Don't disturb my circles: The effect of fine arts training on visuospatial ability in students.

Origami, drawing and colouring are artistic activities that can be beneficial for cognitive abilities or emotional well-being. However, there is a lack of studies that would investigate and compare these activities and their effects within the spatial abilities' domain. The aim of this study was to investigate if and how participating in three artistic activities-colouring, drawing or origami-can enhance spatial abilities. A total of 73 young adults participated in one of the three activities organized as a 7-session training, distributed every third day. Measures of spatial abilities (Spatial Reconstruction Task [SRT]), Mental Rotation Task [MRT]), Santa Barbara Solids Task [SBST]), and Corsi Block Tapping Task [Corsi]) were administered before (pretest) and after (posttest) the training, as well as at the 6-month follow-up). The Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) was administered at the posttest. The results showed no significant interaction between the training group and the measurement time point for the spatial ability tasks. Nevertheless, effect sizes at posttest favor origami and drawing in enhancing more complex spatial abilities (MRT for origami and drawing; SBST for origami; Corsi for drawing), and colouring in strengthening spatial perception (SRT). Some effects have remained for a longer period of time. Origami led to a greater pressure and tension, and colouring to higher interest and enjoyment. These results suggest that artistic activities can potentially contribute to the strengthening of spatial abilities, but it is advised to presented them in a way that reduces frustration and increase participant's enjoyment.

Mental imagery training in older adults: Which are benefits and individual predictors?

OBJECTIVES: Strategic memory training involves explicit instructions in mnemonic methods to improve recall. Mental imagery is considered among the most effective encoding strategies. The aim of the present study was to assess the benefits of a strategic memory training based on mental imagery (originally proposed by Carretti et al., 2007) and to further investigate its potentials. The study represents a replication in a new and independent cultural setting and features valuable methodological amendments, while it also examines individual predictors of training efficacy. DESIGN: A sample of 91 older volunteers (age 61-88), divided in training and control group, participated in the training. Specific training gain in the immediate word list recall (criterion task), as well as transfer effects on Letter-Number Sequencing (working memory [WM] task), long-term recall and recognition (LTM tasks) were tested at the pretest and at the posttest. RESULTS: Analysis of variance showed posttraining effects in immediate word recall and long-term verbal recall, but no effects in WM task and long-term recognition. Regression analysis showed age to be the only significant predictor in one task, the immediate word recall. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, proposed training can improve some aspects of memory performance by aiding in strategic use of mental imagery. Transfer to other tasks and contribution of individual predictors to training efficacy results limited, however. It seems that training benefits are evident when task similarity enables transfer-appropriate processing (as evidenced in gains of both recall tasks), while training efficacy relies on individual characteristics which contribute to the execution of some task components.

The Efficacy of a Dance Intervention as Cognitive Training for the Old-Old.

This research investigates the efficacy of a dance intervention of moderate length (10 weeks, 45 min/week) on a sample of old-old adults living in a residential care setting. The study focused on the effect of the intervention on aspects of cognitive functioning (short-term memory, executive functioning). In addition, changes in general self-efficacy and life satisfaction were investigated. Twenty-four older adults (mean age M = 80.8), with no cognitive impairments, participated in the study. Participants were randomly assigned to two programs: the experimental group attended the dance intervention, while the active control group was involved in an alternative (nondance) program. A pretest, posttest, and follow-up measurement was conducted. A 2 × 3 mixed design ANOVA revealed benefits in short-term memory and executive functioning for the trained group, but not for the active control, and this benefit was maintained at the 5 months follow-up. These results suggest that training procedures, based on dance, could improve cognitive functioning in the old-old.

The efficacy of a multifactorial memory training in older adults living in residential care settings.

BACKGROUND: Several studies have shown an increase in memory performance after teaching mnemonic techniques to older participants. However, transfer effects to non-trained tasks are generally either very small, or not found. METHODS: The present study investigates the efficacy of a multifactorial memory training program for older adults living in a residential care center. The program combines teaching of memory strategies with activities based on metacognitive (metamemory) and motivational aspects. Specific training-related gains in the Immediate list recall task (criterion task), as well as transfer effects on measures of short-term memory, long-term memory, working memory, motivational (need for cognition), and metacognitive aspects (subjective measure of one's memory) were examined. Maintenance of training benefits was assessed after seven months. Fifty-one older adults living in a residential care center, with no cognitive impairments, participated in the study. Participants were randomly assigned to two programs: the experimental group attended the training program, while the active control group was involved in a program in which different psychological issues were discussed. RESULTS: A benefit in the criterion task and substantial general transfer effects were found for the trained group, but not for the active control, and they were maintained at the seven months follow-up. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that training procedures, which combine teaching of strategies with metacognitive-motivational aspects, can improve cognitive functioning and attitude toward cognitive activities in older adults.

The higher, the better: Cognitive reserve contributes to lifestyle activities in older age.

