Virtual driving and risk taking: do racing games increase risk-taking cognitions, affect, and behaviors?

Research has consistently shown that aggressive video console and PC games elicit aggressive cognitions, affect, and behaviors. Despite the increasing popularity of racing (driving) games, nothing is known about the psychological impact of this genre. This study investigated whether playing racing games affects cognitions, affect, and behaviors that can promote risk taking in actual road traffic situations. In Study 1, the authors found that the frequency of playing racing games was positively associated with competitive driving, obtrusive driving, and car accidents; a negative association with cautious driving was observed. To determine cause and effect, in Study 2, the authors manipulated whether participants played 1 of 3 racing games or 1 of 3 neutral games. Participants who played a racing game subsequently reported a higher accessibility of cognitions and affect positively associated with risk taking than did participants who played a neutral game. Finally, on a more behavioral level, in Study 3, the authors found that men who played a racing game subsequently took higher risks in computer-simulated critical road traffic situations than did men who played a neutral game. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Unconscious reward cues increase invested effort,but do not change speed–accuracy tradeoffs

While both conscious and unconscious reward cues enhance effort to work on a task, previous research also suggests that conscious rewards may additionally affect speed–accuracy tradeoffs. Based on this idea, two experiments explored whether reward cues that are presented above (supraliminal) or below (subliminal) the threshold of conscious awareness affect such tradeoffs differently. In a speed–accuracy paradigm, participants had to solve an arithmetic problem to attain a supraliminally or subliminally presented high-value or low-value coin. Subliminal high (vs. low) rewards made participants more eager (i.e., faster, but equally accurate). In contrast, supraliminal high (vs. low) rewards caused participants to become more cautious (i.e., slower, but more accurate). However, the effects of supraliminal rewards mimicked those of subliminal rewards when the tendency to make speed–accuracy tradeoffs was reduced. These findings suggest that reward cues initially boost effort regardless of whether or not people are aware of them, but affect speed–accuracy tradeoffs only when the reward information is accessible to consciousness.     

Does traffic congestion increase driver aggression?

In his recent article about aggressive driving, David Shinar proposed that the classical frustration-aggression hypothesis (Dollard, J., Doob, L., Miller, N., Mowrer, O. & Sears, R. (1939). Frustration and aggression. New Haven, CN: Yale University Press) provides a useful tool for understanding driver aggression (Shinar, D. (1998). Aggressive driving: the contribution of the drivers and situation. Transportation Research Part F, 1, 137–160). According to Shinar's (1998) application of the frustration–aggression hypothesis, driver aggression is caused by frustration because of traffic congestion and delays. In the present study, the relationships between exposure to congestion (rush-hour driving) and aggressive violations (DBQ) were investigated in Great Britain, Finland and the Netherlands. Partial correlations showed that the frequency of rush-hour driving did not correlate statistically significantly with driver aggression. Correlations between driving during rush-hour and aggression did not differ in magnitude from those between driving on country roads and aggressive violations. In addition, correlations between exposure to congestion and aggressive violations in countries with large number of vehicles per road kilometre (UK, Netherlands) were not higher than those in a sparsely populated country (Finland). These results from three countries suggest that congestion does not increase driver aggression as directly as suggested by Shinar (1998).     

Does eye contact increase counsellor-client rapport?

Data from nine counselling interviews (M length = 48 minutes) were examined for the relationship between counsellor eye contact and client-perceived rapport Using the Standardized Client procedure previously reported (Sharpley, Guidara & Rowley, 1994), minute-by-minute ratings of rapport were made by the client, and later collapsed to give mean values for eye contact for ‘moderate’ versus ‘very high’ rapport minutes. There were no significant overall differences in the frequency of eye contact across these two sets of minutes. In an additional exploratory analysis of the data, the frequencies of eye contact for moderate versus very high rapport minutes were plotted across all minutes of the interviews. These data revealed two distinct patterns of usage, enabling some hypotheses to be drawn regarding the effective use of eye contact here. Implications for training and avenues for further research are discussed.     

Does democracy increase suicide and homicide rates?

