Development of logical search skills in infancy.

Presented 60 9–18 mo old Ss with manual search tasks involving the invisible displacement of objects. Ss were required to search 1 of 2 visited locations on the basis of critical information concerning the last place a hidden object was seen and the 1st place it was known to be missing. There were 2 task conditions: In the object-absent task, the object's container was shown to be empty after visiting the 1st and before visiting the 2nd location. In the object-present task, the object was shown to be still in the container after visiting the 1st location. The object was invisibly hidden at the 1st and 2nd locations, respectively, in the 2 tasks. Although the actual hiding could not be perceived, it could be inferred from the perceived sequence of events in each task. Results show that although 9-mo-olds frequently refused to search and 12-mo-olds were as likely to search the incorrect as the correct location, 15- and 18-mo-olds performed logical 1st searches. Analysis showed that 12-mo-olds preferred either spatial or temporal positions, while correct performance required the coordination of both types of information, a skill exhibited by the majority of 18-mo-olds. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Infants' understanding of visible displacements.

Two studies examined 54 9-mo-old and 54 12-mo-old infants' understanding of visible displacements and whether infants understand that the object has been deleted from its initial hiding place as part of its displacement to a new location. Displacement problems were compared with 2-object problems on which separate objects were hidden at the 1st and 2nd hiding place so that the initial object was not deleted from the 1st displacement location. Nondisplacement problems, on which the object remained at the 1st hiding place while the experimenter moved her visibly empty hand to the 2nd place, were also included in the 1-object condition. Although Exp I showed equivocal results, Exp II provided clear evidence that even 9-mo-olds have at least a limited sensitivity to the deletion component of displacements. In that experiment, the 9-mo-olds searched significantly more at the 2nd than at the 1st hiding place on displacement problems, and the distribution of their searches across the 2 visited locations on those problems was significantly different than on 2-object problems. Although their performance was less consistent than that of 12-mo-olds, there was no evidence that they suffered from any systematic misunderstanding that separated them from the older Ss. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) spontaneously use visual but not acoustic information to find hidden food items.

Foraging choices in tufted capuchins monkeys are guided by perceptual, cognitive, and motivational factors, but little is known about how these factors might interact. The present study investigates how different types of sensory information affect capuchins' ability to locate hidden food. In two experiments, capuchins were presented with two cups, one baited and one empty. Monkeys were given visual, acoustic, or acoustic-visual information related to the baited cup, the empty cup, or both baited and empty cup. Results show that capuchins spontaneously used visual information to locate food, and that information indicating presence and absence of food led to higher success rates than information indicating only absence of food. In contrast, acoustic information did not lead to success rates above chance levels and failed to enhance performance in combination with visual information. Capuchins spontaneously avoided a visually empty cup, but they did not appear to associate sounds with either the presence or absence of food. Being able to locate food items with the aid of acoustic cues might be a learned process that requires interactive experiences with the task's contingencies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of self-initiated locomotion on infant search activity.

Studied the ability of 26 10.3-11.2 mo old infants to search for a hidden object following self-initiated locomotion (SIL) or passive transportation to the search locations. Ss were trained to move independently 180° around a hiding box by crawling SIL and were carried 180° around a hiding box by a parent (other-initiated locomotion) before they were allowed to search for an object hidden in 1 of 2 locations. Results show that SIL produced more frequent correct object search than did other-initiated locomotion. Findings support Piaget's (1954) hypothesis that practical, action-based knowledge during infancy is involved in the achievement of spatial understanding and that the experience of SIL contributes to spatial development. It is argued that SIL fosters the infant's understanding of spatial relations because it (a) encourages the active revision of spatial relations that change with movement through space; (b) provides the opportunity to control the means-ends relation between actions and the achievement of a goal; and (c) contributes to a practical, action-based knowledge of object and self-relations in space. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Young children's (Homo sapiens) understanding of knowledge formation in themselves and others.

Three- and 4-yr-old children were tested for comprehension of knowledge formation. In Exp 1, 34 Ss watched as a surprise was hidden under 1 of 4 obscured cups. The experimenter then pointed to the cup. All children searched under the correct cup, but no 3-yr-olds (in contrast to most 4-yr-olds) could explain how they knew where to look. Ss then discriminated between simultaneous pointing by 2 adults, one who had hidden a surprise and one who had left the room before the surprise was hidden. Most 4-yr-olds (but no 3-yr-olds) showed clear discrimination between the adults. In Exp 2, 16 Ss were tested with procedures designed to make the source of their own knowledge more obvious, but this had no effect on performance. It is concluded that studies using very similar procedures with chimpanzees and rhesus macaques were measuring an ability (or inability) to understand how knowledge states form. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Information seeking with conflicting and irrelevant inputs.

