Infrastructure and Scaffolding: Interpretation and Change of Research Involving Human Genetic Information

This essay addresses the relationship of interpretation to change, at two levels. One level concerns the revolutionary claims of molecular biology and biotechnology about using genetic information, read literally or with a minimum of interpretation, to reshape human life. The other level concerns the relationship in social studies of science and technology (STS) between interpreting projects in the life sciences and influencing their direction. On that level, the essay is experimental, employing a series of vignettes that introduce themes and questions—scaffolding—intended to stimulate readers to make their own connections between interpretation and change, in science, STS, and society. The vignettes in Part 1, which range from treatment of individuals with PKU or MAOA genes to personalized medicine and biobanks, indicate in different ways that the use of genetic information always requires social infrastructure. Once attention is given to the actual or implied social infrastructure, the prospect of reshaping life using human genetic information raises more questions than it answers. This thread carries over into Part 2, which speaks to an area of STS that needs more development, namely, conceptualizing the structure of the social context of scientific and technological developments and the nature of human agency in the ongoing restructuring of that context. The vignettes create a picture in which the influence on science of an STS interpretation will, like any effort to produce change, depend on how it links with other engagements and with the heterogeneous components that make up ongoing, intersecting processes of science in society.     

Individual differences in false memory from misinformation: Cognitive factors

This research investigated the cognitive correlates of false memories that are induced by the misinformation paradigm. A large sample of Chinese college students (N=436) participated in a misinformation procedure and also took a battery of cognitive tests. Results revealed sizable and systematic individual differences in false memory arising from exposure to misinformation. False memories were significantly and negatively correlated with measures of intelligence (measured with Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale), perception (Motor-Free Visual Perception Test, Change Blindness, and Tone Discrimination), memory (Wechsler Memory Scales and 2-back Working Memory tasks), and face judgement (Face Recognition and Facial Expression Recognition). These findings suggest that people with relatively low intelligence and poor perceptual abilities might be more susceptible to the misinformation effect.     

Who are you looking at? The influence of face gender on visual attention and memory for own- and other-race faces

Previous research suggests that the own-race bias (ORB) in memory for faces is a result of other-race faces receiving less visual attention at encoding. As women typically display an own-gender bias in memory for faces and men do not, we investigated whether face gender and sex of viewer influenced visual attention and memory for own- and other-race faces, and if preferential viewing of own-race faces contributed to the ORB in memory. Participants viewed pairs of female or male own- and other-race faces while their viewing time was recorded. Afterwards, they completed a surprise memory test. We found that (1) other-race males received the initial focus of attention, (2) own-race faces were viewed longer than other-race faces over time, although the difference was larger for female faces, and (3) even though longer viewing time increased the probability of remembering a face, it did not explain the magnified ORB in memory for female faces. Importantly, these findings highlight that face gender moderates attentional responses to and memory for own- and other-race faces.     

The functions of autobiographical memory: An integrative approach

Recent research in cognitive psychology has emphasised the uses, or functions, of autobiographical memory. Theoretical and empirical approaches have focused on a three-function model: autobiographical memory serves self, directive, and social functions. In the reminiscence literature other taxonomies and additional functions have been postulated. We examined the relationships between functions proposed by these literatures, in order to broaden conceptualisations and make links between research traditions. In Study 1 we combined two measures of individual differences in the uses of autobiographical memory. Our results suggested four classes of memory functions, which we labelled Reflective, Generative, Ruminative, and Social. In Study 2 we tested relationships between our four functions and broader individual differences, and found conceptually consistent relationships. In Study 3 we found that memories cued by Generative and Social functions were more emotionally positive than were memories cued by Reflective and Ruminative functions. In Study 4 we found that reported use of Generative functions increased across the lifespan, while reported use of the other three functions decreased. Overall our findings suggest a broader view of autobiographical memory functions that links them to ways in which people make meaning of their selves, their environment, and their social world more generally.     

