What determines the impact of context on sequential action?

In the current study we build on earlier observations that memory-based sequential action is better in the original learning context than in other contexts. We examined whether changes in the perceptual context have differential impact across distinct processing phases (preparation versus execution of a motor chunk) within an ongoing movement sequence. Participants were trained on two discrete keying sequences, each of which was systematically presented in its own unique color during a practice session with either limited or extended practice. In a subsequent test session, sequences were performed with the same, with reversed, and with completely novel sequence-specific colors. The results confirm context-dependence in sequential action, the relevance of practice for its development, and its selective expression for the preparation but not the execution of highly practiced motor chunks. As such, the current study provides novel insights into the determinants of context-dependent sequential action. We finish by outlining the overall status of context-dependence in sequential motor behavior, and specify a general working model.     

To plan or not to plan? Goal achievement or interrupting the performance of mundane behaviors

The present experiment investigated cognitive and behavioral effects of planning (i.e. forming implementation intentions) on goal pursuit during the performance of mundane behaviors. Participants received the goal to collect a coupon halfway the hall from the lab to the cafeteria. Later, they were also given the task to go from the lab to the cafeteria. Thus participants had to attain a new goal by interrupting a mundane behavior. Some participants enriched their goal with implementation intentions, others did not. Results showed that participants who formed implementation intentions were more effective in goal pursuit than the control group. Importantly, the data suggest that the effects of planning on goal completion are mediated by a heightened mental accessibility of environmental cues related to the goal completion task. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Is pressure stressful? The impact of pressure on the stress response and category learning

We examined the basic question of whether pressure is stressful. We proposed that when examining the role of stress or pressure in cognitive performance, it is important to consider the type of pressure, the stress response, and the aspect of cognition assessed. In Experiment 1, outcome pressure was not experienced as stressful but did lead to impaired performance on a rule-based (RB) category-learning task, but not on a more procedural information-integration (II) task. In Experiment 2, the addition of monitoring pressure resulted in a modest stress response to combined pressure and impairment on both tasks. Across experiments, higher stress appraisals were associated with decreased performance on the RB, but not on the II, task. In turn, higher stress reactivity (i.e., heart rate) was associated with enhanced performance on the II, but not on the RB, task. This work represents an initial step toward integrating the stress cognition and pressure cognition literatures and suggests that integrating these fields may require consideration of the type of pressure, the stress response, and the cognitive system mediating performance.     

What of the clients-eye view? A response to the millennium review

The BJGC 's (2000) symposium on guidance, psychotherapy and counselling reviewed the developments of these activities in the United Kingdom in the past and present, and then looked to the future at the turn of this millennium.The picture emerged of professionally dominated enterprises in which the client's point-of-view is obscure. This article explores why this is the case and how the client's perspective can reinforce the political as well as the therapeutic value of counselling, psychotherapy and guidance.     

Does distress tolerance moderate the impact of major life events on psychosocial variables and behaviors important in the management of HIV?

Living with HIV involves management of multiple stressful disease-related and other life events. Distress tolerance may provide a functional, individual-based context for qualifying the established relationships between major life events and psychosocial variables important in the management of HIV. The present study provided a preliminary test of the hypothesis that distress tolerance moderates the impact of major life events on these predictors of disease progression. HIV-positive patients (n=116) completed psychosocial and medical questionnaires. Results indicated that major life events interacted with distress tolerance such that lower distress tolerance and higher life events were associated with significantly higher levels of depressive symptoms, substance use coping, alcohol and cocaine use, and medication adherence. In addition, distress tolerance was directly related to self-reported HIV-related symptoms. These results suggest that low distress tolerance, particularly in the face of major life events, may present significant challenges to adaptive management of HIV. Distress tolerance assessment may help to specify targets for cognitive-behavioral and stress management treatments for people living with HIV.     

