Influence of temporal overlap on time course of the Simon effect

Two experiments are reported in which we manipulated relevant and irrelevant stimulus dimensions to assess whether an increase in temporal overlap would influence the time course of a "standard" Simon effect (obtained when visual stimuli are presented on the left/right of the screen and left/right responses are performed with uncrossed hands). This procedure is new in two ways: First, the manipulations were intended to reduce, instead of increase, the distance between conditional and unconditional response-activation processes. Second, we manipulated the relevant and irrelevant stimulus dimensions in a manner that did not vary stimulus onset asynchronies, precues, or go/no go trials, or alter the stimulus quality. Results were consistent with the hypothesis that when the two response processes are shifted closer to each other, the Simon effect would be sustained across time, instead of decreasing as typically found. These findings are discussed in line with the temporal overlap hypothesis and with an automatic activation account.     

Body dysmorphic symptoms: phenomenology and ethnicity

Differences in the presentation of clinical features of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) across ethnic groups have received little investigation. The current study assessed BDD symptoms in an ethnically diverse sample of adults (n=401) using an online survey. Participants completed self-report measures assessing BDD symptoms, body parts of concern and BDD behaviors. Compared to Caucasian participants, no significant differences were found in body parts or behaviors reported by Latino or African American participants. Significant group differences did emerge between Asian and Caucasian participants. Specifically, Asians reported more concern with straight hair and dark skin and fewer body shape concerns than Caucasians. Asians also endorsed lower rates of grooming, touching body parts, and camouflaging and higher rates of exercise compared to Caucasians. Although most clinical features of BDD appear similar across ethnic groups, results showed some differences in body parts and behaviors between Caucasians and Asian Americans with BDD symptoms.     

Re-locating colors in the OSA space

A monolexemic color-naming experiment in the Italian language was performed on a sample of 1,014 colors obtained extending the OSA-UCS color system (E-OSA). Colors were rendered on a Mitsubishi Diamond pro 2070 monitor as patches subtending 10° of visual angle in a completely dark room. The 11 universal categories proposed by Berlin and Kay (Basic color terms: Their universality and evolution, 1969) were considered. Consensus, consistency and focal colors were determined for each category. Comparisons were performed among the results obtained using Boynton & Olson (B&O), the extended OSA (E-OSA), a subset of it covering almost all the B&O sample (R-OSA) and the Sturges & Whitfield (S&W) sample sets. A good overlap could be observed among the locations of the consensus colors in the {L, j, g} color model between B&O and R-OSA, as well as a close proximity among the centroids of homologue regions for the majority of the classes. The analysis of the location of focal colors versus the centroids suggests that an additional basic term could be missing for the Italian language in the blue category.     

Crimes of obedience: "groupthink" at abu ghraib

Clear evidence of authorization at the highest levels belies administration statements to the effect that the torture at Abu Ghraib was an aberration and simply unauthorized actions by rogue soldiers. The administration reflected a "group mind," demonstrating many qualities of "groupthink." Whatever was necessary, including torture and violation of the Geneva accords, the system in effect authorized, because of the perceived danger to the system and the desperate requirement to get the information out of "them" by whatever means necessary, information that could save lives. The sanctioned violence demonstrated the qualities identified by Kelman and Hamilton (1989) in their study of the Mylai massacre as characteristic of sanctioned massacres: authorization, routinization, and dehumanization. It would seem that officials and participants exhibited all of these characteristics in the decision to conduct extreme interrogation on the "unlawful combatants" imprisoned at Abu Ghraib.     

Cognitive performance and morning levels of salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase in children reporting high vs. low daily stress perception

The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of daily stress perception on cognitive performance and morning basal salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase levels in healthy children aged 9-12. Participants were classified by whether they had low daily perceived stress (LPS, n = 27) or a high daily perceived stress (HPS, n = 26) using the Children Daily Stress Inventory (CDSI). Salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase were measured at awakening and 30 minutes later. Cognitive performance was assessed using the Cognitive Drug Research assessment system. The HPS group exhibited significantly poorer scores on speed of memory (p < .05) and continuity of attention (p < .05) relative to the LPS group. The HPS group also showed significantly lower morning cortisol levels at awakening and at +30 minutes measures in comparison with the LPS group (p < .05), and mean morning cortisol levels were negatively correlated with speed of memory (p < .05) in the 53 participants. No significant differences were observed between both groups in alpha-amylase levels. These findings suggest that daily perceived stress in children may impoverish cognitive performance via its modulating effects on the HPA axis activity.     

