Can we facilitate posttraumatic growth in combat veterans?

The Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program, currently under development for the U.S. Army, will include a component designed to increase the possibilities for posttraumatic growth in the aftermath of combat. In this article, we briefly review studies that provide evidence for this phenomenon in combat veterans, and we suggest elements that such a program might include to facilitate posttraumatic growth. We urge the Army to conduct randomized controlled trials testing the efficacy of the program prior to its implementation.     

Can orthographic rimes facilitate naming?

Although the orthographic rime (body) is thought to play an important role in reading English, previous priming experiments found little or no evidence for facilitatory body-priming effects in the naming task. That is, hose primes NOSE no better than does a completely unrelated prime. In the present study, the hypothesis that facilitatory body-priming effects are typically masked by strong inhibitory onset effects was investigated. It was shown that when the onset of a prime was removed, facilitatory body priming could be obtained with stimuli that previously had produced no evidence of facilitation. The present study thus reconciles conflicting patterns concerning facilitation versus inhibition in body priming.     

Can prosocial attitude reduce the risk behavior in simulated driving?

High traffic density may lead to more traffic accidents because of more frequent lane change and overtaking behaviors, but drivers with different characteristics may exhibit different driving behaviors. The present study explored the difference in driving behaviors between drivers with a high/low prosocial attitude under high/low traffic density. In this study, a 2 (high/low prosocial attitude) *2 (high/low traffic density) mixed design was used to investigate the interaction between prosocial attitude and traffic density on lane change and overtaking behavior. The implicit association test paradigm was used to measure prosocial attitude, and drivers were divided into two groups. Forty subjects were asked to complete simulated driving tasks under the two conditions of high and low traffic density, and driving behaviors were recorded by driving simulators. The results show that high traffic density leads to more lane change and overtaking behavior. Drivers with a high prosocial attitude have better driving performance under both high and low traffic density, but drivers with a low prosocial attitude maintain a smaller transverse distance from adjacent vehicles in high traffic density, which may increase risk. This study provides support for the selection, training and intervention of professional drivers.     

Subvocalization in auditory-verbal imagery: just a form of motor imagery?

Previous studies have provided evidence for subvocal rehearsal (inner voice) and phonological storage (inner ear) in auditory-verbal imagery. The question remains to be answered whether the inner voice mainly involves higher-order language systems, or primarily relies on motor systems associated with articulatory-kinesthetic processing. On the basis of models of auditory imagery and working memory, we predicted that, if auditory-verbal imagery is a form of motor imagery, performance on a novel auditory-verbal imagery task would be affected by concurrent articulatory suppression as well as by concurrent finger tapping. In contrast, we predicted that performance on a visuospatial control task would be significantly affected by concurrent tapping only. The auditory imagery task consisted of indicating, for bisyllabic words, the syllable that carried the stress. A significant interaction was observed between task (verbal vs. visual) and type of interference (articulatory suppression vs. tapping). Tapping affected reaction times on the visual task significantly more than articulatory suppression. However, both interference conditions affected the verbal task to an equal extent. The present findings confirm the role of subvocalization in auditory-verbal imagery and provide evidence for a strong involvement of articulatory-kinesthetic motor processing.     

Beyond visual imagery: How modality-specific is enhanced mental imagery in synesthesia?

Synesthesia based in visual modalities has been associated with reports of vivid visual imagery. We extend this finding to consider whether other forms of synesthesia are also associated with enhanced imagery, and whether this enhancement reflects the modality of synesthesia. We used self-report imagery measures across multiple sensory modalities, comparing synesthetes’ responses (with a variety of forms of synesthesia) to those of non-synesthete matched controls. Synesthetes reported higher levels of visual, auditory, gustatory, olfactory and tactile imagery and a greater level of imagery use. Furthermore, their reported enhanced imagery is restricted to the modalities involved in the individual’s synesthesia. There was also a relationship between the number of forms of synesthesia an individual has, and the reported vividness of their imagery, highlighting the need for future research to consider the impact of multiple forms of synesthesia. We also recommend the use of behavioral measures to validate these self-report findings.     

What is primed in priming from imagery?

Priming from imagery is typically weaker than that from perception. This has been interpreted as resulting from weaker activation of perceptual processes. However, for imagery and perception, commonality is only half the story: Each is also characterized by specific processes. If priming can be due to both unshared and shared components of imagery and perception, then it should be possible to observe greater priming from imagery than from perception. Two new priming experiments were designed to test this hypothesis, while controlling incidental task differences. In both experiments, participants studied objects by counting their parts (from a mental image or a picture). Experiment 1 used a word-picture matching test task, which was hypothesized to depend on stimulus processing specific to perception, and Experiment 2 a size judgment test task, which was hypothesized to depend on retrieval and generation processes specific to imagery. As predicted, priming for perceived objects was greater than priming for imagined objects in the word-picture matching task. Conversely, in the size judgment task, more priming from imagery than from perception was observed. These results support the conclusions that (a) imagery and perception have substantial unshared processes, and (b) these processes contribute to priming.     

Can the theory of planned behavior explain patterns of health behavior change?

This article tested the ability of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to predict patterns of behavior change associated with health screening. Attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and intentions were used to predict objective measures of attendance 1 month and 13 months later among participants who had never previously been screened (N = 389). Findings showed that the TPB predicted attendance on each occasion and also predicted frequency of attendance. However, the model was unable to reliably distinguish among consistent attendees, participants who delayed attending, and participants who initially attended but relapsed. Thus, the TPB needs to be extended to understand behaviors that must be performed promptly and repeatedly for health benefits to accrue.     

Weber-Fechner behavior in symmetry perception?

