Conceptualization of task boundaries preserves implicit sequence learning under dual-task conditions

Implicit learning in the serial reaction time (SRT) task is sometimes disrupted by the presence of a secondary distractor task (e.g., Schumacher & Schwarb Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 138:270–290, 2009) and at other times is not (e.g., Cohen, Ivry, & Keele Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition 16:17–30, 1990). In the present study, we used an instructional manipulation to investigate how participants’ conceptualizations of the task affect sequence learning under dual-task conditions. Two experimental groups differed only in terms of the instructions and presequence training. One group was instructed that they were completing two separate tasks, whereas the other group was instructed that they were performing a single, integrated task. The separate group showed sequence learning, while the integrated group did not. These findings suggest that the conceptualization of task boundaries affects the availability of the sequential information necessary for implicit learning.     

Intergroup Emotions and Intergroup Relations

Intergroup emotions theory seeks to understand and improve intergroup relations by focusing on the emotions engendered by belonging to, and by deriving identity from, a social group (processes called self‐categorization and identification). Intergroup emotions are shaped by the very different ways in which members of different groups see group‐relevant objects and events. These emotions come, with time and repetition, to be part and parcel of group membership itself. Once evoked, specific intergroup emotions direct and regulate specific intergroup behaviors. This approach has implications for theories of emotion as well as of intergroup relations. Because intergroup emotions derive from self‐categorization and identification and because they strongly influence intergroup behavior, intergroup emotions theory provides an innovative framework for attempts to reduce prejudice and improve intergroup relations.     

Knowing how they feel: Perceiving emotions felt by outgroups

Individuals can often accurately perceive others’ emotions in a purely interpersonal context. However, when people identify with an important ingroup, they experience distinctive patterns of emotion [Smith, E. R., Seger, C. R., & Mackie, D. M. (2007). Can emotions be truly group-level? Evidence regarding four conceptual criteria. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93, 431-446]. Thus, in three studies using a variety of meaningful groups, we examine how a salient distinction between groups might influence people’s ability to estimate the emotions of outgroup members. Participants demonstrated substantial though imperfect accuracy in estimating the emotions reported by outgroups. Specific biases affected their estimates, especially the overlap of perceived emotions of the outgroup with the ingroup’s own emotions. Furthermore, there was a general overprediction of outgroups’ negative emotions and underprediction of their positive emotions. Because of the importance of an outgroup’s emotions as potential causes of their behavior, accuracy and biases in group emotion estimation may be consequential for intergroup relations.     

Emotional responses to intergroup apology mediate intergroup forgiveness and retribution

According to intergroup emotion theory, the impact of many intergroup events on intergroup outcomes is mediated by group-directed emotions. We demonstrate that the ability of apology to reduce retribution against and increase forgiveness of a transgressing outgroup is contributed to by discrete intergroup emotions. We examined both negative (anger and fear) and positive (respect and satisfaction) emotions directed toward the transgressing outgroup. Apology reduced the desire for retribution whereas lack of apology increased it, and outgroup-directed anger uniquely mediated this effect. In contrast, apology increased and lack of apology decreased forgiveness, particularly when the ingroup responded to the transgression, and only outgroup-directed respect mediated this effect. These results provide the first evidence that intergroup emotions can mediate the impact of apology on intergroup relations outcomes.     

Investigating the modality specificity of response selection using a temporal flanker task

The neurocognitive architecture for response selection is uncertain. Some theorists suggest that it is mediated by an amodal central mechanism, whereas others propose a set of independent control mechanisms. In a functional neuroimaging experiment, we investigated the nature of response selection by examining how its underlying brain mechanisms are affected by stimulus modality. To do this, we used a modified flanker task, in which the target and flanker (distractor) stimuli differed in time rather than space, making it accessible for both visual and auditory stimuli. As in the traditional flanker task, larger reaction times were observed for incongruent than congruent trials (i.e., a congruency effect) for both modalities. Congruency affected brain activation for both modalities in prefrontal cortex, parietal cortex, and the putamen. Modality-dependent activation was found in additional prefrontal and parietal regions for the visual modality and in left inferior prefrontal cortex for the auditory modality. Modality-dependent activity specifically related to response congruency was also found in sensory cortical regions. These data suggest that modality affects the brain regions throughout the cortex mediating response selection even for conceptually identical stimuli and tasks. They are consistent with the hypothesis that (at least partially) independent brain networks mediate response selection and that input modality may be a powerful factor for organizing neural activity to support task performance.     

Uninstructed human responding: Sensitivity of low-rate performance to schedule contingencies

College students' presses on a telegraph key occasionally turned on a light in the presence of which button presses produced points later exchangeable for money. Initially, responding was maintained by low-rate contingencies superimposed on either random-interval or random-ratio schedules. Later, the low-rate contingencies were relaxed. Low-rate key pressing had been established for some students by shaping and for others by demonstration and written instructions. After the low-rate contingencies were relaxed, higher response rates generally did not increase point earnings with random-interval scheduling, but did so with random-ratio scheduling. In both cases, shaped responding usually increased, and instructed responding usually continued at an unchanged low rate. The insensitivity of instructed responding typically occurred despite contact with the contingencies. The differential sensitivity to schedule contingencies of shaped responding relative to instructed responding is consistent with the different properties of contingency-governed and rule-governed behavior and is not rate-dependent.