Visual attention and its intimate links to spatial cognition

It is almost universal to regard attention as the facility that permits an agent, human or machine, to give priority processing resources to relevant stimuli while ignoring the irrelevant. The reality of how this might manifest itself throughout all the forms of perceptual and cognitive processes possessed by humans, however, is not as clear. Here, we examine this reality with a broad perspective in order to highlight the myriad ways that attentional processes impact both perception and cognition. The paper concludes by showing two real-world problems that exhibit sufficient complexity to illustrate the ways in which attention and cognition connect. These then point to new avenues of research that might illuminate the overall cognitive architecture of spatial cognition.     

Contents Just Are In The Head

The purpose of the paper is to show that semanticexternalism – the thesis that contents are notdetermined by ``individualistic' features of mentalstates – is mistaken. Externalist thinking, it isargued, rests on two mistaken assumptions: theassumption that if there is an externalist wayof describing a situation the situation exemplifiesexternalism, and the assumption that cases in which adifference in the environment of an intentional stateentails a difference in the state's intentional objectare cases in which environmental factors determine thestate's content. Exposing these mistakes leads to seethat the conditions that are required for thetruth of externalism are inconsistent.     

Hypnosis: a twilight zone of the top-down variety Few have never heard of hypnosis but most know little about the potential of this mind-body regulation technique for advancing science

An early form of psychotherapy, hypnosis has been tarnished by a checkered history: stage shows, movies and cartoons that perpetuate specious myths; and individuals who unabashedly write 'hypnotist' on their business cards. Hypnosis is in the twilight zone alongside a few other mind-body exemplars. Although scientists are still unraveling how hypnosis works, little is mystical about this powerful top-down process, which is an important tool in the armamentarium of the cognitive scientist seeking to unlock topical conundrums.     

When customers exhibit verbal aggression, employees pay cognitive costs

In 4 experimental studies, we show that customer verbal aggression impaired the cognitive performance of the targets of this aggression. In Study 1, customers' verbal aggression reduced recall of customers' requests. Study 2 extended these findings by showing that customer verbal aggression impaired recognition memory and working memory among employees of a cellular communication provider. In Study 3, the ability to take another's perspective attenuated the negative effects of customer verbal aggression on participants' cognitive performance. Study 4 linked customer verbal aggression to quality of task performance, showing a particularly negative influence of aggressive requests delivered by high-status customers. Together, these studies suggest that the effects of even minor aggression from customers can strongly affect the immediate cognitive performance of customer service employees and reduce their task performance. The implications for research on aggression and for the practice of customer service are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

Psychometric Properties of the Persian Spiritual Coping Strategies Scale in Hemodialysis Patients

Spiritual strategies may provide an effective way of coping with disease. This study sought to investigate the validity and reliability of the Persian version of the spiritual coping strategies (SCS) scale among Iranian hemodialysis patients. A convenience sample of 204 hemodialysis patients was recruited to participate in the study. A forward–backward translation method was used to produce the Persian version of the scale. Internal consistency was assessed by Cronbach’s alpha and item–total score correlation. Two-week test–retest reliability was also assessed. The convergent and divergent validity of the scale was evaluated using the Duke University Religion Index and a visual analogue scale for health status. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to assess the factor structure. Participants consisted of 113 males and 91 females (mean age 57.2 [SD = 9.7]). Cronbach’s alpha was acceptable (0.87). We found two underlying factors similar to the original scale. The correlations between the study scales confirmed the convergent and divergent validity of the SCS. Confirmatory factor analysis showed a good fit to the data (GFI = 0.923, CFI = 0.948 and RMSEA = 0.068). The Persian version of the SCS has sound psychometric properties in Iranian hemodialysis patients. Future research should consider applying the scale to populations with other religious/cultural backgrounds.     

Is She an Expert or Just a Woman? Gender Differences in the Presentation of Experts in TV Talk Shows

In order to explore gender differences in the presentation of experts on television this study used a content analysis of 238 h of 64 Israeli talk shows from 2012 where 495 experts took part. Men experts outnumbered women experts in a 1.7:1 ratio. These men were significantly older than the women and tended to have a higher academic rank. The topics on which the experts commentated reflect familiar gender stereotypes with men more likely to talk about security and self defense, politics and economy and women more often talk about body grooming and child care. The results, which partly accord with feminist criticisms that blame the popular media with symbolic annihilation of scholarly women and partly reflect an actual over-representation of men in senior academic ranks, are also analyzed in relation to the findings of studies that looked at the gender of scientists and scholars in fictional TV programming.     

