bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Human instrumental learning: A critical review of data and theory
Authors: Shanks David R.
Published: April 2011

This article reviews experimental data from human instrumental learning tasks in which people acquire knowledge about the consequences of their actions. The main part of the paper examines the stimulus conditions which appear to control the acquisition of instrumental knowledge. These conditions include contiguity between the action and outcome, the degree of contingency between them, and also the extent to which the action is a good relative predictor of the outcome. Several accounts are examined of the mechanism by which instrumental knowledge might be acquired, including: (i) a variety of rule‐based models, in which learning consists of the acquisition of knowledge about statistical relationships between contingent events; (ii) a relative contiguity model, in which learning involves the acquisition of knowledge about temporal relationships; and (iii) an associative model, in which learning involves the formation of mental associations which are updated by a learning rule. The review indicates that at present, the data seem most consistent with the associative learning model. However, there remain empirical phenomena which have resisted theoretical analysis. A variety of questions which future research might profitably explore are considered.
Selective influence of test anxiety on reading processes
Authors: Calvo Manuel G. , Carreiras Manuel
Published: April 2011

The aim of this research is to explore whether comprehension is impaired by test anxiety, whether the anxious person spends compensatory reading time, and which cognitive processes are affected. High‐ and low‐anxiety students read texts word by word with the moving‐window technique under test conditions. Multiple regression analyses on word‐reading times were computed with a number of psycholinguistic variables—assumed to map onto specific processes—serving as predictors. Results indicated that anxiety did not impair comprehension, but increased word‐reading times, which were affected interactively by anxiety and specific psycholinguistic variables (end of clause, serial position within the text, narrativity, and summary). These data reveal that anxious readers need to employ a greater amount of processing resources than their non‐anxious counterparts to obtain a similar comprehension level. Furthermore, the interactive effects suggest that anxiety is selectively detrimental to the efficiency of text‐level processes, such as those involved in integrating information across sentences. In contrast, anxiety does not impair low‐level processes, such as encoding and lexical access.
The grief process and job loss: A cross‐sectional study
Authors: Archer John , Rhodes Valerie
Published: April 2011

This study assessed the applicability of the grief process to job loss. A pilot study of 10 unemployed men was used to establish a structured interview, and its content analysis, based on a description of the grief process derived from studies of bereavement. Other measures assessed the degree of attachment to the former job. The main study involved 60 men who had lost their jobs during the previous eight years. Individual grief items were found in some of these people, varying in frequency from 10 to 80 per cent. Principal components analysis revealed a general grief component, representing most of the specific items. Twenty‐seven per cent of the sample fulfilled a criterion for a clear grief‐like response. An overall grief score based on the interview answers was significantly correlated with three different measures of job attachment, and also with questionnaire measures of depression and anxiety. These measures were unrelated to the length of time since job loss, apparently providing no support for stage theories or for more general assumptions of adaptation. However, the cross‐sectional nature of the sample complicates this conclusion.
Common beliefs about the heredity of human characteristics
Authors: Terwogt Mark Meerum , Hoeksma Jan B. , Koops Willem
Published: April 2011

Three groups of adult subjects indicated the extent to which they thought a number of human characteristics were affected by environmental as opposed to heredity factors. Regression analyses demonstrated a curvilinear relationship between belief in the influence of heredity and age (the weakest beliefs in heredity were found in subjects around the age of 25) and a negative linear relationship with education (low levels of education corresponded to strong beliefs in heredity). Moreover, it was shown that parents of adopted children and people with incomplete information about their own genetic backgrounds hold relatively strong beliefs in the influence of heredity.
Rejoinder to ‘Annett's theory’ by McManus, Shergill & Bryden (1993)
Authors: Annett Marian
Published: April 2011

Criticisms of the right shift (RS) theory (Annett, 1972, 1985) by McManus, Shergill & Bryden (1993) are shown to be ill‐founded. The hypothesis of a genetic balanced polymorphism with heterozygote advantage (BP + HA) is not based on the misconceptions McManus et al. (1993) suppose, and the evidence for a BP + HA is more robust than they suggest. The RS theory continues to lead to new findings, some directly contrary to assumptions of McManus (1985).
Perceptual impulsions and unfamiliar solids: Evidence from a drawing task
Authors: Derȩgowski J. B. , Dziurawiec S.
Published: April 2011

