David A. Walsh

A Hierarchical Taxonomy of Human Goals

This paper presents a hierarchical taxonomy of human goals, based on similarity judgments of 135 goals gleaned from the literature. Women and men in 3 age groups—17–30, 25–62, and 65 and older—sorted the goals into conceptually similar groups. These were cluster analyzed and a taxonomy of 30 goal clusters was developed for each age group separately and for the total sample. The clusters were conceptually meaningful and consistent across the 3 samples. The broadest distinction in each sample was between interpersonal or social goals and intrapersonal or individual goals, with interpersonal goals divided into family-related and more general social goals. Further, the 30 clusters were organized into meaningful higher order clusters. The role of such a taxonomy in promoting theory development and research is discussed, as is its relationship to other organizations of human goals and to the Big Five structure of personality.

The effects of expertise on financial problem solving: Evidence for goal-directed, problem-solving scripts

Abstract The information-selection and problem-solving strategies of experts and novices presented with a complex, real-world retirement planning task were studied. Two extreme groups of financial planning expertise were created from a sample of 21 on the basis of their (1) occupational reputations, and (2) performance on a comprehensive financial knowledge questionnaire. Subjects were required to decide, in a two-phase experimental task, whether or not a hypothetical young couple should invest in an Individual Retirement Account. In the first phase, subjects listed the specific information they would need to make an informed decision. In the second phase, they were provided with the specific, detailed data they had requested and were asked to “think-aloud” as they worked toward a problem solution. A process-tracing technique was used to analyze the think-aloud protocols with the data revealing basic differences in a variety of problem-solving processes as a function of expertise. Experts solved the problem in less time using fewer overall steps to complete the task, appearing much more goal-directed than novices who engaged in complicated information search strategies which lacked both coherence and efficiency. Moreover, at the outset of the task, experts requested higher-level task information than novices, demonstrating a superior initial representation of the problem. The results are interpreted as support for a script-based model of expert performance.

Effects of orienting tasks on free recall in incidental learning: “difficulty,” “effort,” and “process” explanations

In three experiments involving 22 conditions, amount of free recall was shown to vary with type and combination of orienting task performed during the presentation of a list of 24 low-frequency English nouns. When the orienting task was semantic, that is, it required the subjects to process the meanings of words, recall was significantly higher than that of subjects performing nonsemantic orienting tasks. When two orienting tasks were performed serially during the presentation interval, and one of the tasks was semantic, recall was significantly higher than the recall of groups performing only nonsemantic tasks. When the two tasks were nonsemantic, recall was indistinguishable from the recall of subjects performing single nonsemantic tasks. When the incidental subjects performed a semantic task either singly or in combination with another task, recall was not significantly different from that of a control group of intentional learners who performed no orienting task. The findings are concordant with “process” explanations of the effects of orienting tasks and discordant with “difficulty” or “effort” theories.

Encoding and Retrieval Factors in Adult Memory for Implicational Sentences.

In three experiments, young and old adults performed an encoding task on implicational sentences and were given a subsequent recall test. Experiments 1 and 2 utilized a within-subject design in which subjects performed a pleasantness-rating or word-estimation (number of words) task followed by either free or cued recall. Although there was no age difference in free recall of sentences, the young generally recalled more than the old in response to implicational cues. The pattern was similar for pleasantness-rating sentences and word-estimation sentences, despite a large main effect of encoding task. Furthermore, the age differences were not attributable to differences in education, sex, vocabulary skill, or arousal (as measured by electrodermal responsivity). In Experiment 3, a comprehension-response task replaced the word-estimation task in a between-subjects design. The earlier findings with pleasantness rating were replicated. However, no age differences in cued recall were observed with the comprehension-response task, suggesting that the older adults benefit from explicit attention to sentence implications. Age-related differences in recall are discussed in terms of deficiencies at encoding and retrieval.

Figural relationship effects and mechanisms of visual masking

In each of three visual pattern masking experiments, four curved letters (C, O, Q, S) and four angular letters (E, I, L, T) served as targets preceded or followed by either a curved mask (Q,S, and C superimposed) or an angular mask (T and E superimposed). With a dark fixation and interstimulus interval field and target-mask engergies that produce clearly identifiable targets, the following figural relationship effects were found. At stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs) from 0 to 20 msec (in both forward and backward masking), target recognition was more accurate when targets and masks overlapped exactly (same features) than when they did not (different features). At backward masking SOAs beyond 20 msec, this pattern was reversed, but there was no such reversal in forward masking. Such results indicate that the dominant mechanism of masking at SOAs from 0 to 20 msec is luminance summation over time but that luminance summation gives way to feature-specific interference at longer SOAs. Subsequent experiments demonstrate that (a) luminance summation effects are reduced by using bright fixation and interstimulus fields and (b) feature-specific interference is eliminated by using low-energy (and, therefore, less than perfectly identifiable) targets and masks.

