The congruency sequence effect emerges when the distracter precedes the target

The congruency effect in distracter interference tasks is typically smaller when the previous trial was incongruent as compared to congruent, suggesting the operation of a control process that minimizes the influence of irrelevant stimuli on behavior. However, both the conditions under which this congruency sequence effect (CSE) can be most easily observed without the typical learning and memory confounds, and the control process underlying it, remain controversial. We therefore tested a recent hypothesis that the CSE is most easily observed without the typical confounds when the distracter is processed before the target. In line with this “distracter head start” hypothesis, in Experiments 1 and 2 the CSE was larger when the distracter appeared before, relative to with, the target. Further, in Experiment 3, we observed a negative congruency effect after incongruent trials when a long interval separated the distracter from the target, consistent with a modulation of the response engendered by the distracter but not with a shift of attention toward the target. These findings reveal an important determinant of CSE magnitude when the typical learning and memory confounds are absent and new insights into the nature of control processes that contribute to this phenomenon.     

Dopaminergic medication alters auditory distractor processing in Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) patients show signs of cognitive impairment, such as executive dysfunction, working memory problems and attentional disturbances, even in the early stages of the disease. Though motor symptoms of the disease are often successfully addressed by dopaminergic medication, it still remains unclear, how dopaminergic therapy affects cognitive function. The main objective of this study was to assess the effect of dopaminergic medication on visual and auditory attentional processing. 14 PD patients and 13 matched healthy controls performed a three-stimulus auditory and visual oddball task while their EEG was recorded. The patients performed the task twice, once on- and once off-medication. While the results showed no significant differences between PD patients and controls, they did reveal a significant increase in P3 amplitude on- vs. off-medication specific to processing of auditory distractors and no other stimuli. These results indicate significant effect of dopaminergic therapy on processing of distracting auditory stimuli. With a lack of between group differences the effect could reflect either 1) improved recruitment of attentional resources to auditory distractors; 2) reduced ability for cognitive inhibition of auditory distractors; 3) increased response to distractor stimuli resulting in impaired cognitive performance; or 4) hindered ability to discriminate between auditory distractors and targets. Further studies are needed to differentiate between these possibilities.     

When motor congruency modulates immediate memory for objects

In line with the embodied cognition view, some researchers have suggested that our capacity to retain information relies on the perceptual and motor systems used to interact with our environment (Barsalou, 1999; Glenberg, 1997). For instance, the language production architecture would be responsible for the retention of verbal materials such as a list of words (Acheson & MacDonald, 2009). However, evidence for the role of the motor system in object memory is still limited. In the present experiments, participants were asked to retain lists of objects in memory. During encoding, participants had to pantomime an action to grasp (Experiments 1A & 1B) or to use the objects (Experiment 2) that was either congruent or incongruent with the objects to be retained. The results showed that performing an incongruent action impaired memory performance compared to a congruent action. This suggests that motor affordances play a role during object retention. The results are discussed in light of the embodied cognition view.     

Stepfamily Relationship Quality and Children's Internalizing and Externalizing Problems

The stepfamily literature is replete with between‐group analyses by which youth residing in stepfamilies are compared to youth in other family structures across indicators of adjustment and well‐being. Few longitudinal studies examine variation in stepfamily functioning to identify factors that promote the positive adjustment of stepchildren over time. Using a longitudinal sample of 191 stepchildren (56% female, mean age = 11.3 years), the current study examines the association between the relationship quality of three central stepfamily dyads (stepparent–child, parent–child, and stepcouple) and children's internalizing and externalizing problems concurrently and over time. Results from path analyses indicate that higher levels of parent–child affective quality are associated with lower levels of children's concurrent internalizing and externalizing problems at Wave 1. Higher levels of stepparent–child affective quality are associated with decreases in children's internalizing and externalizing problems at Wave 2 (6 months beyond baseline), even after controlling for children's internalizing and externalizing problems at Wave 1 and other covariates. The stepcouple relationship was not directly linked to youth outcomes. Our findings provide implications for future research and practice.     

Co-variation between graphic pattern stability and attentional cost: A clue for the difficulty to produce handwritten traces

Attentional cost incurred for generating handwritten graphic patterns was investigated using a classic dual-task procedure, in which a concurrent reaction time (RT) task was used as an index of the attentional cost incurred by the primary graphic task. Eight right-handed adults had to trace graphic patterns, characterized by a 0°, 45°, 90°, 135° or 180° relative phase and corresponding to shapes ranging from lines to ellipses to circles, while responding by a key press as fast as possible to an auditory signal. The results evidenced a strong and significant correlation between the stability of the produced pattern and the associated attentional cost. The amplitude of the minor and major axes of the produced ellipsoids decreased with the increase of movement frequency, as expected by nonlinear models of oscillatory pattern generation. These findings pave the way to the study for the (coordinative) processes for letter (mal)formation in cursive handwriting.     

