Taking a long look at action and time perception

Everyone has probably experienced chronostasis, an illusion of time that can cause a clock's second hand to appear to stand still during an eye movement. Though the illusion was initially thought to reflect a mechanism for preserving perceptual continuity during eye movements, an alternative hypothesis has been advanced that overestimation of time might be a general effect of any action. Contrary to both of these hypotheses, the experiments reported here suggest that distortions of time perception related to an eye movement are not distinct from temporal distortions for other kinds of responses. Moreover, voluntary action is neither necessary nor sufficient for overestimation effects. These results lead to a new interpretation of chronostasis based on the role of attention and memory in time estimation.     

Individual differences in ERP measures of executive function in early childhood: Relation to low-risk preterm birth and parent-reported behavior

Although behavioral studies have demonstrated that executive function (EF) develops rapidly during early childhood, few studies have investigated neural systems supporting EF during the preschool years. These systems are sensitive to variations in children’s early life experiences, including preterm birth. The current study collected behavioral and event related potential (ERP) data during an EF task (directional Stroop) in a sample of 150 full-term and low-risk preterm children aged 4-years. Children’s IQ and processing speed (WPPSI-III), and parent report of EF (BRIEF-P), were also measured. Forty-nine children born full-term and 43 low-risk preterm children provided useable ERP data. Similar to prior studies with adults and older children, preschool-aged children showed modulation of ERP components (N2, P3) by cognitive conflict. Effects of trial type were also present for early attentional components (N1 and P2). Exploratory analyses demonstrated that ERP measures of EF were correlated with individual differences in cognitive and behavioral functioning in both full-term and low-risk preterm populations. Future research investigating the neural correlates of early measures of EF in low-risk preterm children and other at-risk groups is warranted to better understand how trajectories of EF development are altered in the first years of life.     

Anxiety sensitivity, conscious awareness and selective attentional biases in children

The current study investigated whether physical anxiety sensitivity (AS) is associated with selective attentional biases to affective stimuli in children. The dot-probe paradigm was used to examine the deployment of attention towards words pertaining to anxiety symptomatology, socially threatening words, and positive words, in samples of 8-10-year-old children. Word pairs were presented under both masked and unmasked conditions. Irrespective of masking, children high in physical AS displayed an attentional vigilance for emotional words relative to neutral words, whereas those low in physical AS displayed a relative avoidance of such material. The results of this study are interesting as they not only suggest the presence of automatic AS-related biases in childhood, but that this is a general emotionality bias rather than one related to specific anxiety-related stimuli.     

The time course of attentional and oculomotor capture reveals a common cause

Eye movements are often misdirected toward a distractor when it appears abruptly, an effect known as oculomotor capture. Fundamental differences between eye movements and attention have led to questions about the relationship of oculomotor capture to the more general effect of sudden onsets on performance, known as attentional capture. This study explores that issue by examining the time course of eye movements and manual localization responses to targets in the presence of sudden-onset distractors. The results demonstrate that for both response types, the proportion of trials on which responses are erroneously directed to sudden onsets reflects the quality of information about the visual display at a given point in time. Oculomotor capture appears to be a specific instance of a more general attentional capture effect. Differences and similarities between the two types of capture can be explained by the critical idea that the quality of information about a visual display changes over time and that different response systems tend to access this information at different moments in time.     

The Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale (AMAS): construction,validity, and reliability

Psychometric properties of mathematics anxiety measures have not adequately been studied. Using a large sample size (N = 1,239), the authors developed an abbreviated math anxiety measure, examined its psychometric properties, and assessed the generalizability of the model across samples. Exploratory factor analysis yielded a nine-item measure and strong internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and good convergent/divergent validity was demonstrated with an independent sample. When administered to a replication sample, indexes suggested an excellent model fit. TheAbbreviated Math Anxiety Scale (AMAS) may represent a more parsimonious and valid approach to assess mathematics anxiety.     

