"Age-linked declines in retrieving orthographic knowledge: Empirical, practical, and theoretical implications": Correction to MacKay and Abrams (1998).

Reports an error in "Age-linked declines in retrieving orthographic knowledge: Empirical, practical, and theoretical implications" by Donald G. MacKay and Lise Abrams (Psychology and Aging, 1998[Dec], Vol 13[4], 647-662). The article contained an error. In Table 1 on page 652, the values for rated spelling ability at age 20 and at current age were reversed for older and oldest adults. The corrected table is included in the erratum, with values that have been changed in bold. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 1998-11674-011.) This study developed and tested a Transmission Deficit hypothesis of how aging affects retrieval of orthographic knowledge. Young, older, and very old adults heard a tape-recorded series of difficult-to-spell words of high and low frequency, spoken slowly, clearly and repeatedly, and wrote down each word at their own pace. With perceptual errors and vocabulary differences factored out, misspellings increased with aging, especially for high-frequency words. In addition, data from a metamemory questionnaire indicated that the oldest adults were aware of their declining ability to spell. These findings were not due to general slowing, educational factors, hours per week spent reading, writing, or solving crossword puzzles, or age-linked declines in monitoring or detecting self-produced errors. However, the results fit Transmission Deficit predictions, and suggested an age-linked decline in retrieval of orthographic knowledge that resembles age-linked declines in spoken word retrieval observed in many other studies. Practical implications of this age-linked decline for conceptions of normal aging are noted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aging on the input versus output side: Theoretical implications of age-linked asymmetries between detecting versus retrieving orthographic information.

This experiment tested for age-linked asymmetries predicted under Node Structure theory (NST; D.G. MacKay & D. M. Burke, 1990) between detecting versus retrieving orthographic information. Older adults detected that briefly presented words were correctly spelled (e.g., endeavor) or misspelled (e.g., endeavuor) as readily as did young adults. However, they were less able than young adults to retrieve the correctly and incorrectly spelled words that they had seen. These age-linked asymmetries were not due to educational factors, stimulus characteristics, sensory-level factors, task complexity, floor or ceiling effects, general slowing, or cohort-related activities, but they were consistent with NST predictions and with similar asymmetries in a wide range of other studies. By contrast, repetition deficits in detecting and retrieving repeated- versus unrepeated-letter misspellings (e.g., elderdly vs. elderkly) were symmetrical or equivalent in magnitude for young and older adults. Implications for a wide range of theories of cognitive aging and of repetition deficits are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A survey on quantitative microdialysis: theoretical models and practical implications

The relationship between the transthylakoid pH-gradient, delta pH, and the velocity of photophosphorylation, Vp, in thylakoid membranes from spinach was investigated using the local anesthetic amine procaine as inhibitor of delta pH. When delta pH was driven by Photosystem (PS) II+I-dependent electron flow, passing through the cytochrome b6/f complex, inhibition by procaine was accompanied by an increase of ATP formation. It appeared that procaine allowed for values of Vp similar to those in controls (without procaine) at a significantly lower delta pH than in the controls. In contrast, when delta pH was driven by cyclic electron flow around PS I or by PS-II+I-dependent electron flow via a bypass around the cytochrome b6/f complex, or by PS II alone, procaine simultaneously caused an inhibition of delta pH and a decrease of ATP formation. Inhibition of delta pH by procaine did not induce an electrical membrane potential gradient that otherwise may have energetically compensated for the observed decline of delta pH. The electron flow capacity was unaffected by procaine. However, inhibition of delta pH did not significantly relax pH-dependent control of electron flux. Procaine accelerated ATP hydrolysis by pre-activated thylakoid ATPase to rates which were observed in the presence of uncouplers and had no direct effect on the activation state of the ATPase. The shift in the relationship between delta pH and Vp towards lower delta pH persisted in thermodynamic equilibrium between the phosphorylation potential and delta pH. The data indicated that the unconventional effect of procaine on photophosphorylation may be related to effects on proton translocation at the cytochrome b6/f complex and that a localized protonic coupling may occur between cytochrome b6/f and thylakoid-ATP-synthase complexes.     