Studied information-seeking performance under conditions of conflicting and irrelevant input information in an 8-choice task that was an abstracted version of a tactical decision problem faced by military commanders. 14 male undergraduates were required to purchase information from 3 fallible sources until they could decide which target was the object of an enemy advance. The earlier a correct choice was made, the greater the monetary payoff to the S. Results indicate that degree of information conflict and relevance had little influence on trial number and latency of correct choices, but a more marked impact on initial decisions. Ss purchased more information prior to 1st decisions when degree of relevance was low. Choice latencies of 1st decisions decreased with increasing relevance and decreasing conflict. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of rat anterior cingulate inactivation on cognitive flexibility.

The present experiment investigated the effects of muscimol injections into the rat dorsal anterior cingulate on the acquisition and reversal learning of a 4-choice odor discrimination. Long-Evans rats were trained to dig in cups that contained distinct odors. In the odor discrimination, one odor cup contained a cereal reinforcement in acquisition whereas a different odor cup contained a cereal reinforcement in reversal learning. The other 2 odor cups were never associated with reinforcement. Bilateral infusions of the gamma aminobutyric acid-A agonist muscimol did not impair acquisition of the odor discrimination but impaired reversal learning in a dose-dependent manner. During reversal learning, dorsal anterior cingulate inactivation did not lead to perseveration but selectively increased errors to the odor cups that were never reinforced. These findings suggest that the dorsal anterior cingulate supports learning when conditions require a shift in choice patterns and may enhance cognitive flexibility by decreasing interference of irrelevant stimuli. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of the use of sound in the search behavior of infants.

Investigated 48 7–9 mo olds' use of sound to guide their search behavior by presenting Ss with standard object-permanence tasks. The same tasks were then presented to Ss but an object was used that made sound as it was being hidden and continued to make sound from its hiding place. Ss were then presented with a task in which a sound-producing object was surreptitiously hidden and then sounded. Ss began to use sound to direct their search in Stage 4. The use of sound to locate the surreptitiously hidden sound-producing object appeared to come earlier than the use of sound to locate objects in displacement tasks; the use of sound to locate objects in displacement tasks was influenced by the complexity of the displacement. Results suggest that the role of sound in the construction of the object is a developing one that continues well into the 2nd yr of life. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Of thoughts unspoken: Social inference and the self-regulation of behavior.

Suggests that perceivers draw dispositional inferences about targets (characterization) and then adjust those inferences with information about the constraints on the targets' behaviors (correction). Because correction is more effortful than characterization, perceivers who devote cognitive resources to the regulation of their own behavior should be able to characterize targets but unable to correct those characterizations. In Exp 1, unregulated Ss incidentally ignored an irrelevant stimulus while they observed a target's behavior, whereas self-regulated Ss purposefully ignored the same irrelevant stimulus. In Exp 2, unregulated Ss expressed their sincere affection toward a target, whereas self-regulated Ss expressed false affection. In both experiments, self-regulated Ss were less likely than unregulated Ss to correct their characterizations of the target. The results suggest that social interaction (which generally requires the self-regulation of ongoing behavior) may profoundly affect the way in which active perceivers process information about others. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Characteristics of hiding places and the transition to Stage IV performance in object permanence tasks.

Three studies with 53 6–10 mo old infants tested T. G. Bower's (1974, 1975) conjecture that infants' Stage IV object permanence difficulties can be attributed to their interpretation of occlusion as replacement. In Study 1, several types of barriers (upright screen, inverted cup, upright box, cloth) were used in a standard object permanence procedure. Results partially support an order of difficulty predicted by Bower's explanation. Ss were consistently delayed, however, in retrieving objects from inside the upright box. Study 2 investigated the role of previous training and found no effect. When barrier size was varied in Study 3, only the smaller box had the lower successful retrieval rate. Measures of looking and mode of manual search indicated that Ss looked appropriately but did not know how to search inside the small box. An argument is made for standardizing barriers and for measuring looking and searching patterns as well as successful retrieval in object permanence studies. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Roentgen criteria and radiologic results of the Hofer-Imhof (H-I) threaded acetabulum cup in first time implantation

