The role of attention in binding visual features in working memory: Evidence from cognitive ageing

Two experiments were conducted to assess the costs of attentional load during a feature (colour–shape) binding task in younger and older adults. Experiment 1 showed that a demanding backwards counting task, which draws upon central executive/general attentional resources, reduced binding to a greater extent than individual feature memory, but the effect was no greater in older than in younger adults. Experiment 2 showed that presenting memory items sequentially rather than simultaneously, such that items are required to be maintained while new representations are created, selectively affects binding performance in both age groups. Although this experiment exhibited an age-related binding deficit overall, both age groups were affected by the attention manipulation to an equal extent. While a role for attentional processes in colour–shape binding was apparent across both experiments, manipulations of attention exerted equal effects in both age groups. We therefore conclude that age-related binding deficits neither emerge nor are exacerbated under conditions of high attentional load. Implications for theories of visual working memory and cognitive ageing are discussed.     

High-performers use the phonological loop less to process mental arithmetic during working memory tasks

This study investigated the effects of three working memory components—the central executive, phonological loop, and visuospatial sketchpad—on performance differences in complex mental arithmetic between individuals. Using the dual-task method, we examined how performance during two-digit addition was affected by load on the central executive (random tapping condition), phonological loop (articulatory suppression condition), and visuospatial sketchpad (spatial tapping condition) compared to that under no load (control condition) in high- and low-performers of complex mental arithmetic in Experiment 1. Low-performers showed an increase in errors under the random tapping and articulatory suppression conditions, whereas high-performers showed an increase of errors only under the random tapping condition. In Experiment 2, we conducted similar experiments on only the high-performers but used a shorter presentation time of each number. We found the same pattern for performing complex mental arithmetic as seen in Experiment 1. These results indicate that high-performers might reduce their dependence on the phonological loop, because the central executive enables them to choose a strategy in which they use less working memory capacity.     

Visual working memory is enhanced by mixed strategy use and semantic coding

Visual working memory is enhanced by processes related to verbalisation. However, the mechanism underlying this enhancement is unclear. Experiment 1 investigated the potential contribution of the phonological loop of working memory, by assessing the effects of articulatory suppression on two versions of the Visual Patterns Test—one low and one high in availability of verbal coding. The lack of interaction suggested that the phonological loop is not responsible; however, active use of combined verbal and visual strategies, as well as activated semantic knowledge, both appear to be related to increased capacity. Experiment 2 assessed the role of central executive resources. Because central executive suppression removed the benefit of the high verbal coding task version, central executive resources, assumed to relate to the temporary maintenance of multimodal codes in the episodic buffer, appear to underlie the benefit associated with verbalisation.     

Effects of Organizational Level and Gender on Stress in the Workplace

Occupational stress adversely affects productivity, absenteeism, and job turnover, and contributes to health-related problems. The effects of organizational level and gender on the specific sources of occupational stress assessed by the Job Stress Survey (JSS) were evaluated for a heterogeneous sample of 1,791 working adults (860 males, 931 females) employed in 2 industrial companies and a large state university. Significant main or interactive effects of organizational level and/or gender were found for the JSS Item Index, Severity and/or Frequency scores of 29 of the 30 JSS items. Organizational level effects were both more numerous and larger in magnitude than gender effects. Employees at higher organizational levels reported that they experienced stress more often while making critical decisions and dealing with crisis situations than did workers at lower levels, for whom inadequate salary and lack of opportunity for advancement were more stressful. For males, work stress was more strongly related to concerns about their role in the power structure of an organization, whereas female employees reported experiencing more severe stress when there was a conflict between job requirements and family relationships.     

Assessing the Readability of Mental Health Internet Brochures for Children and Adolescents

We investigated the readability of seven mental health brochures on mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders in children that were selected from a website developed by the Center for Mental Health Services at http://www.mentalhealth.org. The reading grade levels of the brochures ranged from 11.1 to 14.8 (mean 13.23), considerably higher than the 8th grade level recommended for educational material by the U. S. Department of Education (1986). On other readability variables, assessed using the Readability Assessment Instrument (RAIN; Singh, 1994), all brochures met criterion on most variables but failed on those for new words (audience appropriateness) and print size. This is a favorable result in comparison with other studies that have assessed readability of mental health information on the Internet using the RAIN, although less so with reading grade levels.     

成败情境下不同目标取向学生焦虑的特点

以五、六年级小学生共 2 1 3人为被试 ,采用 3× 2的研究设计 ,考察了在成功和失败情境下三种成就目标取向 (掌握目标取向、成绩接近目标取向和成绩回避目标取向 )的学生焦虑度的差异。结果发现 :(1 )在两种情境下 ,掌握目标取向的学生的焦虑度显著低于其他两组学生 ,而成绩接近目标取向的学生焦虑度与成绩回避目标学生的焦虑度无显著差异 ;(2 )三组学生在失败情境下的焦虑度显著高于成功情境下的焦虑度     

The Irony of Social Trust: Individual‐level and Contextual‐level Links with Protest Intention and Radical Right Support in Switzerland

This research examines how social trust translates into dynamics of mobilisation for inclusion or exclusion in Swiss cantons by studying how social trust is linked to equality‐directed protest intention versus radical right support, comparing individual‐level and contextual‐level relationships. The study is based on data from the Swiss Household Panel collected between 2002 and 2008. The impact of individual‐level and contextual‐level social trust is analysed in three‐level regression models of repeated observations, nested in individuals who are nested in cantons. The results indicate complex patterns that depend on the level at which social trust is assessed and confirm the need for a contextualised view of social trust and social capital. For individuals, higher social trust is associated with higher protest intention and lower radical right support. However, in cantons characterised by higher rates of social trust, individuals are less likely to engage in protest actions and more likely to support the radical right. Further analyses show that canton‐level social trust is intertwined with other contextual factors, suggesting that in certain configurations, that is, combined with low levels of cultural and social diversity, climates of social trust may be linked to more restricted forms of solidarity and the persistence of inequality. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effect of geographic indication in advertising background pictures on product evaluation: The moderating role of familiarity

This study investigates whether geographic indications in the backgrounds of advertising pictures might affect the viewer's evaluation of a product. The findings reveal that participants in the proximal geographic indication evaluated the product more favourably than those in the distal geographic indication when they were exposed to feasibility‐related information. By contrast, participants in the distal geographic indication evaluated the product more favourably than those in the proximal geographic indication when they were exposed to desirability‐related information. However, familiarity with geographic indications eliminated this effect.     

School Substance Use Norms and Racial Composition Moderate Parental and Peer Influences on Adolescent Substance Use

Parental and peer influences on adolescent substance use have been well demonstrated. However, limited research has examined how parental and peer influences vary across school contexts. This study used a multilevel approach to examine the effects of school substance use norms and school racial composition in predicting adolescent substance use (a composite measure of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use) and in moderating parental and peer influences on adolescent substance use. A total of 14,346 adolescents from 34 schools in a mid‐western county completed surveys electronically at school. Analyses were conducted using hierarchical linear modeling. Results indicated that school‐level disapproval against substance use and percentage of minority students at school were negatively associated with adolescent substance use. School‐level disapproval moderated the association between peer substance use and adolescent substance use, with the association being stronger when school‐level disapproval was lower. School racial composition moderated the influence of parental disapproval and peer substance use on adolescent substance use. Specifically, both the association between parental disapproval and adolescent substance use and the association between peer substance use and adolescent substance use were weaker for adolescents who attended schools with higher percentages of minority students. Findings highlighted the importance of considering the role of school contexts, in conjunction with parental and peer influences, in understanding adolescent substance use.