Effectiveness of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy on Psychological Well-Being of People with Late Blindness

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) on improving the psychological wellbeing of people with late blindness. The design of this study was organized into pre-test, post-test and follow-up with two groups; experimental and control. After choosing qualified individuals, they were replaced into experimental and control groups at random (30 clients in each group). Pre-test was conducted for both groups. Thereafter, the experimental group received REBT training. Both groups, took part in post-test at the end of the training course. After 1 month, follow-up test was taken. Tools such as demographic particulars, IBT questionnaire, depression, anxiety and stress 21 inventory, Eysenck questionnaire were used for gathering information of the study. All the analytical process has been done by SPSS18 program. The scores of both groups (experimental and control groups) were not different significantly in pre-test. The scores gained by the experimental group in post-test showed a significant increase compared with the pre-test result. It proved the effectiveness of REBT with experimental group. And also, in comparing post-test with follow-up experimental group no significant difference were yield. So, as a result the effectiveness interference through group training of REBT with experimental group can be evaluated as constant. In control group there were no significant difference among the scores gained in pre-test, post-test and follow up. The findings of this research indicate the effectiveness of group coaching of REBT with enhancing the indices of psychological well being of people with late blindness.     

Victims’ and Observers’ Reactions to Organizational Unfairness: The Role of Moral-Altruist Personality

Researchers are divided on the role of self-relevance in reactions to organizational unfairness: whether workers react similarly when the unfairness is directed at themselves or at others. We claim that the importance of self-relevance depends on moral-altruist personality (Honesty-Humility). In a vignette study, sensitivity to unfairness was weaker when the targets were coworkers rather than the participants, but only among those with low Honesty-Humility. In a field study, Honesty-Humility was associated with greater sensitivity to organizational fairness towards all workers but not to one's own treatment by the authority. Thus, morality-altruism mitigates the impact of self-relevance on attitudes following unfairness.     

The Power of Being Positive: The Relation Between Positive Self-Concept and job Performance

Most managers would probably agree that positivity is something they value in employees, yet selection research has virtually ignored the relation between employee positivity and job performance. This article suggests that a broad personality trait, labeled positive self-concept or core self-evaluations, is a potentially important personality trait in the prediction of job performance. Positive self-concept consists of four specific traits previously studied in isolation: self-esteem, generalized self-ef- ficacy, locus of control, and (low) neuroticism or emotional stability. Data analyzed from 12 samples revealed that these specific traits are strongly correlated and comprise a common factor. Drawing from four motivation theories, we argue that the principal reason positive self-concept is linked to job performance is because positive employees are more motivated to perform theirjobs. We also argue that, in some jobs, positive self-concept may be an ability factor. Finally, we discuss various implemen- tation issues involved in using positive self-concept in selection decisions. Overall, this article suggests that positive self-concept is a trait deserving of more attention in selection research and practice.     

Implicit memory for negative and positive social information in individuals with and without social anxiety

Studies of memory bias for threat-relevant information in individuals with social anxiety have produced mixed results. These discrepancies may be because investigators have studied different memory processes or have used different memory tasks. We employed a video clarity judgement task to investigate implicit (capacity-free, automatic, unconscious) memory and a recognition task to investigate explicit (effortful, strategic, conscious) memory for threat in socially anxious individuals and nonanxious controls. Implicit memory for "old" (i.e., seen before) videos was defined as rating "old" videos as more clear than "new" (i.e., never seen before) videos. We created brief video clips that involved an actor or actress approaching the camera and commenting on some aspect of the viewer's actions, physical appearance, or belongings. Twenty-four videos were positive (e.g., "I really like your shoes"), and 24 were negative (e.g., "That is a horrible haircut"). Results revealed that the video clarity test was an effective measure of implicit memory. Furthermore, socially anxious individuals showed a larger implicit memory index for negative videos than did nonanxious and dysphoric controls. No group differences emerged for implicit memory for positive videos. Similarly, groups did not differ in recognition of, or false alarms for, positive and negative videos. These results demonstrate the role of implicit memory in social anxiety implying that information about threat may be automatically primed in these individuals.