Contextual cues aid recovery from interruption: the role of associative activation

A series of experiments introduced interruptions to the execution phase of simple Tower of London problems and found that the opportunity for preparation before the break in task reduced the time cost at resumption. Retrieval of the suspended goal was facilitated when participants were given the opportunity to encode retrieval cues during an "interruption lag" (the brief time before engaging in the interrupting task) but was impeded when these visual cues were subsequently altered following interruption. The results provide useful support for the goal-activation model (E. M. Altmann & G. J. Trafton, 2002), which assumes that context--at the points of both goal suspension and goal retrieval--is critical to efficient interruption recovery.     

Background Sound Impairs Interruption Recovery in Dynamic Task Situations: Procedural Conflict?

Interruptions impair performance even on simple, static, laboratory‐based tasks, but little research has looked at their impact in more complex and realistic settings that involve dynamically evolving circumstances and other environmental stressors. Using a radar operator task with or without background sound, participants were unexpectedly interrupted to complete another task, which masked the radar screen as the scenario continually evolved. Task efficiency was impaired by interruption: decision‐making time was slower immediately following interruption, this cost being greater and persevered longer in the presence of auditory distraction. Resumption time was also increased with distraction. Eye fixation durations were shorter following interruption, reflecting participants' attempts to rapidly re‐encode and update their model of the situation. These results suggest that those processes involved in task resumption are also susceptible to background sound, and indicate a need for theories of task interruption to better specify the role of attention in interruption recovery. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pasifika in the news: the portrayal of Pacific peoples in the New Zealand press

Pacific Islanders have faced discrimination in New Zealand particularly since the 1960s when communities began to be transplanted from their home nations to Aotearoa as cheap immigrant labour. Subsequently, the New Zealand vernacular has contained references to Pacific Islanders as ‘overstayers’, ‘coconuts’, ‘bungas’ and ‘fresh off the boat’ [FOB]. However, the legacy of a domineering relationship between the Palagi 1 majority group and Pacific minorities 2 that is captured by such derogatory terms is still evident in public forums such as the media. Using a quantitative content and qualitative narrative analysis, this paper documents portrayals of Pacific Islanders in New Zealand print media reports (n = 65) published over a 3 month period. Findings reveal that Pacific people are predominantly portrayed as unmotivated, unhealthy and criminal others who are overly dependent on Palagi support. We consider this offered pacific identity formation with that implied for Palagi, which is active, independent, competent and caring. Issues in coverage are discussed in relation to how Pacific Islanders are encouraged to see themselves, and the health and social consequences of dominant practices in press coverage. We offer some suggestions as to how more equitable representations of Pacific people could be fostered in news media. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Transformation and alignment in similarity

This paper contrasts two structural accounts of psychological similarity: structural alignment (SA) and Representational Distortion (RD). SA proposes that similarity is determined by how readily the structures of two objects can be brought into alignment; RD measures similarity by the complexity of the transformation that “distorts” one representation into the other. We assess RD by defining a simple coding scheme of psychological transformations for the experimental materials. In two experiments, this “concrete” version of RD provides compelling fits of the data and compares favourably with SA. Finally, stepping back from particular models, we argue that perceptual theory suggests that transformations and alignment processes should generally be viewed as complementary, in contrast to the current distinction in the literature.     

What Does it Mean to be a Man Today?: Bloke Culture and the Media

Psychologists have paid scant attention to the positive relationships and community contributions of working class men who are not in trouble, and have focused instead on men who are ‘in trouble.’ In addressing this oversight, we draw on insights from ethnographic observations, life narrative interviews, photographic techniques and media items, which have been compiled by 12 working class men from a shared community of practice in New Zealand. We illustrate how these men often appropriate aspects from contemporary media deliberations regarding what it means to be a man today in order to make sense of their own lives. The implications of participants’ emphasis on friendship, support, familial obligations, and community participation are discussed in relation to the place of working class men in society.     

Teaching and Learning Guide for: Towards an Emplaced,Relationally‐Focused and Action‐Orientated Social Psychology of Homelessness

This guide accompanies the following article: Hodgetts, D., Stolte, O., and Groot, S. (2014 ), Towards a Relationally and Action‐orientated Social Psychology of Homelessness . Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 8 : 156–164. doi: 10.1111/spc3.12096     

Scaling the Security Staircase

Building on the U.N. human security taxonomy of 1994, this article aims to explore the constructability of a reliable, valid, parsimonious, useful measure of human security that is relevant to contemporary environments and situations? A seminal 1994 U.N. report, Human Security in Theory and Practice, outlined seven types of human security (personal, health, food, community, economic, environmental, political). A quarter-century on, we added two more, cyber and national security, and tested if a single measure could capture all nine security concerns. A national sample of N = 1033 New Zealanders completed a brief online measure in which participants reported yes or no to experiencing each type of security and basic demographics. Guttman scaling placed these needs in an ascending order of difficulty. Analogous to a staircase, security may be scaled from personal up to political security (coefficient of reproducibility = .88), with three distinct but interrelated flights: (1) proximal (personal, health, food security); (2) social (cyber, community, economic, environmental); and (3) distal (national, political). We confirmed this nine-step, three-flight measure in our sample (Χ² = 81.72; df = 24; RMSEA = .048, 90%CI [.037, .06]; CFI = .976; TLI = .964; SRMR = .028). The measure showed configural, metric, scalar, and factorial invariances (across random-split subgroups). Ethnic groups and the precariously employed scored significantly differently, in coherent ways, on the security staircase scale.     

Clients with borderline personality disorder: Exploring their experiences of dialectical behaviour therapy

This study explores clients’ experiences of Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT). Five participants, all with a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder, were interviewed following a semi‐structured format about their experiences of an NHS regional DBT programme. The interviews were transcribed and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Three superordinate themes were identified consisting of a number of sub themes: joining a DBT Programme (external and internal factors); experience of DBT (specific and non specific factors); and evaluation of DBT (change, evaluation and role of the past and future). The study provides an insight into clients’ experiences of DBT. The results are discussed in relation to clinical practice and future research.     

Migrants straddling the “here” and “there”: Explorations of habitus and hybrid identities among Sri Lankan migrants in New Zealand

Migrant settlement is of particular interest to the field of psychology due to a notable increase in the movement of people over the past few decades. This article explores the ways in which Sri Lankan migrants in New Zealand establish a sense of continuity between the host nation and country of origin. The theoretical framework for this research is informed by elements of ethnographic and indigenous research. We provide a rich understanding of migrant experiences that foregrounds the agency and resilience of migrants, and acknowledges the complexities of the notion of identity and migrant settlement. We explore complex, fluid, and hybrid cultural identities as experienced by Sri Lankan migrants and their negotiations of space and place, material practices, and objects of significance, such as an educational institution, antique dinnerware, and furniture with colonial origins. The present research thereby, argues for the need to acknowledge both the historical and current contexts that shape migrants' sense of habitus and cultural identities.