New methodology applied to bonnet macaques (Macaca radiata) to address some contradictory evidence on manual asymmetries in old world monkeys.

Seven bonnet macaques (Macaca radiata) with strong hand preferences in performing a computer-generated joystick task that required directing a cursor to contact a small stationary target on a monitor were given comparable experience with each hand on the task over a 5-week period. Hand use was randomly restricted to either only the left or only the right hand across trials by automatically inputting into a computer the unique identification numbers of microchips implanted in the forearms of each macaque. Subsequent presentation of a novel task requiring maintenance of contact between a cursor and a moving target revealed no performance difference between preferred and nonpreferred hands or between left and right hands on the basis of number of errors or time to complete the task. The findings suggest that the strong hand preference for these tasks does not derive from a performance advantage for the preferred hand. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Processing deficits and the mediation of positive affect in persuasion.

Motivational and cognitive mediators of the reduced processing of persuasive messages shown by recipients in a positive mood were tested. Ss in positive or neutral moods read strong or weak counterattitudinal advocacies for either a limited time or for as long as they wanted. Under limited exposure conditions, neutral mood Ss showed attitude change indicative of systematic processing, whereas positive mood Ss showed no differentiation of strong and weak versions of the message. When message exposure was unlimited, positive mood Ss viewed the message longer than did neutral mood Ss and sytematically processed it rather than relying on persuasion heuristics. These findings replicated with 2 manipulations of mood and 2 different attitude issues. We interpret the results as providing evidence that reduced cognitive capacity to process the message contributes to the decrements shown by positive mood Ss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Why not wait?: A cognitive model of self-imposed delay termination.

Conducted 3 studies with 158 3rd graders to examine a cognitive model of how children terminate self-imposed delay of gratification when a preferred but delayed reward is pitted against an immediately available nonpreferred reward. According to this model, delay maintenance is primarily a function of the perceived value of the preferred reward, which is assumed to vary as a function of delay duration. In the 1st study, Ss devalued a physically present, delay-contingent preferred reward after a 10-min delay. Results of Study 2 reveal that the devaluation of the preferred reward observed in Study 1 occurred only when the preferred and nonpreferred rewards were initially highly similar in perceived value. Study 3 examined the effect of reward similarity and salience on children's actual delay behavior and found that delay times were shortest under those conditions in which reward devaluation had been most pronounced. Results support a general model of self-control in which interruptions in self-control are assumed to be preceded by temporally based changes in outcome evaluation. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship of defense mechanisms to field dependence-independence.

Reexamined the relationships between defense mechanisms and field articulation using 50 male and 60 female psychiatric patients. It was found that (a) Ss who relied excessively on "global" defenses (turning-against-self and reversal) were more field dependent than Ss who relied on "differentiated" defenses (turning-against-object and projection); and (b) Ss who did not rely on any 1 defense were intermediate on field articulation. Knowledge of major defense allowed for prediction of cognitive style, but knowledge of cognitive style permitted prediction of only clusters of defenses. Characteristic defense appeared to be a function of both cognitive style and learning experience. When matched for defense style, men were more field independent than women on the Embedded Figures Test, but not on the Figure Drawing Test. Reversal was the most effective as a defense against anxiety for males, but not for females as judged by Repression-Sensitization Scale scores. (23 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fluctuations in unimanual hand preference in infants following the onset of duplicated syllable babbling.

22 infants were tested for unimanual handedness at weekly intervals for a 14-wk period beginning with the week of duplicated syllable babbling onset at ages 4.9–8.8 mo. Ss showed a right-handed preference on the 1st session. Analyses based on Ss' preferred hand on the 1st session (17 right-handers, 5 left-handers) indicate 2 fluctuations in the unimanual hand preference following babbling onset, with troughs in preferred hand performance occurring 4 and 8 wks after babbling onset. Group analyses indicating effects of sex and/or birth order on these fluctuations, and inspection of the data for individual Ss suggested considerable variability across Ss in the occurrence and/or timing of these fluctuations. Nevertheless, findings support A. Gesell's (1954) claim that hand preference in infancy alternates between right-handedness and ambilaterality, and they suggest underlying change in hemispheric specialization or asymmetrical brain organization for motoric control. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aging and skill acquisition: Learning-performance distinctions.

