We hypothesize that during training some learners may focus on acquiring the particular exemplars and responses associated with the exemplars (termed exemplar learners), whereas other learners attempt to abstract underlying regularities reflected in the particular exemplars linked to an appropriate response (termed rule learners). Supporting this distinction, after training (on a function-learning task), participants either displayed an extrapolation profile reflecting acquisition of the trained cue-criterion associations (exemplar learners) or abstraction of the function rule (rule learners; Studies 1a and 1b). Further, working memory capacity (measured by Ospan) was associated with the tendency to rely on rule versus exemplar processes. Studies 1c and 2 examined the persistence of these learning tendencies on several categorization tasks. Study 1c showed that rule learners were more likely than exemplar learners (indexed a priori by extrapolation profiles) to resist using idiosyncratic features (exemplar similarity) in generalization (transfer) of the trained category. Study 2 showed that the rule learners but not the exemplar learners performed well on a novel categorization task (transfer) after training on an abstract coherent category. These patterns suggest that in complex conceptual tasks, (a) individuals tend to either focus on exemplars during learning or on extracting some abstraction of the concept, (b) this tendency might be a relatively stable characteristic of the individual, and (c) transfer patterns are determined by that tendency.
Survivors of differentiated thyroid cancer report significant distress. This study examines illness perceptions as mediating the relationship between information support and distress among survivors of differentiated thyroid cancer. Data were obtained from the Patient Reported Outcomes Following Initial Treatment and Long-term Evaluation of Survivorship registry. Model results revealed that greater information support was associated with better illness perceptions, and that better illness perceptions were associated with less distress. Information support and distress were indirectly related via illness perceptions. Results highlight the importance of addressing illness perceptions in this population and suggest that informational interventions may help serve this function.
It is estimated that in 2015, there were over 765,000 individuals living with thyroid cancer in the United States, and it is projected that there will be 53,990 new cases diagnosed in 2018 (NCI, 2018). Approximately three times as many women as men are diagnosed with thyroid cancer each year (NCI, 2018). The vast majority of diagnosed thyroid carcinomas consist of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC), which encompasses both papillary and follicular thyroid cancer. These cancers both originate from the thyroid follicular cells (Fagin & Nikiforov, 2013). Estimates suggest that these carcinomas account for over 90% of thyroid cancer diagnoses (Aschebrook-Kilfoy, Ward, Sabra, & Devesa, 2011). The median age of diagnosis for patients with thyroid cancer is 51-years-old with a five-year survival rate of 98.1% (NCI, 2018). Thus, survivorship for these individuals may extend for many decades. Despite the favorable prognosis, long-term survivors of DTC report impairments in quality of life. These include impairments in physical, emotional, role, cognitive, and social functioning, in addition to fatigue and vitality
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