Perception of acoustically presented time series with varied intervals

Data from three experiments on serial perception of temporal intervals in the supra-second domain are reported. Sequences of short acoustic signals (“pips”) separated by periods of silence were presented to the observers. Two types of time series, geometric or alternating, were used, where the modulus 1 + δ of the inter-pip series and the base duration T_b (range from 1.1 to 6 s) were varied as independent parameters. The observers had to judge whether the series were accelerating, decelerating, or uniform (3 paradigm), or to distinguish regular from irregular sequences (2 paradigm). “Intervals of subjective uniformity” (isus) were obtained by fitting Gaussian psychometric functions to individual subjects' responses. Progression towards longer base durations (T_b = 4.4 or 6 s) shifts the isus towards negative δs, i.e., accelerating series. This finding is compatible with the phenomenon of “subjective shortening” of past temporal intervals, which is naturally accounted for by the lossy integration model of internal time representation. The opposite effect observed for short durations (T_b = 1.1 or 1.5 s) remains unexplained by the lossy integration model, and presents a challenge for further research.     

Focussing on overexcitabilities: Studies with intellectually gifted and academically talented adults

The concept of “overexcitability” has recently become popular within the field of giftedness and talent research. Some authors argue that overexcitability questionnaires can be used to identify gifted/talented individuals. A sample of intellectually gifted adults (n = 96; mean age: 31.4; SD = 0.3) was compared to a sample of adults of average intelligence (n = 91; mean age: 31.4; SD = 0.4). Additionally, a sample of 123 high achievers (mean age = 30.5; SD = 0.3) was compared to 97 average achievers (mean age: 30.5; SD = 0.3). The “Overexcitability Questionnaire-Two” was used to assess emotional, imaginational, intellectual, psychomotor, and sensual overexcitability. The gifted adults scored statistically significantly higher on “intellectual overexcitability” (d = .42). High and average achievers differed statistically significantly in “intellectual overexcitability” (d = .56) and “sensual overexcitability” (d = .32). For the giftedness sample, the accuracy of group membership prediction (gifted/non-gifted) via discriminant analyses was 60.4%. For the performance sample, the accuracy was 63.4%. The observed differences in the overexcitabilities were small; the risk of misclassification is too big to attempt to identify gifted or high achieving adults solely on the basis of overexcitability scores.     

Four successful tests of the Cognitive Differentiation–Integration Effort hypothesis

The Cognitive Differentiation–Integration Effort (CD–IE) hypothesis predicts that the dimension of life history speed (K) regulates the strength of the correlation among cognitive abilities, such that individuals with higher K exhibit more weakly integrated abilities than those with lower K. It is predicted that this effect takes place independently of the level of g owing to the absence of an individual differences level correlation between K and g. CD–IE was examined using two student samples: (1) an all female sample (N = 121), using the ALHB as a measure of K and the two SILS subtests of g; and (2) a combined male and female sample (N = 346), using a shorter three-indicator (“Trifecta”) measure of K, a general creativity measure comprised of two subscales (writing and drawing “creative performance”), and the APM-18 measure of fluid cognition. A third, population-representative sample was obtained from the NLSY (N = 11,907). A K-Factor was constructed from convergent measures of subjective well-being, sociability, interpersonal trust, internal locus of control, and delay of gratification, and a g-factor was constructed from the 10 subscales of the ASVAB. A fourth sample, addressing the question of ethnic differences was collected encompassing eight different ethnic groups with a combined 107 specific ability correlations with g. An aggregate K-Factor was constructed for this sample based on convergent population-level indicators of longevity, total fertility rates and infant mortality. Utilizing the Continuous Parameter Estimation Model, in student sample 1 a significant CD–IE effect was found on the SILS Abstract subtest (β = − .215), but not on the SILS Verbal subtest (β = .069). In student sample 2, CD–IE was observed on the general creativity measure (β = − .127), but not on the fluid cognitive ability measure (β = − .057). Significant effects were also observed on both the written and drawing creative output subscales (β = − .189 and − .183 respectively). In sample 3 (the NLSY), generally statistically significant but small-magnitude CD–IE effects were observed among all 10 ASVAB subtests (mean effect size β = − .032). In sample four, a near-significant CD–IE effect was detected (β = − .167). Controlling for subtest skew reduces the mean effect sizes across individual differences samples (β = − .071 in the student samples, − .027 in the NLSY), but boosted it to significance in the ethnic differences sample (β = − .179). Controlling for the skew of residuals reversed the signs of the CD–IE effects on the ASVAB Words and Comprehension subscales, and also on the SILS Verbal subscale, but amplified the magnitudes of the mean effects in the student and NLSY samples (β = − .036 and − .131), while reducing the effect size slightly in the ethnic-differences sample (β = − .172). In the individual differences samples, these effects were demonstrated to be unconfounded with sex of respondent and also unrelated to the Jensen effect. The apparent independence of the effect from both level of g and subtest g-loading suggests intriguing commonalities with the Lynn–Flynn effect.     

