Contextual control of letter perception

This study examined the hypothesis that the type of list context in which a given item is embedded may affect the way in which it is perceptually processed. In the first experiment, subjects matched four types of test items inserted in four types of lists. The types of test items and the types of lists in which they were embedded were two-letter words, two-letter spelling clusters, unrelated letter pairs, and pairs of novel letters. The first experiment indicated that only unrelated letter pairs were significantly affected by type of list in which they were inserted. The pattern of the effect was confirmed in the latency data of the second experiment and the interpretation was that only unrelated letter and related letter-group contexts were operating in the first two experiments. The third and fourth experiments were concerned with contrasting contexts at the feature and letter levels of processing. By using lists in which type of catch trial either emphasized local features or global aspects of a pattern, the processing times of both familiar and unfamiliar letters were affected. The results of these experiments suggest that information processing models should incorporate structures which represent the way that context selectively facilitates processing of items at particular levels.     

Adolescents' expectancies of success,self-evaluations,and attributions about performance on spatial and verbal tasks

The present study examined the expectancies of success, evaluations of performance, and achievement-related attributions that high school students made about verbal and spatial tasks that typically show sex differences. Although no sex differences were found in task performance, boys expected to do better than girls on both the spatial and verbal tasks. After completing the task, the girls continued to evaluate their performance more negatively than did boys on the spatial tasks. On spatial tasks girls also attributed to themselves less ability and saw the tasks as being more difficult than did boys. The results suggest that there are generalized, rather than task-specific, sex differences in achievement expectancies, evaluations, and attributions. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for sex-related differences in cognitive functioning and subsequent achievement behaviors.The authors gratefully acknowledge support from the Judith Offer Fund and from the Spencer Foundation.     

Biased processing of stereotype-incongruency is greater for low than high status groups

Two studies assessed whether a stereotypic explanatory bias emerges primarily when members of low (compared to high) social status groups engage in behaviors inconsistent with group stereotypes. A preliminary study showed that male and female participants spontaneously showed more stereotypically biased explanatory processing of female stereotype-inconsistency (i.e., explanation of male-stereotypic behaviors performed by female compared to male actors) than male stereotype-inconsistency (i.e., explanation of female-stereotypic behaviors performed by male compared to female actors). The main experiment provided a manipulation of social status of target groups, and both external (i.e., situational) and internal (i.e., dispositional) explanations for stereotype-inconsistent behaviors were assessed. Results showed that external explanations for female stereotype-inconsistency were greater for targets described as low, not high in socioeconomic status. This research suggests that information processing is biased when members of a low status group engage in stereotype-inconsistent behaviors, whereas members of high status groups can engage in either stereotypic or counter-stereotypic behaviors without instigating biases in information processing.     

Support of Theological Education in a Cross‐cultural Setting

Based on recent reports on the global status quo of theological education, including a mapping of Danish organizations supporting theological education in a cross‐cultural setting, the paper asks how theological education is best supported. It argues that theological education, while referring to a historical heritage and sacred text, is also exposed to developments in church and society. Stretched between the historical and contemporary perspective, theological education includes a cultural component that we need to consider when discussing development and support. The paper argues further that support of theological education offered in a cross‐cultural setting is susceptible to failure if the cultural aspect is not considered, primarily through engaging in the cultural background of the supporting agencies. As a help to identifying the cultural element, the paper proposes four indicators, challenging agencies of the global North to face latent aspects of culture and secularization, presenting a global and social perspective of theological education. The cultural component visualized in cross‐cultural support reveals that we must complement the classical notion of theological education as Christian leadership training with an understanding of formation, where spiritual and cognitive aspects accompany social and cultural critique of totalitarian regimes both inside and outside churches. Critique in this setting is not a matter of giving in to secularization, but rather expresses an openness to historical and contemporary perspectives and a commitment to the sources of faith.     

Reactions to Terror Attacks: A Heuristic Model

What are the signature features of the reactions of mass publics to terrorist attacks? We argue that the available empirical evidence suggests a general pattern of reactions: The peaks of mass reactions to terrorist attacks are limited in size and duration and their end states marked by a return to baselines values of tolerance. We label this perturbation effects. In this article, we review the available evidence for perturbation effects, build a heuristic model of such effects and provide an explanation of their characteristic pattern, combing theories of emotional arousal and opinion leadership. Finally, we relate the overlooked existence of perturbation effects to widespread fears about the frailty of democratic norms in the face of mass terrorism.