The motivating function of thinking about the future: expectations versus fantasies

Two forms of thinking about the future are distinguished: expectations versus fantasies. Positive expectations (judging a desired future as likely) predicted high effort and successful performance, but the reverse was true for positive fantasies (experiencing one's thoughts and mental images about a desired future positively). Participants were graduates looking for a job (Study 1), students with a crush on a peer of the opposite sex (Study 2), undergraduates anticipating an exam (Study 3), and patients undergoing hip-replacement surgery (Study 4). Effort and performance were measured weeks or months (up to 2 years) after expectations and fantasies had been assessed. Implications for the self-regulation of effort and performance are discussed.     

Masked priming of prefixes and the influence of spelling-meaning consistency

Two experiments are reported which examined whether a prefixed word can be primed by a word sharing only the prefix letters in a masked priming paradigm. In addition the studies examined whether the size of the priming effect is influenced by the consistency with which a prefix letter pattern appears in real prefixed words. The ratio of real prefixed words to all words containing a prefix letter pattern was calculated and used to identify high-consistency prefixes, which are frequently used as prefixes (e.g., UN in UNHAPPY) and rarely appear as pseudoprefixes (e.g., UNCLE), and low-consistency prefixes, which appear in many pseudoprefixed words (e.g., DE in DESERT) but fewer truly prefixed words (e.g., DECODE). In Experiment 1, decision latencies for both types of prefixes were facilitated when real prefixed target words were preceded by real prefixed prime words in a short SOA masked priming paradigm, although the size of the priming effect for low-consistency prefixes was similar in size to that for orthographic controls. In Experiment 2, real prefixed target words were preceded by pseudoprefixed prime words. Facilitation in performance remained for high-consistency prefixes but was absent for low-consistency prefixes. These results support models of morphological processing that are sensitive to the statistical nature of the relationships between orthographic and semantic representations in a language.     

Facial affect recognition in criminal psychopaths

Prior studies provide consistent evidence of deficits for psychopaths in processing verbal emotional material but are inconsistent regarding nonverbal emotional material. To examine whether psychopaths exhibit general versus specific deficits in nonverbal emotional processing, 34 psychopaths and 33 nonpsychopaths identified with Hare's (R. D. Hare, 1991) Psychopathy Checklist--Revised were asked to complete a facial affect recognition test. Slides of prototypic facial expressions were presented. Three hypotheses regarding hemispheric lateralization anomalies in psychopaths were also tested (right-hemisphere dysfunction, reduced lateralization, and reversed lateralization). Psychopaths were less accurate than nonpsychopaths at classifying facial affect under conditions promoting reliance on right-hemisphere resources and displayed a specific deficit in classifying disgust. These findings demonstrate that psychopaths exhibit specific deficits in nonverbal emotional processing.     

Modeling error variance in job specification ratings: the influence of rater, job, and organization-level factors

The authors modeled sources of error variance in job specification ratings collected from 3 levels of raters across 5 organizations (N=381). Variance components models were used to estimate the variance in ratings attributable to true score (variance between knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics [KSAOs]) and error (KSAO-by-rater and residual variance). Subsequent models partitioned error variance into components related to the organization, position level, and demographic characteristics of the raters. Analyses revealed that the differential ordering of KSAOs by raters was not a function of these characteristics but rather was due to unexplained rating differences among the raters. The implications of these results for job specification and validity transportability are discussed.     

The evolution of domain-general mechanisms in intelligence and learning

For both humans and animals, domain-general mechanisms are fallible but powerful tools for attaining evolutionary goals (e.g., resources) in uncertain, novel environments that were not recurrent features of the environment of evolutionary adaptedness. Domain-general mechanisms interact in complex ways with domain-specific, information-encapsulated modules, most importantly by manipulating information obtained from various modules in attempting to solve novel problems. Mechanisms of general intelligence, particularly the executive functions of working memory, underlie analogical reasoning as well as the decontextualization processes that are central to human thought. Although there is a variety of evolved, special purpose learning devices, learning is also characterized by domain-general mechanisms that are able to achieve evolutionary goals by making novel and serendipitous associations with environmental cues.     

Crystallization of desire and crystallization of discontent in narratives of life-changing decisions

Two studies of adults examined personal narratives of life-changing decisions in relation to personality and well-being. Participants whose decision narratives emphasized a crystallization of desire (i.e., approaching a desired future) rather than a crystallization of discontent (i.e., escaping an undesired past; Baumeister, 1991, 1994) reported higher well-being, fewer avoidance strivings, lower Neuroticism (in Study 1 only), and better decision outcomes (in Study 2). However, neither strivings, traits, nor outcomes accounted for the relationship between crystallization of desire and well-being. The discussion considers the roles of life-changing decisions and personal narratives in research on personality, well-being, and positive personal development.     

Effects of modeling and topic stimulus on self-referent touching

Self-touching is defined as self-directed touches, e.g., scratching or rubbing, that have no apparent conscious motivation. Earlier research on self-touching focused on internal processes associated with self-touching, e.g., mental conflict, while more recent research has considered external motivators, such as an auditory or visual presentation of a provocative stimulus, e.g., leeches. Here, 110 undergraduate psychology students (68 women, 42 men; M age = 18.7 yr., SD = 1.0) were shown a video about chiggers to replicate previous findings, while simultaneously studying the social influence of self-touching modeled by the presenter. A significant interaction was found as modeled self-touching significantly increased participants' self-touching when they were also attending to the video about chiggers. The results are discussed in terms of potential processes underlying this behavior and directions for research.