The literature contains several allusions to the idea that detection of (mirror) symmetry in the presence of noise follows the Weber-Fechner law. This law usually applies to first-order structures, such as length, weight, or pitch, and it holds that just-noticeable differences in a signal vary in proportion to the strength of the signal. Symmetry, however, is a higher order structure, and this theoretical note starts from the idea that, in noisy symmetry, the regularity-to-noise ratio defines the strength of the signal to be considered. We argue that the detectability of the symmetry follows a psychophysical law that also holds for Glass patterns. This law deviates from the Weber-Fechner law in that it implies that, in the middle range of noise proportions, the sensitivity to variations in the regularity-to-noise ratio is disproportionally higher than in both outer ranges.     

Schema anticipation in recall: memory process or report strategy?

Summary This article reports an experimental investigation testing the hypothesis that recall reports are systematically biased by the recaller's knowledge about who is to receive the recall report, while that bias is absent from a recognition test. Subjects listened to one of two versions of a story recounting John's visit to the doctor. After the story was read, subjects were asked to recall the story either with standard-recall instructions or with instructions to recall for peers, for Martians, or for a contest. In a fifth condition, subjects performed a filler activity, viz., the recall of a personal experience. After the recall test subjects were administered a recognition test. Between the groups no systematic differences in memory performance were observed in the recognition test. Recall for peers appeared to be poorer than recall in the other conditions. Subjects in the recall for a contest condition scored higher than the subjects in the other groups. Not only did groups differ with respect to bias, but there were also systematic differences in the memory or discrimination scores. The findings are discussed within the framework of schema theory.     

Can linguistics contribute to the study of verbal behavior?

A number of publications during the last decade reveal a growing interest in linguistics and psycholinguistics among some radical behaviorists, who have proposed a direct rapprochement between a formal analysis of language and a functional account. It is argued that whereas function has to do with the circumstances under which verbal behavior is emitted, structure has to do with its "internal organization," the ways in which sentences or parts thereof are presumably interrelated. These are said to be different dimensions of verbal behavior; together they should lead toward a coherent psychology of language. But psychologists bent on incorporating techniques from linguistics should be aware of its underlying assumptions, lest their work be deflected in essentially unproductive directions. The line between rapprochement and subservience is thin indeed, as the extant literature shows. This paper traces the development of mainstream contemporary psycholinguistics and examines the linguist's assumptions about the subject matter in the light of a behavioral analysis. The possibility of an effective reconciliation seems to be a long way off.     

Inspecting visual mental images: Can people “see” implicit properties as easily in imagery and perception?

Can people “see” previously unnoticed properties in objects that they visualize, or are they locked into the organization of the pattern that was encoded during perception? To answer this question, we first asked a group to describe letters of the alphabet and found that some properties (such as the presence of a diagonal line) are often mentioned, whereas others (such as symmetry) are rarely if ever mentioned. Then we showed not only that other participants could correctly detect both kinds of properties in visualized letters, but also that the relative differences in the ease of detecting these two types of properties are highly similar in perception (when the letters are actually visible) and imagery (when the letters are merely visualized). These findings provide support for the view that images can be reinterpreted in ways much like what occurs during perception and speak to the wider issue of the long-standing debate about the format of mental images.     

Is imagery better than reality? Performance in imagined dart throwing

We investigated whether deviations from optimal performance are predicted in motor imagery. In Experiment 1, novices and experts imagined and executed dart throws. In imagination, they reported the final position of the dart. Experts performed better than novices in execution and imagination. Distance to the target and bias were smaller in imagination than in execution. In Experiment 2, we dissociated the roles of feedback from proximal and distal action elements for predictions. Three groups of novices estimated the dart’s final position in imagination, in execution without visual feedback, or in execution with delayed visual feedback. Estimates did not differ significantly between groups, indicating that (the lack of) feedback did not influence predictions. Deviations from optimal performance were lower in estimated than in actual performance. In conclusion, although predictive mechanisms may be similar in imagination and execution, the full extent of deviation from optimal performance is not predicted.     

No anticipation–no action: the role of anticipation in action and perception

This paper reviews psychophysical evidence for the existence and the nature of two types of anticipation in goal-oriented action. The first one relates to attained changes of the perceptual world, thus to action goals. These anticipations determine appropriate motor output. We argue that goal codes do not only serve as a reference unit, against which currently produced behavioral effects are compared. Rather voluntary actions appear to be planned literally in terms of intended behavioral effects. The second type of anticipation relates to the environmental conditions that have to be met to bring an intended effect into being. These anticipations serve to trigger selected actions, when appropriate execution conditions are encountered. Altogether, the behavioral evidence portrays a remarkable automaticity of goal-oriented action. Once a goal exists (wherever it might come from), corresponding efferent output is generated and executed under appropriate conditions.     

Can orange colour facilitate the processing of happiness? An exploration study on happiness metaphor

Colour is a ubiquitous perceptual stimulus, and theoretical models of colour and psychological functioning posit that colour plays a key role in influencing the behaviour and mental function of a person. One investigation and two experiments investigated the colour metaphor representation of happiness concepts and the mapping mode of the colour metaphor of happiness concepts. A questionnaire was conducted to explore the relationship between colour preference and happiness. Study 2 shows that the identification of happiness words was facilitated more when words were viewed on an orange background than when viewed on a blue background. Study 3 further verifies the links of the connection between colour and happiness at the sentence level, and the orange-happiness facilitation effect was replicated. These results document a novel influence of colour on emotion recognition processes, where an orange background may facilitate the processing of the concept of happiness and provide support for conceptual metaphor theory and colour-in-context theory.