The role of awareness in Pavlovian conditioning: Empirical evidence and theoretical implications.

This article reviews research over the past decade concerning the relationship between Pavlovian conditioning and conscious awareness. The review covers autonomic conditioning, conditioning with subliminal stimuli, eyeblink conditioning, conditioning in amnesia, evaluative conditioning, and conditioning under anesthesia. The bulk of the evidence is consistent with the position that awareness is necessary but not sufficient for conditioned performance, although studies suggestive of conditioning without awareness are identified as worthy of further investigation. Many studies have used inadequate measures of awareness, and strategies for increasing validity and sensitivity are discussed. It is concluded that conditioning may depend on the operation of a propositional system associated with consciousness rather than a separate, lower level system. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The beginnings of orthographic knowledge: Children's knowledge of double letters in words.

Three experiments were carried out to examine the development of knowledge about double letters. Children and adults chose items they thought looked most word-like from pairs of nonwords. First graders chose nonwords with final doublets (e.g., baff) and allowable doublets (e.g., yill) as more word-like than nonwords with initial doublets (e.g., bbaf) or unallowable doublets (e.g., yihh). Children in late kindergarten chose final-doublet nonwords (e.g., pess) more often than initial-doublet nonwords (e.g., ppes), but performed at chance when choosing between items such as jull and jukk . The same children in 1st grade chose jull more often than jukk even though their own spellings were semiphonetic and phonetic according to stage theories of spelling development. Only participants in the 6th grade and above knew the correspondence between a medial doublet and a preceding short vowel (e.g., tebbif). The results suggest that even young writers know about simple orthographic patterns. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal aggression and the Type A coronary-prone behavior pattern: A theoretical distinction and practical implications.

In Study 1, 85 male undergraduates were classified as Type A (coronary prone) or Type B (noncoronary prone) on the basis of scores on the Jenkins Activity Survey. Ss participated in a version of A. H. Buss's (1961) teacher–learner procedure that allowed the isolation of hostile from instrumental acts. Results indicate that a prior task frustration produced greater aggression by Type A's than Type B's, but only under conditions where the aggressive act could not affect a confederate's immediate performance (i.e., hostile aggression). Study 2 examined the representation of Type A's and Type B's among 20 women in treatment for child abuse, 20 women who were victims of spouse abuse, and 20 control women. Findings show that Type A's were more likely than Type B's to exhibit the extreme hostility found in child abuse. Both studies suggest that a lack of control may underlie the greater aggression displayed by Type A's and Type B's. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Imprinting: Empirical basis and theoretical significance.

What are the effects of very early experience of the neonate animal? This is the problem called "imprinting." The present paper, after reviewing the literature, emphasizes the effect of "anxiety" upon imprinting. The author states that much of additional data is needed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Biofeedback as therapy: Some theoretical and practical issues.

Gives examples of the use of biofeedback in individual therapy from basic research on self-regulation of blood pressure and heart rate and from clinical research on essential hypertension and Raynaud's disease. Patient motivation is a critical variable, since its absence may hamper long-term success in therapy, as indicated by case histories. The use of cognitive and somatic mediators as an aid to self-regulation, both with and without feedback, is illustrated. It is concluded that biofeedback, in conjunction with other medical and psychological techniques, may prove effective for a selected group of motivated patients having acute rather than chronic organ damage. A combined behavioral-biological model, emphasizing (a) the natural relations between responses; (b) the exact manner in which the feedback and reward is given; and (c) biological, cognitive, and environmental constraints, is offered as a potential means of predicting whether biofeedback training will be clinically significant for a given patient. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impact of the introduction of television on crime in the United States: Empirical findings and theoretical implications.

