Fluency versus conscious recollection in the word completion performance of amnesic patients

To examine the relative contribution of fluency and recollection to the word completion performance of amnesics, we administered a task in which patients were told specifically not to utilize previously presented words during stem completion (an Exclusion condition). This condition was contrasted with a standard word completion task in which patients were encouraged simply to complete the stem with the first word that came to mind (an Inclusion condition). Since the exclusion condition necessitated controlled respecification of the initial presentation, it was hypothesized that amnesics would be less able than controls to exclude study list items. Consistent with this hypothesis, the results indicated that the amnesics' performance, unlike that of the alcoholic controls, did not significantly differ as a function of task condition. To examine whether amnesics' conscious recollection could be enhanced, Experiment 2 presented the study list five times. The amnesics now were able to exclude a significant number of items from the study list; however, they still did so considerably less frequently than alcoholic controls. For the alcoholic controls, increasing the number of study trials had little additional effect on their exclusion performance, but it significantly enhanced their inclusion performance. Taken together, these findings suggest that for control subjects, word completion performance is likely mediated by a combination of fluency and recollection, while for amnesic patients, performance is almost exclusively based on the fluency with which an item comes to mind.     

Parent attributions of emotion to their children and the cues children use in perceiving their own emotions

A number of studies have demonstrated stable individual differences in the cues that generate emotions and other feeling states. These differences are assumed to arise from the cues parents use to identify their children's emotional states. As children learn about their own emotional states, they come to rely on these same cues. To test one implication of their view, the facial expressions of children (N=41) were manipulated and their feelings assessed. Some children reported emotions consistent with their expressions, while others reported emotions appropriate to the situation. In a separate procedure, their mothers were asked to identify the emotional states of children whose expressions were inconsistent with an account of their circumstances. Mothers who paid more attention to their children's expressive behavior had children who were more responsive to their own expressive behavior. In contrast, the mothers who were more responsive to situational cues had children whose emotions arose from the situational cues as well.The authors would like to thank numerous teachers and administrators of the Worcester Public School system in Worcester, Massachusetts, for their assistance.     

Rehearsal strategy as a function of recall expectation

The subjects were divided into three groups with respect to their expectations concerning a recall task given after the final trial of the usual STM distractor procedure. Group 1 were told only that they would have to recall during each trial's recall interval, thus did not expect to have to recall again. Group 2 were told that they would have to recall all the words presented in the experiment at the end of the last trial, in addition to the trial-by-trial recall. Group 3 were told only that they would have to recall after all words had been presented and they sat passively through the presentation trials. In addition to their recall expectations, half of the subjects in each group received a 2-s presentation and half received a 5-s presentation interval. It was found that the length of the presentation interval had an effect on the number of words recalled at the end of all trials, but recall expectancy did not. However, expectancy did determine the rehearsal strategies of subjects and hence the serial positions from which items were recalled.     

Multidimensional latent-construct analysis of children's social information processing patterns: correlations with aggressive behavior problems

Social information processing (SIP) patterns were conceptualized in orthogonal domains of process and context and measured through responses to hypothetical vignettes in a stratified sample of 387 children (50% boys; 49% minority) from 4 geographical sites followed from kindergarten through 3rd grade. Multidimensional, latent-construct, confirmatory factor analyses supported the within-construct internal consistency, cross-construct discrimination, and multidimensionality of SIP patterns. Contrasts among nested structural equation models indicated that SIP constructs significantly predicted children's aggressive behavior problems as measured by later teacher reports. The findings support the multidimensional construct validity of children's social cognitive patterns and the relevance of SIP patterns in children's aggressive behavior problems.     

Reflections on <Emphasis Type="Italic">The Passion of the Christ</Emphasis>

The purpose of this article is to offer pastoral reflections on the movie by Mel Gibson entitled The Passion of the Christ.     

The deliberate control of emotional experience through control of expressions

Recent research suggests that deliberate manipulation of expressive behaviours might self-regulate emotional experiences. Eighty people were first induced to adopt emotional expressions in a successfully disguised procedure that identified whether their feelings were affected by their expressive behaviour when they were unaware of the nature and purpose of that behaviour. They then deliberately attempted to change emotional feelings by adopting or inhibiting emotional behaviours, or by focusing on or being distracted from situational cues for emotion. Participants more responsive to their own behaviour in the disguised procedure felt more intensely when they adopted emotional behaviours, and less intensely when they inhibited those behaviours. In contrast, people identified as unresponsive to their own emotional behaviour were most affected by deliberate focus on or distraction from emotional thoughts. The effectiveness of techniques for emotional self-regulation depends on a match with characteristics of the person.     

Testing Informant Discrepancies as Predictors of Early Adolescent Psychopathology: Why Difference Scores Cannot Tell You What You Want to Know and How Polynomial Regression May

Multiple informants commonly disagree when reporting child and family behavior. In many studies of informant discrepancies, researchers take the difference between two informants’ reports and seek to examine the link between this difference score and external constructs (e.g., child maladjustment). In this paper, we review two reasons why difference scores cannot serve as unambiguous predictors of outcomes. Further, we use polynomial regression analyses to both test the validity of difference scores and provide a more direct test of the hypothesis that discrepancies in parent and child reports predict child psychopathology. Data from 218 parent-adolescent dyads (M adolescent age?=?11.5 years, 51 % female; 49 % European American, 47 % African American) were used to predict adolescent-reported antisocial behavior and depression from parent and adolescent reports of parent-adolescent conflict, parental knowledge, parental acceptance, adolescent rule-breaking behavior, and adolescent pubertal development. Results demonstrate that analyses using difference scores do not provide valid tests of the utility of informant discrepancies in predicting adolescent psychosocial maladjustment. However, interaction terms in polynomial regression analyses provide evidence that informant discrepancies predict child psychopathology. Parent-adolescent informant discrepancies predict adolescent psychopathology but researchers should avoid using difference scores to measure informant discrepancies. Polynomial regression analyses provide more comprehensive and accurate tests of whether informant discrepancies predict child and adolescent psychopathology.     

Our minds and their bodies

Ohne Zusammenfassung

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Our minds and their bodies

     

Fraternity and sorority involvement, social influences, and alcohol use among college students: a prospective examination.

This study used latent growth curve modeling to investigate whether the effects of gender and Greek involvement on alcohol use and problems over the first 2 years of college are best characterized by selection, socialization, or reciprocal influence processes. Three social influences (alcohol offers, social modeling, and perceived norms) were examined as potential mediators of these effects. Undergraduate participants (N = 388) completed self-report measures prior to enrollment and in the spring of their freshmen and sophomore years. Male gender and involvement in the Greek system were associated with greater alcohol use and problems prior to college. Both gender and Greek involvement significantly predicted increases in alcohol use and problems over the first 2 years of college. Cross-domain analyses provided strong support for a mediational role of each of the social influence constructs on alcohol use and problems prior to matriculation, and prematriculation social modeling and alcohol offers mediated relations between Greek involvement and changes in alcohol use over time. Findings suggest that students, particularly men, who affiliate with Greek organizations constitute an at-risk group prior to entering college, suggesting the need for selected interventions with this population, which should take place before or during the pledging process.