The psychology of thinking before the cognitive revolution: Otto Selz on problems, schemas, and creativity.

Otto Selz has been hailed as one of the most important precursors of the cognitive revolution, yet surprisingly few studies of his work exist. He is often mentioned in the context of the Würzburg School of the psychology of thinking and sometimes in the context of Gestalt psychology. In this paper, it is argued that Selz’s emphasis on the role of problems and schemas in the direction of thought processes and creativity sets him apart from the program of the Würzburg School. On the other hand, by developing a theory of thinking that is exclusively at the intentional level, Selz also differs from psychologists that take physics as a model for psychology, such as the Gestalt psychology of Wolfgang K?hler. Special emphasis is given in this paper to Selz’s use of the concept of problem or task and the concept of the schema. It is further argued that the concept of the schema is the result of Selz’s adaptation of the theory of relations as developed by the philosopher Meinong. The paper begins with a sketch of Selz’s life that ended so tragically. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intraindividual variability is related to cognitive change in older adults: Evidence for within-person coupling.

In this study, the authors addressed the longitudinal nature of intraindividual variability over 3 years. A sample of 304 community-dwelling older adults, initially between the ages of 64 and 92 years, completed 4 waves of annual testing on a battery of accuracy- and latency-based tests covering a wide range of cognitive complexity. Increases in response-time inconsistency on moderately and highly complex tasks were associated with increasing age, but there were significant individual differences in change across the entire sample. The time-varying covariation between cognition and inconsistency was significant across the 1-year intervals and remained stable across both time and age. On occasions when intraindividual variability was high, participants' cognitive performance was correspondingly low. The strength of the coupling relationship was greater for more fluid cognitive domains such as memory, reasoning, and processing speed than for more crystallized domains such as verbal ability. Variability based on moderately and highly complex tasks provided the strongest prediction. These results suggest that intraindividual variability is highly sensitive to even subtle changes in cognitive ability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

设计管理在企业核心构建中的功能拓展

本文阐述了设计管理和企业核心竞争力的概念和内涵,提出了提高企业核心竞争力必须引入设计管理,并对设计管理如何融入企业并提升核心竞争力阐明了具体构建路径。     

Motivational reserve: Lifetime motivational abilities contribute to cognitive and emotional health in old age.

The authors recently developed the concept of motivational reserve, which implies a set of motivational abilities that provide individuals with resilience to neuropathological damage. This study investigated how lifetime motivational abilities are associated with current cognitive status, mild cognitive impairment, and psychological well-being in old age. A community sample of 147 participants without dementia between 60 and 94 years of age, stratified for age group, sex, and education, completed motivation and well-being questionnaires and cognitive tests. A new procedure was used to estimate their midlife motivational and cognitive abilities on the basis of their main occupation using the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) system. O*NET-estimated motivational abilities predicted cognitive status, psychological well-being, and odds of mild cognitive impairment, even when age, sex, education, and cognitive ability were controlled. Although O*NET-estimated cognitive abilities were not significant predictors, scores on a measure of crystallized intelligence were associated with current cognitive status and odds of mild cognitive impairment. Findings suggest that motivational reserve acts as a protective factor against the manifestation of cognitive impairment and emotional problems in later life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Load-Carrying Ability and Erosion Resistance of Carbon Composites in a Convective Heat Flow

This paper presents results of studying the regularities in the variation of the load-carrying ability and erosion resistance of carbon/carbon composites with both pure carbon and borosiliconized matrices under conditions of unilateral heating with a flow of air plasma. A comparative assessment of the characteristics under study for several types of carbon composites is given. The degree of influence of borosiliconizing carbon/carbon composites on their performance in operation in convective flows has been determined.     

Cognitive–behavioral therapy to reduce weight concerns improves smoking cessation outcome in weight-concerned women.