The study aimed at investigating age and gender differences in cognitive reserve (CR) and whether CR can contribute to everyday and physical activity and fluid reasoning in older adults. Participants (N = 294), categorized into three age groups: young-old, middle-old, and old-old, completed the Cognitive Reserve Index questionnaire (CRIq), the Everyday Activity Questionnaire (EAQ), the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE), and the Unbalanced Structure Test (UST). The old-old had significantly lower scores on CRI-Total, CRI-Working activity, and CRI-Leisure time compared to young-old and middle-old. Men showed higher scores than women on all CR subscales except for CRI-Leisure time where no significant difference was found. Younger age and higher CRI-Leisure time predicted higher scores on PASE, EAQ, and UST, while higher scores on CRI-Education predicted EAQ and UST. Higher CR seems to enable a more active and healthier lifestyle, while CRIq is a useful tool in the assessment of cognitive potential in the elderly.

"I Did My Own Research": Overconfidence, (Dis)trust in Science, and Endorsement of Conspiracy Theories.

Epistemically suspect beliefs, such as endorsement of conspiracy theories or pseudoscientific claims, are widespread even among highly educated individuals. The phenomenon of conspiratorial thinking is not new, yet the COVID-19 pandemic, causing a global health crisis of an unprecedented scale, facilitated the emergence and rapid spread of some rather radical health-related pseudoscientific fallacies. Numerous correlates of the tendency to endorse conspiracy theories have already been addressed. However, many of them are not subject to an intervention. In this study, we have tested a model that includes predictors ranging from stable characteristics such as demographics (gender, age, education, and size of the place of residence), less stable general traits such as conservatism and overconfidence in one's own reasoning abilities, to relatively changeable worldviews such as trust in science. A hierarchical regression analysis (N = 859 participants) showed that included predictors explained a total of 46% of the variance of believing in COVID-19 conspiracy theories, with only gender, overconfidence, and trust in science yielding significance. Trust in science was the strongest predictor, implying that campaigns aimed at enhancing public trust in both science as a process, and scientists as individuals conducting it, might contribute to the reduction in susceptibility to pseudoscientific claims. Furthermore, overconfidence in one's own reasoning abilities was negatively correlated with an objective measure of reasoning (syllogisms test) and positively correlated with the endorsement of conspiracy theories, indicating that the so-called Dunning-Kruger effect plays a role in pseudoscientific conspiratorial thinking regarding COVID-19.

The brief case for everyday problems: a proposal of two brief alternate forms of the Everyday Problems Test.

Everyday Problems Test (EPT; Willis and Marsiske, Manual for the everyday problems test, Pennsylvania State University, Pennsylvania, 1993) is an 84-item performance-based measure of older adults' everyday cognitive competencies in seven everyday domains (e.g., finance, reading prescription). Its length makes it disadvantageous in the typical time-constrained testing context. Due to the potential practice effects, it is also impractical for longitudinal and intervention studies which require repetitive testing. We have addressed these issues by adapting two brief forms of EPT, with 14 items each. The psychometric evaluation of these two versions was conducted on a sample of 157 cognitively healthy older adults. Both brief forms demonstrated good internal consistency, high inter-correlation, and have shown satisfactory concurrent criterion-related validity based on their correlations with socio-demographic and cognitive variables. Results indicate that the two proposed brief forms can be a valuable tool in assessing the everyday cognitive competence of healthy older adults either as a one-time screening instrument or as a pretest-posttest difference indicator of the intervention efficacy.

Self-evaluation of memory systems: development of the questionnaire.

OBJECTIVES: The term metamemory refers to the knowledge one has about the development and use of memory in general, and one's own memory processes in particular. The current theoretical perspective on memory processes is best described by the memory systems framework which represents a useful tool in specifying different 'kinds' of memory. We present here the Self-evaluation of Memory Systems Questionnaire (SMSQ), which assesses the multidimensional construct of metamemory based on the memory systems framework. METHOD: SMSQ has been developed on a large and heterogeneous sample (N = 3088) via both, web-based and paper-and-pencil form. With the aim of increasing its general utility, we used items referring to situations or materials which are highly likely for everyone to have encountered during their everyday life. RESULTS: Analyses revealed good content validity, factorial validity, internal consistency reliability, and construct validity in terms of expected theoretical group differences. SMSQ is represented by six distinct factors: subjective evaluation, episodic memory, semantic memory, memory for numbers, visuospatial memory, and reminder and aids. Age differences found on SMSQ between young and old adults confirm the well-established empirical findings on the memory and aging. CONCLUSION: SMSQ is a brief, easily administrable, multidimensional metamemory questionnaire, marked with the sound background from the findings on memory systems and cognitive aging.

Trust in Science, Perceived Vulnerability to Disease, and Adherence to Pharmacological and Non-pharmacological COVID-19 Recommendations.

