Concurrent processing of words and their replacements during speech

Two picture naming experiments, in which an initial picture was occasionally replaced with another (target) picture, were conducted to study the temporal coordination of abandoning one word and resuming with another word in speech production. In Experiment 1, participants abandoned saying the initial name, and resumed with the name of the target picture. This triggered both interrupted (e.g., Mush- …scooter) and completed (mushroom …scooter) productions of the initial name. We found that the time from beginning naming the initial picture to ending it was longer when the target picture was visually degraded than when it was intact. In Experiment 2, participants abandoned saying the initial name, but without resuming. There was no visual degradation effect, and thus the effect did not seem to be driven by detection of the stopping cue. These findings demonstrate that planning a new word can begin before the initial word is abandoned, so that both words can be processed concurrently.     

Concurrent task performance enhances low-level visuomotor learning

Visuomotor association learning involves learning to make a motor response to an arbitrary visual stimulus. This learning is essential for visual search and discrimination performance and is reliant upon a well-defined neural circuit in the brain that includes the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampal formation. In the present study, we investigated the possible role of attentional processes during such learning using dual-task interference. A motor, verbal, or perceptual concurrent task was performed during the learning/training block of a simple visual discrimination task. Contrary to expectation, the dual-task groups showed improved learning and learning-dependent performance compared with untrained control and non-dual-task trained groups. A second experiment revealed that this effect did not appear to be due to increased arousal level; the inclusion of alerting tones during learning did not result in facilitation. These findings suggest that the engagement of attention, but not arousal, during the acquisition of a visuomotor association can facilitate this learning and its expression.     

Comparing competencies of a psychotherapist with those of a psychologist specialising in psychotherapy

This paper contributes to a recent call for dialogue between the different professional groups representing psychotherapy in Europe. At present, two core psychotherapy groups exist in Europe, namely the EAP, representing psychotherapy, and EFPA, representing psychologists specialising in psychotherapy. This article compares and contrasts two competency frameworks representative of these bodies, which capture the skills, knowledge, reasoning and values of the respective professions. The shared and divergent competencies are identified and discussed, followed by suggestions for potential changes in future European competency frameworks. By doing this, we not only respond to the recent call for dialogue but also promote collaboration and discussion between the professional groups representing psychotherapeutic practice both in Europe and beyond.     

Healing Without Waging War: Beyond Military Metaphors in Medicine and HIV Cure Research

Military metaphors are pervasive in biomedicine, including HIV research. Rooted in the mind set that regards pathogens as enemies to be defeated, terms such as “shock and kill” have become widely accepted idioms within HIV cure research. Such language and symbolism must be critically examined as they may be especially problematic when used to express scientific ideas within emerging health-related fields. In this article, philosophical analysis and an interdisciplinary literature review utilizing key texts from sociology, anthropology, history, and Chinese and African studies were conducted to investigate the current proliferation of military metaphors. We found the use of these metaphors to be ironic, unfortunate, and unnecessary. To overcome military metaphors we propose to (1) give them less aggressive meanings, and/or (2) replace them with more peaceful metaphors. Building on previous authors' work, we argue for the increased use of “journey” (and related) metaphors as meaningful, cross-culturally appropriate alternatives to military metaphors.     

Avatar-based therapy within prison settings: pilot evaluation

The paper presents an introduction of a newly developed, avatar-based virtual reality therapy, as an addition to the therapeutic programme, within a therapeutic community prison in the UK. The participants had six group sessions facilitated by a counsellor. The aim of the project was to investigate whether this approach would improve mental health outcomes for the prisoners, interpersonal relationships within the prison and facilitate the achievement of personal goals for the prisoners. The sample size (n?=?4) was insufficient to make firm conclusions about the mental health outcomes. However, the qualitative analysis showed a strong engagement with the programme in addressing personal issues, the development of insight and empathy, and improvements in relationships within the participants and with the counsellor. Further research with a larger sample is needed to establish efficacy of this type of therapy with the prison population.     

