I acknowledge your help: capuchin monkeys’ sensitivity to others’ labor

Our society is sustained by wide-ranging cooperation. If individuals are sensitive to others’ gains and losses as well as the amount of labor, they can ensure future beneficial cooperative interaction. However, it is still an open question whether nonhuman primates are sensitive to others’ labor. We asked this question in tufted capuchin monkeys in an experimental food-sharing situation by comparing conditions with labor by two participants equalized (Equal labor condition) or unequalized (Unequal labor condition). The operator monkey pulled the drawer of one of the two food containers placed between two monkeys, each containing a food for him/herself and another for the recipient monkey. The recipient received either high- or low-value food depending on the operator’s choice, whereas the operator obtained the same food regardless of his/her choice. In Unequal labor condition, the operator first had to pull the handle of the board to which the containers were glued and then pull the drawer of one of the containers, while the recipient received food with no labor. In Equal labor condition, the recipient had to pull the handle of the board so that the operator could operate a container. Results showed that operators chose the high-value food container for recipients more often than when the recipient was absent only in Equal labor condition. This suggests that capuchin monkeys are sensitive to others’ labor and actively give food to a partner who has helped them to complete a task.     

Can I see your passport please? Perceptual discrimination of own- and other-race faces

Psychological research has consistently demonstrated that individuals are better at discriminating faces of their own race when compared with faces of another, less familiar race. Given the racial/ethnic diversity of individuals screened by security personnel at transportation and border checkpoints, it is important to understand whether the cross-race effect may play a role in simultaneous perceptual discrimination tasks that mimic such screening operations. Three experiments assessed the deleterious effects of cross-racial identification in this context. Results demonstrated greater discrimination accuracy for own- versus other-race faces, and a propensity for screeners to be overconfident in their decisions, particularly for other-race persons. Further, perceived age differences between the target and his identification photo and the use of a disguise were found to moderate cross-race effects during this task.     

Do you know where your group is? development of a group-as-a-whole compass. Part I

A therapist's ability to locate the essential dimensions of a group is a critical skill. The literature on group-as-a-whole theory and practice is a rich body of work that reveals a variety of discrete models and approaches with little coordination between them. This paper is an attempt at theory binding. A group-as-a-whole compass is introduced as a spherical motif to integrate varied conceptual understandings of whole-group functioning. The compass, by providing a metapsychological framework, is designed to orient the therapist and theoretician to the myriad ways that group-centered configurations come to life and can be known.     

Should I use a computer-assisted career guidance system? It depends on where your career decision-making difficulties lie

The present study examined the pattern of career decision-making difficulties encountered by 417 young adults who used one or more of the computer-assisted career guidance systems (CACGSs) available at one of the Israeli Veteran Administration's counselling centres, and assessed the effectiveness of these CACGSs in reducing their career decision-making difficulties. Career decision-making difficulties were found to be highest for individuals who were prior to the pre-screening stage of the career decision-making process and lowest for those who were at the choice stage. The reduction in difficulties after using the CACGSs was statistically significant in seven of the 10 difficulty categories examined: an especially marked reduction was found for difficulties related to lack of information. No such reduction was observed for difficulties related to external conflicts. Participants' perception of having been assisted through the dialogue with the CACGSs was highest for individuals who used all three systems, and lowest for those who accessed only one of the three CACGSs.     

Can I borrow your alibi? The applicability of the verifiability approach to the case of an alibi witness

The present experiment tested the applicability of the verifiability approach to the case of an alibi witness. Pairs of truth tellers carried out non-criminal activities. Pairs of liars were separated whereby Member 1 carried out the same non-criminal activities as the pairs of truth tellers while Member 2 committed a mock crime. Participants were asked to provide statements about their whereabouts, whereby pairs of liars were requested to pretend that they carried out Member 1's activities together. Participants were informed that their statements would be assessed in terms of providing verifiable evidence that they had carried out the activities together. Results showed that 88% of the pairs were correctly classified by the verifiability approach. Groups differed in their strategies: Truth-tellers focused mainly on “staying with the truth”, and provided evidence that they were together, whereas liars attempted to make it difficult to refute their claims that they were together.     

Breaking the habit: Does fracturing your wrist change your travel and driver behaviour?

