“Spontaneous” strategy use: Perspectives from metacognitive theory

A metacognitive model was proposed as an explanatory framework for spontaneous strategy use. Interactive components of the model, including specific strategy knowledge, metamemory acquisition procedures, general strategy knowledge, and attributional beliefs, were shown to account, in part, for unprompted strategy use. A study in which hyperactive children transferred newly acquired strategies following self-control training and attributional retraining served as an illustration of how components in the metacognitive model can be used to better understand “spontaneity.” Finally, relationships among domain-specific knowledge, automaticity, general intelligence, and metacognitive knowledge were discussed.     

Spontaneous growth of tin whiskers on tin−rare-earth alloys

Tin whisker growth has been observed on the surface of bulk Sn–Nd alloys with Nd contents of 30, 5 and 0.5 wt%, under ambient conditions of temperature and atmosphere. It is shown that the whiskers originate from the area of Sn–Nd intermetallic compounds after a very short incubation period and that they exhibit a relatively high growth rate on the surface of the bulk alloys. The results show that these Sn-based, rare-earth alloys have a very strong propensity to grow tin whiskers, i.e. this rare-earth element in tin is a catalytic agent for whisker growth. Direct evidence is also shown that whiskers can grow from the surface of a bulk Sn-based alloy.     

Do fish count? Spontaneous discrimination of quantity in female mosquitofish

The spontaneous tendency to join the largest social group was used to investigate quantity discrimination in fish. Fish discriminated between shoals that differed by one element when the paired numbers were 1vs2, 2vs3 and 3vs4, but not when 4vs5 or larger. Using large numerosities (>4), the ability to discriminate between two numbers improved as the numerical distance between them increased and a significant discrimination was found only with ratios of 1:2 or smaller (4vs8, 8vs16 and 4vs10). Experiments to control for non-numerical variables evidenced the role played by the total area of stimuli with both large and small numerosities; the total quantity of movement of the fish within a shoal appeared also important but only when large numerosities were involved. Even though the pattern of discrimination exhibited by female mosquitofish is not fully consistent with any of the existing models of quantity representation, our results seem to suggest two distinct mechanisms in fish, one used to compare small numbers of objects and one used when larger numerosities are involved.     

The Spontaneous Generation of the Human in the “Heng Xian”

This essay argues that the “Heng Xian” bridges between two distinct discourses that were both prevalent in the late fourth century. One discourse focused on the origination of the natural world through a spontaneous process of differentiation, a position familiar from the Daodejing and “Tai yi sheng shui.” The other focused on the specific ways in which different kinds of things live, a position known primarily from Ru discussions centering on the concept of xing 性, the nature or spontaneous reactions of a particular kind of thing. The “Heng Xian” attempts to account for the specificity of human life—including language and social organization—while remaining within a naturalistic view grounded in spontaneity. The essay concludes by reflecting on what the “Heng Xian” tells us about the status of human institutions.     

Spontaneous kicking in fullterm and preterm infants: Are there leg asymmetries?

In the first few months of life, infants display spontaneous kicking which has been implicated as an important precursor to the development of later voluntary motor control. In the present study, the development of both intralimb and interlimb coordination in fullterm and low-risk preterm infants was examined by recording spontaneous kicking at 4 weekly intervals from 4 to 24 weeks of age. The relationship between the joint angles over this period was examined by measuring pairwise cross-correlation functions for the angular displacement curves of the hip, knee and ankle joints. In contrast to previous studies, intralimb coordination for both right and left legs was examined, and it was found that the legs produced different patterns of development. These patterns varied depending on which joint pair was investigated, and there was also evidence that leg asymmetries may be different for preterm and fullterm infants. This has possible implications for later hand and leg preferences. Interlimb coordination was also examined, and it appears that different patterns of development emerge for interlimb and intralimb coordination.PsycINFO classification: 2330; 2800     

Complex Environmental Reactions,as a New Concept to Describe Spontaneous “Paranormal” Experiences

A systemic phenomenological model that assumes the movability of the Cartesian cut is proposed and elucidated by means of a single exploratory case study. The model assumes that a continuum from purely psychosomatic disorders to RSPK cases exists. The degree of externalization (locus of control) of the affected person serves as an ordering parameter for the location of the Cartesian cut. It turns out that the dynamics of the disorder develops in four phases, like in the RSPK-model of the MPI. However, in contrast to the decline phase of the RSPK cases (because of the NT-axiom), CER cases lead to petrification of the complaints.     

Are consonant intervals music to their ears? Spontaneous acoustic preferences in a nonhuman primate

Humans find some sounds more pleasing than others; such preferences may underlie our enjoyment of music. To gain insight into the evolutionary origins of these preferences, we explored whether they are present in other animals. We designed a novel method to measure the spontaneous sound preferences of cotton-top tamarins, a species that has been extensively tested for other perceptual abilities. Animals were placed in a V-shaped maze, and their position within the maze controlled their auditory environment. One sound was played when they were in one branch of the maze, and a different sound for the opposite branch; no food was delivered during testing. We used the proportion of time spent in each branch as a measure of preference. The first two experiments were designed as tests of our method. In Experiment 1, we used loud and soft white noise as stimuli; all animals spent most of their time on the side with soft noise. In Experiment 2, tamarins spent more time on the side playing species-specific feeding chirps than on the side playing species-specific distress calls. Together, these two experiments suggest that the method is effective, providing a spontaneous measure of preference. In Experiment 3, however, subjects showed no preference for consonant over dissonant intervals. Finally, tamarins showed no preference in Experiment 4 for a screeching sound (comparable to fingernails on a blackboard) over amplitude-matched white noise. In contrast, humans showed clear preferences for the consonant intervals of Experiment 3 and the white noise of Experiment 4 using the same stimuli and a similar method. We conclude that tamarins' preferences differ qualitatively from those of humans. The preferences that support our capacity for music may, therefore, be unique among the primates, and could be music-specific adaptations.     

