Interpersonal Attachment and Patterns of Ideological Belief

We examine whether two general dimensions of sociopolitical belief—right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and social dominance orientation (SDO)—are rooted in insecure psychological attachment. Based on an undergraduate sample ( N =  255), we model the relations among attachment styles, general worldviews, RWA, and SDO. A structural equation model indicated that anxious attachment led to RWA but not SDO and that this effect was mediated by the belief that the world is a dangerous place. In contrast, avoidant attachment led to SDO but not RWA, and this effect was mediated by the belief that the world is an uncaring, competitive jungle in which people are motivated to maximize personal utility. We discuss the implications of these findings for the nature and origins of political conservatism.     

A technique for simulating visual field losses in virtual environments to study human navigation

The following paper describes a new technique for simulating peripheral field losses in virtual environments to study the roles of the central and peripheral visual fields during navigation. Based on Geisler and Perry's (2002) gaze-contingent multiresolution display concept, the technique extends their methodology to work with three-dimensional images that are both transformed and rendered in real time by a computer graphics system. In order to assess the usefulness of this method for studying visual field losses, an experiment was run in which seven participants were required to walk to a target tree in a virtual forest as quickly and efficiently as possible while artificial head and eye-based delays were systematically introduced. Bilinear fits were applied to the mean trial times in order to assess at what delay lengths breaks in performance could be observed. Results suggest that breaks occur beyond the current delays inherent in the system. Increases in trial times across all delays tested were also observed when simulated peripheral field losses were applied compared to full FOV conditions. Possible applications and limitations of the system are discussed. The source code needed to program visual field losses can be found at lions.med.jhu.edu/archive/turanolab/Simulated_Visual_Field_Loss_Code.html.     

Working memory components and imagery instructions in the elaboration of a spatial mental model

The paper investigates the involvement of verbal and visuo-spatial working memory during the processing of spatial texts via a dual-task paradigm. Subjects were presented with three texts describing locations from a route perspective, and had either to imagine themselves moving along a route in surroundings or to rehearse verbal information. Concurrently they had to perform a spatial tapping task, an articulatory task, or no secondary task. Performance on a verification test used to assess the product of comprehension showed that the concurrent tapping task impaired performance in the imagery instructions group but not in the repetition instructions group, and caused the beneficial effect of imagery instructions to vanish. This result was not observed with the articulatory task, where interference effects were similar in both instructions groups. Performance on the concurrent tasks confirmed the pattern obtained with the verification test. In addition, results seem partly dependent on the capacity of spatial working memory as measured by the Corsi Blocks Test. We argue that these results clarify the processes of the construction of a spatial mental model, and confirm that the visuo-spatial working memory is involved in mental imagery.     

Doing the opposite to what another person is doing

The three studies presented here aim to contribute to a better understanding of the role of the coordinate system of a person's body and of the environment in spatial organization underlying the recognition and production of gestures. The paper introduces a new approach by investigating what people consider to be opposite gestures in addition to identical gestures.     

Early interactive behaviours in preterm infants and their mothers: Influences of maternal depressive symptomatology and neonatal birth weight

The study evaluated the quality of preterm infant–mother interactions, considering severity of birth weight (ELBW and VLBW) and maternal depression, compared to full term babies. 69 preterm infants (29 ELBW and 40 VLBW) and 80 full-term (FT) infants and their mothers were recruited. At 3 months of corrected age, the quality of mother–infant interaction was evaluated through Global Rating Scales; moreover, infant level of development and maternal depression were assessed through Griffith Development Mental Scales and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Results showed adequate sensitivity in preterm infants’ mothers and higher involvement with their infants, compared to full term mothers, but ELBW ones exhibited an intrusive interactive pattern and a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms. The study underlined the relevance of paying special attention to both ELBW infants and their mothers, in order to support the parenting role and the co-construction of early interactions.     

When Sex Is on the Air: Impression Formation After Exposure to Sexual Music

The present study examines how young men and women, when primed with sexual cues in entertainment media, incorporate these cues into their first impressions of an unfamiliar target. Respondents (n = 188) were exposed to popular music either with or without sexual lyrics. Respondents in the sexual music condition recognized the sexual conveyance of that music. Respondents in the other condition rated the sexuality in their music as low. After exposure, respondents evaluated unknown targets—job applicants represented by their resumés. Sexual conveyance elevated ratings of sexual qualities attributed to the targets, suggesting sexual objectification of the targets. Sexual quality ratings then predicted evaluations of the targets’ merit, including knowledge and integrity. Although the association between sexual quality and overall merit ratings were positive for both men and women, men exhibited a significantly stronger association than women did. Findings support a postconscious automatic processing interpretation of media priming effects and corroborate prior observations that sexual media primes yield sexualized evaluations. Findings also suggest a need to measure initial affective responses to media primes, as different sexual depictions might trigger sexual thoughts with either a positive or negative connotation.     

Changes in Stepparents' Coparenting and Parenting Following Participation in a Community‐Based Relationship Education Program

Studies of coparents typically center on the relationship between parents who share a biological child; limited attention in research on community‐based programs is given to the coparenting relationship within a stepfamily, even though clinicians note the challenges inherent in this relationship. We examined changes in coparenting agreement, parenting efficacy, and parental involvement for 96 stepparents following participation in a coparenting‐focused community education program. A significant main effect of time was found for improvement in coparenting agreement, yet a significant time × gender interaction effect suggests that this is driven by improvements for stepmothers only. Parenting efficacy improved, regardless of gender, race, residence, or curriculum. A significant time × race interaction effect on change in parental involvement indicates increases in parental involvement for European American participants only. Finally, increases in coparenting agreement were associated with increases in parenting efficacy, and increases in parenting efficacy were associated with increases in parental involvement.