The role of bystanders in students' perception of bullying and sense of safety

Two studies employing a mixed experimental design were conducted to determine if perceptions of bullying, attitudes towards victims, and students' sense of safety at school were influenced by bystanders' reactions to different types of bullying. In Study 1, 217 middle-school children were randomly assigned to read a hypothetical scenario describing a direct bullying episode. In Study 2, 376 primary-school children and 390 middle-school children were presented with scenarios describing a direct bullying episode and an indirect bullying episode. In all scenarios, the bystanders' reactions to the bullying and the gender of the victim were manipulated. Participants endorsed the prosocial behavior in favor of the victims and did not endorse pro-bullying behavior. Furthermore, they perceived passive reactions to the bullying as negative behavior. Participants showed positive attitudes towards victims, which were significantly higher at younger grade levels and among girls. Bystanders' behavior influenced both participants' perceptions of the victims and their perceived sense of safety at school. Implications for anti-bullying programs based upon the group ecology are discussed.     

Predicting changes in adjustment using repeated measures of sociometric status

The authors' goals in the study were to investigate the possible gains made by including multiple assessments of status in the prediction of change in psychosocial adjustment and to compare the effectiveness of continuous and categorical measures of peer status in predicting adjustment. The authors obtained continuous and categorical measures of status (social preference and rejected status) for 644 Grade 4 students at 3 points within 1 school year (fall, winter, and spring). The authors measured peer, teacher, and self-report indexes of social adjustment (including aggression, anxiety, and sociability) in Grades 4 and 5. Both measures of peer status at all 3 time points in Grade 4 were significant predictors of adjustment in Grade 5, controlling for Grade 4 levels, with the midyear (i.e., winter) assessment showing a slight predictive advantage over the fall and spring assessments. Children who were classified as peer rejected over multiple assessments had more social adjustment problems in the next school year than did children who were classified as peer rejected at 1 time point only. The authors discuss these findings in terms of the utility of multiple assessments of both continuous and categorical measures of peer status for predicting later outcomes.     

Recognizing the role of parents in developmental outcomes: a systems approach to evaluating the child with developmental disabilities

When developmental concerns arise in children, a clinical assessment focuses on the child's developmental profile to achieve three goals (1) determine diagnosis, (2) develop interventions, and (3) evaluate progress. Parents often have needs during this time that are not addressed by professionals because of the exclusive focus on the child during the evaluation. In this article, we suggest that clinicians take a "systems" approach to the assessment process by recognizing how the well being of family members can impact a child with a developmental disability. We review systems theory and its conceptualization of individual functioning and discuss how parental well-being differs according to child diagnosis. Finally we suggest a systems-based model to use during the assessment process.     

Feeling of knowing for names in response to faces

Participants were asked to recall the names when shown photographs of faces in both a semantic task (Experiment 1) and an episodic task (Experiments 2 and 3). When recall failed, feeling of knowing (FOK) ratings were solicited. In addition, participants reported on the strategies that they used to make their ratings, whether they could recall other pieces of information (the target-accessibility strategy, e.g., Koriat, A. (1993). How do we know that? The accessibility model of the feeling of knowing. Psychological Review, 100, 609–639) or whether the faces simply looked familiar (the cue-familiarity strategy, e.g., Schwartz, B. L., & Metcalfe, J. (1992). Cue familiarity but not target accessibility enhances feeling of knowing ratings. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 18, 1074–1083). In all experiments, FOK ratings were fairly accurate in that participants were successful in predicting their performance on a subsequent recognition test. More importantly, participants reported using the cue-familiarity strategy more often, although they gave higher FOK ratings when they reported using the target-accessibility strategy. The FOK ratings that were given using the two strategies were equally accurate.