The eye gaze direction of an observed person can bias perception,memory, and attention in adolescents with and without autism spectrum disorder

The reported experiments aimed to investigate whether a person and his or her gaze direction presented in the context of a naturalistic scene cause perception, memory, and attention to be biased in typically developing adolescents and high-functioning adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A novel computerized image manipulation program presented a series of photographic scenes, each containing a person. The program enabled participants to laterally maneuver the scenes behind a static window, the borders of which partially occluded the scenes. The gaze direction of the person in the scenes spontaneously cued attention of both groups in the direction of gaze, affecting judgments of preference (Experiment 1a) and causing memory biases (Experiment 1b). Experiment 2 showed that the gaze direction of a person cues visual search accurately to the exact location of gaze in both groups. These findings suggest that biases in preference, memory, and attention are caused by another person’s gaze direction when viewed in a complex scene in adolescents with and without ASD     

A hit-and-miss investigation of asymmetries in wheelchair navigation

In contrast to the leftward inattention caused by right parietal damage, normal brain function shows a subtle neglect of the right and left sides in peripersonal and extrapersonal space, respectively. This study explored how these attentional biases cause healthy individuals to collide with objects on the right. In Experiment 1, participants navigated manual and electric wheelchairs through a narrow doorway. More rightward collisions were observed for the electric, but not the manual, wheelchair. Experiment 2 demonstrated that the rightward deviation for electric wheelchairs increased for wider doorways. Experiment 3 established that the rightward deviation is not the result of task-related vestibular input, using a remote control device to operate the wheelchair. The rightward deviation persisted in Experiment 4 when the doorway was removed, suggesting that the bias is the result of a mis-bisection of space. In Experiment 5, the rightward bias was replicated using an electric scooter, which is steered using handlebars. Finally, Experiment 6 required participants to point to the middle of the doorway, using a laser, before moving the scooter. Rightward mis-bisection was observed in both conditions. Rightward mis-bisection of lines in extrapersonal space provides the most parsimonious explanation of the rightward collisions and deviations.     

Stop-Think-Relax: An Adapted Self-Control Training Strategy for Individuals with Mental Retardation and Coexisting Psychiatric Illness

Published self-instructional techniques for stress/anger management for those with mental retardation and developmental disabilities are often impractical due to the demands of complex instructional sequencing and of applying the technique during distressing situations. The development and implementation of an adapted, self-instructional, self-control technique employing a simple, 3-step method, reinforced by iconic visual cues, will be presented. The application of this strategy in individuals with mental retardation and concurrent mental illness will be reviewed in 3 detailed clinical cases. The Stop-Think-Relax strategy is a highly versatile and easily taught method for self-control that can be successfully applied in adults with limited cognitive capacities and with coexisting psychiatric features.     

Enhanced recall of disgusting relative to frightening photographs is not due to organisation

Previous research has shown that disgusting photographs are better remembered than frightening photographs, even when the two image types have equivalent valence and arousal. However, this work did not control for potential differences in organisation between the disgusting and frightening stimuli that could account for enhanced memory for disgusting photographs. The current research therefore tested whether differences in recall between disgusting and frightening photographs persist when differences in organisation are eliminated. Using a set of disgusting and frightening photographs matched for interrelatedness, Study 1 found that participants recalled more disgusting photographs than frightening photographs. This effect was mediated by increased attention to the disgusting photographs. Study 2 used Latent Semantic Analysis to further interrogate the relatedness of the photographs, providing converging evidence that organisation does not account for enhanced recall of disgusting photographs. Taken together, these results suggest that dimensional models of emotion cannot fully account for emotion’s effects on episodic memory. Instead, disgust appears to enhance recall via a distinctive, attention-mediated mechanism.     

Rater Correction Processes in Applicant Selection Using Videoconference Technology: The Role of Attributions1

Increasing global competition for the best employees has resulted in a significant increase in the recruiting and selection of geographically dispersed applicants. Innovative telecommunication technologies (e.g., videoconferencing) have provided a means to interview distant applicants at relatively low cost, compared to face‐to‐face interviews. However, some have suggested that interviewer ratings could be affected by the use of communication media to conduct the interview. In the present laboratory study, we tested a model of rater decision processes to help explain a mechanism for inflated ratings of videoconference‐based applicants. Participants who believed that they were making judgments for a real selection process rated simulated videoconference or face‐to‐face interviews. Raters who perceived interview media to be lower in richness were more likely to make external attributions for the applicant's performance, and consequently rated him more favorably.     

Personality and risk for Alzheimer's disease in adults 72 years of age and older: a 6-year follow-up

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 26(2) of Psychology and Aging (see record 2011-05802-001). This article contains an error in the Discussion, under the Implications, Caveats, Future Directions heading. The third paragraph includes the sentences that should have been removed. The corrected paragraph appears in the correction.] We conducted secondary analyses to determine the relationship between longstanding personality traits and risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD) among 767 participants 72 years of age or older who were followed for more than 6 years. Personality was assessed with the NEO-FFI. We hypothesized that elevated Neuroticism, lower Openness, and lower Conscientiousness would be independently associated with risk of AD. Hypotheses were supported. The finding that AD risk is associated with elevated Neuroticism and lower Conscientiousness can be added to the accumulating literature documenting the pathogenic effects of these two traits. The link between lower Openness and AD risk is consistent with recent findings on cognitive activity and AD risk. Findings have implications for prevention research and for the conceptualization of the etiology of AD.     

Integrating Immigrants into the Life of Canadian Urban Christian Congregations: Findings from a National Survey

In just one generation the cultural face of Canadian society has been transformed. The relative level of immigration has increased rapidly as has diversity among those immigrants. This article reports on the findings of a national survey that offers a baseline of how and to what extent local Canadian Christian congregations are responding to this cultural diversity. In particular, it explores how churches are integrating immigrants within the life of their local congregations. This article uses a systems change perspective to frame immigrant integration. This perspective emphasizes three requirements for change: vision, structure and processes that promote immigrant integration. Data was collected using an online survey of urban congregations in the nine urban Canadian communities having an immigrant population above the national average (20% foreign-born). Using these data this article explores the full range of immigrant integration efforts from the initial welcome to inclusion into congregational life. It describes the present status of immigrant integration, details reported successes and challenges and notes respondent suggestions for better integration. Results of this survey provide first-time baseline insights into how a range of urban Christian congregations from across Canada are presently responding to the Canadian immigrant reality.     

Affective forecasting and self-rated symptoms of depression, anxiety, and hypomania: evidence for a dysphoric forecasting bias

Emerging research has examined individual differences in affective forecasting; however, we are aware of no published study to date linking psychopathology symptoms to affective forecasting problems. Pitting cognitive theory against depressive realism theory, we examined whether dysphoria was associated with negatively biased affective forecasts or greater accuracy. Participants (n=325) supplied predicted and actual emotional reactions for three days surrounding an emotionally evocative relational event, Valentine's Day. Predictions were made a month prior to the holiday. Consistent with cognitive theory, we found evidence for a dysphoric forecasting bias-the tendency of individuals in dysphoric states to overpredict negative emotional reactions to future events. The dysphoric forecasting bias was robust across ratings of positive and negative affect, forecasts for pleasant and unpleasant scenarios, continuous and categorical operationalisations of dysphoria, and three time points of observation. Similar biases were not observed in analyses examining the independent effects of anxiety and hypomania. Findings provide empirical evidence for the long-assumed influence of depressive symptoms on future expectations. The present investigation has implications for affective forecasting studies examining information-processing constructs, decision making, and broader domains of psychopathology.