Can harmful intergroup behaviors truly represent the self?: The impact of harmful and prosocial normative behaviors on intra-individual conflict and compartmentalization

This research investigates how group members subjectively feel about their prosocial vs. harmful intergroup behaviors, and whether these behaviors can represent who they are more globally as a person. Three experiments tested how group norms (pro-merit/parity vs. pro-discrimination) and congruence with these norms predicted compartmentalization of these intergroup behaviors in the self and intra-individual conflict. Experiment 1 (N = 122) revealed that participants who conformed to a pro-discrimination norm reported compartmentalizing this behavior to a greater extent than participants who conformed to a pro-merit norm. Experiments 2 (N = 149) and 3 (N = 222) replicated and extended these findings in real and conflictual intergroup settings, also over and above the effect of relevant superordinate norms. Mediated moderation analyses also revealed that following discriminatory norms was associated with more intra-individual conflict, and that this conflict in turn predicted higher compartmentalization.     

Gender and values: What is the impact on decision making?

In this study we investigated C. Gilligan's [(1982), In a different voice: Psychological theory and women's development, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press] suggestion that women and men, due to socialization, develop differently in terms of moral development [L. Kohlberg (1969), “Stage and Consequence: The Cognitive Development Approach to Socialization,” In D. G. Goslin (Ed.), Handbook of socialization: Theory and research, Chicago: Rand McNally]. We also considered whether men and women differ in terms of a related construct, values of equity and equality [K. A. Rasinski (1987), “What's Fair Is Fair or Is It? Value Differences Underlying Public Views About Social Justice,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 53, pp. 201–211]. It is our expectation that gender influences overall orientation in terms of the two sets of values, and that differences in values lead decision makers to weigh decision issues and to make final decisions differently. Results suggest that there are some gender-related differences in value systems, weights of decision issues, and final decisions.     

What are the shapes of response time distributions in visual search?

Many visual search experiments measure response time (RT) as their primary dependent variable. Analyses typically focus on mean (or median) RT. However, given enough data, the RT distribution can be a rich source of information. For this paper, we collected about 500 trials per cell per observer for both target-present and target-absent displays in each of three classic search tasks: feature search, with the target defined by color; conjunction search, with the target defined by both color and orientation; and spatial configuration search for a 2 among distractor 5s. This large data set allows us to characterize the RT distributions in detail. We present the raw RT distributions and fit several psychologically motivated functions (ex-Gaussian, ex-Wald, Gamma, and Weibull) to the data. We analyze and interpret parameter trends from these four functions within the context of theories of visual search.     

What is the impact of the explicit knowledge of sequence regularities on both deterministic and probabilistic serial reaction time task performance?

The aim of this study was to explore the role of prior explicit sequence knowledge by comparing its influence on serial reaction time (SRT) performance with either a deterministic or a probabilistic sequence. The results confirm that, with a deterministic sequence, preliminary explicit learning improves SRT performance. On the other hand, with a probabilistic sequence, the results show no advantage for SRT performance in explicit-learning conditions. In addition, by using the process dissociation procedure (Jacoby, 1991), we show that performance on a subsequent generation task was more sustained by controlled processes for participants in the explicit-learning conditions than for those in the incidental condition. On the whole, these results, showing that the influence of explicit knowledge can be suppressed in certain specific conditions, are consistent with the intervention of both implicit and explicit mechanisms in SRT tasks, and the results also show that their relative influence can be modulated by the particular demands of the task.     

Creativity of university students: What is the impact of field and year of study?

There is a long‐lasting dispute about development of students' creativity in the course of their university education. Both the duration and major field of study may represent the educational effects. To address the issue, the present study collected data (N = 859) from a series of surveys of students in Hong Kong to clarify educational effects by controlling a number of background characteristics and prior scores on creativity. Apart from measuring self‐reported creative traits and creative products, it measured divergent thinking with five tasks to elicit students' creative ideas, which led to scores of fluency, flexibility, novelty, innovativeness, and originality. Results indicate the trend of monotonic decline in creativity with years of study at university and the general superiority of verbal creativity among students of humanities and social sciences, whereas business students had the highest scores on self‐assessed creative traits and products.     

