Local context effects during emotional item directed forgetting in younger and older adults

This paper explored the differential sensitivity young and older adults exhibit to the local context of items entering memory. We examined trial-to-trial performance during an item directed forgetting task for positive, negative, and neutral (or baseline) words each cued as either to-be-remembered (TBR) or to-be-forgotten (TBF). This allowed us to focus on how variations in emotional valence (independent of arousal) and instruction (TBR vs. TBF) of the previous item (trial n-1) impacted memory for the current item (trial n) during encoding. Different from research showing impairing effects of emotional arousal, both age groups showed a memorial boost for stimuli when preceded by items high in positive or negative valence relative to those preceded by neutral items. This advantage was particularly prominent for neutral trial n items that followed emotional items suggesting that, regardless of age, neutral memories may be strengthened by a local context that is high in valence. A trending age difference also emerged with older adults showing greater sensitivity when encoding instructions changed between trial n-1 and n. Results are discussed in light of age-related theories of cognitive and emotional processing, highlighting the need to consider the dynamic, moment-to-moment fluctuations of these systems.     

The effects of emotion on younger and older adults’ monitoring of learning

Age-related differences in memory monitoring appear when people learn emotional words. Namely, younger adults’ judgments of learning (JOLs) are higher for positive than neutral words, whereas older adults’ JOLs do not discriminate between positive versus neutral words. In two experiments, we evaluated whether this age-related difference extends to learning positive versus neutral pictures. We also evaluated the contribution of two dimensions of emotion that may impact younger and older adults’ JOLs: valence and arousal. Younger and older adults studied pictures that were positive or neutral and either high or low in arousal. Participants made immediate JOLs and completed memory tests. In both experiments, the magnitude of older adults’ JOLs was influenced by emotion, and both younger and older adults demonstrated an emotional salience effect on JOLs. As important, the magnitude of participants’ JOLs was influenced by valence, and not arousal. Emotional salience effects were also evident on participants’ free recall, and older adults recalled as many pictures as did younger adults. Taken together, these data suggest that older adults do not have a monitoring deficit when learning positive (vs. neutral) pictures and that emotional salience effects on younger and older adults’ JOLs are produced more by valence than by arousal.     

水平空间与情绪效价联结效应的产生机制

采用词汇效价判断任务,考察水平空间与情绪效价联合效应的产生机制。实验1在被试双手正常放置条件下考察了词汇效价与水平空间联结效应的存在;实验2则要求被试双手交叉放置,以考察当反应手和反应键的空间信息冲突时水平空间与情感效价的关联现象;实验3则进一步考排除反应手的参与,以考察口头报告的反应方式是否对两者的联结效应产生影响。结果表明,不同反应方式下均存在空间情感效价的联结,且此联结更多是反应选择极性编码的结果。     

Seeing the forest and not the trees: When impact uncertainty heightens causal complexity

This study attempts to isolate the effects of experiencing uncertainty on people's cognitive processes. I argue that people can believe that their actions affect the outcome (i.e. outcome control), but still face uncertainty regarding the extent to which actions will make a difference (i.e. impact uncertainty). To this end, I introduce a novel experimental paradigm which isolates the effects of impact uncertainty from outcome control. The findings revealed that after experiencing impact uncertainty, participants demonstrated greater causal complexity (i.e. more likely to make situational attributions and judge outcomes as having a “ripple effect”), but did not make fewer effort attributions for the outcomes. These findings demonstrate how the experience of impact uncertainty can affect cognitive processing, without compromising outcome control. Implications of these findings for developing more nuanced theories on control and uncertainty are discussed.     

Can emotional content reduce the age gap in visual working memory? Evidence from two tasks

Ageing is associated with declines in several cognitive abilities including working memory (WM). The goal of the present study was to assess whether emotional information could reduce the age gap in the quantity and quality (precision) of representations in visual WM. Young and older adults completed a serial image recognition (SIR) task and a colour-image binding (CIB) task. Results of the SIR task showed worse performance for negative than neutral and positive images within the older group, hence enlarging the age gap in WM. In the CIB task, recall precision was lower in the old than young adults, showing an ageing decline in the quality of WM representations. Positive images tended to improve precision, but this boost was similar for both age groups. In sum, emotional content did not reduce the age gap in visual WM.     

