Age-related changes in task-switching components: the role of task uncertainty

The present study examined age differences in executive functioning, using an externally cued task-switching paradigm. Two components of task switching were assessed: the ability to maintain and select among task sets (general switch costs) and the ability to switch between task sets (specific switch costs). In contrast to previous findings, we found large age-related differences in specific switch costs, especially when the number of potentially relevant task sets is increased from two to four. Age-related differences in general switch costs were absent when external task cues subserved executive processing in task switching. Generally, the findings suggest that age-related impairments in task-switching components vary as a function of task uncertainty, such as the presence of environmental prompts to behavior.     

Long-term effects of covert face recognition

Covert face recognition has previously been thought to produce only very short-lasting effects. In this study we demonstrate that manipulating subjects' attentional load affects explicit, but not implicit memory for faces, and that implicit effects can persist over much longer intervals than is normally reported. Subjects performed letter-string tasks of high vs. low perceptual load (Lavie, N. (1995). Perceptual load as a necessary condition for selective attention. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Perfomance. 21, 451-468.), while ignoring task-irrelevant celebrity faces. Memory for the faces was then assessed using (a) a surprise recognition test for the celebrities' names, and (b) repetition priming in a face familiarity task. The load manipulation strongly influenced explicit recognition memory, but had no effect on repetition priming from the same items. Moreover, faces from the high load condition produced the same amount of priming whether they were explicitly remembered or not. This result resolves a long-standing anomaly in the face recognition literature, and is discussed in relation to covert processing in prosopagnosia.     

Are readers of our face readers of our minds? Dogs (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Canis familiaris</Emphasis>) show situation-dependent recognition of human’s attention

The ability of animals to use behavioral/facial cues in detection of human attention has been widely investigated. In this test series we studied the ability of dogs to recognize human attention in different experimental situations (ball-fetching game, fetching objects on command, begging from humans). The attentional state of the humans was varied along two variables: (1) facing versus not facing the dog; (2) visible versus non-visible eyes. In the first set of experiments (fetching) the owners were told to take up different body positions (facing or not facing the dog) and to either cover or not cover their eyes with a blindfold. In the second set of experiments (begging) dogs had to choose between two eating humans based on either the visibility of the eyes or direction of the face. Our results show that the efficiency of dogs to discriminate between attentive and inattentive humans depended on the context of the test, but they could rely on the orientation of the body, the orientation of the head and the visibility of the eyes. With the exception of the fetching-game situation, they brought the object to the front of the human (even if he/she turned his/her back towards the dog), and preferentially begged from the facing (or seeing) human. There were also indications that dogs were sensitive to the visibility of the eyes because they showed increased hesitative behavior when approaching a blindfolded owner, and they also preferred to beg from the person with visible eyes. We conclude that dogs are able to rely on the same set of human facial cues for detection of attention, which form the behavioral basis of understanding attention in humans. Showing the ability of recognizing human attention across different situations dogs proved to be more flexible than chimpanzees investigated in similar circumstances.     

Sperling任务中刺激呈现方式对注意分配的影响

以全部报告法和部分报告法为任务．在Kosslyn瞬时记忆模型框架下,探讨当刺激呈现和报告的方式按列进行时,被试注意窗的放置策略及其对瞬时记忆的影响。结果发现。部分报告优势在这种条件下也是存在的;因为长期的学习而导致的阅读习惯对注意窗放置策略的影响是稳定的;同时发现这种策略使得被试在按列进行的报告方式时,全部报告法和部分报告法的成绩都低于按行报告方式。文章还对上述实验发现作出了进一步的讨论。     

The causal role of self-awareness in blushing-anxious,socially-anxious and social phobics individuals

