Implicit personality theory: Is it illusory?1

Several studies have found a substantial association between subjects' judgments about the co-occurrence of personality items and the items' actual co-occurrence, lending support to the validity of implicit personality theory. This work has recently been called into question by an investigation of Mirels (1976) that reported a nonsignificant relationship between judged probabilities of item pairs and the pairs' empirical coendorsement probabilities (actually calculated conditional probabilities) derived from self-report responses. Using Mirels' data as well as new data, an appreciable and highly significant association between judgments of behavioral co-occurrence and empirical coendorsement was found, when the latter was measured by correlational-type indexes instead of conditional probability. This outcome indicates that the divergent results in the Mirels investigation were due to its use of the conditional probability index as a measure of empirical coendorsement. These findings add to the accumulating body of evidence pointing to the validity of implicit personality theory.     

Effects of recent exposure to a conditioned stimulus on extinction of Pavlovian fear conditioning

In six experiments we studied the effects of a single re-exposure to a conditioned stimulus (CS; "retrieval trial") prior to extinction training (extinction-reconsolidation boundary) on the development of and recovery from fear extinction. A single retrieval trial prior to extinction training significantly augmented the renewal and reinstatement of extinguished responding. Augmentation of recovery was not observed if the retrieval and extinction training occurred in different contexts. These results contrast with those reported in earlier papers by Monfils and coworkers in rats and by Schiller and coworkers in humans. We suggest that these contrasting results could depend on the contrasting influences of either: (1) occasion-setting contextual associations vs. direct context-CS associations formed as a consequence of the retrieval trial or (2) discrimination vs. generalization between the circumstances of conditioning and extinction.     

Simultaneous backward conditioned inhibition and mediated conditioning

Demonstrations of retrospective revaluation suggest that remembered stimuli undergo a reduction in association with the unconditioned stimulus (US) present during learning. Conversely, demonstrations of mediated conditioning in flavor-conditioning experiments with rats suggest that remembered stimuli undergo an increase in association with the US present during learning. In a food allergy prediction task with 23 undergraduates, we demonstrated simultaneous backward conditioned inhibition and mediated conditioning effects. These results are compatible with the hypothesis that the direction of change (decrease or increase) in associative strength depends on whether the remembered stimulus was of a different category (conditioned stimulus/antecedent) or the same category (US/outcome) as the presented US.     

Quantifying visual field shape for improving accuracy of search performance prediction

The current study calculated a set of 16 shape indices of six subjects (4 men and 2 women, 21-28 years old) for easy and precise quantification of visual lobe shapes using Visual Lobe Measurement System (VILOMS) software. The indices can be used in mathematical models of visual search for better understanding of search behaviour and higher accuracy of search performance prediction. General patterns in the shape indices showed that visual lobes of the subjects were slightly irregular, with low sphericity, a moderately rough boundary, horizontally elongated and slightly asymmetric along both axes. Given the complex relationships among visual lobe area, lobe shape, and search strategy, it seems that a more detailed analysis than hitherto attempted will be necessary. Quantifying lobe shape with the 16 shape indexes is a useful step to performing such analysis.     

On Nonequivalence of Several Procedures of Structural Equation Modeling

The normal theory based maximum likelihood procedure is widely used in structural equation modeling. Three alternatives are: the normal theory based generalized least squares, the normal theory based iteratively reweighted least squares, and the asymptotically distribution-free procedure. When data are normally distributed and the model structure is correctly specified, the four procedures are asymptotically equivalent. However, this equivalence is often used when models are not correctly specified. This short paper clarifies conditions under which these procedures are not asymptotically equivalent. Analytical results indicate that, when a model is not correct, two factors contribute to the nonequivalence of the different procedures. One is that the estimated covariance matrices by different procedures are different, the other is that they use different scales to measure the distance between the sample covariance matrix and the estimated covariance matrix. The results are illustrated using real as well as simulated data. Implication of the results to model fit indices is also discussed using the comparative fit index as an example. The work described in this paper was supported by a grant from the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Project No. CUHK 4170/99M) and by NSF grant DMS04-37167.     

Rural Chinese children as consumers: consumption experience and information sourcing

• This study examines how often rural children in Mainland China interact with different types of retail shops, how they learn about new products and services, and their attitudes toward different sources of product information. A survey of 1008 rural children aged from 5 to 13 years, in four Chinese provinces, was conducted in March 2003. Results indicated that rural Chinese children have limited access to various types of retail shops. Rural children perceived personal sources more useful as well as more credible than commercial sources in obtaining information about new products and services. Older children found parents and grandparents less useful and less credible than younger children for new production information. However, older children did not find peers more useful and credible than younger children.

Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Task and sex modulate the brain response to emotional incongruity in Asian listeners

In order to recognize banter or sarcasm in social interactions, listeners must integrate verbal and vocal emotional expressions. Here, we investigated event-related potential correlates of this integration in Asian listeners. We presented emotional words spoken with congruous or incongruous emotional prosody. When listeners classified word meaning as positive or negative and ignored prosody, incongruous trials elicited a larger late positivity than congruous trials in women but not in men. Sex differences were absent when listeners evaluated the congruence between word meaning and emotional prosody. The similarity of these results to those obtained in Western listeners suggests that sex differences in emotional speech processing depend on attentional focus and may reflect culturally independent mechanisms.     

Promotion of social change: a conceptual framework

This paper argues for the need to advance promotion efforts and proposes a conceptual framework for promotion of social change. A brief review is presented of traditional frameworks for the prevention of mental and social disorders and the promotion of wellness and social competencies, with attention to the ways in which promotion of social change extends and departs from these frameworks. In a framework for promoting social change, we advocate for promoting dynamic processes within systems, rather than outcomes within individuals. Systems are viewed as flexible and capable of facilitating multiple adaptive pathways for individuals and groups. Promoting social change also involves careful attention to critical analysis, values, language, and contextual processes. Examples are discussed throughout to illustrate how these principles have been used in the past and can be implemented in future efforts to promote social change.     

An investigation of finger and manual dexterity

In ergonomics, handgrip has been perceived as one of the most important hand functions; however, other types of functions of the hand are also important to the ergonomist, such as finger and manual dexterity, on which few ergonomic studies have been done. This experiment involved 60 male and female college students whose performance (number of pegs placed into a board in 30 sec.) of finger dexterity were statistically significantly different between the right and left hands and between women and men. The interaction of hand and sex was significant.