The Hofer-Imhof cup consists of a parabola-shaped titanium acetabular component with flat threads. These flat threads are designed to be self-cutting and allow accurate insertion without incarceration, even in sclerotic bone. In a prospective study conducted from May 1988 to July 1989, 143 Hofer-Imhof cups were implanted. Radiographic assessment included initial bone contact, cup position, fixation on osteophytes, presence of any radiolucencies or sclerosis, cup migration and bone ingrowth. Initial prosthesis fit was evaluated with a 20 degrees caudally angled anteroposterior X-ray for accurate demonstration of the threads. 119 of the Hofer-Imhof cups (83.2%) were available for radiographic follow-up at a mean of 65 months (min. 37 mo., max. 95 mo.). One cup required revision after 23 months due to infection. The cups had an average inclination of 47 degrees, and complete bone contact was evident in 86.6% on the postoperative X-ray. In 8.4% of the cups, some threads were not in contact with bone at the edge of the acetabulum. At final follow-up, 82.4% had complete bone ingrowth without any evidence of radiolucency (type I), 15.1% had near-complete bone ingrowth with minimal radiolucencies (type II), and 2.5% had predominantly fibrous fixation (type III). One cup (0.8%) showed excessive migration. The technique of anchorage using a flat thread, minimal bone resection as a result of the parabolic shape and the sandblasted titanium surface are the characteristic features of the Hofer-Imhof threaded cup and produce good medium-term results in primary hip arthroplasty.     

Strategy training and attributional feedback with learning disabled students.

Investigated the effects of verbalization of subtraction with regrouping operations and effort-attributional feedback on the self-efficacy and skillful performance of 90 Ss (aged 11 yrs 2 mo to 16 yrs 2 mo) in Grades 6–8 who were classified as learning disabled in mathematics. Ss received training and solved problems over sessions. Ss in the 1st condition verbalized aloud while solving problems (continuous verbalization), those in the 2nd condition verbalized only during the 1st half of training (discontinued verbalization), and those in the 3rd condition did not verbalize (no verbalization). All Ss were periodically monitored and received effort feedback during the 1st half of training, effort feedback during the 2nd half of training, or no effort feedback. Findings show that continuous verbalization led to higher self-efficacy and skillful performance than did discontinued and no verbalization; providing effort feedback promoted these achievement behaviors more than not providing feedback did. Effort feedback during the 1st half of training enhanced effort attributions. The process by which verbalization promotes achievement outcomes is discussed. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Inferential reasoning and modality dependent discrimination learning in olive baboons (Papio hamadryas anubis).

Apes use inferential reasoning by exclusion to locate food both in the visual and auditory domain. To test whether olive baboons (Papio hamadryas anubis) show similar abilities as the apes object choice experiments with differing information about food located in 1 of 2 cups were conducted in the visual and auditory modality. Although all baboons (N = 7) were able to locate the reward when they had previously seen it, they failed to make use of auditory cues or arbitrary acoustic signals. When only partial information was given (i.e., only 1 cup was opened) 4 of the baboons were apparently able to infer the location of the reward by reasoning, whereas the other 3 may have adopted an alternative strategy (“avoid the empty cup”). In addition, 3 of the baboons were able to use arbitrary visual markers to locate the food reward. The results suggest that inferential reasoning is not restricted to apes but is shared with Old World monkeys. Furthermore, they also highlight some important differences in the processing of auditory versus visual information in operant conditioning settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Premature cognitive commitment.

Examined the effect of conditions of initial exposure to information on the "mindless" processing of information and its subsequent use. In Exp I, 64 college students received information about perceptual deficits while the perceived relevance of that information was manipulated. On assessment tests, Ss "found" they had this deficit. On follow-up perceptual tasks, the group initially informed that the deficit was seemingly irrelevant showed severe performance decrements relative to other groups. Exp II (52 Ss) used a similar procedure for perceptual skill. Ss initially exposed to "irrelevant" information performed more productively than Ss initially exposed to "relevant" information. Results indicate that conditions surrounding initial exposure to information limit its subsequent use. Implications for social, psychological, and physical symptoms are discussed. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Analogical reasoning in a capuchin monkey (Cebus apella).