The Elephant in the Road: Auditory Perceptual Load Affects Driver Perception and Awareness

Summary Perceptual load theory research has shown that the level of perceptual load in a task affects processing of additional information. Less certain are the cross‐modal effects of perceptual load—does load in one modality affect processing in another? The current study assessed the effect of auditory perceptual load on visual attention in a driving simulator task. While driving, participants listened to traffic updates on the radio, which imposed either low or high perceptual load. Awareness for an unexpected animal as well as less novel objects (such as billboards and other vehicles) was markedly reduced under high load. Driver behaviour was also significantly affected, with impaired lateral control, longer reaction times to hazards and more collisions under high load. This study has important implications for load theory and also more general implications for road safety, as it suggests that auditory load may be an important, often overlooked factor in driver attention.Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Motivational Mechanisms of Self-Concordance Theory: Goal-Specific Efficacy and Person–Organization Fit

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to elaborate on two mechanisms of self-concordance theory (SCT; Sheldon and Elliot in Pers Soc Psychol 24(5):546, 1998)—goal-specific efficacy and perceived person–organization (PO) fit—as mediators of the relationships between autonomous and controlled goal motives and goal accomplishment and job satisfaction.

Design/Methodology/Approach

Data were from two independently collected samples of administrative employees (N1 = 37, N2 = 102) and their significant others across two points in time.

Findings

Results indicated that autonomous motives were positively related to goal-specific efficacy and perceived PO fit (Time 1), and showed indirect effects on goal accomplishment and other-rated job satisfaction (Time 2). Controlled motives were negatively related to the same intermediaries and outcomes.

Implications

Goal motives implicate goal-specific outcomes, and individuals’ overall composition of goal motives—across their goals—shape their goal efficacy and PO fit perceptions. These mechanisms relate to distal outcomes of goal accomplishment and job satisfaction. The research offers theoretical implications for the proximal outcomes of goal motives, but also practical implications for ways in which organizations can improve incumbent PO fit perceptions.

Originality/Value

Although research has shown that having self-concordant goals is positively associated with individual outcomes, existing research has yet to understand why this is the case. In addition, most studies of SCT apply difference scores to study the construct at the individual-level rather than specifying motives separately and considering a multilevel perspective. Our research offers a novel investigation of the proximal outcomes of SCT and the levels at which they operate.

     

Visual feature vs. conjunction searches as a robust manipulation of perceptual load

It has previously been suggested that Lavie’s Perceptual Load Theory can be assessed using feature vs. conjunction search tasks. In this study we manipulated load using a novel paradigm which retains the key features of both classic Load Theory and Feature Integration Theory paradigms. This new paradigm has the advantage of an inbuilt manipulation check which is necessary for future research to translate Load Theory to applied contexts. Across five experiments, we demonstrate the robust nature of this paradigm, which functions with extended display times, large, complex stimuli and when conditions are intermixed on a trial-by-trial basis. We also rule out dilution as a possible cause of these results. The results of all five experiments provide evidence that the feature vs. conjunction search dichotomy is an effective means of imposing low and high perceptual load while controlling for working memory load.     

Political Violence and Psychological Well-Being: The Role of Social Identity

A significant body of research points to the central role of identity in creating and maintaining conflict. However, less research has focused on the protective role of social identity in such situations. Using a survey sample of 3,000 participants, 2,000 of whom were resident in a conflict-affected region (Northern Ireland) and 1,000 in a region more distally affected (the Border counties of the Republic of Ireland) the potential moderating and mediating impact of national identification on the relationship between direct and indirect experience of political violence and psychological well-being is examined. Findings indicate that national identification mediates the impact of direct political violence on well-being in Northern Ireland. This relationship is strongest where preferred nationality is relevant to the social division underlying the conflict. Those more distally affected, resident in the Republic of Ireland, did not evidence this pattern of relationships. Discussion of results focuses on the potential positive and negative implications of these findings for personal and societal well-being, respectively.