The Effect of External and Internal Focus of Attention on Gait Variability in Older Adults

Internal focus of attention on a movement or focusing on an external target are both strategies that can affect motor performance. The authors explored whether manipulating subjects' focus of attention while walking would alter gait variability, a measure reflecting consistency of gait and associated with the risk of falling in older adults. Twenty community-living older adults participated in the study and were tested while focusing their attention on (a) gait consistency (internal focus) or (b) metronome beats (external focus). In both conditions gait variability increased (i.e., worsened p < .05) or did not change. No benefit was found in instructing subjects to focus on gait consistency or metronome beats. Such instructions may actually have distracted and interfered with the execution of gait.     

Mindfulness and mind wandering: The protective effects of brief meditation in anxious individuals

Mind wandering can be costly, especially when we are engaged in attentionally demanding tasks. Preliminary studies suggest that mindfulness can be a promising antidote for mind wandering, albeit the evidence is mixed. To better understand the exact impact of mindfulness on mind wandering, we had a sample of highly anxious undergraduate students complete a sustained-attention task during which off-task thoughts including mind wandering were assessed. Participants were randomly assigned to a meditation or control condition, after which the sustained-attention task was repeated. In general, our results indicate that mindfulness training may only have protective effects on mind wandering for anxious individuals. Meditation prevented the increase of mind wandering over time and ameliorated performance disruption during off-task episodes. In addition, we found that the meditation intervention appeared to promote a switch of attentional focus from the internal to present-moment external world, suggesting important implications for treating worrying in anxious populations.     

Deciding to give to charity: a focus group study in the context of the household economy

Research on charitable giving has tended to examine either the individual characteristics of donors, or those of households. However, both approaches overlook the interactive processes that take place within households which may influence charitable donation in a variety of ways. For example, the system of financial organisation adopted by a couple can set limits on the degree of individual financial autonomy, and this in turn can influence the financial decision‐making of each partner. This paper presents the results of a study that examined charitable decision‐making within the context of household financial behaviour. It investigated whether such decisions tend to be individual or joint, and the extent to which they are regarded as an integral part of household financial management. Six focus groups were carried out with people who were currently married or living with a partner. The results suggest that charitable giving is dealt with in accordance with the style of money management of the household, although it occupies a more marginal position than other items of expenditure. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The evaluative connotation of processing fluency: Inherently positive or moderated by motivational context?

A fundamental question for evaluation research is whether cues can impact evaluative responses directly or only in combination with contextual information. Focusing on the experience of processing fluency, the current work tested whether manipulating this cue’s motivational context would moderate its evaluative impact. Because fluently processed stimuli can be assumed to communicate safety, owing to implicit signals of either familiarity (through processes monitoring perception-memory coordination), we reasoned that motivation to avoid negative events should heighten preferences for fluently processed stimuli. Following a motivation manipulation, prevention-focused, but not promotion-focused, participants preferred stimuli that they were able to process quickly (Experiment 2) and that were preceded by concordant primes (Experiment 1). These findings suggest that the value of fluent processing reflects its relation to contextual features, such as one’s current motivational state.     

Vigilant self‐regulation,cues of being watched and cooperativeness

The present research examined the interplay of individual differences in self‐regulatory mechanisms as outlined in regulatory focus theory (promotion‐ and prevention‐focus) and a cue of being watched in the context of cooperative behaviour. Study 1 revealed that the more individuals' habitual self‐regulatory orientation is dominated by a vigilant prevention focus, the more likely they are to act cooperatively (i.e. to donate money to natural conservation organizations) when a subtle cue of being watched renders reputational concerns salient. In contrast, when no such cue is provided individuals' habitual vigilant self‐regulatory orientation is negatively related to cooperative behaviour. Study 2 replicated the results of the initial study and examined interpersonal sensitivity (empathic concern) as a potential mediator of the observed effects. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Processing spatial relations with different apertures of attention

Neuropsychological studies suggest the existence of lateralized networks that represent categorical and coordinate types of spatial information. In addition, studies with neural networks have shown that they encode more effectively categorical spatial judgments or coordinate spatial judgments, if their input is based, respectively, on units with relatively small, nonoverlapping receptive fields, as opposed to units with relatively large, overlapping receptive fields. These findings leave open the question of whether interactive processes between spatial detectors and types of spatial relations can be modulated by spatial attention. We hypothesized that spreading the attention window to encompass an area that includes two objects promotes coordinate spatial relations, based on coarse coding by large, overlapping, receptive fields. In contrast, narrowing attention to encompass an area that includes only one of the objects benefits categorical spatial relations, by effectively parsing space. By use of a cueing procedure, the spatial attention window was manipulated to select regions of differing areas. As predicted, when the attention window was large, coordinate spatial transformations were noticed faster than categorical transformations; in contrast, when the attention window was relatively smaller, categorical spatial transformations were noticed faster than coordinate transformations. Another novel finding was that coordinate changes were noticed faster when cueing an area that included both objects as well as the empty space between them than when simultaneously cueing both areas including the objects while leaving the gap between them uncued.     