This study examined the effect of attentional focus on social anxiety in three groups of subjects: high versus low blushing-anxious participants (n=48); high versus low socially anxious participants (n=60); and social phobic patients compared to patients with other anxiety disorders (n=48). Participants were asked to imagine two series of social situations, in which the hero was in the centre of others' attention. In the first series of stories, the type of feedback from the audience (positive, negative and neutral) and the direction of attention of the hero (self- versus task-focused) were manipulated, and in the second series of stories, the presence or absence of blushing and the direction of attention of the hero were manipulated. In line with the expectations, self-focused attention (SFA) led to more social anxiety than task-focused attention (TFA) in all the three experiments, and high blushing-anxious, socially anxious, and social phobic groups reported higher levels of self-awareness than their low-anxious comparison groups. No evidence was found for the idea that self-focusing is specifically detrimental for participants who are already socially anxious, blushing-anxious, or socially phobic. Also, attentional focus did not interact with the valence of social feedback. Finally, results provided some support for the hypothesis that fear of blushing is mediated by self-focusing. The results suggest that irrespective of trait social anxiety, and irrespective of the outcome of a social situation (positive, neutral or negative), SFA increases state social anxiety, or TFA decreases state social anxiety.     

The influence of ADHD-hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms on the development of oppositional defiant disorder symptoms in a 2-year longitudinal study

The structural relations among ADHD–inattention (IN), ADHD–hyperactivity/impulsivity (H/I), and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) factors were examined in a 2-year longitudinal study with 752 children. Structural equation procedures showed that higher scores on the H/I factor in Year 1 were associated with higher scores on ODD factor in Years 2 and 3. Higher scores on the H/I factor in Year 2 were also associated with higher scores on ODD factor in Year 3. The ODD factor did not predict the H/I and IN factors in subsequent years. The IN factor did not predict the ODD and H/I factors in subsequent years and the H/I factor did not predict the IN factor. The ability of the H/I factor to predict the subsequent ODD factor occurred even after taking into account the ability of the ODD, H/I, and IN factors to predict themselves across time. These results suggest that the H/I aspect of ADHD influences the development of ODD behavior.     

Peer-mediated reinforcement plus prompting as treatment for off-task behavior in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Functional analyses revealed that peer attention was one variable maintaining the off-task behavior exhibited by 3 students with a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Peer-mediated reinforcement plus prompting was then used to reduce off-task behavior in a simulated classroom environment. Implications for future applications of this procedure with children diagnosed with ADHD are discussed.     

Noncontingent peer attention as treatment for disruptive classroom behavior

A functional analysis isolated peer attention as the primary maintaining variable for disruptive behavior displayed by a student with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Using a brief reversal design, noncontingent reinforcement was then shown to reduce disruptive behavior relative to the peer attention condition. Implications for assessing behavior disorders in mainstream school settings are discussed.     

How divergent are children’s divergent movements? The role of cognition and expertise in a class-randomized cross-over trial

This study aimed at investigating (1) the cognitive and motor predictors of divergent movement ability (DMA) in childhood and (2) the role of sport and enriched physical education (PE) experience. Participants were 165 fifth graders, aged 10–11 years, with different histories (onset and duration) of participation in enriched PE. They were assessed in cognitive/attentional and motor/sport skills and active play/sport habits at baseline, and six months later in DMA. Results of regression analyses showed an overall prediction of DMA by sport practice and a nuanced prediction of individual DMA indices (fluency, flexibility, originality) by decision making and spatial attention ability. Linear mixed models revealed better DMA in children exposed to enriched PE, with differential effects on DMA indices depending on its duration and earlier/later onset. The results identify novel cognitive determinants of children’s DMA and suggest that sport practice and experience of designed enrichment in PE may benefit DMA.     

Local vs. global covert visual attention: Are two states necessary? Comment on Liechty et al., 2003

Liechty, Pieters, and Wedel (2003) report an eye-tracking experiment that is taken to support the distinction between two states of covert visual attention: local versus global. We discuss several logical problems with this dichotomy and their experiment, and then provide an alternate account of their data using a model, E-Z Reader, that requires only a single attention state.We thank Keith Rayner and two anonymous reviewers for comments on an earlier version of this paper.