Rehearsal in Spatial Working Memory: Evidence From Neuroimaging

A variety of biological evidence has identified a frontal-parietal circuit underlying spatial working memory for visual stimuli. But the question remains, how do these neural regions accomplish the goal of maintaining location information on-line? We tested the hypothesis that the active rehearsal of spatial information in working memory is accomplished by means of focal shifts of spatial selective attention to memorized locations. Spatial selective attention has been shown to cause changes in the early visual processing of stimuli that appear in attended locations. Thus, the hypothesis of attention-based rehearsal predicts similar modulations of visual processing at memorized locations. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to observe posterior visual activations during the performance of a spatial working memory task. In line with the hypothesis, spatial rehearsal led to enhanced activation in the early visual areas contralateral to the memorized locations.     

Predictors of High School Achievement in a Hong Kong International School

Asian students consistently achieve academically at higher rates than other students. This study reports on the prediction of grades by teenagers' values and autonomy expectations, and their mothers' reports on these variables. Fifty-eight Western and 66 Asian juniors and seniors and their mothers were recruited from an international high school. Teenagers' value priority for Openness to Change and their autonomy expectations predicted academic achievement in the entire group of students, unpackaging the effect of culture on academic achievement. Mothers' value priorities and autonomy expectations did not associate with their teenagers' grades. Teenagers' value for Openness to Change emerged as a significant independent predictor in the combined group; however, the effect was stronger in Western than in Asian teenagers. This study provides unusual evidence for pancultural correlates of academic achievement.     

Response Style Theory Revisited: Gender Differences and Stereotypes in Rumination and Distraction

Response Style Theory [S. Nolen-Hoeksema (1987) “Sex Differences in Unipolar Depression: Evidence and Theory,” Psychological Bulletin, Vol. 101, pp. 259–282] suggests that, when depressed, women ruminate on their sad feelings while men distract themselves from theirs. We sought to examine this gender difference in more detail. In Study 1, 155 students provided stereotype ratings or self-reports of responses to depression. The stereotype ratings conformed precisely to Response Style Theory yet exaggerated self-reported gender differences, especially for men. In Study 2, 40 roommate pairs completed a similar set of ratings. Again, other-ratings conformed exactly to Response Style Theory's predictions while self-ratings showed a more moderated pattern. In both studies, women reported ruminating more than did men, yet men and women were equally likely to report distraction. We conclude by examining several hypotheses for the discrepancies between stereotypes and self-reports for men as well as the increased rates of rumination among women.     

Brain Indices of Nonconscious Associative Learning

Using a classical conditioning technique, this study investigated whether nonconscious associative learning could be indexed by event-related brain activity (ERP). There were three phases. In a preconditioning baseline phase, pleasant and unpleasant facial schematics were presented in awareness (suprathreshold). A conditioning phase followed, in which stimuli were presented outside awareness (subthreshold, via energy masking), with an unpleasant face (CS+) linked to an aversive shock and a pleasant face (CS−) not linked to a shock. The third, postconditioning phase, involved stimulus presentations in awareness (suprathreshold). Evidence for acquisition of a conditional response was sought by comparing suprathreshold pre- and postconditioning phases, as well as in the subthreshold conditioning phase itself. For the pre-postconditioning phase analyses, significant ERP component differences differentiating CS+ and CS− were observed for N1, P2, and especially P3. For the conditioning phase, significant differences were observed in the 100–400 ms. post-stimulus region reflecting a CS+ processing negativity. Brain activity does indeed index the acquisition of a conditional response to subthreshold stimuli. Associative learning can occur outside awareness.     

Motivation and Academic Achievement: The Effects of Personality Traits and the duality of Experience

The present study examined the relationship of personality, experience while studying, and academic performance. One hundred and seventy talented high-school students (68 males, 102 females) completed the Personality Research Form (PRF) and recorded their experience via the Experience Sampling Method (ESM). The results showed that controlling for ability, work orientation, a PRF factor, was a better predictor of grade than experience. However, an experiential variable,intrinsic motivation while studying, was related to the difficulty level of courses students took over the 4 years of high school. The results supported the notion that there are two kinds of motivation in scholastic achievement, one directed toward long-term goals, the other directed toward ongoing experience.     

Combining information from sources that vary in credibility

Models describing the role of source credibility in information integration were tested in two experiments. In the first experiment, subjects estimated the value of used cars based on two cues: blue book value and an estimate provided by one of three friends who examined the car. The three sources were described as differing in mechanical expertise. In the second experiment, subjects rated the likeableness of persons described by either one or two adjectives, each adjective contributed by a different source. The sources differed with respect to the length of their acquaintance with the person to be rated. In both experiments, credibility of the source magnified the impact of the information he provided. Further, this multiplicative effect of a source was inversely related to the credibility of the other source, in violation of additive or constant-weight averaging models, but consistent with a relative-weight averaging model.     

Psychometric characteristics of a multidimensional measure to assess impairment: The Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale

The Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale (CAFAS) is a multidimensional measure of degree of impairment in functioning. Interrater reliability data are presented for lay raters, graduate students, and frontline staff. Reliability was high for the total score and behaviorally-oriented scales. Construct, concurrent, and discriminant validity were assessed with the sample of children and adolescents evaluated at the Fort Bragg Demonstration Evaluation Project. Youth and their caregivers were evaluated via interview and selfcompleted instruments at four time points. Significant correlations were found between the CAFAS and other related constructs. Concurrent validity was demonstrated by logistic regression analyses examining the relationship between CAFAS ratings and problematic behaviors endorsed on measures completed by parents, teachers, or the youth. Youth with higher CAFAS total scores were much more likely to have poor social relationships, difficulties in school, and problems with the law. Discriminant validity was assessed with a repeated measures analysis of variance with intensity of care at intake and time as factors. Youth who were inpatients or in residential treatment centers at intake had higher CAFAS scores than those who were outpatients. These findings provide strong evidence for the reliability and validity of the CAFAS.