Spatial integration under contextual control in a virtual environment

The role of context was examined in the selection and integration of independently learned spatial relationships. Using a dynamic 3D virtual environment, participants learned one spatial relationship between landmarks A and B which was established in one virtual context (e.g., A is left of B) and a different spatial relationship which was established in another virtual context (e.g., A is in front of B). A spatial relationship between B and a goal was then established, using the same landmark-to-goal relationship in each context. When given A in either context at test, participants were more likely to choose a position in expectation of the goal, based on the relationship of A to B previously established in that context. Thus, context can be used to disambiguate conflicting spatial information. This research is discussed in light of Miller and Escobar's (2002) retrieval model.     

Social identity and personality processes: Non‐Aboriginal Australian identity and Neuroticism

There are ongoing debates both in personality psychology and social psychology on the causes and consequences of personality stability and change. Recent work on social roles suggests that as people change roles (e.g. employee to manager), different experiences and demands are internalised into one's self‐concept shaping identity and personality. In this paper, the emphasis moves beyond ‘roles’ to other group memberships (e.g. ethnicity) in shaping one's self‐view and self‐rated personality (e.g. Neuroticism). The results of two experiments demonstrated that the salience of a particular group membership (as a Non‐Aboriginal Australian) did significantly impact on Neuroticism. Such findings suggest that social identity processes may offer a hitherto neglected avenue for helping to explain personality (dis)continuity. Implications of these findings for both fields are discussed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Differential neuronal responses to the self and others in the extrastriate body area and the fusiform body area

The extrastriate body area (EBA) and the fusiform body area (FBA) are selectively activated by viewing human bodies. However, the role of these functionally defined brain areas in self-other discrimination is still unresolved. Thirty-one females were presented with 16 pictures of their own body and another body in a bikini and with scrambled images while fMRI was performed. Moreover, standardized stimulus material was used in order to localize the EBA and FBA. Region-of-interest analysis showed an enhanced BOLD response to the self-images relative to the non-self-images in the right EBA and FBA. The right EBA and FBA are activated differently by viewing oneself and others and might thus play a role in visual self-other discrimination.     

The French Lexicon Project: Lexical decision data for 38,840 French words and 38,840 pseudowords

The French Lexicon Project involved the collection of lexical decision data for 38,840 French words and the same number of nonwords. It was directly inspired by the English Lexicon Project (Balota et al., 2007) and produced very comparable frequency and word length effects. The present article describes the methods used to collect the data, reports analyses on the word frequency and the word length effects, and describes the Excel files that make the data freely available for research purposes. The word and pseudoword data from this article may be downloaded from http://brm.psychonomic-journals.org/content/supplemental.     

Adverse Working Conditions, Job Insecurity and Occupational Stress: The Role of (Ir)rational Beliefs

Testing of REBT theory in the work environment is a relatively new research domain, with few promising studies, especially in the context of occupational stress. The aim of this study is to explore the role that irrational and rational beliefs play, as factors of cognitive appraisal, in the development of some of the occupational stress indicators, as well as possible interaction between stressful working conditions and irrational beliefs. A sample of 221 Serbian employees, mostly from the private and public sectors, participated in this study. The results of the hierarchical regression analyses indicate that irrational beliefs make an independent contribution to the prediction of distress and burnout, although that contribution is less prominent than that of stressors. Rational beliefs significantly predicted distress, but not work burnout. Finally, no significant interactions were found between stressors and IB/RB. It can be concluded that (ir)rational beliefs play a significant role in distress and burnout prediction, but no support for a diathesis-stress model of cognitive vulnerability to occupational stress has been found in the present study. The results will be discussed in the context of REBT theory and practice.     

The combined effect of ratee's bodyweight and past performance information on performance judgments

Few studies have examined how various biases operate in combination to influence performance judgments. Along these lines, the current study used experimental methods to test four competing models of the combined influence of ratee's bodyweight and past performance information on performance judgments. Results were consistent with an additive model, such that ratee's bodyweight and information about ratee's past performance combined independently to affect performance judgments. Consistent with a double disadvantage effect, the least favorable performance judgments were made for an overweight ratee with poor previous performance. Finally, mixed evidence was obtained for the interaction of ratee's bodyweight and perceptions of ratee's physical attractiveness, such that high‐perceived attractiveness buffered against the otherwise negative performance ratings associated with overweight status.     

Neuroanatomical correlates of processing in visual and visuospatial working memory

Working memory is traditionally seen as being organised in a modular way with a central executive orchestrating at least two slave systems (phonological loop and visuospatial sketch pad). Neuroanatomical correlates of the visual and visuospatial subsystems and the central executive are discussed in this article. A series of experiments are presented yielding evidence for a differentiation into active and passive processing in working memory as well as their neuroanatomical correlates in the prefrontal cortex. Data, yielding evidence for an interaction and separation of visual and visuospatial working memory are presented and discussed. Further results are presented which suggest a convergence of these two systems with increasing working memory demands. The discussed findings will give new insight in the organisation of visual and visuospatial working memory on the anatomical level.