Do we access meaning when we name Arabic digits? Electrophysiological evidence

In this study, we evaluated whether the naming of Arabic digits required access to semantic information. Participants named pictures and Arabic digits blocked by category or intermixed with exemplars of other categories while behavioural and electrophysiological measures were gathered. Pictures were named slower and Arabic digits faster in the blocked context relative to the mixed context. Around 350–450 ms after the presentation of pictures and Arabic digits, brain waves were more positive in anterior regions and more negative in posterior regions when the blocked context was compared with the mixed context. The pattern of electrophysiological results suggests that pictures and Arabic digits are both processed semantically and they are subject to repetition effects during the naming task.     

‘We are the good guys but they are not bad’. In‐group positivity and cognitive performance in preschoolers

The general purpose of this study was to analyse the developmental relations between the early forms of ethnic attitudes, and the classification abilities of the young child. We designed new cognitive tasks within a detection paradigm adapted to preschoolers and attitudinal tasks that were presented as games in a computer screen. Participants were 75 majority‐group children of 3, 4, and 5 years of age. Children's preferences and positive/negative attitudes towards the in‐group (Spaniards) and three out‐groups (Latin‐Americans, Africans, and Asians) were measured. The results showed a remarkable preference and positivity for the in‐group, but not out‐group derogation. Children's cognitive performance, to a greater extent than their age, was positively associated with in‐group favouritism and positivity. On the other hand, we found some interesting differences and developmental changes in children's positive orientation to the out‐groups that are discussed in the last section.     

SUBJECTIVE TEMPORAL DISTANCE AND EMOTIONAL INVOLVEMENT

BRATFISCH, O., EKMAN, G., LUNDBERG, U., and KRÜGER, K. Subjective temporal distance and emotional involvement. Scand. J. Psychol. , 1971, 12, 147–160. –Three experiments were conducted in which subjects were required to estimate the subjective temporal distances of various historical periods, each of which was named after some person, event, or social process. In all, 65 subjects participated. In related experiments the same subjects estimated their degree of emotional involvement in what might have happened to people living during the various periods named. Using the actual dates when the events took place, the relation between objective and subjective temporal distance was found to be described by a simple power function. Emotional involvement was shown to be inversely related in a simple monotonic manner to both subjective and objective temporal distance, when other variables were so far as possible held constant. A number of different alternative power functions as well as an exponential and a logarithmic function were fitted to the empirical data. A specific type of power function with three empirical constants and a simple exponential function were found to describe experimetal data to a good approximation.     

CREATIVE ABILITY IN GRAPHIC ART: Some underlying factors

Some research on artistic ability is reviewed. Starting from a factor model suggested by Guilford an attempt was made to identify some factors related to creative ability in graphic art. A visual memory test and a size-relationship test showed positive correlations with a criterion variable when tested on different samples.     

Alone in the Crowd: I Failed the ABGC Certification Exam

The American Board of Genetic Counseling (ABGC) certification examination (often referred to as “the board exam”) has become a milestone within the field of genetic counseling. For many, it is the final standardized test taken and indicates the examinee has met “the standards of minimal competence to practice as a genetic counselor” (Bulletin 2015). Although voluntary, certification is strongly encouraged, and in some employment situations, required. Although recent statistics indicate the majority of those who take the test pass, each year there are those who sit for the test unsuccessfully. Despite this fact, exam failure and tools for dealing with this experience are not often broached in the literature. This essay recalls my experiences with a failed exam attempt and the subsequent emotional turmoil. It also aims to start the conversation regarding the difficulty of coping with the “secret” shame of public, professional failure, and suggests there is room for further discussion and resource development in this area.     

Associations of ethnic discrimination with symptoms of anxiety and depression among Hispanic emerging adults: a moderated mediation model

Background and Objectives: Emerging adulthood is often marked with elevated symptoms of anxiety and depression. Hispanic emerging adults may face cultural stressors such as ethnic discrimination that further increase levels of anxiety and depression symptoms. The study aims were to examine if (a) self-esteem mediated effects of ethnic discrimination on symptoms of anxiety and depression, and (b) if gender moderated the indirect effects of discrimination. Design: The study design was cross-sectional self-report. Method: Two moderated mediation models were tested, with 1084 Hispanic emerging adults (ages 18–25) enrolled in institutions of post-secondary in the United States. Results: Results indicated that (a) higher ethnic discrimination was associated with higher anxiety symptoms (β?=?.05, p?=?.04), higher depression symptoms (β?=?.06, p?=?.02), and lower self-esteem (β?=??.30, p?Conclusions: Findings suggest that the mediating effects of self-esteem linking ethnic discrimination with symptoms of anxiety and depression vary between genders.