This research examined the hypothesis that a conservative response bias in older persons interferes with the acquisition and mastery of cognitive skill. Twenty younger and 20 older Ss performed both consistent mapping and varied mapping versions of a memory search task. Half of the Ss in each group performed under speed stress instructions, whereas the remaining Ss performed under accuracy stress instructions. Older Ss exhibited less skilled performance than did younger Ss. A power function analysis attributed this to both age-related differences in the rate of associative learning and differences in asymptotic levels of performance. These results are at odds with A. D. Fisk and W. A. Rogers's (1991) hypothesis that age-related differences in automatization do not occur in memory search tasks. Results are interpreted in terms of a learning vs performance distinction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some effects of texture density on visual cliff behavior of the domestic chick.

Tested possible influences of texture-density preferences on the depth avoidance of 201 newly hatched Leghorn and Vantress Cross domestic chicks with a visual cliff. Ss failed to avoid visual depths of less than 10 in when a deep pattern projecting a preferred check size (1/4 in) was paired with a very fine, nonpreferred shallow pattern (1/32 in). Depth avoidance was normal, however, at depths of 10 in and greater, or when both shallow and deep patterns project either preferred or nonpreferred check sizes regardless of visual depth. Results are attributed to an attraction of the deep (preferred) pattern density at depths which pose no threat to survival. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

What does the Least Preferred Co-Worker Scale really measure? A cognitive interpretation.

The Least Preferred Co-Worker Scale (LPC) has been variously interpreted as a measure of leadership style or as a measure of the cognitive complexity of the leader. In this study, using 112 Ss including business students, managers, and systems analysts, the LPC scale scores were correlated with 2 other measures of differentiation and with 3 cognitive measures in an attempt to assess the interpretation of the scale as a cognitive measure. Results show that while the low end of the LPC seems to be associated with cognitive simplicity, the high-least preferred co-worker S was not unequivocally cognitively complex. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of noise on human performance.

"… three experiments relating performance changes to noise levels are reported. Noise levels used were about 80 db representing 'quiet' and 110 db representing 'noise."' Ss in these 3 experiments were paid volunteer male undergraduates. In Experiment I, 9 Ss were exposed to successive half hours of experimental and control sessions "to check Broadbent's previously reported results that performance on a prolonged vigilance task was poorer in noise than in quiet." In Experiment II, 14 Ss were exposed to successive periods of experimental and control sessions "as a result of a suggestion by Miles that Ss working in high energy noise fields could not keep an accurate count on how far they had gone in a repetitive task." In Experiment III, 14 Ss were exposed to successive periods of experimental and control sessions to compare judgments in quiet and in noise. "It is clear that noise produces readily measurable changes in human performance." The effects of psychological stress may have been more important than noise in determining the results. 16 refs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The writing performance of inverted and noninverted right- and left-handers.

Compared the writing performance of 33 inverted and 37 noninverted left-handed and right-handed writers (undergraduates). Inverted writers wrote as quickly and as well as noninverted writers when writing with the preferred writing posture but were superior to the latter group when performances with the nonpreferred posture were compared. There was no evidence that left-handers with either writing position were faster with the nonpreferred hand, in direct contradiction to R. Gregory and J. Paul's (see record 1981-11652-001) frequently cited claim that inverted left-handers write faster with the nonpreferred hand. Findings are also related to the J. Levy and M. L. Reid (see record 1977-05149-001) model of writing posture and cerebral organization. Results question attempts by educators to discourage use of the inverted writing posture. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of perceptual salience on reflective-impulse performance differences.

