Psychology Commons^™

Archetypal Energies, The Emergence Of Obama As A Practical Idealist, And Global Transformation, Carroy U. Ferguson

Carroy U "Cuf" Ferguson, Ph.D.

During this time of change, AHP and kindred spirits on the edge have important roles to play. We are the keepers and nurturers of a transformative and evolutionary Vision for Consciousness and a more humane world. At issue is what I will call the “psychic politics” for global transformation, nurtured by practical idealism and the Archetypal Energies. In other writings, I have described Archetypal Energies as Higher Vibrational Energies, operating deep within our individual and collective psyches, which have their own transcendent value, purpose, quality, and “voice”, unique to the individual. We experience them as “creative urges” to move us …

Arterial Pulse Wave Velocity And Cognition With Advancing Age, Merrill F. Elias, Michael A. Robbins, Marc M. Budge, Walter P. Abhayaratna, Gregory A. Dore, Penelope K. Elias

Maine-Syracuse Longitudinal Papers

We hypothesized that carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV), a marker of arterial stiffness, interacts with age such that the magnitude of associations between PWV and cognitive performance are greater with increasing age and that this interaction is observed despite adjustments for demographic variables, mean arterial pressure, and cardiovascular risk factors. PWV was estimated using applanation tonometry in 409 dementia- and stroke-free participants of the Maine-Syracuse Longitudinal Study (24 to 92 years of age; 62.3% women). Using linear regression analyses in a cross-sectional design, associations between PWV and age and the interaction of PWV and age were examined in relation to …

A Quasi Experimental Evaluation Of Thinking For A Change: A Real-World" Application, Christopher T. Lowenkamp, Dana Jones Hubbard, Mathew D. Makarios, Edward J. Latessa

Sociology & Criminology Faculty Publications

Due to the popularity of cognitive behavioral interventions, programs that follow this model are often assumed to be effective. Yet evaluations of specific programs have been slow in coming. The current investigation seeks to bridge this gap by evaluating the effectiveness of Thinking for a Change (TFAC), a widely used cognitive behavioral curriculum for offenders. Furthermore, this evaluation provides a “real-world” test of TFAC, because it was implemented by line staff in a community corrections agency as opposed to being a pilot project implemented by program developers. The results of the analyses indicate that offenders participating in the TFAC program …

Understanding Occlusion Inhibition: A Study Of The Visual Processing Of Superimposed Figures, Destinee L Chambers

Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014

This study investigates a phenomenon that I have termed occlusion inhibition. This research and a small number of earlier studies suggest that, in some experimental conditions, when an attended (target) object is partially occluded by a distractor object, there is less attention allocated to the occluded region of the target object than to the visible parts of that object. In the literature, there are mixed results concerning this attentional effect. Some studies find it and others do not. This study investigates the differences between those conflicting studies with the goal of identifying the factor or factors that govern when occlusion …

Metacognition Is Prior, Justin J. Couchman, Mariana V.C. Coutinho, Michael J. Beran, J. David Smith

Language Research Center

We agree with Carruthers that evidence for metacognition in species lacking mindreading provides dramatic evidence in favor of the metacognition-is-prior account and against the mindreading-is-prior account. We discuss this existing evidence and explain why an evolutionary perspective favors the former account and poses serious problems for the latter account.

The Curious Incident Of The Capuchins, J. David Smith, Michael J. Beran, Justin J. Couchman, Marianna V.C. Coutinho, Joseph B. Boomer

Language Research Center

No abstract provided.

Animal Metacognition: Problems And Prospects, J. David Smith, Michael J. Beran, Justin J. Couchman, Mariana V.C. Coutinho, Joseph B. Boomer

Language Research Center

Researchers have begun to evaluate whether nonhuman animals share humans’ capacity for metacognitive monitoring and self-regulation. Using perception, memory, numerical, and foraging paradigms, they have tested apes, capuchins, a dolphin, macaques, pigeons, and rats. However, recent theoretical and formal-modeling work has confirmed that some paradigms allow the criticism that low-level associative mechanisms could create the appearance of uncertainty monitoring in animals. This possibility has become a central issue as researchers reflect on existing phenomena and pause to evaluate the area’s current status. The present authors discuss the associative question and offer our evaluation of the field. Associative mechanisms explain poorly …

Integrating Developmental And Free-Choice Learning Frameworks To Investigate Conceptual Change In Visitor Understanding, E Margaret Evans, Amy Spiegel, Wendy Gram, Judy Diamond

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Complex ideas like evolution—which run counter to common, but mistaken, intuitive knowledge like the 9-year-old’s quoted above—are challenging, both for exhibit developers and for the evaluation and research teams who assess the impact of exhibitions. It is always difficult to document measurable changes in deep conceptual understanding following a single visit to an exhibition (Allen, 2008, p. 58); Is this even possible with complex topics, such as evolution? In this article, we summarize a series of studies that may offer some help to exhibit developers and evaluators, as well as others who design and assess informal learning experiences. The studies …

Expectations About Memory Change Across The Life Span Are Impacted By Aging Stereotypes., Tara T. Lineweaver, Andrea K. Berger, Christopher Hertzog

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

This study examined whether expectations about memory change with age vary for different personality types. Four adjectives from each of Hummert’s age-stereotype trait sets were selected to create 11 adjective clusters varying in both valence (positive versus negative) and relevance to memory functioning. Three hundred and seventy three participants in three age groups rated the memory abilities of target adults, defined by the adjective clusters, across the adult life span. Consistent with past studies, participants believed in age-related memory decline. However, participants rated target adults with positive personality traits as having better memory ability and less age-related memory decline than …

Memory Performance Is Related To Language Dominance As Determined By The Intracarotid Amobarbital Procedure, S. Kovac, G. Möddel, J. Reinholz, A. V. Alexopoulosa, T. Syed, S. U. Schuele, Tara T. Lineweaver, T. Loddenkemper

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Objective

The goal of this study was to explore the relationship between language and memory lateralization in patients with epilepsy undergoing the intracarotid amobarbital procedure.

Methods

In 386 patients, language lateralization and memory lateralization as determined by laterality index (LI) were correlated with each other.

Results

Language lateralization and memory lateralization were positively correlated (r = 0.34, P < 0.01). Correlations differed depending on the presence and type of lesion (χ² = 7.98, P < 0.05). LIs correlated significantly higher (z = 2.82, P < 0.05) in patients with cortical dysplasia (n = 41, r = 0.61, P < 0.01) compared with the group without lesions (n = 90, r = 0.16, P > 0.05), with patients with hippocampal sclerosis falling between these two groups. Both memory (P < 0.01) and language (P …