Stereotype validation and intellectual performance: Negative implications for future achievement

Previous research has found that activating negative stereotypes after completion of a task can lead people to feel more certain that they performed poorly (i.e., stereotype validation). The current research examined the implications that stereotype validation may hold for future performance. In two studies, the accessibility of gender stereotypes was manipulated after participants completed an initial test on a topic. After reporting perceptions of their performance, participants completed a follow-up test on the same subject. Consistent with hypotheses, activating negative stereotypes after the initial test was found to increase certainty in negative performance evaluations among stigmatized participants. Importantly, this higher certainty – triggered by stereotypes – predicted decreased performance on the later, follow-up test.     

The effect of hardiness on PTSD symptoms: A prospective mediational approach

Psychological hardiness has been associated with lower PTSD in military personnel, but the processes of action remain unclear. This study uses a prospective design to examine whether hardiness has an indirect effect on PTSD symptoms through avoidance coping. Our sample included 163 Norwegian military personnel who served in international operations between 2009 and 2010. Regression analyses were performed to estimate the coefficients in a simple mediation model, with baseline PTSD symptoms, combat exposure, and deprivation of basic needs entered as control variables. The results showed that the effect of hardiness on PTSD symptoms worked through reducing the use of avoidance coping. It was concluded that an avoidant-focused coping style acts as a vulnerability factor for PTSD symptoms, whereas hardiness acts as a resilience factor against symptoms development.     

The impact of working memory training on near and far transfer measures: Is it all about fluid intelligence?

This randomized control study investigates the effects of working memory (WM) training on near (similar WM memory tasks) and far (math problem-solving processes and accuracy tasks) transfer in children aged 7 to 11 years who vary in fluid intelligence. Participants were randomly assigned to either a control group or one of two WM training conditions (repeated practice vs. cued recall). ?When compared to the control condition, the results show that the cued recall condition yields higher post-test scores for the far transfer measures, whereas the repeated practice condition yields higher scores for the near transfer? measures. However, these finding are qualified by significant treatment × fluid intelligence interactions. Thus, improvements in WM and related measures, as well as the positive transfer in learning outcomes, are moderated by fluid intelligence.     

Development of rule-based eye-hand-decoupling in children and adolescents

In the present study, we characterize how the ability to decouple guiding visual information from a motor action emerges during childhood and adolescence. Sixty-two participants (age range 8–15 yrs.) completed two eye-hand coordination tasks. In a direct interaction task, vision and motor action were in alignment, and participants slid their finger along a vertical touch screen to move a cursor from a central target to one of four peripheral targets. In an eye-hand-decoupled task, eye and hand movements were made in different planes and cursor feedback was 180° reversed. We analyzed whether movement planning, timing and trajectory variables differed across age in both task conditions. There were no significant relationships between age and any movement planning, timing, or execution variables in the direct interaction task. In contrast, in the eye-hand-decoupled task, we found a relationship between age and several movement planning and timing variables. In adolescents (13–15 yrs.), movement planning and timing was significantly shorter than that of young children (8–10 yrs.). Eye-hand-decoupled maturation emerged mainly during late childhood (11–12 yrs.). Notably, we detected performance differences between young children and adolescents exclusively during the eye-hand decoupling task which required the integration of rule-based cognitive information into the motor action. Differences were not observed during the direct interaction task. Our results quantify an important milestone for eye-hand-decoupling development in late childhood, leading to improved rule-based motor performance in early adolescence. This eye-hand-decoupling development may be due to frontal lobe development linked to rule-based behavior and the strengthening of fronto-parietal networks.     

Combat Exposure and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Portuguese Special Operation Forces Deployed in Afghanistan

Several combat- and noncombat-related stressors have been reported in Afghanistan. There is now accumulating evidence that suggests that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is linked to combat experiences; however, little is known about how these exposures might affect elite combat troops. This research aims to evaluate the prevalence of combat and noncombat related stressors, as well as PTSD in Portuguese Special Forces deployed in Afghanistan. Overall, participants reported high levels of exposure to combat and adverse physical conditions but also high levels of within-unit comradeship. The analysis also exposed that 2.7% of the participants reported symptoms compatible with PTSD and 8.8% with compatible partial PTSD. When the authors conducted a binary logistic regression, only the higher levels of combat exposure explained the symptoms of PTSD.     

