Cognitive Characteristics of Strategic and Non-strategic Gamblers

Participation in strategic and non-strategic games is mostly explained in the literature by gender: men gamble on strategic games, while women gamble on non-strategic games. However, little is known about the underlying cognitive factors that could also distinguish strategic and non-strategic gamblers. We suggest that cognitive style and need for cognition also explain participation in gambling subtypes. From a dual-process perspective, cognitive style is the tendency to reject or accept the fast, automatic answer that comes immediately in response to a problem. Individuals that preferentially reject the automatic response use an analytic style, which suggest processing information in a slow way, with deep treatment. The intuitive style supposes a reliance on fast, automatic answers. The need for cognition provides a motivation to engage in effortful activities. One hundred and forty-nine gamblers (53 strategic and 96 non-strategic) answered the Cognitive Reflection Test, Need For Cognition Scale, and socio-demographic questions. A logistic regression was conducted to evaluate the influence of gender, cognitive style and need for cognition on participation in strategic and non-strategic games. Our results show that a model with both gender and cognitive variables is more accurate than a model with gender alone. Analytic (vs. intuitive) style, high (vs. low) need for cognition and being male (vs. female) are characteristics of strategic gamblers (vs. non-strategic gamblers). This study highlights the importance of considering the cognitive characteristics of strategic and non-strategic gamblers in order to develop preventive campaigns and treatments that fit the best profiles for gamblers.     

Career Specialty Preferences Among Psychology Majors: Cognitive Processing Styles Associated With Scientist and Practitioner Interests

The authors investigated cognitive processing styles associated with interests in scientist and practitioner activities among a sample of undergraduate psychology majors who planned to attend graduate school. Results indicated that interests in scientist activities were associated with a greater motivation to engage in effortful processing (i.e., need for cognition). Interests in practitioner activities were not correlated with need for cognition. Contrary to theoretical expectations, neither interests in scientist activities nor in practitioner activities were related to ambiguity intolerance (i.e., preference for clear‐cut solutions to problems).     

Infant Preferences for Structural and Prosodic Properties of Infant‐Directed Speech in the Second Year of Life

While a large literature discusses young infants' preference for an infant‐directed speaking style, few studies have explored preferences after the first year. The present work compares infants' preference for two different properties of IDS speech: prosodic changes (primarily pitch and pitch variability) and structural properties (utterance length; lexical repetition). We found that both 12‐ and 16‐month‐old infants continued to prefer listening to speech with the prosodic properties of IDS, but neither age showed any preference for speech with the lexical repetition and short utterances typical of IDS.     

Healthcare and Listening: A Relationship for Caring

The optimal relationship between healthcare provider and patient is one of trust. This therapeutic relationship is dependent on the ability of the healthcare provider to communicate effectively with the patient. Research indicates that when healthcare providers listen to patients, there is more compliance with medical regimens, patient satisfaction is increased, and physicians are less vulnerable to malpractice lawsuits. Within the last few decades, the relationship between physician and patient has been reconceptualized from a paternalistic relationship to a partnership between provider and patient. This change is demanding a shift in how healthcare providers communicate and, in particular, listen to patients. To address this need, medical organizations such as the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education has emphasized improved training and competence in communication skills of physicians. Effective communication and listening also is critical to the ethical treatment of patients and their families. This paper will discuss the critical component of listening within the healthcare context.     

Extending the Conceptualization of Listening Fidelity

An exploration of variables potentially related to Listening Fidelity (LF) was conducted through two separate studies. Study 1 indicated that when the potential fidelity of the stimulus message was varied as a function of the number of words and time length, the message with lowest potential fidelity produced significantly lower LF than either the moderate or high potential LF message versions. The moderate potential fidelity message produced the more normal score distribution although not significantly different LF scores than the high potential message. Differences in LF were not indicated as a function of participant sex, gender, or listening style. Study 2 found that LF and two of the three internal scoring components of LF were significantly correlated with four of five dimensions of the Watson Barker Listening Test. Continued emphasis on developing alternative cognitions and exploring listener confidence, cognitive complexity, and the specific function and relationship of LF with listening outcomes were recommended.     

Healthy mind in healthy body? A review of sensorimotor–cognitive interdependencies in old age

We review four broad lines of research on couplings between sensorimotor and cognitive aging, with an emphasis on methodological concerns. First, correlational cross-sectional and longitudinal data indicate increasing associations between sensorimotor and cognitive aspects of behavior with advancing age. Second, older adults show greater performance decrements than young adults when sensorimotor and cognitive tasks or task components need to be performed concurrently rather than in isolation. Third, aerobic fitness interventions produce positive transfer effects on cognition that are particularly pronounced for tasks with high demands on attention and executive control. Fourth, neuroscience findings from animal models and humans have identified aging-sensitive structural and functional circuitries that support cognitive functions and are enhanced by higher levels of sensorimotor functioning. We conclude that sensorimotor and cognitive aging are causally related and functionally interdependent and that age-associated increments in cognitive resource demands of sensorimotor functioning are malleable by experience.     

