Age and experience effects in spatial visualization.

Three studies were conducted to investigate effects related to age and experience on measures of spatial visualization ability. All research participants were college-educated men; those in the experienced group were practicing or recently retired architects. The major results of the studies were (a) that increased age was found to be associated with lower levels of performance on several tests of spatial visualization and (b) that this was true both for unselected adults and for adults with extensive spatial visualization experience. These findings seem to suggest that age-related effects in some aspects of cognitive functioning may be independent of experiential influences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Capturing naturally occurring superior performance in the laboratory: Translational research on expert performance.

One of the central challenges to studying highly skilled performance in the laboratory is methodological. It is necessary to develop standardized methods that allow investigators to make experts repeatedly reproduce their superior performance in the laboratory. The recent increase in demand for translational research has raised related issues of how everyday phenomena, such as successful clinical treatments and expert achievement, can be reproduced in the laboratory and how laboratory studies of these phenomena can lead to successful interventions in everyday life. The expert-performance approach was developed as a framework for capturing, analyzing, and accounting for complex acquired skills and adaptations. Performance is initially captured and elicited in the laboratory using tasks representative of core activities in the domain. Process-tracing measures are employed to identify the mechanisms that mediate the reproducibly superior performance. Finally, the factors responsible for the development of the mediating mechanisms are studied by a retrospective analysis of training activities, such as deliberate practice, as well as genetic prerequisites. The principles and mechanisms discovered need then be validated using more traditional longitudinal and experimental designs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of adult age and working memory on reasoning and spatial abilities.

Three predictions were derived from the hypothesis that adult age differences in certain measures of cognitive functioning are attributable to age-related reductions in a processing resource such as working-memory capacity. Each prediction received at least some degree of empirical support in a study involving 120 males ranging between 20 and 79 years of age. First, older adults exhibited greater impairments of performance than did young adults when task complexity increased and more demands were placed on the limited processing resources: second, the magnitudes of these complexity effects were highly correlated across verbal (reasoning) and spatial (paper folding) tasks. Finally, statistical control of an index of a working-memory processing resource attenuated the effects of age on the measures of cognitive performance. It was concluded that further progress in understanding the mechanisms of the relation between age and cognitive functioning will require improved conceptualizations of the nature of working memory or other hypothesized mediating constructs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality, intelligence, and spatial visualization: Correlates of mental rotations test performance.

In the context of a longitudinal study of cognitive and personality development, I examined various correlates of spatial visualization ability, as measured by Vandenberg's Mental Rotations Test, in order to elaborate the meaning of the known sex difference on this factor. Spatial visualization ability in females was correlated with verbal IQ and various aspects of personality. These relations were absent in males. Within each sex, measures of cognitive abilities obtained in childhood predicted spatial visualization ability at age 18. Hypotheses designed to explain the sex difference in spatial visualization must be sensitive to the different implications of this factor in males and females. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An investigation of naturally occurring episodes of self-controlled behaviors.

The naturally occurring (i.e., self-initiated) episode of self-controlled behavior is a common experience that has received little attention from researchers. Through a structured interview procedure, a demographic questionnaire, and a paper-and-pencil test (Rotter's Internal-External Locus of Control Scale), the present study determined those factors and methods that are crucial to successful self-management. 48 male and 48 female college students were interviewed about their attempts to self-control overeating, smoking, studying, or dating; 12 "successful" and 12 "unsuccessful" Ss were interviewed in each problem area. Results indicate the following: (a) Successful self-controllers reported using more techniques for longer periods of time. (b) The use of self-reinforcement procedures was an important discriminant of successful self-management. (c) The methods used by successful self-controllers seemed to vary according to the problem with which they were dealing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of the naturally occurring food mycotoxin ochratoxin A on brain cells in culture

The potential of ochratoxin A (OTA) to damage brain cells was studied by using a three-dimensional cell culture system as model for the developing brain. Aggregating cell cultures of foetal rat telencephalon were tested either during an early developmental period, or during a phase of advanced maturation, over a wide range of OTA concentrations (0.4 nM to 50 microM). By monitoring changes in activities of cell type-specific enzymes (ChAt and GAD, for cholinergic and GABAergic neurones, respectively, GS for astrocytes and CNP for oligodendrocytes), the concentration-dependent toxicity and neurodevelopmental effects of OTA were determined. OTA proved to be highly toxic, since a 10-day treatment at 50 nM caused a general cytotoxicity in both mature and immature cultures. At 10 nM of OTA, cell type-specific effects were observed: in immature cultures, a loss in neuronal and oligodendroglial enzyme activities, and an increase in the activity of the astroglial marker glutamine synthetase were found, Furthermore, at 2 and 10 nM of OTA, a clustering of microglial cells was observed. In mature cultures, OTA was somewhat less potent, but caused a similar pattern of toxic effects. A 24 h-treatment with OTA resulted in a concentration-dependent decrease in protein synthesis, with IC50 values of 25 nM and 33 nM for immature and mature cultures respectively. Acute (24 h) treatment at high OTA concentrations (10 to 50 microM) caused a significant increase in reactive oxygen species formation, as measured by the intracellular oxidation of 2',7'-dichlorofluorescin. These results suggest that OTA has the potential to be a potent toxicant to brain cells, and that its effects at nanomolar concentrations are primarily due to the inhibition of protein synthesis, whereas ROS seem not to be involved in the toxicity mediated by a chronic exposure to OTA at such low concentrations.     

