The relations of temperament reactivity and effortful control to children’s adjustment problems in China and the United States.

The relations of parents’ and teachers’ reports of temperament anger–irritability, positive emotionality, and effortful control (attention focusing and inhibitory control) to children’s externalizing and internalizing problems were examined in Chinese (N = 382) and U.S. (N = 322) samples of school-age children. Results suggested that in both cultures, low effortful control and high anger–irritability were associated with high externalizing problems, although the relations were stronger in the Chinese sample than in the U.S. sample. Low positive emotionality was associated with high internalizing problems in both cultures. However, high positive emotionality was associated with noncomorbid externalizing problems (teachers’ reports) in the Chinese sample but not in the U.S. sample. These findings suggest that there are considerable cross-cultural similarities in the temperament–adjustment associations, although some cross-cultural differences might exist. Implications of the findings for the detection and intervention of adjustment problems in Chinese children are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The selective effects of alcohol on automatic and effortful memory processes.

Automatic and effortful memory processes were evaluated in a 2-session, within-subjects design involving an alcohol challenge and a no-alcohol condition. Free recall of a 90-word list measured effortful processing. Estimation of word frequency from the same list measured automatic processing. Acute intoxication was hypothesized to diminish effortful but not automatic memory processes. Healthy, male volunteers (n?=?36) completed the 2 conditions 1 week apart. Presentation frequency influenced both free recall and frequency estimation, with both measures increasing as presentation frequency increased. Free recall was significantly lower in the alcohol than in the no-alcohol condition, but frequency estimation was not differentially affected. The data showed that an alcohol challenge dissociated automatic and effortful memory processes in volunteers. The authors discuss potential neurobiological substrates that may account for alcohol's selective disruption of effortful, verbal, episodic memory processing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Automatic and effortful processes in auditory memory reflected by event-related potentials. Age-related findings

The structures of the N-linked sugar chains in the PAS-6 glycoprotein (PAS-6) from the bovine milk fat globule membrane were determined. The sugar chains were liberated from PAS-6 by hydrazinolysis, and the pyridylaminated sugar chains were separated into a neutral (6N) and two acidic chains (6M and 6D), the acidic sugar chains then being converted to neutral sugar chains (6MN and 6DN). 6N was separated into two neutral fractions (6N13 and 6N5.5), while 6MN and 6DN each gave a single fraction (6MN13 and 6DN13). The structure of 6N5.5, which was the major sugar chain in PAS-6, is proposed to be Man alpha1 --> 6 (Man alpha1 --> 3) Man beta1 --> 4GlcNAc beta1 --> 4GlcNAc-PA; 6N13, 6MN13 and 6DN13 are proposed to be Gal beta1 --> 3Gal beta1 --> 4GlcNAc beta1 --> 2Man alpha1 --> 6 (Gal beta1 --> 3Gal beta1 --> 4GlcNAc beta1 --> 2Man alpha1 --> 3) Man beta1 --> 4GlcNAc beta1 --> 4 (Fuc alpha1 --> 6)GlcNAc-PA; 6M and 6D had 1 or 2 additional NeuAc residues at the non-reducing ends of 6MN13 and 6DN13, respectively.     

Distribution and organization of odontoblast processes in human dentin

The distribution and organization of odontoblast processes in young human dentin was examined with a scanning electron microscope. By applying the HCl-collagenase method, the extracellular matrix of dentin was almost completely removed, thereby exposing the odontoblast processes and their branches to direct observation. The odontoblast processes are located close to the dentinoenamel junction. In the middle and outer zones of dentin the processes bear numerous branches. Some of these appeared to bridge the space between the processes and connect them.     

Spatial organization of electrical processes in the brain: problems and solutions

Theoretical questions of the spatial organization of electrical activity in the brain are discussed in terms of a multilevel realization of the synergetic principle for formation of functional systems underlying behavior and mental function. The role of the spatial-temporal superimposition of coherent structures of biopotentials in generating fields of increased activity in the cerebral cortex is discussed, these being responsible for integrative and associative functions. A hypothesis is proposed regarding the relationship between the energy and information factors of coherent structures as one of the important characteristics describing the efficiency of energy-informational processes. Emphasis is placed on the need for considering not only linear, but also nonlinear associations of biopotentials in considerations of the form and functional sense of their spatial organization.     

Automatic and effortful processing in depression.