Dimensionality of the Beck Anxiety Inventory in a Polytrauma Sample of OEF/OIF/OND Veterans: Findings From Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis

The Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) is commonly used as a screening instrument for symptoms of anxiety in clinical settings. The factor structure has been researched in a variety of different clinical settings with results ranging from a 2- to 5-factor structure. The purpose of this study was to explore the factor structure of this instrument in a polytrauma veteran sample. A sample of 304 veterans was used for this study. All subjects were administered the BAI screening measure as part of an evaluation in an outpatient polytrauma clinic. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted for half of the sample, followed by confirmatory factor analysis for the remaining sample to determine the best model. Factor analyses revealed that a 5-factor model provided a best fit. It is interesting to note that previously identified models of the BAI with other types of samples did not provide the best fit for this polytrauma sample. The BAI may provide additional information for clinicians when examining the 5-factor model with veterans in polytrauma settings. The factor structure of the BAI includes 1 factor (i.e., personal safety) that may be unique for veterans who have served in combat zones.     

Change and Stability in Attitudes Toward Violence During ISAF Service

A Swedish contingent to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF; N = approx. 320) was studied before and after deployment to Afghanistan to assess if the mission and experiences on it affected attitudes toward violence. Attitudes toward war violence and penal violence were assessed across t = 1 and t = 2, as were the effects of combat exposure on change and stability in attitudes. It was hypothesized that the attitudes would remain stable across the deployment due to their importance to the soldierly identity, but that experiences of combat exposure would cause an increase in the propensity toward change. Results demonstrate that attitudes did not change between the pre- and postdeployment stages. Unexpectedly, increasing levels of combat exposure did not predict higher rates of change, but rather increased stability in attitudes toward violence. The results demonstrate that in terms of the willingness to use force, peacekeeping deployments do not have detrimental effects on soldiers.     

Organizational Tenure Diversity as Predictors of Combat Performance in ROK Army

Drawing on the upper-echelons theory and diversity issues, this study examines the relationships between top management team (TMT) organizational tenure, tenure diversity, and combat performance. The study is based on of Korea Combat Training Center (KCTC) that is designed for training and evaluation of the battalion combat power. Findings indicate that battalions with higher levels of TMT tenure have a positive effect on combat performance. Tenure diversity of TMT has a negative effect on combat performance. In addition, results showed that the negative relationships between tenure diversity of TMT and combat performance are attenuated by commander’s shared experience with other TMT members.     

Effects of 7.5% CO2-Induced Anxiety on Individual Performance During a Group Computer Combat Game

The inhalation of 7.5% CO₂ has been shown to induce cognitive effects similar to anxiety. Sixteen healthy participants (14 male; mean age 25.6 years) inhaled either a mixture of 7.5% CO₂ gas or air while playing a group combat computer game. Participants reported greater feelings of anxiety and fired fewer bullets when inhaling CO₂ compared with air, indicating CO₂-induced anxiety may improve efficiency without task-related decrements. Being able to induce controlled and measured anxiety in group situations by CO₂ inhalation may be a useful technique when evaluating response to stressful situations, such as combat, in simulators or real-life scenarios.     

Feasibility and validity of the structured attention module among economically disadvantaged preschool-age children

Rooted in the theory of attention put forth by Mirsky, Anthony, Duncan, Ahearn, and Kellam (1991), the Structured Attention Module (SAM) is a developmentally sensitive, computer-based performance task designed specifically to assess sustained selective attention among 3- to 6-year-old children. The current study addressed the feasibility and validity of the SAM among 64 economically disadvantaged preschool-age children (mean age = 58 months; 55% female); a population known to be at risk for attention problems and adverse math performance outcomes. Feasibility was demonstrated by high completion rates and strong associations between SAM performance and age. Principal Factor Analysis with rotation produced robust support for a three-factor model (Accuracy, Speed, and Endurance) of SAM performance, which largely corresponded with existing theorized models of selective and sustained attention. Construct validity was evidenced by positive correlations between SAM Composite scores and all three SAM factors and IQ, and between SAM Accuracy and sequential memory. Value-added predictive validity was not confirmed through main effects of SAM on math performance above and beyond age and IQ; however, significant interactions by child sex were observed: Accuracy and Endurance both interacted with child sex to predict math performance. In both cases, the SAM factors predicted math performance more strongly for girls than for boys. There were no overall sex differences in SAM performance. In sum, the current findings suggest that interindividual variation in sustained selective attention, and potentially other aspects of attention and executive function, among young, high-risk children can be captured validly with developmentally sensitive measures.