Extinction in multiple contexts does not necessarily make extinction less vulnerable to relapse

Three fear-conditioning experiments with rat subjects examined the effects of extinction in multiple contexts on a final relapse (renewal) effect that occurred when the extinguished fear cue was tested in a new context (Experiments 1 and 3) or in the context in which fear conditioning had first occurred (Experiment 2). Rats that received extinction in three contexts demonstrated more fear during extinction than rats that received the same number and temporal distribution of extinction trials in one context; extinction was partially lost with each context switch. Although extinction in multiple contexts thus had an impact on extinction behavior, it did not reduce the size of the final renewal effect. Fear during extinction was occasionally positively correlated with fear during final testing, but the two were never negatively correlated. The results suggest that extinction in multiple contexts does not necessarily weaken fear renewal, and that extinction procedures that generate high levels of responding in extinction do not necessarily make extinction learning less context-specific.     

From single to multiple deficit models of developmental disorders

The emerging etiological model for developmental disorders, like dyslexia, is probabilistic and multifactorial while the prevailing cognitive model has been deterministic and often focused on a single cognitive cause, such as a phonological deficit as the cause of dyslexia. So there is a potential contradiction in our explanatory frameworks for understanding developmental disorders. This paper attempts to resolve this contradiction by presenting a multiple cognitive deficit model of developmental disorders. It describes how this model evolved out of our attempts to understand two comorbidities, those between dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and between dyslexia and speech sound disorder (SSD).     

Lessons Learned in Developing a Research Partnership with the Transgender Community

The challenge facing the authors was to develop a relationship with members of the Transgender community in a large urban city in order to develop research that would benefit this group. The situation is presented from the differing perspectives of the three women involved (one Transgender woman and two biological women); they provide their accounts of a meeting with key members of the Transgender community where the challenge became apparent. During the meeting, the issue of representation arose resulting in a discussion of whether the research agenda should be focused on a specific subgroup under the Transgender umbrella or be open to all members of this diverse and underserved group. Reflections on what was learned about the diversity of individuals under the Transgender umbrella and the lessons that helped them respond to the challenge are discussed.     

Phobic anxiety in 11 nations. Part I: Dimensional constancy of the five-factor model

The Fear Survey Schedule-III (FSS-III) was administered to a total of 5491 students in Australia, East Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Spain, Sweden, and Venezuela, and submitted to the multiple group method of confirmatory analysis (MGM) in order to determine the cross-national dimensional constancy of the five-factor model of self-assessed fears originally established in Dutch, British, and Canadian samples. The model comprises fears of bodily injury-illness-death, agoraphobic fears, social fears, fears of sexual and aggressive scenes, and harmless animals fears. Close correspondence between the factors was demonstrated across national samples. In each country, the corresponding scales were internally consistent, were intercorrelated at magnitudes comparable to those yielded in the original samples, and yielded (in 93% of the total number of 55 comparisons) sex differences in line with the usual finding (higher scores for females). In each country, the relatively largest sex differences were obtained on harmless animals fears. The organization of self-assessed fears is sufficiently similar across nations to warrant the use of the same weight matrix (scoring key) for the FSS-III in the different countries and to make cross-national comparisons feasible. This opens the way to further studies that attempt to predict (on an a priori basis) cross-national variations in fear levels with dimensions of national cultures.     

Processing reflexives and pronouns in picture noun phrase

Binding theory (e.g., Chomsky, 1981) has played a central role in both syntactic theory and models of language processing. Its constraints are designed to predict that the referential domains of pronouns and reflexives are nonoverlapping, that is, are complementary; these constraints are also thought to play a role in online reference resolution. The predictions of binding theory and its role in sentence processing were tested in four experiments that monitored participants' eye movements as they followed spoken instructions to have a doll touch a picture belonging to another doll. The instructions used pronouns and reflexives embedded in picture noun phrases (PNPs) containing possessor phrases (e.g., Pick up Ken. Have Ken touch Harry's picture of himself). Although the interpretations assigned to pronouns were generally consistent with binding theory, reflexives were frequently assigned interpretations that violated binding theory. In addition, the timing and pattern of eye movements were inconsistent with models of language processing that assume that binding theory acts as an early filter to restrict the referential domain. The interpretations assigned to reflexives in PNPs with possessors suggest that they are binding-theory-exempt logophors, a conclusion that unifies the treatment of reflexives in PNPs.     

