Some properties of auditory memory for rapid formant transitions

In the three experiments reported here, subjects indicate whether two sequentially presented syllables, differing in the place of articulation of an initial stop consonant, are phonernically the same or not. The first experiment finds faster |ldsame” responses to acoustically identical pairs than to pairs that are phonemically identical but acoustically distinct. provided that the second syllable is presented within 400 msec of the first. This is interpreted as indicating the persistence of a memory which preserves auditory information about within-category distinctions. The third experiment shows that this advantage remains when a tone is interposed between the two syllables, but is removed when a brief vowel is similarly interposed. The second experiment presents the second syllable of each pair dichotically with a noise burst, and shows that the size of the right-ear advantage for this reaction time task is reduced when the result of comparisons based on this auditory memory is compatible with the required phonemic decision, but that the right-ear advantage is increased when auditory comparisons would contradict the phonemic relationship.     

The use of prosody in highlighting alterations in repairs from unrestricted speech

A speaker has several ways in which he or she may highlight the fact that an error or imprecision of speech has been made and subsequently altered. The three principal ones are by signalling through the structure of the speech that surrounds the error (the repair-syntax), by the use of prosody, and through the semantic content. The role of prosody in the correction process is investigated in the current studies. Analysis of the prosody of a number of errors and their alterations drawn from unrestricted speech are reported. The analysis shows that pauses occur at the moment of interruption and that an increase in stress occurs at the start of the alteration. Pauses could indicate the moment of interruption, and stress could highlight what has been altered. Two sets of perceptual experiments were carried out to assess whether these cues are salient for listeners who hear constructions containing an error and its alteration. Two paradigms were employed in each set of experiments: (1) direct judgement about the comprehensibility of sentences containing errors and alterations, and (2) repeating a message that had an error and alteration without the error. The effects of stress and pauses on (Experiments 1A and 1B) or pauses around (Experiment 2A and 2B) the alterations were assessed. In the first set of experiments it was shown that pauses and stress help listeners process repairs. When a word is spoken in error, the speaker may repeat a section of speech immediately preceding the alteration and/or a section immediately following that word. Inclusion of these repeated sections allows assessment of whether pauses signal where the interruption occurred. The second experiment shows that the placing of the pause before the retrace, rather than at other locations, indicates to listeners where the repair starts.     

Wittgenstein's New Way of Talking to Himself

A lack of consensus persists as to whom exactly the dialogues of Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations are between: Wittgenstein and an interlocutor? Or perhaps a variety of interlocutors, none of whom can be identified with Wittgenstein himself? I argue here that this lack of consensus is possibly due to an ambiguity in the ordinary concept of “talking to oneself,” and that a new concept of “talking to oneself” appropriate to Wittgenstein's dialogues is needed to properly understand them. Wittgenstein is talking to himself—but he is doing so in the way we talk to other people.     

Openness relates to COVID-19 vaccination rates across 48 United States but politics trump personality

Does geographic variation in personality across the United States relate to COVID-19 vaccination rates? To answer this question, we combined multiple state-level datasets: (a) Big Five personality averages (i.e., extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness; Rentfrow et al., 2008), (b) COVID-19 full-vaccination rates (CDC, 2021a), (c) health-relevant demographic covariates (population density, per capita gross domestic product, and racial/ethnic data; Webster et al., 2021), and (d) political and religiosity data. Analyses showed openness as the strongest correlate of full-vaccination rates (r = 0.51). Controlling for other traits, demographic covariates, and spatial dependence, openness remained significantly related to full-vaccination rates (r_p = 0.55). Adding political and religiosity data to this model diminished openness effects for full-vaccination rates to non-significance (r_p = 0.26); however, extraversion emerged as a significant correlate of full-vaccination rates (r_p = 0.37). Although politics are paramount, we suspect that states with higher average openness scores are more conducive to novel thinking and behavior—dispositions that may be crucial in motivating people to take newly-developed vaccines based on new technologies to confront a novel coronavirus.     

Envy,entitlement, and cutting the line: Dark personality predicted selfishness during the U.S. COVID-19 vaccine rollout

Dark Triad personality traits (narcissism, psychopathy, and Machivellianism) predict increased selfish thinking and behavior. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, they have been related to behaviors such as greater hoarding and decreased COVID-preventative behaviors. Here we examined whether the Dark Triad might predict selfish beliefs and behavior surrounding COVID-19 vaccinations during the 2021 U.S. vaccine rollout—a time when availability was scarce and people were prioritized based on factors like preexisting medical conditions or line of work. In a sample of 499 people, we found that the constellation of Dark Triad traits predicted skipping one's priority in line to get the COVID-19 vaccine earlier among the vaccinated. Among the unvaccinated it predicted greater envy, entitlement, perceptions of unfairness, and willingness to skip the line. Taken together, these findings suggest that those high in the Dark Triad do not simply care less about their health and safety, instead there may be circumstances in which dark traits predict preventative, albeit selfish, behavior.     