Examined the relationship between perceptual salience and cognitive style in 31 1st graders, 37 3rd graders, and 37 5th graders who had been classified as impulsive or reflective based on scores on the Matching Familiar Figures Test. After determining salience hierarchy scores, Ss were given a modified matching test. This test consisted of 3 trial types on which the S's most salient, least salient, or both most and least salient dimensions were necessary for making a correct match. Impulsives made more errors than reflectives only on trials requiring the use of the least salient dimension. These performance differences decreased with age. Cognitive style did not affect latencies on the modified matching task. It is concluded that (a) perceptual features of the stimulus situation can markedly influence impulsives' performance, (b) cognitive style effects were not attributable to differences in the salience hierarchies of reflective-impulsive Ss, (c) cognitive style differences can occur in the absence of latency differences, and (d) sensitization to perceptual features may be an effective means of improving impulsives' performance. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of degree of obesity, age of onset, and weight loss on responsiveness to sensory and external stimuli.

Four experiments tested responsiveness to external and sensory stimuli in human females who differed in degree of overweight and in age of onset of their obesity. A total of 196 overweight Ss, ranging in age from 12–58 yrs and representing both juvenile- and adult-onset obese groups, served as Ss; in Exps I and IV, a total of 14 normal-weight Ss were used as controls. The effects of weight loss on external responsiveness were assessed by testing Ss before and after weight reduction in order to determine the role of energy deficit and deprivation in mediating heightened responsiveness to external cues. There was no significant positive correlation between degree of overweight and degree of external responsiveness. In general, the age of onset of obesity was also not a factor in the degree of externality. Weight loss did not change responses to visual and cognitive cue salience manipulatons in measures of feeding, emotionality, time perception, and short-term recall, while responsiveness to variations in taste palatability increased following weight reduction. While external cue responsiveness does not appear to result from adiposity per se or from deprivation, responsiveness to taste stimuli may reflect these parameters. The role of external and sensory cues in the development and maintenance of obesity is discussed. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Internal and external cues relating to fluid intake in obese and alcoholic persons.

A study of fluid intake using a preferred nonalcoholic beverage was modeled on previous studies of food intake in the obese. Groups of hospitalized alcoholics, nonalcoholics, and nonalcoholic nonpatients (N = 60) were composed of half obese and half normal-weight Ss. The degree to which drinking behavior was affected by internal and external cues was related to diagnosis but not to obesity. Preloading (internal cue) inhibited drinking by nonalcoholics, but it did not affect the alcoholics' intake. Alcoholics drank significantly more of the blend of tea they ranked as most preferred (external cue) and less of a nonpreferred drink (water) than nonalcoholics. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Hypnotic-like" suggestibility in children and adults.

724 Ss of ages 6-22 were told that they were to be tested for imaginative ability, and were then given 8 standardized test suggestions as follows: Arm Lowering, Arm Levitation, Hand Lock, Thirst "Hallucination," Verbal Inhibition, Body Immobility, "Posthypnotic-Like" Response, and Selective Amnesia. The sexes did not differ in response to the suggestions. Ss between 6 and 12 were more "suggestible" than adults. Children of 8-10 showed the highest level of response. No differences in "suggestibility" were found among Ss of ages 14-22. Suggestibility in both children and adults was inversely related to "conscious" (verbalizable) resistance to the test suggestions. (29 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teasing out cognitive development from cognitive style: A training study.

Tested whether cognitive development and cognitive style (field-dependence/independence) are different dimensions. The present study was conducted in the context of J. Pascual-Leone's (1974) model of cognitive development, in which an important aspect of cognitive development is delineated by mental capacity, and an important dimension of cognitive style is field-dependence/independence. 74 5.5–6.5 and 7.5–8.5 yr old Ss were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 trainers who taught half the group with a method developed by R. Case and the present 1st author (1974), and the other half of the group with a method designed to train Ss to actively look for informational cues. It was found that cognitive development and cognitive style are distinctly different dimensions because posttest data showed that, under training conditions that were suited to S's cognitive style, field-dependent older Ss were able to perform developmentally appropriate "control-of-variables" tasks at the same level as their field-independent age peers. Both of these groups outperformed younger field-independent Ss. Findings are discussed with regard to the theoretical model, their relevance to the stylistic dimension of reflection/impulsivity, and their educational implications. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Convergent and discriminant validity of measures of cognitive styles and abilities.