Spontaneous trait transference to familiar communicators: is a little knowledge a dangerous thing?

In most social cognition research participants are presented with unattributed information about unfamiliar stimulus persons. However, in the real world it is more common for people to learn about others through social communication and to know something about those with whom they communicate. Such issues are explored in relation to spontaneous trait transference, a phenomenon in which communicators are perceived as having traits that they merely describe in others. Three studies show that even familiar communicators became associated with, and attributed, the traits implied by their remarks. Surprisingly, these effects occurred even when the implied traits were incongruent with participants' prior knowledge about these communicators. The results are discussed in terms of (a) the generalizability of social cognition research, (b) the automaticity of simple associative phenomena, and (c) the interplay of simple associative and higher level processes.     

Are children more accurate than adults? Spontaneous use of metaphor by children and adults

This study examined an observation in which children outscored adults on a series of test questions, which included unusual items such as, "Do you see with your ears?" We assumed that the adults were treating the questions metaphorically because the literally correct answer was so obvious, an assumption consistent with Grice's theory. In Study 1, we tested this assumption by manipulating pretest and test items so as to suggest, or not suggest, a metaphorical or factual response. In Study 2, we used a similar manipulation involving the order of questions of various sorts and we more directly tested the Gricean hypothesis by giving college students a reason to treat the question literally. The results replicated the previous finding in which college students' scores were lower than those of children, and the condition effects suggested that the college students' performance was due to their responding metaphorically.     

Another fundamental social category? Spontaneous categorization of people who uphold or violate moral norms

Studies of social categorization have shown that humans robustly categorize others along dimensions of sex, age, kinship, and coalition. Drawing on a functional perspective, we predicted that humans should also categorize others along the dimension of morality (i.e., violating vs. upholding moral norms). In a study employing the memory confusion paradigm, university undergraduate participants (N = 39) were presented with same-sex targets randomly matched with sentences indicating violation or upholding of moral norms, and with sentences indicating competence or incompetence. Results showed that participants spontaneously categorized along morality but not along competence, suggesting that morality (beyond general valence) may be an important dimension of social categorization.     

Mental Practice or Spontaneous Play? Examining Which Types of Imagery Constitute Deliberate Practice in Sport

Imagery use was examined within the deliberate practice framework (Ericsson, Krampe, & Tesch-Römer, 1993 Ericsson, K., Krampe, R. and Tesch-Römer, C. 1993. The role of deliberate practice in the acquisition of expert performance. Psychological Review, 100: 363–406. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Athletes (N = 150) from three competitive levels (recreational, intermediate, and elite) completed an adapted version of the Sport Imagery Questionnaire (SIQ; Hall, Mack, Paivio, & Hausenblas, 1998 Hall, C., Mack, D., Paivio, A. and Hausenblas, H. 1998. Imagery use by athletes: Development of the sport imagery questionnaire. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 29: 73–89. [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Each SIQ item was scored for frequency, deliberation, relevance, concentration, and enjoyment. Eight SIQ items were deemed to be deliberate practice: five cognitive-specific images, two cognitive-general images, and one motivational general-mastery image. Motivational-specific imagery instead resembled deliberate play (Côté, Baker, & Abernethy, 2003 Côté, J., Baker, J. and Abernethy, B. 2003. “From play to practice: A developmental framework for the acquisition of expertise in team sports”. In Expert performance in sports: Advances in research on sport expertise, Edited by: Starkes, J. L. and Ericsson, K. A. 89–114. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.  [Google Scholar]). Elite and intermediate athletes used imagery more frequently and deliberately and perceived imagery to be more relevant and requiring more concentration than recreational athletes. Differences also existed regarding how deliberately the athletes engaged in various imagery types. The findings may inform applied practitioners regarding differences in imagery use between competitive levels and differences in the characteristics of imagery types.     

Evidence for an Association between Men’s Spontaneous Objectifying Gazing Behavior and their Endorsement of Objectifying Attitudes toward Women

Sex Roles - Despite growing scientific interest in the sexually objectifying male gaze, the relation between men’s gazing behavior and their sexually objectifying attitudes has not yet been...     

The effects of ageing and divided attention on the self-reference effect in emotional memory: Spontaneous or effortful mnemonic benefits?

The self-reference effect (SRE) is a powerful memory advantage associated with encoding in reference to the self (e.g., Rogers, Kuiper, & Kirker, 1977). To explore whether this mnemonic benefit occurs spontaneously, the current study assessed how ageing and divided attention affect the magnitude of the SRE in emotional memory (i.e., memory for emotional stimuli). The sample included a young Full Attention group (young-FA), a young Divided Attention group (young-DA), and an older adult group. The division of attention was manipulated at encoding where participants incidentally studied positive, negative, and neutral trait adjectives in either a self-reference (i.e., rating how well each word describes themselves) or an other-reference condition (i.e., rating how well each word describes another person). Memory for these words was assessed with both recall and recognition tasks. The results from both tasks demonstrated equivalent SRE for all three groups across emotional valence categories of stimuli, suggesting that the SRE is a spontaneous, effortless, and robust effect in memory.