Key distance effects on perceived harmonic structure in music

Two experiments provide convergent evidence for the hypothesis that listeners interpret chords in terms of their harmonic functions in a system of interrelated keys. The perceived associations between chords undergo significant changes depending on the broader tonal framework in which they are embedded. Three independent context effects are identified, and their magnitude is found to be a systematic function of the distance between the context key and the key lot keys) of which the chords are members. In the first experiment, listeners rate how musically related one chord is to a second chord; the chords are those that function within two maximally distant major keys (C major and F# major). All possible chord pairs from this set are presented in each of three context keys: G major which is close to C major and distant from F# major), A major (which is moderately distant from both C major and F# major), and B major (which is close to F# major and distant from C major). The second experiment measures recognition memory for the same chords embedded in tonal sequences in C, G, A, or B major keys, or random sequences. In the two experiments, the distance between the context key and the key of the chords on the circle-of-fifths affects: (1) the probability that a repeated chord is correctly recognized, (2) the strength of association between chords from the same key measured in terms of both confusion errors and direct relatedness judgments, and (3) asymmetries in confusion errors and relatedness judgments when the chords are in different keys. Perceived harmonic relations are thus found to be strongly context dependent, but the context effects are lawful functions of interkey distance. We conclude that listeners possess a highly articulated system of knowledge about the harmonic functions of chords in musical keys and an appreciation of musical structure at the level of abstract tonal centers.     

Self-Regulating Interest: The Moderating Role of Hardiness and Conscientiousness

Sansone, Weir, Harpster, and Morgan (1992) found that individuals intentionally regulated their interest in an activity when they had both the need (the task was boring) and a reason to exert the effort (an ostensible health benefit). The present study examined Hardiness and Conscientiousness as moderators of this self-regulatory process when individuals had the option of quitting in addition to the options of persisting and of engaging in interest-enhancing strategies. Undergraduates performed a boring copying activity under instructions to stop when they felt they could evaluate the task. Half were told that their evaluations would help researchers develop good jobs for others (Benefit). Results indicated high hardy individuals copied more letters when they were provided the additional Benefit information, and this effect was mediated through their attempt to make the task more interesting. High conscientious individuals persisted longer than individuals lower in conscientiousness independently of the benefit manipulation or strategy use. Implications of individual differences in self-regulation of motivation are discussed.     

Sport stacking activities in school children's motor skill development

This study examined the impact of a 12-wk. sport stacking intervention on reaction time (RT), manual dexterity, and hand-eye coordination in elementary school-aged children. 80 Grade 2 students participated in a 15-min. sport stacking practice session every school day for 12 wk., and were tested on psychomotor performance improvement. Tests for choice RT, manual dexterity, and photoelectric rotary pursuit tracking were conducted pre- and post-intervention for both experimental group (n = 36) and the controls (n = 44) who did no sport stacking. Students who had the intervention showed a greater improvement in two-choice RT. No other group difference was found. Such sport stacking activities may facilitate children's central processing and perceptual-motor integration.     

Marital conflicts in the home when children are present versus absent

Characteristics of marital conflict when children (8-16 years) were present versus absent were compared on the basis of 47 mothers' and fathers' reports during a 15-day period. Mothers described 669 incidents of marital conflict, and fathers described 551 incidents. About two thirds of the conflicts occurred in children's absence. Contrary to predictions, conflicts in which children were present were more negative (e.g., more negative emotions, more destructive conflict tactics) and more often about children than were child-absent conflicts. Although parents may attempt to protect children from conflict exposure, children tend to be exposed to a relatively hostile and emotionally negative subset of the marital conflicts that occur in the home.     

New parents at work: Jobs, families and the psychological contract

Interviews with seven women and six men who had recently returned to work after becoming first-time parents were carried out to examine experiences of the policies, practices and attitudes of their employers towards new parents, and to assess how far they felt able to discuss their circumstances and changed expectations with their managers. Findings pointed to considerable differences in the attitudes of employers to the men and women. Almost all the women had changed to part-time work, but arranging this had not been easy and some had found it difficult to come to terms with a difference in status. Many of the respondents had reservations about discussing their positions and altered expectations with their managers, and it seemed unlikely that mutually beneficial psychological contracts could be negotiated without changes in organisational cultures and policies. The findings have implications for our understanding of organisational careers and for career-planning interventions in organisations.     

Parenting Behaviors and Child Externalizing: A Short-Term Investigation of Directionality

Children (N = 404) provided data during 3rd and 4th grades concerning their mothers’ use of punitive discipline and yielding to coercion. Teachers provided data regarding their perceptions of children’s externalizing behaviors at school. We tested a cross-lagged model examining parental disciplinary behaviors as predictors of child externalizing behavior, as well as child externalizing behaviors as a predictor of parental disciplinary behaviors. For boys and for girls, there was over-time stability in all three variables of interest. For boys only, more externalizing behaviors in Grade 3 predicted greater use of punitive discipline by parents and more parental yielding to coercion in Grade 4, over and above Grade 3 levels of these parenting variables. The reverse direction of effects was not observed.     

Social Anxiety and Social Surrogacy in College Roommate Relationships

The social surrogate hypothesis proposes that people with higher social anxiety (HSA) recruit others to accompany them into social situations. We tested this hypothesis with college roommates using both hypothetical (Study 1) and retrospective (Study 2) measures, while assessing roommate's perceptions of recruitment and how social surrogacy might influence liking between roommates. Across two studies, we found that HSA participants were less likely to enter social situations alone (i.e. higher conditional entry); however, HSA was related to recruitment only when participants considered hypothetical scenarios, not when recruitment was assessed globally or retrospectively. There was little evidence that HSA participants' roommates were aware of these behaviours, although there was preliminary evidence that less social anxiety might increase liking when roommates perceived more conditional entry. We also found preliminary evidence that social anxiety may be negatively related to liking when participants were less likely to recruit an alternate surrogate if their roommate was unavailable. Taken together, these preliminary findings emphasize the importance of studying the surrogacy process from an interpersonal/dyadic perspective and using methods that will differentiate between anticipated (which may be assessed by hypothetical scenarios) and enacted recruitment behaviours. Copyright © 2017 European Association of Personality Psychology