Previous work (Dziurawiec & Derȩgowski, 1992) has shown that children's distorted drawings of animal models may be explained by the child's tendency to depict typical contours, the outlines of the surfaces which undergo pronounced change. The present paper investigates whether the typical contours notion can be extended to purely geometric solids. Results from a drawing task by children aged nine and eleven years, using unfamiliar models of varying complexity, indicate that the tendency to draw in perspective increases with the increase in figure complexity for both age groups, but younger children show a greater reliance on typical contours than older children. Recasting the data from previous drawing experiments (Bartel, 1928/1958; Cox, 1986) further confirms the utility of the typical contours approach. Finally, the advantages of such an approach over that of canonicity (cf. Palmer, Rosch & Chase, 1981) for the representation of solids are elaborated.
Ageing and the retrieval of specialized and general knowledge: Performance of Masterminds
Authors: Maylor Elizabeth A.
Published: April 2011

Contestants in the television quiz show Mastermind attempt to answer correctly as many questions as possible in two minutes on: (1) A specialized subject of their own choosing and (2) general knowledge. In this study, past contestants were asked to provide details of their performance in the competition. It was predicted that younger contestants would outperform older contestants under the speeded conditions of Mastermind because of their superior fluid intelligence. The main results were as follows: (1) Higher scores and lower tip‐of‐the‐tongue (TOT) rates were achieved in the specialized subject round than in the general knowledge round. (2) TOT rate was positively related across the two rounds. (3) There was no effect of age on performance in the specialized subject round. In the general knowledge round, age was positively correlated with both score and accuracy. Thus, contrary to predictions, the older contestants actually outperformed the younger contestants (at least in the general knowledge round), presumably because of their superior crystallized intelligence. The results are discussed in terms of ‘limited impact’ theories of ageing, such that age‐related decline in fluid intelligence does not necessarily occur for (a) everybody or (b) everything.
Age‐related differences in updating working memory
Authors: Van der Linden Martial , Brédart Serge , Beerten Annick
Published: April 2011

Age‐related differences in updating working memory were investigated in two experiments using a running memory task. In the first experiment, the task of the young and elderly subjects was to watch strings of four to 10 consonants and then to recall serially the four most recent items. Results revealed no age effect. A second experiment was then carried out using a memory load that was close to memory span: lists of six to 12 consonants were presented and subjects had to recall the last six items. Age interacted with list length but not with serial position. This dissociation is discussed in terms of Baddeley's (1986) model.
On the nature of expectations
Authors: Harvey Nigel , Bolger Fergus , McClelland Alastair
Published: April 2011

We review economic and psychological models of expectation formation. According to the rational model, expectations are optimal; according to the adaptive model, they minimize previous error; according to the extrapolative model, they continue a trend. In an experiment, we asked subjects to make forecasts from previous data in the same series or from previous data in a different but related series. We also asked them to estimate the probability that their forecasts would be correct. The rational model failed because within‐series forecasts were too poor, cross‐series forecasts were biased, and probability estimates showed overconfidence. Regression analyses and a lack of performance improvement showed that the adaptive model was inappropriate. Instead, within‐series forecasts were made by extrapolation and cross‐series forecasts appeared to be based on a faulty conditional rule.
Memory champions
Authors: Wilding John , Valentine Elizabeth
Published: April 2011

The seven contestants at the first World Memory Championships and three other subjects showing outstanding memory performance were administered a battery of memory tasks used in previous studies of superior memory performance. Evidence for both all‐round and more specific patterns of superior performance was found. The role of mnemonic techniques in relation to different types of task is discussed but evidence was also found for ‘natural’ superior memory, indicated by superior performance without the use of techniques, good incidental long‐term retention, and reported superior memory ability in close relatives. An attempt to distinguish ‘natural’ from strategic memorizers was explored, based on these criteria and on differential patterns of performance on tasks suited and unsuited to the application of mnemonic techniques.
Anxiety and errors of prospective memory among elderly people
Authors: Cockburn Janet , Smith Philip T.
Published: April 2011

Understanding the relationship between age and prospective memory may be increased by studying the distribution and constituents of incorrect responses. Failure to perform the right activity at the right time may manifest itself as an ‘error of omission’, in which no response is made at the critical moment, or an ‘error of commission’, in which the intended action is replaced by a related one. These may, in turn, result from breakdown of encoding/storage or from retrieval failure. Which error is made may depend on the nature of the task, the context or the available processing resources of the performer. Responses of a group of elderly people to the appointment item of the Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test were examined for frequency of occurrence of different types of error and their relationship to other variables. Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the contribution made by variables of anxiety, age and current intelligence to performance on the task. The results suggest that the relationship is a complex one, in which there is an inverse relationship between anxiety and intelligence, and error type is differentially related to low and high anxiety and to age.
The nature of semantic priming effects in the recognition of familiar people
Authors: Young Andrew W. , Flude Brenda M. , Hellawell Deborah J. , Ellis Andrew W.
Published: April 2011

