|
Current Directions in Psychological Science is a publication of the Association for Psychological Science.
|
Editor
Randall W. Engle Georgia Institute of Technology
Advisory Board
Marie T. Banich
University of Colorado Boulder
Martha Ann Bell
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Valérie Camos
Université de Fribourg
Sheldon Cohen
Carnegie Mellon University
Frank Durso
Georgia Institute of Technology
Joseph P. Forgas
University of New South Wales, Australia
Chris Fraley
University of Illinois
Isabel Gauthier
Vanderbilt University
David Myers
Hope College
James Nairne
Purdue University
Thomas Oltmanns
Washington University in St. Louis
Howard Weiss
Georgia Institute of Technology
Steve West
Arizona State University
|
|
|
Current Directions in Psychological Science |
The links below take you to the journal via the APS website. If not already logged in, you will be redirected to log-in using your last name (Garcia) and Member ID (81665).
|
|
|
What Is Quantum Cognition, and How Is It Applied to Psychology?
Jerome R. Busemeyer and Zheng Wang
Quantum cognition uses core principles of quantum theory to explain aspects of human cognition, from decision making and reasoning to memory and perception. Busemeyer and Wang introduce the quantum principles of complementarity -- whereby the context generated by one measure may influence that of the next -- and superposition -- whereby all possible measurement values have some potential for being expressed and can interfere with one another to change the final observed measurement value. They review evidence showing how these two principles may illuminate puzzling empirical findings.
|
|
Memory Avoidance by Older Adults: When "Old Dogs" Won't Perform Their "New Tricks"
Dayna R. Touron
Older adults are less likely to shift from using effortful initial strategies to using less effortful memory-based strategies when performing tasks. This failure to use retrieval has been thought to reflect older adults' declining memory abilities; however, Touron suggests this failure may instead reflect preferential avoidance of these strategies. She reviews evidence for age-based differences in cognitive-strategy use, explains how memory confidence and the need to shift cognitive strategies influence retrieval, and discusses the consequences of memory avoidance for functioning and well-being late in life.
|
|
Improving Cognition in the Elderly With Nutritional Supplements
Con Stough and Matthew P. Pase
As the average life expectancies of Western nations have risen, elderly populations have skyrocketed, spurring research into how to stave off age-related declines in cognitive ability. Stough and Pase review research on the protective effects of popular supplements, including Gingko biloba, vitamins, and fish oil. The authors identify current challenges in this research and propose the use of a framework such as the Cattell-Horn-Carroll framework for better tracking cognitive outcomes, which will allow researchers to measure and categorize the effects of different interventions.
|
|
An Action-Based Model of Cognitive-Dissonance Processes
Eddie Harmon-Jones, Cindy Harmon-Jones, and Nicholas Levy
Cognitive inconsistencies cause people to experience dissonance, but the original theory of cognitive dissonance does not explain why this is or what motivates dissonance reduction. According to the action-based model, dissonance arises because cognitions impel us to act, and individuals are motivated to resolve dissonance only when their dissonant cognitions involve competing actions. Harmon-Jones and colleagues provide an overview of the action-based model and review behavioral and neuroscience research that has tested it.
|
|
In Academe, What Is Learned, and How Is It Learned?
John Sweller
Academic knowledge, such as reading and writing, is acquired differently than the kind of knowledge that is critical to basic human functioning. What sets academic learning apart, and how do the processes underlying it differ from those involved in the learning of generic, essential skills? Sweller distinguishes between biologically primary and secondary knowledge and uses processes of biological evolution as metaphors to explain how human cognitive architecture deals with higher-order, domain-specific knowledge.
|
|
Relative Processing Fluency
Michaela Wänke and Jochim Hansen
Research has shown that the subjective ease, or fluency, of processing has a significant impact on judgment in a variety of areas. However, numerous studies have suggested that these effects depend less on the absolute level of experienced fluency than on changes in fluency or deviations from an expected level of fluency. Wänke and Hansen review evidence for the effects of relative versus absolute fluency in the domains of familiarity, attitudes, and judgments of truth and morality and examine the role played by context.
