Reading the road: The influence of age and sex on child pedestrians' perceptions of road risk

The United Kingdom has one of the highest records of child pedestrian accidents in the European Union, and statistics show boys are particularly vulnerable. This study investigated whether there were identifiable developmental or sex differences in the perception of road risk, which might explain the occurrence of such child pedestrian accidents. The study was a between‐participants experimental design with three independent variables: age, sex and task. The sample comprised 119 school children in three age groups (7–8 years; 9–10 years and 11–12 years) with equal sex distribution in each age group. All children, tested individually, completed two sorting tasks. The tasks differed in that children first classified 20 photographs of road scenes on self‐selected criteria (free sort) and then reclassified the scenes on the basis of safety of each scene (cued sort). When children operated a free sort, age differences were apparent in both the number and type of categories produced. However, this age variation was not apparent for the cued sort showing that the younger children were strongly influenced by cueing. Younger children exhibited a more personal and idiosyncratic perspective of the road compared to older children, who were able to view the road from global perspectives. Sex differences in assessing safety were limited but interesting, demonstrating that the males focussed on physical attributes of the scene and females on the actors within the scene. The focus of females on the dynamic attributes of the scene may be a partial explanation of their greater safety record compared to their male peers.     

地位感知变化对消费者地位消费行为的影响

本文通过3个实验探究了地位感知变化对消费者地位消费行为的影响。研究发现,无论在感知到地位提升还是地位威胁的情况下,消费者对地位商品的购买意愿均会提升,然而两者却有着不同的作用机制。对于感知地位提升的消费者,自我提升动机在地位感知对地位商品购买意愿的影响中起中介作用;而对于感知地位威胁的消费者,自我补偿动机同时在地位感知对地位商品和非地位商品购买意愿的影响中起中介作用。在感知地位威胁的情境下,自我实现的新兴价值观具有强化消费者地位消费行为的作用,而谦卑的传统价值观具有弱化消费者地位消费行为的作用。     

The influences of listening and speaking on pedestrians' assessments of approaching vehicles

Research suggests a relationship between auditory distraction (such as environmental noises or a vocal cell phone conversation) and a decreased ability to detect and localize approaching vehicles. What is unclear is whether auditory vehicle perception is impacted more by distractions reliant on listening or distractions reliant on speaking (analogous to the two components of a vocal cell phone conversation). In two experiments, adult participants listened for approaching vehicle noises and while performing listening- and speaking-based secondary tasks. Participants were tasked with identifying when they first detect an approaching vehicle and when they no longer felt safe to cross in front of the approaching vehicle. For both experiments, the speaking task resulted in significantly later detection of approaching vehicles and riskier crossing thresholds than in the no-distraction and listening conditions. The listening secondary task significantly differed from the control condition in experiment 1, but not experiment 2. Overall, our results suggest auditory distractions, particularly those reliant on speaking, negatively impact pedestrian safety in situations where visual information is minimal. Results may provide guidance for future research and policy about the safety impacts of secondary tasks.     

Pedestrian conspicuity at night: failure to observe a biological motion advantage in a high‐clutter environment

Using recent accident data to simulate a common collision environment, a 10‐minute car journey was filmed in which a moving or stationary pedestrian wearing one of two types of retroreflective clothing appeared in an environment with high visual clutter. It was hypothesized that moving pedestrians would be detected at greater distances when wearing retroreflective aids in biological motion configuration (‘biomotion’ clothing), but not when wearing a standard retroreflective vest. Participants viewed films of the journey, pressed a button when they detected the pedestrian and rated the difficulty of the task. Biomotion clothing did not significantly increase detection distance for either moving or stationary pedestrians compared to the vest. However, moving pedestrians were detected significantly further away than stationary pedestrians with both clothings. The results do not support the hypothesis that biological motion clothing affords recognition at greater distances than standard conspicuity aids in environments with high visual clutter. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The influence of success and failure experiences on agency

