Foreign Language Training Transfer: Individual and Contextual Predictors of Skill Maintenance and Generalization

Foreign language proficiency is a critical skill in which many U.S. military personnel receive extensive training. However, very little research has examined the factors associated with the successful transfer of this training. This study therefore investigates the impact of individual and contextual variables on two different types of foreign language skill transfer measures in a military context. Archival data were analyzed from 133 U.S. Army Special Forces (Green Berets) teams, including 919 Soldiers who had completed job-required foreign language training. Results indicate that initial skill acquisition had a positive impact on both the maintenance and generalization of language skills. The posttraining time interval between training and transfer measurement was negatively associated with skill maintenance, suggesting significant skill decay over time. The team context also accounted for significant variability in skill transfer, and the team mean skill level moderated the relationship between individual initial skill and subsequent generalization to job performance.     

Is there an Effect of Print Exposure on the Word Frequency Effect and the Neighborhood Size Effect?

Orthographic and phonological processing skills have been shown to vary as a function of reader skill (Stanovich & West, Reading Research Quarterly, 24, 402-433, 1989; Unsworth & Pexman, Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 56A, 63-81, 2003). One variable known to contribute to differences between readers of higher and lower skill is amount of print exposure: higher skilled readers read more often than lower skilled readers, and their increased print exposure is associated with faster responding to words and nonwords in lexical decision tasks. The present experiments examined the effect of print exposure on the word frequency effect and neighborhood size effect. We conclude that the different outcomes reported in previous studies (Chateau & Jared, Memory and Cognition, 28, 143-153, 2000; Lewellen, Goldinger, Pisoni, & Greene, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 122, 316-330, 1993) were due to the type of nonwords used in the lexical decision task (regular nonwords versus pseudohomophones). Our results are explained in terms of differences in the reliance on orthographic and phonological information between readers of higher and lower print exposure.     

Auditory and haptic systems for in-car speed management – A comparative real life study

Field experiments with ISA (intelligent speed adaptation) were carried out in Hungary and Spain in 2003 and 2004, respectively. Twenty private vehicles in each country were equipped with two kinds of systems: (1) support via an active accelerator pedal (AAP) and (2) warning via beep signals and a flashing red light when the speed limit was exceeded (BEEP). The test drivers drove for a month with both systems installed in each car. Speed was continually logged in all the vehicles and the test drivers were interviewed about their acceptance and experiences of the systems. The results show that both systems reduced the mean and 85 percentile speeds, but that the AAP was more effective. There was no long-lasting effect on speeds when the systems were removed. After the trial half of the drivers were willing to keep an ISA system, but more drivers wanted to keep the BEEP-system even though it showed lower satisfaction ratings than the AAP. The results indicate no major differences between the countries despite the workload being perceived to be higher in Hungary than in Spain.     

规则适应视角下辱虐管理的成因机制

基于规则适应及资源依赖理论的解释视角,本研究考察了下属工作绩效与政治技能对上级辱虐的影响。通过对采集自两家企业的243对领导-下属的配对问卷进行分析,本研究的多项式回归与响应面分析表明,当下属的工作绩效(遵循做事显规则)与政治技能(遵循做人潜规则)在较高水平上保持一致时,其遭受的上级辱虐最少。但这种较高水平的一致只能维持在特定范围内,当两者过高时,反而易遭致上级的辱虐行为。同时,在工作绩效与政治技能存在差异的情境下,相比于"高工作绩效,低政治技能"的下属,"低工作绩效,高政治技能"的下属遭受的上级辱虐要更少。文章分析并证明了遵循不同规则的下属会导致不同程度的上级辱虐。     

