Influence of contextual features on the activation of ambiguous word meanings.

Three studies examined whether initial meaning activation is sensitive to context. Experiment 1 demonstrated that contextually appropriate targets were activated more than inappropriate targets. Experiment 2 evaluated activation across intervals of 0, 300, and 600 ms. Constraining sentences activated contextually appropriate meanings over inappropriate meanings. This was maintained across the intervals for highly salient targets. Less-salient targets, although initially activated, were no longer activated 300 ms following the homograph. Experiment 3 converged on context-sensitive activation following a 50-ms exposure of the sentence-final homograph. Conclusions are (a) initial meaning activation can be sensitive to context, (b) when a homograph is instantiated, it is congruent with a broad scope of targets, and (c) less-salient targets receive less activation over the time course.     

Study strategies and beliefs about learning as a function of academic achievement and achievement goals

Prior research by Hartwig and Dunlosky [(2012). Study strategies of college students: Are self-testing and scheduling related to achievement? Psychonomic Bulletin &; Review, 19(1), 126–134] has demonstrated that beliefs about learning and study strategies endorsed by students are related to academic achievement: higher performing students tend to choose more effective study strategies and are more aware of the benefits of self-testing. We examined whether students’ achievement goals, independent of academic achievement, predicted beliefs about learning and endorsement of study strategies. We administered Hartwig and Dunlosky’s survey, along with the Achievement Goals Questionnaire [Elliot, A. J., &; McGregor, H. A. (2001). A 2 × 2 achievement goal framework. Journal of Personality &; Social Psychology, 80, 501–519] to a large undergraduate biology course. Similar to results by Hartwig and Dunlosky, we found that high-performing students (relative to low-performing students) were more likely to endorse self-testing, less likely to cram, and more likely to plan a study schedule ahead of time. Independent of achievement, however, achievement goals were stronger predictors of certain study behaviours. In particular, avoidance goals (e.g., fear of failure) coincided with increased use of cramming and the tendency to be driven by impending deadlines. Results suggest that individual differences in student achievement, as well as the underlying reasons for achievement, are important predictors of students’ approaches to studying.     

Altered White-Matter Microstructure in Conduct Disorder Is Specifically Associated with Elevated Callous-Unemotional Traits

Adolescents with conduct disorder (CD) and elevated callous-unemotional (CU) traits have been reported to present with a more severe and persistent pattern of antisocial behaviour than those with low levels of CU traits. However, relatively few studies have investigated whether there are differences in brain structure between these subgroups.We acquired diffusion tensor imaging data and used tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) to compare adolescents with CD and high levels of CU traits (CD/CU+; n?=?18, CD and low levels of CU traits (CD/CU-; n?=?17) and healthy controls (HC; n?=?32) on measures of fractional anisotropy (FA), axial (AD), radial (RD) and mean (MD) diffusivity. Compared to CD/CU- adolescents, those with CD/CU+ presented increased FA and reduced RD and MD (lower diffusivity) in several tracts including: body and splenium of the corpus callosum, right inferior longitudinal fasciculus, ILF; right inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, IFOF; left superior longitudinal fasciculus, SLF; left cerebral peduncle, bilateral internal capsule, left superior and posterior corona radiata, bilateral thalamic radiation and left external capsule. In addition, relative to CD/CU- individuals, adolescents with CD/CU+ showed lower diffusivity (indexed by reduced RD and MD) in left uncinate fasciculus and bilateral fornix. Finally, relative to healthy controls, CD/CU+ individuals showed lower diffusivity (reduced RD) in the genu and body of the corpus callosum and left anterior corona radiata. These results suggest that CD/CU+ individuals present with white-matter microstructural abnormalities compared to both CD/CU- individuals and age-matched healthy controls. This finding is consistent with emerging evidence suggesting that CD/CU+ represents a distinct subtype of CD, and illustrates the importance of accounting for heterogeneity within CD populations.     

Expanding the Political Psychology Toolkit: The Potential of Discursive Psychology for Understanding Contentious Political Debate at a Grassroots Level

In its location at the intersection of political science and psychology, political psychology draws on many of the research techniques of both disciplines in its exploration of power, voting behavior, leadership, attitudes, and values. One hitherto relatively underutilized approach for understanding public policy debate is discursive psychology (DP). Applying this perspective to a contentious policy issue in Australia, we seek to demonstrate that this approach can add richness and depth to our understanding of how ordinary citizens engage in public policy debates. We suggest that this type of analysis can augment insights obtained from more traditional methods—such as focus groups, experimental approaches, and opinion polling—by analyzing how debates are constructed and presented at the grassroots level. This research is innovative in two ways. First, it applies a rigorous, empirical research approach to an area in which it has not previously been used: the study of public policy issues. Second, rather than analyzing the communicative practices of political leaders, we consider the rhetorical arguments made by ordinary citizens in their engagement with political issues and how they negotiate what counts as evidence. This can provide insights into how public debate can be conducted more productively and respectfully.     

Social Constraint and Self‐Doubt: Mechanisms of Social Network influence on Resistance to Persuasion

Those around us have a profound influence on our political attitudes and attitude strength, such that people whose social networks include a variety of perspectives have weaker, less deeply entrenched attitudes than those who are surrounded by like‐minded others. In particular, those embedded in attitudinally heterogeneous networks are more open to changing their views. The nature and mechanisms of this network influence on openness to attitude change remain unclear. A survey experiment examines two mechanisms proposed by prior literature: (1) social doubt triggered by network members' dissent and (2) social constraint to maintain similar attitudes. It also provides some data on the more commonly assumed mechanism, (3) information exchange. Results strongly support social constraint and are mixed on social doubt. This contrasts with the theoretical emphasis of much previous interdisciplinary social network research, which has focused primarily on information exchange, to the detriment of other mechanisms. Findings also indicate that like‐minded social network members solidify attitudes at least as much as dissent erodes them, suggesting that prior emphasis on the influence of heterogeneous rather than attitudinally congruent networks is overstated. Implications for political movements are discussed.