The role of secondary covariates when estimating latent trait population distributions

The U.S. National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), and the U.S. Adult Literacy Survey collect probability samples of students (or adults) who are administered brief examinations in subject areas such as mathematics and reading (cognitive variables), along with background demographic (primary) and educational environment (secondary) questions. The demographic questions are used in the primary reporting, while the numerous explanatory secondary variables, or covariates, are only directly utilized in subsequent secondary analyses. The covariates are also used indirectly to create the plausible values (multiple imputations) that are an integral part of analyses because of the use of sparse matrix sampling of cognitive items. The improvement in the precision of the primary reporting due to the inclusion of the covariates is assessed here and contrasted with the precision of reporting using plausible values created using only the primary demographic variables.The results demonstrate that the improvement in precision depends on the matrix sampling designs for the cognitive assessments. The improvements range from essentially none for the most common designs, to moderate for some less common designs. Consequently, two potential changes in the reporting procedures that could improve the statistical and operational efficiency of primary reporting are (a) eliminate or reduce the collection of covariates and increase the number of cognitive items, (b) to avoid delays, eliminate the covariates from the creation of plausible values used for the primary reports, but include them later when creating public-use files for secondary analyses. The potential improvements in statistical and operational efficiency must be weighed against the intrinsic interest in the covariates, and the potential for small discrepancies in the primary and secondary reporting.Thanks to Donald Rubin, Robert Mislevy, and John Barnard for their helpful comments and computing assistance. This work was supported by NCES Grant 84.902B980011.     

Influence of motivated reasoning on saving and spending decisions

The decision to save enhances well-being in the long-term but it conflicts with the desire to spend money to gain immediate gratification. In this research, we examine the influence of having single versus multiple accounts on individuals’ savings and spending decisions. We find that individuals save more with a single account than with multiple liquid accounts. Utilizing work on motivated reasoning and fuzzy-trace theory, we suggest that multiple accounts engender fuzzy gist representations, making it easier for people to generate justifications to support their desired spending decisions. However, a single account reduces the latitude for distortion and hinders generation of justifications to support desirable spending decisions. Across four studies that provide participants with the opportunity to earn, spend, and save money, we demonstrate the proposed effect and test the underlying process.     

How to handle missing data: A comparison of different approaches

Many researchers face the problem of missing data in longitudinal research. Especially, high risk samples are characterized by missing data which can complicate analyses and the interpretation of results. In the current study, our aim was to find the most optimal and best method to deal with the missing data in a specific study with many missing data on the outcome variable. Therefore, different techniques to handle missing data were evaluated, and a solution to efficiently handle substantial amounts of missing data was provided. A simulation study was conducted to determine the most optimal method to deal with the missing data. Results revealed that multiple imputation (MI) using predictive mean matching was the most optimal method with respect to lowest bias and the smallest confidence interval (CI) while maintaining power. Listwise deletion and last observation carried backward also scored acceptable with respect to bias; however, CIs were much larger and sample size almost halved using these methods. Longitudinal research in high risk samples could benefit from using MI in future research to handle missing data. The paper ends with a checklist for handling missing data.     

Multiple regression analyses in artificial-grammar learning: The importance of control groups

In artificial-grammar learning, it is crucial to ensure that above-chance performance in the test stage is due to learning in the training stage but not due to judgemental biases. Here we argue that multiple regression analysis can be successfully combined with the use of control groups to assess whether participants were able to transfer knowledge acquired during training when making judgements about test stimuli. We compared the regression weights of judgements in a transfer condition (training and test strings were constructed by the same grammar but with different letters) with those in a control condition. Predictors were identical in both conditions—judgements of control participants were treated as if they were based on knowledge gained in a standard training stage. The results of this experiment as well as reanalyses of a former study support the usefulness of our approach.     

Age Differences in Multiple Outcome Measures of Time-Based Prospective Memory

ABSTRACT

This study examined time-based prospective memory performance in relation to age, monitoring strategy, response accuracy, and dual-task demands. Young, middle-aged and older adults (N?=?115) completed a prospective memory task, in which they indicated the passing of time every 5 min while listening to a short story (low task demands) or completing a series of cognitive tasks (high task demands). Young and older adults showed similar patterns of monitoring behavior, with low rates of clock checking during the early phase of each 5-min interval, followed by linearly accelerating monitoring functions. However, to obtain the same level of prospective memory performance older adults needed more frequent clock checks than young adults. Furthermore, older adults' compensatory monitoring strategy was associated with an additional cost in primary task performance. Finally, increased primary task demands shifted age differences in prospective memory from monitoring frequency to response accuracy. These findings suggest that goal-directed behavior requires efficient task coordination and resource allocation, and that age-related differences in time-based prospective memory should be evaluated by using multiple outcome measures.