When someone breaks their wrist it presents a disruption to everyday routine. Some of this is as a result of having to change travel patterns. This paper investigates the changes people make to their travel behaviour in the light of an unexpected change in their situation caused by fracturing their wrist and wearing a forearm plaster cast. One hundred and eleven participants, approached as they were having their plaster cast removed, completed a questionnaire addressing travel behaviour change, driver safety and information provision covering their time in a plaster cast (typically an average of 5–6 weeks). Eighteen percent of participants drove during the time they had a forearm plaster cast on. All reported they felt safe in doing so and that wearing the plaster cast did not compromise safety, though it was uncomfortable and compensatory behaviours took place. Risk and affective scales did not predict whether participants drove in a cast, suggesting that practical and utilitarian, rather than psychosocial, reasons were the motivation for driving in a plaster cast. Eighty-two percent found other ways of travelling without using their car. Participant’s use of buses and trains, walking and taking lifts were all increased and overall, across all modes of transport, participants travelled fewer miles but made more journeys. There was a reduction in cycling, especially for those who drove in a cast, suggesting cyclists who broke their wrist changed to driving while their arm was in a cast. Information provision did not affect whether someone drove or not. Implications for providing travel information to help people avoid car use while their forearm is in a cast and maintaining behaviour change afterwards are discussed.     

Learning from your mistakes: does it matter if you’re out in left foot,I mean field?

Studies have shown that generating errors prior to studying information (pencil–?) can improve target retention relative to passive (i.e., errorless) study, provided that cues and targets are semantically related (pencil–ink) and not unrelated (pencil-frog). In two experiments, we manipulated semantic proximity of errors to targets during trial-and-error to examine whether it would modulate this error generation benefit. In Experiment 1, participants were shown a cue (band–?) and asked to generate a related word (e.g., drum). Critically, they were given a target that either matched the semantic meaning of their guess (guitar) or mismatched it (rubber). In Experiment 2, participants studied Spanish words where the English translation either matched their expectations (pariente–relative) or mismatched it (carpeta–folder). Both experiments show that errors benefit memory to the extent that they overlap semantically with targets. Results are discussed in terms of the retrieval benefits of activating related concepts during learning.     

Does mimicking others change your self-view?

Does mimicking affect the way you think about yourself in relation to other people? In the present study, we instructed participants to either mimic or not mimic the expressions of their interaction partner. After a 3-minute interaction, participants' self-view in relation to others was measured. Results revealed that mimickers defined themselves more in relation to others than nonmimickers. Thus, mimicking others, compared to not mimicking others, changes your self-view.     

A frog in your throat or in your ear? Searching for the causes of poor singing

Singing is a cultural universal and an important part of modern society, yet many people fail to sing in tune. Many possible causes have been posited to explain poor singing abilities; foremost among these are poor perceptual ability, poor motor control, and sensorimotor mapping errors. To help discriminate between these causes of poor singing, we conducted 5 experiments testing musicians and nonmusicians in pitch matching and judgment tasks. Experiment 1 introduces a new instrument called a slider, on which participants can match pitches without using their voice. Pitch matching on the slider can be directly compared with vocal pitch matching, and results showed that both musicians and nonmusicians were more accurate using the slider than their voices to match target pitches, arguing against a perceptual explanation of singing deficits. Experiment 2 added a self-matching condition and showed that nonmusicians were better at matching their own voice than a synthesized voice timbre, but were still not as accurate as on the slider. This suggests a timbral translation type of mapping error. Experiments 3 and 4 demonstrated that singers do not improve over multiple sung responses, or with the aid of a visual representation of pitch. Experiment 5 showed that listeners were more accurate at perceiving the pitch of the synthesized tones than actual voice tones. The pattern of results across experiments demonstrates multiple possible causes of poor singing, and attributes most of the problem to poor motor control and timbral-translation errors, rather than a purely perceptual deficit, as other studies have suggested.     

Should I just listen to you or change your mind too? Target's perceived efficacy of agents’ interpersonal affect improvement strategies

People shape and influence others’ emotions every day. If these attempts are perceived as successful, they may have a positive effect on people's relationships and well-being. Across two studies, targets’ perceived efficacy of regulation strategies to improve their sadness and anxiety/stress has been investigated. In Study 1, participants (n = 120) were provided with two scenarios depicting sadness and anxiety/stress and asked to imagine themselves in these situations. Afterwards, they were provided with different regulation strategies and asked to rate their perceived efficacy to downregulate their sadness and anxiety. In Study 2, participants (n = 120) were asked to describe a situation where they felt sad and another one where they felt anxious. They were then provided with strategies aimed at reducing their sadness and anxiety. Results from both studies showed that whereas for sadness higher perceived efficacy was predicted by affective engagement, for anxiety/stress was predicted by cognitive engagement.     

