Stroop can occur without Garner interference: Strategic and mandatory influences in multidimensional stimuli

Stroop and Garner interference were studied in two experiments involving stimuli with several irrelevant features. Using these stimuli, which were more complex than those usually used in perceptual interference studies, a new phenomenon occurred: Stroop effects without a corresponding Garner interference were obtained in four out of six nontarget conditions, two with local and two with global targets. The effects with local targets were anomalous: on one dimension, incongruous Stroop stimuli were better than congruous ones, while on the other dimension, effects were restricted to a condition in which all nontargets were congruous. With global targets, more consistent cases of Stroop-without-Garner effects were obtained. All Stroop effects were replicated in Experiment 2, in which presentation time was varied. The effects showed a strong dependency on presentation time, in such a way as to suggest a dynamic growth of the percept. The results were interpreted in terms of an interaction between automatic and strategic components of perceptual processes, in agreement with a recently introduced perceptual-organization model, which yields a new interpretation of priming and interference phenomena.     

Effects of voice and similarity on procedural fairness and trust: A dual process model of public acceptance based on representatives’ participation

In citizen participation, a few representatives of the total citizen population participate in discussions with authorities regarding public decisions and policies. The present study examines a dual process model in which the representatives’ voice and similarity of values facilitate public acceptance through procedural fairness and trust in representatives, respectively. The results of an experiment employing a scenario method, which included participants from Japan (n = 211) and the Netherlands (n = 200), indicate that the representatives’ voice increased procedural fairness and public acceptance when the similarity of representatives was high. The effects of representatives’ voice on public acceptance via procedural fairness was supported in both nations, while other effects of representatives’ similarity on acceptance via trust were indicated only in Japan. These results suggest that the indirect voice of citizens, as conveyed by representatives, plays an important role in increasing perceptions of procedural fairness and public acceptance among citizens.     

Task-invariant aspects of goodness in perceptual representation.

In two experiments, pairs of Garner's classical 5-dot patterns were presented with an interstimulus interval of 500 ms in a same-different task in which a physical sameness criterion was used: Rotated or reflected versions of the same pattern were rated as different. Patterns varied in "goodness" according to Garner's equivalence set size measure. Both first and second pattern goodness affected reaction time and accuracy. This result and fits of models to reaction time data indicate that equivalence set representations are used in the task, as in a related categorical matching task in previous studies. Two effects were observed that contrast with the categorical matching task: One is a conflict between the need to respond different to patterns that are categorically equivalent under the equivalence set representation; the other is that extra time is needed for rechecking of the representation if pattern structures are hard to distinguish. In combination with previous studies, the present results show that even though the processes differ, the same representational mechanism is used across tasks.     

Source confusion as an explanation of cultivation: a test of the mechanisms underlying confusion of fiction with reality on television

Cultivation studies have found evidence that heavy television viewers adopt a world view congruent with how the world is portrayed in fictional television programs. An explanation is that viewers may remember fictional TV stories as realistic stories or news (fiction-to-news confusion). Until now, fiction-to-news confusion was found only if at least a week evolved between watching TV and asking viewers what was remembered. The present study conducted with a purposive sample of students and employees of a college in The Netherlands (N=96; M age = 28.6 yr., SD = 10.9) indicates that fiction-to-news confusions can also occur almost immediately after watching. In addition, whereas earlier research suggests that fiction-to-news confusions are associated with heavy viewing, i.e., more confusion when more hours per day are spent on TV viewing in leisure time, and faulty memory, the present study more specifically suggests that participants make many fiction-to-news confusions when they are exposed to relatively many fictional TV fragments that contain threatening, violent events.     

Social Support as Predictor of Psychopathology in the Adolescent Offspring of Psychiatric Patients

The potential role of social support for the adolescent offspring of psychiatric patients has hitherto not been examined. We examined whether the adolescent's level of psychiatric symptoms is dependent on the content and the function of social support (whether direct or moderating), controlling for perceived stress. In a cross-sectional design, 40 adolescents (11–18 yrs) with a parent exhibiting an affective or personality disorder were given several questionnaires, including the Youth Self Report (Achenbach), a Social Support Inventory, and the MUSIC, an inventory assessing perceived emotional and physiological stress reactions. The social support inventory consisted of three subscales to assess the positive and negative perception of social support, and the discrepancy between demand and supply of social support. The mentally-ill parents were given the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). Data were then analyzed using multiple linear regression analyses. Analyses showed that perceived stress and negative social support predicted the adolescent's level of psychiatric symptoms, and that social support served as a direct effect, and was independent of parental GHQ score. Results are discussed and the presently under-utilized potential of social support for this population at risk is highlighted as something warranting increased attention both in terms of research and practical preventative steps.