We report a series of experiments examining the nature of semantic priming effects in the recognition of familiar people. Experiment 1 showed that facilitation of the recognition of familiar target faces by related face primes occurs within the recognition system, since there is no equivalent priming when subjects are asked only to determine the sex of the target faces, rather than to recognize them as familiar. Experiments 2 and 3 examined the basis of the facilitatory effect of related primes, and showed that both for familiarity decision (Expt 2 and Expt 3) and face naming (Expt 3) tasks it is primarily based on close association of the prime and target people, rather than common membership of a semantic category. This associative component of semantic priming was further explored in Expt 4, which showed that cross‐domain priming from face primes to target names was present for associated prime–target pairs, but was maximal when prime and target were the face (prime) and name (target) of the same person. The results of the experiments are consistent with the interactive activation simulation developed by Burton, Bruce & Johnston (1990), and set constraints which will have to be met by any other plausible account of semantic priming.
Psychology and information technology: The study of cognition in organizations
Authors: Clegg Chris
Published: April 2011

This paper reviews a range of psychological research into the development and use of information technology (IT) at work. The overall purpose is to use this field of inquiry to argue the need to study cognition in organizations. The paper includes reviews of the literatures on human–computer interaction, the wider organizational aspects of IT, metaphors in use within organizational psychology, empirical studies of the development and use of IT, and some emerging work on situated action and distributed cognition.

The paper ends with an outline of some topics that should be included in the study of cognition in organizations, describing some ideas on the interdependencies between organizational and cognitive issues, a worldview to guide this research, and a framework based on the division of cognitive labour.
The endorsement of the premises: Assumption‐based or belief‐based reasoning
Authors: George Christian
Published: April 2011

Three experiments examined the effect on reasoning of the degree of belief in the premises. In Expt 1, 84 adult participants had to evaluate their degree of confidence in the truth of conditional statements, and to evaluate the conclusion of modus ponens (MP) arguments using these statements as the major premise. The same seven‐point response format was used for both tasks. In the inference task, 48 per cent of the participants accepted all the MP arguments even when they disagreed with their major premise. The other participants considered that some or all of the conclusions were not certainly true. Moreover, they assigned a degree of belief to each conclusion which was highly correlated with the one they attributed to the major premise. Thus two modes of responding emerged, one which assumed the truth of the premises irrespective of actual beliefs about them, and one which integrated the truth status given to the premises. In Expt 2, one replication and three controls confirmed that non‐endorsement of the MP arguments was due to the lack of believability of the premises. In Expt 3, on the usual three‐response format, 80 adults were invited to adopt one of these two responding modes with four MP arguments, and then to shift to the other one with a new set of four MP arguments. With the appropriate instructions, assumption‐based responding was adopted by only 43 per cent of the participants, and belief‐based responding by 98 per cent. Three hypotheses are considered about the second mode of responding.
Use of different imagery perspectives on the learning and performance of different motor skills
Authors: White Alison , Hardy Lew
Published: April 2011

Two experiments are reported which examine the relative efficacy of different imagery perspectives on a slalom type and a gymnastic type task. Twenty‐four ablebodied sport, health and physical education students were allocated to either an internal visual imagery group or an external visual imagery group. In both experiments, subjects watched video‐recordings of someone completing the tasks, then performed five blocks of three trials with feedback after each block, and internal/external visual imagery before each trial. A transfer/retention trial was performed one week later. The tasks were a wheelchair slalom task and a pseudogymnastics routine performed using rhythmic gymnastics clubs to show static positions. The slalom task results suggested that in the retention test, the external visual imagery group focused on the speed of performance, whilst the internal visual imagery group focused on the accuracy of performance. These findings were interpreted as suggesting that internal visual imagery was more effective for the planning of action in response to changes in a visual field. However, in the gymnastics task, contrary to previous suggestions, external visual imagery was found to be more effective than internal visual imagery for both learning and subsequent retention. The roles of internal and external visual imagery are discussed in terms of task characteristics and the observational learning literature.
On relations between perceiving, imagining and performing in the learning of cyclical movement sequences
Authors: Vogt Stefan
Published: April 2011

