Psychological Bulletin

Ackerman, Phillip L.

doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.102.1.3pmid: N/A

In this article, I reexamine the nature of individual differences in novel and practiced performance on skill learning tasks from an information processing framework that incorporates concepts derived from automatic and controlled information processing and attentional resources perspectives. I also use developments in quantitative analysis procedures to approach previous data in a single, unbiased framework for evaluation. Two major sources of data and discussion are reanalyzed and critically evaluated. One source concerns the changes in interindividual between-subjects variability with task practice. The other main source of data and theory pertains to associations between intellectual abilities and task performance during skill acquisition. Early studies of practice and variability yielded mixed results regarding the convergence or divergence of individual differences with practice. Other studies regarding intelligence and skill learning indicated small or trivial correlations between individual differences in intelligence and “gain” scores. More recent studies indicated small correlations between performance measures on skill learning tasks and standard intellectual and cognitive ability measures, as well as increasing amounts of task-specific variance over learning trials. On the basis of this reanalysis and reexamination, these data confirm the proposition that individuals converge on performance as tasks become less dependent on attentional resources with practice. Further, it is determined that when appropriate methodological techniques are used and crucial task characteristics are taken into account, intellectual abilities play a substantial part in determining individual differences in skill learning.

Marschark, Marc; Richman, Charles L.; Yuille, John C.; Hunt, R. Reed

doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.102.1.28pmid: N/A

The loci of imagery effects in several domains are clarified by separating issues related to the storage of information in memory and its use following retrieval. Empirical findings from studies of memory for word and sentence lists, language comprehension and memory, and symbolic comparisons are discussed. These consistently indicate a functional role for imagery in human cognition but provide no data necessitating the storage of perceptual information related to verbal materials in an analog form. Instead, concreteness effects in memory appear to result from differential processing of relational (shared) and item-specific (distinctive) information for high- and low-imagery materials. The available evidence suggests that verbal and imaginal processing systems may operate in conjunction with a more generic semantic memory, the form of which is not an issue here, yielding apparently contradictory findings in support of both dual-code and common-code theories.

Nash, Michael

doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.102.1.42pmid: N/A

The concept of psychological regression is an important one for the fields of developmental and clinical psychology. Many have cited the dramatic and seemingly compelling childlike performances of hypnotically age-regressed individuals as evidence that under some circumstances, it is possible for an individual to return to a developmentally previous mode of psychological functioning. In the present article, I review 60 years of empirical studies that have investigated whether there is a reinstatement of childhood psychological or physiological faculties during hypnotic age regression. Results suggest that if regression is defined as the extent to which hypnotized subjects conform to childhood norms and control subjects do not, then the mental and physiological activity of hypnotically age-regressed subjects is not regressed; it appears to be essentially adult. Although findings might be more compatible with a broader definition of regression as the appearance of primitive mentation or the use of less sequential modes of information processing during hypnosis, there is no evidence for a literal reinstatement of childhood functioning during hypnotic-age-regression procedures.

Wood, Wendy

doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.102.1.53pmid: N/A

To examine the impact of sex composition of groups on productivity, a meta-analytic review was conducted on the findings of past laboratory research. Two classes of factors were distinguished to account for any performance differences obtained: (a) task contents or settings that favor the interests and abilities of one sex over the other and (b) group-level factors, such as men's and women's interaction, in particular, the tendency for men in groups to offer opinions and suggestions and the tendency for women to act friendly and agree with others. Overall, all-male groups were found to perform better than all-female ones. This appeared due to tasks or settings that favored men's interests and abilities over women's. The effects of group-level factors, such as interaction style, became apparent when tasks were classified in terms of the type of interaction required for completion. Female group members' interaction apparently facilitated performance at tasks requiring positive social activities, including friendliness and agreement with others. Men's interaction style slightly, although not reliably, facilitated performance on tasks requiring task-oriented behavior, such as giving opinions and suggestions. The few findings located concerning mixed-sex groups demonstrated a slight, though not significant, tendency for mixed-sex groups to outperform same-sex ones.