Examined the causal impact of the introduction of TV on FBI indicators of violent crime, burglary, auto theft, and larceny, using an interrupted time-series design with switching replications. No consistent effect of TV's introduction was observed for violent crimes, burglary, or auto theft. However, the introduction of TV was consistently associated with increases in larceny, irrespective of whether it was introduced in 1951 or 1955, or whether state- or city-level data were examined. Analyses of the early content of TV indicate that the advertising of consumption goods was high, that upper- and middle-class lifestyles were overwhelmingly portrayed, and that larceny was portrayed much less often than crimes of violence. The effect of TV on larceny is therefore attributed to factors associated with viewing high levels of consumption, such as relative deprivation and frustration, rather than to factors associated with the social learning of larceny through viewing it on TV. (49 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Lesbian families: Clinical issues and theoretical implications.

Examines the influence of lesbian family structure on parenting within the context of both psychodynamic and family systems theories by providing a review of the literature, as well as information based on the author's clinical work with lesbians and their families. The uniqueness of the lesbian family is considered, and the varieties of lesbian family structure are outlined (e.g., blended, single parent, couples having children together, donors, and noncustodial fathers). The impact of parenting is discussed in terms of common issues in lesbian distance and boundary regulation, power/equality, shared parenting, relationships with extended families, lesbian friendship networks, and issues unique to lesbian "divorce." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Empirical issues in theoretical psychology: Comment on Kukla.

It is far from clear that A. Kukla's (see record 1989-24526-001) vision of a discipline concerned with the rigorous development and analysis of psychological theory could be realized in a completely nonempirical theoretical psychology. This issue is discussed in terms of Kukla's treatment of artificial intelligence and his call for the development of theoretical and empirical psychology as distinct disciplines. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Electrical self-stimulation and its theoretical implications.

Evidence from electrical self-stimulation experiments is reviewed in the light of Deutsch's structural theory of behavior. The theory accounts for all salient observations; viz., high drive, little or no satiation, rapid extinction, the need for "priming" at the start of a day's trials, the difficulty in creating secondary reinforcers by using electrical stimulation of the brain as a primary reinforcer, the fact that different electrode placements interact with different natural drives, and the separability of the motivation and reinforcement processes. Other theories are briefly reviewed. (46 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Negotiation behavior and outcomes: Empirical evidence and theoretical issues.

This article examines the ability of the individual differences, motivational, and cognitive approaches of negotiation to account for empirical research on dyadic negotiation. Investigators have typically focused on objective, economic measures of performance. However, social-psychological measures are important because negotiators often do not have the information necessary to make accurate judgments of the bargaining situation. Negotiators' judgments are biased, and biases are associated with inefficient performance. Personality and individual differences appear to play a minimal role in determining bargaining behavior; their impact may be dampened by several factors, such as homogeneity of S samples, situational constraints, and self-selection processes. Motivational and cognitive models provide compelling accounts of negotiation behavior. A psychological theory of negotiation should begin at the level of the individual negotiator and should integrate features of motivational and cognitive models. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rhyming ability, phoneme identity, letter–sound knowledge, and the use of orthographic analogy by prereaders.

Two current models of the use of orthographic analogy claim that (a) beginning readers can make orthographic analogies based on rhyming and (b) considerable experience recoding individual letter sequences involving phonemes is a prerequisite. The study tested the first model and had implications for the second model. Rhyming, phoneme identity, letter–sound knowledge, and vocabulary were measured in 66 prereaders with a mean age of 5 years 8 months. Children then received teaching that varied experience with onset and rime and with words with the spelling intact or segmented. The study produced evidence that children with high-prereading skills can make orthographic analogies when beginning to read. However, final phoneme identity, not rhyming, was the best discriminatory between children who read analogy test words and those who did not. The evidence supports a synthesis of the two models. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dose-response relationships for the antipsychotic effects and Parkinsonian side-effects of typical neuroleptic drugs: practical and theoretical implications

1. From a review of published literature it is concluded that the minimum dose of a neuroleptic drug (NLD) required to alleviate psychosis is very similar to that producing minimal parkinsonian side effects (PSE). This conclusion is reached both from group comparisons and individual comparisons of dose/response relations (DRR) for the two effects. 2. A lower dose of NLD is usually sufficient to prevent relapse in well stabilized patients than is needed to check an active psychotic state. 3. Anticholinergic agents used to reduce side effects of typical NLD can retard the therapeutic process during neuroleptic treatment of acute psychosis. Although it is not fully established that this is a central interaction, it is consistent with the idea that minimal side effects are a necessary condition for therapeutic effectiveness with typical antipsychotic drugs. 4. In relapse-free maintenance of psychosis-prone patients, tolerance occurs to PSE. Thus few patients need experience prolonged side effects during maintenance treatment with neuroleptics. 5. The evidence reviewed is discussed with respect to a previous hypothesis of the supposedly "indirect" action of typical neuroleptic drugs in therapy for psychosis. The evidence is consistent with the idea of a close causal relation between minimal PSE of these drugs, and their therapeutic effectiveness in the acute stage of treatment.     

