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Learning (potential) and social functioning in schizophrenia.

Cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia has well-known functional consequences. The ability to learn (learning potential) may be an important mediator. This study examines the relationship between learning and functional status in schizophrenia patients before and after participation in a rehabilitation program. We reasoned that learning is a broad construct, encompassing controlled, effortful as well as automatic (learning by doing) mechanisms, called explicit and implicit learning, respectively. Both types of learning ability are important in daily life. The study included 44 medicated schizophrenia patients and 79 healthy controls. We included measures of implicit and explicit learning as well as measures of the cognitive domains for which significant relationships with functional outcome have been established: immediate and secondary verbal memory, card sorting and vigilance. Learning potential and the patient's 'learner status' were also assessed. The results show that learning, as assessed by measures of explicit and implicit learning and learning potential, was not associated with social functioning or rehabilitation outcome. The highest correlations between cognitive functioning and social functioning were found for more or less 'static' performance measures when they were assessed for a second time with or without instructions on how to do the test. Optimized cognitive performance (i.e. performance after instruction or training) seems to be a better predictor of complex domains of functioning than naive or everyday performance.

Adult↗

Are residents ready for self-directed learning? A pilot program of individualized learning plans in continuity clinic.

UNLABELLED: Changes in training and certification requirements demand that trainees and practitioners take charge of planning and documenting their ongoing learning. Individualized learning plans (ILPs) have been proposed as a tool to guide this process. We report on a pilot program using ILPs as part of the pediatric continuity clinic experience. OBJECTIVE: The goal of the project was to explore residents' and faculty members' reactions to using ILPs when ILPs were offered as an optional tool. METHODS: A group of 42 residents and 13 faculty members volunteered to use ILPs in continuity clinic. Nine months into the intervention, residents and faculty completed questionnaires about their experiences using ILPs. We performed a content analysis of questionnaire responses to identify perceived benefits and barriers to using ILPs. RESULTS: ILP users reported that the program was helpful in providing a framework and focus for learning and in amplifying their awareness of the learning process. Barriers to using ILPs included lack of time and difficulty establishing and working with learning goals. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that residents are unaccustomed to taking active roles in planning their own learning. To prepare trainees for lifelong learning and continuous professional development, residency programs need to provide explicit education in the process of self-directed learning.

Continuity of Patient Care↗

Making faces: testing the relation between child behavior problems and mothers' interpretations of child emotion expressions.

We examined the relations between preschool boys' behavior problems and mothers' interpretations of children's emotion expressions. A sample of 31 mothers of oppositional boys and 28 control mothers responded to standard stimuli depicting child emotional reactions to maternal control attempts; mothers were instructed to think of the stimuli as either (a) their own child or (b) an unfamiliar child. Mothers of oppositional boys were more likely to generate negative interpretations than were control mothers when thinking of their own children; however, this difference did not generalize to the explicitly unfamiliar child condition. Mothers of oppositional boys demonstrated negative and comparison mothers demonstrated positive interpretive tendencies toward their own children. Findings suggest that child emotion cues may trigger biased maternal cognitions even in the absence of child misbehavior.

Adult↗

Suppression and enhancement of emotional responses to unpleasant pictures.

Despite the prominence of emotional dysfunction in psychopathology, relatively few experiments have explicitly studied emotion regulation in adults. The present study examined one type of emotion regulation: voluntary regulation of short-term emotional responses to unpleasant visual stimuli. In a sample of 48 college students, both eyeblink startle magnitude and corrugator activity were sensitive to experimental manipulation. Instructions to suppress negative emotion led to both smaller startle eyeblinks and decreased corrugator activity. Instructions to enhance negative emotion led to larger startle eyeblinks and increased corrugator activity. Several advantages of this experimental manipulation are discussed, including the use of both a suppress and an enhance emotion condition, independent measurement of initial emotion elicitation and subsequent regulation of that emotion, the use of a completely within-subjects design, and the use of naturalistic emotion regulation strategies.

Adult↗

Communication and metacommunication: quality of children's instructions in relation to judgments about the adequacy of instructions and the locus of responsibility for communication failure.

