Can video games change attitudes towards history? Results from a laboratory experiment measuring short- and long-term effects

This study investigates a video game's effects on implicit and explicit attitudes towards depicted historical events in the short- and long-term on a sample of 148 young adults. We used, as an intervention tool, a serious game Czechoslovakia 38–89: Borderlands that deals with the expulsion of the Sudeten Germans from the former Czechoslovakia after the WWII. Results showed more negative pretest-posttest explicit attitude changes towards the expulsion on a general level (d = −0.34) and a specific level (d = −0.53) compared to the control group. Over the long-term, group differences in attitude change remained significant for the specific level (d = −0.44), but not for general one (d = −0.16). Exploratory analysis on the item level indicated that especially attitudes towards the expulsion's (un)fairness were affected by the game. However, no significant changes were found in implicit attitudes in the experimental group. This study is the first of such scale to empirically investigate video games' effects on a society's historical awareness.     

A taxonomy of effect size measures for the differential functioning of items and scales.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 95(5) of Journal of Applied Psychology (see record 2010-18410-004). There was an error in Formula 6 on page 731 for the pooled standard deviation of the ESSD index. The correct formula is given in the erratum. Related to this, in Table 8 on page 739, the ETSSD statistic should have been .094 for the cross cultural comparison and .001 for the Administration Format example.] Much progress has been made in the past 2 decades with respect to methods of identifying measurement invariance or a lack thereof. Until now, the focus of these efforts has been to establish criteria for statistical significance in items and scales that function differently across samples. The power associated with tests of differential functioning, as with all significance tests, is affected by sample size and other considerations. Additionally, statistical significance need not imply practical importance. There is a strong need as such for meaningful effect size indicators to describe the extent to which items and scales function differently. Recently developed effect size measures show promise for providing a metric to describe the amount of differential functioning present between groups. Expanding upon recent developments, this article presents a taxonomy of potential differential functioning effect sizes; several new indices of item and scale differential functioning effect size are proposed and illustrated with 2 data samples. Software created for computing these indices and graphing item- and scale-level differential functioning is described. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Indonesian adolescents' spiritual and religious experiences and their longitudinal relations with socioemotional functioning.

The spirituality and religiosity of Indonesian Muslim adolescents were examined longitudinally as were the relations of spirituality and religiosity with (mal)adjustment. At Time 1 (T1), 959 seventh-grade Muslim adolescents were screened for selection of a sample; at Time 2 (T2), 183 eighth-grade adolescents participated; and at Time 3 (T3), 300 ninth-grade adolescents (164 new participants) participated. At T1, adolescents' peer likeability was assessed; at T2, adolescents' global and cognitive esteem were measured; and at T2 and T3, adolescents' (mal)adjustment, spirituality, and religiosity were assessed. Adolescents and parents rated aspects of (mal)adjustment, spirituality, and religiosity. Teachers also rated adolescents' (mal)adjustment. In general, we found that T2 spirituality and religiosity were positively related to T3 adjustment and negatively related to T3 maladjustment, although in panel models, support for prediction of outcomes from spirituality and religiosity was found only for loneliness and socially appropriate behavior. In addition, there was some evidence in the models that certain aspects of (mal)adjustment (self-esteem and social competence, and to a marginal degree, parent-rated internalizing problems and teacher-rated prosociality) predicted spirituality and religiosity longitudinally. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perception of the color red enhances the force and velocity of motor output.

The present research examined whether perception of the color red influences basic motor functioning. Prior research on color and motor functioning has been guided by ill-defined theoretical statements, and has been plagued by methodological problems. Drawing on theoretical and empirical work on the threat-behavior link in human and nonhuman animals, we proposed and tested the prediction that perceiving red enhances the force and velocity of motor output. Experiment 1 demonstrated that red, relative to gray (matched to red on lightness), facilitates pinchgrip force. Experiment 2 demonstrated that red, relative to gray (matched to red on lightness) and blue (matched to red on lightness and chroma) facilitates handgrip force and the velocity of that force. These findings clearly establish a link between red and basic motor action, illustrate the importance of rigorous experimental methods when testing color effects, and highlight the need to attend to the functional, as well as aesthetic, value of color. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Verbal deception from late childhood to middle adolescence and its relation to executive functioning skills.

The present investigation examined 8- to 16-year-olds' tendency to lie, the sophistication of their lies, and related cognitive factors. Participants were left alone and asked not to look at the answers to a test, but the majority peeked. The researcher then asked a series of questions to examine whether the participants would lie about their cheating and, if they did lie, evaluate the sophistication of their lies. Additionally, participants completed measures of working memory, inhibitory control, and planning skills. Results revealed that the sophistication of 8- to 16-year-olds' lies, but not their decision to lie, was significantly related to executive functioning skills. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neonatal respiratory dysfunction and neuropsychological performance at the preschool age: A study of very preterm infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

