Shifts of spatial attention in perceived 3-D space.

Previous studies have shown that spatial attention can shift in three-dimensional (3-D) space determined by binocular disparity. Using Posner's precueing paradigm, the current work examined whether attentional selection occurs in perceived 3-D space defined by occlusion. Experiment 1 showed that shifts of spatial attention induced by central cues between two surfaces in the left and right visual fields did not differ between the conditions when the two surfaces were located at the same or different perceptual depth. In contrast, Experiment 2 found that peripheral cues generated a stronger cue validity effect when the two surfaces were perceived at a different rather than at the same perceptual depth. The results suggest that exogenous but not endogenous attention operates in perceived 3-D space.     

Memory impairment in the weapon focus effect

Two experiments are reported in which postevent source of misinformation was manipulated within weaponpresent and weapon-absent scenarios. Participants viewed slides depicting either a weapon or a newspaper event and then received either incomplete questioning or a narrative. Both postevent sources contained misleading information about a central and peripheral detail concerning either the weapon or the newspaper scenario. With a modified test in Experiment 1, questioning was found to increase misinformation effects concerning the central item, as compared with a narrative, and more misinformation effects were found for the weapon-peripheral than for the newspaper-peripheral item. In Experiment 2, the participants were more likely to claim to have seen contradictory and additive misinformation about the central item in the slides following questioning, and more contradictory and additive misinformation effects occurred for the weapon-peripheral than for the newspaper-peripheral item. The findings are considered in terms of the effects of both postevent and encoding factors on memory.     

Small and large number processing in infants and toddlers with Williams syndrome

Previous studies have suggested that typically developing 6‐month‐old infants are able to discriminate between small and large numerosities. However, discrimination between small numerosities in young infants is only possible when variables continuous with number (e.g. area or circumference) are confounded. In contrast, large number discrimination is successful even when variables continuous with number are systematically controlled for. These findings suggest the existence of different systems underlying small and large number processing in infancy. How do these develop in atypical syndromes? Williams syndrome (WS) is a rare neurocognitive developmental disorder in which numerical cognition has been found to be impaired in older children and adults. Do impairments of number processing have their origins in infancy? Here this question is investigated by testing the small and large number discrimination abilities of infants and toddlers with WS. While infants with WS were able to discriminate between 2 and 3 elements when total area was confounded with numerosity, the same infants did not discriminate between 8 and 16 elements, when number was not confounded with continuous variables. These findings suggest that a system for tracking the features of small numbers of object (object‐file representation) may be functional in WS, while large number discrimination is impaired from an early age onwards. Finally, we argue that individual differences in large number processing in infancy are more likely than small number processing to be predictive of later development of numerical cognition.     

Effects of training condition on the contribution of specific items to relational processing in baboons (Papio papio)

Relational processing involves learning about the relationship between or among stimuli, transcending the individual stimuli, so that abstract knowledge generalizable to novel situations is acquired. Relational processing has been studied in animals as well as in humans, but little attention has been paid to the contribution of specific items to relational thinking or to the factors that may affect that contribution. This study assessed the intertwined effects of item and relational processing in nonhuman primates. Using a procedure that entailed both expanding and contracting sets of pictorial items, we trained 13 baboons on a two-alternative forced-choice task, in which they had to distinguish horizontal from vertical relational patterns. In Experiment 1, monkeys engaged in item-based processing with a small training set size, and they progressively engaged in relation-based processing as training set size was increased. However, in Experiment 2, overtraining with a small stimulus set promoted the processing of item-based information. These findings underscore similarities in how humans and nonhuman primates process higher-order stimulus relations.     

Perceived Perfectionism from God Scale: Development and Initial Evidence

In this study, the Perceived Perfectionism from God Scale (PPGS) was developed with Latter-day Saints (Mormons) across two samples. Sample 1 (N = 421) was used for EFA to select items for the Perceived Standards from God (5 items) and the Perceived Discrepancy from God (5 items) subscales. Sample 2 (N = 420) was used for CFA and cross-validated the 2-factor oblique model as well as a bifactor model. Perceived Standards from God scores had Cronbach alphas ranging from .73 to .78, and Perceived Discrepancy from God scores had Cronbach alphas ranging from .82 to .84. Standards from God scores were positively correlated with positive affect, whereas Discrepancy from God scores was positively correlated with negative affect, shame and guilt. Moreover, these two PPGS subscale scores added significant incremental variances in predicting associated variables over and above corresponding personal perfectionism scores.     

