Abductive reasoning is the process of finding the best explanation for a set of observations. As the number of possible observations and corresponding explanations may be very high, it is commonly accepted that the capacity of working memory is closely related to successful abductive reasoning. However, the precise relationship between reasoning and working memory capacity remains largely opaque. In a reanalysis of two experiments (N = 59), we first investigated whether reasoning performance differs due to differences in working memory capacity. Second, using eye tracking, we explored the relationship between the facets of working memory and the process of visuospatial reasoning. We used working memory tests of both components (verbal-numerical/spatial) as well as an intelligence measure. Results show a clear relationship between reasoning accuracy and spatial storage components as well as intelligence. Process measures suggest that high working memory ability might lead to the use of strategies to optimize the content and complexity of the mental representation on which abductive reasoning is based. Results are discussed in relation to current theories and the existing literature on the effects of memory on eye movements.
Extensive research on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis response to stress has not clarified whether that axis is activated by phobic anxiety. We addressed this issue by measuring cortisol in situational phobics during exposure treatment. Salivary cortisol was measured in 11 driving phobics before and during three exposure sessions involving driving on crowded limited-access highways, and compared to levels measured in 13 healthy controls before and during two sessions of driving on the same highways. For each subject, data collected in the same time period on a comparison non-driving day, served as an individual baseline from which cortisol response scores were calculated. Cortisol levels of driving phobics and controls did not differ on the comparison day. Phobics also had normal cortisol response scores upon awakening on the mornings of the exposures, but these were already increased one hour before coming to the treatment sessions. Phobics had significantly greater cortisol response scores during driving exposure and during quiet sitting periods before and afterward. These greater responses generally paralleled increases in self-reported anxiety. At the first exposure session, effect sizes for differences in cortisol response scores between the two groups were large. Initial exposure to driving in the first session evoked the largest responses. The data demonstrate that the HPA axis can be strongly activated by exposure to, or anticipation of, a phobic situation.
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