Psychology Research Article

Published by James Taylor

Article 1

Brockmole, J.R., & Logie, R.H (2013, January 07). Age-Related Change in Visual Working Memory: A Study of 55,753 Participants Aged 8–75. Retrieved from https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00012/full

The research objective for the study by Brockmole and Logie was to determine whether Visual Working Memory (VWM) is age-related. The hypothesis of the research was that visual working memory decreases with advancing age. There are different properties whose presence enables visual cognition including luminance, shape, color, orientation, size, and texture. The association of these features in memory is critical to retaining information regarding the objects observed. Increasingly. The amount of information that an individual acquires from an item is also key to creating a memory of the same object. Therefore, concerns have been raised as to whether the binding abilities of the components of an item are age-related. As the stages of development advance, the ability to observe the properties of an object and integrate the information into a working memory also decreases (Brockmole & Logie, 2013). Individuals at the extremes of age including children and the elderly have challenges that involve the visual working memory (VMW). However, teenagers and young adults who are in their twenties have better VWM.

To test the hypothesis, the researchers collected data from 55,753 volunteers from 138 different countries who were aged between 8 years to 75 years. The participants were provided with four different shapes ranging from animal forms to geometrical figures of different colors and sizes. The objects were blue, green, yellow, and red (Brockmole & Logie, 2013). The colors and shapes were also randomly combined to form customized test materials. The modified test materials were displayed using a computer screen, and the participants were required to recall the color and shape of the items. The test was stopped once the respondents failed to remember the features of the test samples. The performance was graded from 1-20 based on the number of correct objects that the participants had identified. Graphs were drawn using the statistics collected after the analysis of the responses and scores of the participants.

Using the ANOVA score script, the results showed that object retention fluctuated as a variable of advancing maturity. Memory improved from the age of 8 to 20 years and then a steady decline was observed from 20-75 years. Visual working memory for participants aged from 8-9years was similar to that of participants aged from 45-55 years (Brockmole & Logie, 2013). However, there were differences in mental retention between the male and the female participants. Color examinations showed that more memory was retained when color was involved compared to the use of shapes. The findings were similar to the existing literature on color perceptions. Moreover, the ability to detect color decreased with advancing age. Memory increased with advancing age until the middle age where there was a decline in the amount of recall by the participants. Adults displayed a decreased trend in visual working memory.

The results convince me. The sample size was large and representative of a large population. The ability to retain short term memory is related to the capacity to associate the components of an object and the amount of information. However, the function for retaining individual characteristics declines with age. The perception and retention of color are quick. The stimulus from color receives more efferent neuronal attention compared to shape. However, the perception of color is automatic and less processing of stimulus is required to store color in memory. Therefore, the findings of the study are consistent with the literature, and I agree with the results of the research.

Article 2

Schaefer, S., & Lindenberger, U. (2013). Thinking While Walking: Experienced High-Heel Walkers Flexibly Adjust Their Gait. Retrieved from https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00316/full

The study by Schaefer and Lindenberger was designed to investigate the degree of performance of a second task while motor action is active. The use of high-heels for women was chosen as the motor task. The hypothesis of the study is that experienced high-heel wearers can maintain their cognitive routine more effectively compared to amateur high-heel users. The use of motor skills requires attention. However, increasing performance of the motor tasks creates autonomy of the system such that the experience can sustain the work without the active involvement of the brain. The threat to shift attention is more pronounced if the task executed requires excellent motor skills such as balance. Essentially, well-practiced motor skills will demand less attention and the cognition can be shifted to other activities. For example, experienced golf players can easily play and shoot accurately while engaged in other tasks such as talking. The use of motor skills repeatedly in one undertaking leads to procedural control of the activity while executing a secondary task without effect to the original function. Predictions for the study were made that women who were experienced high-heel wearers could do other tasks effortless compared to the novice.

To test this hypothesis middle-aged women were recruited for the study. Their experience in wearing high-heels was also diverse. In total, 48 women were recruited aged between 40-50 years (Schaefer & Lindenberger, 2013). Half of the participants reported wearing the high-heels “frequently,” while the other half reported to “hardly” use the shoes. All the participants were exposed to a motorized threading mill, and they were required to walk on the machine. Their motion was monitored through a computer, and they were exposed to a platform in line with their trajectory. A MATLAB script was used to measure their gait. A series of 40 numbers were presented through an audio device. The participants were required to say yes whenever the number projected by the speaker was similar to the number they observed. The study was conducted in two sessions. In the first session, the participants used high-heels and second session they were allowed to use gym shoes.