Development of young children's phonological and orthographic knowledge as revealed by their spellings.

Investigated the development of young children's phonological and orthographic knowledge by obtaining nonword spellings from a total of 187 children (45 each from kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade, and 52 from 3rd grade). Results indicated that young children's nonword spellings reflect the joint influences of linguistic knowledge (orthographic and phonological) and psychological processes (working memory limitations) and that these influences vary developmentally. Limited working memory constrains the spelling performance of younger children but not that of older children. For younger children, individual differences in phonological awareness and in working memory account for nearly all of the shared variance between spelling and word decoding; for older children, additional factors are also implicated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavioral treatment of childhood obesity: Theoretical and practical implications.

The impressive 10-yr success of behavioral treatment of childhood obesity stands in marked contrast to the disappointing long-term results obtained with obese adults. It may be easier to teach children healthy eating and activity habits. Parents also regulate access to food, thereby reducing the importance of self-control. Whether treatment of childhood obesity affects the later development of an eating disorder is a question that calls for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interrelations of social support measures: Theoretical and practical implications.

To obtain a clearer picture of what constitutes social support, we conducted three studies to compare measures of different conceptions of social support. Relations of these instruments to various personality measures were also investigated. Subdividing the construct into discrete functions did not add to the sensitivity of the indices. Measures of received support and support networks were not strongly related to most of the perceived available support measures. Interview and questionnaire approaches were similar in the information they evoked about close supportive relationships. The results suggest that measures of perceived available support, regardless of the way the instruments attempt to break down the construct, generally assess the extent to which an individual is accepted, loved, and involved in relationships in which communication is open. Psychometric characteristics of the measures were associated with differential sensitivity over the range of supportive relationships. The theoretical implications of the findings are discussed with emphasis on the common core underlying social support indices. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Juror underutilization of eyewitness nonidentifications: Theoretical and practical implications.

Tested the impact of 2 types of nonidentification information (eyewitness testimony and fingerprint evidence) on the perception of guilt. 216 undergraduates simulating the role of jurors were shown cases in which there was (a) a single eyewitness identification, (b) a single eyewitness nonidentification, (c) a single eyewitness control, (d) contradictory testimony, (e) 2 eyewitness identifications, or (f) 2 eyewitness nonidentifications. Three levels of fingerprint information (identification, nonidentification, and control) were factorially combined with the eyewitness factor. Results show that nonidentifications had less impact on perceptions of guilt than identification for both eyewitness testimony and fingerprint evidence. Findings are explained in terms of the general tendency for negative information to carry greater weight than positive information. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Visual, orthographic, phonological, and lexical influences in reading.

The fuzzy logical model of perception (FLMP), used as a framework to analyze phenomena in reading, asserts that there are multiple influences on reading performance. Experiments on the dynamic interaction of letter information and orthographic context are presented. Previous results have supported the FLMP over a variety of interactive activation models. These findings indicated that lateral masking and the time course of processing must be accounted for in the theoretical prediction of letter and word recognition. A new finding is that the word superiority effect is not influenced by the nature of the backward masking stimulus, nor is it diminished with letter and word masks, contrary to the predictions of several extant explanations. The FLMP is extended to account for reaction time in reading. Perceptual recognition, naming, and lexical decision tasks reflect the influence of multiple sources of information. These include orthographic structure, spelling-to-speech correspondences, and word frequency. Reading can be productively analyzed as a prototypical pattern recognition situation in which the reader exploits multiple sources of information in perception and action. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)