Anxiety sensitivity: the role of conscious awareness and selective attentional bias to physical threat

Selective attentional biases were examined amongst individuals varying in levels of physical anxiety sensitivity. The dot-probe paradigm was used to examine attention towards anxiety symptomatology, social threat and positive words. Stimuli were presented above (unmasked) and below (masked) the level of conscious awareness. High physical anxiety sensitivity was associated with attentional vigilance for anxiety symptomatology words in both unmasked and masked conditions. For positive words, however, those high in anxiety sensitivity were found to avoid such stimuli when they were masked, whereas they exhibited a relative vigilance when unmasked. If the differences between awareness conditions are reliable, then the impact of the automatic vigilance for threat might be modified by conscious attempts to direct attention towards other types of stimuli.     

The relationship of character structure to persuasive communication in advertising

The persuasive effect of character structure--defined as a person's organized set of drives, dispositions, and satisfactions with which they approach the world--was assessed in the context of printed advertising. Subjects were exposed to one of two levels of argument strength (strong versus weak) and one of two levels of message spokesperson (celebrity versus noncelebrity) in a printed-advertising task. Subjects classified as Other-directed, individuals who possess a strong need to get along with others, exhibited greater attitudinal responsiveness to the test advertisement as measured on a composite attitude scale than did those classified as Inner-directed, needing to get ahead, or succeed. Other-directed subjects' attitude scores were more responsive to the message source than were the comparable scores of Inner-directed subjects. Results regarding argument strength were not significant but suggest that Other-directed attitudes are influenced by a combination of textual arguments and social cues.     

Time Doesn’t Change Everything: The Longitudinal Course of Distress Tolerance and its Relationship with Externalizing and Internalizing Symptoms During Early Adolescence

Although distress tolerance is an emerging construct of empirical interest, we know little about its temporal change, developmental trajectory, and prospective relationships with maladaptive behaviors. The current study examined the developmental trajectory (mean- and individual-level change, and rank-order stability) of distress tolerance in an adolescent sample of boys and girls (N?=?277) followed over a four-year period. Next we examined if distress tolerance influenced change in Externalizing (EXT) and Internalizing (INT) symptoms, and if EXT and INT symptoms in turn influenced change in distress tolerance. Finally, we examined if any of these trends differed by gender. Results indicated that distress tolerance is temporally stable, with little mean- or individual-level change. Latent growth models reported that level of distress tolerance is cross-sectionally associated with both EXT and INT symptoms, yet longitudinally, only associated with EXT symptoms. These results suggest that distress tolerance should be a focus of research on etiology and intervention.     

Are You Kynd? Conformity and Deviance Within the Jamband Subculture

I use measures of interpersonal involvement specific to differential association theory to explain variation within the jamband subculture. Specifically, I examine the relationship between the differential association modalities (frequency, intensity, priority, and duration) and the affective meanings (evaluation, potency, and activity) associated with six behaviors that are relevant to that subculture. I expect the modalities to be related positively to the evaluation and potency of four prosocial (what I term “kynd”) behaviors (to barter, to follow a band, to share, to trade music) and negatively to the evaluation and potency of two “unkynd” behaviors (to talk down, to threaten). Using data from self-administered surveys (n = 379), I find that frequency and intensity predict variation in the affective meaning of kynd and unkynd behaviors. However, priority and duration generally do not predict variation in the affective meaning of kynd and unkynd behaviors.     

Individual differences in consumer value for mass customized products

Mass customized products, compared with mass marketed alternatives, offer advantages for optimizing performance outcomes, improving aesthetic appeal, and matching products' symbolic meanings with consumers' expressive desires. Despite having identified these value drivers for mass customized products, extant research has not connected those value drivers to individual differences among consumers. As a result, researchers' and practitioners' abilities to predict consumer value for mass customized products remain limited. This study advances and tests a model of individual differences associated with the perceived value of a customized product and mediated by involvement and perceived risk. A field survey administered to a sample of 240 participants provided data to test the model. Path analysis using structural equations modeling suggests that consumer value for mass customized products differs according to individual differences in need for uniqueness, need for optimization, and centrality of visual product aesthetics. Results also suggest that product category involvement and perceived risk are informative theoretical perspectives from which to study consumer value for mass customized products. The findings hold implications for how firms should approach the design of mass customization toolkits and how they should structure marketing communications promoting mass customized products. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.