The effects of age and emotional valence on recognition memory: An ex-Gaussian components analysis
[EN] The aim of this work was to study the effects of valence and age on visual image recognition memory. The International Affective Picture System (IAPS) battery was used, and response time data were analyzed using analysis of variance, as well as an ex-Gaussian fit method. Older participants were slower and more variable in their reaction times. Response times were longer for negative valence pictures, however this was statistically significant only for young participants. This suggests that negative emotional valence has a strong effect on recognition memory in young but not in old participants. The tau parameter, often related to attention in the literature, was smaller for young than …
Resilience and the Aging Process: Assessment Tools and Needs
Abstract Successful resilience is a variable often related to an optimal aging process and that might have a role on education. However, literature is rather limited when dealing with assessment instruments for the elderly in the Spanish language. The objective of this work is to examine the Brief Resilient Coping Scale (Sinclair &Wallston, 2004), a four item likert scale, in the Spanish elderly. This scale was administrated to a sample of 920 elderly Spanish participants, and the data set analysed in terms of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and internal consistency. The scale demonstrated good psychometric properties. Furthermore, the homogeneity indices were higher than in th…
The Role of Feedback on Learning: Evidence through Ex-Gaussian Components
Abstract In the performance of any task if a subject does not understand the instructions given they will hardly be able to fulfil the requested goals. The aim of this work was to evaluate the role of feedback through a stroop task for University students. Two experiments were conducted where participants had to perform, into a counterbalanced design, stroop blocks with and without feedback. The classical ANOVA and a fit of the reaction times (RT) into an ex-Gaussian distribution function were carried out. RTs were much lower in feedback blocks than controls. The differences did not reach the statistical significance, however, the parameters often related in the literature to attention in a…