Sonja M. Geiger

Turning Simple Span Into Complex Span: Time for Decay or Interference From Distractors?

We investigated the effects of the duration and type of to-be-articulated distractors during encoding of a verbal list into short-term memory (STM). Distractors and to-be-remembered items alternated during list presentation, as in the complex-span task that underlies much of working-memory research. According to an interference model of STM, known as serial order in a box (SOB; Farrell & Lewandowsky, 2002), additional repeated articulations of the same word between list items should cause minimal further disruption of encoding into STM even though the retention interval for early list items is increased. SOB also predicts that the articulation of several different distractor items should lead to much enhanced disruption if the distractor interval is increased. Those predictions were qualitatively confirmed in 4 experiments that found that it is the type of distractors, not their total duration, that determines the success of encoding a list into STM. The results pose a challenge to temporal models of complex-span performance, such as the time-based resource sharing model (Barrouillet, Bernardin, & Camos, 2004). The results add to a growing body of evidence that memory for the short term is not exclusively governed by purely temporal processes.

Two meanings of “if”? Individual differences in the interpretation of conditionals

This work investigates the nature of two distinct response patterns in a probabilistic truth table evaluation task, in which people estimate the probability of a conditional on the basis of frequencies of the truth table cases. The conditional-probability pattern reflects an interpretation of conditionals as expressing a conditional probability. The conjunctive pattern suggests that some people treat conditionals as conjunctions, in line with a prediction of the mental-model theory. Experiments 1 and 2 rule out two alternative explanations of the conjunctive pattern. It does not arise from people believing that at least one case matching the conjunction of antecedent and consequent must exist for a conditional to be true, and it does not arise from people adding the converse to the given conditional. Experiment 3 establishes that peoples response patterns in the probabilistic truth table task are very consistent across different conditionals, and that the two response patterns generalize to conditionals with negated antecedents and consequents. Individual differences in rating the probability of a conditional were loosely correlated with corresponding response patterns in a classical truth table evaluation task, but there was little association with peoples evaluation of deductive inferences from conditionals as premises. A theoretical framework is proposed that integrates elements from the conditional-probability view with the theory of mental models.

Reasoning with conditionals: Does every counterexample count? It’s frequency that counts

A series of experiments investigated what determines people’s degree of belief in conditionals and their readiness to draw inferences from them. Information on the frequency of exceptions to conditional rules was contrasted with information about the number of different disabling conditions causing these exceptions. Experiments 1 and 2, using conditionals with arbitrary contents, revealed a strong effect of frequency information and no effect of disabling information. Experiment 3 established that, in the absence of frequency information, the disabling condition information used in Experiments 1 and 2 affected belief in the conditionals and inference acceptance, as has been found in many previous studies (Byrne, 1989; DeNeys, Schaeken, & d’Ydewalle, 2003b). Experiment 4 extended the results of Experiments 1 and 2 to everyday conditionals. The results show that belief in a conditional, and the confidence in inferences subsequently drawn from it, both depend on the subjective conditional probability of the consequent given the antecedent. This probability is estimated from the relative frequency of exceptions regardless of what causes them.

Temporal isolation does not facilitate forward serial recall—or does it?

In numerous recent studies in short-term memory, it has been established that forward serial recall is unaffected by the temporal isolation of to-be-remembered items. These findings contradict the temporal distinctiveness view of memory, which expects items that are temporally isolated from their neighbors to be more distinct and hence remembered better. To date, isolation effects have only been found with tests that do not constrain output order, such as free recall. This article reports two experiments that, for the first time, report a temporal isolation effect with forward serial recall, using a running memory task in which the end of the list is unpredictable. The results suggest that people are able to encode and use temporal information in situations in which positional information is of little value. We conclude that the overall pattern of findings concerning temporal isolation supports models of short-term memory that postulate multidimensional representations of items.

