Can a nonspecific bias toward top-heavy patterns explain newborns' face preference?

This study examined newborns' face preference using images of natural and scrambled faces in which the location of the inner features was distorted. The results demonstrate that newborns' face preference is not confined to schematic configurations, but can be obtained also with veridical faces. Moreover, this phenomenon is not produced by a specific bias toward the face geometry, but derives from a domain-general bias toward configurations with more elements in the upper than in the lower half (i.e., top-heavy patterns). These results suggest that it may be unnecessary to assume the existence of a prewired tendency to orient toward the face geometry, and support the idea that faces do not possess a special status in newborns' visual world.     

"A moment's monument": the central vision of Italian sculptor Medardo Rosso (1858-1928)

One of the basic limitations on visual perception is that it is impossible, in any given moment, to see the world sharply and full of colors beyond the central area of the visual field. This fact was popularized and brought to the attention of artists in the nineteenth century. To accurately represent the 'impression', or vision of a single glance, an artistic work should contain only a central area in focus surrounded by a progressively greater blur. The work of the Italian sculptor Medardo Rosso (1858-1928) may be the first artistic representation of differences in central and peripheral acuity. Despite using the medium of sculpture, typically three-dimensional, Rosso conceived of his art as two-dimensional because in a given moment it is possible to view a scene from only one viewpoint. The analysis of Rosso's photographs of his own sculptures emphasizes the areas of detail and relative blur, allowing a reconstruction of his point de vue unique--where the observer should stand when viewing that specific sculpture. We argue that the role of central and peripheral vision in subjective perception is critical to understanding the work of Rosso, aptly defined by critics as monument d'un instant.     

Semantic access processing in a supra-modal deficit: a single case study

The case is presented of a semantic dementia patient, who shows a deficit selective for (i) conceptual class (living things), (ii) attribute processing (visual features) and affecting (iii) input-output modalities at the same processing stage (matching stored representation to attributes). The first experimental part aims at exploring the specific stage/process at which semantic knowledge breaks down through multi-modality tasks, devised to tap different levels within the semantic elaboration flow. The second focuses on the differences between category vs. attribute knowledge across various modalities. The core nature of the patient's deficit is investigated through a close comparison of her damage to a specific processing stage across modalities in the light of her class and attribute-specific impairment. The complex pattern of findings is discussed according to current theoretical accounts of semantic memory organization. Finally, the relevance of the adoption of a broad perspective when dealing with semantic memory impairments is highlighted.     

Working memory and updating processes in reading comprehension

In this study, we examine the relation between reading comprehension ability and success in working memory updating tasks. Groups of poor and good comprehenders, matched for logical reasoning ability, but different in reading comprehension ability, were administered various updating tasks in a series of experiments. In the first experiment, the participants were presented with lists of words, the length of which (4-10 words) was unknown beforehand, and were required to remember the last 4 words in each series. In this task, we found a decrease in performance that was related to longer series and poor reading ability. In the second experiment, we presented lists of nouns referring to items of different sizes, in a task that simulated the selection and updating of relevant information that occurs in the on-line comprehension process. The participants were required to remember a limited, predefined number of the smallest items presented. We found that poor comprehenders not only had a poorer memory, but also made a greater number of intrusion errors. In the third and fourth experiments, memory load (number of items to be selected) and suppression request (number of potentially relevant items) were manipulated within subjects. Increases in both memory load and suppression requests impaired performance. Furthermore, we found that poor comprehenders produced a greater number of intrusion errors, particularly when the suppression request was increased. Finally, in a fifth experiment, a request to specify the size of presented items was introduced. Poor comprehenders were able to select the appropriate items, although their recall was poorer. Altogether, the data show that working memory abilities, based on selecting and updating relevant information and avoiding intrusion errors, are related to reading comprehension.     

Exploring Post-traumatic Growth in Parkinson's Disease: A Mixed Method Study

Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings - Post-traumatic growth (PTG) may favor the psychological adaptation to chronic illnesses. However, few studies investigated PTG in...     

Factors Associated with Providers’ Work Engagement and Burnout in Homeless Services: A Cross‐national Study

The complexity of homeless service users’ characteristics and the contextual challenges faced by services can make the experience of working with people in homelessness stressful and can put providers’ well‐being at risk. In the current study, we investigated the association between service characteristics (i.e., the availability of training and supervision and the capability‐fostering approach) and social service providers’ work engagement and burnout. The study involved 497 social service providers working in homeless services in eight different European countries (62% women; mean age = 40.73, SD = 10.45) and was part of the Horizon 2020 European study “Homelessness as Unfairness (HOME_EU).” Using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), findings showed that the availability of training and supervision were positively associated with providers’ work engagement and negatively associated with burnout. However, results varied based on the perceived usefulness of the training and supervision provided within the service and the specific outcome considered. The most consistent finding was the association between the degree to which a service promotes users’ capabilities and all the aspects of providers’ well‐being analyzed. Results are discussed in relation to their implications for how configuration of homeless services can promote social service providers’ well‐being and high‐quality care.     

Measuring attachment security via the Security Scale: Latent structure,invariance across mothers and fathers and convergent validity

The Security Scale (SS) is a widely used questionnaire measuring attachment towards mother and father in school-aged children. Whilst existing evidence supports concurrent and discriminant validity of the SS, its factorial structure remains largely underexplored. The current study examined the factorial structure of the SS, explored its measurement invariance across mother and father, and evaluated its convergent validity with the Coping Strategies Questionnaire in a sample of 149 Italian children aged 8–10 years. In statistical analyses, we accounted for the ordinal nature of the data and adopted an ad hoc bootstrap procedure for the estimation of measurement invariance. Results supported the factorial validity of the SS and the structural invariance of its underlying construct across parents. Evidence for convergent validity was also found. Overall, the Italian version of the SS is a promising tool to assess attachment in school-aged children.     

The evil eye: Eye gaze and competitiveness in social decision making

We demonstrate that a person's eye gaze and his/her competitiveness are closely intertwined in social decision making. In an exploratory examination of this relationship, Study 1 uses field data from a high‐stakes TV game show to demonstrate that the frequency by which contestants gaze at their opponent's eyes predicts their defection in a variant on the prisoner's dilemma. Studies 2 and 3 use experiments to examine the underlying causality and demonstrate that the relationship between gazing and competitive behavior is bi‐directional. In Study 2, fixation on the eyes, compared to the face, increases competitive behavior toward the target in an ultimatum game. In Study 3, we manipulate the framing of a negotiation (cooperative vs. competitive) and use an eye tracker to measure fixation number and time spent fixating on the counterpart's eyes. We find that a competitive negotiation elicits more gazing, which in turn leads to more competitive behavior.     

Brand (in)fidelity: When Flirting with the Competition Strengthens Brand Relationships

We document the existence and consequences of brand flirting: a short‐lived experience in which a consumer engages with and/or indulges in the alluring qualities of a brand without committing to it. We propose that brand flirting is exciting, and that when consumers flirt with a brand other than their typically preferred brand in the same product category, they can transfer this excitement to their preferred brand—resulting in even greater love and desire for it. Consistent with this conceptual account, we demonstrate that this brand flirting effect is mediated by excitement. Moreover, the brand flirting effect is most likely to emerge under conditions that facilitate arousal transfer: when consumers are highly committed to their preferred brand, and when the brand with which consumers flirt is similar to their preferred brand.