In three experiments, the effects of observational, mental and physical practice on the performance of cyclical movement sequences were investigated. Experiment 1 revealed that repeated demonstrations of the criterion motion were sufficient for adequate reproductions of the movement form and that mental or physical practice had only small additional effects. Furthermore, consistency of movement tempo and consistency of relative timing, normally seen as dependent on physical practice, were similar in all experimental conditions at the end of practice. Experiment 2 confirmed this counter‐intuitive finding by demonstrating equivalent improvements in the consistency of relative timing after physical and mental practice and after practice in a perceptual discrimination task. In Expt 3, discrimination of a non‐ spatial version of the criterion motion from similar patterns was also found to enhance consistency, indicating that eye movements were not a crucial factor in the observed effects. The findings suggest that performance, observation and imagery of sequential patterns involve a common process, characterized as event generation, which is either coupled to an articulatory system (in the case of physical practice), synchronized with an external event (in the case of observational practice), or ‘runs free’ without such articulatory or perceptual coupling in the case of imagery.
Representation and performance: Reproduction of form and quality of movement in dance by eight‐ and 11‐year‐old novices
Authors: Cadopi Marielle , Chatillon J. F. , Baldy R.
Published: April 2011

This study examined the effects of age on the cognitive representations in modelling. A total of 48 eight‐ and 11‐year‐olds were asked to watch a dancer performing a ballet sequence of three steps in order to reproduce it. They were able to see the film as many times as they wanted. All subjects were novices to dance. Both quantitative (number of observations required to learn the sequence, number of steps executed) and qualitative (form and quality of the performance) factors were assessed. The results indicated an effect of age on the number of requested observations and on the number of subjects able to perform the entire movement series. The mean form scores did not differ significantly between the two groups, but the mean quality score was higher for the 11‐year‐olds. We also noted a great heterogeneity in the performances. The results are discussed in terms of the role of cognitive and motor factors in observational learning by age and of the possibilities that cognitive representations offer for coding the different properties of movement.
Psychophysiological correlates of dynamic imagery
Authors: Williams John D. , Rippon Georgina , Stone Barbara M. , Annett John
Published: April 2011

Brain Electrical Activity Maps were recorded from 20 subjects whilst performing: (a) the Vandenberg & Kuse Mental Rotation Test (MRT) and: (b) the Isaac, Marks & Russell Vividness of Movement Imagery Questionnaire (VMIQ), and under control conditions. Subjects were classified as good or poor imagers, first on the basis of their VMIQ scores, and secondly on their MRT scores. Alpha, beta 1 and beta 2 at different cortical regions were compared between groups and between task performance and control conditions. During MRT significant reductions in alpha amplitude were found over both right and left parietal areas and over the left frontal region. In beta 1 non‐significant trends in the same direction were observed in the same regions found to be significant in alpha. Non‐significant trends in beta 2 were observed over the right parietal and frontal regions. No differences in amplitude at any frequency band were found between good and poor VMIQ scorers but subjects with high MRT scores showed greater alpha amplitude at many sites in the parietal, parieto‐occipital and frontal areas than subjects with low MRT scores. During VMIQ testing the VMIQ high imagers showed a non‐significant trend towards higher alpha amplitude at frontal regions and some scattered parietal and occipital sites and significantly higher levels of beta 2 in the left frontal region. However, no differences were found between imagery and control conditions. The results confirm the involvement of motor as well as spatial processes in dynamic imagery.
The role of long‐term memory mechanisms in memory span
Authors: Hulme Charles , Roodenrys Steven , Brown Gordon , Mercer Robin
Published: April 2011

We present an experiment relating memory span for words and non‐words of differing spoken lengths to speech rate. Linear functions related memory span to speech rate for both words and non‐words. Recall of non‐words, however, is substantially worse than for words and this difference is not attributable to differences in speech rate. Familiarizing subjects with the pronunciations of the nonwords increased memory span for them and these improvements in recall were also, at least partially, independent of changes in speech rate. The results are interpreted as evidence for a separable influence of long‐term memory on immediate memory span performance.
Common‐sense construction of causal processes in nature: A causal network analysis
Authors: White Peter A.
Published: April 2011

This study is concerned with structural and content features of common‐sense beliefs about causal processes in nature. It is an attempt to replicate findings reported by White (1992) using a different method, causal network analysis. Subjects judged the presence and direction of causal relations among a set of entities describing various human, plant and animal parameters. Structurally, the resultant network was linear. In terms of content, human parameters tended to be dominant overall, and plant parameters tended to dominate animal parameters. Both these results replicate White's findings. Results also showed a degree of antagonism between the human and natural worlds: human increases were judged to lead to natural decreases and vice versa; on the other hand, both natural increases and decreases lead to human increases. Natural increases lead to natural increases and natural decreases to natural decreases: there was no sign of the kind of interaction between increase and decrease that would be characteristic of a natural systems view.
The relationship between articulation time and memory performance in verbal and visuospatial tasks
Authors: Smyth Mary M. , Scholey Keith A.
Published: April 2011

