“Ain’t I a Woman?”: Towards an Intersectional Approach to Person Perception and Group-based Harms

Our research examines whether intersecting racial and gender identities affect person perception. Predominantly White undergraduates (292) from a large northeastern U.S. university categorized and rated pictures (Study 1) and videos (Study 2) of Black and White men and women. We supported three hypotheses: 1) intersectionality affects person perception processes, leading to gender categorization errors for Black women; 2) “Blackness” and “maleness” are highly associated for Black male and female targets; and, 3) women are perceived as unattractive proportionally to their perceived masculinity, leading Black women to be rated as less attractive than other women. We suggest that intersectional approaches are required in order to fully understand person perception. Further, the Black/male association may lead to unique harms for Black women.     

The Effect of Residential Neighborhood on Child Behavior Problems in First Grade

Child behavior problems have been identified as being responsible for the greatest reduction in quality of life for children between ages 1 and 19. In this study, we examine whether neighborhood social processes are associated with differences in child behavior problems in an economically and racially diverse sample of 405 urban-dwelling first grade children and whether parenting behavior mediates and/or moderates the effects of neighborhoods. Furthermore, we examine whether neighborhood social processes play the same role with regards to child behavior problems at differing levels of neighborhood economic impoverishment. Results of multivariate multilevel regression analyses indicate that a high negative social climate is associated with greater internalizing problems. High potential for community involvement for children in the neighborhood was associated with fewer behavior problems, but only in economically impoverished neighborhoods. Differences in parenting behavior did not appear to mediate neighborhood effects on behavior problems, and parenting characterized by a high degree of positive involvement was associated with fewer behavior problems in all types of neighborhoods.     

Nature and facts about natural and artifactual categories: Sex differences in the semantic priming paradigm

There is abundant evidence from behavioral and neurophysiological experiments for the distinction of natural versus artifactual categories and a gender-specific difference: women’s performances in cognitive tasks increase when natural categories are used, whereas men’s performances increase with artifactual categories. Here, we used the semantic priming paradigm to study retrieval processes by presenting category labels as primes and exemplars as targets. Overall, in two experiments we found larger priming effects for natural than for artifactual categories. In addition, females showed positive priming effects for natural but negative effects for artifactual categories, whereas males showed positive priming effects for both categories. This pattern matches with that from other tasks and can be interpreted as evidence that the findings from these other tasks are, at least partially, indeed due to different representations or processing modes for males and females and not (exclusively) due to—for example—different familiarity with a category. In a further experiment, we showed that the found pattern for females can be manipulated by focusing on perceptual vs. functional features. The results can be interpreted as first evidence that there are (eventually in addition to different “crystallized” semantic structures) specific default processing modes that differ for males and females.     

Center-surround or spreading inhibition: which mechanism caused the negative effect from repeated masked semantic primes?

In the paradigm of repeated masked semantic priming (Wentura & Frings. 2005), prime and mask are repeatedly and rapidly interchanged. Using this technique in a semantic priming task with category labels as primes and category exemplars as targets (related, e.g.. BIRD - swan --> BIRD - finch; unrelated, e.g., BIRD - lily --> FRUIT - finch), Wentura and Frings found a negatively signed priming effect. Here we used the repeated masking technique with category exemplars as targets and primes (i.e., identity priming) for analyzing, whether this effect reflects center-surround or spreading inhibition. If the repeated masked technique reflects spreading inhibition, a negative effect should also appear for identity priming. In contrast, a center-surround approach would predict a positive effect. In accordance with the latter hypothesis, we found a significant positive effect in identity priming (Experiment 1a) and significant difference to the negatively signed semantic priming effect when primes were category labels (Experiment 1b). This is indicative of the repeated masked semantic priming effect being a negatively signed semantic priming effect due to a center-surround mechanism.     

Neural and genetic foundations of face recognition and prosopagnosia

Faces are of essential importance for human social life. They provide valuable information about the identity, expression, gaze, health, and age of a person. Recent face‐processing models assume highly interconnected neural structures between different temporal, occipital, and frontal brain areas with several feedback loops. A selective deficit in the visual learning and recognition of faces is known as prosopagnosia, which can be found both in acquired and congenital form. Recently, a hereditary sub‐type of congenital prosopagnosia with a very high prevalence rate of 2.5% has been identified. Recent research results show that hereditary prosopagnosia is a clearly circumscribed face‐processing deficit with a characteristic set of clinical symptoms. Comparing face processing of people of prosopagnosia with that of controls can help to develop a more conclusive and integrated model of face processing. Here, we provide a summary of the current state of face processing research. We also describe the different types of prosopagnosia and present the set of typical symptoms found in the hereditary type. Finally, we will discuss the implications for future face recognition research.     

