Unconscious perception and the classic dissociation paradigm: a new angle?

Reingold and Merikle's (1988, 1990) critique of the classic dissociation paradigm identified the exhaustiveness, exclusiveness, null sensitivity, and task comparability issues as inherent problems that severely undermine the utility of this paradigm. Snodgrass, Bernat, and Shevrin (2004) attempt to provide solutions to these problems and claim to propose a novel conceptual and methodological framework for the study of unconscious perception. Unfortunately, the present analysis indicates that the approach proposed by Snodgrass et al. involves the same problems as do previous implementations of the classic dissociation paradigm.     

Language Use and Coalition Formation in Multiparty Negotiations

The alignment of bargaining positions is crucial to a successful negotiation. Prior research has shown that similarity in language use is indicative of the conceptual alignment of interlocutors. We use latent semantic analysis to explore how the similarity of language use between negotiating parties develops over the course of a three‐party negotiation. Results show that parties that reach an agreement show a gradual increase in language similarity over the course of the negotiation. Furthermore, reaching the most financially efficient outcome is dependent on similarity in language use between the parties that have the most to gain from such an outcome.     

A further examination of the lexical-processing stages hypothesized by the E-Z Reader model

Participants’ eye movements were monitored while they read sentences in which high- and low-frequency target words were presented normally (i.e., the normal condition) or with either reduced stimulus quality (i.e., the faint condition) or alternating lower- and uppercase letters (i.e., the case-alternated condition). Both the stimulus quality and case alternation manipulations interacted with word frequency for the gaze duration measure, such that the magnitude of word frequency effects was increased relative to the normal condition. However, stimulus quality (but not case alternation) interacted with word frequency for the early fixation time measures (i.e., first fixation, single fixation), whereas case alternation (but not stimulus quality) interacted with word frequency for the later fixation time measures (i.e., total time, go-past time). We interpret this pattern of results as evidence that stimulus quality influences an earlier stage of lexical processing than does case alternation, and we discuss the implications of our results for models of eye movement control during reading.     

On the perceptual specificity of memory representations

The present paradigm involved manipulating the congruency of the perceptual processing during the study and test phases of a recognition memory task. During each trial, a gaze-contingent window was used to limit the stimulus display to a region either inside or outside a 10° square centred on the participant's point of gaze, constituting the Central and Peripheral viewing modes respectively. The window position changed in real time in concert with changes in gaze position. Four experiments documented better task performance when viewing modes at encoding and retrieval matched than when they mismatched (i.e., perceptual specificity effects). Viewing mode congruency effects were demonstrated with both verbal and non-verbal stimuli. The present research is motivated and discussed in terms of theoretical views proposed in the 1970s including the levels-of-processing framework and the proceduralist viewpoint. In addition, implications for current processing and multiple systems views of memory are outlined.     

Development of a Measure of Stereotypical Attitudes towards Older Workers

Prolonging the working life of older adults has been suggested by various researchers and policymakers as a strategy to alleviate challenges posed by the inevitable ageing of the population. It is thus important to have measures with which to assess and monitor factors relevant to older adults' employment. Research indicates that negative attitudes towards older workers are at the heart of employment discrimination; hence, the current research developed and assessed a new measure of attitudes towards older workers. A questionnaire asking about older workers was prepared in three versions (male, female, and gender neutral). Each version of the Attitudes towards Older Workers Scale (AOWS) was pilot tested, refined, and field tested with random samples totalling 246 hiring decision‐makers and 219 undergraduate students. Internal consistency ranged between .89 and .95 across the samples and questionnaire versions. Test–retest reliability correlations for male, female, and gender‐neutral versions were .83, .78, and .90, respectively. The AOWS will be a valuable tool for research, development of interventions, and for informing policy formulation in the areas of ageing, retirement, and employment.     

Muslim Adolescent Mental Health in Australia: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of the Risk of Developing Clinically Significant Psychological Problems

Journal of Child and Family Studies - This study explores the risk of developing clinically significant social, emotional, and behavioural problems among Muslim adolescents living in Australia...     

The effect of distance-dependent construals on schema-driven impression formation

Two experiments examine how distance-dependent construal can affect trait aggregation in impression formation. We propose that, because higher- versus lower-level construals promote the tendency to impose schematic structure on information processing, higher-level construals should enhance schema-driven trait aggregation. We test this by examining a classic impression formation phenomenon: the primacy effect (Asch, 1946). Increasing temporal distance (Study 1a) and priming higher-level construals (Study 1b) led participants to form more favorable impressions of targets described initially as intelligent versus envious. Decreasing temporal distance and priming lower-level construals, in contrast, reversed the primacy effect. Thus, the distance of a target, with its associated construal, can impact the aggregation of traits and consequently impacts people's evaluations of others.