The influence of facial masking and sex on older adults’ impressions of individuals with Parkinson’s disease.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) involves facial masking, which may impair social interaction. Older adult observers who viewed segments of videotaped interviews of individuals with PD expressed less interest in relationships with women with higher masking and judged them as less supportive. Masking did not affect ratings of men in these domains, possibly because higher masking violates gender norms for expressivity in women but not in men. Observers formed less accurate ratings of the social supportiveness and social strain of women than men, and higher masking decreased accuracy for ratings of strain. Results suggest that some of the problems with social relationships in PD may be due to inaccurate impressions and reduced desire to interact with individuals with higher masking, especially women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The benefits and costs of repeated testing on the learning of face–name pairs in healthy older adults.

We compared the benefits of repeated testing and repeated study on cued recall of unfamiliar face–name pairs in healthy middle-aged and older adults. We extended Karpicke and Roediger's (2008) paradigm to compare the effects of repeated study versus repeated testing after each face–name pair was correctly recalled once. The results from Experiment 1, which provided no feedback during the acquisition phase, yielded a crossover interaction: Middle-aged adults showed the expected benefit of repeated testing, whereas older adults produced a benefit of repeated study. When participants were given feedback in Experiment 2, both middle-aged and older adults benefited from repeated testing. We suggest that for face–name pairs, feedback may be particularly important for individuals who have relatively poor memory to produce benefits from repeated testing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Do young and older adults rely on different processes in source memory tasks? A neuropsychological study.

Source memory has consistently been associated with prefrontal function in both normal and clinical populations. Nevertheless, the exact contribution of this brain region to source memory remains uncertain, and evidence suggests that processes used by young and older adults may differ. The authors explored the extent to which scores on composite measures of neuropsychological tests of frontal and medial temporal function differentially predicted the performance of young and older adults on source memory tasks. Results indicated that a frontal composite measure, consistently associated with source memory performance in older adults, was unrelated to source memory in young adults, although it was sensitive to a demanding working memory task. The memory composite score, however, predicted performance in the young group. In addition, item and source memory were correlated in young but not older people. Findings are discussed in terms of age-related differences in working memory and executive functions, and differential binding processes necessary for item and source memory. The requirement to integrate item and source information at encoding appears to place greater demands on executive or working memory processes in older adults than in younger adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of a looker’s past reliability on infants’ reasoning about beliefs.

We investigated whether 16-month-old infants’ past experience with a person’s gaze reliability influences their expectation about the person’s ability to form beliefs. Infants were first administered a search task in which they observed an experimenter show excitement while looking inside a box that either contained a toy (reliable looker condition) or was empty (unreliable looker condition). The infants were then administered a true belief task in which they watched as the same experimenter hid a toy in 1 of 2 locations. In the test trial, the infants witnessed the experimenter search for the toy in a location that was consistent or inconsistent with her belief about the toy’s location. Results for the true belief task indicated that only the infants in the reliable looker condition looked longer at the incongruent than at the congruent search behavior. These findings are consistent with evidence suggesting that infants encode the identity of agents based on past reliability and implicitly attribute beliefs to others during the 2nd year of life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Memory for age–face associations in younger and older adults: The role of generation and schematic support.

Memory for ages of unfamiliar faces was examined in an associative memory task to determine whether generation as well as schematic support (cues from faces) would enhance later cued recall of the age information and reduce older adults' associative deficit. Participants studied faces and were either presented with the age or first had to guess before being shown the correct age. Later, participants were given a cued-recall test. Both younger and older adults exhibited associative memory enhancements from first generating the ages at encoding (a generation effect) despite the fact the initial generation was often inaccurate. Although older adults recalled fewer ages overall compared with younger adults, older adults were able to remember the age information for older faces equally as well as younger adults. However, when errors committed during generation were large and when schematic support was not available to support encoding and retrieval (when the age information was inconsistent given the cues from the face), generating was no longer beneficial for either older or younger adults. Thus, although older adults display an associative deficit when remembering specific age–face associations, this can be reduced through the use of prior knowledge and generation at encoding. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The drug–crime nexus in a community sample of adults.

