Kinematic markers of distance-specific control in linear hand movements

In this article, the authors analyze kinematic characteristics of reaching movements to memorized visual target locations. An increase in target distance was associated with a decrease in correlation between peak acceleration and movement distance and with a simultaneous increase in correlation between peak acceleration and movement time. According to the previous work on motor control in isometric force responses and in reaching movements these results seem to indicate a continuous transition from a rather preplanned to a more corrective mode of movement control, which may be associated with an adaptive mechanism serving to counteract an increase in signal-dependent noise of the motor system.     

Love styles, shyness, and patterns of emotional self-disclosure

Previous research has shown a relationship between love styles and shyness. This study explored the possibility that this effect may be due to differences in patterns of self-disclosure associated with shyness. University student participants (N = 143) completed the Love Attitudes Scale, the Emotional Self-Disclosure Scale, and the Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale. Correlations between the measures were calculated and significant results ranged from r = .18 to .30. Findings supported previous research in showing significant relationships between shyness and love styles; self-disclosure showed no relationship with shyness but did show some direct associations with love style scores. Results are discussed in relation to the importance of self-disclosure in relationship development.     

Age differences in instability, contingency, and level of self-esteem across the life span

We investigated age differences in instability, contingency, and level of self-esteem from age 13 to 72 years, using data from 1386 individuals who participated in a diary study over 25 days. Instability and contingency of self-esteem decreased from adolescence to old age, whereas level of self-esteem increased. Big Five personality traits predicted the level, but not the slope, of the trajectories of self-esteem characteristics. Age differences in self-esteem characteristics did not merely reflect age differences in instability and level of positive and negative affect. Finally, self-esteem characteristics showed a stable pattern of interrelations across the life span. Overall, the findings suggest that people’s self-esteem tends to become better adjusted—i.e., more stable, less contingent, and higher—across the life course.     

Training synaesthesia

Synaesthetic inducers such as graphemes are typically cultural artifacts. Thus, a learning component seems evident in synaesthesia (Simner et al, 2009 Brain 132 57-64). Normally, synaesthetes report to have their experiences since they can remember. Nevertheless, a recent training study suggests that synaesthesia can be mimicked in non-synaesthetes. To date, the role of learning during the development of synaesthesia is still debated. It is not clear whether synaesthesia can be learned or trained at all. To address this question, we compared a non-adaptive and an adaptive training for their effectiveness. We assessed their impact on two types of priming tasks, before and after the training. We found stronger priming in the adaptive training group suggesting that adaptive training is more efficient to mimic synaesthesia.     

What matters in implicit task sequence learning: perceptual stimulus features, task sets, or correlated streams of information?

Implicit task sequence learning may be attributed to learning the order of perceptual stimulus features associated with the task sequence, learning a series of automatic task set activations, or learning an integrated sequence that derives from 2 correlated streams of information. In the present study, our purpose was to distinguish among these 3 possibilities. In 4 separate experiments, we replicated and extended a previous study by Heuer, Schmidtke, and Kleinsorge (2001). The presence or absence of a sequence of tasks, as well as that of a sequence of different task-to-response mappings, was manipulated independently within experiments. Evidence of implicit sequence learning was found only when correlated sequences of tasks and mappings were present. No sequence learning effects were found when only a single task sequence or a single mapping sequence was present, even when the structure of the single sequence was identical to the structure of the integrated sequence of task-mapping combinations. These results suggest that implicit task sequence learning is not dependent on either perceptual learning of stimulus features or automatic task-set activation per se. Rather, it appears to be driven by correlated streams of information.     

The complexity of satisfiability for fragments of hybrid logic—Part I

The satisfiability problem of hybrid logics with the downarrow binder is known to be undecidable. This initiated a research program on decidable and tractable fragments.In this paper, we investigate the effect of restricting the propositional part of the language on decidability and on the complexity of the satisfiability problem over arbitrary, transitive, total frames, and frames based on equivalence relations. We also consider different sets of modal and hybrid operators. We trace the border of decidability and give the precise complexity of most fragments, in particular for all fragments including negation. For the monotone fragments, we are able to distinguish the easy from the hard cases, depending on the allowed set of operators.     

