Empathy, theory of mind, and individual differences in the appropriation bias among 4- and 5-year-olds

Evidence that young children often claim ownership of their partner’s contributions to an earlier collaborative activity, the appropriation bias, has been attributed to shared intentionality (Cognitive Development (1998) 13, 91–108). The current investigation explored this notion by examining individual differences in the bias among 4- and 5-year-olds as a function of empathy and theory of mind. On two occasions, children joined an adult and two dolls (with each doll being operated by one of the humans) in a picture matching board game before being asked to remember who placed each picture. Children showed a robust appropriation bias despite excellent recognition memory for the studied pictures (Study 1) and particularly in relation to the human sources (Study 2). Whereas higher levels of self-reported empathy were associated with a greater frequency of appropriation errors and fewer correct attributions for pictures placed by the adult and her doll partner, the opposite pattern emerged for theory of mind. Moreover, the positive relations between theory of mind and source monitoring accuracy remained robust after controlling for general ability and inhibitory skills. We consider the implications of these findings for understanding the processes driving the appropriation bias.     

The impact of adopting ethnic or civic conceptions of national belonging for others' treatment

National belonging is often defined in terms of "ethnic" ancestry and "civic" commitment (with the latter typically implying a more inclusive conception of belonging). The authors report three Scottish studies manipulating the prominence of these criteria. In Study 1 (N = 80), a Chinese-heritage target was judged more Scottish (and his criticisms of Scotland better received) when Scotland was defined in civic terms. In Study 2 (N = 40), a similar manipulation in a naturalistic setting showed a civic conception of belonging resulted in more help being given to a Chinese-heritage confederate. Study 3 (N = 71) replicated Study 2 and showed the effect was mediated by judgments of the confederate's Scottishness. These studies emphasize the importance of exploring how ingroup identity is defined.     

Perception as interacting psychophysical functions. Could the configuring of features replace a specialised receptor?

This paper illustrates how perception is achieved through interactions among the psychophysical functions of judged features of an object. The theory is that the perceiver places processed features in a multidimensional space of discriminal processes. Each dimension is scaled in units of discrimination performance. The zero coordinate of each feature is its level in an internal standard (norm) established by previous experience of that category of object in context. Experiments are reported which show that one, two, or three concurrent single-featured objects matched the multiple features of another object in two ways. Either stimulation from the two objects had discrimination distances from norm that added, or the stimulation by one object was processed through a concept describing stimulation by the other object. It follows that, in this case, perception via a receptor for the multi-featured object can be replaced by a point of balance among receptors for each single feature. The object with its own receptor is the gustatory stimulant L-glutamic acid as its monosodium salt. The features that stimulate diverse gustatory receptors of their own are sodium chloride, citric acid, sucrose, and caffeine. A more complex approach to dimensional coding was developed earlier for photoreceptors in colour judgments. The present approach is modality independent, mathematically simple, and economical in experimental data.     

Exploring the basis and boundary conditions of SenseCam-facilitated recollection

SenseCam review has been shown to promote and sustain subsequent access to memories that might otherwise remain inaccessible. While SenseCam review facilitates recollection for personally experienced events, we know little about the boundary conditions under which this operates and about how underlying processing mechanisms can be optimally recruited to offset memory impairments of the sort that occur in dementia. This paper considers some of these issues with a view to targeting future research that not only clarifies our evolving body of theory about how memory works, but also informs about how memory-assistive technologies for patients might be employed to maximal effect. We begin by outlining key factors that are known to influence recollection. We then examine variability in the decline of memory function both in normal ageing and in dementia. Attention is drawn to similarities in the recollection deficits associated with depression and dementia, and we suggest that this may reflect shared underlying mechanisms. We conclude by discussing how one particular theoretical rationale can be intersected with key SenseCam capabilities to define priorities for ongoing and future SenseCam research.     

Ignored no more: Within‐Person variability enables better understanding of training transfer

The empirical findings from training transfer research rest on a rather static view of the transfer phenomenon, ignoring potential within‐person change in transfer over time. This study investigates within‐person variability in mastery goal orientation together with variability over time in the application of newly acquired knowledge and skills to the job context. Data from longitudinal surveys of trainees voluntarily attending statistical workshops revealed that trainees varied significantly in 2 characteristics of transfer trajectory: (a) initial attempts to transfer and (b) subsequent rate of change in transfer. Two affective learning outcomes showed differential relationships with transfer trajectories: Whereas posttraining self‐efficacy predicted initial attempt of transfer, motivation to transfer assessed at the end of training predicted subsequent rate of change in transfer. Furthermore, level and variability of trainees’ mastery orientation interacted to influence posttraining self‐efficacy and motivation to transfer, and subsequently transfer trajectories. Specifically, a trainee's mastery orientation level had stronger prediction of these outcomes when his/her mastery orientation distribution was less variable across situations. These findings highlight the importance of attending to within‐person variability in the study of training transfer by (a) considering training transfer as trajectories over time and (b) understanding trainee traits as frequency distributions.     

Questioning the preparatory function of counterfactual thinking

Why do individuals mentally modify reality (e.g., “If it hadn’t rained, we would have won the game”)? According to the dominant view, counterfactuals primarily serve to prepare future performance. In fact, individuals who have just failed a task tend to modify the uncontrollable features of their attempt (e.g., “If the rules of the game were different, I would have won it”), generating counterfactuals that are unlikely to play any preparatory role. By contrast, they generate prefactuals that focus on the controllable features of their ensuing behavior (e.g., “If I concentrate more, I will win the next game”). Here, we test whether this tendency is robust and general. Studies 1a and 1b replicate this tendency and show that it occurs regardless of whether individuals think about their failures or their successes. Study 2 shows that individuals generate relatively few controllable counterfactuals, unless explicitly prompted to do so. These results raise some questions regarding the generality of the dominant view according to which counterfactuals mainly serve a preparatory function.     

The tracks of my years: Personal significance contributes to the reminiscence bump

Two studies investigated the role of the self in the reminiscence bump (heightened retrieval for events from young adulthood). Participants over the age of 40 years were presented with top-grossing films and songs, and were asked to select the five that were most personally significant. Study 1 produced reminiscence bumps for personally significant songs, when measured by both participants’ age at release (AaR) and age when songs were reported as most important (AaI). This effect was not shown for films. In Study 2, participants again selected their personally significant songs but also rated all songs for whether they were known, remembered (e.g., associated with an episodic memory), or not known. Personally significant songs were significantly more likely to be associated with episodic memories, compared to personally non-significant songs. Again, only personally significant songs formed a reminiscence bump. Findings underline a critical role of personal significance in the reminiscence bump, which we argue is consistent with the formation of identity in this lifetime period.     

Generativity and the U.S. Roman Catholic Bishops’ Responses to Priests’ Sexual Abuse of Minors

In this article, Erik Erikson’s and subsequent researchers’ ideas on generativity are applied to “the clerical abuse crisis,” in which 111 U.S. Roman Catholic bishops protected priests rather than safeguard children. The goal was to discover what psychological dispositions led bishops to act in the manner they did. A case is made that pre-existing tendencies coupled with an all-male, celibate environment and formation indoctrination led to deficits in psychological development, moral judgment and leadership capacity, revealing an Episcopal subculture characterized by pseudo-speciation and authoritism.