The motor side of emotions: investigating the relationship between hemispheres, motor reactions and emotional stimuli

The aim of the present study was to analyze if the left hemisphere preferentially controls flexion responses toward positive stimuli, while the right hemisphere is specialized toward extensor responses to negative pictures. To this end, right-handed subjects had to pull or push a joystick subsequent to seeing a positive or a negative stimulus in their left or right hemifield. Flexion responses were faster for positive stimuli, while negative stimuli were associated with faster extensions responses. Overall, performance was fastest when emotional stimuli were presented to the left visual hemifield. This right hemisphere superiority was especially clear for negative stimuli, while reaction times toward positive pictures showed no hemispheric difference. We did not find any interaction between hemifield and response type. Neither was there a triple interaction between valence, hemifield and response type. We suppose that response dichotomies in humans are not as tightly linked to a hemisphere- and valence-bound reaction type as previously assumed.     

“I” and the brain

Many philosophers as well as many biological psychologists think that recent experiments in neuropsychology have definitively discredited any notion of freedom of the will. I argue that the arguments mounted against the concept of freedom of the will in the name of natural causal determinism are valuable but not new, and that they leave intact a concept of freedom of the will that is compatible with causal determinism. After explaining this concept, I argue that it is interestingly related to our use of the first person pronoun “I.” I discuss three examples of our use of “I” in thought and language and submit a few questions I would like neuropsychologists to answer concerning the brain processes that might underlie those uses. I suggest answering these questions would support the compatibilist notion of freedom of the will I have offered in part 1.     

Unique sudden onsets capture attention even when observers are in feature-search mode

Two sources of attentional capture have been proposed: stimulus-driven (exogenous) and goal-oriented (endogenous). A resolution between these modes of capture has not been straightforward. Even such a clearly exogenous event as the sudden onset of a stimulus can be said to capture attention endogenously if observers operate in singleton-detection mode rather than feature-search mode. In four experiments we show that a unique sudden onset captures attention even when observers are in feature-search mode. The displays were rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) streams of differently coloured letters with the target letter defined by a specific colour. Distractors were four #s, one of the target colour, surrounding one of the non-target letters. Capture was substantially reduced when the onset of the distractor array was not unique because it was preceded by other sets of four grey # arrays in the RSVP stream. This provides unambiguous evidence that attention can be captured both exogenously and endogenously within a single task.     

Selective learning enabled by intention to learn in sequence learning

This study investigated whether a target sequence that people intend to learn is learned selectively when it is interleaved with another (non-target) sequence. Three experiments used a serial reaction time task in which different spatial and color stimuli occurred alternately. Each of the two interleaved sequences had structural regularity. Participants in an intentional learning group were instructed to learn the target (spatial) sequence whereas those in an incidental learning group were not. In Experiments 1 and 2 spatial and color sequences were correlated. Results showed that the intentional group learned the spatial sequence better than the incidental group and learned it independently of the color sequence, whereas the incidental group learned the two sequences as a combined sequence. In Experiment 3 the sequences were uncorrelated. Results showed that the intentional group was no longer superior in learning the spatial sequence. Findings indicate that the intention to learn a target sequence enables selective learning of it only when it is correlated with a non-target sequence.     

Gaze behaviour during space perception and spatial decision making

A series of four experiments investigating gaze behavior and decision making in the context of wayfinding is reported. Participants were presented with screenshots of choice points taken in large virtual environments. Each screenshot depicted alternative path options. In Experiment 1, participants had to decide between them to find an object hidden in the environment. In Experiment 2, participants were first informed about which path option to take as if following a guided route. Subsequently, they were presented with the same images in random order and had to indicate which path option they chose during initial exposure. In Experiment 1, we demonstrate (1) that participants have a tendency to choose the path option that featured the longer line of sight, and (2) a robust gaze bias towards the eventually chosen path option. In Experiment 2, systematic differences in gaze behavior towards the alternative path options between encoding and decoding were observed. Based on data from Experiments 1 and 2 and two control experiments ensuring that fixation patterns were specific to the spatial tasks, we develop a tentative model of gaze behavior during wayfinding decision making suggesting that particular attention was paid to image areas depicting changes in the local geometry of the environments such as corners, openings, and occlusions. Together, the results suggest that gaze during a wayfinding tasks is directed toward, and can be predicted by, a subset of environmental features and that gaze bias effects are a general phenomenon of visual decision making.     