Age differences in peripheral perceptual processing: A monoptic backward masking investigation.

Peripheral processes in vision were investigated in two experiments involving monoptic backward masking with random noise. For young and old subjects, peripheral processing time (represented by stimulus onset asynchrony of target and mask) was characterized as a power function of target energy. Although processing time for both age groups showed a similar rate of decline with increasing target energy, old subjects processed targets more slowly at all energy levels. Results were independent of education, sex, and criterion differences between young and old. Target duration was related to critical interstimulus interval, such that stimulus onset asynchrony between target and mask was approximately constant for a given target energy within each age group. Evidence suggests that peripheral processing begins with target onset and that processing time is best characterized by a power function relating stimulus onset asynchrony of target and mask to target energy.

Backward masking, IQ, SAT and reaction time: Interrelationships and theory

Abstract Backward-masking recognition accuracy, IQ, Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores, and reaction time (RT) on masking trials were obtained from 81 Ss. Of primary concern was the correlation between the first two variables. In 11 previous studies the correlation between the inverse of recognition accuracy, recognition threshold, and IQ has ranged from -0.20 to -0.92. This variation is negatively related to sample size, r = -0.69. An N of 81 predicts a recognition-accuracy correlation of +0.11. The obtained correlation is +0.44, substantially higher than predicted. The median correlation from the other 11 studies is in good agreement with this value, median r = -0.54 (recognition threshold). Other findings are that backward-masking threshold was not significantly related to SAT scores, but IQ and SAT (Total) scores were significantly related, r = 0.44. Masking RT, both direct and derived measures, did not correlate with any other variable. It is suggested that masking threshold may reflect fluid intelligence (IQ) more than crystallized intelligence (SAT).

CHALLENGES OF TRAINING PRE‐RETIREES TO MAKE SOUND FINANCIAL PLANNING DECISIONS

One of the more pressing societal challenges American institutions will face in the coming decades is to ensure that individuals who choose to leave the workforce have made wise financial decisions in preparation for retirement (Cutler, Gregg, & Lawton, 1992). The present study was designed to measure pre‐retirees’ ability to make accurate decisions about the affordability of retiring from regular employment. The two goals of the investigation were to measure whether knowledge of finance and retirement planning mediated the quality of individuals’ decisions, and to determine whether a brief educational training program could be used to improve decision performance. A within‐subjects design was employed in which subjects were asked to provide solutions to four realistic retirement planning decision scenarios: two prior to an educational intervention, and two following the intervention. Results indicate that although subjects’ knowledge of the domain increased significantly as a function of training, the ov...

Spatial perspective-taking ability in young and elderly adults

Three experiments investigated spatial perspective-taking ability in young and elderly women. The three experiments differed with regard to the method by which subjects were initially familiarized with the experimental stimuli. Subjects were required to make decisions about the correctness of each of several types of slides presented to them. The amount of time required by subjects to make their responses was also obtained. The results show a smaller age difference in accuracy of performance when individual components of the stimulus array were examined in isolation (Experiment 2) than when the array was actually previewed from the perspective-taking positions (Experiment 1). Furthermore, a combination of the two methods of familiarization (Experiment 3) did not reduce the age difference in accuracy of performance beyond that obtained by the examination of individual components alone. Age differences in reaction time for correct responses, however, steadily decreased between Experiments 1, 2, and 3. These results raise the possibility that cognitive systems associated with storing and retrieving spatial information may decline more rapidly across the adult life span than cognitive systems involved in the construction of unviewed spatial information.

Image Theory, Goal Incompatibility, and Retirement Intent.

Identity, as a guiding concept for work and retirement decisions, is explored in the current study. Image theory suggests that actions that “fit” with the goals of the trajectory image are fundamental for maintaining a positive and consistent self-identity (Beach, 1998; Beach & Mitchell, 1987). Incompatibility is the mechanism that evaluates whether retiring or continued work provides sufficient “fit” with the goals one hopes to achieve. In the current study, the “fit” of the trajectory image with retirement and work was measured in 238 full-time employees. Consistent with image theory predictions, individuals perception of the incompatibility between five personal goals, within the trajectory image, and the choices of working and retiring predicted 25% of their retirement intent. Further support for goal incompatibility as a decision criterion is provided by findings showing it yielded better prediction than an alternative model based on goal facilitation, and equal prediction to an alternative model based on cost/benefit. Overall, the results are consistent with image theory and expand on continuity theorys (Atchley, 1999) concept of identity as fundamental for predicting retirement intent.