Effects of performance appraisal format, age, and performance level on retirement decisions.

79 college business administration students reviewed completed performance appraisal forms and other personal data and arrived at recommendations with regard to employee retirement. Three independent variables—performance appraisal format (trait scales, behaviorally anchored rating scales, or management by objective reports), employee age (58, 65, or 69 yrs), and performance level (high, medium, or low)—were manipulated. Significant age of employee effects were found, with the 69-yr-old employee receiving the least favorable treatment. Age effects on retirement decisions tended to be very similar regardless of the type of performance appraisal format used. Significant performance effects were also found, and high performers were judged to be fit to continue regardless of age. (5 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of brain injury and age on prospective memory self-rating and performance.

Assessed internal consistency and test–retest reliability of the Prospective Memory Questionnaire (PMQ) developed by R. Hannon et al (1990). PMQ self-ratings of 15 college students (mean age 31.8 yrs) with brain injury were compared with 114 younger and 27 older noninjured adults (mean ages 28.4 and 73.4 yrs, respectively). Internal consistency of the PMQ was .92, and test–retest reliability was .88. Groups differed significantly on only one PMQ subscale. Actual prospective memory performance was significantly worse for Ss with brain injury and older Ss than for younger Ss on 2 of the 3 sets of summary measures. PMQ self-ratings were significantly but weakly correlated with short-term task performance, but not with long-term task performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavioral response to naturally occurring stress in cyclothymia and dysthymia.

Outlines an approach to epidemiologic-type life-stress studies that involves the intensive study of smaller groups of well-defined disordered individuals across the course of the response. On the basis of their previous research, the authors suggest that cyclothymia may be characterized by poor regulation of biologic and behavioral variation and that this condition may be exaggerated by stress. To extend the evidence on poor regulation generated in laboratory studies of cortisol functioning, 31 cyclothyme patients and 24 normal controls (median age 19.3 yrs) were asked to provide daily ratings of moods and events over 28 consecutive days. Data show that Ss with cyclothymia showed prolonged duration of recovery of behavioral levels compared to controls. Findings support a notion of weak inhibitory modulation in certain CNS systems that control biologic and behavioral variables related to affective disorder. It is suggested that the prolonged duration of behavioral change in cyclothymia is unlikely to be the consequence of concurrent depression and that the nature of prolonged recovery to stress in cyclothymia reflects the operation of an endogenous regulatory process, as opposed to a cognitive appraisal bias. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of experience on performance in a replenishable resource trap.

Investigated the finding of R. C. Cass and J. J. Edney (see record 1980-10833-001) and D. M. Messick and C. L. McClelland (see record 1983-32644-001) that individuals perform better than groups in a replenishable resource trap. It was proposed that individuals are superior to groups, in part, because members of large groups are unable to discern the effects of their behavior on the resource pool. To test this idea, 154 undergraduates were given experience with the task prior to managing resources in groups. The independent variables were the type of experience, either group or individual, and group size. As predicted, results show that individual experience improved subsequent group performance more than did group experience. Moreover, the beneficial effects of individual experience were found to increase as group size increased. Future research directions are noted, and implications for research on social dilemmas are discussed. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Applying vocational interest models to naturally occurring occupational perceptions.

The authors examined the structure of naturally occurring occupational perceptions. They first assessed the stability of individuals' perceptions of 18 occupational titles, both across time and 2 samples. They then tested whether J. L. Holland's (1992) spatial model, D. J. Prediger's (1982) dimensional model, or I. Gati's (1979) classificatory model could be identified in the data. Findings are discussed in light of previous research and suggest the marked stability of the occupational perceptual structure as well as support for Gati's (1979) classificatory model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preschoolers' attributions of the situational determinants of others' naturally occurring emotions.