Protection motivation theory (PMT) is a theoretical framework informative for understanding behavioral intentions and choices during exceptional and uncommon circumstances, such as a pandemic of respiratory infectious disease. PMT postulates both the threat appraisal and the coping appraisal as predictors of health behaviors. Recent advances in the field of behavioral immune system (BIS) research suggest that humans are equipped with a set of psychological adaptations enabling them to detect the disease-threat and activate behavioral avoidance of pathogens. The present study, set within PMT framework and informed by the BIS research, aimed to explain and predict voluntary adherence to COVID-19 guidelines by perceived personal risk and vulnerability to disease as threat appraisal variables, and trust in science as the response efficacy element of coping appraisal. Gender, age, belief in the second wave, perceived personal risk, germ aversion, and trust in science were all found to be significant positive predictors of the intent to adhere to non-pharmacological COVID-19 recommendations, with the belief in the second wave, germ aversion, and trust in science being the most important ones. On the other hand, only the belief in the second wave and trust in science were significant positive predictors of the intent to adhere to pharmacological COVID-19 recommendations (i.e., to vaccinate). Interventions aimed at enhancing preventative measures adherence should take into account that the psychological mechanisms underlying adherence to these two types of recommendations are not identical.

Content-specific activational effects of estrogen on working memory performance.

The authors explored the influence of task content and the menstrual cycle phase on working memory (WM) performance. They addressed the content specificity of WM in the framework of evolutionary psychology, proposing a hormone-mediated adaptive design governing face perception. The authors tested 2 groups of healthy young women (n = 66 women with regular menstrual cycle, n = 27 oral contraceptive users) on a WM task with adult male or infant face photographs. Analyses of variance showed significant interaction between task content and estrogen level. Women were more efficient in solving the male faces task during high-estrogen phase of the cycle than during low-estrogen phase. No differences were found in the efficacy of solving the infant faces task between different phases of the cycle. Results suggest content-specific activational effects of estrogen on the WM performance and are consistent with the notion of a hormonal mechanism underlying adaptive shifts in cognition related to mating motivation.

Femininity and masculinity across the menstrual cycle: a relation to mate value.

Numerous studies have shown that menstrual cycle related variations in sex hormones influence various cognitive processes. These shifts are considered as the evidence for a hormone-mediated adaptive design underlying human mating motivation. In a series of related studies we have shown that (i) femininity does not vary across the menstrual cycle, whereas masculinity is the most pronounced during the fertile period, (ii) masculinity, but not femininity, predicts shifts in spatial cognition across the menstrual cycle, and (iii) women with different positions on masculinity and femininity dimensions differ in their self-perceived mate value. These results suggest that (i) there might be a hormone mediated psychological mechanism making a woman more assertive and dominant during a short time-window when the conception is likely, (ii) menstrual cycle related shifts in cognitive abilities and mating motivation might have a common hormonal mechanism, and (iii) women's mate value (and indirectly her reproductive success) depends upon both feminine and masculine traits.

Functions of Autobiographical Memory in Younger and Older Adults.

Functional approach to autobiographical memory (AM) posits its three broad functions: directive, self, and social. Although these functions are probably universal, life stage and gender variations are expected. This research builds on previous studies investigating the validity of Thinking About Life Experiences Questionnaire (TALE; Bluck and Alea, 2011). A sample of 365 adults (56% female, mean age 43.3 years), divided in 2 age cohorts (young: 18-45 years, old: 46-90 years), used TALE, to rate their tendency of using AM for three different purposes, and measures of self-concept clarity, attachment in close relationships and time perspective. Confirmatory factor analysis of TALE confirmed the tripartite model of AM functions and further analysis showed partial factorial equivalence across age and gender groups. Young tend to use AM more for directing future behavior and social-bonding, while no age differences were found in the use of AM to serve self-function. As for gender variations, women tend to use AM more for directing their behavior, while no other gender differences in the use of AM were found. TALE showed good internal consistency and convergent validity of the three subscales. The theory-driven hypotheses that individuals with low self-concept clarity would use AM more often to serve a self-function, those with higher levels of attachment anxiety would use AM more often to serve a social function, and those past-oriented would use memory more often for directive purpose, were all confirmed. Also confirmed was the notion of Past Negative Orientation to be more related to the directive use of AM than Past Positive Time Orientation. Limitations and future directions are discussed.

Computerized tabletop games as a form of a video game training for old-old.

This research aimed at investigating the utility of a computerized version of a cognitively stimulating activity as a video game intervention for elderly. The study focused on the effect of a 6-week extensive practice intervention on aspects of cognitive functioning (vigilance, working memory (WM), inhibition, reasoning) of old-old participants (N = 29), randomly assigned to trained or active control group. The difference between groups was in the content of the extended video game practice - cognitively complex card game for trained and computerized version of a simple dice-game of chance for control participants. A pretest, posttest and a 4-month follow-up measurement was conducted. Results revealed improvements in both groups, except for improved reasoning found only in trained participants. These results suggest that: (1) improvements are dependent on the complexity of the program, (2) cognitively stimulating activity are a valid training procedure for old-old, (3) novelty of computer use is an important factor in determining training efficacy.