The authors tested several theories using prospective data to explain the associations between drug abuse and crime in a community sample of 470 adults. Polydrug problems in early adulthood predicted both criminal behavior and polydrug problems in adulthood. Consequences of drug problems as a young adult included arrests and convictions for drug-related offenses, property damage, and driving under the influence of other drugs. Predictors of later polydrug problems included thefts, driving under the influence of alcohol and other drugs, arrests and convictions for drug-related offenses, and a lack of support for drug problems. Theoretical implications of these findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developmental and individual differences in young children’s use and maintenance of a selective memory strategy.

Children who were 4 to 8 years of age were asked to perform a sort-recall task where only half of the items had to be studied and remembered. Following a baseline trial, children were assigned to 1 of 3 groups and were prompted to use either a sorting or a clustering strategy (experimental groups) or were not prompted at all (control group). Children were seen 2 weeks later and given a new set of items for the transfer-of-training sort–recall phases. Levels of recall and strategy use (sorting, clustering, multiple strategy use) were higher for older children, typical items, sorting prompts, and trials with repeated presentations of test materials. Older children used more strategies than younger children, although even 4-year-olds used more than one strategy when performing the memory tasks. Results of multivariate cluster analyses revealed systematic individual differences, separating low performers from production-deficient children and high performers. Overall, findings show that clustering appears to be an early developing, but less effective strategy, with multiple-strategy use and especially sorting being used more frequently and effectively by older children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intraindividual variability in positive and negative affect over 45 days: Do older adults fluctuate less than young adults?

Opposing scenarios about age-related increases and decreases in intraindividual variability are found in the literature: Whereas accumulating evidence indicates that cognitive functioning is characterized by an age-related increase of short-term variability, age-related decreases in variability could be expected in affective states on the basis of theories of emotion regulation and self development. We examined age differences in intraindividual variability of positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) and in contingencies among daily affect, daily stress, and daily events using up to 45 daily assessments of 18 young (20–30 years) and 19 older (70–80 years) adults. Whereas age groups differed little in average affect levels, older adults showed significantly less variability in PA and NA than young adults. Age differences accounted for greater variance in variability than personality factors. Multilevel modeling indicated that for young but not older adults, PA was higher (lower) on days with a positive (negative) event, and NA was lower on days with a positive event. There were no age differences in daily affect reactivity to appraised stress severity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Older adults’ recognition of bodily and auditory expressions of emotion.

This study compared young and older adults’ ability to recognize bodily and auditory expressions of emotion and to match bodily and facial expressions to vocal expressions. Using emotion discrimination and matching techniques, participants assessed emotion in voices (Experiment 1), point-light displays (Experiment 2), and still photos of bodies with faces digitally erased (Experiment 3). Older adults’ were worse at least some of the time in recognition of anger, sadness, fear, and happiness in bodily expressions and of anger in vocal expressions. Compared with young adults, older adults also found it more difficult to match auditory expressions to facial expressions (5 of 6 emotions) and bodily expressions (3 of 6 emotions). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Linking marital conflict and children’s adjustment: The role of young children’s perceptions.

Young children’s (n = 96) perceptions and appraisals of their parents’ marital conflict were evaluated at age 5 and again at age 6. Concurrent reports of marital conflict by each parent and teachers’ reports of children’s classroom adjustment served as criteria against which to evaluate the validity of young children’s perceptions. Children’s perceptions of their parents’ marital relationship were significantly correlated with spouses’ reports at ages 5 and 6, as well as correlated with teacher reports of internalizing and externalizing problems. Consistent with the cognitive–contextual theory, children’s tendency to blame themselves for their parents’ conflict partially mediated the link between marital conflict and children’s internalizing symptoms. In contrast, children’s reports that they become involved in their parents’ conflict partially mediated the effect of marital conflict on externalizing problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influences of APOE ε4 and expertise on performance of older pilots.

