ATC-lab: an air traffic control simulator for the laboratory.

Air Traffic Control Laboratory Simulator (ATC-lab) is a new low- and medium-fidelity task environment that simulates air traffic control. ATC-lab allows the researcher to study human performance of tasks under tightly controlled experimental conditions in a dynamic, spatial environment. The researcher can create standardized air traffic scenarios by manipulating a wide variety of parameters. These include temporal and spatial variables. There are two main versions of ATC-lab. The mediumfidelity simulator provides a simplified version of en route air traffic control, requiring participants to visually search a screen and both recognize and resolve conflicts so that adequate separation is maintained between all aircraft. The low-fidelity simulator presents pairs of aircraft in isolation, controlling the participant's focus of attention, which provides a more systematic measurement of conflict recognition and resolution performance. Preliminary studies have demonstrated that ATC-lab is a flexible tool for applied cognition research.     

Just responses to problems associated with the brain drain: Identity,community, and obligation in an unjust world

In this essay, which forms part of a symposium on the brain drain, I respond to the arguments of several critics. I defend my proposals concerning how to address problems associated with high levels of skilled migration, especially in the face of concerns about identity, community and obligation in an unjust world.     

The Elephant in the Road: Auditory Perceptual Load Affects Driver Perception and Awareness

Summary Perceptual load theory research has shown that the level of perceptual load in a task affects processing of additional information. Less certain are the cross‐modal effects of perceptual load—does load in one modality affect processing in another? The current study assessed the effect of auditory perceptual load on visual attention in a driving simulator task. While driving, participants listened to traffic updates on the radio, which imposed either low or high perceptual load. Awareness for an unexpected animal as well as less novel objects (such as billboards and other vehicles) was markedly reduced under high load. Driver behaviour was also significantly affected, with impaired lateral control, longer reaction times to hazards and more collisions under high load. This study has important implications for load theory and also more general implications for road safety, as it suggests that auditory load may be an important, often overlooked factor in driver attention.Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Visual feature vs. conjunction searches as a robust manipulation of perceptual load

It has previously been suggested that Lavie’s Perceptual Load Theory can be assessed using feature vs. conjunction search tasks. In this study we manipulated load using a novel paradigm which retains the key features of both classic Load Theory and Feature Integration Theory paradigms. This new paradigm has the advantage of an inbuilt manipulation check which is necessary for future research to translate Load Theory to applied contexts. Across five experiments, we demonstrate the robust nature of this paradigm, which functions with extended display times, large, complex stimuli and when conditions are intermixed on a trial-by-trial basis. We also rule out dilution as a possible cause of these results. The results of all five experiments provide evidence that the feature vs. conjunction search dichotomy is an effective means of imposing low and high perceptual load while controlling for working memory load.     

Impulsiveness and resource allocation: Testing Humphreys and Revelle’s (1984) explanation of impulsive personality

Humphreys and Revelle [Humphreys, M. S., Revelle, W. (1984). Personality, motivation and performance: A theory of the relationship between individual differences and information processing. Psychological Review, 91, 153–184] suggest that impulsive individuals have relatively greater capacity to improve performance through task-directed resource allocation. This implies that there will be a differential effect of increases in effort intensity on performance for high and low impulsive individuals. Two quasi-experiments tested this prediction using a relative-judgement task (total N = 108, 68 females), however neither revealed the predicted interaction. In light of these findings, we re-consider the Humphreys–Revelle model in relation to independent but potentially related theory and research.     

The ‘Flexible’ Immigrant? Human Capital Discourse, the Family Household and Labour Market Strategies

As Canadian immigration policy increasingly selects ‘flexible’ immigrants based on their human capital, it correspondingly problematises immigrant families. In drawing on interviews, conducted over a 5-year period in two different neighbourhoods in the Greater Vancouver area, we followed the paths of family households that recently immigrated to Canada. We argue that households not only provide fundamental support in the migration process, but also enable immigrants to adopt flexible strategies to deal with precarious circumstances and thereby begin the process of integration. Rather than being a ‘problem’, immigrant households, and particularly women’s support roles within them, may be a critical lynchpin to successful integration.     

Before escalation: behavioral and affective forecasting in escalation of commitment

This research examines preinvestment forecasting processes in escalation of commitment, considering two questions: whether individuals are able to accurately predict their behavior and affect in escalation situations and how forecasting processes may be linked to actual escalation. Three experiments demonstrated that individuals underpredicted their escalation and overpredicted their postescalation regret. Two of the experiments also indicated that the less individuals predicted being entrapped, the more they escalated. Counter to expectations, anticipated regret did not predict escalation. The discussion focuses on the theoretical and practical importance of forecasting on escalation and on the importance of understanding both behavioral and affective forecasting effects simultaneously.     

Posttraumatic stress symptoms following childbirth and mothers' perceptions of their infants

Postpartum psychological distress can adversely affect the early mother–infant relationship; however, this has not been investigated in relation to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following childbirth. This article explores whether PTSD symptoms relating to labor and delivery are associated with mothers' early perceptions of their infant. Using labor and childbirth as the stressor criterion, 211 women were assessed at 6 weeks' postpartum for symptoms of intrusions, avoidance, and hyperarousal. Their perceptions of their infants, of mother‐to‐infant attachment, and infant behavioral characteristics also were evaluated. In sum, 3.8% of the women fulfilled full diagnostic criteria, and a further 21.3% reported clinically significant symptoms on at least one dimension of PTSD. Those meeting full or partial criteria perceived their attachment relationships to be significantly less optimal and reported more negative maternal representations in terms of their infants being less warm and more invasive. They also rated them as being temperamentally more difficult, prone to distress, and less easy to soothe. However, when the effects of depression were partialled, only the effect for perceived warmth remained. Posttraumatic stress symptoms relating to labor and delivery may adversely influence maternal perceptions of infants, with potentially adverse implications for the developing mother–infant relationship. The overlap with depressive symptoms requires further exploration.     

Contact,configural coding and the other‐race effect in face recognition

The other‐race effect (ORE) in face recognition describes a well‐established finding of better recognition for own‐race than other‐race faces. Although widely thought to reflect differences in contact between own‐ and other‐race faces, little is known about how different contact levels relate to changes in processing of those faces. This study investigated how contact affects the size of the ORE and the use of expert configural face‐coding mechanisms. Using inversion decrements as an index of configural coding, we predicted that increased self‐reported contact would be associated with greater use of configural‐coding mechanisms. Chinese and Caucasian participants varying in contact with other‐race faces were recruited. The Chinese participants also varied in their length of residence in a Western country. Results showed that higher levels of contact were associated with a reduction in the ORE in both face recognition and configural coding. Importantly, smaller cross‐race differences in configural coding were also associated with a smaller ORE in face recognition.