Overgeneral autobiographical memory in depressed adolescents with, versus without, a reported history of trauma

Autobiographical memory retrieval is fundamental to the developing self-concept in adolescence, to emotion regulation, and to social problem solving and has been shown to be compromised in adolescents diagnosed with depression (R. J. Park, I. M. Goodyer, & J. D. Teasdale, 2002). The authors of the present study assessed autobiographical memory overgenerality in a sample of depressed adolescent participants with, versus without, a reported history of trauma and never-depressed control participants by using an emotion word-cueing paradigm. The authors' analyses showed for the first time that adolescents with major depression and with no reported history of trauma exhibited an overgeneral memory bias. They also revealed that depressed adolescents who reported a history of trauma retrieved fewer overgeneral memories than did depressed adolescents who reported no history of trauma. Among depressed adolescents who reported a history of trauma, more severe posttraumatic stress symptoms were associated with less overgenerality. Possible accounts of these findings are suggested.     

Perceived dysfunction of male-typed and female-typed DSM-IV personality disorder criteria

To determine whether female-typed personality disorders are associated with a different pattern of dysfunction than male-typed disorders, lay judges (N = 216) estimated the amount of social impairment, occupational impairment, and personal distress related to symptoms of personality disorders. Results for both the subset of six disorders originally rated by clinician judges in the research of Funtowicz and Widiger (1999) and for a larger set of nine disorders revealed a pattern originally reported by Funtowicz and Widiger where female-typed disorders were associated with relatively higher ratings of personal distress, whereas male-typed disorders were associated with relatively higher ratings of social (and sometimes occupational) impairment. Findings are discussed with respect to the emphasis of different forms of dysfunction for male- and female-typed disorders, lay versus clinician judgments, and directions for future research.     

The Effects of Charismatic Leadership on Followers' Self-Concept Accessibility

Shamir, House, and Arthur (1993) suggested that the effects of charismatic leadership on followers' motivation are mediated by the increased salience of collective identities in followers' self-concepts. This study empirically examines the effects of leadership messages on followers' self-concept accessibilities. Charismatic and integrative (combined charismatic and individualized consideration) leadership increased the accessibility of followers' collective self-concepts. Individualized consideration increased the accessibility of followers' private self-concepts. These results support the propositions of the self-concept-based theory of charismatic leadership. Charismatic and integrative leadership messages from a leader resulted in higher follower collective self-concept accessibilities than did routinized messages. This finding underscores the importance of a charismatic leader, even when charismatic messages have become routinized.     

“Speaking More than Words”: Classifying Men with Social Anxiety Disorder via Vocal Acoustic Analyses of Diagnostic Interviews

The relationship between vocal pitch and social anxiety has been examined with encouraging results across a growing number of studies, highlighting increased fundamental frequency (F0) as a potential disorder-specific physiological marker of social anxiety. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between mean F0 emitted during diagnostic interviews and social anxiety disorder (SAD) symptoms. Patients who qualified for a diagnosis of SAD (n?=?26) and a subsample of demographically-matched healthy controls (HCs; n?=?12) were administered clinical diagnostic interviews. We examined mean F0 emitted during select segments of the diagnostic interviews utilizing specialized vocal analysis equipment. Men (but not women) who qualified for a diagnosis of SAD emitted greater overall mean F0 in comparison to HCs throughout the course of the diagnostic interviews, and mean F0 emitted during the introductory segment of the diagnostic interviews was positively related to SAD symptoms for men (but not women). Furthermore, a previously-established threshold of mean F0 which demonstrated excellent differentiation between men with SAD and controls was successfully replicated in the present design, with regard to F0 emitted during the introductory segment of the interviews. These results provide strong additional support for increased F0 as a physiological indicator and behavioral marker of SAD in samples of men. Implications for the assessment and treatment of SAD are discussed.     

Parent–child warmth as a potential mediator of childhood exposure to intimate partner violence and positive adulthood functioning

Background and Objectives: Links between childhood exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) and adult functioning are clear, but less research has examined the potential underpinnings of this association, especially the long-term effects of the parent–child relationship on adult well-being. We hypothesized that (i) childhood exposure to IPV would be negatively related to parent–child warmth and positively related to symptoms of psychopathology during adulthood and (ii) the relationship between IPV exposure and positive outcomes in adulthood (i.e., high life satisfaction and low psychopathology) would be mediated by parent–child warmth. Design: Participants included 703 Swedish adults (20–24). Methods: Participants responded to a self-report survey assessing violence exposure, parental warmth in childhood, and current mental health and well-being. Using multivariate regression and path analysis, models of the relationships between IPV exposure, parent–child warmth, symptoms of psychopathology during adulthood, and life satisfaction were examined. Mediation models were considered exploratory. Results: IPV exposure was related to lower levels of parent–child warmth, higher levels of psychopathology symptoms, and lower life satisfaction. The relationship between IPV exposure and positive outcomes in adulthood was mediated by parent–child warmth. Conclusions: Warm parent–child interactions may play a key role in long-term positive functioning for those exposed to IPV during childhood.