Postfailure reflectivity/impulsivity and spontaneous attention to errors.

We tested the idea that paying close attention to errors leads to improved performance on an inference task. We operationalized "attention to errors" as postfailure reflectivity, the ratio of the mean postfailure and post-success latencies on a self-paced inference task, where the interstimulus interval was subject controlled. Subjects were 9-, 10-, 11-, and 12-year-old children (N?=?378). Results reveal that (a) postfailure and reflectives show high cognitive performance during their initial exposure to the inference task; (b) postfailure impulsives have lower scores than postfailure reflectives on IQ, Raven, a test for attentional capacity, an arithmetic test, and teacher's evaluations in percentiles; and (c) "fast" versus "slow thinkers," as defined by J. Kagan's (1966) cognitive style construct, do not form homogeneous groups: fast–accurate children are postfailure reflective, and slow–inaccurate children are postfailure impulsive. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impulsive motor behavior: Effects of personality and goal salience.

This experiment used a circle tracing paradigm to extend our recent theoretical development concerning the contributions of extraversion and neuroticism to impulsive performance on continuous motor tasks. Ss (N?=?137) completed the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 circle conditions: The goal condition provided subjects with a salient behavioral end point for their tracings, whereas the no-goal condition promoted behavioral uncertainty. In both conditions, Ss were asked to trace the circle under neutral and inhibition instructions. Using J. A. Gray's impulsivity and anxiety dimensions to group subjects, impulsive subjects under inhibition instructions displayed significantly faster tracing speed than nonimpulsive subjects in the presence of a salient goal, whereas anxious subjects appeared behaviorally impulsive in a situation promoting uncertainty and response conflict. Conceptualizing impulsivity and anxiety in terms of extraversion and neuroticism, with impulsive Ss as neurotic extraverts and anxious Ss as neurotic-introverts, it is proposed that Ss' level of extraversion determines the type of stimuli to which they are responsive and that level of neuroticism influences the magnitude of this reaction. (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)     

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)     

Enhancement and retardation of discrimination learning in chicks after exposure to the discriminanda.

Used an imprinting procedure to expose groups of Ross domestic chicks (N = 57) to 1 or 2 moving objects on Days 1-5 after hatching for a total of 30 or 100 min. From Day 8-12 Ss were given a discrimination learning task. Ss exposed to 1 of the discriminanda learned the task in fewer trials than Ss exposed to neither. However, Ss that had been exposed to both stimuli took many more trials to reach criterion than Ss that had seen neither in the imprinting situation. (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)     

Thematic productions under hypnotically aroused conflict in age regressed and waking states using the real-simulator design.

Gave 10 hypnotic female Ss and 10 highly susceptible simulating Ss (undergraduates) a cognitive task as well as thematic stimuli using conflict-arousing suggestion. Compared with simulating Ss, hypnotic Ss tended to give more direct drive expression responses, produced greater changes in affective-motivational states (age regressed vs waking) on 1 of the 2 thematic cards, produced more intense emotional reactions in the age-regressed condition, were unable to demonstrate age-appropriate cognitive functioning in the age-regressed condition, and reported more vivid and emotional experiences during the age-regressed condition. The findings taken together support, at least partially, the "altered state" model of hypnosis. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive controls and aggression in children: The concept of cognitive–affective balance.

160 6–15 yr old psychiatric patients (97 males, 63 females) were assigned to high- or low-aggression groups on the basis of their performance on the Miniature Situations Test. The majority of Ss were diagnosed as having attention deficit, conduct, and anxiety disorders; the remaining Ss were diagnosed as having borderline or psychotic disorders. The groups (along with age and sex variables) were compared with 2 tests of the leveling/sharpening cognitive control—one presenting nonaggressive stimuli and the other stimuli that aroused aggressive fantasies/affects. High-aggression Ss showed more cognitive sharpening when managing aggressive stimuli and more leveling with nonaggressive stimuli. A significant interaction with sex was also observed. Findings support the concept of cognitive–affective balance (i.e., the unique manner in which personalities coordinate and meet both the requirements of external stimuli/tasks and those of fantasies/affects). Results are discussed in terms of aggression as a personality characteristic and whether psychosexual identity and sex are syntonic. The concept of cognitive–affective balance is related to other models addressing the relationship between cognition and personality/emotions. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Moral judgments, behaviour and cognitive style in young children.