The number of verbal items which can be recalled immediately is related to the rate at which an individual can speak. Subvocal rehearsal, or articulatory recoding in working memory, has been assumed to mediate this relation. For spatial items recalled in order there is also a relationship with articulation rate, which is not related to verbal rehearsal of the items. One reason for this might be that the relationship is mediated by speed of memory scanning for serial position tags in a memory set, which is related to processing speed. Subjects were asked to perform visuospatial memory tasks which involved serial position and visuospatial memory tasks in which serial position was not involved. They also performed a digit span task. The results indicated that the visuospatial memory tasks were highly related, that they were only weakly related to digit span, and that articulation rate was correlated with every measure of memory performance used, whether serial position was involved or not. There is no support for the hypothesis that speed of scanning for serial position information in immediate spatial memory leads to a relationship with articulation rate, nor is there any support for the view that memory span tasks in different domains share resources for dealing with serial order. The results are discussed in relation to Cowan, Keller, Hulme, Roodenrys, McDougall & Rack's (1994) suggestion that the relationship between articulation rate and memory span may be mediated by general processing speed.
Kirton's A–I theory: Evidence bearing on the style/level and factor composition issues
Authors: Mudd Samuel
Published: April 2011

Two central issues concerning M. J. Kirton's adaption–innovation (A–I) theory, the style vs. level issue and the issue of factor number, are reviewed in terms of existing empirical research. Direct tests of those two issues as they apply to A–I theory indicate that Kirton's position holds. Although the directly applicable evidence is not extensive, that which is available supports Kirton's distinction between style and level of creativity and a simple three‐factor structure underlying the hypothesized AI continuum. These two findings support the conceptualization of creativity as a non‐homogeneous, differentiated set of psychological processes.
The role of practice in the development of performing musicians
Authors: Sloboda John A. , Davidson Jane W. , Howe Michael J. A. , Moore Derek G.
Published: April 2011

A sample of 257 young people aged between eight and 18 who had undertaken individual instrumental tuition were interviewed in depth about their performing history from the start of playing. A subset of 94 of these individuals also kept a practice diary for a 42‐week period. The data collected allowed estimates to be calculated of the amount of time devoted to various types of practice and other activities. The sample was selected in order to encompass a wide range of levels of musical achievement, from pupils at a highly selective specialist music school through to individuals who had abandoned instrumental study after less than a year of formal instruction. Data about formal examination successes confirmed the very wide range of achievement in the sample. It was discovered that there was a strong relationship between musical achievement and the amount of formal practice undertaken. Weaker relationships were discovered between achievement and amount of informal playing. There was no evidence that high achievers were able to gain a given level of examination success on less practice than low achievers. High achievers tended to be more consistent in their pattern of practice from week to week, and tended to concentrate technical practice in the mornings. These data lend strong support to the theory that formal effortful practice is a principal determinant of musical achievement.
Developmental change in the use of relevant recall as a basis for judgements
Authors: Thornton Stephanie
Published: April 2011

This paper explores a judgement heuristic (availability; Kahneman, Slovic & Tversky, 1982) from a developmental perspective. A series of four studies using two different types of task finds that the judgement bias associated with the availability heuristic can be replicated in children of six years and older. However, six‐year‐olds are less likely to base judgement on recall than their elders, and do so only where recall is directly cued or where the judgement task is embedded in a familiar and interesting context. Results are discussed in relation to both developmental and adult judgement issues.
Dimensions of life meaning: A qualitative investigation at mid‐life
Authors: O'Connor Kay , Chamberlain Kerry
Published: April 2011

Meaning in life is integral to psychological functioning. Empirical research into this construct has focused on sources of meaning. Reker & Wong (1988) have proposed a theoretical outline for a multidimensional structure of meaning which challenges a source‐based approach. The present study used a qualitative approach to explore people's accounts of their experiences of life meaning and focused on the following key dimensions: sources; cognitive, motivational and affective components; breadth; and depth. Thirty‐eight adults at mid‐life were interviewed in depth. Five categories of sources accounted for material reported in previous studies, but a sixth was required to contain experiences of meaning relating to the natural environment. All sources revealed cognitive, motivational and affective components. Accounts showed variation in breadth and depth of meaning, although the assessment of depth proved problematic. Results from this qualitative exploration generally confirm Reker & Wong's structural model. Furthermore, many people have coherent frameworks of meaning which structure their life experiences, and serve to integrate these theoretical dimensions.
Crying, weeping or tearfulness in British and Israeli adults
Authors: Williams D. G. , Morris Gabrielle H.
Published: April 2011