|
|
Teams in Space Exploration: A New Frontier for the Science of Team Effectiveness
Eduardo Salas, Scott I. Tannenbaum, Steve W. J. Kozlowski, Christopher A. Miller, John E. Mathieu, and William B. Vessey
Research has begun to address the unique challenges that will be faced by teams working together in long-duration space exploration. Because team effectiveness in this context is critical to success -- and even survival -- we need a deeper understanding of how cohesion, coordination, teamwork, and team self-regulation work. Salas and colleagues discuss new conceptual frameworks of team effectiveness, research settings that can best approximate the extreme conditions of space travel, initial findings in the field, and promising research avenues.
|
|
Emotionality Differences Between a Native and Foreign Language: Implications for Everyday Life
Catherine L. Caldwell-Harris
A growing body of research suggests that affective processing is reduced when one uses a foreign or second language. Caldwell-Harris reviews the literature on the emotionality experienced in a native versus foreign language, looks at potential mechanisms underlying these differences, and examines important implications for bilinguals and multilinguals in the real-world contexts of forensic interviews, decision making, and advertising.
|
|
What Eye Movements Reveal About Deaf Readers
Nathalie N. Bélanger and Keith Rayner
For decades, levels of illiteracy in the deaf population have remained markedly higher than they are in the hearing population. Research focusing on skilled deaf readers may better inform the practice of deaf reading education than research focusing on deaf readers' weaknesses. Bélanger and Rayner provide an overview of eye movements in reading, delineate differences between deaf and hearing readers in processing and visual attention, and discuss whether deaf individuals become skilled readers through the same processes as their hearing counterparts.
|
|
Depression: The Shroud of Heterogeneity
Scott M. Monroe and Samantha F. Anderson
Over the years, the meaning of "depression" has changed, and, in parallel, rates of people diagnosed with the disorder have soared. Concerns that the label is being overapplied or is no longer helpful suggest that depression is at a crossroads. Monroe and Anderson unpack the different ways in which depression is heterogeneous -- in its causes, symptoms, and patterns -- and explain how the syndrome concept can shed light on our understanding of depression and its treatment.
|
|
A Primer on Unrealistic Optimism
James A. Shepperd, Erika A. Waters, Neil D. Weinstein, and William M. P. Klein
Countless studies have shown that people commonly display excessive optimism -- that is, they tend to make unrealistically positive predictions about their future outcomes. But when and why does this unrealistic optimism occur (or fail to occur), and what are its consequences? Shepperd and colleagues explain how unrealistic optimism is manifested, what drives it, and how it can influence affect, decision making, and behavior in ways both good and bad.
|
|
The Suffocation Model: Why Marriage in America Is Becoming an All-or-Nothing Institution
Eli J. Finkel, Elaine O. Cheung, Lydia F. Emery, Kathleen L. Carswell, and Grace M. Larson
People get married to fulfill needs, but over the course of American history, those needs have shifted from the basic needs at the bottom of Maslow's hierarchy to the autonomy and personal-growth needs at the top. Finkel and colleagues introduce the suffocation model to explain how many married couples do not put in the "fuel" required to ensure that these higher needs are met. As a result, spouses today are more likely to feel dissatisfied with their marriage -- but the best marriages can bring more satisfaction than did those in earlier eras.
|
|
What Accounts for Personality Maturation in Early Adulthood?
Wiebke Bleidorn
Most individuals increase in emotional stability, conscientiousness, and agreeableness during early adulthood, but what triggers these changes? Five-factor theory suggests that they result from genetically determined biological influences, whereas social-investment theory posits that they result from individuals' transitions into adult roles. Taking a multimethod perspective, Bleidorn reviews behavioral-genetic, prospective longitudinal, and cross-cultural research into the roles of genetics, social-role transitions, and environmental factors and identifies areas in need of further investigation.
|
|
|
Current Directions in Psychological Science is a publication of the Association for Psychological Science. Please contact APS by email or by telephone at +1 202.293.9300 with questions or comments.
|
|
|