Assessed level of moral maturity in 2 studies with middle-class 6-7 yr olds (n = 29), middle-class 3-4 yr olds (n = 35), and lower-class 3-4 yr olds (n = 37). For the older Ss, stories were used to elicit judgments about relative goodness or badness. Level of moral maturity was scored on the basis of S's awareness of the intentions of the actor as opposed to his reliance on consequences. For the younger Ss, a group of films depicting similar situations were shown. All Ss were then given a battery of tests (e.g., the Children's Embedded Figures Test) measuring cognitive style and rated by their teachers on behavior and personality items. In 6 yr olds, level of moral maturity was found to relate to the cognitive styles of reflection-impulsivity and field dependence-independence, but not to verbal intelligence. Ss characterized as immature in their moral judgments were more impulsive and field-dependent. Ss with higher-level moral judgments were also rated by their teachers as more attentive and reflective. In preschool samples, Ss highest on moral maturity were rated as less aggressive by their teachers, least impulsive in cognitive style and in the lower-class sample, more field-independent. (French summary) (20 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Integrating information from separable psychological dimensions.

This article examines decision processes in the perception and categorization of stimuli composed of the separable psychological dimensions, orientation and size. The randomization technique (F. G. Ashby and R. Gott; see record 1989-07388-001) of general recognition theory, which allows accurate estimation of a subject's decision boundary in a categorization task, is used in 4 experiments. Even though the stimulus components are clearly separable, it was found that Ss were not constrained to use separable response strategies, nor were they constrained to attend to distance to the prototypes. Instead, they used decision rules that were nearly optimal, even if this required information integration or for the Ss to attend to higher level category properties such as component correlation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Separability and integrality of global and local levels of hierarchical patterns.

Used a constrained classification task to examine the perceptual relations between global and local levels in hierarchical patterns composed of many, relatively small elements and those composed of few, relatively large elements. In 4 experiments, 52 18–35 yr olds made classifications based on form or texture or according to the shape of the configuration or the elements. Results indicate that configural and elemental levels were perceptually separable for many-element patterns when processed as form and texture. Ss could attend to either level without being affected by variation along the irrelevant dimension. However, when the same many-element patterns were processed for global and local shape. Ss could not selectively attend to either level. For few-element patterns, global configuration and local elements appeared to be perceptually integral dimensions. Results are discussed in terms of the global precedence hypothesis and explanations of integral and separable dimensions. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dorsal noradrenergic bundle and selective attention in the rat.

Tested the role for the dorsal noradrenergic bundle (DNB) in selective attention and stimulus filtering in 4 experiments with 138 male Wistar rats. The DNB was damaged by stereotaxically guided injection of 4 μg of the neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA). The latent inhibition effect was blocked by 6-OHDA-induced depletion of forebrain noradrenaline, whereas nonreversal shift performance was better in noradrenaline-depleted Ss than controls. Data indicate that Ss with DNB lesions are impaired in ignoring irrelevant stimuli. In situations in which control Ss did not learn to ignore irrelevant stimuli, no lesion-induced difference was found. Thus, controls and DNB lesioned Ss learned equally about each of 2 dimensions of a multiple-redundant discrimination task. This was assessed both by interpolated trials with only 1 dimension present and by shifts in which only 1 of the previous 2 dimensions remained relevant. It is concluded that the DNB lesion does not increase stimulus sampling globally but that it impairs performance only in those cases in which normal rats learn to ignore irrelevant stimuli. (53 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of conceptual tempo and stimulus characteristics in children's humor development.

143 6-, 8-, and 10-yr-old boys were classified into 1 of 4 conceptual tempo groups (reflective, impulsive, fast-accurate, slow-inaccurate) on the basis of the Matching Familiar Figures Test. Ss then were individually presented with cartoon stimuli varying in cognitive complexity and level of affectivity. The measures of humor were spontaneous mirth, funniness ratings, and humor comprehension. Results indicate that both humor comprehension and appreciation varied as a function of conceptual tempo, with reflective Ss generally displaying the highest comprehension scores and impulsive Ss displaying the greatest spontaneous mirth. Humor comprehension and appreciation also varied as a function of cognitive complexity and affectivity of the cartoons. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting self-efficacy and performance during skill acquisition.

Ss completed 7 trials of a complex computer task that simulated the job of an air traffic controller. Performance was calculated by combining points for the number of planes landed minus penalty points. Throughout the trials, Ss completed questionnaires assessing their self-efficacy goals, expected performance, and the degree to which certain judgments required more or less cognitive processing. The results show that during skill acquisition people report reductions in their cognitive processing for working on the task and for making self-efficacy judgments. Also, on early trials, self-efficacy is a better predictor of performance than are expected score or goals, whereas the reverse is true for later trials. The discussion focuses on understanding motivational processes during skill acquisition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The influence of affect on categorization.