Melatonin and Sleep Qualities in Healthy Adults: Pharmacological and Expectancy Effects

The impact of expectancy on melatonin's effects on sleep qualities was investigated. Both the pharmacological dose of 6 mg of melatonin and the expectation of receiving melatonin were predicted to improve subjective ratings of sleep qualities. The balanced placebo design varied 2 factors within-subjects: actual treatment and expected treatment. Adults (N = 53; 21 men and 32 women) between the ages of 26 and 71 years were administered either 6 mg of melatonin or a placebo for 8 nights. An instructional manipulation directed participants' expectations. Participants rated their nightly sleep experiences. Results revealed that feelings upon awakening differed between genders and that expecting melatonin increased ratings of sleep continuity. Most important, high ratings of “grogginess/tiredness” were associated with receiving melatonin, regardless of expectancy, as well as with receiving placebo when melatonin was expected. Overall, the findings underscore the need to consider expectancy and gender differences in research on melatonin and sleep experiences.     

Interference Effects in the Conservation of Weight

On the assumption that the ability to overcome the effects of interference between the physical properties of an object is a basic component in the acquisition of conservation, we hypothesized that children would tend to negate conservation not only when the form of an object is altered but also when, without deforming the object, one of its properties (e.g., color or temperature) is altered; when variations (e.g., movement or orientation) are introduced into the concrete situation in which weight is exerted; or when other spatial properties (e.g., volume or surface) are made to interact with weight. The results indicate that children up to 8 years of age may have difficulty accepting the conservation of weight even when a transformation does not deform the object and that children up to 13 years may accept the conservation of weight but may find it difficult to explain why an object appears heavier in those instances where weight has to be coordinated with another spatial property. The theoretical implications of these results are discussed.     

Gender Differences in Academic Achievement: Is Writing an Exception to the Gender Similarities Hypothesis?

The gender similarities hypothesis by J. S. Hyde (2005 Hyde, J.S. (2005). The gender similarities hypothesis. American Psychologist, 60, 581–592.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), based on large-scale reviews of studies, concludes that boys and girls are more alike than different on most psychological variables, including academic skills such as reading and math (J. S. Hyde, 2005 Hyde, J.S. (2005). The gender similarities hypothesis. American Psychologist, 60, 581–592.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Writing is an academic skill that may be an exception. The authors investigated gender differences in academic achievement using a large, nationally stratified sample of children and adolescents ranging from ages 7–19 years (N = 2,027). Achievement data were from the conormed sample for the Kaufman intelligence and achievement tests. Multiple-indicator, multiple-cause, and multigroup mean and covariance structure models were used to test for mean differences. Girls had higher latent reading ability and higher scores on a test of math computation, but the effect sizes were consistent with the gender similarities hypothesis. Conversely, girls scored higher on spelling and written expression, with effect sizes inconsistent with the gender similarities hypothesis. The findings remained the same after controlling for cognitive ability. Girls outperform boys on tasks of writing.     

The Differential Impact of Parental Warmth on Externalizing Problems Among Triangulated Adolescents

Triangulation is a family-wide process in which children are inappropriately involved in interparental conflict, placing them at heightened risk for adjustment problems. A common form of triangulation occurs by parents pressuring their children to take sides, which may result in feelings of being torn between parents. Externalizing behaviors in particular may develop as adolescents feel caught in the middle of conflict and forced to choose a side. However, the nature of the triadic process of triangulation may be impacted by dyadic-level relationships within the family. The authors thus explored how positive parenting processes may alter the relations between triangulation and adolescent externalizing problems. Mothers, fathers, and adolescents (n = 301 families) provided assessments of adolescent externalizing problems, triangulation, and maternal and paternal warmth. Analyses revealed a 3-way interaction among triangulation and maternal and paternal warmth predicting adolescent externalizing problems; child gender also moderated these relations. Among highly triangulated youth, boys displayed increased externalizing problems when both parents exhibited low or high warmth, whereas girls showed increased behavior problems in the context of low maternal but high paternal warmth. These findings indicate the importance of examining the broader family context and gender when considering the impact of triangulation during adolescence.     

Interactions between Learning Sets in Monkeys

Relationships between stage of moral judgment and antecedent social experiences are presented for a non-Western sample of young adults. Cross sectional data are presented for two groups of Kenyan students: 52 University of Nairobi students; and 40 fourth form secondary school Ss. Critical variables are (a) family modernization, (b) attending ethnically pluralistic secondary schools, and (c) living independently away from home. The correlations between moral judgment stage and these three variables are controlled for, and compared to, correlations between stage of moral judgment and age, sex, race, and academic ability (as measured by standardized achievement tests or by grades). The evidence demonstrates associations between moral stage and all three critical variables, though in different ways for the two age levels of Ss.