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OBJECTIVE: The aim of this research was (a) to study driver inattention as a trait-like variable and (b) to provide new evidence of validity for the Attention-Related Driving Errors Scale (ARDES). BACKGROUND: Driving inattention is approached from an individual differences perspective. We are interested in how drivers vary in their propensity to experience failures of attention and in the methods to measure these differences. METHOD: In a first sample (n = 301), we tested, via confirmatory factor analysis, a new theoretical model for the ARDES. In a second sample (n = 201), we evaluated the relationship between inattention and internal and external sources of distraction and social desirability bias in ARDES responses. A subsample (n = 65) was reevaluated to study temporal stability of the ARDES scores. RESULTS: Errors measured by the ARDES can be classified according to the driving task level at which they occur (navigation, maneuvering, or control). Differences in ARDES scores based on collision history were observed. ARDES was related to internal sources of distraction and was independent of the level of exposure to distracting activities. Test-retest showed a high degree of stability in ARDES scores. Low correlations were found with a social desirability measure. CONCLUSION: ARDES appears to measure a personal trait that remains relatively stable over time and is relatively independent of distracting activities. New evidence of validity emerged for this self-report. APPLICATION: ARDES can be used to measure individual differences in driving inattention and to help tailor preventive interventions for inattentive drivers. It can serve as an instrument of driver self-assessment in educational and training contexts.

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OBJECTIVE: Based on Posner's (1994) model of attentional functions, the relationship between age and personal proneness to attention-related errors while driving and the functioning of the 3 attentional networks were explored by means of attentional behavioral measures and self-report data. METHODS: A sample of 55 drivers was drawn from the general population of Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina. The Attention Network Test for Interactions (ANTI) (Callejas et al. 2004) task was used to obtain behavioral measures of the attentional networks, and we used the Attention-Related Driving Error Scale (ARDES) (Ledesma et al. 2010) questionnaire to obtain a self-report measure of attention-related driving errors. RESULTS: Drivers reporting the greatest propensity to experience attention-related errors showed an overall slowdown in performance, less endogenous preparation for high = priority warning signs, and a better response to conflict in the presence of valid cues than drivers less prone to attention-related errors while driving. Older participants showed a slowdown in performance, less endogenous preparation for high-priority warning signs, and worse cognitive control when solving conflict in comparison with younger drivers. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that each group variable, attention-related error proneness and age, shows a particular combination of attentional network functioning that implies different ways of being distracted, which have different practical implications for safe driving. It can be inferred that drivers who are more prone to commit attentional errors while driving run less risk in situations in which they can deal with response conflict in the presence of valid cues because of the particular way in which their attentional networks are combined when a valid cue is present, could serve to compensate, with a better response conflict, their general slowdown and less endogenous preparedness for high-priority signs. It can be inferred that older drivers might show a reduction of the general state of alertness to signs that indicate the presence of a dangerous driving situation and in solving conflict in traffic circumstances.

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Although episodic memory deficit in patients with multiple sclerosis (ME) is a well established fact, there is no agreement about the origin of this disorder in terms of cognitive processes. Whereas most of the studies attribute this deficit to defects in memory recovery processes, others contribute evidence in favor of the hypothesis that considers that it originates in difficulties in coding memory processes.However, the analysis of the relationship between coding processes and memory functioning in ME is a scantly studied topic. In the present article, we studied coding processes and their relationships with executive control processes in a group of patients with ME. We used a set of indexes of the Test of Verbal Learning from the TAVEC test for the evaluation of the coding processes. To assess the executive processes we used a semantic verbal fluency task, the WCST, and WAIS III scale of matrixes. We worked with 36 patients with ME diagnosis and 36 healthy control participants, paired by age and educational level. The results showed a deficit in the coding processes and the existence of a significant association between these processes and executive functioning.

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The aim of this article is to assess and compare three classification statistical techniques--logistic regression, discriminant analysis and classification trees--to identify the personality characteristics associated with the risk of suffering from ischemic cardiovascular acute episodes (ICAE). The sample comprised 313 participants, men and women, aged from 36 to 80. Participants were divided into two groups: a clinical group of patients (n = 143) who were diagnosed as suffering from ICAE, and a control group (n = 170). Both groups were equated in gender, age, socio-economic and educational level. In view of the comparative study of the analytical procedures, we recommend classification trees as the best choice, as it was the most accurate for the individuals in the clinical group, a simple data analysis and a meaningful clinical interpretation. The predictive validity analysis of the MCMI-II allowed the construction of a reduced version made up of 9 personality scales from the 22 scales in the original version. Thus, we could identify the patients with a higher probability of suffering from ICAE, and additionally, generate an empirical model comprising seven and five personality profiles associated, respectively, with the increase and the decrease of the probability of suffering from ICAE.