Complaint or recommendation? The impact of customers' state and trait goal orientations on customer engagement behaviors

The importance of customer engagement behaviors (CEBs) has been widely acknowledged in marketing. CEB encompasses an interactive relationship with the engaged object. A customer's personality characteristics play an important role in the interactive process. So it is necessary to examine how customer's personality characteristics influence customer engagement behaviors. However, there has been relatively less empirical research examining the impact of a customer's personality characteristics on CEBs. Customer goal orientation (promotion orientation vs. prevention orientation) is one such important personality characteristic. This research examined how customer goal orientation influenced CEBs. We used a priming technique to examine the relationships between the customer's state goal orientation and the customer's recommendations and complaints in study 1. The results showed that customers with state promotion‐focused goal orientations initiated more recommendations than the customers with state prevention‐focused goal orientations. For complaints, the difference between these two groups was not significant. Study 2 investigated the impact of trait goal orientation on the customer's recommendations and complaints. The results showed that the trait promotion‐focused goal orientation customers were more likely to initiate both recommendations and complaints behaviors than the trait prevention‐focused goal orientation customers. The findings of the research demonstrate that customer goal orientation is an important influence on positive and negative CEBs, and state and trait goal orientations have different impacts on CEBs. This research helps companies aiming to improve their customers' CEBs by suggesting which type of customers (in terms of goal orientation) are more likely to engage. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

What does naming a picture do? Effects of prior picture naming on recognition of identical and same-name alternatives

Three experiments investigated the effects of naming pictures of objects during study on the subsequent recognition of physically identical, name-match, and new objects. Prior naming improved correct classification of all three item types at recognition. For line drawings and for photographs of functionally distinct objects, prior naming reduced the tendency to confuse identical and same-name alternatives. In Experiment 2, prior naming eliminated the right visual field/left hemisphere advantage for speeded recognition of name-match pictures, suggesting that prior naming reduces the likelihood that pictures are named at recognition. The implications of these results for dual-encoding (Paivio, 1971) and sensory-semantic (Nelson, Reed, & McEvoy, 1977) models of picture and word processing are discussed. The results suggest that the semantic representations of objects that are perceptually distinct but share a common name are not identical, and that the effect of naming such objects is to insure that a distinct semantic representation becomes a part of the resulting memory code.     

Does response interference depend on the subjective visibility of flanker distractors?

Response interference (or response conflict) refers to the phenomenon whereby response times to a target stimulus are longer in the presence of distractor stimuli that indicate contrary motor responses. Response interference has been observed even when the distractor stimuli cannot be discriminated above chance levels. These results raise the question of whether response interference might be driven automatically by the physical distractor stimuli, independently of one??s subjective perception of the distractors. Using a modified version of the Eriksen flanker task, we applied metacontrast masks to the flanker stimuli and measured their subjective visibility after each trial. We found converging lines of evidence that the subjective perception of flankers contributed to response interference, over and above the contribution of automatic processing of the stimulus itself. A factorial analysis revealed that the objective, physical congruency of target and flankers and the subjective, perceptual congruency of target and flankers make additive, noninteracting contributions to target response interference, suggesting that the two interference effects originate from independent levels or stages of cognitive processing.     

Bonus of rebate?: the impact of income framing on spending and saving

All income increases a person's absolute wealth, but consumption decisions may be based more heavily on perceived changes in wealth. Change is computed by comparing a current state with a former state, and we predicted that people would be more likely to spend income framed as a gain from a current wealth state than income framed as a return to a prior state. Four experiments confirmed this prediction on people's memory for spending of a government tax rebate (Experiment 1), on unobtrusive self‐report measures of spending an unexpected windfall (Experiments 2 and 3), and on actual spending on items for sale in a laboratory experiment (Experiment 4). These results can be explained, at least in part, by the reference points implied in the framing of income (follow‐ups to Experiments 1 and 4). Discussion focuses on implications for the consumption of other commodities, assessments of risk, and government tax policies. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

What is told when the story is retold? Consistency of victimization reports in psychiatric patients

