Developmental progression of looking and reaching performance on the A-not-B task.

From a neuropsychological perspective, the cognitive skills of working memory, inhibition, and attention and the maturation of the frontal lobe are requisites for successful A-not-B performance on both the looking and reaching versions of the task. This study used a longitudinal design to examine the developmental progression of infants' performance on the looking and reaching versions of the A-not-B task. Twenty infants were tested on both versions of the task once a month from 5 to 10 months of age. Infants had higher object permanence scores on the looking version of the task from 5 to 8 months, with comparable performance across response modalities at 9 and 10 months. The same pattern of performance was found on nonreversal (A) trials: Infants performed better on looking trials from 5 to 7 months, and they performed equally on both response trials from 8 to 10 months. Overall, infants performed better on looking reversal (B) trials than reaching reversal trials. These data suggest that performance differences between response modalities early in development can be attributed to major differences in the maturation of brain circuitry associated with the actual task response. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of error density and set in a vigilance task.

To study ability to detect certain signals while persistently looking for them, 216 students were involved in proofreading tasks. Results were sought pertaining to error detection as a function of error density, false detections at various error levels, influence of previous density on present detection, and false detections after shifts in error density. All vigilance tasks may be subject to decreasing efficiency at extremely high error levels. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

How to correct a task error: Task-switch effects following different types of error correction.

It has been proposed that switch costs in task switching reflect the strengthening of task-related associations and that strengthening is triggered by response execution. The present study tested the hypothesis that only task-related responses are able to trigger strengthening. Effects of task strengthening caused by error corrections were considered. Recent findings suggest that errors lead to erroneous task strengthening, which, however, can be reversed by immediate error correction (Steinhauser & Hübner, 2006). In three experiments, the present study examined whether this effect is also obtained when task responses and correction responses share the same response categories but are assigned to different hands or different response modalities (manual vs. vocal). Results indicated that only corrections with the same hand but not corrections with the alternative hand or a different response modality can reverse erroneous task strengthening. These results suggest that only the execution of task-related responses triggers task strengthening, whereas the activation of task-related response categories is not sufficient. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of classification on testing conditional sentences in the context of an empirical task.

An analysis of a disjunctive concept based on 2 binary dimensions reveals that the relationships between the individual stimuli and classification are implicatory; these relationships may be expressed in conditional sentences of the form "if p then q." A 4-phase experiment with 40 students (average age 17 yrs 6 mo) was conducted to determine the effect on testing the truth value of conditional sentences of (a) prior experience in classifying the instances of the conditional, and (b) knowledge that such classifications would be of empirical value in a subsequent concept learning task. Phase I involved classifying individual stimuli for a subsequent concept learning problem; Phase II was the problem itself; Phase III was testing the truth value of 4 conditional sentences which, depending on whether they were true or false, described respectively the implicatory or tautologous relationships inherent in a concept learning task that followed (Phase IV). It is concluded that both prior experience with classifying the components of an implicatory rule and knowledge of the empirical relevance of such classifications to a subsequent task were necessary to the emergence of logical reasoning in the Phase III selection task. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adults' demonstration of underlying Euclidean concepts in relation to task context.

In studies in which Piagetian water-level (horizontality) and plumb-line (verticality) tasks are administered to young adults, females are typically less successful than males. Women may, however, have the underlying spatial competence to use horizontal and vertical axes, but they may be less likely to activate this competence because they lack adequate knowledge of the relevant physical phenomena. To evaluate this possibility, 80 male and 80 female undergraduates were given horizontality and verticality tasks in which knowledge of the physical phenomena was or was not relevant. Results show that sex differences were evident only when knowledge of the physical phenomena was needed. These data support a performance rather than a competence interpretation of adult women's difficulties in the standard Piagetian tasks. Developmental and educational implications are discussed. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship between organizational context and job analysis task ratings.

This research examined whether differences among job incumbents in their task ratings could be attributed to systematic as well as random variation. Data collected from 83 respondents showed that there was a significant degree of interrater agreement regarding task importance but not for ratings of task time spent. Moreover, measures of job context were significantly correlated with ratings of time spent but not task importance. These results suggest that within-job variation among raters can have both systematic and random components. Thus, practitioners should collect data on the job context as well as on incumbents' demographic characteristics and experience. Personnel practices based on task analyses may need to be examined to ensure that they are compatible with local variation in the job. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Knowing and Not Knowing About Trauma: Implications for Therapy.

Levels of awareness for trauma and their consequences for research, treatment, and prevention within professional psychology and society are considered. When people must endure chronically traumatic environments, it may be adaptive to isolate from awareness information that would produce cognitive dissonance and threaten necessary relationships. Unawareness may also facilitate functioning in environments that invalidate the prevalence and impact of trauma. In addition, characteristics of the posttraumatic environment can promote or impede individuals' awareness of trauma and their psychological functioning. Though often initially adaptive, unawareness for trauma is linked to intergenerational transmission of trauma and its effects and may preclude public and professional attention to trauma treatment and prevention. Understanding the processes through which individuals become unaware or aware of traumatic experience is therefore essential to conducting effective psychotherapy with trauma survivors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A test of the context dependency of three causal models of halo rater error.