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El objetivo del presente artículo es describir y analizar las modificaciones al paradigma de Gramáticas artificiales de Reber, que permiten su aplicación en niños a partir de la inclusión de juegos interactivos en soporte informático en dos formatos de presentación: alfabético y figurativo. Se trabajó con una muestra de 50 niños, divididos en dos grupos (tercero y quintoaño) de enseñanza general básica de una escuela estatal de Mar del Plata, Argentina. Las puntuaciones obtenidas en ambas pruebas de aprendizaje implícito mostraron ser significativascon respecto a lo esperado por azar. Las diferencias de las medias (para muestras relacionadas) de los resultados de ambas pruebas no fueron significativas. Las modificaciones sugeridas implican un aporte para evaluar el Aprendizaje Implícito en niños con elementos estimularesy procedimentales basados en la retroalimentación que facilitan la adecuación de los niños ala lógica interna de las pruebas.

The aim of the present article is to describe and analyze some modifications to the ArtificialGrammars Learning Paradigm that makes it adaptable to children by using interactive computer games presented in two formats: Alphabetical and Figurative. We worked with a sample of 50 children of third and fifth year of Basic General Education (EGB) from a Provincial School of Mar del Plata, Argentina. The punctuations obtained in both tests of Implicit Learning weresignificant with regard to what was expected by chance. The means comparison (pair-samples) shows that the differences between both tests were not significant. The suggested modifications imply a contribution to the evaluation of Implicit Learning in children with new procedural andvisual elements, based on the feedback.

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Os estudos realizados em crianças sobre o tipo de representações que caracterizam o produto da aprendizagem implícita (AI) são escassos. Por causa disso, o trabalho tem como objetivo analisar o efeito que tem sobre a identificação das cadeias corretas alguns aspectos que ainda não têm sido analisados: (1) o comprimento das cadeias gramaticais, (2) a valência do item da prova e (3) o tipo de formato superficial utilizado numa amostra de crianças de 7 e 8 anos. Avaliaram-se 30 crianças do terceiro ano de EGB da Escola Estadual nº 27 da cidade de Mar del Plata, Argentina, utilizando o Paradigma de Gramáticas Artificiais de Reber. Os resultados indicam que as crianças discriminam melhor as cadeias gramaticais corretas nas provas de aprendizagem implícita nos casos em que as mesmas são em menor quantidade de elementos e negativos. Ainda, os resultados indicam que o tipo de formato (alfabético ou figurativo) não influencia na identificação correta dos itens da prova. Os dados obtidos são valiosos para a descrição das representações relacionadas à aquisição e transferência da AI durante a infância e implicam um aporte para o desenho e a seleção dos reativos mais apropriados para a avaliação dessas dimensões representacionais no planejamento de futuros estudos(AU)

The studies that were done in children in relation with the type of representations that are involved with the product of the Implicit Learning (AI) are scarce. For it, the work is focused in the analysis of the effect that some factors, that have not yet been analyzed, have in the identification of the correct items in AI tests: (1) the length of the grammatical strings, (2) the valency of the item and (3) the type of superficial format, in a sample of 7 and 8-year-old children. We evaluated 30 children of the third year of EGB of the Provincial School N ° 27 of Mar del Plata city, Argentina, with the Reber´s Artificial Grammar Paradigm. The results shows that children discriminate better the grammatical correct strings in the tests of implicit learning in the cases that the strings have a positive valency; and in the other way round, the children obtain worse results in the identification of test items with negative valency. The results also indicated that the type of format (alphabetical or figurative) does not influence the correct identification of the items of the test. The obtained information is valuable for the description of the representations involved in the acquisition and transference of the AI during the infancy and involves a contribution for the design and selection of the reagents most adapted for the evaluation of these representational dimensions in the planning of future studies(AU)

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El objetivo del presente artículo es contribuir a la integración teórica entre dos perspectivas de amplia difusión y desarrollo actual: las teorías sobre el aprendizaje implícito (AI) y el programa de investigación conocido como Psicología Evolucionista (PE). Se propone la existencia de una base teórica común entre el AI y la PE que incluye: una perspectiva adaptacionista, que sostiene que las estructuras y mecanismos, procesos y conductas necesitan ser integrados dentro de un marco evolucionista y evaluados en términos de los roles que cada uno juega en las especies que los poseen; un innatismo moderado, que admite la existencia de una estructura considerable no dependiente del ambiente y por último, un acuerdo acerca del carácter adaptativo y no reductible de la conciencia. Por el contrario, se considera que no forma parte de los compromisos compartidos la tesis del carácter masivamente modular de la mente.