What shields some can shackle others: the approach‐related consequences of threat categorisations vary by agreeableness

It is common to think that threat categorisation tendencies (TCTs) should undermine a person's subjective well‐being. However, recent research has suggested that the hedonic impact of such tendencies varies considerably according to a person's traits. The present research seeks to extend such a perspective by considering potential interactions between TCTs and the trait of agreeableness. TCTs were measured through the use of choice reaction time tasks contrasting the threat and non‐threat categories. As expected, TCTs were not correlated with the trait of agreeableness, but interacted with this trait in predicting the dependent measures. Within three studies involving 184 undergraduates, TCTs were associated with the higher levels of approach‐related behaviour and positive emotion among disagreeable individuals, but lower levels of these same variables among agreeable individuals. The authors suggest that threat categorisation tendencies psychologically protect or burden the individual, depending on the levels of agreeableness. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Naturally better? A review of the natural‐is‐better bias

People are frequently exposed to products and services that are labeled natural (e.g., Nature Made Vitamins or GoJo Natural Orange Hand Cleaner). The frequency with which this label is used suggests that it delivers an advantage in marketing and sales. Our review examines the preference for and perception of naturalness and reveals that people have a bias for items described as natural in many domains including foods, medicine, beauty products, cigarettes, and lighting. These preferences abound even when the natural item is identical or not objectively better than the non‐natural or synthetic item. We believe this bias may be driven by a natural‐is‐better default belief as well as the belief that natural items are safer than non‐natural items. Although a bias for natural items is apparent, this literature is in its infancy, and we suggest three areas that will help build and refine the empirical research base and theory: the measurement of behavior, the examination of individual differences, and the development of methods for reducing the bias. A better understanding of the naturalness bias relevant to these areas will lead to a more comprehensive understanding of the area, including factors that may cause and reduce it.     

Creativity and involvement in art in different types of synaesthesia

The aim of the present study was to test the relationship between different types of synaesthesia and their involvement in art, creative, and visual abilities. We tested 20 grapheme‐colour, 18 sound‐colour, 19 grapheme‐colour‐and‐sound‐colour, 20 sequence‐space synaesthetes, and the same number of controls matched by age, gender, and education. We assessed the number of artistic professions, involvement in art, and the performance in psychometric tests of divergent and convergent creativity, as well as visual and visuo‐spatial abilities. Results show a higher prevalence of artists among synaesthetes, especially sound‐colour synaesthetes. Sound‐colour synaesthetes also showed a higher involvement in artistic activities overall while sequence‐space synaesthetes showed higher involvement in visual art. Only grapheme‐colour‐and‐sound‐colour synaesthetes showed significantly higher divergent creativity compared to matched controls. Additionally, overall, synaesthetes scored higher in visuo‐spatial abilities (i.e., mental rotation). For synaesthetes and controls, visuo‐spatial abilities correlated with divergent creativity. We discuss that synaesthetes’ higher involvement in art is not necessarily reflected in their basic creative abilities.     

Alcohol-Induced Amnesia and Personalized Drinking Feedback: Blackouts Predict Intervention Response

Alcohol-induced amnesia (“blackout”) is a reliable predictor of alcohol-related harm. Given its association with other negative consequences, experience of alcohol-induced amnesia may serve as a teachable moment, after which individuals are more likely to respond to intervention. To test this hypothesis, alcohol-induced amnesia was evaluated as a moderator of brief intervention effect on (a) alcohol-related consequences and (b) the proposed intervention mediators, protective behavioral strategies and peak blood alcohol concentration (BAC). Baseline alcohol risk measured using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) was also evaluated as a moderator to rule out the possibility that amnesia is simply an indicator of more general alcohol risk. College students (N = 198) reporting alcohol use in a typical week completed assessments at baseline and 1-month follow-up as part of a larger intervention trial. Participants were randomized to assessment only (AO; n = 58) or personalized feedback intervention (PFI; n = 140). Hierarchical regression was used to examine direct and indirect intervention effects. A significant group-by-amnesia interaction revealed that only PFI participants who had experienced alcohol-induced amnesia in the past month reported decreases in alcohol consequences at 1-month follow-up. The PFI reduced alcohol-related consequences indirectly through changes in peak BAC, but only among those who had experienced amnesia at baseline. In contrast, baseline alcohol risk (AUDIT) did not moderate intervention effects, and use of protective behavioral strategies did not statistically mediate intervention effects. Findings suggest that loss of memory for drinking events is a unique determinant of young adult response to brief alcohol intervention. Normative feedback interventions may be particularly effective for individuals who have experienced alcohol-induced amnesia in the past 30 days.