Differences in intelligence across thirty-one regions of China and their economic and demographic correlates

This study reports the differences in intelligence across thirty-one regions of the People's Republic of China. It was found that regional IQs were significantly associated with the percentage of Han in the population (r = .59), GDP per capita (r = .42), the percentage of those with higher education (r = .38, p < .05), and non-significantly with years of education (r = .32).     

Distinct emotional abilities converge: Evidence from emotional understanding and emotion recognition through the voice

One key criterion for whether Emotional Intelligence (EI) truly fits the definition of “intelligence” is that individual branches of EI should converge. However, for performance tests that measure actual ability, such convergence has been elusive. Consistent with theoretical perspectives for intelligence, we approach this question using EI measures that have objective standards for right answers. Examining emotion recognition through the voice—that is, the ability to judge an actor’s intended portrayal—and emotional understanding—that is, the ability to understand relationships and transitions among emotions—we find substantial convergence, r = .53. Results provide new data to inform the often heated debate about the validity of EI, and further the basis of optimism that EI may truly be considered intelligence.     

Using emotional cues in a discrimination learning task: Effects of trait emotional intelligence and affective state

Individuals may differ in their ability to learn the significance of emotional cues within a specific context. If so, trait emotional intelligence (EI) may be associated with faster cue learning. This study (N = 180) tested whether trait EI predicts faster learning of a critical cue for discriminating “terrorists” from “non-terrorists”, using virtual-reality heads as stimuli. The critical cue was either facial emotion (positive or negative), or a neutral feature (hat size). Cognitive ability and subjective state were also assessed. Participants were faster to learn with an emotive cue. Surprisingly, high trait EI was correlated with poorer performance, especially early in learning. Subjective distress was also associated with impaired learning to emotive cues.     

Would I lie to you? “leakage” in deceptive facial expressions relates to psychopathy and emotional intelligence

This was the first investigation of individual differences in adopting deceptive universal emotional expressions. We hypothesized that psychopathic traits would lead to a heightened ability to suppress emotional expressions and exhibit less “leakage” of inconsistent emotions during deceptive displays. Further, we predicted that emotional intelligence (EI) would lead to a heightened ability to simulate emotional expressions. Participants (N = 100) viewed emotionally arousing (happy, sad, fearful, disgusting) images, responding to each with a genuine or deceptive expression. Each video frame (30/sec) was coded for emotion (in)consistent with the intended expression (365,550 frames coded for 2437 expressions). As predicted, psychopathic traits - specifically, high levels of interpersonal manipulation - were related to shorter durations of unintended emotional “leakage” during deceptive expressions. In contrast, the erratic lifestyle element of psychopathy predicted greater emotional inconsistency during deceptive displays. Individuals higher in EI - specifically, the ability to perceive and express emotion - feigned emotions more convincingly than others but were not more immune to emotional leakage.     

Cognitive ability, right-wing authoritarianism, and social dominance orientation: A five-year longitudinal study amongst adolescents

We report longitudinal data in which we assessed the relationships between intelligence and support for two constructs that shape ideological frameworks, namely, right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and social dominance orientation (SDO). Participants (N = 375) were assessed in Grade 7 and again in Grade 12. Verbal and numerical ability were assessed when students entered high school in Grade 7. RWA and SDO were assessed before school graduation in Grade 12. After controlling for the possible confounding effects of personality and religious values in Grade 12, RWA was predicted by low g (β = − .16) and low verbal intelligence (β = − .18). SDO was predicted by low verbal intelligence only (β = − .13). These results are discussed with reference to the role of verbal intelligence in predicting support for such ideological frameworks and some comments are offered regarding the cognitive distinctions between RWA and SDO.     

