Eavesdropping on social life: The accuracy of stranger ratings of daily behavior from thin slices of natural conversations

In two studies the authors examined the accuracy of stranger ratings of daily behavior based on thin slices of natural conversations. Methodologically, the studies extend past research by using a behavioral accuracy criterion, benchmarking zero-acquaintance accuracy against target and informant accuracy, and employing a representative design that sampled contexts from targets’ daily situations. Theoretically, the studies investigate how stereotypes influence the accuracy of first impressions depending on their sample-based validity. Across both studies, after listening to five conversational snippets (2.5 min total), the ratings of strangers were as accurate as the targets’ and informants’ ratings. Further, ratings for gender-stereotypic behaviors with a kernel of truth resulted in greater initial accuracy than ratings for gender-stereotypic behaviors with no kernel of truth.     

The representation of negative numbers: exploring the effects of mode of processing and notation

The representation of negative numbers was explored during intentional processing (i.e., when participants performed a numerical comparison task) and during automatic processing (i.e., when participants performed a physical comparison task). Performance in both cases suggested that negative numbers were not represented as a whole but rather their polarity and numerical magnitudes were represented separately. To explore whether this was due to the fact that polarity and magnitude are marked by two spatially separated symbols, participants were trained to mark polarity by colour. In this case there was still evidence for a separate representation of polarity and magnitude. However, when a different set of stimuli was used to refer to positive and negative numbers, and polarity was not marked separately, participants were able to represent polarity and magnitude together when numerical processing was performed intentionally but not when it was conducted automatically. These results suggest that notation is only partly responsible for the components representation of negative numbers and that the concept of negative numbers can be grasped only through that of positive numbers.     

Holistic processing for faces and cars in preschool‐aged children and adults: evidence from the composite effect

The current study compared the development of holistic processing for faces and non‐face visual objects by testing for the composite effect for faces and frontal images of cars in 3‐ to 5‐year‐old children and adults in a series of four experiments using a two‐alternative forced‐choice recognition task. Results showed that a composite effect for faces was present as early as years, and none of the age groups tested showed signs of a composite effect for cars. These findings provide the first demonstration that holistic processing is already selective for faces in early childhood, and confirm existing evidence that sensitivity to holistic information in faces does not increase from 4 years to adulthood.     

The Impact of Parental Status and Gender Role Orientation on Caring and Postconventional Reasoning in Young Marrieds

This study was designed to examine the influence of sex and gender role orientation on adoption of the ethic of care and on postconventional reasoning in married men and women, with and without children. Parental status was unrelated to gender role orientation in men but was associated with masculinity in women, such that women with children had lower masculinity scores. Adoption of an ethic of care in men was a function of gender role orientation, such that only androgynous men did not evidence lower caring scores when they had children. Caring scores in women were a function of both parental status and masculinity, such that women with children who were high in masculinity evidenced lower caring scores. Postconventional reasoning as assessed by P scores on three dilemmas from the Defining Issues Test (DIT) were only influenced by sex and age but not by gender role orientation. Postconventional reasoning as assessed by ratings of all postconventional statements (R scores) was influenced by both sex and gender role orientation; in men, masculinity and femininity interacted such that androgynous and undifferentiated men evidenced higher R scores when they had no children, but only androgynous men with children evidenced high R scores. In women, gender role orientation did not impact R scores and neither did parental status. Multiple regressions indicated that for women, the interaction of masculinity and femininity, and caring scores, accounted for a significant amount of the variance in R scores. In men, none of the variables entered the equation. The implications for both Gilligan’s and Bem’s theories are discussed.     

Cognitive and emotional aspects of self-regulation in preschoolers

The goal of the present study was to examine the contribution of executive function (EF) and social cognition to individual differences in emotion regulation (ER) in preschool children. Sixty 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children were administered a battery of EF tasks, two theory of mind tasks, a measure of verbal ability, and an ER task. In addition, parents completed the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning—Preschool Version (BRIEF-P). Performance on the theory of mind tasks as well as parental ratings of executive function was not related to performance on the ER task. However, a component of EF (i.e., inhibition) approached significance with children's displays of positive behaviors during the ER task. Verbal ability was related to the regulation of positive but not negative emotions. Parental ratings of shifting accounted for a significant amount of variance in parental ratings of ER, even after controlling for verbal ability. The findings are discussed in the context of different conceptualizations of the developmental relation between ER and EF.     

Directed Thinking and Readiness to Change Self‐Beneficial Behaviors: Are You Ready for Some Studying?

Previous research has suggested that intentions to engage in studying and other self-beneficial activities might be promoted more by thinking about actions one could take than by thinking about reasons for doing so. The present experiments assessed whether the relative efficacy of actions vs. reasons might depend on individuals' readiness to change. Consistent with previous findings on the processes of change most relevant in different stages, the benefits of self-generated actions were more pronounced for participants who were in the later stages of change. This "matching-to-stage" relationship occurred in 2 experiments that differed in stage measurement, how thinking was directed, and which outcomes were measured. The results have both practical and theoretical implications for attempts to change self-beneficial behaviors.     

Cognitive Ability and Personality Predictors of Training Program Skill Acquisition and Job Performance

Two important issues in the training process concern (1) the relative impact of cognitive ability and personality traits on the ability to acquire skills, and (2) whether training skill acquisition predicts subsequent job performance. We used a sample of 9,793 trainees to address these questions and were able to compare those who succeeded on the job with those who did not succeed on the job. We found that some personality factors positively correlate with skill acquisition and that skill acquisition can predict the level of subsequent job performance.