“If it's in your mind,it's in your knowledge”: Children's developing anatomy of identity

Recent work has investigated children's developing understanding of the anatomical locus of identity. In two studies, we extend this work by exploring the role of the mind as opposed to the brain in children's conceptualization of identity. In Experiment 1, an analysis of natural language indicated that adults use the term mind more frequently than the term brain with reference to identity-related mental processes. Children's output displayed a similar bias. In Experiment 2, we compared the judgments of 5- and 7-year-old children to those displayed by adults. Participants heard stories in which a magical transformation resulted in either a creature with a mismatch between brain and body or a creature with a mismatch between mind and body. Children were more accurate in recognizing the enduring identity of this transformed creature when the transformation resulted in a mismatch between mind and body as compared to brain and body.     

Is there a chaplain in your clinic?

As medical care continues to move outside the hospitals, clients with spiritual needs are more often to be found in clinics and doctors' offices than inpatient settings. Chaplains in partnership with physicians can contribute to healing in outpatient centers. A study of one group of clinic patients indicates that an outpatient setting may be a better place to address spiritual needs than a hospital setting. Pastoral interventions are acceptable to many clients, who according to statistics are already using alternative therapies to augment traditional medical care. Paul A. Mandziuk, M. Div., a priest of the Missionaries of La Salette, is a chaplain at Saint Louis University Health Sciences Center in St. Louis, MO, and serves on the leadership council of the National Association of Catholic Chaplains.     

How do I remember that I know you know that I know?

Communication is aided greatly when speakers and listeners take advantage of mutually shared knowledge (i.e., common ground). How such information is represented in memory is not well known. Using a neuropsychological-psycholinguistic approach to real-time language understanding, we investigated the ability to form and use common ground during conversation in memory-impaired participants with hippocampal amnesia. Analyses of amnesics' eye fixations as they interpreted their partner's utterances about a set of objects demonstrated successful use of common ground when the amnesics had immediate access to common-ground information, but dramatic failures when they did not. These findings indicate a clear role for declarative memory in maintenance of common-ground representations. Even when amnesics were successful, however, the eye movement record revealed subtle deficits in resolving potential ambiguity among competing intended referents; this finding suggests that declarative memory may be critical to more basic aspects of the on-line resolution of linguistic ambiguity.     

I might ease your pain,but only if you’re sad: The impact of the empathized emotion in the empathy-helping association

Ample research demonstrated that empathizing with someone in need promotes helping that person. Two studies examined whether this effect of empathy on helping behavior holds across different emotional reactions expressed by a target in need. Results of Study 1 indicate that perspective taking with a sad needy target increased empathic concern which, in turn, fostered helping the individual. This relation was not found for participants taking the perspective of angry or disgusted needy targets. Study 2 provides further support for the underlying mechanism of the results of Study 1. Perspective taking with a sad needy target increased empathizers’ empathic concern because perception of target neediness was increased. Again, this pattern was not found for perspective taking with an angry needy target. The findings correspond to theorizing on the role of emotions in person perception. Hence, the current research provides insights regarding the boundary conditions of the empathy-helping association.     

Let your preference be your guide? Preferences and choices are more tightly linked for North Americans than for Indians

Using experimental paradigms from economics and social psychology, the authors examined the cross-cultural applicability of 3 widely held assumptions about preference and choice: People (a) recruit or construct preferences to make choices; (b) choose according to their preferences; and (c) are motivated to express their preferences in their choices. In 6 studies, they compared how middle-class North American and Indian participants choose among consumer products. Participants in both contexts construct nonrandom preferences at similar speeds. Those in Indian contexts, however, are slower to make choices, less likely to choose according to their personal preferences, and less motivated to express their preferences in their choices. The authors infer that the strong link between preferences and choices observed among North Americans is not a universal feature of human nature. Instead, this link reflects the disjoint model of agency, which prescribes that people should choose freely on the basis of their preferences. In contrast, Indian contexts reflect and promote a conjoint model of agency, according to which agency is responsive to the desires and expectations of important others and may require restraining one's preferences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved).