Pedro Barbas Albuquerque

Bio: Pedro Barbas Albuquerque is an academic researcher from University of Minho. The author has contributed to research in topics: Recall & Psychology. The author has an hindex of 13, co-authored 98 publications receiving 596 citations. Previous affiliations of Pedro Barbas Albuquerque include Catholic University of Portugal.

Analyzing False Memories in Children With Associative Lists Specific for Their Age

Abstract: Two experiments attempted to resolve previous contradictory findings concerning developmental trends in false memories within the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm by using an improved methodology--constructing age-appropriate associative lists. The research also extended the DRM paradigm to preschoolers. Experiment 1 (N=320) included children in three age groups (preschoolers of 3-4 years, second-graders of 7-8 years, and preadolescents of 11-12 years) and adults, and Experiment 2 (N=64) examined preschoolers and preadolescents. Age-appropriate lists increased false recall. Although preschoolers had fewer false memories than the other age groups, they showed considerable levels of false recall when tested with age-appropriate materials. Results were discussed in terms of fuzzy-trace, source-monitoring, and activation frameworks.

The Enhanced Cognitive Interview: Towards a Better Use and Understanding of This Procedure:

Abstract: The Enhanced Cognitive Interview is accepted as one of the most successful techniques for enhancing witness recollection. This type of interview has been studied all over the world (eg, Europe or the USA) and is used by police officers in many different countries (eg, the UK and New Zealand). Nonetheless, it is essential for police officers to understand how, and when, to properly apply this interview. Therefore, we examined the underlying psychological processes involved in this interview, and what research can tells us about the situations and purposes that can benefit from applying it.

Tactual perception: a review of experimental variables and procedures

Abstract: This paper reviews the literature on tactual perception. Throughout this review, we will highlight some of the most relevant aspects in the touch literature: type of stimuli; type of participants; type of tactile exploration; and finally, the interaction between touch and other senses. Regarding type of stimuli, we will analyse studies with abstract stimuli such as vibrations, with two- and three-dimensional stimuli, and also concrete stimuli, considering the relation between familiar and unfamiliar stimuli and the haptic perception of faces. Under the “type of participants” topic, we separated studies with blind participants, studies with children and adults, and also performed an overview of sex differences in performance. The type of tactile exploration is explored considering conditions of active and passive touch, the relevance of movement in touch and the relation between haptic exploration and time. Finally, interactions between touch and vision, touch and smell and touch and taste are explored in the last topic. The review ends with an overall conclusion on the state of the art for the tactual perception literature. With this work, we intend to present an organised overview of the main variables in touch experiments, compiling aspects reported in the tactual literature, and attempting to provide both a summary of previous findings, and a guide to the design of future works on tactual perception and memory, through a presentation of implications from previous studies.

Emotional Induction Through Music: Measuring Cardiac and Electrodermal Responses of Emotional States and Their Persistence.

Abstract: Emotional inductions through music (EIM) procedures have proved to evoke genuine emotions according to neuroimaging studies. However, the persistence of the emotional states after being exposed to musical excerpts remains mostly unexplored. This study aimed to investigate the curve of emotional state generated by an EIM paradigm over a 6-min recovery phase, monitored with valence and arousal self-report measures, and physiological parameters. Stimuli consisted of a neutral and two valenced musical excerpts previously reported to generate such states. The neutral excerpt was composed in a minimalist form characterized by simple sonorities, rhythms, and patterns; the positive excerpt had fast tempo and major tones, and the negative one was slower in tempo and had minor tone. Results of 24 participants revealed that positive and negative EIM effectively induced self-reported happy and sad emotions and elicited higher skin conductance levels (SCL). Although self-reported adjectives describing evoked-emotions states changed to neutral after two minutes in the recovery phase, the SCL data suggests longer lasting arousal for both positive and negative emotional states. The implications of these outcomes for musical research are discussed.

Disentangling Working Memory Functioning in Mood States of Bipolar Disorder: A Systematic Review.

Abstract: Working memory (WM) deficits are often reported in patients with Bipolar Disorder (BD). However, it is not clear the nature of these WM deficits (update or serial order processes) and their association with each BD states (euthymic, mania and depressive). This review investigated the association between BD patient’s states and the functioning of WM components. For this purpose, we carried out a systematic review fulfilling a search in the databases Medline, Scopus, SciELO and Web of Science using specific terms in the abstracts of the articles that generated 212 outcomes in the restricted period from 2005 to 2016. Twenty three papers were selected, completely read and analysed using PICOS strategy. The mood episodes predicted deficits in different components of WM in BD patients (the phonological loop or visuospatial sketchpad) and were associated with different WM processes (updating and serial recall). Lower cognitive scores persist even in remission of symptoms. This result suggests that WM deficit apparently is stage-independent in BD patients. Furthermore, findings suggest that the neutral point on Hedonic Detector component of WM could be maladjusted by BD.

Developmental Reversals in False Memory: A Review of Data and Theory

Abstract: Can susceptibility to false memory and suggestion increase dramatically with age? The authors review the theoretical and empirical literatures on this counterintuitive possibility. Until recently, the well-documented pattern was that susceptibility to memory distortion had been found to decline between early childhood and young adulthood. That pattern is the centerpiece of much expert testimony in legal cases involving child witnesses and victims. During the past 5 years, however, several experiments have been published that test fuzzy-trace theory's prediction that some of the most powerful forms of false memory in adults will be greatly attenuated in children. Those experiments show that in some common domains of experience, in which false memories are rooted in meaning connections among events, age increases in false memory are the rule and are sometimes accompanied by net declines in the accuracy of memory. As these experiments are strongly theory-driven, they have established that developmental improvements in the formation of meaning connections are necessary and sufficient to produce age increases in false memory.

Effects of reminiscence interventions on psychosocial outcomes: a meta-analysis.

Abstract: Objectives: This study integrated results from controlled trials of reminiscence interventions. Methods: Meta-analysis was used to aggregate results from 128 studies on 9 outcome variables. Results: Compared to non-specific changes in control-group members, moderate improvements were observed at posttest with regard to ego-integrity (g = 0.64) and depression (g = 0.57 standard deviation units). Small effects were found on purpose in life (g = 0.48), death preparation (g = 0.40), mastery (g = 0.40), mental health symptoms (g = 0.33), positive well-being (g = 0.33), social integration (g = 0.31), and cognitive performance (g = 0.24). Most effects were maintained at follow-up. We observed larger improvements of depressive symptoms in depressed individuals (g = 1.09) and persons with chronic physical disease (g = 0.94) than in other individuals, and in those receiving life-review therapy (g = 1.28) rather than life-review or simple reminiscence. Moderating effects of the control condition were also detected. ...