Automatic processes require few attentional resources, but effortful processes use attentional capacity. Research on cognitive processing by depressed individuals is reviewed and the following is concluded: (1) Depression interferes with effortful processing. The degree of interference is determined by the degree of effortfulness of the task, the severity of depression, and the valence of the stimulus material to be processed. (2) Depression interferes only minimally with automatic processes. Hypothetical causal mechanisms for interference in effortful processes by depression, whether interference in effortful processing is unique to depression or characteristic of psychopathology in general, and whether negative automatic thoughts are associated with current depression or depression proneness also are addressed. The effortful–automatic perspective has implications for understanding depressive clinical features, treating depression, and conducting future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Imagery, organization, and discriminative processes.

Presents the organization-reintegration hypothesis as an account of the effects of imagery instructions and reviews evidence that supports the account. Assumptions of the account that pertain to encoding, retrieval, and the informational content of memory traces are detailed. These assumptions are tested in the context of experiments conducted by the present author (see record 1980-04639-001), which were concerned with interpersonal communication, memory for categorical material, and the relation between recognition and recall. The hypothesis, although developed in the specific context of imagery research, may be a valuable approach for asking questions of general interest to memory theorists. (French abstract) (63 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Operationalizing Gestalt therapy's processes of experiential organization.

Developed a coding system to operationalize the Gestalt therapy formulation of experiential organization and used the scale to test the assumption that each member of an interacting couple is influenced by concurrent organization of experience processes of the other. 20 couples (at least 1 member was an undergraduate student) who had lived together for at least 6 mo were rated. Findings support the reliability of the procedure, but data do not reflect adequate levels of usage along the full range of the scale. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Opponent processes as a model of neural organization.

The basic principles of opposition and equilibria emerge clearly in the phenomena and data of color vision, and form the basis of models to account for the human color perceptions and psychophysical data. Increasingly, the same principles have become equally evident in detailed analyses of the neurophysiology of the visual system in animal preparations, thus making possible a fruitful interrelation between human-perceptual and neurophysiological issues and findings. By extending the opponent-process model of color vision to include opponent spatial interactions, it is shown that phenomena as diverse as contrast and constancy are both consistent outcomes. The seemingly contradictory phenomena of reverse contrast (assimilation) yield to an analysis of the opponent spatial organization as revealed by electrophysiological data on receptive fields. Different perceptual outcomes (i.e., contrast vs assimilation) are shown to be very strongly dependent on the dimensions of both the pattern of stimulation on the retina and the retinal receptive field sizes relative to that pattern. It is suggested that the concepts of opposition and equilibria may provide the most useful key to the behavior of the nervous system. (47 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The holographic principle of the systemic organization of vital activity processes]

Dedicated to the Centenary of the outstanding Russian physiologist P.K. Anokhin, this article postulates the main principles of the general theory of functional systems. The system-formation role of useful adaptive results forming the functional systems of different levels is underlined. The peculiarities of mechanisms of self-regulation of functional systems, their isomorphism, holographic characteristics and selective inclusion into the functional systems of different organs and tissues are revealed. It is shown that interaction between numerous functional systems that form the whole organism is built on the principles of hierarchy, multiparametric interaction, sequential interaction, systemogenesis, and system quantization of life processes. The interrelation of reflex and functional systems is also considered.     

Encoding processes and memory organization: A model of the von Restorff effect.

The mechanisms underlying the improved recall of isolated events (von Restorff effect) were investigated. Participants studied lists of stimuli containing a physical and a semantic isolate while performing a physical task or a lexical decision task. The physical-task group showed a physical but not a semantic isolation effect (IE) in free recall, whereas the lexical-decision group displayed both types of IEs. The recall of the isolates was independent of that of the other words, and isolates were usually reported separately from other words in the list. Event-related potentials recorded at encoding predicted the recall of both types of isolates. In recognition tests, the IE was obtained only when the encoding context was reinstated. These results are consistent with a model of the IE that stresses the role of the encoding processes immediately following the presentation of distinctive events, and that postulates interactions between these processes and subsequent elaboration of the stimuli. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parenting, coparenting, and effortful control in preschoolers.

This study investigated the relations among parenting, coparenting, and effortful control in preschoolers. The sample included 89 families with 2 parents and their firstborn 36-month-old children. Information was obtained by means of observation and parent-report questionnaires. In general, maternal parenting, paternal parenting, and coparenting were related to effortful control. Effortful control was more strongly predicted from parenting and coparenting when the same measurement method (observation or parent reports) was used. For both observation and parent reports, coparenting contributed to effortful control over and above maternal and paternal parenting. The results indicate the importance of adding indicators of triadic family processes to the study of parenting and young children's effortful control. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Figure-ground organization and object recognition processes: An interactive account.