Changes in the measures for the level of democracy in 34 nations from 1965 to 1980 were positively associated with the percentage change in the homicide rate over 30 nations.     

Can psychological interventions increase optimism? A meta-analysis

Greater optimism is related to better mental and physical health. A number of studies have investigated interventions intended to increase optimism. The aim of this meta-analysis was to consolidate effect sizes found in randomized controlled intervention studies of optimism training and to identify factors that may influence the effect of interventions. Twenty-nine studies, with a total of 3319 participants, met criteria for inclusion in the analysis. A significant meta-analytic effect size, g = .41, indicated that, across studies, interventions increased optimism. Moderator analyses showed that studies had significantly higher effect sizes if they used the Best Possible Self intervention, provided the intervention in person, used an active control, used separate positive and negative expectancy measures rather than a version of the LOT-R, had a final assessment within one day of the end of the intervention, and used completer analyses rather than intention-to-treat analyses. The results indicate that psychological interventions can increase optimism and that various factors may influence effect size.     

Why does memory span increase with age?

Ordered recall of auditory digits was obtained from children of 4, 7, 9, and 11 years of age. Lists had one of three types of sound pattern: melody, prosody, or monotone. For each sound pattern condition, half the lists were temporally grouped. Effects of sound pattern were minor, and not obviously age-specific. Profound effects of temporal grouping and clear-cut primacy effects appeared for all age groups and all conditions. These results render less plausible the popular hypothesis that the increase of memory span with age is due to the emergence of active strategies. It is suggested that the development of span may be due to an increase in the ease with which children can identify the individual items and encode information about their order.     

An increase of intelligence in China 1986–2012

The Flynn effect has been widely researched in Western and European nations, while it has been comparatively understudied in Asian countries. This study examines possible Flynn effects in China from 1985 to 86 and to 2011–12. Results are reported for an IQ increase among 12 year olds on the Full Scale IQ WISC-R (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised) of 6.19 IQ points, a gain on the Performance IQ of 6.55 IQ points, and a gain on the Verbal IQ of 1.91 IQ points.     

Do distracting activities increase tolerance for an infant cry?

Professionals recommend parents engage in distracting activities to mitigate negative effects of inconsolable infant crying (e.g., Deyo, Skybo, & Carroll, 2008; Goulet et al., 2009). We evaluated the availability of alternative activities on six undergraduates’ tolerance for a recorded infant cry; three students tolerated the cry longer when distracting activities were available. Our results show that distracting activities could decrease the aversiveness of inconsolable infant crying for some individuals; additional research in natural caregiving situations will help determine the generality and social validity of this finding.     

Does augmented feedback from pedometers increase adults' walking behavior?

This study investigated whether feedback from pedometers motivated adults to increase their walking behavior. Participants (n =26) were enrolled in one of two 8-wk. "Walking for Fitness" classes. The study used a crossover design, such that Group 1 wore pedometers for the first 3 weeks (Feedback Condition) and sealed "disguised" pedometers for the last 3 weeks (No-feedback Condition). The order of feedback was reversed for Group 2. Analysis indicated that (a) neither group increased their walking behavior significantly over time and, (b) interactions between groups were not significant at Week 3 or 6, indicating that groups did not respond differently to feedback from the pedometers. If a motivational effect from pedometers exists, it may be small, dissipate before 3 wk., only work in combination with goal setting, or only motivate certain types of individuals.     

Do hotter temperatures increase the incidence of self-harm hospitalisations?

A relationship between air temperature and the incidence of suicide has been established in a number of previous studies. Interestingly, the relationship between geographical variation in temperature and suicide incidence has generally been found to be negative, while the relationship between temporal variation in temperature and suicide incidence has generally been found to be positive. It is less clear, however, how temperature relates to the incidence of self-harm. This topic is of particular importance given the presence of ongoing global warming. This study investigated the relationship between temperature and the incidence of self-harm resulting in hospitalisation in New Zealand. Self-harm hospitalisations by date and district for 1993–2009 were obtained from the Ministry of Health. Meteorological data was obtained from NIWA. Generalised linear mixed models were used to estimate the effects of three different components of variation in temperature: geographical, seasonal and irregular. Irregular (random) daily variation in temperature had a modest positive relationship with the incidence of acts of self-harm resulting in hospitalisation, with about 0.7% extra incidents for every 1 °C increase in temperature. However, there was no strong evidence for a positive effect of either seasonal or geographical variation in temperature. We conclude that temperature does appear to bear some relation to the incidence of self-harm, with irregular daily variation in temperature having a positive effect. However, inconsistencies in the effects of different components of variation in temperature make it challenging to accurately predict how global warming will influence the incidence of self-harm.     

