In three experiments we explored the relation between normal variation in depressed mood and memory in college students. Subjects read and subsequently recalled stories whose protagonists experienced good, bad, and neutral events. Contrary to predictions arising independently from capacity theory and from schema theory, the recall of depressed and nondepressed subjects did not differ in either overall level or in affective content. The results are not easily handled by a conceptualization of depression, tied to schema theory, which proposes that negative cognitions are important for the initiation and maintenance of depression. The general usefulness of induction procedures in research on the depressive syndrome is discussed.

Background Nonpharmacologic strategies to manage dementia-related behavioral symptoms depend upon caregiver implementation. Caregivers may vary in readiness to use strategies. We examined characteristics associated with readiness, extent readiness changed during intervention, and predictors of change in readiness. Methods Data from a randomized trial involving 119 caregivers in a nonpharmacologic intervention for managing behavioral symptoms. Baseline measures included caregiver, patient, and treatment-related factors. At initial (2 weeks from baseline) and final (16-weeks) intervention sessions, interventionists rated caregiver readiness as pre-action (precontemplation=1; contemplation=2; preparation=3) or action (=4). Ordinal logistic regression identified baseline characteristics associated with initial readiness. Mc Nemar-Bowker test of symmetry described change in readiness; binary logistic regression identified baseline predictors of change in readiness (initial-to-final session). One-way MANOVA identified treatment factors (dose/intensity, number of strategies used, perceived benefits, therapeutic engagement) associated with change in readiness. Results At initial intervention session, 67.2% (N=80) of caregivers were in pre-action, 32.8% (N=39) in action. Initial high readiness was associated with better caregiver mood, less financial difficulty, lower patient cognition and more behavioral symptoms. By final session, 72% (N=79) were in action, 28% (N=31) in pre-action; caregivers with less financial difficulty improved in readiness (B =−.70, p=.017); those in action were more therapeutically engaged (F (2,107)=3.61, p=.030) and perceived greater intervention benefits (F (2, 88)=6.06, p=.003). Conclusion Whereas patient and caregiver-related factors were associated with initial readiness, financial stability, therapeutic engagement and perceived benefits enhanced probability of change. Understanding caregiver readiness and factors associated with its change may be important considerations in nonpharmacologic interventions.

The reported experiment tested the suggestion that encoding of temporal order is automatic. Specifically, two of Hasher and Zacks's (1979) automaticity criteria were examined: (1) that the amount and appropriateness of practice received would not affect acquisition of temporal information, and (2) that reliable individual differences would not be found on a test of memory for temporal order. Contrary to expectations, neither of these criteria was confirmed: Retention of temporal order increased with practice at three (or four) successive lists. And, reliable individual differences were indicated by the findings that subjects' relative performance levels remained stable across lists, and that groups with higher average academic ability outperformed those with lower ability. Similar results were obtained for a free-recall task (in which case they were expected

The media remains a powerful presence in U.S. culture. It gives people news of world and local events, it entertains, and it may even function as a companion to children. Because it functions as a window to the outside world, what appears across its landscape actually may become people's reality. Thus, the potential for distorting their view of that world is high if the picture provided is unrepresentative of actual events. For example, the prevalence of violent acts on television has been linked to increased aggression and escalating impressions of a dangerous world, and the overrepresentation of youth and beauty may be a causal factor of eating disorders. In this article, we explore the possibility that the media may also serve as a powerful creator of the very public opinions it seeks to reflect in its news. Subtle nonverbal cues of newscasters have been shown to influence voting behavior, and the media's overrepresentation of the proportion of blacks in povert may decrease whites' support of welfare. By portraying a world in which people's opinions are based on their ethnic or demographic group membership, the media may also subtly but powerfully create the very opinions they seek to reflect.