Agency is—besides communion—a basic dimension of traits. It can be specifically linked to behavioral outcomes, to status, mastery, self‐esteem and to success. The present paper analyzes the situational malleability of agency. Two studies tested whether an individual's agency (but not communion) is situationally influenced by the experience of success versus failure at a task, as well as whether this effect is the same for men and women. Supporting our hypotheses, the induction of success versus failure experiences led to changes in agency that were independent of actual performance, independent of type of task (memorizing vs. face recognition), independent of induction methodology (easy vs. difficult task vs. manipulated performance feedback), and independent of self‐esteem, initial level of agency and of the participants' gender. Communion was not influenced by this kind of experience. Implications for both the basic dimension of agency and for theories on gender and gender stereotypes are discussed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

权力和地位对信任行为的影响

采用两个实验探讨了权力和地位对信任和不信任行为的影响。实验1首先通过角色分配法操纵被试的权力感(高vs.低),然后采用信任和非信任博弈任务来测量被试的信任和不信任行为。结果发现,在信任行为上,高权力者比低权力者存在更低的信任水平;但在不信任行为上,二者不存在显著差异。实验2同时操纵被试的权力和地位水平,探索二者对信任和不信任行为的影响。结果发现:在信任行为上,高权力者比低权力者存在更低的信任水平,与之相反,高地位者比低地位者存在更高的信任水平,并且权力和地位的交互作用不显著;而在不信任行为上,权力和地位的效应均不显著。该研究结果说明,(1)权力负向影响信任行为,而地位正向影响信任行为;(2)权力和地位对信任的影响是独立的。     

The influence of rule availability and item similarity on metacognitive monitoring during categorisation

In four experiments, we examined the sources of metacognitive judgments during the categorisation of new items after the learning of old items was completed. In the rule condition, the categorisation rule was explicitly given to the participants during learning, while in the no-rule condition participants relied on feedback to infer category membership. In the transfer phase, two types of novel items were used: good and bad transfer items. Transfer items also differed in the level of similarity to their training pairs. In the rule condition, all types of transfer items were classified with high accuracy and confidence. In the no-rule condition, a dissociation between accuracy and confidence was revealed. Good transfer items were classified more accurately than bad transfer items, whereas similar items were classified with higher confidence than dissimilar items. The obtained results suggest the utilisation of two potential cues for metacognitive judgments: declarative knowledge if the correct rule is explicitly available, and item similarity if it is difficult to infer the correct rule from feedback.     

The influence of diverse interaction contexts on students' sociometric status

Despite there being numerous studies on sociometric status, research that analyzes this variable from a contextualized viewpoint taking into account the different school settings in which a pupil establishes relationships is rare. The aim of this study is to analyze the stability of sociometric status in different school settings. For this purpose, 522 students filled in a sociometric questionnaire that investigated two different settings: the academic setting, which refers to the formal classroom setting; and the leisure setting, which investigates a more informal and playful setting like the playground. The main results indicate that identification percentages are almost the same in both settings. Nonetheless, all sociometric types are contextually dependent, and some are more dependent than others. Thus, rejection is observed as being the most independent of context, whereas the most dependent is that of controversial pupils. Differential analyses show that sex modifies the results obtained. It is shown that, excluding a few exceptions, combinations of sociometric types in both settings investigated can be made. These results are discussed in connection with the methodology used to identify sociometric types and their practical implication for better school adjustment.     

The influence of status and sex-typing on assessments of occupational outcome

In order to investigate the relative strengths of status and sex-typing of occupations on evaluations of job outcomes, this study varied sex of subject, sex of stimulus person, status of occupation, sex-typing of occupation, and job outcome in a three-between, two-within factorial design. Contrary to previous research, subjects' beliefs about stimulus persons' affective reactions to job outcomes were not consistent with rigid sex-typing of jobs. Instead, the data suggest that crossing the sex-typing barrier in occupations is receiving growing acceptance, and that subjects are aware of sex segregation and discrimination in the labor force. Other data suggest that subjects' beliefs about job outcomes are influenced by belief in a just world.The authors wish to thank Walter G. Stephan for commenting on an earlier version of this article.     