Does self-consciousness increase or decrease priming effects? It depends

Self-consciousness has been shown to both increase and decrease the magnitude of prime-to-behavior effects. In this paper, we decouple the facets of self-consciousness into internal state awareness and self-reflectiveness and show that self-consciousness can be associated with multiple influences on automatic behavior. Specifically, we conducted an experiment demonstrating that increased internal state awareness decreased the magnitude of the prime-to-behavior effect, whereas increased self-reflectiveness amplified the effect. These effects operated independently of self-monitoring and suggest a multiple process approach to understanding prime-to-behavior effects.     

Why does ingroup essentialism increase prejudice against minority members?

A study with British participants (N = 90) tested a potential mediator of the effect of essentialist beliefs about the national ingroup on prejudice against immigrants. Essentialist beliefs were defined as beliefs in genetic determinism, a basic assumption that group membership is “written in the blood” and that the groups’ boundaries and characteristics are determined by genetic and/or biological factors. Essentialist beliefs were expected to play an important role in the formation of prejudice. They were predicted to be associated with a reduction in the perceived possibility of immigrants’ adopting the mainstream culture. Further, it was expected that essentialist beliefs would be positively associated with perceptions of intergroup threat, which in turn would be associated with a stronger demand for immigrants adopting the mainstream culture. Taken together, essentialist beliefs were predicted to be associated with a greater discrepancy between the demand for and perceived feasibility of culture adoption. This discrepancy was hypothesized to mediate the effect of essentialist beliefs on prejudice against immigrants. Structural equation modeling analysis and mediation analysis supported the hypotheses, showing that essentialism attributed to the national ingroup results in people demanding something seemingly impossible from immigrants, and that this situation in which immigrants have little chance of fulfilling majority members’ expectations results in prejudice against them. Thus, results show that perceptions of the ingroup are associated with attitudes to the outgroup, and they outline an explanatory mechanism for the positive correlation between essentialism and prejudice which has been found in previous research. Theoretical and applied implications are discussed.     

Does temporal preparation increase the rate of sensory information accumulation?

Recent studies showed that temporal preparation, i.e., the ability to prepare for an upcoming stimulus, improves perceptual processing. The mechanisms underlying this benefit are still controversial. Based upon the theoretical framework of accumulation models, it has been proposed that the accumulation of sensory stimulus information begins earlier when participants are temporally prepared than when they are unprepared. Alternatively, however, temporal preparation might also affect the accumulation rate of sensory information. In the present study, we examined these possibilities. Specifically, in three experiments, we manipulated participants' decision criterion. This manipulation should interact with any experimental manipulation affecting the rate of information processing, but produce additive effects with any manipulation affecting the onset of information accumulation rather than its rate. We obtained additive effects on RT, irrespective of whether the decision criterion was manipulated by increasing catch trial proportion or nogo trial proportion. These results suggest that temporal preparation improves perceptual processing by operating on the onset of sensory information accumulation rather than the rate of sensory information accumulation.     

Do alerting signals increase the size of the attentional focus?

Previous research has shown that the presentation of an auditory alerting signal before a visual target increases the interference from flanking distractors. Recently, it has been suggested that this increase in interference may be due to an expansion of the spatial focus of attention. In five experiments, this hypothesis was tested by using a probe technique dedicated to measuring variations in the size of the attentional focus: In the majority of trials, participants performed a letter discrimination task in which their attention was focused on a central target letter. In a randomly intermixed probe task, the size of the attentional focus was measured by letting participants respond to a probe occurring at varying positions. In all experiments, reaction time (RT) to the probe increased from the most central to more lateral probe positions. This V-shaped probe-RT function, however, was not flattened by the presentation of an alerting signal. Overall, this pattern of results is inconsistent with the hypothesis that alerting signals increase the attentional focus. Instead, it is consistent with nonspatial accounts that attribute the increase in interference to an alerting effect on perceptual processing, which then leads to a detrimental effect at the level of response selection.     