Relationships between 5- and 7-year-old children's communicative performance, and their level of understanding about message ambiguity and communication failure, were examined in three investigations. Communicative performance was assessed in terms of quality of instructions given for constructing a Lego model or a picture from felt pieces. The child speaker instructed the experimenter (Investigations 1 and 2) or another child (Investigation 3). Level of understanding about communication was assessed by asking the child to ascribe blame for communication failure following an ambiguous message, and to judge whether the speaker had told enough. In all three investigations, children with more advanced understanding about communication gave more detailed descriptions of pieces needed and supplied more information about positioning of pieces. In addition, in the first investigation those more advanced in understanding gave their instructions in a sequence more suitable for building. In the third investigation, child pairs more advanced in understanding communicated more effectively. It was suggested that the close association between communicative performance and understanding about communication occurred because the social experience which advances understanding, namely, the giving of explicit information when and/or why a listener fails to understand what the speaker means, at the same time encourages the child speaker to take responsibility for conveying a particular meaning unambiguously: the same experiences modify both communicative behavior and understanding about communication.

Child↗

"JDC-ESHEL," a unique non-governmental organization dedicated to the elderly in Israel.

"JDC-ESHEL," a non-governmental organization (NGO), has over the past 35 years been involved in the planning and development of services for the elderly in Israel. This organization functions under the auspices of the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), an American based NGO which provides relief, rescue and reconstruction services to Jewish and non-Jewish clients around the world. Under the roof of the relevant government ministries, JDC-ESHEL brings together prominent stakeholders and professionals involved in the care of Israel's older citizens in order to plan and initiate pilot projects relevant to the elderly. Through an explicit consultative process, this NGO has developed services both in the community as well as in the institutional sectors, helping in this way to keep the rates of both acute and long-term nursing home care in Israel down to manageable levels. JDC-ESHEL offers an instructive example of how a nationally based NGO can play a major role in the planning and development of relevant services for the elderly, via the leverage produced through its relatively modest budget. In this way it provides a multiplier effect throughout the entire health and social service sectors.

Aged↗

Stimulus complexity, EEG abundance gradients, and detection efficiency in a visual recognition task.

Occipital EEG was monitored while subjects inspected 27 projected patterns. The number (N) and variety (V) of elements in the patterns were varied systematically. There were three levels of N (6, 12 or 24 elements) and three levels of V (circles, squares or hexagons occupying all, one half or one third of the element locations for all levels of N). Subjects were instructed that they would be required in a post-test to recognize the patterns, among patterns which had not appeared; they were also informed that the patterns had been constructed according to a set of simple rules, but the nature of these rules was not made fully explicit. The EEG was quantified by means of low-frequency analysis, yielding measures of abundance (theta, alpha and beta) and mean dominant frequency. For the recognition task, nine stimulus items were embedded among 45 items. Recognition efficiency was measured by means of the signal detection theory discrimination index (d'). The results were as follows: (i) Both N and V were inversely related to alpha abundance (P less than 0-01); (ii) the strongest relationship between stimulus parameters and the EEG held for N and EEG beta activity (13-5-19-5 Hz;P less than 0-001), where again the EEG and N were inversely related; (iii) there was a significant (P less than 0-05) direct relationship between N and theta activity; (iv) contrary to prediction, mean dominant alpha frequency decreased as N increased; (v) d' correlated significantly with a number of effects for N, i.e. subjects who exhibited greatest EEG discriminability of items during exposure of the patterns, subsequently obtained the higher detection scores in the recognition task. The work described therefore demonstrates that only only do stimulus parameters have systematic effects upon brain activity as measured by the EEG, but that such effects have functional value and reflect aspects of efficiency. The results are fully compatible with arousal theory constructs relating physiological reactivity and performance.

Adolescent↗

Effects of auditory pattern structure on anticipatory and reactive attending.

In three experiments, participants listened for a target's pitch change within recurrent nine-tone patterns having largely isochronous rhythms. Patterns differed in pitch structure of initial (context) and final (target distance) pattern segments. Also varied were: probe timing (Experiments 2 and 3) and instructions about probe timing (Experiments 2 and 3). In all experiments, identification of a recurrent target was poorer in patterns with wider context pitch intervals (in semitones) than in others. Effects of probe timing also occurred, with better performance for temporally expected than unexpected probes. However, when listeners were explicitly told to focus upon a target's pitch and not its timing (Experiment 3), they performed selectively better in patterns with smaller target/probe pitch distances, especially for rhythmically expected probes. Five theoretical approaches to the respective roles of pitch and/or time structure were assessed. Although no single approach accounted for all results, a modification of one theory (a Pitch/Time Entrainment model) provided a reasonable description of findings.

Attitude↗

The origin of exemplar effects in rule-driven categorization.