The influence of success and failure experiences on perceptual whole-part preferences

Summary Changes in perceptual part-whole preferences as a function of experienced success and experienced failure were investigated. All Ss went through one testing session in which their perceptual preference was established. Forty-two Ss of the experimental group went through two additional testing sessions, one in which success and another in which failure experiences were induced. Parallel sets of a Two-Alternative Perception Test were used after each session to measure part or whole preferences. The Ss of the control group were administered the three sets of the perception test at intervals of one week, with situations kept constant. Results of a three-way analysis of variance (p<0.0001) supported the hypotheses of success situations favoring whole perceptions and of failure situations favoring part perceptions. Highly significant correlations (p<0.01) were found between the three testing sessions of the Ss in the control group, indicating stability of perceptual part-whole preferences over time, with situations held constant.This article was based, in parts, on a doctoral dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Political and Social Science, New School for Social Research. The author would like to express her appreciation to Mary Henle, chairman of the dissertation committee.     

失败恐惧的形成及对创业行为的影响

创业活动的高风险性和不确定性导致创业者时常体验失败恐惧。对于创业者而言, 失败恐惧亦敌亦友。已有研究较多关注失败恐惧对创业行为的抑制作用, 忽略了失败恐惧的形成及其对创业行为的激励作用。本研究基于情绪和认知属性分析创业情境下失败恐惧, 认为损失相关和暴露能力不足的创业事件可能诱发失败恐惧, 创业者的执念激情和预防定向能够诱发失败恐惧; 然后, 阐述失败恐惧对创业行为的3种不同影响：激励、抑制和压抑, 并考察创业环境特征对失败恐惧与创业行为的调节效用。本研究拓展了失败恐惧的应用范围和适用情境, 丰富心理学的情绪认知评价理论、情感事件理论和经典压力理论, 也为理解复杂多样的创业行为提供新视角, 深化创业心理与创业行为关系的理论认知。     

The influence of question framing on symptom report and perceived health status

Abstract

Self-reports of symptom experience and subjective ratings of health were obtained from 157 undergraduates. The format of the symptom-report question was varied so that half the participants underlined any symptoms (in a list of 30) they had experienced (endorse condition), whereas the remaining participants crossed out any they had not experienced (exclude condition). Within each of these conditions, half were asked to record symptoms over the last month, and half over the last year. Participants in the exclude condition reported, on average, 70% more symptoms than those in the endorse condition. More symptoms were reported over the last year than the last month. Adjusting for the number of symptoms reported and the perceived seriousness of the symptom set as a whole, participants rated their own state of health more negatively in the endorse than exclude condition. This is consistent with research on the “feature-positive” effect, suggesting that active responses have greater influence on self-perceptions. It is argued that self-report measures of health status must be interpreted in relative, rather than absolute terms, and that attention should be paid to the underlying cognitive processes.     

The influence of language and socioeconomic status on children's understanding of false belief

Study 1 investigated whether differences in the lexical explicitness with which languages express false belief influence children's performance on standard false belief tasks. Preschoolers speaking languages with explicit terms (Turkish and Puerto Rican Spanish) were compared with preschoolers speaking languages without explicit terms (Brazilian Portuguese and English) on questions assessing false belief understanding either specifically (the think question) or more generally (the look for question). Lexical explicitness influenced responses to the think question only. Study 2 replicated Study 1 with groups of both speakers differing in socioeconomic status (SES). A local effect of explicitness was found again as well as a more general influence of SES. The findings are discussed with regard to possible relations among language, SES, and understanding of mind.     