Marks, Gary; Miller, Norman

doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.102.1.72pmid: N/A

Ten years of research on the false-consensus effect (Ross, Greene, & House, 1977) and related biases in social perception (e.g., assumed similarity and overestimation of consensus) are examined in the light of four general theoretical perspectives: (a) selective exposure and cognitive availability, (b) salience and focus of attention, (c) logical information processing, and (d) motivational processes. The findings indicate that these biases are influenced by a host of variables and that no single explanation can account for the range of data. Instead, each theoretical perspective appears to have its own domain of application, albeit with some degree of overlap into other domains. The data further suggest that two or more specific mechanisms may operate simultaneously or in concert to produce assumed similarity and false-consensus effects. Discussion focuses on identifying the process or sets of processes operating in specific situations. We identify several gaps in the knowledge of mediating relationships and suggest directions for future research. We also discuss issues related to definition and measurement.

Carlson, Michael; Miller, Norman

doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.102.1.91pmid: N/A

Prior research addressing the relation between negative affect and helping behavior has yielded inconsistent results. Three theoretical interpretations, negative-state relief, attentional focus, and responsibility/objective self-awareness, are examined in an expanded analysis of published research. For this purpose, judges assessed for each of 85 negative affect conditions the contextual levels of the variables relevant to each theory by reading relevant material that was excerpted from the method section of each article. Higher order partial correlations were then calculated between each variable and the 85 helpfulness effect sizes. The results are consistent with the attentional focus and the responsibility/objective self-awareness models. Both increased perceptions of responsibility for causing the negative event and attentional focus on another (as opposed to oneself) as the target of the negative event augment helpfulness. Furthermore, mood-lowering events that engender objective self-awareness promote helpfulness when prosocial values are psychologically salient. No support obtains for the negative-state relief model.

Hyland, Michael E.

doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.102.1.109pmid: N/A

Several psychological theories of depression (including learned helplessness, behavioral theories, and ego-analytic theories) are reviewed in terms of a control theory interpretation of depression. Psychological theories of depression belong to a common family: They differ in terms of the goals implicated in the cause of depression (goals are hierarchically arranged) and control mechanisms that differentiate depressives from nondepressives. Three explanations are advanced for the uniformity of depressive deficits despite multiple causes of depression. Symptomatological differences between subtypes based on goals rather than deficits are discussed.

Pyszczynski, Tom; Greenberg, Jeff

doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.102.1.122pmid: N/A

In this article, we apply theory and research on self-focused attention and self-regulatory processes to the problem of depression and use this framework to integrate the roles played by a variety of psychological processes emphasized by other theories of the development and maintenance of depression. We propose that depression occurs after the loss of an important source of self-worth when an individual becomes stuck in a self-regulatory cycle in which no responses to reduce the discrepancy between actual and desired states are available. Consequently, the individual falls into a pattern of virtually constant self-focus, resulting in intensified negative affect, self-derogation, further negative outcomes, and a depressive self-focusing style in which he or she self-focuses a great deal after negative outcomes but very little after positive outcomes. Eventually, these factors lead to a negative self-image, which may take on value by providing an explanation for the individual's plight and by helping the individual avoid further disappointments. The depressive self-focusing style then maintains and exacerbates the depressive disorder. We review findings from laboratory studies of mild to moderately depressed people, correlational studies of more severely depressed people, and clinical observations with respect to consistency with the theory.

Hollon, Steven D.; DeRubeis, Robert J.; Evans, Mark D.

doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.102.1.139pmid: N/A

In recent empirical trials testing causal mediational models of cognitive therapy for depression, researchers have found comparable change in cognition regardless of intervention, leading some to reject any mediational role for cognition. Such an interpretation is premature because alternative models exist that allow potential mediators to exhibit nonspecific change across diverse interventions yet still play a causal mediational role in one or all of those interventions. A failure to distinguish between the mediator's role as a consequence of the manipulation and its role as a potential cause of the dependent outcome is seen as contributory to this premature rejection. We suggest strategies that can facilitate the testing of causal mediational models.

Hinz, Lisa D.; Williamson, Donald A.

doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.102.1.150pmid: N/A

Bulimia is a disorder characterized by binge eating, purgative behavior, and depressed mood following eating binges. Repeated empirical demonstrations of the pervasive quality of the depressive symptomatology characterizing bulimia have led some researchers to hypothesize that bulimia is an affective disorder variant, that is, a form of affective disorder, as opposed to a separate diagnostic entity. In this article, we review the literature related to this hypothesis and evaluate its validity. We conclude that it is premature to hypothesize that bulimia is an affective variant. An alternative hypothesis is that bulimia, like many other chronic disorders, is often accompanied by depression. Such a hypothesis denies neither the significance of the depression experienced by people suffering from bulimia nor the unique aspects of the eating disorder.