Benefits of testing for nontested information: Retrieval-induced facilitation of episodically bound material

Testing is a powerful means to boost the retention of information. The extent to which the benefits of testing generalize to nontested information, however, is not clear. In three experiments, we found that completing cued-recall tests for a subset of studied materials enhanced retention for the specific information tested, as well as for associated, nontested information during later free-recall testing. In Experiment 1, this generalized benefit was revealed for lists of category–exemplar pairs. Experiment 2 extended the effect to unrelated words, suggesting that retrieval can enhance later free recall of nontested information that is bound solely through episodic context. In Experiment 3, we manipulated the format of the final test and found facilitation in free-recall, but not in cued-recall, testing. The results suggest that testing may facilitate later free recall in part by enhancing access to information that is present during a prior temporal or list context. More generally, these findings suggest that retrieval-induced facilitation extends to a broader range of conditions than has previously been suggested, and they further motivate the adoption of testing as a practical and effective learning tool.     

Counselling psychology’s genotypic and phenotypic features across national boundaries

This article integrates the survey results presented in the introductory article of this journal issue as well as the articles describing counselling psychology in each of the countries covered in the issue to examine the international character of counselling psychology. Specifically, it addresses the similarities and differences in the histories, education and training, demographics, and practice characteristics of the specialty within and across these national boundaries. The article concludes with an analysis of the value dimensions describing the international character of counselling psychology and addresses where the different countries place themselves along the two dimensions that were identified: Dimension 1 capturing basic research as different from most of the other values, and Dimension 2 being defined by an applied client focus versus a more indirect clinical perspective (i.e. social justice and research adding to the knowledge base).     

Stability and change in interests: A longitudinal examination of grades 7 through college

The joint issue of stability and change of interests in adolescence and early adulthood was investigated longitudinally over three years in three different grade cohorts. The patterns of structural stability, mean stability, rank order stability, and profile stability as well as how these patterns were moderated by gender were examined based on three cohorts of grades 7 and 8 (n = 3191), grades 9 and 10 (n = 6818), and grades 11 and 12 (n = 1078) using the Personal Globe Inventory-Short (Tracey, 2010). Results indicated that adherence to the RIASEC circular model was high and stable; there was a lack of appreciable change in interest means; interests were stable; interest crystallization, profile, and pattern were stable. While the results supported late adolescence and early adulthood being a stable period for interests in general, more changes were found among male and younger students. The implication of the current study was discussed along with its limitations and suggestions for future research.     

What do tertiary level students in the U.S.A. and Northern Ireland (UK) worry about? An exploratory study

The purpose of this study is to determine the personal and social worries of samples of tertiary-level students in the U.S.A. and Northern Ireland (UK) using the Things I Worry About Scale (TIWAS). An online questionnaire, which included the TIWAS, was completed by two samples (U.S.A.?=?71 and Northern Ireland?=?187). Results indicate that students, in both locations, report worrying frequently about a similar broad range of issues, particularly the challenges of academic study and achievement, financial matters and future career possibilities. The needs of individual students who express frequent worrying about experiences ‘sometimes’ worried about by the majority are noted. The overall findings support perceptions that a majority of students are rather anxious, are under considerable pressure and worry very frequently.     

Semantics versus statistics in the retreat from locative overgeneralization errors

The present study investigated how children learn that some verbs may appear in the figure-locative but not the ground-locative construction (e.g., Lisa poured water into the cup; *Lisa poured the cup with water), with some showing the opposite pattern (e.g., *Bart filled water into the cup; Bart filled the cup with water), and others appearing in both (Lisa sprayed water onto the flowers; Lisa sprayed the flowers with water). Grammatical acceptability judgments were obtained for the use of each of 142 locative verbs (60 for children) in each sentence type. Overall, and for each age group individually, the judgment data were best explained by a model that included ratings of the extent to which each verb exhibits both the broad- and narrow-range semantic properties of the figure- and ground-locative constructions (relating mainly to manner and end-state respectively; Pinker, 1989) and the statistical-learning measure of overall verb frequency (entrenchment; Braine & Brooks, 1995). A second statistical-learning measure, frequency in each of the two locative constructions (pre-emption; Goldberg, 1995), was found to have no additional dissociable effect. We conclude by drawing together various theoretical proposals to arrive at a possible account of how semantics and statistics interact in the retreat from overgeneralization.     

A meta‐analysis of the effects of speakers' accents on interpersonal evaluations

This paper reports a meta‐analysis of the empirical literature on the effects of speakers' accents on interpersonal evaluations. Our review of the published literature uncovered 20 studies that have compared the effects of standard accents (i.e., the accepted accent of the majority population) versus non‐standard accents (i.e., accents that are considered foreign or spoken by minorities) on evaluations about the speakers. These 20 studies yielded 116 independent effect sizes on an array of characteristics that were selected by the original researchers. We classified each of the characteristics as belonging to one of three domains that have been traditionally discussed in this area, namely status (e.g., intelligence, social class), solidarity (trustworthiness, in‐group–out‐group member), and dynamism (level of activity and liveliness). The effect was particularly strong when American Network accented speakers were compared with non–standard‐accented speakers. These results underscore prior research showing that speakers' accents have powerful effects on how others perceive them. These and other results are discussed in the context of the literature along with implications for future research in this area. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Examination of the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-3 in a mixed-gender young-adolescent sample

Thin-ideal (or media) internalization is an important eating disorder risk factor that has become a central target of many prevention programs. However, evidence for its valid assessment in young, mixed-gender, adolescent samples is limited, and the current study is the first to explore the psychometric properties of the 30-item Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-3 (SATAQ-3; J. Thompson, P. van den Berg, M. Roehrig, A. S. Guarda, & L. J. Heinberg, 2004) in a nonadult community sample. Two samples of Grade 8 students (M age = 13.68 years), totaling 680 girls (N = 332) and boys (N = 348) completed the SATAQ-3 and other measures, whereas a smaller sample (N = 123) of Grade 10 girls (M age = 15.01 years) served as a comparison group for supplementary analyses. Principal component analyses (PCA) with data from Sample 1 (N = 201) revealed 4 factors with eigenvalues > 1.0, similar to the original authors' structure but with some cross-loading occurring between the Pressures and Internalization-General scales. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were conducted with data from Sample 2 (N = 479) on the factor solution found in the PCA. The model did not fit well, leading to further revisions based on removal of cross-loading items and CFA modification indices, resulting in a 19-item, 4-factor solution with acceptable fit. Examinations of validity and reliability were generally acceptable. The overall findings suggest that an abbreviated version of the SATAQ-3 might be more appropriate than the original version with young-adolescent, mixed-gender audiences. Further examinations of the psychometric properties of the SATAQ-3 with this demographic are indicated.     

Second-Order Change in Marriage and Family Therapy: A Web-Based Modified Delphi Study

Second-order change is a central concept in Marriage and Family Therapy, but still remains poorly operationalized. We conducted a web-based modified Delphi study with 31 established faculty members currently teaching in COAMFTE-accredited Master's and Doctoral programs in the United States and in Canada to identify consensus regarding second-order change concepts, clinical operationalization, evaluation, and teaching principles. Numerous exemplars of first and second-order change were generated, but consensus on most items was low. Consensus was highest for pedagogy and low regarding concepts and clinical examples of first-order change and evaluation of second-order change. Results suggest clearer definitions and better measurement of systemic change are needed.