Discovering the Listener Within Us: The Impact of Trait-Like Personality Variables and Communicator Styles on Preferences for Listening Style

Extending past research, the present study provides an initial examination of the relationship between trait-like personality variables, communicator style, and individual listening preferences. A series of canonical correlations were run to ascertain to what degree certain communication preferences and trait-like personality variables are related to preferences for receiving information. Results indicated a similar pattern of listening styles is found regardless of the variables under question adding validity to the newly formed scoring method for the LSP. Specifically, people-orientation was advocated by a more competent, caring individual who enjoys conversation and is able to juggle affection with accomplishing conversational goals. The combination of high content- and action-orientations in listening is associated with a more masculine personality and greater tendency to engage in active, precise, and impression leaving arguments. High time and action (and to a lesser extent people) orientations correlates with high neuroticism and a high motive for control. Finally, individuals reporting time- and content-orientations also report high psychoticism and prefer a friendlier, more open communication style.     

A Factor Analytic Study of Four Listening Tests

This paper describes the nature and assessment of an interactive videodisc instructional program on listening. The program is available to other educational institutions seeking to expand cost-effective listening instruction to students. Formative evaluations indicate that students enjoyed the Level III interactive multimedia instruction (IMI). Results of a dummy variable regression analysis indicate that students receiving IMI in listening achieved significantly higher immediate cognitive test scores and listening gain scores than did students in the control group. Regression analysis indicated no significant effect of reported GPA, year in school, previous listening instruction, or time-on-task on listening test gain scores of the IMI treatment group. However, significant effects on cognitive test scores were found for reported GPA, previous listening instruction, time-on-task, and senior versus non-senior standing.     

Adult Attachment Style and Nonverbal Closeness in Dating Couples

This study examined the nonverbal correlates of attachment style during interaction with a dating partner. Sixty-one heterosexual couples completed a self-report measure of attachment style and then were videotaped while discussing positive aspects of their relationships. The partners' nonverbal behaviors were coded for specific nonverbal cues and qualities theoretically associated with attachment style. A more secure attachment style was generally associated with more nonverbal closeness and a more avoidant style was generally associated with less nonverbal closeness. Contrary to expectations, individuals with a more preoccupied style were not found to engage in more intimate or clingy behaviors. Results provide partial support for self-reported differences between secure and insecure individuals in their preference for, and comfort with, closeness. Implications for understanding the associations between attachment style and relationship outcomes are discussed.     

A Listening Competence Comparison of Working Professionals

The purpose of the current study was to examine the role that biological sex plays in the relationship between personality and active-empathic listening. Two models were estimated and tested, one including biological sex as a covariate, and one excluding biological sex. Participants (N = 162) completed measures of active-empathic listening and personality. Results from regression analyses examining personality effects with sex as a covariate differed from the results of analyses excluding sex. The discussion section highlights the need for researchers to consider the interrelated roles of sex and personality in examinations of active-empathic listening.     

Face-to-Face to the Study of the Language-as-Product and Language-as-Action Traditions

In this article we argue that new computational tools problematize the concept of thought within current sociocultural theories of technology and cognition by challenging the traditional position of privilege that humans occupy in sociocultural analyses. We draw on work by Shaffer and Kaput (1999) and Latour (1996a, 1996b, 1996c) to extend the analytical reach of "activity theory" (Engestrom, Miettinen, &; Punamaki, 1999; Nardi, 1996b), "mediated action" (Wertsch, 1998) and "distributed cognition" (Hutchins, 1995; Pea, 1993; Salomon, 1993) by adopting a stronger form of the concepts of distribution and mediation in the context of cognitive activity. For rhetorical purposes, we posit this stronger form of the distribution of intelligence across persons and objects as a theory of distributed mind. Previous theories of cognition and technology show that persons and artifacts both contribute to meaningful activity. Here we explore how understanding the pedagogical implications of new media may require creating a new analytic category of "toolforthoughts". The result of such a shift in thinking provides a view of the relationship between technology and cognitive activity appropriate to the emerging virtual culture of the digital age. We suggest that this may provide a useful perspective from which to analyze pedagogical choices in the context of rapid expansion of powerful cognitive technologies. Theorizing the cognitive agency of tools provides a means to evaluate (in the fullest sense of the word) the educational consequences of new technologies.     

Listening/Nonverbal Communication Training

Multiculturalism increases communities' hopes of reducing racism and increasing productivity. Diversity training, however, is receiving negative criticism. Still, effective communication is viewed as critical. Thus, training in this area is encouraged. Cultural understanding and communication skills provide frameworks for developing tolerance and understanding. This study was conducted to provide more applied research to multicultural diversity with applications for business and education. Further, the purpose of this study was to analyze the influence of listening/nonverbal communication training on an individual's level of multicultural sensitivity. A statistically significant relationship was found between the listening/nonverbal communication training used in this study and multicultural sensitivity.     