S. W. Allen and L. R. Brooks (1991) have shown that exemplar memory can affect categorization even when participants are provided with a classification rule. G. Regehr and L. R. Brooks (1993) argued that stimuli must be individuated for such effects to occur. In this study, the authors further analyze the conditions that yield exemplar effects in this rule application paradigm. The results of Experiments 1-3 show that interchangeable attributes, which are not part of the rule, influence categorization only when attention is explicitly drawn on them. Experiment 4 shows that exemplar effects can occur in an incidental learning condition, whether stimulus individuation is preserved or not. The authors conclude that the influence of exemplar learning in rule-driven categorization stems from the attributes specified in the rule or in the instructions, not from the stimulus gestalts.

Cognition↗

Reading in pure alexia. The effect of strategy.

A number of investigators have demonstrated that patients with pure alexia comprehend briefly presented words which they are unable to explicitly identify. We suggested previously that these patients may read by means of two distinct procedures: a laborious letter-by-letter method and a 'whole-word' procedure which, at least initially, does not support explicit word identification. We report a test of this proposal in a patient with pure alexia. We reasoned that if the patient had access to two distinct and incompatible procedures, he might be induced to switch from one to the other by changing task demands. We found that when instructed to name words, the patient employed a letter-by-letter strategy; in contrast, when instructed to make lexical decision or semantic judgements about rapidly presented words, he appeared to use a 'whole-word' strategy. These data support the hypothesis that two distinct procedures are available to this patient. We argue, further, that is necessary to suppress use of the letter-by-letter strategy to demonstrate whole word reading capability in pure alexics, and that failure to do so may account for negative findings in other cases reported in the literature.

Cerebral Infarction↗

A knowledge-based decision support system for prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers.

As part of a research project intended to provide problem-based knowledge to clinicians at the point of care, we have developed a system that supports the nurse's development of patient-specific, guideline-based treatment plans for patients who have pressure ulcers or are at risk for developing them. The system captures coded data about assessment, diagnosis and interventions using a point-and-click interface. Knowledge is accessible to the user via: 1) hypertext links from the data entry screens; 2) explicit entry into an indexed version of the guideline; 3) imbedded knowledge-based rules that critique the diagnosis and offer guidance for treatment; and 4) explicit entry into interactive algorithms. The system has been implemented experimentally on one care unit at our hospital, where its impact will be assessed in comparison with a control unit. Data on 113 patients were entered during the 21-week experimental period. The system is being evaluated for its instructional adequacy, its impact on clinicians' decision-making and knowledge, and on processes of care. Users' perceptions of the system are also being evaluated. Dissemination issues in the context of today's health care environment are addressed.

Boston↗

Learning theory and knowledge structures in computer-aided instruction.

The development of computer-aided instructional (CAI) systems suffers from a lack of a cohesive theory of learning--how do students acquire and store knowledge? From studies of computer systems that learn and tutor, we can infer generic activities that appear to be integral parts of the learning process, such as aggregation, clustering, characterization, and storage for later retrieval. Learning is faster and more efficient if the goal of a task is made explicit. Hints should be given with the correct timing in relation to an objective so that students can advance in their own problem-solving strategies with the prerequisites in mind. The general form of a rule should usually be taught first, followed by exceptions and special instances. We review theories of learning associated with CAI that illustrate the classification of different types of knowledge. Rule-based (if-then) knowledge forms are represented in these theories, as are declarative and causal knowledge structures. Extracting the common themes from different classifications of knowledge may help us create better CAI.

Artificial Intelligence↗

Consumer reactions to differing amounts of written drug information.

Four prototype patient package inserts (PPIs) for erythromycin were tested in an analog study using 325 individuals drawn from a college community. There was no difference in the total amount of knowledge communicated by the different PPIs, but results for individual test items suggest (1) that more explicit information may be better recalled, and (2) that longer PPIs may aid in information integration, whereas shorter PPIs may aid in pure recall of facts. PPIs containing elaboration on why drug effects occur were rated by the subjects as more "accurate." Subjects tended to rate PPIs that provided behavioral instructions on what to do if certain drug effects occurred as designed to promote better care.

Adult↗

Implicit and explicit processes in a hypothesis testing task.

