No abstract

Objective: An ecologically valid adaptation of the irrelevant sound effect paradigm was employed to examine the relative roles of short-term memory, selective attention and sustained attention in ADHD. Method: Thirty-two adults with ADHD and 32 control participants completed a serial recall task in silence or whilst ignoring irrelevant background sound. Results: The serial recall performance in adults with ADHD was reduced relative to controls in both conditions. The degree of interference due to irrelevant sound was greater for adults with ADHD. Furthermore, a positive correlation was observed between task performance under conditions of irrelevant sound, and the extent of attentional problems reported by patients on a clinical symptom scale. Conclusion:The results demonstrate that adults with ADHD exhibit impaired short term memory and a low resistance to distraction; however, their capacity for sustained attention is preserved as the impact of irrelevant sound diminished over the course of the task.Keywords: adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, irrelevant sound effect, selective attention, sustained attention, short term memory Adult ADHD and ISE 2

T his study evaluates the effect of knowledge of mathematics as a protective factor against excessive gambling behaviours and erroneous beliefs. Two groups with different levels of knowledge of mathematics were compared as to their perceptions and behaviours before and during a gambling session. A total of 60 participants (30 men, 30 women) completed a questionnaire evaluating how they perceive the notion of chance and participated in two experimental tasks: the production of a random sequence of heads/tails, and a gambling session on a video lottery terminal. The results show that participants with knowledge of mathematics held more erroneous perceptions of gambling before the experiment whereas both groups showed an equal number of erroneous perceptions and behaviours during gambling. The importance of knowledge of mathematics as a protective factor against excessive gambling is questionable. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed with regard to the prevention of excessive gambling.C ette étude évalue l'effet des connaissances en mathématiques en tant que facteur de protection contre les comportements de jeu de hasard excessifs et les croyances erronnées. Deux groupes ayant différents niveaux de connaissances des mathématiques ont été comparés quant à leurs perceptions et leurs comportements avant et pendant une session de jeu de hasard. Un total de 60 participants (30 hommes, 30 femmes) ont rempli un questionnaire évaluant comment ils perçoivent la notion de hasard et ont participé à des tâ ches expérimentales: la production d'une séquence au hasard de pile ou face et une session de loterie vidéo. Les résultats indiquent que les participants ayant des connaissances des mathématiques avaient plus de perceptions erronées du jeu de hasard avant l'expérimentation, tandis que les deux groupes ont indiqué un nombre égal de perceptions erronées et de comportements durant le jeu de hasard. L'importance des connaissances des mathématiques en tant que facteur de protection contre le jeu de hasard excessif est questionnable. Les implications théoriques et pratiques de ces résultats sont discutées en ce qui a trait à la prévention du jeu excessif.