Participants (aged 20–42 years; N = 448) from Britain and Israel answered questions on their crying behaviour. They were more likely to cry alone than when with others and least likely to cry with people they did not know well. Women cried more often and for longer and with more intensity than men. Britons cried more than Israelis. Explanations in terms of differential inhibition were not supported. The sex difference was especially marked for situations involving criticism from others, anger, or problems with work, where men were particularly unlikely to cry, and least for those situations Darwin described as involving tender feelings. The pattern was related to differences documented elsewhere in which men tend to more active and confrontational styles of behaviour. British–Israeli differences were consistent with the effects of military service. Tearfulness for tender feelings increased with age in all groups. A principal component analysis distinguished crying that is intense, long lasting and difficult to stop from crying that is more diverse in appearance but more controllable. The distinction seems related to whether crying pre‐empts or concurs with other ongoing activities.
Uncoupling learning from initial recall: The relationship between speed and memory deficits in old age
Authors: Nettelbeck T. , Rabbitt P. M. A. , Wilson C. , Batt R.
Published: April 2011

Nettelbeck & Rabbitt (1992) found that measures of speed of performance with low knowledge requirements (four‐choice reaction time, inspection time and coding‐substitution) accounted substantially for age‐related changes among 104 persons aged from 54 to 85 years in a number of more complex cognitive measures reflecting general fluid ability. However, the numbers of words recalled from a list after either a single brief viewing of each word, or following a cumulative learning procedure across four trials, provided an exception to this general trend, leading to the conclusion that some aspects of memory may be independent of mental speed. A follow‐up of 82 of the same people 18–20 months later was designed to partition performance in a similar cumulative learning procedure into an initial first recall component and a subsequent learning component. This was accomplished by fitting individual cumulative learning data with a hyperbolic power function which met the theoretical requirement of defining separate initial recall and learning parameters. These parameters were found to be independent and it was concluded that learning involved rehearsal, whereas first recall did not. The hyperbolic power function provided a good account for 92 per cent of individual cases. Analyses which combined Nettelbeck & Rabbitt's (1992) data with new measures confirmed the reliability of these authors' results. Furthermore, it was found that first recall, but not learning, was mediated by processing speed. Learning was relatively unaffected by age‐related slowing in mental speed, suggesting that Nettelbeck & Rabbitt's results were the consequence of a strong rehearsal component in their memory tasks. Thus, while mental slowing is clearly one important aspect of cognitive decline during old age, it does not constitute a sufficient explanation for changes in all areas of cognitive functioning. Specifically, age‐decline in rate of learning with rehearsal appeared to be independent of slowing in speed of information processing.
Predicting reading ability from handedness measures
Authors: Palmer Rebecca E. , Corballis Michael C.
Published: April 2011

Word reading, hand skill on a peg‐moving task and hand preference were measured in 203 children aged from 11–13 years. Differences in skill between the hands were largely attributable to variations in left‐hand skill, consistent with the view that manual and cerebral asymmetry are due to the loss (pruning) of cells in the right hemisphere during development—a mechanism that may be dependent on the ‘right shift’ (rs +) gene postulated by Annett (1985). There was only weak evidence for the curvilinear relation between differential hand skill and reading predicted by Annett's (1985) theory of balanced polymorphism, which postulates a heterozygotic advantage. Reading was better predicted by absolute measures of hand skill than by the difference between the hands, especially among boys. For the boys, word reading was predicted significantly from right‐hand skill, while for girls left‐hand skill predicted slightly more strongly than right‐hand skill. This may be related to differential growth gradients in the two hemispheres, and different environmental influences for boys and girls during a period of right hemispheric growth.
Knowledge and conscious control of motor actions under stress
Authors: Hardy Lew , Mullen Richard , Jones Graham
Published: April 2011

A recent study by Masters (1992) investigated the effect of stress upon the performance of a well‐learned motor skill, golf putting, acquired under implicit and explicit learning conditions. Masters found that stress had a detrimental effect on performance for the explicit learning group but not for the implicit learning group. However, the implicit learning group was required to perform articulatory suppression during the learning trials but not during the stress trials. As such, it is possible that the subjects in the implicit learning group continued to improve during the stress session simply because they were performing an easier task. This paper reports an experiment which re‐examines Masters' (1992) conclusions by replicating and extending his method. An additional implicit learning group was included which was required to carry out articulatory suppression during both the learning trials and the stress trials. It was hypothesized that this ‘new’ implicit learning group would suffer the same disruption to performance as the explicit learning group, providing evidence which would contradict Masters' explanation. Thirty‐two subjects were allocated to one of four groups. Performance measures were analysed using two‐factor analysis of variance (4 × 5: groups × sessions) with repeated measures on the sessions factor. The main dependent variable was the number of putts successfully completed. The analysis revealed that both the implicit learning groups continued to improve their performance under stress whilst the explicit learning group did not. Despite limitations to both Masters' (1992) and the present study, these results add support to Masters' explicit knowledge hypothesis.
The influence of item difficulty on the relationship between eyewitness confidence and accuracy
Authors: Kebbell Mark R. , Wagstaff Graham F. , Covey Judith A.
Published: April 2011