C. E. Lance et al (see record 1994-17452-001) tested 3 different causal models of halo rater error (general impression [GI], salient dimension [SD], and inadequate discrimination [ID] models) and found that the GI model better accounted for observed halo rating error than did the SD or ID models. It was also suggested that the type of halo rater error that occurs might vary as a function of rating context. The purpose of this study was to determine whether rating contexts could be manipulated that favored the operation of each of these 3 halo-error models. Results indicate, however, that GI halo error occurred in spite of experimental conditions designed specifically to induce other forms of halo rater error. This suggests that halo rater error is a unitary phenomenon that should be defined as the influence of a rater's general impression on ratings of specific ratee qualities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The psychology of working: The clinical context.

Vocational psychology increasingly has identified the centrality of work in people's lives. Yet in clinical practice, vocational and personal issues do not always receive equivalent attention, with vocational concerns often being overlooked. With a case study, the author illustrates several factors that can serve as barriers to the successful integration of work and personal concerns. The benefits of integration are then offered, along with strategies that have been proposed to more effectively address both work and personal issues. The author concludes with specific recommendations for integrating work and personal issues in psychological practice, as well as recommendations for training. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The dynamics of reciprocal sibling interaction: Are context and maternal behaviour important?

Dyadic behaviors characterizing sibling exchanges, symmetry of dyadic styles and the influence of context (degree of task structure and maternal absence or presence) on sibling interaction were investigated. Additionally, associations between maternal interaction styles and the affective quality of the sibling relationship were examined. Twenty-six sibling pairs and their mothers participated in 3 play sessions. First born siblings were aged 5.3–7.1 yrs and second born siblings were aged 3.2–3.8 yrs. Findings reveal reciprocity within dyads for cooperative and rivalrous behaviors. Balanced and unbalanced patterns of sibling interaction were identified. Task structure did not influence sibling interaction (holding maternal presence constant). Maternal presence or absence was associated with a quantitative and qualitative change in sibling interaction. Maternal styles (attentive responsiveness, active engagement, praise) were differentially related to the quality of the sibling interaction in maternal presence versus absence. The sibling dyad is discussed as an important context for learning about the dynamics of social relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Speed limits: Orientation and semantic context interactions constrain natural scene discrimination dynamics.

The visual system rapidly extracts information about objects from the cluttered natural environment. In 5 experiments, the authors quantified the influence of orientation and semantics on the classification speed of objects in natural scenes, particularly with regard to object-context interactions. Natural scene photographs were presented in an object-discrimination task and pattern masked with various scene-to-mask stimulus-onset asynchronies (SOAs). Full psychometric functions and reaction times (RTs) were measured. The authors found that (a) rotating the full scenes increased threshold SOA at intermediate rotation angles but not for inversion; (b) rotating object or context degraded classification performance in a similar manner; (c) semantically congruent contexts had negligible facilitatory effects on object classification compared with meaningless baseline contexts with a matching contrast structure, but incongruent contexts severely degraded performance; (d) any object-context incongruence (orientation or semantic) increased RTs at longer SOAs, indicating dependent processing of object and context; and (e) facilitatory effects of context emerged only when the context shortly preceded the object. The authors conclude that the effects of natural scene context on object classification are primarily inhibitory and discuss possible reasons. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Knowing your place: Self-perceptions of status in face-to-face groups.

Status is the prominence, respect, and influence individuals enjoy in the eyes of others. Theories of positive illusions suggest that individuals form overly positive perceptions of their status in face-to-face groups. In contrast, the authors argue that individuals' perceptions of their status are highly accurate--that is, they closely match the group's perception of their status--because forming overly positive status self-perceptions can damage individuals' acceptance in a group. Therefore, the authors further argue that individuals are likely to refrain from status self-enhancement to maintain their belongingness in a group. Support for their hypotheses was found in 2 studies of status in face-to-face groups, using a social relations model approach (D. A. Kenny & L. La Voie, 1984). Individuals showed high accuracy in perceiving their status and even erred on the side of being overly humble. Moreover, enhancement in status self-perceptions was associated with lower levels of social acceptance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Improving the reliability of eyewitness identification: Putting context into context.

We examined the effects of context reinstatement procedures on eyewitness identification accuracy. Subjects were 290 undergraduates who viewed a videotaped reenactment of a liquor store robbery and, in a later session, attempted to identify the robber from a lineup parade. Two types of context reinstatement procedures were examined together with eight encoding, storage, and retrieval variables manipulated within the stimulus videotape and the lineup procedures. Disguise of the robber impaired identification accuracy (pppp?=?.01), and exposure to mug shots (p?=?.05; although in a manner contrary to our expectation). These interactions indicated that lineup context cues improved identification accuracy in the high-similarity, 2-week retention interval, and no mug-shots conditions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The therapeutic context: Preconditions for change in psychotherapy.