Four studies with 256 undergraduates showed that positive affect, induced in any of 3 ways, influenced categorization of either of 2 types of stimuli—words or colors. As reflected by performance on 2 types of tasks (rating and sorting), Ss in whom positive affect had been induced tended to create and use categories more inclusively than did Ss in a control condition. On one task, they tended to group more stimuli together, and on the other task they tended to rate more low-prototypic exemplars of a category as members of the category. Results are interpreted in terms of an influence of affect on cognitive organization or on processes that might influence cognitive organization. It is suggested that borderline effects of negative affect on categorization, obtained in 2 of the studies, might result from normal people's attempts to cope with negative affect. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Detection of linguistic ambiguity by reflective, impulsive, fast/accurate, and slow/inaccurate children.

Investigated the relation of conceptual tempo to children's detection of linguistic ambiguity. After completing the Matching Familiar Figures Test, 96 4th and 7th graders were classified as reflective, impulsive, fast/accurate, and slow/accurate and were asked to paraphrase the meaning of ambiguous sentences and then to indicate their meaning through a selection of pictures. Results indicate that reflective children were more successful than impulsive and slow/inaccurate children (a) in spontaneous paraphrasing of the multiple meanings of sentences and (b) in detecting the various ambiguities on the picture measure. In contast, on the paraphrase measure, prompting by the examiner to consider alternative meanings for the sentences eliminated differences among conceptual tempo groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Distinguishing between cognitive and somatic trait and state anxiety in children.

Attempted to develop self-report measures of cognitive and somatic trait and state anxiety for children and to evaluate the utility of distinguishing between cognitive and somatic anxiety. 67 4th-grade children anticipated and then performed a mathematics task either in a high- or low-stress condition. While Ss anticipated performing the task, measures of 7 cognitive behaviors were obtained by means of both a "think aloud" procedure and a questionnaire. Results indicate that the trait and state measures of cognitive and somatic anxiety were reliable. The trait measures of cognitive and somatic anxiety were relatively impervious to induced anxiety states. As expected, cognitive trait anxiety but not somatic trait or state anxiety was related to task performance. High cognitive state and/or trait anxiety was associated with more preoccupation and performance denigration as well as taking less of an analytic attitude toward the situation. Somatic trait and state anxiety were associated with preoccupation. Results support the construct validity of the measures developed and the utility of distinguishing between cognitive and somatic anxiety in children. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hypothesis testing and cognitive style in children.

Performed 2 experiments with 109 3rd graders. The 1st experiment investigated the relationship between cognitive style and the hypothesis-testing behavior children use in solving concept attainment problems. Field-independent (FI) and field-dependent (FD) Ss, as assessed by the Children's Embedded Figures Test, were administered concept attainment problems using a blank-trial methodology that closely examines how clearing proceeds. While both groups adopted a hypothesis-testing approach, only the performance of FI Ss coincided with a perfect focusing model. FD Ss did not process information efficiently; there were significant differences in coding, recoding, and retention of information. The 2nd experiment was designed to enhance the information processing of FD Ss by providing various stimulus aids. Consistent focusing was obtained in a treatment condition in which compound stimuli were disembedded into their component parts. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Serial step learning of cognitive sequences.

Tasks that require performing a series of cognitive steps may vary (1) in the goal structures they imply and (2) in the relationships among the inputs and outputs of component steps. In 3 experiments with 190 undergraduate Ss, the authors tested the role of these characteristics in determining the benefits of practicing with a consistent sequence of component steps. When Ss solved simple mathematical equations by using either a hierarchical or a flat goal structure, the results showed a benefit of a consistent sequence in both goal structure conditions. In another experiment, the main manipulation was whether the component steps were cascaded, requiring the output of a step to be used as input to a subsequent step. Results show a greater benefit of a consistent sequence for the cascaded task than for a task that encapsulated each step. Results suggest that knowledge acquired from serial step learning is incorporated in the representation of each component step. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Manipulating subjective expectancy through feedback: A laboratory study of the expectancy–performance relationship.

Investigated the form of the expectancy–performance relationship in a laboratory study of the performance of 132 undergraduates on a simple clerical task. As feedback after each of 8 trials, Ss were told that their performance was better, worse, or borderline. Ss recorded their subjective expectancies before each trial. Over all Ss, feedback condition had no impact on performance; but when 39 Ss whose reported expectancy did not match their assigned feedback were eliminated, a strong expectancy–performance relationship emerged. Ss having intermediate expectancy outperformed those whose expectancy was low or high. Examination of the nonbelievers supported the mediating role of cognitive variables in deciding how hard to work at this task. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)