Some variables were analyzed, balancing in high heels, and running in gym outfits. In the two set of participants, there was no meaningful variance between the experienced high-heel wearers and the novice in terms of cognition. They both had the same level of accomplishing secondary tasks (Schaefer & Lindenberger, 2013). The findings were contrary to the predictions since the experts were not more competent is sustaining their cognitive performance. Moreover, frequent users did not show more stages of improved performance in working memory than novices. The results were also contrary to the predictions. Increasingly, experts were observed to adjust frequently to the walking gait more than the novices. In essence, there were absent cognitive performance dissimilarities between the high-heel users and the beginners.

Based on the current study, the predictions that motor cognition is adapted and that multi-tasking is possible were negated. I do not agree with the results because the sample size was not representative of the entire demographic and the respondents were allowed to pick walking pace as an option. Increasingly, in the gym room, there were fewer obstacles that would have made the novices focus their attention on maintaining gait and balanced walking. Based on the discussions prior, the experts were expected to perform better in cognition compared to the beginners. When the motor skill is automated, the other cognitive functions receive more attention, and overall functioning is improved.

Article 3

Tarasuik, J., Galligan, R., & Kaufman, J. (2013). Seeing is Believing but is Hearing? Comparing Audio and Video Communication for Young Children. Retrieved from https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00064/full

The researchers intended to discover whether the use of telephone and video calls had an impact on the relationship between the children and their parents. Video communication has gained popularity among different individuals. The virtual connection enables people to see each other through cameras from different geographic locations. Nonetheless, the use of telephones for communication remains viable among a majority of the population. Therefore, the two channels of communications create a dilemma for individuals. The scientists Tarasuik, Galligan, and Kaufman, seek to determine which means of communication enhances security and proximity. The study was meant to determine whether a sense of security for children was created through the use of video calls in cases where the kids were temporarily separated from their parents. The researchers hypothesized that video interaction is a superior means of building and preserving emotional links between guardians and their toddlers. The reason for the supposition is that children have not developed capacities for telephone communication; thus visual calls are easier to handle or relate with. Visual cues present in video communication assist the child in interpreting body language easily.

To test the theory, the researchers selected 25 children aged 25-42.5 months and engaged them in a session of free-play trailed by dis-integration and later reintegration incidences (Tarasuik, Galligan, & Kaufman, 2013). During each separation, the children were exposed to audial or visual communication with their parents. The parents were allowed to play freely with their kids and were later withdrawn from the playroom. After separation, contact between the parents and the children was maintained first through a video call, and later via telephone. The parents were also provided with questionnaires, which they answered and rated the emotional responses from their kids. The questions were meant to assess the safety of the children by evaluating how they responded to their parents when they were separated. A positive score indicated protection implying that the child was safely attached to the parent.

In the initial phase of the experiment, children remained safe throughout the trial after the parents were separated and the toddler’s communication with the guardians was maintained through video calls. Increasingly, the children showed contentment throughout the entire duration. 88% of the kids showed maximum contentment after video separation was conducted (Tarasuik et al., 2013). The contentment levels were assessed through observation of the kid’s behavior and whether they left the room after separation or not. On the other hand, 64% of the children showed contentment when the audio separation session was conducted.

The children also played happily during the video split period compared to the audio separation session. A Friedman test, which analyzed the children’s interaction during the two sessions, also showed that there was increased interactions among the kids during the virtual split periods compared to the audio separation session. Besides, a Friedman test, used to compare the effect on the kids after the two periods, showed that there was a positive impact and improved mood during the video conference compared to the audio session. Lastly, the Wilcoxon Signed Rank tests revealed that the response ration of the kids was higher in the free-play session compared to the audio period. The study, therefore, confirmed the hypothesis that video communication enhanced proximity and improved emotional links between parents and children. Consequently, the researchers concluded that a parental presence is felt through video calls as opposed to phone calls.

The result of the research by Tarasuik et al. was convincing in my opinion. The study has shown how emotions are affected when people interact through the video and when they communicate through audio. Children feel the closeness of their parents through video calls. With the rise of distant family relations and schools that are far away from home, video communication can be useful in improving parent-child relationships.

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