Children’s memory for sentences and word strings in relation to reading ability

A previous study of recall of letter strings by good and poor beginning readers IShankweiler, Liberman, Mark, Fowler, & Fischer, 1979 revealed that the performance of good readers was more severely penalized than that of poor readers when the letter names rhymed. To determine whether the differences in susceptibility to phonetic interference extend to materials that more closely resemble actual text, we designed an experiment to test recall of phonetically controlled sentences and word strings. As in the case of letter recall, we found that, although good readers made fewer errors than poor readers when sentences or word strings contained no rhyming words, they did not excel when the materials contained many rhyming words. In contrast to manipulations of phonetic content, systematic manipulations of meaningfulness and variations in syntactic structure did not differentially affect the two reading groups. We conclude that the poor readers’ inferior recall of phonetically nonconfusable sentences, word strings, and letter strings reflects failure to make full use of phonetic coding in working memory.     

Syntactic competence and reading ability in children

The effect of syntactic context on auditory word identification and on the ability to detect and correct syntactic errors in speech was examined in severely reading disabled children and in good and poor readers selected from the normal distribution of fourth graders. The poor readers were handicapped when correct reading required analysis of the sentence context. However, their phonological decoding ability was intact. Identification of words was less affected by syntactic context in the severely disabled readers than in either the good or poor readers. Moreover, the disabled readers were inferior to good readers in judging the syntactical integrity of spoken sentences and in their ability to correct the syntactically aberrant sentences. Poor readers were similar to good readers in the identification and judgment tasks, but inferior in the correction task. The results suggest that the severely disabled readers were inferior to both good and poor readers in syntactic awareness, and in ability to use syntactic rules, while poor readers were equal to good readers in syntactic awareness but were relatively impaired in using syntactic knowledge productively.     

Emotional Reactions to COVID-19 Projections and Consequences for Protective Policies and Personal Behavior

How does the public react to information about the likely progression of COVID-19 cases in the United States? How do these reactions vary over the course of the pandemic and by partisanship, and with what consequences for policy attitudes and personal behavior? We argue that reading projections about the peak of COVID-19 cases in the United States is likely to lead to increased levels of anxiety and sadness. We expect that these effects will be more pronounced and less polarized along partisan lines earlier in the pandemic. Finally, we expect that elevated anxiety and sadness should in turn lead to greater support for protective policies to combat the pandemic and a greater inclination to engage in protective behaviors. To test these arguments, we fielded online survey experiments at three points in time (April, June, and August 2020), in which respondents were randomly assigned to a control group or one of two projections about the likely progression of COVID-19 cases in the United States. Across all three waves, we find that exposure to information about case peaks increases anxiety and sadness, though the effects get weaker over time, particularly among Republicans. We also find evidence that these elevated emotional responses increase support for protective policies and behavior.     

Predicting the intensity of losses vs. non-gains and non-losses vs. gains in judging fairness and value: A test of the loss aversion explanation

Three studies examined the predictions that in the context of evaluation of fairness and concessions in negotiations, losses would be perceived as more intensely negative than non-gains, and that non-losses would be perceived as more positive than gains. Extant studies tested only the first of these predictions. These predictions derive from the principle of loss aversion (LA), according to which losses are experienced more intensely than gains of similar objective magnitude. In this view, losses and non-losses are measured against the steep loss part of the value curve, whereas gains and non-gains are measured against the shallow part of the value curve. Our studies replicated extant studies in confirming the first prediction but failed to confirm the second prediction. Specifically, opposite to the prediction of LA, gains were perceived as more intensely positive than non-losses. It seems, therefore, that LA is not a sufficient explanation of why losses are perceived as more averse than gains. Feature positive and regulatory focus effects are discussed as additional potential contributors to the phenomenon.     

Accessibility from active and fulfilled goals

In six studies participants searched for a target stimulus among other stimuli. Lexical decision and Stroop measures of accessibility showed that accessibility of target-related words was enhanced prior to finding the target and reduced after finding it, relative to both a preceding stage, relative to a control, no-goal condition and relative to a condition in which the goal was not fulfilled. In addition, Studies 4, 5, and 6 showed that goal-related accessibility and post-fulfillment inhibition were proportional to the goal’s expectancy, the goal’s value, and their interaction. Together, these studies support the notion that goals enhance accessibility of the goal-related constructs, which is maintained as long as the goal is active, goal fulfillment inhibits accessibility of goal-related constructs, and these effects are proportional to the strength of the motivation.     

