Arousal and T-maze choice behavior in mice: A convergent paradigm for neophobia constructs and optimal arousal theory

Three experiments investigating the effects of arousal on the T-maze choice behavior of inbred mouse strains are reported. In Experiment 1, CBA and NZB mice were administered unrewarded free choice alternation tests on 10 consecutive days under either No Shock, Shock Start (shocked in the start box), or Shock Choice (shocked at the choice point) treatment conditions. Both strain and treatment effects were observed: In the No-Shock condition, the nonreactive CBA strain alternated, but the reactive NZB strain did not. In the Shock Start condition the CBA strain showed only a suppressed alternation, while the NZB strain administered the same treatment perseverated. Both strains perseverated in the Shock Choice condition. In Experiment 2, NZB mice administered identical shocks in the start box and goal arms on both trials of five consecutive tests conducted once a day perseverated to the same goal arm in which they had been shocked on the first trial. In Experiment 3, NZB mice punished for perseverating (with shock continuation) and simultaneously reinforced for alternating (with shock termination) showed a “punishment paradox”; they perseverated despite the reinforcement contingencies. These results, which are congruent with the optimal arousal theory and several characteristics the theory shares with the emergent neophobia construct, support the contention that arousal mediates a symmetrical relationship between approach and avoidance along a novelty-familiarity continuum.     

Expanding the Horizontal Call: A Typology of Social Influence on the Call to Ministry

This research examines the social actors and interactions that facilitate seminary students' sense of calling. Drawing from 36 in-depth interviews with first year Masters of Divinity students, we introduce six ideal typical social others who play a formative role in the early stages of a call to ministry: instigators, exemplars, interpreters, affirmers, challengers, and codiscerners. Together, these findings demonstrate that the call to ministry, while deeply personal, emerges through social interactions that facilitate and make plausible a person's sense of calling and that sustain it over time. Extending Richard Pitt's conceptualization of the “horizontal call,” this paper argues that social others help evoke and solidify—not merely legitimate—a personal sense of call. This research also highlights differences in the social structuring of call by gender. Despite considerable gains in the ordination of women, we find that many still face obstacles to experiencing and embracing a call to ministry.     

Comparing Pentecostal and Charismatic Christians’ Religious and Political Beliefs Across Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa

This article compares the political correlates of Renewalist Christianity in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa (N = 44,832). Renewalists include Pentecostals and Charismatic members of Mainline Protestant and Catholic churches. Though rarely studied comparatively, Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa boast the largest Renewalist populations worldwide. Scholars have noted that the religious and political beliefs of Renewalists differ from other Christians, but existing studies either treat Renewalists as a single category or focus on Pentecostals while pooling Charismatic and non-Charismatic Catholics and Protestants as denominational blocks. Using multilevel mixed-effects models, this article first confirms that Renewalists’ religious and political beliefs differ from those of non-Renewalist Christians. Importantly, this cautions against the ubiquitous aggregation of Charismatic and non-Charismatic Catholics (and Protestants) in statistical analyses. Additionally, we theorize and evaluate differences between Renewalists and the role of regional context. Religious differences between Pentecostals and Charismatics, we show, are much larger in Latin America than in Sub-Saharan Africa.     

Psychology and the fall of Communism: The special case of (East) Germany

The fall of Communism is now universally agreed to be what the philosopher Hegel called a world historical event—one that few predicted but nearly everyone saw as inevitable after it happened. In the aftermath many lives—and worldviews—changed, not only, but also in the human sciences. These remarks attempt to address in a preliminary way both the impact of the fall of Communism on psychology in former East Germany (including changes in personnel and approach) and the ways in which these sciences were employed as resources for reflection on the Communist past as well as the transition to new social and political regimes.     

#sustainablefashion on Instagram: A content and network analysis of user-generated posts

The social and environmental impacts of the global fashion industry face increasing scrutiny. As such, consumers and brands look towards ‘sustainable fashion’ for low-impact alternatives. Simultaneously, visual social media platforms such as Instagram have become prevalent places for fashion advertising and discourse. To investigate this under-researched area, the current study utilises visual content and social network analysis to explore how sustainable fashion is presented on Instagram, specifically: (a) what visual characteristics are present within sustainable fashion content, and (b) in what broader contexts and communities is discussion of sustainable fashion taking place? Posts included under the hashtag #sustainablefashion (N = 650) were inspected for visual characteristics, including type of clothing, presence of person, post setting, presence of nature, and post format. Most posts were photographs located indoors with no person and no nature-based elements. The hashtags used alongside #sustainablefashion were analysed with Gephi software to establish a social network and community groups of related topics. Network analysis revealed four key community groups: online-promotional, artisan-traditional, eco-ethical, and Malay-online-selling. Secondhand fashion also appeared to be the most prominent sustainable fashion alternative on Instagram. This study is one of the first to investigate the characteristics of user-generated #sustainablefashion content on Instagram. Whilst social media is a burgeoning avenue for research, existing studies primarily investigate how these platforms can be harnessed for advertising, rather than what users themselves are already posting. Implications for brands who use this platform and opportunities for future research are discussed.     

Short-term visual memory and pattern masking

The results of two experiments involving the matching of unfamiliar, nameless shapes (Gibson forms) indicated that a visual representation of a brief (30-100 ms) stimulus survives in a Short-Term Visual Memory (STVM) for 6 s or more after the onset of a pattern mask. On the basis of these results a possible alternative to Sperling's (1967) model for short-term memory for visual stimuli was presented. In this model it is assumed that recognition processes occupy several hundred milliseconds and continue after the arrival of the mask using the information available in STVM.     

“Backward masking” of simple detection latencies

Simple detection latencies were determined with stimuli that comprised two successive flashes. The second flash either equaled or exceeded the first in luminance, duration, or both. When a low-luminance flash preceded either a low-or a high-luminance flash, the flashes summated, yielding latencies that were shorter than the latency for the first flash alone. In the limit, when the second flash was intense and followed the first by a short time, the latency for the paired flashes behaved as if it was determined by the second flash alone. This limit was analogous to the retroactive interference in studies of the neurophysiological concomitants of backward masking. However, the S in masking studies detects the first flash despite interference by the second, whereas the present S detected the onset of the stimulus light. The need for an analysis of the S’s response under masking is thus indicated.     

CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN REACTION TO FAILURE1

Les Occidentaux admettent qu'on critique leur performance; ils réagissent en général à la critique en essayant de faire mieux. En Extrême-Orient, il n'est pas convenable de dire à quelqu'un qu'il a échoué en quelque chose; le faisant, on a toute chance de le voir renoncer ou faire plus mal encore. Cette différence de comportement dans les deux civilisations s'explique par des différences d'organisation cognitive. Les AA. ont comparé, dans trois groupes d'étudiants de culture différente (Américains; Extrême-orientaux suivant les cours d'universités américaines; Thais de Thaïlande), les individus qui ont réussi et ceux qui ont échoué dans leurs études. Les sujets américains réagissent à l'échec en réduisant les relations entre toutes les variables étudiées, ce qui constitue un mode de défense en profondeur par le biais d'une organisation plus souple. Les sujets des deux autres groupes réagissent à l'échec par une réduction des contacts personnels et une rigidité accrue de l'organisation personnelle interne. Ces résultats ont une grande importance pratique relativement aux effets sociaux du développement économique en Extrême-Orient.