Throughout the years, a wide range of systems, trends, schools of thought and paradigms have fought to become researchers' and professionals' number one field of study. In Psychology, however, competing has only produced noticeable theoretic dispersion. The aim of the present article is to contribute to the discussion on theoretical integration by analyzing conceptual convergences between two widely circulating perspectives that are also under current development: the theories of implicit learning (IL) and a research program known as Evolutionary Psychology (EP). Both theories have gradually gained increasing importance among current theory trends. The theories of implicit learning, on one hand, have evolved based on empirical data and have revealed their presence in different experimental paradigms and among diverse populations. On the other hand, over the past few years EP has achieved considerable relevance in the theoretic framework, and has provided evolutionary explanations about a great deal of psychological phenomena. In the first two sections we briefly describe the general characteristics of IL and EP, in order to later analyze possible convergences between both perspectives. Firstly, we show the main conceptual principles of IL based on the analysis made by Frensch who classifies the main existing definitions according to different topics: the stimuli that are involved in the acquisition context, the phenomenological character of the process, the structure complexity of implicit learning content, the existing relationship between IL and neural mechanisms that are different from those in explicit learning, and the functional relationship between IL and attention mechanisms. In the second section, we identify three main theoretical aspects of Evolutionary Psychology: the adjustment assumption (according to which mental systems have emerged basically as features that contribute to an organism's successful reproduction); computational modularity hypothesis (the computation systems that make up the mind are relatively autonomous, they work on a specific purpose and solve very limited kinds of problems); and the innate assumption (that states that mental systems are innate and are determined by a genetic program structure). In the third section we describe some attempts at integrating research on implicit learning within an evolutionary framework. We describe Reber's assumptions on implicit learning which suggest that it is an earlier and more basic phylogenetic type of learning than explicit learning; furthermore we examine their relationship with the comprehensive model of Donald's cognitive evolution. In the fourth section, we particularly examine theoretical convergences between IL and EP theories. We believe that there is a common theoretic base between both perspectives. This theoretical base implies accepting a perspective based on an adaptation framework, supported by the fundamental principles of implicit processes and from an innate position. We believe that the massive modularity assumption does not form part of the conceptual commitments in implicit learning theories, even if it does not turn out to be incompatible with these. Finally, in the conclusions, we summarize our main findings, as well as discuss, from an epistemological framework, the advantages that the theoretical compatibilities hold. We examine different paths to reach a conceptual convergence: theoretical reduction, the unification of a set of minor theories which make up another theory that integrates and surpasses previous ones, as well as the integration of two theoretic bodies that were not connected up to that moment and that account to different theoretic authorities. Given that the potential convergence between Evolutionary psychology and implicit learning does not adjust to any of the aforementioned models, we consider it as a special case of integration.

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En el estudio que se informa se exploraron las relaciones entre las siguientes mediciones cognitivas en niños de 8 a 12 años: (a) la capacidad de aprendizaje implícito (AI) de reglas abstractas, (b) la capacidad de aprendizaje explícito (AE) de reglas abstractas y (c) la medición psicométrica de inteligencia general (IG). Además, se analizó el efecto de tales relaciones con respecto al desarrollo cognitivo en diferentes edades cronológicas. Por último, se exploraron las diferencias en el formato de presentación utilizado en las pruebas comparando dos formatos: alfabético (CA) y figurativo (CF). Se trabajó con una muestra de 64 alumnos de tres escuelas provinciales de la ciudad de Mar del Plata (Prov. de Buenos Aires). La muestra estuvo conformada por 32 niños de tercer año y 32 niños de quinto año de Enseñanza General Básica (EGB). Se verificó la ocurrencia de una correlación positiva estadísticamente significativa entre el AE y la IG (en la CF). Al comparar los resultados obtenidos por los niños de quinto año con los niños de tercero, se obtuvieron diferencias significativas en las puntuaciones obtenidas en la prueba de AE. Los resultados observados sustentan la hipótesis de la independencia del AI de reglas abstractas con respecto a la edad de los sujetos y al CI, y la asociación del AE de reglas abstractas con respecto a la edad de los sujetos y al CI. Los resultados sugieren que el formato figurativo es más sencillo y accesible para la edad de los sujetos comprendidos en la muestra(AU)

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En el estudio que se informa se exploraron las relaciones entre las siguientes mediciones cognitivas en niños de 8 a 12 años: (a) la capacidad de aprendizaje implícito (AI) de reglas abstractas, (b) la capacidad de aprendizaje explícito (AE) de reglas abstractas y (c) la medición psicométrica de inteligencia general (IG). Además, se analizó el efecto de tales relaciones con respecto al desarrollo cognitivo en diferentes edades cronológicas. Por último, se exploraron las diferencias en el formato de presentación utilizado en las pruebas comparando dos formatos: alfabético (CA) y figurativo (CF). Se trabajó con una muestra de 64 alumnos de tres escuelas provinciales de la ciudad de Mar del Plata (Prov. de Buenos Aires). La muestra estuvo conformada por 32 niños de tercer año y 32 niños de quinto año de Enseñanza General Básica (EGB). Se verificó la ocurrencia de una correlación positiva estadísticamente significativa entre el AE y la IG (en la CF). Al comparar los resultados obtenidos por los niños de quinto año con los niños de tercero, se obtuvieron diferencias significativas en las puntuaciones obtenidas en la prueba de AE. Los resultados observados sustentan la hipótesis de la independencia del AI de reglas abstractas con respecto a la edad de los sujetos y al CI, y la asociación del AE de reglas abstractas con respecto a la edad de los sujetos y al CI. Los resultados sugieren que el formato figurativo es más sencillo y accesible para la edad de los sujetos comprendidos en la muestra

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