Neither separate nor equivalent: Relationships between feature representations within bound objects

Evidence suggests that binding, or encoding a feature with respect to other features in time and space, can convey cognitive advantages. However, evidence across many kinds of stimuli and paradigms presents a mixed picture, alternatively showing cognitive costs or cognitive advantages associated with maintaining bound representations. We examined memory for colored letters drawn from similar and distinct color sets under circumstances that encouraged or discouraged the maintenance of color-letter binding. Our results confirmed previous change recognition research showing feature recognition improvement under explicit instructions to maintain binding. Color memory improved during binding, showing a reduced detrimental effect of feature similarity on retrieval, particularly when the letter served as the retrieval cue for a letter-color object. We found that feature recognition improved when two conditions were met: 1) relationships between features were to-be-remembered, and 2) the feature conjunction was relevant at test. Our results further suggest that this feature advantage arises because the encoded relationship between the features facilitates retrieval, not because features and objects are represented simultaneously in separate buffers.     

Biases in evaluation of neutral words due to motor compatibility effect

This study aims to demonstrate the effect of action fluency on emotional evaluation, specifically to show that neutral words can be evaluated positively or negatively depending on motor activity and evaluative setting. Right-handers naturally tend to associate positive (negative) valence to the right (left) part of space (Casasanto, 2009). We extend these associations to lateralized behaviors by studying the combined effect of motor fluency of lateral arm movements and the evaluative scale on the subjective evaluation of neutral words. Three experiments evidenced that, for right-handers, the realization of fluent rightward arm movements and the use of an evaluative scale congruent with their valence/laterality associations (left negative, right positive) led to a positive evaluation of neutral words, while non-fluent leftward movements and an incongruent scale led to a negative evaluation. This study demonstrates that emotion–action associations are experience-based, and influenced by functional and situational constraints.     

A process-dissociation analysis of semantic illusions

We examine semantic illusions from a dual-process perspective according to which the processes that go into failing or succeeding to detect such illusions can be decomposed into controlled processes (checking the facts in the sentence against the information in memory) and automatic processes (the impression of truth that comes from the semantic associations between the elements in the sentence). These processes, we argue, make largely independent contributions to truth judgments about semantic-illusory sentences. The Process Dissociation Procedure was used to obtain estimates of these two kinds of processes. In Study 1, participants judged whether sentences were true or false while under high or low cognitive load. Cognitive load increased the rate of semantic illusions by specifically affecting controlled processing but not automatic processing. In Study 2, a previous paired-associate learning task also increased the rate of semantic illusions, but it did so by specifically affecting automatic processing, not controlled processing.     

The role of working memory in achievement goal pursuit

The present research examined the role of working memory in the pursuit of qualitatively different achievement goals. Pursuit of a mastery-approach goal entails a focus on developing self-referential competence while a performance-approach goal entails a focus on demonstrating normative competence. Across two experiments it was found that, when working memory is loaded, individuals pursuing a mastery-approach goal experienced larger performance decrements than individuals pursuing a performance-approach goal or those in a no-goal control. It was also found that reliance upon working memory intensive strategies (explicit strategies) was more evident for those in a mastery-approach condition, whereas reliance upon less working memory intensive strategies (implicit strategies) was more evident for those in the performance-approach condition. Results suggest that a motivated focus on developing self-referential skill relies heavily on working memory, facilitated by the use of deliberative, ‘step-by-step’ strategies during goal pursuit. Conversely, a focus on demonstrating normative skill depends less on working memory, facilitated by the use of more heuristic ‘short-cut’ strategies during goal pursuit. These findings show, for the first time, that working memory plays an important, but selective, role in achievement goal pursuit.     

Enhancing inhibition: How impulsivity and emotional activation interact with different implementation intentions

Implementation intentions, a strategy in which a strong link is created between a cue and a to-be-performed action, have been shown to be efficacious in improving self-regulation. The relative efficacy of verbal and visual implementation intentions, however, has yet to be determined. Implementation intentions have also been shown to be inefficacious in participants with high impulsivity, specifically in individuals who reported having a high tendency to commit rash or regrettable actions as a result of intense affect (high urgency). Nevertheless, previous studies did not assess whether the individuals were in an emotional context at the time of the experiment. In the current study, we compared different forms of implementation intentions (verbal/visual/combined verbal–visual) on a computerized inhibition task while assessing impulsivity and emotional activation. The results showed that all types of implementation intentions improved inhibition performances significantly in participants with high urgency, but only when their emotional activation was low. There was no difference between the three types of implementation intentions.