阈上和阈下不同情绪线索对返回抑制的影响

为检验返回抑制是否受线索生物学意义的调节, 分别在实验一和实验二中以阈上和阈下不同情绪效价(高兴、生气和中性)的面孔为外源性线索, 变化同时提示位置的多寡, 要求被试对靶子尽可能快而准地作探测反应。实验一发现, 三种线索情况下均出现返回抑制且效应量无显著差异; 实验二发现, 线索为中性面孔时出现返回抑制, 线索为高兴和生气面孔时未出现返回抑制。说明返回抑制受线索生物学意义的调节。阈下线索的生物学意义(情绪效价)能得到自动加工, 从而影响空间注意的转移和返回抑制机制的功用; 阈上线索的情绪效价被清晰感知时, 自上而下的注意控制机制使线索的生物学意义被忽略, 从而阻碍情绪效价功能的发挥。     

Meeting the challenges in the delivery of child and adolescent mental health services in the next millennium: The continuous quality improvement approach

Managed care and concerns about the effectiveness of services are major pressures on mental health services. An approach to dealing with the challenges of providing high-quality, cost-effective services is continuous quality improvement or CQI. This article describes four major themes that motivate the CQI approach. However, we also describe the major obstacles in using an approach originally designed for manufacturing for human services. The need to accurately measure both treatment processes and outcomes is emphasized.     

Interactional justice and the fair process effect: The role of outcome uncertainty

This paper reconciles the inconsistent findings on the interactive effect of interactional justice and social comparison information on outcome evaluation. We distinguish two different effects of interactional justice and examine outcome uncertainty as a qualifying factor. Three hundred and fifty-seven undergraduates participated in a scenario experiment. It is found that, due to the functional quality effect, interactional justice significantly influences outcome evaluation, regardless of the social comparison information that is available, in situations of low outcome uncertainty. However, due to the fair process effect, interactional justice, as with procedural justice, interacts with social comparison information to influence outcome evaluation in situations of high outcome uncertainty. Implications for comparison referents and social comparison motives in social justice research are discussed.     

印象形成中社会知觉信息效价冲突的认知控制效应

当个体信息与类别信息同时呈现时,个体的自我控制资源与信息效价产生交互作用,且共同影响他人印象形成的认知控制策略和信息加工深度。为进一步探究这一现象所产生的印象控制效应,采用自我控制资源损耗任务将96名被试随机分为高损耗组和低损耗组,并让他们完成内隐联想测验,以考察个体信息与类别信息的效价冲突时,他人印象控制策略如何受到自我控制资源与信息效价的双重影响。结果发现:(1)个体信息与类别信息的印象控制依赖于自我控制资源。(2)自我控制资源损耗与信息效价类型存在显著的交互作用。当个体损耗了较多的自我控制资源后,对效价冲突的个体信息与类别信息进行印象加工时,消极刻板印象的激活因受到这两类效价冲突信息的限制,只能依赖实时更新的面部表情信息,从而形成自下而上的反应性控制; 当个体损耗的自我控制资源较少时,对同样的个体信息与类别信息,不论效价相容或冲突,均能保持对消极刻板印象的自动激活,从而导致自上而下的主动性控制。     

情绪影响错误记忆认知机制的年龄差异

以情绪性的类别图片为实验材料,使用改进后的简化联合再认范式,结合多项式加工树建模的统计手段,对28名老年人(67.95±4.70岁)和29名年轻人(22.60±2.74岁)情绪错误记忆的产生机制进行考察。结果发现,在行为层面,消极情绪增加年轻人和老年人的错误"记得",而积极情绪只增加老年人的错误"记得",老年人错误记忆的积极效应体现在更多地报告自己生动鲜明地"记得"未曾发生过的积极事件。在认知机制层面,虚假回想是导致老年人错误记忆出现积极效应的关键认知过程。相比年轻人,积极情绪会独特地增加老年人的虚假回想,进而增加错误"记得"的发生概率。