Used 10 measures (e.g., Group Embedded Figures Test, Raven Advanced Progressive Matrices) that yielded 15 scores representing the following constructs: analytic style, global style, analytic ability, global ability, and general spatial ability. 50 undergraduates participated. In a factor analysis, the ability measures formed an ability factor, but the stylistic measures failed to converge and formed 4 factors. The Group Embedded Figures Test correlated significantly with the ability measures, but with only 1 of the 2 analytic measures, and it failed to correlate negatively with any global style measure. Most Ss preferred an analytic approach. Results indicate that present field dependence–independence measures are best interpreted as ability tests rather than measures of a cognitive style. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Outcome effects of receiving a preferred, randomly assigned, or nonpreferred therapy.

32 snake-fearing undergraduates viewed a videotape of 4 therapists who described and illustrated their techniques for treating fear of snakes. The therapies were systematic desensitization, encounter, rational emotive, and a combination of modeling and behavioral rehearsal. After describing their liking or disliking of each of the therapies, 16 Ss were assigned a preferred therapy, and the other 16 were given a nonpreferred therapy. 16 control Ss who had not seen the videotape or indicated their therapy preferences were randomly assigned to the different therapies. Posttherapy measures indicated that the preferred therapy produced significantly (p     

"Therapeutic" interventions of clinicians in standardized interviews: A test of the social competition model.

An experienced sample of 14 psychiatrists and 2 clinical psychologists interviewed an actress patient according to a standardized procedure which required them to deliver a series of evaluations of her self-presentations. Unknown to them, the actress patient was programed to adopt either a strong or a weak competitive strategy. Although the Ss operated under a therapeutic set, their evaluative behavior was in essential accord with the predictions of a social competition model. As predicted, the actress patient was seen as more severely impaired if her strategy was weak than if it was strong. Regardless of her strategy, high-need-for-approval Ss used relatively few negative evaluations and were relatively uncomfortable during their interviews. Clinical implications of the findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Processing of persuasive in-group messages.

Two studies investigated the processes mediating the persuasive impact of messages representing in-group opinions. In the 1st study, Ss read either a strong or a weak message attributed to either an in-group member or to another group. Ss were more persuaded by a strong message from the in-group than a weak one, suggesting content-focused processing of the in-group message. Ss were equally unpersuaded by either a strong or a weak message from the other group, and showed little sign of message processing. In the 2nd study, Ss listened to in-group or other-group messages about issues that varied in their relevance to in-group membership. When the issue was relevant to the in-group, Ss were persuaded by a strong message from the in-group, unpersuaded by a weak message from the in-group, and equally unimpressed by strong and weak messages from the other group. When the issue was irrelevant to the in-group, Ss accepted the position advocated by the in-group regardless of message quality, and again ignored messages from the other group. These results suggest that increased message processing, and not merely the impact of source persuasion cues, can underlie in-group-mediated attitude change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive style in two modalities: Vision and audition.

Administered the visual Matching Familiar Figures Sequential Presentation Task (MFF-SPT) and the Auditory Impulsivity Task (AIT), 2 match-to-sample tasks designed to measure cognitive style, to 81 4th graders. A moderate negative correlation was found between errors and latencies on the AIT, thus indicating that longer latency did not always result in better performance. A high negative correlation was found on the MFF-SPT. 55% of the Ss maintained their classification as reflective, impulsive, fast–accurate, or slow–inaccurate across the 2 modalities, providing evidence that the 2 tasks were measuring somewhat different abilities. Ss employed the same search strategy in both modalities. It is suggested that auditory cognitive style be investigated for relationships with reading ability. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)