Memory skills mediating superior memory in a world-class memorist

Laboratory studies have investigated how individuals with normal memory spans attained digit spans over 80 digits after hundreds of hours of practice. Experimental analyses of their memory skills suggested that their attained memory spans were constrained by the encoding time, for the time needed will increase if the length of digit sequences to be memorised becomes longer. These constraints seemed to be violated by a world-class memorist, Feng Wang (FW), who won the World Memory Championship by recalling 300 digits presented at 1 digit/s. In several studies we examined FW’s memory skills underlying his exceptional performance. First FW reproduced his superior memory span of 200 digits under laboratory condition, and we obtained his retrospective reports describing his encoding/retrieval processes (Experiment 1). Further experiments used self-paced memorisation to identify temporal characteristics of encoding of digits in 4-digit clusters (Experiment 2), and explored memory encoding at presentation speeds much faster than 1 digit/s (Experiment 3). FW’s superiority over previous digit span experts is explained by his acquisition of well-known mnemonic techniques and his training that focused on rapid memorisation. His memory performance supports the feasibility of acquiring memory skills for improved working memory based on storage in long-term memory.     

Modeling ratings of in-vehicle alerts to pedestrian by leveraging field operational tests data in a controlled laboratory study

We show how to leverage expensive field operational tests (FOT) data in a controlled laboratory study when defining an in-vehicle algorithm that alerts drivers to pedestrians. We used an empirical approach that quantifies the relative level with which drivers are likely to accept alerts to pedestrians. The approach was used in two studies to investigate a range of contextual factors known to influence driver ratings of alerts to pedestrians issued by a driver-assistance system. Regression analysis shows that four factors consisting of combinations of pedestrian location and motion relative to the road ahead of the vehicle explain 85% of the variability in drivers’ ratings of alerts. Adding two factors related to the uncertainty of the pedestrians’ future path improves the model slightly. These findings suggest that drivers’ assessment of the danger associated with pedestrians derives largely from the possibility that they might move into the vehicle’s path, even when the vehicle is not on a collision course with the pedestrians. The less probable such an event seems, the less accepted an alert will be. Time to arrival (TTA) improved the regression model only when restricted to pedestrians in clear need of an alert, but was also found to have an effect in alert timing. This finding suggests that four contextual factors largely define the perceptual cues that drivers use to rate alerts to pedestrians.     

Effects of driving anger on driver behavior – Results from naturalistic driving data

There is a positive relationship between driving anger and near-crash or crash risk. However, it remains unclear if anger in fact contributes to traffic accidents and whether this happens due to cognitive overload or aggressive driving behaviors. This study investigated how anger affects driving behavior based on naturalistic driving data from the second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2). Ten-minute trip segments were analyzed in which drivers exhibited anger with regard to driving errors, violations, and aggressive expressions. This data was compared to a matched baseline consisting of the same drivers not exhibiting anger. Results showed that anger resulted in more frequent aggressive driving behaviors but did not increase driving error frequency. Anger consequently creates danger due to deliberate behaviors rather than because of cognitive overload. In congruence with this finding, only anger triggered by threats, provocations, and frustrations increased the frequency of deliberate infringements. In contrast, anger due to having conflicts with someone on the phone or with a passenger was not linked to any type of aberrant driving behavior. Finally, severe displays of anger were accompanied by more violations as compared to slight or marked anger.     

儿童早期精细动作技能与认知发展的关系

精细动作技能指个体主要凭借手以及手指等部位的小肌肉或小肌肉群而产生的运动, 它可以为个体提供认知经验, 丰富认知对象, 进而促进个体对事物本质的认识。当个体需要将认知资源-注意在两个或多个任务之间进行分配时, 熟练的精细动作可以节省注意资源, 为高级的认知任务更好地服务; 精细动作与认知在发展中不断相互促进, 有些动作是某些认知习得或认知练习的先决条件; 精细动作技能可以预测小学低年级的学业成绩, 尤其是阅读和数学成绩。精细动作技能和认知发展的关系具有大脑神经发育基础, 它们在某种程度上共享相同的脑区, 如小脑和前额叶。因此, 某些认知损伤的病症可以通过精细动作的训练而得到改善和治疗。