Blushing during social interactions in people with a fear of blushing

Changes in facial blood flow were investigated during an introductory conversation, delivering a speech, and listening to the speech afterwards in 16 people with a fear of blushing and 16 controls. It was hypothesized that fear of blushing would be associated with high ratings of self-reported blushing intensity and embarrassment during the tasks, and with persistence of the blushing reaction between tasks. Embarrassment and self-reported blushing intensity were greater in the fear-of-blushing group than in controls throughout the experiment. Increases in facial blood flow were similar in the two groups during each of the tasks. However, blushing dissipated more slowly after each task in the fear-of-blushing group than in controls, resulting in an incremental increase in facial blood flow over the course of the experiment. The slow recovery after an episode of blushing might result in physiological or social cues that help to maintain a fear of blushing.     

Towards better computational models of the balance scale task: a reply to Shultz and Takane

In contrast to Shultz and Takane [Shultz, T.R., & Takane, Y. (2007). Rule following and rule use in the balance-scale task. Cognition, in press, doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2006.12.004.] we do not accept that the traditional Rule Assessment Method (RAM) of scoring responses on the balance scale task has advantages over latent class analysis (LCA): RAM is similar to a very restricted form of LCA. The apparent shortcomings of LCA are also less severe than they suggest. Via new simulations we show that LCA detects small classes reliably. We also counter their concerns regarding the torque difference effect and we underline the problems connectionist models have with correctly responding to balance items. Despite these differences in opinion we agree with Shultz and Takane on the possible avenues for future research.     

The role of self-esteem in the misinformation effect

Previous research using the Gudjonnson suggestibility scale has suggested a role for self-esteem in suggestibility, with participants low in self-esteem being more suggestible than participants high in self-esteem. Four experiments are presented examining the role of self-esteem in the misinformation effect and whether enhanced suggestibility effects in participants low in self-esteem reflect genuine memory impairment. In Experiments 1 and 4 participants completed a standard recognition test. In Experiment 2 participants completed the modified recognition test. In Experiment 3 participants completed a free recall test. In Experiments 1 and 4 participants low in self-esteem demonstrated greater misinformation effects than participants high in self-esteem. In Experiment 3 a 3-day retention interval was employed with the modified test and no differences were found between the two groups on the reporting of the new item. The findings suggest that participants low in self-esteem are particularly sensitive to demand characteristics and post-event suggestion but do not suffer from genuine memory impairment.     

Psychological morbidity, illness representations, and quality of life in female and male patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a sleep-related breathing disorder that affects both women and men. The aim of this study was to characterize and investigate the differences in terms of anxiety, depression, illness perception, and quality of life between female and male OSAS patients from a total of 111 patients (33 women and 78 men) who were recently diagnosed with OSAS in an outpatient clinic of a University Hospital in Portugal. They underwent a standardized protocol that included evaluation to assess of psychological morbidity (anxiety and depression - Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), illness representations (Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire), and quality of life (Sleep Apnea Quality of Life Index). The most significant differences between female and male OSAS patients result of apnea/hypopnea index (AHI), after controlling for body mass index (p?相似文献   

Ruminations and Flow: Why Do People with a More Harmonious Passion Experience Higher Well-Being?

Research shows that harmonious and obsessive passion are positively and negatively linked to well-being respectively (e.g., Vallerand et al. in J Personal 75:505?C534, 2007; Psychol Sport Exerc 9:373?C392, 2008). The present study investigated the psychological mechanisms underlying the different impact of the two types of passion on well-being. A theoretical model involving passion, ruminations, flow experiences, and well-being was tested. Results showed that the more people have a harmonious passion, the more they tend to experience flow in their favorite activity, which in turn predicts higher well-being. Obsessive passion did not seem to be systematically linked to flow in the favorite activity. In contrast, the more people have an obsessive passion, the more they tend to ruminate about their passionate activity while engaging in another activity, which did not seem to be systematically the case for people with a harmonious passion. These ruminations are negatively related to flow experiences in the other activity, which are positively associated with well-being. Flow and ruminations thus seem to contribute to the understanding of the link between passion and well-being.