Examined preschoolers' use of situational information in forming attributions about others' naturally occurring, spontaneous emotions. Ss were observed and interviewed about the reasons for other children's naturally occurring emotional reactions as well as about their own strategies for ameliorating others' negative affect. Ss were accurate in identifying the situational determinants of others' real emotions, and their strategies for remediating negative affect in others were consistent with the type and attributional basis of the emotion to be altered. Ss used contextual information in significantly different and meaningful ways across and within emotions. For example, causal explanations for others' emotional reactions were significantly less likely to be focused on the emitter's behavior for anger reactions, whereas they were significantly less likely to be focused on the eliciter's behavior for sad reactions. Results are consistent with the conclusion that preschoolers are responsive to contextual information in formulating judgments about others' spontaneous emotions and are discussed in terms of current research concerning children's emotional behavior and reasoning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Binding of naturally occurring anti-DNA antibodies to estradiol

Binding of naturally occurring human anti-DNA autoantibodies to beta-estradiol and native DNA has been investigated. Sera from seven SLE patients were tested for their reactivity with beta-estradiol and native calf thymus DNA. Solid Phase enzyme immunoassay was performed using both colorigenic and fluorogenic substrates. The results show enhanced binding of human anti-DNA autoantibodies to beta-estradiol as compared to native DNA. This was further substantiated by increased binding of affinity purified SLE IgG to beta-estradiol. These results suggest a role for female sex hormone in the etiopathogenesis of SLE and are significant vis-a-vis female predominance of SLE.     

Effects of age on performance in a finger-precuing task

This study investigated age-related precuing effects in the finger-precuing task (J. Miller, 1982). In this task, a spatial precue provides partial advance information about which fingers to use for responding. Results indicated a substantial age-related deficit in preparing 2 fingers on 2 hands, but not on 1 hand. This disparate set of findings does not provide strong support for A. A. Hartley's (1993) hypothesis that anterior brain attention systems responsible for selection-for-action are compromised with advancing age. Finally, the authors report that advancing age increasingly slows reaction time more to the inner than to the outer stimulus-response positions. A possible mechanism of this age-related bowed stimulus-response position effect is discussed.     

Effects of death within 11 years on cognitive performance in old age.

Six different cognitive tests and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were given to 3,572 active community residents aged 49 to 93 years. Causes of death were ascertained for 443 who died between 36 and 3,903 days later. Subsequent survival predicted test scores during the 3,903 days and independently during Days 36 to 1,826 and Days 1,827 to 3,903. Scores on the BDI and cumulative verbal learning and vocabulary tests predicted mortality after demographics and performance on other cognitive tests had been considered. Predictors were similar for deaths from heart disease, malignancies, and other causes. A new finding that cognitive tests did not predict survival duration within the sample of deceased explains previous findings of greater terminal decline in performance for young than for elderly adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of aptitudes, strategy training, and task facets on spatial task performance.

A pilot study, with 8 high school students, demonstrated that 3 item characteristics accounted for most of the variation in item difficulty in a paper-folding task: number of folds, number of obscured folds, and number of asymmetric folds. Retrospective reports suggested that Ss employed 2 strategies when attempting to solve these items: a visualization strategy and an analytic strategy. In the main experiment, these 2 strategies were demonstrated via motion picture models; 24 Ss received visualization training, and 24 received analytic training. Training effects of the demonstration films were compared with a performance feedback condition given to 8 Ss. All Ss performed 74 paper-folding items and 60 surface development transfer items following treatment. Error and latency data suggested that the treatments affected strategy selection and efficiency on both tasks. Treatment effects depended on item characteristics and response mode as well as on Ss' fluid-analytic/visualization and verbal abilities, as assessed by the Concept Mastery Test, WAIS Vocabulary test, and Raven Progressive Matrices. Sex differences were also noted, with verbal ability being important in the performance of females but not males. Implications for a process theory of human abilities are discussed. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of age at onset and length of blindness on auditory spatial learning in the rat.

64 albino rats which had been peripherally blinded by enucleation shortly after birth performed significantly poorer on an auditory-spatial learning task than those blinded in a similar manner at 50, 100, or 150 days of age. Results indicate that age at onset of blindness exerts greater influence on adult spatial learning ability than does its duration, since the late-blind superiority is retained regardless of the duration of visual loss. The mechanisms underlying these effects are discussed. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of job experience on supervisor attributions for a subordinate's poor performance.

64 undergraduates worked for 2 hrs in 6-person groups on a proofreading task. Half the Ss were supervisors and half were proofreaders; roles were alternated after 1 hr. Performance was controlled so that all supervisors believed they were evaluating a poor performing subordinate. Results show that experienced supervisors (Ss who served as supervisors first and then as proofreaders) tended to blame the environment more for the poor performance and recommended more changes in that environment than did nonexperienced supervisors. A field study with 30 military officers indicated that external attributions were positively correlated with the amount of experience the supervisor had working on the same task. Results are discussed within the framework of an attributional model of performance evaluation. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)