A diagnostic Environmental Knowledge Scale for Latin America / Escala diagnóstica de conocimientos ambientales para Latinoamérica

Abstract In this paper we present a new scale for the assessment of environmental knowledge in the Latin American Region (EKLA) based on the Rasch model. The scale was validated within two Latin American samples (Argentina, N = 168 and Colombia, N = 130). Comparing the level of environmental knowledge in both countries, the general prevalence of environmental knowledge was higher in the Argentinean sample. Nevertheless, some specific items were easier for the Colombian sample. As the EKLA scale considers the different item difficulties in the respective countries, it gives indications for cultural and geographical factors that have an influence on environmental knowledge. The scale can further be used to inform practitioners and policymakers about relevant environmental knowledge gaps. For the samples in both countries a relationship of environmental knowledge with ecological behaviour was found.

Measuring young consumers’ sustainable consumption behavior: development and validation of the YCSCB scale

Purpose Promoting sustainable consumption among young consumers has become a key priority on the research agenda in such different fields as education for sustainable development, environmental psychology and consumer policy. Progress in this field has been hampered by a lack of sophisticated research instruments capable of measuring consumption behaviors that are relevant both in terms of their sustainability impacts and their suitability for teenagers. This study aims to address this research gap and presents a scale for young consumers’ sustainable consumption behaviors (YCSCB) in the areas of food and clothing. Design/methodology/approach The scale was developed in a two-step, mixed-methods approach. In an initial qualitative interview study, the actual behaviors of theoretically selected young consumers (n = 8) were identified with regard to acquiring, using and disposing of consumer goods in the areas of food and clothing. The YCSCB scale was constructed using the findings of this qualitative study and then validated in a subsequent quantitative study (n = 155). Findings The YCSCB scale is a valid and reliable scale to measure young consumers’ sustainable consumption behavior in the areas of food (n = 14 items) and clothing (n = 13 items). Originality/value The findings of this research provide a twofold contribution to advancing research on YCSCB. Firstly, it presents a consolidated scale that is explicitly constructed for teenagers and their consumption contexts. Secondly, it proposes a heuristic for developing more sophisticated measurements of SCB among young consumers that would allow a comparison between studies, is focused on behaviors (instead of confounding behaviors with intentions, attitudes or values) and is impact-oriented in terms of sustainability relevance.

Education for Sustainable Consumption through Mindfulness Training: Development of a Consumption-Specific Intervention.

Abstract Several widespread approaches to Education for Sustainable Consumption (ESC) have emerged from the tradition of consumer information. A major shortcoming of such cognitive-focused approaches is their limited capacity to facilitate reflection on the affective processes underpinning people’s engagement with consumption. More holistic pedagogies are thus needed to increase the effectiveness of ESC. The concept of mindfulness has recently received growing attention in research on sustainable consumption, given its potential to address both cognitive and affective processes and to stimulate reflection on the drivers of often routinized consumption practices. Despite this recent interest, mindfulness has to date not been systematically connected to ESC. This paper provides a reflexive case study of the development of mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) specifically tailored to ESC (“BiNKA-training”). It elaborates the conceptual connections between mindfulness and ESC, offers insights into the process of adapting MBI to ESC and concludes with lessons learnt and an outlook on future work seeking to tap the potential of MBIs to form more holistic approaches to sustainability education.

Unjust Water: An Investigation of the Drinking Water Situation in Argentina

With their new campaign “I am made of water”, the work group on water of Amigos de la Tierra, Argentina (Friends of the Earth, Argentina) wants to call attention to the unjust and increasingly precarious drinking water situation in Argentina. This situation is characterized by great geographical, climatic and socio-economic differences between the dry and comparatively poor north and west of the country, on the one hand, and the humid, fertile Pampas and Buenos Aires region in the east, on the other. The basic climatic differences are intensified by differential effects of climate change on these regions. Additionally to this disparity in natural drinking water supplies, the national government employs a pricing and supply policy that favours the relatively rich, humid urban areas, while disadvantaging rural areas and the poor city fringes with low drinking water connectivity. The authors will follow up on how this unjust pricing system and lack of education have strengthened environment-damaging habits among the general public in those areas where water supply, at first glance, does not seem to be a problem. The role of cognitive factors, such as beliefs and (lack of) knowledge about water-related facts in creating and maintaining these unsustainable behaviours is discussed. Finally a threefold initiative for change is suggested, including personal education, strengthening social awareness and creating structural foundations as constitutional law warranty for access to water for fair prices.