An optimal viewing position effect in the Stroop task when only one letter is the color carrier

Coloring only a single letter in the Stroop task can result in a reduction or elimination of Stroop interference. The present experiments were designed to test whether this modulation of Stroop interference occurs at all letter positions. Specifically, we investigated whether Stroop interference was reduced when the colored letter occupied the optimal viewing position (OVP). The experiments show that Stroop interference is not reduced at the OVP (Experiment 1) and that Stroop interference at the OVP is significantly greater than at other letter positions (Experiments 1 and 2). This finding has important theoretical and methodological consequences for studies of automatic processing in visual word recognition.     

A New Defence of the Modal Existence Requirement

In this paper, I defend the claim that an object can have a property only if it exists from two arguments, both of which turn on how to understand Plantinga’s notion of the α-transform of a property. For comments and discussion, thanks to David Sanson and three anonymous referees. For funding in the form of a Standard Research Grant (410-2004-0702), thanks to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).     

The development of a general associative learning account of skill acquisition in a relative arrival-time judgment task

Current theory assumes that individuals only use information from the immediate environment to perform relative arrival-time judgment tasks. This article presents a theoretical analysis of the memory requirements of this task. The authors present an analysis of the inputs to the memory system and the processes that map those inputs onto outputs. The analysis generates a set of predictions regarding the specificity of transfer and the role of context during learning. In 3 experiments, participants decided whether pairs of aircraft would violate a minimum separation standard or pass each other safely. Participants were presented with pairs of aircraft in which properties of the pair varied along 3 structural and 3 surface dimensions. Contexts were defined by the co-occurrence of specific values along stimulus dimensions and the use of a neutral label. The results suggest that transfer was limited by the dimensions that were varied in training and the context in which those dimensions were varied. The discussion focuses on the problems that complex tasks like relative judgment pose for associative learning mechanisms and the development of precise models of cognition.     

Resolving Nationalist Conflicts: Promoting Overlapping Identities and Pooling Sovereignty—The 1998 Northern Irish Peace Agreement

Nationalist and ethnic conflicts are a continuing source of tension in the post–Cold War period. The underlying factors affecting such conflicts are threat perception, ethnic security dilemmas, and lack of trust between nationalist/ethnic groups. The challenge is to find solutions to these conflicts. International institutions can establish trust and reduce the ethnic security dilemma by providing multiple forums of representation, promoting overlapping identities, and pooling sovereignty. Pooling sovereignty across a number of international representative bodies leads to increased access to governmental policymaking, with each party having a stake in government, and leads to a reduction in political tension and conflict. Thus, international parliamentary institutions may provide a solution to these conflicts. The British-Irish Peace Agreement (Good Friday Agreement) of 1998 is examined as an illustration of this argument.     

Prenatal testosterone treatment potentiates the aggression‐inhibiting effect of the neurosteroid dehydroepiandrosterone in female mice

The neurosteroid dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is a powerful inhibitor of aggression in murine models when given for 15 days and potentially may be useful in the management of inappropriate human aggression. Although the biosynthesis and metabolism of DHEA have been described, little is known about the potential effect of the steroidal environment during sexual differentiation on the subsequent response to DHEA. Whether prenatal androgen exposure influences the subsequent response to DHEA was assessed by comparing the effect of DHEA (80 μg/d) on aggression in female offspring where dams were treated with 1, 10, or 100 μg of testosterone (T) on days 15 to 18 of gestation (Experiment I) or that developed in different uterine positions (Experiment II). The results showed that DHEA decreased attack behavior in general and that the 100‐μg prenatal T treatments enhanced the antiaggressive effect of this neurosteroid. Neither the lower doses of exogenously administered T nor the uterine position led to an enhanced response to DHEA. In addition, whether DHEA produced changes in social and nonsocial activities was examined. In the 100‐μg T females, DHEA increased the duration of the former and decreased the frequency and duration of the latter, indicating that it was not a general decrement in behavioral expression that mediated the enhanced response to the antiaggressive effect of DHEA. In the second experiment, DHEA treatment led to increased frequencies of social nonaggressive and nonsocial activities. However, the uterine positions × treatment interactions were not significant, demonstrating that contiguity to male fetuses did not differentially affect the response to DHEA. Aggr. Behav. 27:130–138, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Review Essay: The History of Israel Contested and Revised

Books reviewed in this article: Philip R. Davies, In Search of ‘Ancient Israel’ Philip R. Davies, Scribes and Scrolls: The Canonization of the Hebrew Scriptures Lester L. Grabbe (ed.), Can a ‘History of Israel’ Be Written? Niels Peter Lemche, The Israelites in History and Tradition V. Philips Long (ed.), Israel's Past in Present Research: Essays on Ancient Israelite Historiography Thomas L. Thompson, The Mythic Past: Biblical Archaeology and the Myth of Israel     

Gender differences in social support among older adults

The purpose of this study was to determine whether exposure to life stress can help explain gender differences in the use of social support. Findings from a longitudinal study suggest that as the number of stressful life events increase, elderly men and women are equally likely to become more involved in their social network, while gender differences emerge only in response to chronic financial strain. Further analysis indicates that elderly women are more likely than elderly men to report that the support they received increased their feelings of personal control.