In the five experiments reported here we attempted to demonstrate an effect on item memorability of the amount of effort expended during the encoding process. The encoding task in two experiments was anagram solving; here, solution difficulty was varied. In the third experiment, subjects were required to judge whether a word fit meaningfully into a sentence frame, arid the ease of making this decision was manipulated. The final two experiments involved picture naming under time pressure; pictures were displayed either with no labels (easy condition) or, as in the picture-word version of the Stroop task, with superimposed interfering labels (hard condition). In none of the experiments did our manipulations of difficulty/ effortfumess of encoding influence item retention. These findings raise questions about the robustness of the effort phenomenon.The relation between amount of cognitive effort expended during encoding and the subsequent memorability of inputs has received considerable attention of late. A frequently reported finding is that the more effort required by an orienting or cover task, the greater is the incidental retention of the items encountered during the cover task (e.g., Jacoby, Craik,

This study explores typically developing bilingual children’s performance in their English as a heritage language. The aim of this study is to advance our understanding of heritage language expectations and the role of chronological age and bilingual exposure. A broad range of receptive and expressive linguistic domains are investigated as a function of chronological age and age of onset of bilingualism. English–Hebrew typically developing bilingual children ( N = 240), ages 60–77 months, were compared to monolingual norms, using seven subtest standardized scores from the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals Preschool-2 (CELF-Preschool-2). Descriptive statistics, t-tests, ANCOVAs, multiple regression analysis, and post-hoc comparisons were conducted. English heritage language speakers presented with an asymmetric linguistic system influenced by their chronological age and age of onset of bilingualism. Results demonstrated that performance was more advanced for measures that were less reliant on language-specific skills. Measures dependent on grammatical knowledge were vulnerable to limitations but they were within the monolingual norms. In contrast, the lexicon was heavily influenced by bilingualism. These findings contribute to the literature on bilingual linguistic expectations and will have implications for theories of heritage language acquisition and language acquisition in general.

Background Compensatory strategies (behavioral/environmental modifications) can reduce the difficulties of performing daily living activities, fear of falling, and mortality risk. However, individuals vary in their readiness to use strategies. We examined characteristics associated with readiness to use compensatory strategies, the extent to which level of readiness changed from participation in an intervention (Advancing Better Living for Elders (ABLE)) providing compensatory strategies, and factors predictive of change in readiness level. Methods Data from a randomized trial were used. Participants were 148 older adults assigned to the ABLE intervention designed to enhance daily function through compensatory strategy use. Baseline measures included demographic characteristics, functional difficulty level, presence/absence of depressive symptoms, compensatory strategy use, and social support. At initial (2 weeks from baseline) and final (6 months) ABLE sessions, interventionists rated readiness (1 = precontemplation; 2 = contemplation; 3 = preparation; 4 = action/maintenance) of participants to use strategies. Ordinal logistic regression was used to identify baseline characteristics associated with initial readiness rating. A McNemar-Bowker test of symmetry was used to describe change in readiness, and binary logistic regression was used to identify baseline predictors of change in readiness (from initial to final intervention session). Results At the initial intervention session, 70.3% (N = 104) scored in pre-action (precontemplation/contemplation, preparation), and 29.7% (N = 44) in action/maintenance. Depressive symptomatology (χ2(2) = 9.08, p = 0.011) and low compensatory strategy use (F(2, 147) = 8.44, p = 0.001) at baseline were associated with lower readiness levels at initial ABLE session. By final ABLE session, most participants demonstrated greater readiness: 72% (N = 105) in action/maintenance, 28% (N = 41) in pre-action (two participants dropped out). A significant baseline predictor of positive change in readiness (from initial to final session) was higher social support levels (b = 0.10, SE = 0.05, Wald = 4.98, p = 0.026). Conclusion Whereas presence of depressive symptomatology and lower use of compensatory strategies at baseline were associated with lower readiness at initial intervention session, neither predicted change in readiness level. Thus, mood and prior compensatory strategy use do not effect enhancements in readiness to use strategies provided in an intervention. Baseline social support was the strongest predictor of change in readiness suggesting that interventions may need to involve older adults' social networks to enhance acceptability of compensatory strategy use.

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