Summation effects in human learning: evidence from patterning discriminations in goal-tracking

Participants in two human goal-tracking experiments were simultaneously trained with negative patterning (NP) and positive patterning (PP) discriminations (A+, B+, AB–, C–, D–, CD+). Both elemental and configural models of associative learning predict a PP advantage, such that NP is solved less readily than PP. However, elemental models like the unique cue approach additionally predict responding in AB– trials to be initially stronger than that in A+ and B+ trials due to summation of associative strength. Both experiments revealed a PP advantage and a strong summation effect in AB– trials in the first half of the experiments, irrespective of whether the same US was used for both discriminations (Experiment 1) or two different USs (Experiment 2). We discuss that the correct predictions of the unique cue approach are based on its assumptions of non-normalized and context-independent stimulus processing rather than elemental processing per se.     

Effects of the emotional properties of words and a manipulation of mindset on performance of an ambiguous task

In this study, we investigated whether processing of an ambiguous task was influenced by the emotional properties of words or promotion of a specific mindset. Words used differed in valence and origin of an affective state (derived “from heart” or “from mind”). Mindset was manipulated by suggesting that either fast or slow performance was associated with cleverness and then having participants perform a task requiring the “smart” processing strategy. The ambiguous task was to choose which of 2 Far East hexagrams better represented a previously presented target word. Reaction latencies were measured and appeared to be longer for ambiguous task probes involving words of reflective origin rather than automatic or unspecified origin. Promotion of heuristic thinking was associated with shorter responses latencies than promotion of systematic or neutral processing. The study demonstrated that the processing mode may be promoted by means of both emotional and cognitive manipulations and each of them is working in a specific way.     

Do self-report measures of social anxiety reflect cultural bias or real difficulties for Asian American college students?

Construal of the self as independent or interdependent in relation to others has been found to correlate significantly with social anxiety symptom ratings, raising concerns about possible cultural bias in these measures for Asian Americans. To investigate the validity of self-reported social anxiety symptoms, we examined the role of ethnicity in the associations among social anxiety, self-construal, and adaptive social functioning in a sample of 229 Asian- and European American college students. Results revealed that ethnicity moderated the relationship between self-construal and social anxiety such that interdependent self-construal was associated with higher social anxiety only for first generation Asian Americans. However, there were no significant ethnic differences in the associations between social anxiety self-reports and several measures of social functioning.     

Electrophysiological evidence for the magnocellular-dorsal pathway deficit in dyslexia

In adults, the onset of coherent motion compared to random motion in a random dot kinematogram leads to a right hemispheric amplitude advantage of the N2 response. The source of this asymmetry is believed to lie in the motion selective MT+ cortex. Here, we tested whether the right tempo-parietal N2 component shows a similar regularity in children. In particular, we were interested in whether coherent vs. incoherent motion modulates the amplitude of N2 similarly in dyslexic and control children. We found higher N2 amplitude for coherent compared to random motion in the right hemisphere for controls but not for dyslexics. This effect was related to topographical differences of N2 amplitude for random motion between the studied groups and was accompanied by longer reaction times to random motion in dyslexic compared to control children. Furthermore, a negative correlation between the amplitude of N2 for random motion and spelling errors was observed in both groups, which is consistent with previous findings linking the magnocellular-dorsal (MD) pathway with orthographic skills. These data support the hypothesis of subtle deficiencies in the MD pathway in dyslexia.     

A picture is worth a thousand words: a comparison of pupils’ images of intelligence in Finnish and Russian Karelia

The study set out to examine Finnish and Russian children’s images of intelligence as contextualized in the systems of the school and gender. Finnish and Russian pupils, aged 11–12 years, were asked to draw pictures of an intelligent and an ordinary pupil and a good and an ordinary pupil. A distinctive feature shared by the children in both countries was that intelligent pupils were depicted as positively orientated to knowledge and studies and as similar to good pupils. The Russian children’s pictures emphasized academic performance, suggesting that the contribution of the school to children’s representations was greater in Russia than in Finland. In regard to gender appearance, the intelligent pupil was usually pictured in gender-neutral or childish features, suggesting that being defined as intellectually competent entailed deviating from the heterosexual ideal. In the discussion, the ambivalence associated with social definitions of intelligence is addressed.     

Psychosocial Influences on Vaccine Responses

Interdisciplinary work between psychologists and immunologists has shown that factors like stress could be the trigger that leads to the development of a bout of illness. By studying the response to vaccination, we can examine immune function in the context of the rest of the body in a clinically meaningful way. This technique has been used to demonstrate consistent relationships between stress and the response to influenza vaccination and other vaccines, as well as links between other factors, such as social support and personality, and vaccination‐induced protection against disease. There are several ways the vaccination response can be used to understand more about how stress influences immunity. In addition, specific types of stress and other factors that influence our immune response appear to differ across different populations, which emphasises the importance of taking a life course approach to studying these relationships.     

Piety as a concept underpinning Muslim women’s online discussions of marriage and professional career

In this article, I address piety as a concept shaping Muslim women’s online discussions about gender roles, marriage and professional careers. I also investigate cross-cultural religious encounters in these women-only groups as I am interested in the potential of such online environments to facilitate women’s religious reflection and intellectual engagement. Finally, I explore motivations and religious interpretations of three categories of participants in these discussions: egalitarians, for whom gender equality is a necessary component of piety (Barlas 2006); traditionalists, identified by other authors as Islamists (Karam 1998) or social conservatives (Gül and Gül 48:1–26, 2000; Mahmood 2005) and finally, holists, a group that cannot be mapped out on the political landscape by using the progressive–conservative binary (Badran, Agenda 50:41–57, 2001) and which exists and acts outside of it, neither subverting nor enacting norms of any dominant system, be it secular–liberal or patriarchal. Following Mahmood’s argument that formulating an analysis based exclusively on such a binary is simplistic (Mahmood 2005), I argue that actions of holists can be only addressed by formulating a set of questions different to those used to analyse self-defined egalitarians or traditionalists.     

Depression and anxious apprehension distinguish frontocingulate cortical activity during top-down attentional control

A network consisting of left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (LDLPFC) and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) has been implicated in top-down attentional control. Few studies have systematically investigated how this network is altered in psychopathology, despite evidence that depression and anxiety are associated with attentional control impairments. Functional MRI and dense-array event-related brain potential (ERP) data were collected in separate sessions from 100 participants during a color-word Stroop task. Functional MRI results guided ERP source modeling to characterize the time course of activity in LDLPFC (300-440 ms) and dACC (520-680 ms). At low levels of depression, LDLPFC activity was indirectly related to Stroop interference and only via dACC activity. In contrast, at high levels of depression, dACC did not play an intervening role, and increased LDLPFC activity was directly related to decreased Stroop interference. Specific to high levels of anxious apprehension, higher dACC activity was related to more Stroop interference. Results indicate that depression and anxious apprehension modulate temporally and functionally distinct aspects of the frontocingulate network involved in top-down attention control.