工作记忆中注意焦点转换的代偿机制—— 来自聋生和发音抑制的证据

注意焦点转换是工作记忆中一项重要的执行功能。前人的研究提示视空间画板可能参与言语工作记忆中的注意转换。通过聋生和发音抑制方式探索语音回路子系统受损或受阻后, 视空间画板子系统完成注意转换任务的反应模式。采用“三计数”任务, 实验一比较了极重度耳聋学生和健听学生在工作记忆中的注意焦点转换效应。结果表明聋生与健听被试在不同记忆子项中转换的反应时间均长于不转换时间。但与健听被试相比, 聋生完成注意转换任务的正确率降低, 在转换和不转换之间的反应时差别减小, 且转换方向对反应时无影响, 转换方向和转换距离表现出显著的交互作用。下行转换时近转换快于远转换, 上行转换时近转换慢于远转换。实验二比较了发音抑制和无抑制条件下的注意转换效应, 发音抑制组在注意焦点转换中表现出与聋生组既类似又存在区别的反应模式。这些结果提示工作记忆的中枢执行系统具有高度的灵活性。当语音回路功能受阻后, 注意转换仍能借助视空间画板子系统得以完成。与暂时性抑制相比, 语音回路功能长期受损后表现出一定的功能代偿。     

Prevention of depression among Icelandic adolescents: a 12-month follow-up

This paper reports the 12-month follow-up results regarding a program designed to prevent the initial episode of depression and/or dysthymia among Icelandic adolescents. This indicated prevention program was implemented in school settings for 14–15 year-old students judged to be “at risk” for depression because of the presence of some depressive symptoms and/or a negative attributional style. We previously reported (Arnarson & Craighead, 2009) that this program, when compared to treatment-as-usual, was effective in preventing the first episode of depression and/or dysthymia at 6-months following completion of the program. Survival analyses of the 12-month follow-up data indicated that the preventive effects were sustained at the end of 1 year following the completion of the prevention program with only 2 of the prevention program participants reporting an initial episode of MDD/DYS versus 13 of the TAU participants (χ² = 5.02, p = .025). Using logistic regression, we also found that initial level of depressive symptoms significantly (p = .0330) predicted the first episode of depression and/or dysthymia among TAU subjects. The limitations of the study were noted, and future directions of research regarding prevention of depression were discussed.     

Computer-based dissemination: a randomized clinical trial of ePREP using the actor partner interdependence model

The most pressing challenge facing our field is to close the gap between the need for evidence based treatment and our ability to effectively provide it. We illustrate how an empirically supported treatment can be adapted for computerized administration to maximize the likelihood of widespread dissemination. This randomized clinical trial shows how computer-based treatments can be effectively used to increase flexibility in reaching target populations. Using the actor partner interdependence model, we found that, compared to those who received a placebo intervention, ePREP participants demonstrated better mental health and relationship functioning at a six-week follow up. Those who engaged more fully in the intervention and mastered the communication techniques generally experienced superior outcomes. Implications of and recommendations for computer-based dissemination are discussed.     

Use of Quality Management Methods in the Transition from Efficacious Prevention Programs to Effective Prevention Services

This paper applies concepts and methods developed in management to translate efficacious prevention programs into effective prevention services. The paper describes Quality Function Deployment (QFD) as a method for structured planning and development that connects the needs and wants of the consumer with the design of the product or service. The paper describes basic tools used in quality management, and discusses how they might be applied to prepare a prevention program for implementation by community agencies. Prevention programs are conceptualized as having multiple consumers (i.e., stakeholders), including the participants who receive the service, the service providers, the organizations that deliver the program, and the researchers who evaluate the programs. As an illustration of one step in the application of QFD to translate efficacious prevention programs into effective prevention services, analysis of the needs and preferences of Family Courts for the implementation of an the New Beginnings Program is presented.