Discusses 4 aspects of therapeutic context: therapeutic alliance, client's expectations of change, treatment rationale, and therapeutic impact. To illustrate the central role of the therapeutic context in treatment outcome, a clinical case is discussed in which systematic desensitization was used to treat a choking phobia. Throughout the therapy process, there was minimal client collaboration and the treatment failed to produce any symptom change. However, significant improvement did occur subsequent to an event high in therapeutic impact that provided a plausible treatment rationale to the client, increased the client's expectation of change, and established a therapeutic alliance. This case illustrates the importance of relationship and context in psychotherapeutic change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dissonance reduction in the context of group membership: The role of metaconsistency.

Recent work has established that groups can reduce dissonance by providing consonant cognitions, normative support, or an opportunity to diffuse responsibility for counterattitudinal behavior. Adopting a social identity framework, the current research comprised 2 studies examining metaconsistency, which was proposed to underlie these disparate explanations for the effect of social support. In Study 1 (N = 121), participants performed a counterattitudinal behavior with or without attitude and behavior support. As expected, congruence between the participants’ attitude–behavior consistency and another’s attitude–behavior consistency reduced attitude change. Study 2 (N = 69) replicated the results of Study 1; in addition, metaconsistency influenced participants’ perceptions of their own attitude–behavior consistency. The implications of metaconsistency for other contemporary perspectives of dissonance theory are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relevance of hypnotic susceptibility in the clinical context.

Comments that despite experimental evidence that hypnotic susceptibility is a relatively stable characteristic of the individual, and one that is difficult to modify, clinical investigators tend to see susceptibility as irrelevant to therapeutic outcome. Such investigators view motivational and interpersonal variables as more essential to the therapeutic change. The evidence for the clinical relevance of hypnotizability is sparse and contradictory. Most studies stem from medical hypnosis and indicate that susceptibility plays an important role in the successful treatment of such conditions as clinical pain, warts, and asthma. Two studies are reported that pursue a contrary finding reported by C. Perry and G. Mullen (see record 1976-30394-001), who found that susceptibility was unrelated to the successful treatment of a socially learned behavior (cigarette smoking). Both studies confirmed the earlier finding of a lack of relation. In Study 1, however, stepwise multiple regression analysis located 3 inventory items concerning the motivation of cigarette smokers. The combination of items was found to predict outcome for 67.39% of 46 clients treated either by hypnosis or by rapid smoking. The finding was replicated in Study 2, which utilized a combined hypnosis/rapid smoking technique and employed a different therapist. The outcome for 9 of the 13 quitters and 37 of the 62 nonquitters across the 2 studies could be predicted by the 3 motivational questionnaire variables. (59 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The target of task switching.

Task switching involves processing target stimuli in accordance with a frequently changing series of tasks. An outstanding issue is whether this processing is tailored to the perceptual or categorical representation of targets. To address this issue, the authors compared switch costs in responding to targets that were perceptually distinct (words and images) but associated with the same categories (colors and shapes). In four experiments that varied the degree to which words and images were mixed together, no differences in switch costs were observed. These results support the idea that categorical target representations are central to task switching. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship of task success to task liking and satisfaction.

4 laboratory experiments are reported which examine the relationship between degree of task success and degree of liking for and satisfaction with the task. A number of different tasks, measures, and situations were used. In all cases there was clear evidence for a significant (positive) linear relationship between success and measures of liking and satisfaction. The major reasons given for liking a task involved attributes of the individual's performance (e.g., improvement); reasons given for not liking a task most often involved attributes other than individual performance (e.g., the monotony of the task). (18 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Improving everyday error detection, one picture at a time: A performance-based study of everyday task training.

Objective: Research suggests that dementia patients detect fewer action errors than age-matched controls; however, little is known about the derivation of their error-monitoring difficulties. The aims of the study are to evaluate a novel, task-training action intervention (TT-NAT) designed to increase error monitoring in dementia patients and to pinpoint the relation between error monitoring and neuropsychological processes. Method: Participants (n = 45) with dementia were administered the Standard NAT, a performance-based test requiring completion of three everyday tasks. A second group (n = 42) was administered the TT-NAT, which includes a brief training session prior to the commencement of each task. All participants were compared on the following variables: total errors, proportion of errors detected, and proportion of errors corrected. Correlations between error-monitoring variables and neuropsychological tests of executive functioning and language were performed. Results: TT-NAT participants produced fewer total errors and detected significantly more errors than Standard NAT participants (z = 3.0; t = 3.36; p     

The self-serving bias in relational context.

This article examined the impact of relationship closeness on the self-serving bias (SSB). Members of relationally distant dyads working on interdependent-outcomes tasks manifested the SSB: They took credit for dyadic success but blamed the partner for dyadic failure. However, members of relationally close dyads did not manifest the SSB: They did not take more credit than their partner for dyadic success and did not blame the partner more than the self for dyadic failure. This gracious attributional pattern of relationally close dyed members is due, at least in part, to formation of a favorable impression of the partner. Relationship closeness acts as a bound to an individual's self-enhancing tendencies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)