Créativité verbale et valence émotionnelle : « Je deviens plus créatif quand je vois un mot positif ! »

IntroductionThe modulating effect of emotion on creativity is one of the most current topics in cognitive research. Emotion, and particularly positive emotion, is supposed to be conducive of creativity and to enhance the processes of creative thinking.ObjectiveThis work aimed to study the modulating effect of emotional valence of the task material (words-stimuli) as well as the emotional valence of the task instructions on verbal creativity performance.MethodAn experiment was conducted on a set of 27 stimuli-words and six instructions-phrases selected on the basis of pretest valence ratings. The valence of the stimuli-words (negative, neutral and positive) was crossed with the valence of the instructions-phrases (negative, neutral and positive) in a 3 × 3 factorial design. However, only five experimental conditions were considered relevant and used in the Experiment. Three components of verbal creativity identified in the literature were measured: fluidity, flexibility and originality.ResultsResults showed that positive instructions and words increased verbal creativity, especially the originality of the responses, which is considered as a basic component of creativity. Conversely, negative valence had an inhibitory and obstructive effect on verbal creativity.ConclusionThis study supports previous research showing the existence of a significant influence of emotional valence of words on cognitive functioning, and adds to the very little (or absent) research on the modulating effect of the valence of instructions and on the relationship between verbal creativity and emotional valence, a relationship that can be fostered in education.     

Small subitizing range in people with Williams syndrome

Recent evidence suggests that the rapid apprehension of small numbers of objects—often called subitizing—engages a system which allows representation of up to 4 objects but is distinct from other aspects of numerical processing. We examined subitizing by studying people with Williams syndrome (WS), a genetic deficit characterized by severe visuospatial impairments, and normally developing children (4–6.5 years old). In Experiment 1, participants first explicitly counted displays of 1 to 8 squares that appeared for 5 s and reported “how many”. They then reported “how many” for the same displays shown for 250 ms, a duration too brief to allow explicit counting, but sufficient for subitizing. All groups were highly accurate up to 8 objects when they explicitly counted. With the brief duration, people with WS showed almost perfect accuracy up to a limit of 3 objects, comparable to 4-year-olds but fewer than either 5- or 6.5-year-old children. In Experiment 2, participants were asked to report “how many” for displays that were presented for an unlimited duration, as rapidly as possible while remaining accurate. Individuals with WS responded as rapidly as 6.5-year-olds, and more rapidly than 4-year-olds. However, their accuracy was as in Experiment 1, comparable to 4-year-olds and lower than older children. These results are consistent with previous findings, indicating that people with WS can simultaneously represent multiple objects, but that they have a smaller capacity than older children, on par with 4-year-olds. This pattern is discussed in the context of normal and abnormal development of visuospatial skills, in particular those linked to the representation of numerosity.     

Strategies for spatial organization in adults and children

People have a tendency to organize space by extracting meaningful shapes from the configuration of elements. However, research on spatial correspondence in children suggests that when configural processing is difficult, individuation of elements may be critical. To begin to address the distinction between the use of configurations and individuation, and changes associated with age, we relied upon perceptual grouping and manipulated the colour of the displays—promoting either extraction of configural information (monochromatic) or individuation of elements (multicoloured). In a layout reproduction task (Experiments 1 and 2), children showed a robust advantage for multicoloured arrays, whereas adults showed an attenuated advantage for monochromatic displays. Visual discrimination in adults (Experiment 3) revealed that the influence of the display type occurs at the level of perception. Taken together, these results suggest that there are (at least) two routes to establishing spatial correspondence in arrays of elements, with differential dependence over development.     

Workers' perception of workplace bullying: A cross-cultural study

This study is one of the first studies to approach workplace bullying cross-culturally. It sought to compare employees' understanding of workplace bullying in two different world regions: Central America and Southern Europe, regarding three aspects of workplace bullying: psychological vs. physical harassment, hierarchical vs. horizontal bullying, and direct vs. indirect aggression. A convenience sample of 246 workers provided their own definition of workplace bullying through a single, open-ended question. The results showed that employees from Central America emphasized the physical component of workplace bullying more than the Southern European employees. However, similarities in the conceptualization of workplace bullying across both cultures were found as well. Both Southern European and Central American employees defined workplace bullying mainly as a hierarchical phenomenon, where the aggression took the form of direct strategies. Such differences and similarities bring to the field some positive inputs for the development and implementation of different strategies for dealing effectively with this phenomenon.     