Traditional bottom-up models of visual processing assume that figure-ground organization precedes object recognition. This assumption seems logically necessary: How can object recognition occur before a region is labeled as figure? However, some behavioral studies find that familiar regions are more likely to be labeled figure than less familiar regions, a problematic finding for bottom-up models. An interactive account is proposed in which figure-ground processes receive top-down input from object representations in a hierarchical system. A graded, interactive computational model is presented that accounts for behavioral results in which familiarity effects are found. The interactive model offers an alternative conception of visual processing to bottom-up models. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Three types of shyness in Chinese children and the relation to effortful control.

Two studies were conducted to further differentiate 3 forms of shyness previously identified in Chinese children—shyness toward strangers, anxious shyness, and regulated shyness—by examining the relation of the 3 forms of shyness to children’s inhibited behavior, physiological reactivity (measured by heart period [HP]), and effortful control. In Study 1 (N = 237; M age = 9.17 years), the authors examined the 3 forms of shyness in relation to children’s inhibited behavior and HP assessed in 3 conditions: at baseline, during a stranger encounter, and in a card-sorting task with social evaluative cues. Results of confirmatory factor analyses provided support for a 3-factor model of shyness. Shyness toward strangers was associated with children’s inhibition (positively) and HP (negatively) in the stranger encounter and children’s HP (negatively) in the card-sorting session, whereas anxious shyness was related to children’s inhibition (positively) and HP (negatively) in the card-sorting session. Regulated shyness was not associated with children’s inhibition in any session but was negatively related to HP in the stranger encounter session. In Study 2 (N = 208; M age = 6.57 years), the authors examined children’s shyness toward strangers and effortful control at age 6 years in relation to anxious and regulated shyness 2 years later. Results showed shyness toward strangers was related to regulated shyness among children with high or moderate effortful control, and shyness toward strangers was related to anxious shyness among children with low or moderate effortful control. Findings support a multidimensional view of shyness in Chinese children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aging, hearing acuity, and the attentional costs of effortful listening.

A dual-task interference paradigm was used to investigate the effect of perceptual effort on recall of spoken word lists by young and older adults with good hearing and with mild-to-moderate hearing loss. In addition to poorer recall accuracy, listeners with hearing loss, especially older adults, showed larger secondary task costs while recalling the word lists even though the stimuli were presented at a sound intensity that allowed correct word identification. Findings support the hypothesis that extra effort at the sensory–perceptual level attendant to hearing loss has negative consequences to downstream recall, an effect that may be further magnified with increased age. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A neuronal model of a global workspace in effortful cognitive tasks

A minimal hypothesis is proposed concerning the brain processes underlying effortful tasks. It distinguishes two main computational spaces: a unique global workspace composed of distributed and heavily interconnected neurons with long-range axons, and a set of specialized and modular perceptual, motor, memory, evaluative, and attentional processors. Workspace neurons are mobilized in effortful tasks for which the specialized processors do not suffice. They selectively mobilize or suppress, through descending connections, the contribution of specific processor neurons. In the course of task performance, workspace neurons become spontaneously coactivated, forming discrete though variable spatio-temporal patterns subject to modulation by vigilance signals and to selection by reward signals. A computer simulation of the Stroop task shows workspace activation to increase during acquisition of a novel task, effortful execution, and after errors. We outline predictions for spatio-temporal activation patterns during brain imaging, particularly about the contribution of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate to the workspace.     

Cardiovascular responses during effortful active coping and acute experience of anger in women

This study addresses the question of whether effortful active coping and anger provocation add in their effects on cardiovascular responses. Heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) responses of 64 female students were collected during an active versus nonactive coping task with and without provocation. After a baseline period, women did mental arithmetic (active coping) or read numbers aloud (nonactive coping). Half of each group was then additionally provoked. Ratings of the emotional states (Positive and Negative Affect Scale) indicate that provocation led to an increase in anger, but not in fear or negative or positive affect. Effortful active coping and provocation elevated cardiovascular activity. Although active coping enhanced all cardiovascular variables, provocation particularly affected HR and DBP. The effects of active coping and provocation on HR and DBP but not on SBP were additive and probably were produced by different physiological mechanisms.