The use of retrospective self‐reports is a major methodological concern when ascertaining the occurrence of victimization experiences, with additional concerns when assessing psychiatric patients. The test for consistency can overcome some of these concerns, increasing the confidence in the information reported. Our aim was twofold: (1) to know the consistency of victimization reports; and (2) to test the role of changes on emotional distress in predicting report discrepancies, in a sample of 34 adult psychiatric patients. Participants were assessed twice, with a year interval. Sexual abuse was the experience that presented the higher level of consistency for childhood victimization, while assault with a weapon had the higher consistency level for adolescent and adult victimization. We found that increases on emotional distress predicted report discrepancies, and more specifically, increases in the report of victimization. Our results displayed acceptable consistency levels, suggesting some stability in the reporting of victimization over time. Considering that inconsistencies tended either to increases and decreases in the reporting of victimization, it would be important to consider the impact of such experiences when intervening with psychiatric patients.     

What is this thing called frequency?

When researchers are interested in the influence of long-term knowledge on performance, printed word frequency is typically the variable of choice. Despite this preference, we know little about what frequency norms measure. They ostensibly index how often and how recently words are experienced, but words appear in context, so frequency potentially reflects an influence of connections with other words. This paper presents the results of a large free association study as well as the results of experiments designed to evaluate the hypothesis that common words have stronger connections to other words. The norms indicate that common words tend to be more concrete but they do not appear to have more associates, stronger associates, or more connections among their associates. Two extralist cued recall experiments showed that, with other attributes being equal, high- and low-frequency words were equally effective as test cues. These results suggest that frequency does not achieve its effects because of stronger or greater numbers of connections to other words, as implied in SAM. Other results indicated that common words have more connections from other words, including their associates, and that free association provides a valid index of associative strength.     

Could it happen to you? Predicting the impact of downward comparisons on the self

Three studies examined the impact of downward comparisons on the self. Worse-off others exerted an impact only when participants drew an analogy between themselves and the other. When participants did draw an analogy, the impact of the other on the self was determined by perceived vulnerability to the other's negative fate. When vulnerability was low, downward comparisons enhanced self-evaluations. When vulnerability was high, downward comparisons deflated self-evaluations, but activated a prevention orientation, boosting motivation aimed at avoiding the negative experience of the other.     

What is Literature? Revisited: Sartre on the Language of Literature

This article argues that Sartre's distinction in What Is Literature? between prose and poetry should be understood in the light of his earlier distinction in The Imaginary between two kinds of meaning. Sartre argues against the “Cartesian picture” of consciousness in The Imaginary, specifically concerning our experience of images. Not only is a mental image not an “inner object” mediating between consciousness and the world, even a picture drawn on paper should not be understood as an object standing between the viewer and what this picture represents. Our experience, Sartre argues, is that of seeing things in a picture rather than seeing through it, such that the meaning of pictures and images in general is embodied in them and cannot be separated from them. He then goes on to contrast this kind of embodied meaning (which he calls “sense”) with a kind of meaning that can be completely grasped independently of its expression (which he calls “signification”) and identify the two with painting and language respectively. It is for this reason, this article argues, that Sartre later sees poetry as a deviation from language's proper function. This rigid distinction is maintained by Sartre until the end of his career, and the change that some commentators found in him are its outcome rather than a revolt against it. In contrast, Merleau-Ponty has demonstrated more convincingly that sense and signification are both essential aspects of linguistic meaning, and their relation is much more dynamic and complimentary than Sartre would have allowed.     

The impact of the crisis on the Orthodox Church of Greece: a moment of challenge and opportunity?

This article explores the impact of the economic crisis on the Orthodox Church of Greece (OCG). The first three parts of the article set the current stage by offering a short overview of the crisis and the response of the OCG through its charitable social welfare activities. The fourth part looks at church–state relations in Greece, covering more particularly its financial aspects. The fifth and final part discusses how the economic crisis has affected the OCG itself, including its own finances and governance, and sustainability and mission in the long term. Although the OCG provides social assistance to the Greek population during the economic crisis, it also finds itself very much affected by the same crisis. The economic crisis has forced the OCG to reduce its operating costs while at the same time continue its extensive social work. The crisis has also prompted public debates and questions about the finances of the OCG. This situation may gradually force either the Greek state or the OCG, or perhaps both, to rethink their relationship in the future.