The masked onset priming effect in picture naming

Reading aloud is faster when targets (e.g., PAIR) are preceded by visually masked primes sharing just the onset (e.g., pole) compared to all different primes (e.g., take). This effect is known as the masked onset priming effect (MOPE). One crucial feature of this effect is its presumed non-lexical basis. This aspect of the MOPE is tested in the current study. Dutch participants named pictures having bisyllabic names, which were preceded by visually masked primes. Picture naming was facilitated by first-segment but not last-segment primes, and by first-syllable as well as last-syllable primes. Whole-word primes with first or last segment overlap slowed down picture naming latencies significantly. The first-segment priming effect (i.e., MOPE) cannot be accounted for by non-lexical response competition since pictures cannot be named via the non-lexical route. Instead, the effects obtained in this study can be accommodated by a speech-planning account of the MOPE.     

Maternal responsiveness to young children at three ages: longitudinal analysis of a multidimensional, modular, and specific parenting construct

Responsiveness defines the prompt, contingent, and appropriate reactions parents display to their children in the context of everyday exchanges. Maternal responsiveness occupies a theoretically central position in developmental science and possesses meaningful predictive validity over diverse domains of children's development, yet basic psychometric features of maternal responsiveness are still poorly understood. In this prospective longitudinal study, the authors examined structure, individual variation, and continuity of multiple dimensions of responsiveness in 40 mothers to their infants' activities at 10, 14, and 21 months during natural home-based play interactions. Both age-general and age-specific patterns emerged in maternal responding. The study's developmental results support the multidimensionality, modularity, and specificity of this central parenting construct.     

Associative symmetry of the memory for object-location associations as revealed by the testing effect

The nature of episodic associations has been subject to a long standing debate, where the two opposing positions postulate associations as either a holistic representation of the constituent elements or as independently modifiable pointers between them. In spite of a history of inconsistent findings, evidence in favour of the theory of symmetric associations has accumulated, yet only for verbal memory [Caplan, J. B., Glaholt, M. G., & McIntosh, A. R. (2006). Linking associative and serial list memory: Pairs versus triples. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 32(6), 1244-1265; Kahana, M. J. (2002). Associative symmetry and memory theory. Memory and Cognition, 30(6), 823-840]. Although object-location associations differ in several fundamental characteristics from verbal paired-associates, we recently found associative symmetry in the memory for this class of associations as well [Sommer, T., Rose, M., & Büchel, C. (2007). Associative symmetry vs. independent associations in the memory for object-location associations. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 33(1), 90-106]. Due to the inconsistencies in the verbal literature, we felt it to be pertinent to confirm this finding using another experimental approach. Based on recent advances in understanding the effects of successive testing, we were able to make use of this knowledge and introduce this effect as an experimental manipulation in the study of associative symmetry. In particular, we investigated whether the influence of a prior memory test on a subsequent memory test differs when the same or opposite constituent element of an object-location paired-associate cues the retrieval on each test. We observed an identical testing effect for both conditions, which was exclusively driven by reminiscence, the recovery of previously inaccessible information. This finding lends strong support in favour of holistically or symmetrically represented object-location associations and suggests, given the verbal memory literature, a general principle of associative symmetry [Asch, S. E., & Ebenholtz, S. M. (1962). The principle of associative symmetry. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 106, 135-163].     

Family burden of compulsive hoarding: results of an internet survey

Compulsive hoarding, the acquisition of and failure to discard large numbers of possessions, is associated with substantial health risk, impairment in functioning, and economic burden. Despite clear indications that hoarding has a detrimental effect on people living with or near someone with a hoarding problem, no empirical research has examined these harmful effects. The aim of the present study was to examine the burden of hoarding on family members. Six hundred sixty-five family informants who reported having a family member or friend with hoarding behaviors completed an internet-based survey. Living with an individual who hoards during childhood was associated with elevated reports of childhood distress and family strain. Family members reported high levels of patient rejection attitudes, suggesting high levels of family frustration and hostility. Rejecting attitudes were predicted by severity of hoarding symptoms, the individual's perceived lack of insight into the behavior, and having lived in a cluttered environment during childhood. These results suggest that compulsive hoarding adversely impacts not only the hoarding individual, but also those living with them.     

Using real-time visual feedback to improve posture at computer workstations

The purpose of the current study was to examine the effects of a multicomponent intervention that included discrimination training, real-time visual feedback, and self-monitoring on postural behavior at a computer workstation in a simulated office environment. Using a nonconcurrent multiple baseline design across 8 participants, the study assessed the effects of the intervention across three postural variables. Following an information phase, the intervention started for the lowest stable postural variable. The intervention led to substantial improvements in safety behavior for most targeted postural variables. A reversal to the information phase for 2 participants did not lead to decreases in safety. Postures self-monitored with high accuracy improved to a greater degree than postures self-monitored with low accuracy.