Research indicates that the confidence eyewitnesses express in information heavily influences both the investigative process and the credence which jurors give to eyewitness testimony. However, studies in this area suggest that there is either no relationship or only a small positive relationship between eyewitness confidence and accuracy. Nevertheless, it is argued here that researchers may have paid insufficient attention to the issue of item difficulty, and have used statistical procedures that fail to consider highly accurate responses with low variance. In an attempt to address these issues, two experiments were conducted which measured confidence–accuracy in response to information seen in video films. In each case questions were used that ranged in difficulty. Higher confidence–accuracy correlations than are usually reported were found in both experiments. Furthermore, when participants were ‘absolutely certain’ that a piece of information was correct, they almost invariably were accurate.
Attributional style for negative events: A proposition for a more reliable and valid measure of attributional style
Authors: Xenikou Athena , Furnham Adrian , McCarrey Michael
Published: April 2011

This study examines the concept of attributional style, first by testing Seligman's (1990) assumption that attributions for positive and negative events do form a single dimension; second by challenging the cross‐situational consistency of the causal dimension of internality; and third by investigating the reliability and validity of negative stability and globality as measures of pessimism and confidence. The results supported the hypothesis that attributional style for positive events and attributional style for negative events should be considered as orthogonal variables and that the dimensions of internality (positive and negative) are not consistent across situations. Finally, even though both negative stability and negative globality were shown to be reliable measures, only negative globality was proven to be a valid measure of pessimism and confidence.
Isolating the effects of the cognitive interview techniques
Authors: Memon Amina , Wark Linsey , Bull Ray , Koehnken Guenter
Published: April 2011

The cognitive interview (CI) is a procedure designed for use in police interviews involving witnesses. This study tested the most recent version of the CI (Fisher & Geiselman, 1992) which comprises not only ‘cognitive’ techniques such as context reinstatement but also ‘social’ techniques for increasing rapport. Children (aged eight–nine years) viewed a magic show and were interviewed after a short delay of two days (time 1) and/or a longer delay of 12 days (time 2). At time 1 the CI produced a significantly greater amount of correct recall than did a structured interview (SI) which was similar to the CI save for the CI's special cognitive techniques. However, at time 1 the CI also produced significantly more recall errors. At time 2, no differences occurred between CI and SI recall. There was a significant hypermnesia effect at time 2 for those groups interviewed twice suggesting an effect of retrieval practice. The time 1 effects of the CI were found to exist only in the questioning phase of the interview and social and cognitive explanations for the changes in the nature of recall with a CI are considered. Practical implications are discussed in the context of good practice for interviewing child witnesses.
Explaining and envisaging an ecological phenomenon
Authors: Green David W.
Published: April 2011

Two‐way causal processes, in which a change in one factor affects a second factor which in turn affects the first, are an important feature of the natural and social world. Yet prior research (White, 1992, 1995) suggests that individuals only envisage one‐way causal processes when they think of the natural world. The limiting factor may be the nature of their mental model of the situation. With the relatively complex tasks such as those used by White, individuals may be less likely to think through the consequences of a change. This paper reports four experiments which simplify the participants' task. They were asked to consider certain phenomena involving predator‐prey relations. Experiment 1 required participants to account for specific variations in the size of a fox population over time. Experiments 2 and 3 required them, in various ways, to envisage how the size of a target population might change over time and to write down their accounts. Experiment 4 examined the effect of problem complexity. The results indicate that two‐way causal accounts are an outcome of participants constructing small‐scale mental models that they use to simulate the consequences of change.
Naive ecology: Causal judgments about a simple ecosystem
Authors: White Peter A.
Published: April 2011

Naive ecology is defined as the layperson's understanding of how organisms interact in and with the natural world, and all cognition, particularly causal cognition, in which that understanding is evoked. Stimulus materials in this study described a simple model of a food web. Participants judged how to bring about a particular stable change in the food web, and also the effects of different kinds of disturbance within the food web. Their judgments showed a consistent tendency named the dissipation effect: a tendency to judge that effects of a perturbation at a particular locus in an ecosystem weaken or dissipate as they spread out from that locus. The effect is not typical of real food webs. The finding may represent an effect of domain‐specific acquired beliefs, or participants may have been making analogies with the properties of more familiar complex physical systems.
Stress and blood donation: Effects of music and previous donation experience
Authors: Ferguson Eamonn , Singh A. P. , Cunningham‐Snell N.
Published: April 2011

