Disgust as embodied moral judgment

How, and for whom, does disgust influence moral judgment? In four experiments participants made moral judgments while experiencing extraneous feelings of disgust. Disgust was induced in Experiment 1 by exposure to a bad smell, in Experiment 2 by working in a disgusting room, in Experiment 3 by recalling a physically disgusting experience, and in Experiment 4 through a video induction. In each case, the results showed that disgust can increase the severity of moral judgments relative to controls. Experiment 4 found that disgust had a different effect on moral judgment than did sadness. In addition, Experiments 2-4 showed that the role of disgust in severity of moral judgments depends on participants' sensitivity to their own bodily sensations. Taken together, these data indicate the importance-and specificity-of gut feelings in moral judgments.     

Intra-individual reaction time variability in schizophrenia, depression and borderline personality disorder

Intra-individual reaction time variability (IIV) in neuropsychological task performance reflects short term fluctuations in performance. Increased IIV has been reported in patients with schizophrenia and could be related to a deficient neural timing mechanism, but the role of IIV in adult patients with other psychiatric disorders has not been established. Therefore, we compared IIV measures obtained in a Go/Nogo task from patients with schizophrenia, major depression and borderline personality disorder. IIV was increased for patients with schizophrenia. When correcting for differences in mean reaction time, depressive and borderline patients also showed increased IIV. Importantly, all groups showed a strong association between IIV and accuracy of task performance. This suggests that increased IIV might be a sensitive marker for the efficiency of top-down attentional control in all diagnostic groups. Aside from these similarities, the complete results including measures of IIV, mean reaction time and accuracy show differential patterns for patients with schizophrenia compared to those with borderline personality disorder or depression. These results are discussed with respect to common versus disorder-specific neural mechanisms underlying increased IIV.     

Blocking of spatial learning between enclosure geometry and a local landmark

In a virtual environment, blocking of spatial learning to locate an invisible target was found reciprocally between a distinctively shaped enclosure and a local landmark within its walls. The blocking effect was significantly stronger when the shape of the enclosure rather than the landmark served as the blocking cue. However, the extent to which the landmark blocked enclosure-shape learning was not influenced by increasing the physical salience of the landmark. The outcomes are the first to suggest that cue-interaction effects, commonly found in human and animal contingency learning experiments, are also found in human spatial learning based on landmarks and enclosure walls. The data are discussed in terms of spatial reference frames.     

What Motivates People to Participate More in Community‐based Coalitions?

The purpose of this study was to identify potential opportunities for improving member participation in community-based coalitions. We hypothesized that opportunities for influence and process competence would each foster higher levels of individual member participation. We tested these hypotheses in a sample of 818 members within 79 youth-oriented coalitions. Opportunities for influence were measured as members' perceptions of an inclusive board leadership style and members' reported committee roles. Coalition process competence was measured through member perceptions of strategic board directedness and meeting effectiveness. Members reported three types of participation within meetings as well as how much time they devoted to coalition business beyond meetings. Generalized linear models accommodated clustering of individuals within coalitions. Opportunities for influence were associated with individuals' participation both within and beyond meetings. Coalition process competence was not associated with participation. These results suggest that leadership inclusivity rather than process competence may best facilitate member participation.     

The Impact of a Derogatory Remark on Prejudice Toward a Gay Male Leader1

A laboratory experiment examined the impact of a derogatory remark on expressions of prejudice toward a gay male leader. Students participated in same‐sex groups with a male confederate who was obviously gay or presumably straight. Half of the participants in the gay condition heard a derogatory remark about the confederate. This resulted in 3 experimental conditions: gay/remark, gay/no remark, and straight/no remark. Participants evaluated the leader's abilities less favorably and evidenced more negative nonverbal behaviors toward him in the gay/remark condition than in the gay/no remark or straight/no remark conditions. These findings extend research on derogatory remarks to a nonracial minority and highlight the powerful effect of immediate social context on expressions of prejudice.     

Children's false memory and true disclosure in the face of repeated questions

The current study was designed to investigate children's memory and suggestibility for events differing in valence (positive or negative) and veracity (true or false). A total of 82 3- and 5-year-olds were asked repeated questions about true and false events, either in a grouped order (i.e., all questions about a certain event asked consecutively) or in a nongrouped order (i.e., questions about a certain event were interspersed with questions about other events). Interviewer gender was also varied. Individual differences, including attachment style, inhibition, and behavioral adjustment, were examined as potential predictors of memory and suggestibility. Results revealed significant age, valence, and veracity effects on children's memory reports. Path analysis demonstrated that individual differences in behavioral problems and inhibitory ability predicted children's provision of inaccurate information. Implications for psychological theory and legal application are discussed.     

The effects of attributions of intent and apology on forgiveness: When saying sorry may not help the story

Despite the oft-cited positive effects of an apology on forgiveness, forgiveness does not always follow. In three studies we tested the ironic notion that, following an interpersonal transgression, an apology following an attribution of intent might further hinder, rather than benefit, the forgiveness process. The findings of three studies were systematically replicated and supported our primary prediction that, following attributions of intent, saying sorry does not always lead to forgiveness. When offenders intentionally committed a transgression, forgiveness was less likely following an apology. However, when offenses were unintentional, forgiveness was more likely following an apology. We also showed that these effects were explained by participants’ impression of the transgressor.