Little is known about how APOE ε4-related differences in cognitive performance translate to real-life performance, where training and experience may help to sustain performance. We investigated the influences of APOE ε4 status, expertise (FAA pilot proficiency ratings), and their interaction on longitudinal flight simulator performance. Over a 2-year period, 139 pilots aged 42–69 years were tested annually. APOE ε4 carriers had lower memory performance than noncarriers (p = .019). APOE interacted with Expertise (p = .036), such that the beneficial influence of expertise (p = .013) on longitudinal flight simulator performance was more pronounced for ε4 carriers. Results suggest that relevant training and activity may help sustain middle-aged and older adults' real-world performance, especially among APOE ε4 carriers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of elastic anisotropy on the migration of intergranular liquid films and the precipitation of a liquid phase in a CoCu alloy

When a Co20Cu (wt%) alloy prepared by liquid phase sintering at 1300°C is heat-treated at 1150°C, the intergranular liquid films and grain boundaries migrate, leaving behind a new solid solution with reduced Cu content. The phenomenon is identical to that observed previously in MoNi. The calculated driving force for the migration is almost equal to the coherency strain energy in the solute diffusion zone ahead of the migrating boundaries. The migrating liquid films show faceting with curved planes and edges. Their shape closely resembles the growth shapes predicted on the basis of the coherency strain energy with anisotropic elastic constants. During the heat-treatment, liquid precipitates form within grains and at grain boundaries, and they also show faceting, which is consistent with orientation dependent coherency strain energy in the diffusion zone around the precipitates.     

The effect of aging on hydrogen trapping in ß-titanium alloys

The ingress of hydrogen in three ß-titanium alloys (Beta-C, Ti10V2Fe3Al, and Ti13V11Cr3Al) and an α-ß titanium alloy (Ti6Al4V) was investigated with a view to characterizing their interaction with hydrogen. A technique referred to as hydrogen ingress analysis by potentiostatic pulsing (HIAPP) was used to obtain anodic current transients for the unaged and aged ß-Ti alloys and as-received Ti-6-4 in an acetate buffer (1 mol L⁻¹ HAc/l mol L⁻¹ NaAc, where Ac = acetate). The transients were analyzed using a diffusion/trapping model under interface control conditions to evaluate the trapping constants and hydrogen entry flux in each case. A marked increase in irreversible trapping was observed for the ß-titanium alloys with aging and was attributed to precipitation of secondary α phase. Aging also induced changes in the passive film and hence the hydrogen entry flux. Ti-13-11-3 and Ti-10-2-3 are predicted to become less resistant to hydrogen embrittlement with aging as a result of increases in both the trapping constant (at least for Ti-13-11-3) and the flux. In contrast, the change in resistance of Beta-C Ti with aging is subject to the opposing effects of a reduced flux and an enhanced trapping capability, though the latter appears to have the primary effect, rendering aged Beta-C Ti less resistant to hydrogen embrittlement than the unaged alloy.     

You never lose the ages you’ve been: Affective perspective taking in older adults.

Aging appears to be associated with a growing preference for positive over negative information (Carstensen, Mikels, & Mather, 2006). In this study, we investigated potential awareness of the phenomenon by asking older people to recollect material from the perspective of a young person. Young and older participants listened to stories about 25- and 75-year-old main characters and then were asked to retell the stories from the perspective of the main characters. Older adults used relatively more positive than negative words when retelling from the perspective of a 75- versus 25-year-old. Young adults, however, used comparable numbers of positive and negative words regardless of perspective. These findings contribute to a growing literature that points to developmental gains in the emotion domain. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

What is the shelf life of a test? The effect of time on the psychometrics of a cognitive ability test battery.

The psychometric stability of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery was studied with data collected at 5 points over a 16-year period using item response theory (IRT) methods. Although 25 of the 200 items changed significantly over the years across 3 different gender-ethnic groups (i.e., White men, White women, and Black men), the overall characteristics of the tests were not severely affected by item-level changes. Items from tests that were more semantically laden were found to be more susceptible to the effects of time compared with those that focused on skills and principles. The findings are discussed in the context of the effects of time on the effectiveness of psychological measures. A call is made to test developers and test users to pay attention to the shelf life of their tests. The use of IRT methods for studying the effects of time on psychometrics is also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of residual stresses on the debonding of coatings—II. An experimental study of a thermally sprayed system