Women smokers concerned about weight gain (N?=?219) were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 adjunct treatments accompanying group smoking cessation counseling: (a) behavioral weight control to prevent weight gain (weight control); (b) cognitive–behavioral therapy (CBT) to directly reduce weight concern, in which dieting was discouraged; and (c) standard counseling alone (standard), in which weight gain was not explicitly addressed. Ten sessions were conducted over 7 weeks, and no medication was provided. Continuous abstinence was significantly higher at posttreatment and at 6 and 12 months of follow-up for CBT (56%, 28%, and 21%, respectively), but not for weight control (44%, 18%, and 13%, respectively), relative to standard (31%, 12%, and 9%, respectively). However, weight control, and to a lesser extent CBT, was associated with attenuation of negative mood after quitting. Prequit body mass index, but not change in weight or in weight concerns postquit, predicted cessation outcome at 1 year. In sum, CBT to reduce weight concerns, but not behavioral weight control counseling to prevent weight gain, improves smoking cessation outcome in weight-concerned women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Confidence and cognitive test performance.

This article examines the nature of confidence in relation to abilities, personality, and metacognition. Confidence scores were collected during the administration of Reading and Listening sections of the Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-Based Test (TOEFL iBT) to 824 native speakers of English. Those confidence scores were correlated with performance accuracy scores from the TOEFL iBT and SAT, high school grade point averages (HS-GPA), and measures of personality and metacognition. The results of factor analyses indicate that confidence is a separate psychological trait, somewhere between ability and personality. The findings also suggest that confidence is related to, but separate from, metacognition. Gender and ethnic differences in confidence are also reported, with men and African Americans showing higher overconfidence bias than women and Whites or Hispanics, respectively. Finally, the data show small incremental validity of the confidence scores above and beyond the accuracy scores in predicting performance on the TOEFL iBT as a whole, the Writing and Speaking sections of the TOEFL iBT, and a test of numeracy. Confidence does not show incremental validity for the SAT and HS-GPA. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preadolescent girls with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: I. Background characteristics, comorbidity, cognitive and social functioning, and parenting practices.

This study investigated a diverse sample of girls (6-12 years of age) with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), combined type (n=93) and inattentive type (n=47), plus age- and ethnicity-matched comparison girls (n=88), who participated in research summer programs. Speech and language problems, grade retention, and adoption characterized the ADHD sample; documented abuse characterized the combined type. Girls with ADHD showed dysfunction in terms of externalizing and internalizing behaviors and comorbidities, cognitive and academic performance, authoritarian parenting, and peer status. The inattentive type was more socially isolated but less rejected by peers than the combined type. ADHD-related impairment was independent of age and disruptive comorbidity. Further examination of processes related to psychopathology and competencies in girls with ADHD is needed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual variation for cognitive decline: Quantitative methods for describing patterns of change.

What are the best quantitative methods for studying cognitive decline? This question was investigated in a sample of 638 individuals aged 50 years and older from the Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging. A battery of cognitive tests tapping multiple domains was administered to each individual from 2 to 7 times over a span of 10 years. Four methods of operationalizing cognitive decline were compared: change scores, a criterion-based method, least squares, and random effects regression (RER). The RER results were most consistent with a significant decline across measures and differences between demented and nondemented individuals. Predicted slopes from the RER model also showed the strongest interrelationships within and across cognitive domains as indicated by factor analysis results and stronger associations with demographic, health, and psychosocial predictors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Forgetting all else: On the antecedents and consequences of goal shielding.

Six studies explore the role of goal shielding in self-regulation by examining how activation of focal goals to which the individual is committed inhibits the accessibility of alternative goals. Consistent evidence was found for such goal shielding, and a number of its moderators were identified: Individuals' level of commitment to the focal goal, their degree of anxiety and depression, their need for cognitive closure, and differences in their goal-related tenacity. Moreover, inhibition of alternative goals was found to be more pronounced when they serve the same overarching purpose as the focal goal, but lessened when the alternative goals facilitate focal goal attainment. Finally, goal shielding was shown to have beneficial consequences for goal pursuit and attainment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)