The influence of mortality and socioeconomic status on risk and delayed rewards: a life history theory approach

Why do some people take risks and live for the present, whereas others avoid risks and save for the future? The evolutionary framework of life history theory predicts that preferences for risk and delay in gratification should be influenced by mortality and resource scarcity. A series of experiments examined how mortality cues influenced decisions involving risk preference (e.g., $10 for sure vs. 50% chance of $20) and temporal discounting (e.g., $5 now vs. $10 later). The effect of mortality depended critically on whether people grew up in a relatively resource-scarce or resource-plentiful environment. For individuals who grew up relatively poor, mortality cues led them to value the present and gamble for big immediate rewards. Conversely, for individuals who grew up relatively wealthy, mortality cues led them to value the future and avoid risky gambles. Overall, mortality cues appear to propel individuals toward diverging life history strategies as a function of childhood socioeconomic status, suggesting important implications for how environmental factors influence economic decisions and risky behaviors.     

Young children's knowledge about the influence of thoughts on emotions in rule situations

Four‐year‐olds, 5‐year‐olds, and adults (N = 48) listened to stories featuring characters that experienced one of four types of thoughts after deciding to transgress or comply with a rule: thoughts about desires, rules, future negative outcomes, or future punishment. Participants predicted and explained the characters’ emotions. Results showed that young children, as with adults, predicted positive emotions for willpower and negative emotions for transgression at low rates for the think‐desire trials, and at high rates for the think‐rule and think‐future trials. They also modified their emotion explanations in line with the focus of characters’ thoughts. These data provide unprecedented evidence that young children can reason flexibly about emotions in rule situations when provided explicit, salient information about people's thoughts.     

The consistency rule and the voice effect: the influence of expectations on procedural fairness judgements and performance

In procedural justice research it has frequently been found that allowing people an opportunity to voice their opinion enhances their judgements of the fairness of a decision-making procedure. The present study investigated how this voice effect is affected by the consistency over time rule, which dictates that, once people expect a certain procedure, deviation from the expected procedure will lead to a reduction in procedural fairness. Two experiments were conducted. In both experiments the independent variables manipulated were whether subjects were explicitly told to expect a voice procedure, were explicitly told to expect a no-voice procedure, or were told nothing about a subsequent procedure, and whether or not subjects subsequently received an opportunity to voice their opinion. The manipulations were induced by means of scenarios in Experiment 1, and by means of the Lind, Kanfer and Early (1990) paradigm in Experiment 2. In both experiments it was found that subjects who expected a voice procedure or who expected nothing judged receiving the voice procedure as more fair than receiving the no-voice procedure, but that subjects who expected a no-voice procedure judged receiving the voice procedure (inconsistency) as less fair than receiving the no-voice procedure (consistency). Furthermore, effects of the manipulated variables on subjects' task performance were found in Experiment 2.     

The influence of relationship status, mate seeking, and sex on intrasexual competition

Researchers have little explored individuals' perceptions of same-sex attractiveness in terms of the influence of relationship status. By using intrasexual competition as a conceptual framework, the authors predicted that romantically involved individuals would protect their relationship by derogating competitors. Although previous researchers have strongly predicted this result, in the present study the relationship status had a negligible impact on competition, for which relationship commitment, sociosexual orientation, and self-monitoring did not account. Also, among uninvolved individuals, the authors expected those individuals seeking mates would use competitor derogation more than would those individuals not seeking mates, but there was no significant difference. Finally, because the vehicle for this investigation was attractiveness, an area in which women compete, the authors proposed that women would derogate more fiercely than would men. However, the results did not support this hypothesis either. The authors discuss future directions for research.     

情绪对延迟折扣的影响：现状、机制与展望

延迟折扣研究领域日益重视情绪的影响作用。本文基于三类研究取向对情绪与延迟折扣关系研究进行了回顾。情绪效价和唤醒度均影响延迟折扣,但是研究结果并不一致;具体情绪类型不同,其对延迟折扣影响也存在差异。除此之外,本文就情绪信息理论、情绪动机维度理论和评估倾向理论如何解释延迟折扣进行了详细阐述。未来的研究需要进一步深入考察情绪影响延迟折扣的认知神经机制,从而为延迟折扣的负性情绪效应的干预提供可靠的科学依据。