We present the results of two experiments investigating the factors that determine responding on the pseudo-diagnosticity task. In Expt 1 we manipulated people's beliefs about the degree to which an initial piece of evidence supported a focal hypothesis and found decreased pseudo-diagnostic (PD) responding when the evidence offered low support for the focal hypothesis. In Expt 2 we manipulated the instructions given to participants. We found that instructions to select evidence to help decide between the focal and the complementary hypotheses produced fewer PD responses than both instructions to decide whether the focal hypothesis was the case and instructions to decide whether its complement was the case. The results are interpreted within the framework of recent dual process theories of reasoning.

Adolescent↗

The relative efficacy of avoidant and nonavoidant coping strategies: a meta-analysis.

A casual review of the research literature on coping strategies suggests that strategies involving avoidant tactics are effective in reducing pain, stress, and anxiety in some cases, whereas nonavoidant strategies (called here attention), appear to be more effective in others. This article reports the results of a series of meta-analyses to ascertain whether there are systematic patterns in the empirical literature that describe when attention strategies are more or less effective than avoidant strategies. In particular, we consider the role of different kinds of attentional sets and also the role of time--whether some kinds of strategies work best in the early phases of the stress experience, and others are more efficacious in later phases of the stress experience. Results of an overall analysis of studies providing tests of attention versus avoidance indicated little evidence for one strategy's superiority. However, supplementary analyses, motivated by theoretical reasons, suggest there are boundary conditions that define the relative efficacy of a specific strategy. Overall, avoidance was associated with more positive adaptation in the short-run. However, attention was superior to avoidance if the former involved a focus on sensory schemata rather than emotional processing. If attention involved an emotional interpretational set or no explicit set, then it was associated with more negative outcomes than avoidance. In terms of long-term outcomes, avoidance indicates better outcomes initially, but with time, attention was associated with more positive outcomes. A final set of analyses found that both attention and avoidance facilitate adaptation as compared with no instruction controls. The meta-analyses suggest the important role of interpretational set and whether one looks at the immediate or at the long-term effects of coping. Limitations of the analyses and directions for future research are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

Can sequence learning be implicit? New evidence with the process dissociation procedure.

Can we learn without awareness? Although this issue has been extensively explored through studies of implicit learning, there is currently no agreement about the extent to which knowledge can be acquired and projected onto performance in an unconscious way. The controversy, like that surrounding implicit memory, seems to be at least in part attributable to unquestioned acceptance of the unrealistic assumption that tasks are process-pure--that is, that a given task exclusively involves either implicit or explicit knowledge. Methods such as the process dissociation procedure (PDP, Jacoby, 1991) have been developed to overcome the conceptual limitations of the process purity assumption but have seldom been used in the context of implicit learning research. In this paper, we show how the PDP can be applied to a free generation task so as to disentangle explicit and implicit sequence learning. Our results indicate that subjects who are denied preparation to the next stimulus nevertheless exhibit knowledge of the sequence through their reaction time performance despite remaining unable (1) to project this knowledge in a recognition task and (2) to refrain from expressing their knowledge when specifically instructed to do so. These findings provide strong evidence that sequence learning can be unconscious.

Adolescent↗

Causal beliefs and conditioned responses: retrospective revaluation induced by experience and by instruction.

The author tested causal beliefs and conditioned responses in a task involving retrospective revaluation of the causal status of a target cue with respect to electric shock. Successful revaluation was observed on both self-report shock expectancy and skin conductance, whether the training trials were directly experienced, described, or partly experienced and partly described. The results contradict models that link anticipatory conditioned responses to a separate or earlier process from that underlying explicit causal knowledge. They suggest instead that a single learning process gives rise to propositional knowledge that (a) drives anticipatory responding, (b) forms the basis for self-reported causal beliefs, and (c) can be combined with other knowledge, provided either by experience or symbolically, to generate inferences such as retrospective revaluation.

Association Learning↗

Culture and children's cosmology.

In this investigation, we examined children's knowledge of cosmology in relation to the shape of the earth and the day-night cycle. Using explicit questioning involving a choice of alternative answers and 3D models, we carried out a comparison of children aged 4-9 years living in Australia and England Though Australia and England have a close cultural affinity, there are differences in children's early exposure to cosmological concepts. Australian children who have early instruction in this domain were nearly always significantly in advance of their English counterparts. In general, they most often produced responses compatible with a conception of a round earth on which people can live all over without falling off. We consider coherence and fragmentation in children's knowledge in terms of the timing of culturally transmitted information, and in relation to questioning methods used in previous research that may have underestimated children's competence.

Astronomical Phenomena↗