Timed excitatory conditioning under zero and negative contingencies

Rats (rattus norvegicus) anticipated the arrival of a food pellet unconditioned stimulus (US) even when the conditioned stimulus (CS) signaled no overall change or a substantial decrease in the overall rate of US occurrence. Pellet USs were scheduled probabilistically in the intertrial interval at either an equivalent rate (Experiment 1) or a four times higher rate (Experiments 2 and 3) than in the CS, which included one fixed-time target US. Conditioning has been said to involve learning "whether" (contingency) the CS signals a change in the US, and if so, "when" (contiguity) the US is scheduled to arrive. Our results suggest that "when" trumps "whether," challenging the received view that a positive CS-US contingency is necessary for successful conditioning.     

Smokers' expectancies for smoking versus nicotine

This study compared smokers' expectancies for the full act of smoking with those for nicotine per se by means of a word association task. Smokers (N = 201) were randomized to receive instructions to complete either "Smoking makes one ____." or "Nicotine makes one ____." with as many words as possible within 30 s. Results indicated that smokers held similar expectancies for smoking and nicotine; however, negative consequences (e.g., health risks) were more associated with smoking than with nicotine, and addiction expectancies were more associated with nicotine than with smoking. These findings suggest that smokers have a more realistic conceptualization of nicotine's role in smoking than had been indicated from earlier surveys. These findings have important implications for both nicotine-based and behavioral interventions, as well as for experimental designs that rely upon the perceived manipulation of nicotine content.     

Why is visual search superior in autism spectrum disorder?

This study investigated the possibility that enhanced memory for rejected distractor locations underlies the superior visual search skills exhibited by individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We compared the performance of 21 children with ASD and 21 age‐ and IQ‐matched typically developing (TD) children in a standard static search task and a dynamic search task, in which targets and distractors randomly changed locations every 500 ms, precluding the use of memory in search. Children with ASD exhibited overall faster reaction time (RT) relative to TD children, and showed no disruption in search efficiency in the dynamic condition, discounting the possibility that memory for rejected distractors augments their visual search abilities. Analyses of RT x set size functions showed no group differences in slopes but lower intercepts for the ASD group in both static and dynamic search, suggesting that the ASD advantage derived from non‐search processes, such as an enhanced ability to discriminate between targets and distractors at the locus of attention. Eye‐movement analyses revealed that the ASD and TD groups were similar in the number and spatial distribution of fixations across the search array, but that fixation duration was significantly shorter among children with ASD. Lower intercepts in static search were related to increased symptom severity in children with ASD. In summary, ASD search superiority did not derive from differences in the manner in which individuals with ASD deployed their attention while searching, but from anomalously enhanced perception of stimulus features, which was in turn positively associated with autism symptom severity.     

Randomization tests and the unequal-<Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>/unequal-variance problem

When both the variance and the N are unequal in a two-group design, the probability of a Type I error shifts from the nominal 5% error rate. The probability is too liberal when the small cell has the larger variance and too conservative when the large cell has the larger variance. We present an algorithm to circumvent the problem when the smaller group has the larger variance and show, by simulation, that the algorithm brings the error rate back to the nominal value without sacrificing the ability to detect true effects.     

Construction of Smoking-Relevant Risk Perceptions Among College Students: The Influence of Need for Cognition and Message Content1

Changing smokers' health-risk perceptions has been difficult. This study tested whether need for cognition (NC)—a factor within Petty & Cacioppo's (1986) elaboration likelihood model that reflects the preference for effortful cognitive information processing—moderated responses to a smoking risk message intervention. College smokers (n=227) evaluated a fact-based or emotion-based smoking risk pamphlet or a control pamphlet. Among occasional but not daily smokers, NC interacted as hypothesized with type of message to moderate risk perceptions. Among participants with higher NC, the fact-based message produced the greatest increase in risk perception; whereas among participants with lower NC, the emotion-based message produced the greatest change. Findings demonstrate that individual differences in cognitive processing can influence the potency of health-risk messages.     

Attention control, memory updating, and emotion regulation temporarily reduce the capacity for executive control

This research tested the hypothesis that initial efforts at executive control temporarily undermine subsequent efforts at executive control. Four experiments revealed that controlling the focus of visual attention (Experiment 1), inhibiting predominant writing tendencies (Experiment 2), taking a working memory test (Experiment 3), or exaggerating emotional expressions (Experiment 4) undermined performance on subsequent tests of working memory span, reverse digit span, and response inhibition, respectively. The results supported a limited resource model of executive control and cast doubt on competing accounts based on mood, motivation, or task difficulty. Prior efforts at executive control are a significant contextual determinant of the operation of executive processes.     

Beyond Poetry and Magick: The Core Elements of Wiccan Morality1

This article begins an ethical analysis of Eclectic Wicca. It outlines the basic concepts within Wiccan morality as told through current Wiccan writers. The Wiccan morality is based on the belief of interconnectedness between every part of reality and asserts that human beings, as willful beings, have a responsibility to help whenever feasible, while avoiding harm, if possible. Further, this article discusses preliminary problems with the Wiccan moral system, such as its simplicity, ambiguity, subjectivity, and the hyper-responsibility it places on the practitioner. This article also suggests philosophic avenues that could alleviate many of these theoretical dilemmas.     

Queering Bem: Theoretical Intersections Between Sandra Bem’s Scholarship and Queer Theory

Sandra Bem revolutionized psychology with her research on gender, androgyny, and gender schematicity, which culminated in her book, The Lenses of Gender. Her work also provides a model for how to cross inter-disciplinary lines to enhance scholarship and reach political goals. We analyze similarities and differences between Bem’s scholarship and scholarship in queer theory, a theoretical movement in the humanities that analyzes discourses that construct man/woman and straight/gay binaries. There are important overlaps between Bem’s lenses of gender (biological essentialism, gender polarization, and androcentrism) and the ideas of many queer theorists. There are also several interesting differences between Bem’s ideas and queer theory: attention to the intrapsychic processes that make up gender, the extent to which individuals can be liberated from gender, proliferating versus contesting gender, intersectionality, and epistemology and methodology. By assessing the similarities and differences between Bem and queer theorists, we show that the two complement each other, affording a better understanding of gender and sexuality. Additionally, both Bem and queer theory lend insight into feminist and queer activism. The theoretical and political advances that can be made by integrating Bem’s ideas and those of queer theorists serve as examples for why it is worthwhile to cross disciplinary lines.