Does medics' social identification increase handicap for mentally retarded patients?

Briefs about mentally retarded people are more negative than briefs about other social categories; professionals, such as medical doctors evaluate them most negatively of all. It was hypothesized (a) that medics' beliefs about mentally retarded people are mediated by psychological salience of their clinical social identification, rather than by personal characteristics that medics happen to share and (b) that such beliefs will bias decisions, rather than enhance accuracy. Forty-five doctors and medical students were randomly assigned to conditions designed to enhance salience of their shared clinical social identification or individual self-perceptions. Subjects completed semantic differentials about mentally retarded people and distinguished between slides of ‘mentally retarded’ and ‘normal’ children. Beliefs of subjects in the medical condition were significantly more negative than those in the personal condition. A signal detection analysis revealed no difference between conditions in subjects' ability to distinguish between children but showed that subjects in the medical condition were significantly more likely to judge a child ‘mentally retarded’ when in doubt. Results were discussed within an information processing framework and supported the idea that a salient clinical social identity can mediate beliefs that are likely to handicap patients.     

Does group efficacy increase group identification? Resolving their paradoxical relationship

Although group identification and group efficacy are both important predictors of collective action against collective disadvantage, there is mixed evidence for their (causal) relationship. Meta-analytic and correlational evidence suggests an overall positive relationship that has been interpreted as consistent with the idea that group identification leads to group efficacy. However, experimental evidence has not supported this causal relationship. To resolve this paradox, we show in an experiment that it is group efficacy that leads to increased group identification because group efficacy puts individuals' identity into action. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.     

Click it,and increase hedonic consumption ratio: How does online shopping improve the long-term subjective well-being of consumers?

In the past few decades, consumers across the globe have become heavily reliant on e-commerce to purchase almost everything, from essential goods to hedonic goods. The prevalence of online shopping has significantly improved the consumption process and, by meeting consumers' needs, likely affects their long-term subjective well-being (SWB). Using individual-level data from the 2018 China Family Panel Studies, this study shows that online shopping enhances the long-term SWB of consumers by increasing their proportion of hedonic consumption. Consumer income can moderate the effect of online shopping on the long-term SWB of consumers, such that high consumer income can weaken this effect. In addition, the effect of online shopping on long-term SWB is stronger for rural consumers than for urban consumers. The authors close with a discussion of the implications of this study's findings for academics and policy makers.     

Does word training increase or decrease interference in a stroop task?

First and second graders (6- and 7-year-olds) practiced reading 20 words. Before and after word training, they named pictures printed with and without these words as distractors. Of interest was whether training would enhance or diminish the interference created by these words in the picture-naming task. Results indicated that children who learned to recognize unfamiliar distractor words more accurately suffered more interference after training. In contrast, children who were already familiar with the words and learned to recognize them faster experienced less interference following training. Results are interpreted as supporting LaBerge and Samuels' model of automatic word processing. Effects of accuracy training are attributed to the elimination of attention as a requirement for processing distractor words. Effects of speed training are attributed to a reduction in the time consumed by distractor words in the central processor.     

Characteristics of congregations that might increase their participants’ risk of depression

This research examines some characteristics of congregations that might increase the risk of their participants being depressed. Analysing data from the Portraits of American Life Study Wave 1 (2006), this research found that those affiliated with a congregation that did not meet their spiritual needs had arguments about traditional versus contemporary beliefs, made them feel like outsiders, and had unsatisfactory decision-making processes which were more likely to feel depressed than their counterparts. The findings of this research suggest that to alleviate the problem of depression, individuals need to choose a congregation that meets their spiritual needs and makes them feel accepted, rather than just attending any congregations.