Neural signals for the detection of unintentional race bias

We examined the hypothesis that unintentional race-biased responses may occur despite the activation of neural systems that detect the need for control. Participants completed a sequential priming task that induced race-biased responses on certain trials while electroencephalography was recorded. The error-related negativity (ERN) wave, a component of the event-related potential with an anterior cingulate generator, was assessed to index neural signals detecting the need for control. Responses attributed to race bias produced larger ERNs than responses not attributed to race bias. Although race-biased responses were prevalent across participants, those with larger ERNs to race-biased responses showed higher levels of control throughout the task (e.g., greater accuracy and slowed responding following errors). The results indicate that race-biased responses may be made despite the activation of neural systems designed to detect bias and to recruit controlled processing.     

Item-specific processing reduces false memories

We examined the effect of item-specific and relational encoding instructions on false recognition in two experiments in which the DRM paradigm was used (Deese, 1959; Roediger & McDermott, 1995). Type of encoding (item-specific or relational) was manipulated between subjects in Experiment 1 and within subjects in Experiment 2. Decision-based explanations (e.g., the distinctiveness heuristic) predict reductions in false recognition in between-subjects designs, but not in within-subjects designs, because they are conceptualized as global shifts in decision criteria. Memory-based explanations predict reductions in false recognition in both designs, resulting from enhanced recollection of item-specific details. False recognition was reduced following item-specific encoding instructions in both experiments, favoring a memory-based explanation. These results suggest that providing unique cues for the retrieval of individual studied items results in enhanced discrimination between those studied items and critical lures. Conversely, enhancing the similarity of studied items results in poor discrimination among items within a particular list theme. These results are discussed in terms of the item-specific/ relational framework (Hunt & McDaniel, 1993).     

Hemispheric asymmetries in children's perception of nonlinguistic human affective sounds

In the present work, we developed a database of nonlinguistic sounds that mirror prosodic characteristics typical of language and thus carry affective information, but do not convey linguistic information. In a dichotic-listening task, we used these novel stimuli as a means of disambiguating the relative contributions of linguistic and affective processing across the hemispheres. This method was applied to both children and adults with the goal of investigating the role of developing cognitive resource capacity on affective processing. Results suggest that children's limited computational resources influence how they process affective information and rule out attentional biases as a factor in children's perceptual asymmetries for nonlinguistic affective sounds. These data further suggest that investigation of perception of nonlinguistic affective sounds is a valuable tool in assessing interhemispheric asymmetries in affective processing, especially in parceling out linguistic contributions to hemispheric differences.     

The equivalence of the Child Behavior Checklist/1 1/2-5 across parent race/ethnicity, income level, and language

This study examined the equivalence of the Child Behavior Checklist/1 1/2-5 (CBCL/1 1/2-5) in 682 parents of 2- to 4-year-old children stratified by parent race/ethnicity (African American, Latino, and non-Latino White), family income (low vs. middle-upper), and language version (Spanish vs. English). Externalizing Scale means differed by income and child gender. Internalizing Scale means differed by income and parent race/ethnicity. Differential item analyses showed that few items functioned differently by racial/ethnic, language, and income group. A confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that the Externalizing Scale provided a good fit with the data across racial/ethnic and income groups. However, model fit was improved for the Internalizing Scale when factor weights were allowed to vary. Findings support the equivalence of the CBCL/1 1/2-5 when used with parents of low-income preschool children from African American and Latino backgrounds, although further study of the factor structure for the Internalizing Scale is recommended.     

Research misconduct among clinical trial staff

Between 1993 and 2002, 39 clinical trial staff were investigated for scientific misconduct by the Office of Research Integrity (ORI). Analysis of ORI case records reveals practices regarding workload, training and supervision that enable misconduct. Considering the potential effects on human subjects protection, quality and reliability of data, and the trustworthiness of the clinical research enterprise, regulations or guidance on use of clinical trial staff ought to be available. Current ORI regulations do not hold investigators or institutions responsible for supervision and training of clinical trial staff. Given the important issues at stake, the definition of research misconduct should encompass the intentional or negligent mismanagement of scientific projects. Individual institutions and professional associations not only can but should adopt stricter standards of conduct than those reflected in federal regulations.     

Convergent validity of the Agnew Relationship Measure and the Working Alliance Inventory

The convergent validity of the Agnew Relationship Measure (ARM) and the Working Alliance Inventory (WAI) was assessed in samples drawn from 2 comparative clinical trials of time-limited psychotherapies for depression. In 1 sample, clients (n = 18) and therapists (n = 4) completed self-report versions of both measures after every session (n = 198). In the other sample, clients (n = 39) and therapists (n = 6) completed the ARM, and observers subsequently rated selected audiotaped sessions (n = 78) using the WAI. In both samples, the ARM's core alliance scales (Bond, Partnership, and Confidence) were correlated with the WAI's scales (Bond, Tasks, and Goals) strongly when assessed within client and therapist perspectives and, with some qualifications, moderately when assessed between client, therapist, and observer perspectives, supporting the assumption that the ARM and the WAI measure some of the same core constructs.     

Sentence context,word recognition,and repetition blindness

When the sentence She ran her best time yet in the rice last week is displayed using rapid serial visual presentation, viewers sometimes misread rice as race (M. C. Potter, A. Moryadas, I. Abrams, & A. Noel, 1993). Seven experiments combined misreading and repetition blindness (RB) paradigms to determine whether misreading of a word because of biasing sentence context represents a genuine perceptual effect. In Experiments 1-4, misreading a word either caused or prevented RB for a downstream word, depending on whether orthographic similarity was increased or decreased. Additional experiments examined temporal parameters of misreading RB and tested the hypothesis that RB results from reconstructive memory processes. Results suggest that the effect of prior context occurs during perception.     

Articulatory complexity at item boundaries in serial recall: the case of Welsh and English digit span

The proposition that the difference in memory span between Welsh digits and English digits is accounted for by the longer articulatory duration of Welsh digits is critically reexamined. Two methods of measuring digit duration are contrasted. One is derived from digits spoken in isolation; the other is based on digits spoken in list format. Duration of Welsh digits was greater only when spoken in lists; with isolated production Welsh digits were significantly shorter than English digits. Also, span was shorter for Welsh digits. The results are interpreted in the light of the different articulatory demands made at the junctures between words in the English and Welsh lists. A supplementary experiment, using English words, illustrated that articulatory complexity at item boundaries increased serial recall error.     

Mortality salience and the spreading activation of worldview-relevant constructs: exploring the cognitive architecture of terror management

Seven experiments assessed the hypothesis derived from terror management theory that reminding people of their mortality would increase accessibility of constructs central to their worldview. Experiment 1 found that mortality primes, relative to control primes, increased accessibility of nationalistic constructs for men but not for women. Experiment 2 replicated this finding and also found that mortality salience increased romantic accessibility for women but not for men. Four subsequent experiments supported the role of unconscious death-related ideation in producing these effects. A final experiment demonstrated that situational primes can increase the accessibility of nationalistic constructs for women after mortality salience. The roles of situational cues and individual differences in the effects of exposure to death-related stimuli on worldview-relevant construct accessibility are discussed.