuroticism may account for variations in the experience of side effects and perceptions of health status. Cross-sectional assessments were conducted with 258 participant’s with confirmed HIV infection and current ART regimen. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to evaluate a model of self-reported ART side effect frequency and severity and perceived health status, as related to neuroticism. Symptoms of neuroticism were associated with greater reports of ART side effects and poorer perceived health but unrelated to reported CD4 count and viral load, thus supporting the structural model. Individual differences in symptoms of neuroticism can explain variations in side effect reporting and consequential impairments in perceived health in the context of HIV treatment. Identification and intervention with individuals high in symptoms of neuroticism may be warranted to alleviate side effect-related concerns and maximize treatment benefit.     

A consistency-based framework for merging knowledge bases

We present a framework for expressing various merging operators for belief sets. This framework generalises our earlier work on consistency-based belief revision and contraction. Two primary merging operators are identified: in the first approach, belief sources are consistently combined so that the result of merging knowledge bases K₁,…,K_n is a maximal consistent (if possible) set of formulas comprising the joint knowledge of the knowledge bases. This approach then accords with one's intuitions as to what a “merge” operator should do. The second approach is more akin to a generalised belief revision operator. Knowledge bases K₁,…,K_n are “projected” onto another (in the simplest case the knowledge base where only tautologies are known). Properties of these operators are investigated, primarily by comparing their properties with postulates that have been identified previously in the literature. Notably, the approach is independent of syntax, in that merging knowledge bases K₁,…,K_n is independent of how each K_i is expressed. As well, we investigate the role of entailment-based and consistency-based integrity constraints, the interrelationships between these approaches and belief revision, and the expression of further merging operators.     

Career patterns: A twenty-year panel study

Using 20 years of employment and job mobility data from a representative German sample (N = 1259), we employ optimal matching analysis (OMA) to identify six career patterns which deviate from the traditional career path of long-term, full-time employment in one organization. Then, in further analyses, we examine which socio-demographic predictors affect whether or not individuals follow that traditional career path. Results indicate that age, gender, marital status, number of children, education, and career starts in the public sector significantly predicted whether or not individuals followed the traditional career path. The article concludes with directions for future theoretical and methodological research on career patterns.