The Influence of Maternal Socialization on Infants’ Social Evaluation in Two Cultures

Although a growing body of research has explored the early development of social evaluation, no research has directly compared social evaluations of infants between different cultures. In addition, there has been little understanding regarding socialization's effects on this ability. The goal of this study was to expand on earlier findings on social evaluation in infants by investigating a broader sample from two cultures, and to explore the influence of maternal socialization on infants’ social evaluation. Using the violation of expectations and the preferential reaching paradigm, four groups aged 6‐, 9‐, 12‐, and 15–18 months and their mothers from Japan and the United States (159 dyads) were compared in terms of spontaneous social evaluations. Japanese and European American infants showed similar performance in dishabituation to the inconsistent behavior and in their reaching preference for prosocial over antisocial agents, indicating that the emergence of spontaneous social evaluation is not culture‐specific. Furthermore, our study provides a novel finding regarding the relationship between mothers’ socially evaluative speech and infants’ preference for prosocial over antisocial agents. These results suggest that the development of sociomoral understanding results from complicated interactions among evolutionary, cognitive, and social factors.     

A Study of Effective and Ineffective Listening Dyads Using the Systems Theory Principle of Entropy

In this investigation, listening was conceptualized as the process of how individuals perceive, process, remember, and understand oral messages (Bostrom, 1990; Rhodes, 1989; Watson and Barker, 1984; Wolvin &; Coakley, 1992). Using the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI; Bem, 1976; Bem, 1985) and the Listening Styles Profile (Watson, Barker, &; Weaver, 1995); four predominant listening styles were examined as a function of respondent sex and gender-role self-perception. Consistent with expectations, the data show that gender-role self-perception mediated reported listener styles. Independent of sex, the findings revealed that communal respondents prefer a people-oriented listening style; whereas agentic respondents prefer an action, time, and content-oriented listening style. Significant sex-differences were also evident in listening styles. Females reported a relational, people-oriented style of listening while males reported a more action, content, and time-oriented style of listening. Further, no sex by gender role self-perception interaction was evident. The implications of these findings for future research and application are discussed.     

The Cultural Context of Cognition: What the Implicit Association Test Tells Us About How Culture Works1

This article employs evidence from a literature within social psychology on the malleability of scores on the Implicit Association Test (IAT), a measure that is widely used to assess implicit attitudes, and other implicit cognition measures, to provide a theoretical framework for incorporating implicit processes into sociological accounts of culture. Studies from this literature demonstrate the fundamentally contextual and interactional nature of implicit cognition; that is, how the cultural environment shapes the activation of cognitive associations. Understanding how culture works to influence behavior requires attention to the interaction between the cultural environment—including symbols and media, place, situations, and networks—and cognitive representations. Using this theoretical framework, I discuss how evidence from the sociology of culture regarding the nature of this cultural environment can inform our understanding of culture in action.     

SPOUSES' COGNITIVE STYLES AND MARITAL INTERACTION PATTERNS*

This study explored the relationship between spouses' cognitive styles and interaction patterns that were characteristic of their marriage. Three measures of cognitive style and one measure of relational interaction patterns were used. Participants were 60 married couples. Results indicated that spouses' reports of parallel, complementary and symmetrical interaction could each be predicted from spouses' intolerance of ambiguity. Husbands reported more parallel interaction when more similar to their wives in cognitive complexity, and more symmetrical interaction when more dissimilar. Findings suggested a dimension of flexibility-rigidity exists for cognitive style and interaction style. Additionally, interaction patterns could be predicted from marriage length and the number of individuals at home. Implications of these findings for counseling are discussed.     

How to Listen More Efficiently: Self-monitoring Strategies in Listening

The efficiency of cognitive strategies in information processing has been established by a considerable body of research on text comprehension. Caution needs to be used, however, when it comes to generalizing the results to listening. It is argued that, in order to decide if cognitive strategies meet the processing demands of listening, and if so, which strategies, the specifics of the listening situation must be taken into consideration. An empirical basis is needed to investigate the facilitative and possibly interfering effects of using metacognitive strategies during listening. Using qualitative methodology, listening logs collected from 35 undergraduate students were evaluated for the effects - as perceived by listeners - of three types of cognitive strategies, namely, interest management, asking pre-questions, and elaboration techniques. The results support the hypothesis that these strategies, when appropriately adapted to the listening context, facilitate information processing from aural input.     

Responsive Listening in Long-Married Couples: A Psycholinguistic Perspective

Positive and responsive listening behavior benefits marital satisfaction, but previous reports have examined emotionally positive behavior confounded with responsive behavior, and focused primarily on younger marriages. Psycholinguistic views of listening suggest that responsive listening is distinct from emotionally positive listening. The former may change with an aging relationship, while the latter is unlikely to do so. Long-married couples share extensive common ground about recurrent conflicts, reducing the need for some listening behaviors. We observed 79 younger and older married couples, happily and unhappily married, discussing conflicts. We coded listening behaviors indicative of attention and comprehension (responsiveness) as well as those expressing emotions. We expected that older married couples would display lower frequencies of responsive listening behaviors than middle-aged couples. Results provide conditional support for this hypothesis. Implications for research on marital communication and aging are discussed.