Anxiety and perceptual-motor performance: toward an integrated model of concepts, mechanisms, and processes

Under anxiety, people sometimes perform poorly. This concerns cognitive performance (e.g., taking an important exam) as well as perceptual-motor performance (e.g., picking up a cup from a table). There is still much debate about how anxiety affects perceptual-motor performance. In the current paper we review the experimental literature on anxiety and perceptual-motor performance, thereby focusing on how anxiety affects the perception, selection, and realization of action possibilities. Based on this review we discuss the merits of two opposing theoretical explanations and build on existing frameworks of anxiety and cognitive performance to develop an integrated model that explains the various ways in which anxiety may specifically affect perceptual-motor performance. This model distinguishes between positive and negative effects of anxiety and, moving beyond previous approaches, recognizes three operational levels (i.e., attentional, interpretational, and behavioral) at which anxiety may affect different aspects of goal-directed action. Finally, predictions are formulated and directions for future research suggested.     

French Children’s Awareness of Gender Stereotypes About Mathematics and Reading: When Girls Improve Their Reputation in Math

Since 2000, surveys on academic achievement show gender inequalities in favor of girls in the school setting. The aim of the present study was to examine if gender stereotypes about academic abilities that are usually considered as fully demonstrated in the literature have to be updated. Three hundred ninety-eight French fifth graders from a medium-sized provincial town answered a questionnaire designed to examine, both with direct and indirect measures, if they hold different gender stereotypes concerning mathematics and reading depending on target’s age (children vs. adults). As expected, results showed that participants, regardless of their gender, were aware of a math-ability stereotype favorable to men when the stereotyped targets were adults. When the stereotyped targets were children and young adolescents, the math-ability stereotype was less clear. Participants believed that people think that girls succeed as well as boys in math. Concerning reading-ability, participants reported the “usual” stereotype favorable to females, regardless of the stereotyped target’s age (child or adult). Together these results suggest that academic gender stereotypes have to be reconsidered. The math-ability stereotype targeting children and favorable to both genders seems to show an improvement of the French girls’ reputation in mathematics. Moreover, the reputation of French boys in this domain seems to be poorer than reported in previous research.     

Attack efficacy in volleyball: elite male teams

The goal was to identify performance indicators predicting attack efficacy in volleyball's game phase denominated Complex II, i.e., the counter-attack. 28 games from the 2007 Men's World Cup were analyzed. Attack efficacy was predicted by three primary variables: Attack tempo, Attack type, and Number of blockers. Power attack and Attack tempo 1 increased the probability of an Attack point. The supremacy of Attack tempo 3 and the high frequency of Two blockers and Three blockers reflected the difficulty of efficient attack during Complex II. Despite unfavourable conditions, attackers managed to execute Power attacks in the majority of the situations, and score a high frequency of Attack points.     

A review of time-motion analysis and combat development in mixed martial arts matches at regional level tournaments

Mixed martial arts (MMA) have become a fast-growing worldwide expansion of martial arts competition, requiring high level of skill, physical conditioning, and strategy, and involving a synthesis of combat while standing or on the ground. This study quantified the effort-pause ratio (EP), and classified effort segments of stand-up or groundwork development to identify the number of actions performed per round in MMA matches. 52 MMA athletes participated in the study (M age = 24 yr., SD = 5; average experience in MMA = 5 yr., SD = 3). A one-way analysis of variance with repeated measurements was conducted to compare the type of action across the rounds. A chi-squared test was applied across the percentages to compare proportions of different events. Only one significant difference (p < .05) was observed among rounds: time in groundwork of low intensity was longer in the second compared to the third round. When the interval between rounds was not considered, the EP ratio (between high-intensity effort to low-intensity effort plus pauses) was 1:2 to 1:4. This ratio is between ratios typical for judo, wrestling, karate, and taekwondo and reflects the combination of ground and standup techniques. Most of the matches ended in the third round, involving high-intensity actions, predominantly executed during groundwork combat.     

Spirituality and Severity of Menopausal Symptoms in a Sample of Religious Women

Menopause represents an important life change, particularly for religious women whose identity is significantly related to family. Two competing hypotheses are examined: one, because religious women have their identity focused on family and child rearing, spirituality will be related to increased menopausal symptoms because menopause represents a loss of identity and purpose; and two, because spirituality can provide strength and comfort during difficult times, it will, therefore, be related to decreased menopausal symptoms. To test these competing hypotheses, questionnaires were administered to 218 women (average age 55, 35% premenopausal, 26% peri-menopausal, 39% postmenopausal) who were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Regression analyses indicated that higher levels of spiritual strength were related to decreased levels of reported menopausal symptoms. Spiritual strength was also related to increased benefit finding during menopause, decreased concern with body appearance, and increased use of adaptive coping strategies. We conclude that finding strength in spirituality may help religious women cope better with the life changes associated with menopause.