Objective: The neuropsychological outcome of chronic lung disease (CLD) in the very preterm (VP) infant may be determined by a process involving chronic hypoxia, with superimposed acute hypoxic episodes, in the developing brain. We wished to study the differences in quality of outcome between VP preschoolers with and without history of the most common form of CLD in the preterm infant, bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). We also examined the strength of association between BPD severity and neuropsychological outcome, with degree of severity defined according to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Workshop categorical ranking scheme (Jobe & Bancalari, 2001) or in accord with dimensional views of severity of respiratory illness. Method: We evaluated the intellectual, language, and motor outcomes of 156, predominantly middle-class preschoolers with history of VP birth, with (n = 80) or without (n = 76) BPD. We used supplemental oxygen requirement or need for mechanical ventilation as indirect indexes of respiratory dysfunction. Results: Following adjustment for potentially confounding sociodemographic variables and perinatal medical risk factors, we found no group differences in neuropsychological outcome based on categorical ranking of BPD severity. However, continuous measures of BPD severity accounted for a unique portion of the variance in fine motor performance (η2p = .05), while patent ductus arteriosus, a risk marker or antecedent of BPD, explained a unique portion of the variance in both receptive language (η2p = .048), and gross motor (η2p = .061) function. Conclusion: A significant, yet circumscribed, association was demonstrated between neonatal hypoxic risk, in the VP infant, and neuropsychological outcome assessed in the preschool years. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in neuropsychological performance and social functioning in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Objective: To investigate sex differences in neurocognition and social functioning in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and the possible role of sex as a moderator of this relationship. Method: Participants with schizophrenia (60 women/94 men), bipolar I disorder (55 women/51 men), and healthy controls (158 women/182 men) were assessed with an extensive neuropsychological test battery and a social functioning questionnaire. Results: We found significant main effects of sex for neuropsychological tests (p     

When all signs point to you: Lies told in the face of evidence.

Young children's ability to tell a strategic lie by making it consistent with the physical evidence of their transgression was investigated along with the sociocognitive correlates of such lie-telling behaviors. In Experiment 1, 247 Chinese children between 3 and 5 years of age (126 boys) were left alone in a room and asked not to lift a cup to see the contents. If children lifted up the cup, the contents would be spilled and evidence of their transgression would be left behind. Upon returning to the room, the experimenter asked children whether they peeked and how the contents of the cup ended up on the table. Experiment 1 revealed that young children are able to tell strategic lies to be consistent with the physical evidence by about 4 or 5 years of age, and this ability increases in sophistication with age. Experiment 2, which included 252 Chinese 4-year-olds (127 boys), identified 2 sociocognitive factors related to children's ability to tell strategic lies. Specifically, both children's theory-of-mind understanding and inhibitory control skills were significantly related to their ability to tell strategic lies in the face of physical evidence. The present investigation reveals that contrary to the prevailing views, even young children are able to tell strategic lies in some contexts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

MRI correlates of cognitive impairment in childhood-onset multiple sclerosis.

Objective: Brain MRI measures were correlated with neuropsychological function in 35 pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and 33 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Method: Mean age of MS patients was 16.3 ± 2.3 years with average disease duration of 4.3 ± 3.1 years. Cortical gray matter, thalamic, and global brain volumes were calculated for all participants using a scaling factor computed using normalization of atrophy method to normalize total and regional brain volumes for head size. T1- and T2-weighted lesion volumes were calculated for MS patients. Results: Cognitive impairment (CI) was identified in 29% of the MS cohort. Cognitive deficits predominantly involved attention and processing speed, expressive language, and visuomotor integration. Relative to controls, the MS group showed significantly lower thalamic volume (p p p p     

Double dissociation in the anatomy of socioemotional disinhibition and executive functioning in dementia.

Objective: To determine whether socioemotional disinhibition and executive dysfunction are related to dissociable patterns of brain atrophy in neurodegenerative disease. Previous studies have indicated that behavioral and cognitive dysfunction in neurodegenerative disease are linked to atrophy in different parts of the frontal lobes, but these prior studies did not establish that these relationships were specific, which would best be demonstrated by a double dissociation. Method: Subjects included 157 patients with neurodegenerative disease. A semiautomated parcellation program (Freesurfer) was used to generate regional cortical volumes from structural MRI scans. Regions of interest (ROIs) included anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), middle frontal gyrus (MFG), and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). Socioemotional disinhibition was measured using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory. Principal component analysis including 3 tasks of executive function (EF; verbal fluency, Stroop Interference, modified Trails) was used to generate a single-factor score to represent EF. Results: Partial correlations between ROIs, disinhibition, and EF were computed after controlling for total intracranial volume, Mini-Mental State Examination, diagnosis, age, and education. Brain regions significantly correlated with disinhibition (ACC, OFC, IFG, and temporal lobes) and EF (MFG) were entered into separate hierarchical regressions to determine which brain regions predicted disinhibition and EF. OFC was the only brain region to significantly predict disinhibition, and MFG significantly predicted EF performance. A multivariate general linear model demonstrated a significant interaction between ROIs and cognitive–behavioral functions. Conclusions: These results support a specific association between orbitofrontal areas and behavioral management as compared with dorsolateral areas and EF. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)