Temporal order perception of auditory stimuli is selectively modified by tonal and non-tonal language environments

The close relationship between temporal perception and speech processing is well established. The present study focused on the specific question whether the speech environment could influence temporal order perception in subjects whose language backgrounds are distinctively different, i.e., Chinese (tonal language) vs. Polish (non-tonal language). Temporal order thresholds were measured for both monaurally presented clicks and binaurally presented tone pairs. Whereas the click experiment showed similar order thresholds for the two language groups, the experiment with tone pairs resulted in different observations: while Chinese demonstrated better performance in discriminating the temporal order of two “close frequency” tone pairs (600 Hz and 1200 Hz), Polish subjects showed a reversed pattern, i.e., better performance for “distant frequency” tone pairs (400 Hz and 3000 Hz). These results indicate on the one hand a common temporal mechanism for perceiving the order of two monaurally presented stimuli, and on the other hand neuronal plasticity for perceiving the order of frequency-related auditory stimuli. We conclude that the auditory brain is modified with respect to temporal processing by long-term exposure to a tonal or a non-tonal language. As a consequence of such an exposure different cognitive modes of operation (analytic vs. holistic) are selected: the analytic mode is adopted for “distant frequency” tone pairs in Chinese and for “close frequency” tone pairs in Polish subjects, whereas the holistic mode is selected for “close frequency” tone pairs in Chinese and for “distant frequency” tone pairs in Polish subjects, reflecting a double dissociation of function.     

Objects, events and "to be" verbs in Spanish--an ERP study of the syntax-semantics interface

In Spanish, objects and events at subject position constrain the selection of different forms of the auxiliary verb “to be”: locative predicates about objects require “estar en”, while those relating to events require “ser en”, both translatable as “to be in”. Subjective ratings showed that while the “object + ser + en” is considered as incorrect, the “event + estar + en” combination is also perceived as unacceptable but to a lesser degree. In an ERP study, we evaluated the impact of a purely semantic distinction (object versus events) on the subsequent processing of these auxiliary verbs followed by locatives in Spanish. For the “ser en” predicate, the P600 component was larger when the subject was an object than when it was an event. This P600 effect is consistent with an online repair of the defining predicate when it does not fit with the adequate semantic properties of the subject. On the other hand, for the “estar en” predicate, event subjects when compared to object subjects showed more positive ongoing amplitudes between 280 and 380 ms after the presentation of the “en” preposition, followed by a longer positive wave starting around 400 ms and lasting until 700 ms after the presentation of the following determiner, with central and frontal scalp distributions respectively. Thus, the different subject-predicate combinations, depending on the semantic features of the subjects, triggered syntactic reparatory processes at a structural level. These findings are consistent with an incremental interpretation of sentence meaning based on the interaction between syntactic and semantic information.     

Using morphology when spelling in a shallow orthographic system: The case of Spanish

Deep orthographies usually represent morphology and phonology simultaneously; both resources are necessary for spelling. In shallow orthographies, such as Spanish, phonology would be enough to spell most words. However, morphological knowledge may also take part in spelling. This study examined how Spanish children in 1st (N = 148), 2nd (N = 155) and 3rd grade (N = 155) use morphological information to spell plural nouns and verbs. A word dictation task was designed. The task included high and low frequency plural nouns ending in “s” (morphological “-s” condition) and verbs in the 2nd person ending in “s” (morphological “-s” condition). A lexical condition including words with a final “s” which was not morphologically motivated was used as a control condition (lexical “-s” condition). The results show that, although Spanish spelling is influenced by phonology, morphological information is also used. These results are discussed in relation to current models of word spelling.     

