North is up(hill): Route planning heuristics in real-world environments

Navigators use both external cues and internal heuristics to help them plan efficient routes through environments. In six experiments, we discover and seek the origin of a novel heuristic that causes participants to preferentially choose southern rather than northern routes during map-based route planning. Experiment 1 demonstrates that participants who are tasked to choose between two equal-length routes, one going generally north and one south, show reliable decision preferences toward the southern option. Experiment 2 demonstrates that participants produce a southern preference only when instructed to adopt egocentric rather than allocentric perspectives during route planning. In Experiments 3-5, we examined participants’ judgments of route characteristics and found that judgments of route length and preferences for upper relative to lower path options do not contribute to the southern route preference. Rather, the southern route preference appears to be a result of misperceptions of increased elevation to the north (i.e., north is up). Experiment 6 further supports this finding by demonstrating that participants provide greater time estimates for north- than for equivalent south-going routes when planning travel between U.S. cities. Results are discussed with regard to predicting wayfinding behavior, the mental simulation of action, and theories of spatial cognition and navigation.     

Intergenerational class mobility in Britain: A comparative look across three generations in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936

The Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 sample is in a uniquely good position to provide relevant data on social class mobility patterns over most of the last century. These participants, with known ultimate social class attainment, took a validated mental test in the Scottish Mental Survey of 1947 and were followed up at approximately age 70. Then, besides their own age 11 mental ability data and educational and occupational attainment, they reported educational and occupational data on their parents and offspring. We constructed structural equation models of participant and offspring social class attainment and odds of social class movement, and compared results with those from the similarly recruited and assessed Lothian Birth Cohort 1921. In the 1936 cohort, relative transmission of social class from one generation to the next decreased, while relative transmission of educational attainment increased. In addition, effects of childhood IQ and educational attainment on social class decreased, apparently due to relative decrease in overall upward mobility and absolute increase in overall education level.     

Neural correlates of affective influence on choice

Making the right choice depends crucially on the accurate valuation of the available options in the light of current needs and goals of an individual. Thus, the valuation of identical options can vary considerably with motivational context. The present study investigated the neural structures underlying context dependent evaluation. We instructed participants to choose from food menu items based on different criteria: on their anticipated taste or on ease of preparation. The aim of the manipulation was to assess which neural sites were activated during choice guided by incentive value, and which during choice based on a value-irrelevant criterion. To assess the impact of increased motivation, affect-guided choice and cognition-guided choice was compared during the sated and hungry states. During affective choice, we identified increased activity in structures representing primarily valuation and taste (medial prefrontal cortex, insula). During cognitive choice, structures showing increased activity included those implicated in suppression and conflict monitoring (lateral orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate). Hunger influenced choice-related activity in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex. Our results show that choice is associated with the use of distinct neural structures for the pursuit of different goals.     

The nature and position of processing determines why forgetting occurs in working memory tasks

The effect of potentially distracting processing within working memory was examined by varying the nature and position of processing across conditions of a Brown-Peterson-like task. Separate groups of participants carried out verbal or visuospatial processing operations on identical stimuli, while retaining lists of to-be-remembered words. The number of words presented either before or after the processing interval was varied systematically. Results showed that although verbal processing was no more demanding than visuospatial processing, it led to greater forgetting. However, forgetting was confined to items presented prior to processing, and the difference in degree of forgetting shown by the two groups was maximal when four items occurred before processing. Temporal isolation effects were more marked in the verbal processing group. These findings indicate that individuals can keep active a limited number of items in primary memory during processing, unless processing blocks rehearsal, in which case retrieval occurs from secondary memory.     

Understanding and Combating School‐Based Bullying From an Individual‐Level Perspective: A Review

Bullying is an ongoing problem in our schools with a significant psychological impact on young people. Despite evidence that school‐based bullying is related to a range of individual, social and environmental factors, the majority of interventions are focused on a “whole of school” approach. Whole‐school interventions have been shown to be successful in reducing rates of bullying, but it is argued that a focus on individual factors, specifically those that are amenable to change, will add to these “whole of school” effects. It is argued that interventions that target factors such as internalising symptoms, externalising behaviours, friendship quality and self‐esteem will help children to build resilience against the bullying behaviours of their peers, and further reduce the incidence of bullying, when applied both at a preventative and treatment intervention level.     

Personality,spirituality, suicide,and self-injury proneness among lesbian,gay, and bisexual adults

The present study sought to clarify gaps in current knowledge integrating personality, spirituality, and risk for suicide/self-harm among sample of 336 lesbian, gay, and bisexual community members. It was hypothesised that Neuroticism would positively predict, and Extraversion and Agreeableness would negatively predict, measures of suicide and self-injury proneness. Additionally, it was predicted that spirituality, defined as Spiritual Life Integration (SLI) and Social Justice Commitment, would interact with personality traits to attenuate risk for suicide and self-injury. Results supported the role of Neuroticism, and identified an unexpected predictor of Conscientiousness, at the main effect level. Moderation patterns were observed such that Agreeableness and Extraversion interacted with SLI to attenuate risk, such that high levels of each trait and high levels of spirituality were protective against suicide and self-injury proneness. Theoretical and practical implications with emphasis on counselling intervention implementation and future research are discussed.     

Choose Your Words Wisely: What Verbal Hesitation Indicates About Eyewitness Accuracy

Researchers have demonstrated qualitative differences in witness verbal reports made in the presence and absence of misinformation. The present study examined changes in linguistic markers present in verbal reports in the context of a repeated‐retrieval misinformation study. After witnessing an event, an immediate retrieval group engaged in a free‐recall test associated with the event. The delayed retrieval group completed a filler task. Following, all participants were presented with a post‐event narrative that included neutral, consistent, and misleading details. Both groups then took two free‐recall tests. We found that hesitations were more likely to accompany correctly remembered details if those details were altered in the narrative, than if there was consistency between the original event and narrative. We also found that retrieval prior to misinformation positively influenced the inclusion of hesitations in free‐recall reports that immediately followed the narrative.Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Views on and Perceptions of Experiences of Touch Avoidance: An Exploratory Study

The aim of this study was to explore perceptions of physical touch by conducting semi-structured interviews with 14 participants, nine women and five men (M _age?=?25.1). A touch avoidance screening form was used to select subjects with the highest scores on touch avoidance as well as those with the lowest scores, that is, the greatest acceptance of touch, for the interviews (n?=?7 in each group). Data were analyzed using Burnard’s stage-by-stage process of coding and categorization. The identified superordinate themes were labeled: 1) safe haven, 2) skill, 3) physical appearance, 4) ambivalence and 5) fear. Among other findings, touch avoiders seemed to have a greater need for bodily intimacy as a confirmation of the romantic partner relationship than did touch accepters. It was concluded that the experience of physical closeness is complex, and the relationships with attachment theory were discussed. Further research was suggested to more thoroughly investigate the present findings on touch avoidance, as well as the origins of touch avoidance and its consequences for personal relationships and communication skills.     

Addiction‐Specific CACREP Standards in Clinical Mental Health Counseling Programs: How Are They Met?

In 2009, the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) included training standards specific to addiction for clinical mental health counseling programs. This study surveyed CACREP‐accredited program coordinators to determine how addiction‐specific standards were addressed.