Modeling recall memory for emotional objects in Alzheimer's disease

ABSTRACT

Objective: To examine whether emotional memory (EM) of objects with self-reference in Alzheimer's disease (AD) can be modeled with binomial logistic regression in a free recall and an object recognition test to predict EM enhancement.?Method: Twenty patients with AD and twenty healthy controls were studied. Six objects (three presented as gifts) were shown to each participant. Ten minutes later, a free recall and a recognition test were applied. The recognition test had target–objects mixed with six similar distracter objects. Participants were asked to name any object in the recall test and identify each object in the recognition test as known or unknown.?Results: The total of gift objects recalled in AD patients (41.6%) was larger than neutral objects (13.3%) and a significant EM recall effect for gifts was found (Wilcoxon: p < .003). EM was not found for recognition in AD patients due to a ceiling effect. Healthy older adults scored overall higher in recall and recognition but showed no EM enhancement due to a ceiling effect. A logistic regression showed that likelihood of emotional recall memory can be modeled as a function of MMSE score (p < .014) and object status (p < .0001) as gift or non-gift.?Conclusion: Recall memory was enhanced in AD patients for emotional objects indicating that EM in mild to moderate AD although impaired can be provoked with strong emotional load. The logistic regression model suggests that EM declines with the progression of AD rather than disrupts and may be a useful tool for evaluating magnitude of emotional load.     

Community Psychology and Quality of Life in Tanzania

The purpose of this study was to explore the status of community psychology and its contribution to the quality of life in Tanzania. The study was based on both literature review and interviews. First, social responses to problems such as malaria, food insecurity, domestic violence, environmental changes, and HIV/AIDS are discussed. This is followed by a report on the results of five face-to-face interviews of individuals working in the fields of psychology, sociology, social work, counseling and public health. The participants were predominantly from the Capital City of Dar es Salam and one hailed from the city of Mbeya, 850 km from Dar es Salaam. The interviews were exclusively conducted in English as all participants were fluent in English, though it was their second language. On the basis of the literature review and the interviews, it was concluded that although community psychology has made some progress in contributing to quality of life in Tanzania, it is a field of great potential which must be further explored for the benefit of Tanzanians.     

Development of behavioural problems in children adopted from Romania to the Netherlands,after a period of deprivation

A longitudinal study was conducted among 72 Romanian adoptive children (41 boys, 31 girls) in the Netherlands, who, according to the parents and medical records, had all experienced a period of some degree of deprivation before their adoption. The children were on average 2 years and 9 months old at adoption. Parents filled out the Child Behavioural Checklist twice. On average there was little change in scores between the two measurements, and correlations were high. Some children displayed a marked improvement, or worsening of problems. The change in CBCL scores was not related to age or health on arrival into the adoptive family. Children who received special education at the first measurement (31%) improved significantly more on Total Problems than children who didn't. The same applied to professional help, the 46 children (64%) for whom professional help was engaged improved significantly more than the other 26 children. It appears to be effective to engage educational and psychological help for these (severely) deprived children at an early stage.     

School enrolment and executive functioning: A longitudinal perspective on developmental changes,the influence of learning context,and the prediction of pre-academic skills

The present two-year longitudinal study addressed developmental changes in different aspects of executive functioning (i.e., inhibition, updating, and cognitive flexibility) in a sample of 264 children aged between 5 and 7 years. Of special interest were issues of developmental progression over time, the influence of learning context and the predictive power of executive functions and school context for emerging academic skills. The results revealed pronounced improvements in all executive measures, both over time and as a function of age. For the learning context, small and age-dependent effects on executive skills were found. Inhibition uniquely contributed to the prediction of aspects of emerging academic skills, over and above chronological age and language skills.     

Correlation of motor skill,mental rotation,and working memory in 3- to 6-year-old children

A relationship between motor processes and mental rotation has been suggested by current research; however, the influence of working memory on this relationship has not yet been determined. Therefore, a correlation between motor tests, paper–pencil and chronometric mental rotation tests, and working memory tests were conducted in 3- to 6-year-old children. A stepwise multiple-regression showed that 55.5% of the variance was explained by the working memory tests: digit span forward and Corsi forward. This indicates that working memory and executive functions may play an important role in mental rotation and motor processes.