An integrated perspective on the relation between response speed and intelligence

Research in the field of mental chronometry and individual differences has revealed several robust regularities (Jensen, 2006). These include right-skewed response time (RT) distributions, the worst performance rule, correlations with general intelligence (g) that are more pronounced for RT standard deviations (RTSD) than they are for RT means (RTm), an almost perfect linear relation between individual differences in RTSD and RTm, linear Brinley plots, and stronger correlations between g and inspection time (IT) than between g and RTm. Here we show how all these regularities are manifestations of a single underlying relationship, when viewed through the lens of Ratcliff’s diffusion model ( [Ratcliff, 1978] and [Ratcliff et al., 2008] ). The single underlying relationship is between individual differences in general intelligence and individual differences in “drift rate”, which is just the speed of information processing in Ratcliff’s model. We also test and confirm a strong prediction of the diffusion model, namely that the worst performance rule generalizes to phenomena outside of the field of intelligence. Our approach provides an integrative perspective on intelligence findings.     

Pink gives girls permission: Exploring the roles of explicit gender labels and gender-typed colors on preschool children's toy preferences

Children engage in gender-typed toy play to a greater extent than in non-gender-typed toy play leading to different developmental trajectories for boys and girls. The present studies examine the characteristics of toys and how they differentially affect boys' and girls' interests, stereotypes, and judgments of the toys. In Study 1, children (N = 73, M_age = 4.01) were presented with masculine and feminine toys that were decorated with masculine and feminine colors. Results indicated that boys were more interested in masculine toys than in feminine toys. Girls were significantly less interested in masculine toys with masculine colors than in all other combinations. Children's perceptions of others' interests also followed a similar pattern. In Study 2, children (N = 42, M_age = 3.84) were presented with novel items labeled as “for boys” and “for girls” and decorated in masculine and feminine colors. Among girls, both explicit labels and color of novel toys impacted interests. Children's predictions of others' interests also reflected this pattern.     

Lapsed attention to elapsed time? Individual differences in working memory capacity and temporal reproduction

Working memory capacity (WMC) predicts individual differences in a wide range of mental abilities. In three experiments we examined whether WMC would predict temporal judgment. Low-WMC temporal reproductions were consistently too long for the shortest duration and too short for the longest, but were accurate (unbiased) for the intermediate. In contrast, high-WMC temporal reproductions were more accurate (unbiased) across the range. Thus low-WMC showed a classic “migration effect” (Vierordt's Law) to a greater extent than high-WMC. Furthermore reproduction errors depended more on temporal context than the absolute durations of “shortest,” “longest,” and “intermediate.” Low-WMC reproductions were overall more variable than high-WMC. General fluid intelligence (gF) was also related to temporal bias and variability. However, WMC-related timing differences were only attenuated and not eliminated with gF as covariate. Results are discussed in terms of attention, memory, and other psychological constructs.     

Executive control processes of working memory predict attentional blink magnitude over and above storage capacity

When two masked, to-be-attended targets are presented within approximately half a second of each other, performance on the second target (T2) suffers, relative to when the targets are presented further apart in time or when the first target (T1) can be ignored. This phenomenon is known as the attentional blink (AB). Colzato et al. (Psychon Bull Rev 14:1051–1057, 2007) used an individual differences approach to examine whether individual AB magnitude was predicted by individual differences in working memory (WM), using the operation span paradigm (OSPAN). They found that OSPAN score was inversely related to AB magnitude even when a fluid intelligence measure (Raven’s SPM) was partialled out. However, it is not clear from this study whether it was the executive control aspect of working memory, the capacity aspect of short-term memory, (or both), that related to AB magnitude. In the present study we used a variety of WM measures that required varying degrees of executive control. OSPAN was negatively related to AB magnitude with Raven’s SPM, reading comprehension, reading rate, and digit forward and backward partialled out. Backward and forward digit span did not predict AB magnitude. These results support the conclusion that a “working” executive component of WM predicts temporal limitations of selective attention beyond static STM capacity and general cognitive ability.     

A meta-analysis of empirical studies of weight-based bias in the workplace

For nearly 30 years researchers have investigated how bodyweight affects evaluative workplace outcomes, such as hiring decisions and performance appraisals. Despite this, no meta-analytic review has been undertaken to quantify the negative impact that bodyweight has on such outcomes. The results of this meta-analytic study suggest that in relation to non-overweight individuals in the workplace, overweight individuals may be disadvantaged across evaluative workplace outcomes (d = −.52). Further, differences in magnitude of the effects of weight-based bias were found for hiring (d = −.70) and performance (d = −.23) outcomes.     