Practitioners’ perspectives on the use of clinical supervision in their therapeutic engagement with asylum seekers and refugee clients

The present study is the first study undertaken in Australia that seeks to explore practitioners’ perspectives on the use of clinical supervision in their therapeutic engagement with asylum seekers and refugees. We used thematic analysis to analyse extracts of interviews that were conducted with nine professionals who worked therapeutically with asylum seekers and refugees and had experience of participating in individual and peer supervision. The findings of the study suggest that supervision encouraged practitioners to develop multicultural awareness and explore therapeutic ways of working that are compatible with their clients’ frame. In addition, supervision provided the context in which practitioners explored the impact of the asylum legislative framework on their clinical work and reflected upon their feelings of powerlessness and political impotence. Implications for practice that derive from supervisory needs of practitioners who work with asylum seekers and refugees are explored.     

Measuring illness representations in breast cancer survivors (BCS) prescribed tamoxifen: Modification and validation of the Revised Illness Perceptions Questionnaire (IPQ-BCS)

Objective: The Revised Illness Perceptions Questionnaire (IPQ-R), widely used to assess illness perceptions, may fail to measure unique characteristics of different illnesses. This study modified and validated the IPQ-R for breast cancer survivors to provide detailed understanding of the specific illness perceptions held by these patients.

Design: Initial modifications were made following qualitative interviews and were revised in a think-aloud study. The modified scale was tested in 753 breast cancer survivors prescribed tamoxifen. Modifications included adding a tamoxifen consequences scale and adapting the timeline scales to measure beliefs around risk of recurrence and cure. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted on the modified questionnaire and an exploratory factor analysis on the causal beliefs scale. Test–retest reliability, internal consistency and construct validity were also examined.

Results: The proposed eight-factor structure showed acceptable model fit, with high loadings and good reliability for all subscales. Correlations between subscales were consistent with theory and previous research.

Conclusions: The IPQ-BCS is valid and reliable, and provides unique understanding of specific perceptions held by this population, including beliefs surrounding risk of recurrence and consequences of ongoing hormonal treatment. Identifying these perceptions will aid development of interventions targeting depression, fear of recurrence and medication non-adherence.     

The contribution of role satisfaction,meaning in life and work–home conflict to explaining well-being among working grandparents

Background and objectives: The study aimed to examine the relationship of satisfaction with occupied roles as well as the sense of meaning in life and experience of work–home conflict to well-being among working grandparents in Israel.

Design and methods: The research sample consisted of 316 employed grandparents aged 50–80 (153 grandfathers and 163 grandmothers), who were employed in various types of organizations. Data were collected using structured questionnaires. Structural equation modeling was used for data analysis.

Results: The research findings indicate that the sense of meaning in life mediated the relationship between role satisfaction and the two types of work–home conflict. A significant relationship was found between “work interferes with family” conflict and negative affect. Higher personal resources were associated with higher meaning in life. Gender was not related to the experience of work–home conflict or to any of the outcome variables.

Conclusions: The centrality of meaning in life in the model that explains the experience of work–home conflict and its outcomes among working grandparents, derives from its mediating role in the relationship between the experience of role satisfaction and both types of role conflict, as well as from its direct impact on positive and negative affect.     

Yohimbine impairs extinction of cocaine-conditioned place preference in an alpha2-adrenergic receptor independent process

Extinction, a form of learning that has the ability to reshape learned behavior based on new experiences, has been heavily studied utilizing fear learning paradigms. Mechanisms underlying extinction of positive-valence associations, such as drug self-administration and place preference, are poorly understood yet may have important relevance to addiction treatment. Data suggest a major role for the noradrenergic system in extinction of fear-based learning. Employing both pharmacological and genetic approaches, we investigated the role of the alpha(2)-adrenergic receptor (alpha(2)-AR) in extinction of cocaine-conditioned place preference (CPP) and glutamatergic transmission in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST). We found that pre-extinction systemic treatment with the alpha(2)-AR antagonist yohimbine impaired cocaine CPP extinction in C57BL/6J mice, an effect that was not mimicked by the more selective alpha(2)-AR antagonist, atipamezole. Moreover, alpha(2A)-AR knockout mice exhibited similar cocaine CPP extinction and exacerbated extinction impairing effects of yohimbine. Using acute brain slices and electrophysiological approaches, we found that yohimbine produces a slowly evolving depression of glutamatergic transmission in the BNST that was not mimicked by atipamezole. Further, this action was extant in slices from alpha(2A)-AR knockout mice. Our data strongly suggest that extinction-modifying effects of yohimbine are unlikely to be due to actions at alpha(2A)-ARs.