Previous evidence has suggested that analogical reasoning (recognizing similarities among object relations when the objects themselves are dissimilar) is limited to humans and apes. This study investigated whether capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) can use analogical reasoning to solve a 3-dimensional search task. The task involved hiding a food item under 1 of 2 or 3 plastic cups of different sizes and then allowing subjects to search for food hidden under the cup of analogous size in their own set of cups. Four monkeys were exposed to a series of relational matching tasks. If subjects reached criterion on these tasks, they were exposed to relational transfer tasks involving novel stimuli. Three of the monkeys failed to reach criterion on the basic relational matching tasks and therefore were not tested further. One monkey, however, revealed above-chance performance on a series of transfer tasks with 3 novel stimuli. This evidence suggests that contrary to previous arguments, a member of a New World monkey species can solve an analogical problem. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Results of total hip arthroplasty for Crowe Type III developmental hip dysplasia

From 1969 through 1980, 90 hips in 82 patients had cemented total hip arthroplasty for Type III developmental hip dysplasia. Seventy hips were reviewed at an average of 16.6 years (range, 5-23 years) after operation. Aseptic loosening developed in 53% of acetabular cups and 40% of femoral stems. Despite attempts to place acetabular components in the anatomic center, 18 cups (25.7%) were placed outside that area. Using a measurement method to determine the true acetabular region and approximate femoral head center, final acetabular loosening strongly correlated with initial cup placement. Loosening occurred in 15 of 18 cups (83.3%) initially positioned outside of the true acetabular region compared with loosening in 22 of 52 cups (42.3%) initially positioned within the true acetabular region. Acetabular loosening also correlated with initial lateral displacement or initial superior displacement of the hip center from the approximate femoral head center. Initial cup placement medial to the approximate femoral head center was predictive of successful long term acetabular component fixation. The method of acetabular reconstruction did not affect eventual cup loosening. Placement of the hip arthroplasty center of rotation in or near the true acetabular region is recommended.     

Selective information use in the development of search behavior.

Age differences in children's use of various sources of information about object location were examined in a study of search behavior in 3-, 4-, and 7-yr-olds. The 2 principal sources of information were general associative knowledge about the typical locations of objects (location specificity) and explicit verbal statements about object location. Age differences in the results reflected increasing utilization of the 2 sources of information when each was considered separately. More importantly, the design allowed consideration of Ss' ability to combine the information to limit search. In this respect, the findings reveal sophisticated information integration on the part of even the youngest Ss tested. At all ages, Ss were able to combine both sources of information when both were relevant and to ignore irrelevant location-specificity information when the verbal information was logically superordinate. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Inferences About the Location of Food in the Great Apes (Pan paniscus, Pan troglodytes, Gorilla gorilla, and Pongo pygmaeus).

Bonobos (Pan paniscus; n = 4), chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes; n = 12), gorillas (Gorilla gorilla; n = 8), and orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus; n = 6) were presented with 2 cups (1 baited) and given visual or auditory information about their contents. Visual information consisted of letting subjects look inside the cups. Auditory information consisted of shaking the cup so that the baited cup produced a rattling sound. Subjects correctly selected the baited cup both when they saw or heard the food. Nine individuals were above chance in both visual and auditory conditions. More important, subjects as a group selected the baited cup when only the empty cup was either shown or shaken, which means that subjects chose correctly without having seen or heard the food (i.e., inference by exclusion). Control tests showed that subjects were not more attracted to noisy cups, avoided shaken noiseless cups, or learned to use auditory information as a cue during the study. It is concluded that subjects understood that the food caused the noise, not simply that the noise was associated with the food. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Constant irrelevant cues and stimulus generalization in monkeys.

Trained 14 jungle-born female pigtailed monkeys to criterion on 2 concurrently presented 4-choice object discriminations. In 1 problem form was relevant and color constant irrelevant; in the other, color was relevant and form constant irrelevant. Following training, Ss were given transfer tests with a 4-choice setting consisting of the 2 formerly rewarded objects, a 3rd object composed of the rewarded relevant features of the color and form discriminations, and a 4th object constructed from the 2 constant irrelevant color and form features. Ss consistently chose the previously rewarded objects during transfer, but of the new objects, almost always chose the object constructed of relevant features. A number of models for discrimination learning are considered in the light of these data. (17 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Use of job information as a criterion in employment decisions of interviewers.

Conducted 2 factorially designed experiments to investigate the extent to which job information was used by interviewers as a criterion for their decisions. In Exp I 48 experienced and 48 unexperienced job interviewers received identical job information. Applicant information was either relevant or irrelevant to the job information. Ss' judgments were based on composites of relevant and irrelevant information segments. Each of the segments was either favorable or unfavorable. Exp II replicated Exp I, except that the 48 Ss did not receive job information. Findings indicate extensive use of job information. Availability of such information reduced the effect of irrelevant attributes on decisions but did not eliminate it. Use of job information was not enhanced by experience in interviewing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)