Looking forward to looking backward: the misprediction of regret

Decisions are powerfully affected by anticipated regret, and people anticipate feeling more regret when they lose by a narrow margin than when they lose by a wide margin. But research suggests that people are remarkably good at avoiding self-blame, and hence they may be better at avoiding regret than they realize. Four studies measured people's anticipations and experiences of regret and self-blame. In Study 1, students overestimated how much more regret they would feel when they "nearly won" than when they "clearly lost" a contest. In Studies 2, 3a, and 3b, subway riders overestimated how much more regret and self-blame they would feel if they "nearly caught" their trains than if they "clearly missed" their trains. These results suggest that people are less susceptible to regret than they imagine, and that decision makers who pay to avoid future regrets may be buying emotional insurance that they do not actually need.     

Relative user ratings of MMPI-2 computer-based test interpretations

There are eight commercially available computer-based test interpretations (CBTIs) for the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2), of which few have been empirically evaluated. Prospective users of these programs have little scientific data to guide choice of a program. This study compared ratings of these eight CBTIs. Test users were randomly assigned to rate either a single authentic CBTI report on one of their clients or a single CBTI report generated from a modal MMPI-2 profile for their clinical setting. In all, 257 authentic and modal CBTI reports were rated by 41 clinicians on 10 dimensions. Each of the authentic reports received substantially higher ratings than the modal reports, with ratings of perceived accuracy and opinion confirmation best differentiating between authentic and modal reports. Automated Assessment Associates' report received the highest overall ratings; reports published by Western Psychological Services, Pearson Assessments, and the Caldwell Report were also distinguished on one or more ratings dimensions.     

Belief in the Controllability of Weight and Attributions to Prejudice Among Heavyweight Women

The perceived controllability of weight is a central feature of prejudice against heavyweight people, but its role in the experience of prejudice is not well established. Heavyweight women (N=66, mean age = 38 years) were exposed to information about cardiovascular health or the uncontrollability of weight and then wrote a persuasive health-related essay. All participants received a negative evaluation on the essay quality from a male evaluator whom they believed could see them or not. Belief in the uncontrollability of weight led to more attributions for the feedback to the evaluator's prejudice but only when the participants thought that they were visible. The results are discussed in terms of the stigma of overweight.     

Principles of cross-modal competition: Evidence from deficits of attention

How does the attentional system coordinate the processing of stimuli presented simultaneously to different sensory modalities? We investigated this question with individuals with neurological damage who suffered from deficits of attention. In these individuals, we examined how the processing of tactile stimuli is affected by the simultaneous presentation of visual or auditory stimuli. The investigation demonstrated that two stimuli from different modalities are in competition when attention is directed to the perceptual attributes of both, but not when attention is directed to the perceptual attributes of one and the semantic attributes of the other. These findings reveal a differentiated attentional system in which competition is modulated by the level of stimulus representation to which attention is directed.     

Factor analysis of the frontal systems behavior scale (FrSBe)

The Frontal Systems Behavior Scale (FrSBe), formerly called the Frontal Lobe Personality Scale (FLOPS), is a brief behavior rating scale with demonstrated validity for the assessment of behavior disturbances associated with damage to the frontal-subcortical brain circuits. The authors report an exploratory principal factor analysis of the FrSBe-Family Version in a sample including 324 neurological patients and research participants, of which about 63% were diagnosed with neurodegenerative diseases (Huntington's, Parkinson's, and Alzheimer's diseases). The three-factor solution accounted for a modest level of variance (41%) and confirmed a factor structure consistent with the three subscales proposed on the theoretical basis of the frontal systems. Most items (83%)from the FrSBe subscales of Apathy, Disinhibition, and Executive Dysfunction loaded saliently on three corresponding factors. The FrSBe factor structure supports its utility for assessing both the severity of the three frontal syndromes in aggregate and separately.     

Recombinative generalization of within-syllable units in nonreading adults with mental retardation

Two adults with mental retardation demonstrated the recombination of within-syllable units (onsets and rimes) using a spoken-to-printed-word matching-to-sample (MTS) procedure. Further testing with 1 participant showed comprehension of the printed words. Printed-word naming was minimal before, but greater after, comprehension tests. The findings suggest that these procedures hold promise for further basic and applied analyses of word-attack skills.     

Missing the mark: effects of time and causal attributions on goal revision in response to goal-performance discrepancies

In an attempt to extend past goal setting research, the present study examined the influence of goal-performance discrepancies (GPDs), causal attributions, and temporal factors on the process of dynamic self-regulation. Goal revision processes were examined longitudinally in a sample of 100 varsity-level college track and field athletes over the course of an 8-week competitive season. The results indicate that an individual's GPD significantly predicted the amount of goal revision engaged in by the athletes, such that participants were more likely to lower their competition (proximal) and season (distal) goals when they failed to reach these goals and their respective GPDs were large. However, as hypothesized, this relationship was moderated by stability attributions and the temporal location of the individual with respect to the time period allotted for goal attainment. Implications for future research in the area of goal setting and dynamic self-regulation are discussed.     

Eye movements and picture processing during recognition

Eye movements were monitored during a recognition memory test of previously studied pictures of full-color scenes. The test scenes were identical to the originals, had an object deleted from them, or included a new object substituted for an original object. In contrast to a prior report (Parker, 1978), we found no evidence that object deletions or substitutions could be recognized on the basis of information acquired from the visual periphery. Deletions were difficult to recognize peripherally, and the eyes were not attracted to them. Overall, the amplitude of the average saccade to the critical object during the memory test was less than 4.5 degrees of visual angle in all conditions and averaged 4.1 degrees across conditions. We conclude that information about object presence and identity in a scene is limited to a relatively small region around the current fixation point.