Prototypes of race and gender: The invisibility of Black women

Research on racial and gender stereotyping typically focuses on the role of one of these social categories at a time rather than race/gender combinations. We suggest that the relative non-prototypicality of Black women’s race and gender results in their “invisibility” relative to White women and to Black and White men ( [Fryberg and Townsend, 2008] and [Purdie-Vaughns and Eibach, 2008]). Two studies address whether Black women go “unnoticed” and their voices “unheard,” by examining memory for Black women’s faces and speech contributions. We found that photos of Black women were least likely to be recognized (Study 1), and statements said by a Black woman in a group discussion were least likely to be correctly attributed (Study 2) compared to Black men and White women and White men. The importance and implications of invisibility as a unique form of discrimination are discussed.     

Project DyAdd: Visual attention in adult dyslexia and ADHD

In this study of the project DyAdd, three aspects of visual attention were investigated in adults (18–55 years) with dyslexia (n = 35) or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD, n = 22), and in healthy controls (n = 35). Temporal characteristics of visual attention were assessed with Attentional Blink (AB), capacity of visual attention with Multiple Object Tracking (MOT), and spatial aspects of visual attention with Useful Field of View (UFOV) task. Results showed that adults with dyslexia had difficulties performing the AB and UFOV tasks, which were explained by an impaired ability to process dual targets, longer AB recovery time, and deficits in processing rapidly changing visual displays. The ADHD group did not have difficulties in any of the tasks. Further, performance in the visual attention tasks predicted variation in measures of phonological processing and reading when all of the participants were considered together. Thus, difficulties in tasks of visual attention were related to dyslexia and variation of visual attention had a role in the reading ability of the general population.     

Sick? Or slow? On the origins of intelligence as a psychological object

This paper examines the first moments of the emergence of “psychometrics” as a discipline, using a history of the Binet–Simon test (precursor to the Stanford–Binet) to engage the question of how intelligence became a “psychological object.” To begin to answer this, we used a previously-unexamined set of French texts to highlight the negotiations and collaborations that led Alfred Binet (1857–1911) to identify “mental testing” as a research area worth pursuing. This included a long-standing rivalry with Désiré-Magloire Bourneville (1840–1909), who argued for decades that psychiatrists ought to be the professional arbiters of which children would be removed from the standard curriculum and referred to special education classes in asylums. In contrast, Binet sought to keep children in schools and conceived of a way for psychologists to do this. Supported by the Société libre de l'étude psychologique de l'enfant [Free society for the psychological study of the child], and by a number of collaborators and friends, he thus undertook to create a “metric” scale of intelligence—and the associated testing apparatus—to legitimize the role of psychologists in a to-that-point psychiatric domain: identifying and treating “the abnormal”. The result was a change in the earlier law requiring all healthy French children to attend school, between the ages of 6 and 13, to recognize instead that otherwise normal children sometimes need special help: they are “slow” (arriéré), but not “sick.” This conceptualization of intelligence was then carried forward, through the test's influence on Lewis Terman (1877–1956) and Lightner Witmer (1867–1956), to shape virtually all subsequent thinking about intelligence testing and its role in society.     

The consistency and structure of aspect-based career preferences

Career aspects (e.g., work environment, using verbal ability, length of training, teamwork) are an elaboration and extension of vocational interests. Aspect-based preferences can serve individuals and their career counselors only if they are reliable and stable. Study 1 estimated the two-week test–retest reliability of 213 college freshmen's preferences in 31 career aspects and the two-year stability of these preferences for 132 of these freshmen. The two-week reliability and the two-year stability of both the within-aspect preferred levels (e.g., “only indoors” most preferred, but “mostly indoors” is also acceptable) and the aspect importance were tested for each of the aspects. The interquartile ranges of the two-week reliability of the aspect importance and of the preferred within-aspect levels were .54–.62 and .63–.74 for the 31 aspects; the interquartile ranges of the two-year stabilities were .38–.48 and .48–.59, respectively. These interquartile ranges reflect the variance in consistency among the aspects. Study 2 explored the structure of the aspects based on the pattern of associations among them. In addition, it examined the consistency of the aspect structures by comparing them in four samples (total N = 40,313). The structure was found consistent across time (Spearman r_s = .88, .76 and .68, two weeks, two years, and 20 years later, respectively), within culture (r_s = .75 and .76, for women and men, respectively), and across cultures (USA and Israel; r_s = .64). Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.