Making a blood donation, especially for first‐time donors, can be a stressful experience. These feelings of stress may inhibit donors from returning. This paper applies stress theory to this particular problem. The effects of a stress management intervention (the provision of music) and previous donor experience were examined in relation to pre‐ and post‐donation mood, environmental appraisals and coping behaviour. Results indicated that the provision of music had detrimental effects on environmental appraisals for those who have donated up to two times previously, but beneficial effects for those who had donated three times before. These effects were, to an extent, moderated by coping processes but not perceived control. It is recommended that the provision of music is not used as a stress management technique in the context of blood donation.
Bilingual memory span advantage for Arabic numerals over digit words
Authors: Chincotta Dino , Underwood Geoffrey
Published: April 2011

Working memory theory attributes the between‐language difference in bilingual memory span to variation in speech rate and the time‐based constraint of the phonological loop. We present two experiments examining the relationship between reading rate and memory span for Arabic numerals (e.g. 1, 2 and 3) and digit words (e.g. one, two and three) in both the languages of Spanish‐dominant, Spanish–English bilinguals. The results of Expt 1 showed that reading time was shorter in Spanish than English for both numerals and digit words. Both number representations were read at equivalent rates in Spanish, whereas in English digit words were read faster than numerals. The results of the memory task indicated a larger span in Spanish than English and a span advantage for numerals compared to digit words in both languages. Experiment 2 replicated the findings of Expt 1 and the memory span advantage for numerals over digit words persisted for both languages under articulatory suppression. The present findings indicated the involvement of factors other than subvocal rehearsal in memory span tasks and, therefore, did not support a simple working memory theory explanation of the bilingual digit span effect.
Two age of acquisition effects in the reading of Japanese Kanji
Authors: Yamazaki Makiko , Ellis Andrew W. , Morrison Catriona M. , Ralph Matthew A. Lambon
Published: April 2011

Native speakers of Japanese were shown single‐character Kanji words which they read aloud as quickly as possible. Simultaneous multiple regression was used to investigate which of a set of nine variables predicted reading speed. Two factors exerted strong independent effects upon reading speed—the age at which the words enter a Japanese child's spoken vocabulary and the age at which Japanese children learn the characters that are used to write those words. Of three measures of word frequency, only rated familiarity made a significant independent contribution. There were no significant effects of word imageability, the number of alternative pronunciations of a Kanji character, the visual complexity of a character, or the length of the spoken word. We suggest that the quality of lexical representations is affected by the age at which they are learned, and that the effects of age of spoken and written acquisition reflect the influence of those variables upon the speech output lexicon and the visual input lexicon respectively.
Orthographic analogies and developmental dyslexia
Authors: Hanley J. Richard , Reynolds Catherine J. , Thornton Andrew
Published: April 2011

Goswami (1986, 1988) has demonstrated that children can use orthographic analogies (particularly at the onset‐rime level) between the spelling patterns in words to help to decode new words (e.g. using ‘beak’ to read ‘peak’). This strategy has been shown in children as young as six years old. Since it is known that children with developmental dyslexia find it particularly difficult to read words that they have not been specifically taught (Lovett, Warren‐Chaplin, Ransby & Borden, 1990), the present study investigated whether dyslexic children might be unable to use analogies. Employing a design similar to that used by Goswami (1988), it was hypothesized that dyslexics would find it difficult to transfer spontaneously knowledge of a ‘clue’ word to decode new words that could be read by analogy with the clue word. The results of Expt 1 indicated that the dyslexic readers read significantly fewer of the analogous words than a reading age‐matched comparison group of younger children. Furthermore, none of the nine dyslexic children read as many of the analogous words as the lowest scoring control child. In a second experiment, a design similar to that of Muter, Snowling & Taylor (1994) was used with a new and larger sample of dyslexic children. In this experiment, all the children were brought to criterion in reading the clue words before the analogous words were presented. Once again, the dyslexic children read significantly fewer words that were analogous with the clue words than did a reading age‐matched comparison group. The number of analogous words that the dyslexic children read was significantly correlated with their performance on a test that is sensitive to the ability to detect rhyme. It is argued that a failure to make analogies may be one of the main causes of the reading impairment experienced by children with developmental dyslexia.