Processing load and memory for stereotype-based information

The present research considered the effects of stereotypes on judgmental and memorial processes. In particular, we investigated the heuristic utility of stereotype application in difficult or demanding information-processing contexts. Our results supported the prediction that stereotypical effects on memory are contingent upon the characteristics of the task environment. Whereas perceivers displayed preferential recall for stereotype-inconsistent information under low processing loads, this switched to a preference for consistent information as task demands increased. Likewise, target-based judgments were most stereotypic under high processing loads. Judgment-recall correlations supported the contention that, under high-loads, these inferences are related to the relative memorability of stereotypic information. We consider these findings in the wider context of stereotype-based effects on social cognition.     

Psychobiology of the near-miss in fruit machine gambling

Explanations involving the etiology of pathological gambling have tended to emphasize psychosocial factors. However, the possibility that psychobiological factors may be important in the development of pathological gambling behavior should not be ruled out. Psychobiological approaches are becoming ever more prominent with the three main lines of research being (a) a search for a physiological disposition and/or underlying biological substrate in pathological gamblers, (b) an examination of the role of arousal in gambling, and (c) speculation about endorphin-related explanations. The data from questionnaires and interviews with fruit machine gamblers suggest that both physiological and cognitive factors (e.g., the psychology of the near-miss) may be important in the explanation of excessive fruit machine gambling. Thus, if a gambler becomes physiologically aroused when he or she wins or nearly wins, it will stimulate further play, here termed the psychobiology of the near-miss.     

Adolescent gambling and drug use

In this study, 4516 adolescents (aged 11–16 years) completed a questionnaire examining the relationship between underage National Lottery gambling, underage scratchcard gambling, cigarette smoking, drinking alcohol and drug use. It was found that these behaviours were closely linked. Adolescent gamblers reported that they were significantly more likely to drink alcohol (particularly ‘alcopops’), smoke tobacco and take drugs compared to non-gamblers. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Experiences of time loss among videogame players: an empirical study.

Playing videogames is now a major leisure pursuit, yet research in the area is comparatively sparse. Previous correlational evidence suggests that subjective time loss occurs during playing videogames. This study examined experiences of time loss among a relatively large group of gamers (n = 280). Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through an online survey. Results showed that time loss occurred irrespective of gender, age, or frequency of play, but was associated with particular structural characteristics of games such as their complexity, the presence of multi-levels, missions and/or high scores, multiplayer interactions, and plot. Results also demonstrated that time loss could have both positive and negative outcomes for players. Positive aspects of time loss included helping players to relax and temporarily escape from reality. Negative aspects included the sacrificing of other things in their lives, guilty feelings about wasted time, and social conflict. It is concluded that for many gamers, losing track of time is a positive experience and is one of the main reasons for playing videogames.     

Excessive computer game playing: evidence for addiction and aggression?

Computer games have become an ever-increasing part of many adolescents' day-to-day lives. Coupled with this phenomenon, reports of excessive gaming (computer game playing) denominated as "computer/video game addiction" have been discussed in the popular press as well as in recent scientific research. The aim of the present study was the investigation of the addictive potential of gaming as well as the relationship between excessive gaming and aggressive attitudes and behavior. A sample comprising of 7069 gamers answered two questionnaires online. Data revealed that 11.9% of participants (840 gamers) fulfilled diagnostic criteria of addiction concerning their gaming behavior, while there is only weak evidence for the assumption that aggressive behavior is interrelated with excessive gaming in general. Results of this study contribute to the assumption that also playing games without monetary reward meets criteria of addiction. Hence, an addictive potential of gaming should be taken into consideration regarding prevention and intervention.     

Free-operant acquisition with delayed reinforcement

The acquisition of free-operant lever pressing by hungry rats was investigated under a schedule in which the first lever press in each second programmed a reinforcer delivery after a fixed delay. In two studies acquisition was observed under programmed delays ranging between 0 and 32 sec, although animals trained with a delay of 64 sec pressed no more than yoked, non-contingent controls. In the final study an attempt was made to enhance sensitivity to the instrumental contingency under a 64-sec delay by exposing the animals to the operant chamber in the absence of the lever prior to each training session. Only animals receiving such exposure pressed significantly more than their non-contingent controls.     

Effectiveness of the ‘Hold me Tight’ Relationship Enhancement Program in a Self‐referred and a Clinician‐referred Sample: An Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy‐Based Approach

While evidence‐based couple therapies are available, only a minority of troubled couples seek help and they often do this too late. To reach more couples earlier, the couple relationship education (CRE) group program “Hold me Tight” (HmT) based on Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT) was developed. This study is the first to examine the effectiveness of HmT. Using a three‐wave (waiting period, treatment, and follow‐up) within‐subject design, HmT was delivered to 79 self‐referred couples and 50 clinician‐referred couples. We applied a comprehensive outcome measure battery. Our main findings were that (1) self‐referred couples significantly improved during HmT on all measures, that is relationship satisfaction, security of partner‐bond, forgiveness, daily coordination, maintenance behavior, and psychological complaints, with a moderate‐to‐large mean effect size (d = .63), which was maintained (d = .57) during the 3.5 month follow‐up; (2) in clinician‐referred couples, who were vulnerable in terms of insecure attachment status and psychopathology, the improvement during HmT was moderate (d = .42), but this was reduced during the 3.5‐month follow‐up to a small effect (d = .22); (3) emotional functioning (typical HmT target) as well as behavioral functioning (typical Behavioral Couples Therapy‐based CRE target) improved during HmT; and (4) individual psychological complaints, although not specifically targeted, were reduced during HmT. These findings suggest that HmT is a promising intervention for enhancement of relationship functioning. Clinical implications are discussed.     

Executive and theory-of-mind contributions to event-based prospective memory in children: exploring the self-projection hypothesis

In two studies, 4- to 6-year-olds were asked to name pictures of animals for the benefit of a watching hand puppet (the ongoing task) but to refrain from naming and to remove from view any pictures of dogs (the prospective memory [PM] task). Children also completed assessments of verbal ability, cognitive inhibition, working memory, and false-belief understanding (both studies), empathy (Study 1 only), and performance on false-sign tests that matched the false-belief tests in narrative content and structure (Study 2 only). Both studies found that inhibition and false-belief performance made unique contributions to the variance in PM, although in Study 1 the influence of inhibition was evident only when children needed to withhold naming. Study 2 further demonstrated that false-belief performance was the only reliable predictor of whether children remembered to return to the researcher an object that had been loaned to them prior to the picture-naming game. Both experiments uncovered moderate relations between PM and chronological age, but such relations were rarely significant after taking account of cognitive ability. We consider the implications of the findings for (a) current views regarding frontal/executive contributions to PM development and (b) the suggestion that the same brain network underlies various forms of mental self-projection, including envisioning the future and understanding the minds of other people.     

When far becomes near: shared environments activate action simulation

It has been proposed that one means of understanding a person's current behaviour and predicting future actions is by simulating their actions. That is, when another person's actions are observed, similar motor processes are activated in the observer. For example, after observing a reach over an obstacle, a person's subsequent reach trajectory is more curved, reflecting motor priming. Importantly, such motor states are only activated if the observed action is in near (peripersonal) space. However, we demonstrate that when individuals share action environments, simulation of another person's obstacle avoiding reach path takes place even when the action is in far (extrapersonal) space. We propose that action simulation is influenced by factors such as ownership. When an "owned" object is a potential future obstacle, even when it is viewed beyond current action space, simulations are evoked, and these leave a more stable memory capable of influencing future behaviour.