Specimens have been produced by plasma spraying of boron carbide coatings about 1 mm in thickness on to titanium alloy substrates about 3 mm thick. The residual stress distributions in these specimens have been calculated using a numerical process model and also estimated from observed changes in curvature on debonding. Good agreement was observed between the two methods, with both suggesting the average substrate stress to be about + 20 MPa and the average coating stress to be about −60 MPa. In both constituents, there was a significant positive gradient of stress level through the thickness. These specimens were loaded in four point bending until cracks propagated along the interface between substrate and coating. From the load/displacement plots obtained during this testing, and taking account of the effect of relaxation of the residual stresses during debonding, the critical strain energy release rates of the interfaces, G_ic, were estimated to be ∼ 0.2–0.5 kJ m⁻². Substantial errors would have resulted from neglect of the presence of the residual stresses. Also of significance is the effect of the residual stresses on the mode mixity of interfacial loading, as characterised by the phase angle, ψ, since G_ic has been often observed to vary with ψ. The value of ψ for the four point bend test in the absence of residual stress is about 47°, whereas for the specimens tested here it was estimated to cover the complete range from 90° (pure shear) to 0° (pure opening) as the applied load was increased. The quoted values of G_ic were obtained in a regime where ψ ∼ 30°.     

Adult attachment security and young adults’ dating relationships over time: Self-reported, observational, and physiological evidence.

This study examined the developmental significance of adult attachment security—as measured by the Adult Attachment Interview—for romantic relationship functioning concurrently and approximately 1 year later in a sample of heterosexual dating couples between the ages of 18 and 25 (115 dyads at Time 1 [T1] and 57 dyads at T2, 74% White). The authors assessed romantic relationship functioning at T1 and T2 using observers’ ratings of emotional tone during a laboratory conflict resolution task and via participants’ self-reports about their relationships, yielding evidence that adult attachment security prospectively predicted the observed and perceived quality of adults’ romantic relationships even after prior levels of interpersonal functioning were controlled. Measures of autonomic responding were also acquired during the interactions, replicating prior evidence that insecurity is concurrently associated with electrodermal reactivity in attachment-relevant contexts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessing symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children and adults: Which is more valid?

The assessment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults has been a source of controversy. The authors tested competing ideas by evaluating familial transmission among adult and nonadult relatives of ADHD children. They analyzed ADHD symptom data collected by structured interviews from the members of 280 ADHD and 242 non-ADHD families. For both past and current symptoms, both the boys' and girls' families showed significantly more familial aggregation for adult relatives than for nonadult relatives. The results were similar for inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive symptoms and for relatives with and without psychiatric comorbidity. The results provide further evidence for the validity of adult ADHD and support the intriguing idea that, from a familial perspective, the assessment of ADHD may be more valid in adults than in children. They do not support the idea that parents of ADHD children are biased to report ADHD symptoms in themselves because of their exposure to an ADHD child. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mothers’ and fathers’ personality and parenting: The mediating role of sense of competence.

This prospective longitudinal study addressed 3 key questions regarding the processes of parenting in a large community sample of mothers (n = 589) and fathers (n = 518). First, the collective impact of parental Big Five personality dimensions on overreactive and warm parenting, assessed 6 years later by adolescents, was examined. Second, mediation of these associations by sense of competence in the parenting role was addressed. Third, it was explored to what extent associations were similar for mothers and fathers. Agreeableness and Extraversion were related to lower levels of overreactivity and higher levels of warmth. Sense of competence completely mediated relations between personality and overreactivity and partially mediated relations between personality and warmth. The associations were found to be similar for mothers and fathers. Overall, sense of competence was shown to be an important mechanism that can explain the link between personality and parenting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Does emotion processing require attention? The effects of fear conditioning and perceptual load.

This study examined the impact of perceptual load on the processing of unattended threat-relevant faces. Participants performed a central letter-classification task while ignoring irrelevant face distractors, which appeared above or below the central task. The face distractors were graded for affective salience by means of aversive fear conditioning, with a conditioned angry face (CS+), an unconditioned angry face (CS?), and a neutral control face. The letter-classification task was presented under conditions of both low and high perceptual load. Results showed that fear conditioned (i.e., CS+) angry face distractors interfered with task performance more than CS? angry or neutral face distractors but that this interference was completely eliminated by high perceptual load. These findings demonstrate that aversively conditioned face distractors capture attention only under conditions of low perceptual load. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)