The self regulatory effect of attentional control in modulating the relationship between attentional biases toward threat and anxiety symptoms in children

The present study examined the associations between attentional biases to threat, attentional control and anxiety in a sample of children aged 9 to 14. It was hypothesised that the association between attentional biases toward threat and anxiety might be stronger when the ability to control attention is reduced. The study employed pictures of neutral, happy and angry facial expressions as they have greater ecological value compared to words. Children completed a dot-probe task measuring attentional biases toward such stimuli. They also completed the Spence child anxiety scale for anxiety symptoms and, for attentional control, the child version of the attention control scale measuring the ability to focus and shift attention. Results of a hierarchical regression analysis showed that attentional control significantly explained anxiety. Furthermore, the interaction between attentional control and attentional biases significantly explained anxiety level. These results indicate that attentional control moderates the relation between attentional biases toward threatening facial expressions and anxiety in children. Additionally, a discussion about a possible protective role of attentional control is provided.     

An Inkblot for the Implicit Assessment of Personality: The Semantic Misattribution Procedure

Misattributions people make about their own reaction to ambiguous stimuli can be used to measure personality self‐concepts implicitly. On the basis of a semantic misattribution priming paradigm [semantic misattribution procedure (SMP)], we assessed the implicit personality self‐concept related to three dimensions included in the Big‐Five model: conscientiousness, neuroticism, and extraversion. Across three studies (N1 = 98, N2 = 140, and N3 = 135), the SMP was robustly related, in the expected direction, to individual differences in self‐reported personality questionnaires and managed to predict both self‐reported and objectively measured behaviours. The main advantage of SMP over classical explicit measures of personality is its higher resistance to social desirability tendencies, although its psychometric properties are somewhat lower than those pertaining to explicit measures of personality. Finally, comparisons of our results with studies that used other implicit measures of personality self‐concept indicate that the SMP has higher criterion validity. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Quantum-like generalization of the Bayesian updating scheme for objective and subjective mental uncertainties

In this paper we develop a general quantum-like model of decision making. Here updating of probability is based on linear algebra, the von Neumann–Lüders projection postulate, Born’s rule, and the quantum representation of the state space of a composite system by the tensor product. This quantum-like model generalizes the classical Bayesian inference in a natural way. In our approach the latter appears as a special case corresponding to the absence of relative phases in the mental state. By taking into account a possibility of the existence of correlations which are encoded in relative phases we developed a more general scheme of decision making. We discuss natural situations inducing deviations from the classical Bayesian scheme in the process of decision making by cognitive systems: in situations that can be characterized as objective and subjective mental uncertainties. Further, we discuss the problem of base rate fallacy. In our formalism, these “irrational” (non-Bayesian) inferences are represented by quantum-like bias operations acting on the mental state.     

Are preventive and generative causal reasoning symmetrical? Extinction and competition

We tested whether preventive and generative reasoning processes are symmetrical by keeping the training and testing of preventive (inhibitory) and generative (excitatory) causal cues as similar as possible. In Experiment 1, we extinguished excitors and inhibitors in a blocking design, in which each extinguished cause was presented in compound with a novel cause, with the same outcome occurring following the compound and following the novel cause alone. With this novel extinction procedure, the inhibitory cues seemed more likely to lose their properties than the excitatory cues. In Experiment 2, we investigated blocking of excitatory and inhibitory causes and found similar blocking effects. Taken together, these results suggest that acquisition of excitation and inhibition is similar, but that inhibition is more liable to extinguish with our extinction procedure. In addition, we used a variable outcome, and this enabled us to test the predictions of an inferential reasoning account about what happens when the outcome level is at its minimum or maximum (De Houwer, Beckers, & Glautier, 2002). We discuss the predictions of this inferential account, Rescorla and Wagner's (1972) model, and a connectionist model-the auto-associator.     

Contracting,equal, and expanding learning schedules: The optimal distribution of learning sessions depends on retention interval

In laboratory and applied learning experiments, researchers have extensively investigated the optimal distribution of two learning sessions (i.e., initial learning and one relearning session) for the learning of verbatim materials. However, research has not yet provided a satisfying and conclusive answer to the optimal scheduling of three learning sessions (i.e., initial learning and two relearning sessions) across educationally relevant time intervals. Should the to-be-learned material be repeated at decreasing intervals (contracting schedule), constant intervals (equal schedule), or increasing intervals (expanding schedule) between learning sessions? Different theories and memory models (e.g., study-phase retrieval theory, contextual variability theory, ACT-R, and the Multiscale Context Model) make distinct predictions about the optimal learning schedule. We discuss the extant theories and derive clear predictions from each of them. To test these predictions empirically, we conducted an experiment in which participants studied and restudied paired associates with a contracting, equal, or expanding learning schedule. Memory performance was assessed immediately, 1 day, 7 days, or 35 days later with free- and cued-recall tests. Our results revealed that the optimal learning schedule is conditional on the length of the retention interval: A contracting learning schedule was beneficial for retention intervals up to 7 days, but both equal and expanding learning schedules were better for a long retention interval of 35 days. Our findings can be accommodated best by the contextual variability theory and indicate that revisions are needed to existing memory models. Our results are practically relevant, and their implications for real-world learning are discussed.     

Valence of self-cognitions: the positivity of individual self-statements

Based on D. Trafimow, H. C. Triandis, and S. Goto's (1991) research on the distinction between the private, collective, and relational selves, the present authors explored the valence of each self. The authors administered to participants either a private self-prime, a collective self-prime, or a relational self-prime and then asked them to write 20 self-statements. The authors coded the statements for valence (positive, neutral, or negative) and self-statement type (individual, collective, or relational). The results indicated that the valence of individual self-statements were most positive when the collective self or the relational self was primed, indicating the possibility that positive illusions were exaggerated most in the context of other people.     

On the fate of distractor stimuli in rapid serial visual presentation

Observers demonstrate an impaired ability to report the second of two targets in a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) stream if it appears within 500 ms of the first target--a phenomenon known as the attentional blink. This study investigated the fate of stimuli in dual-target RSVP streams that do not require report--the distractors. In five experiments, observers viewed dual-target RSVP streams where the items flanking Target 1 either had the same identity (repeats) or a different identity (non-repeats). Repeated distractors reduced the attentional blink, but only if two conditions were met (1) the items flanking Target 1 were featurally identical and (2) the distractors were drawn from a different alphanumeric category to the targets (e.g. digits vs. letters). We interpret this reduced blink magnitude in the repeat trials as evidence that in RSVP streams distractor items that appear in close temporal proximity to Target 1 are inhibited and we propose that this inhibition occurs both at the level of alphanumeric features and abstract identities.     

An index of specific behaviors in the moral domain

Studies on attribution in the moral domain often involve the use of specific behavior examples. To make valid comparisons across trait dimensions (such as honesty and friendliness), it is important to equate the intensities of the specific behaviors used. Pretesting specific behaviors can be a costly effort, but it is often necessary for research in social psychology. Our study provides a rich source of such pretested behaviors. Positive and negative examples of behaviors in the categories of honesty, loyalty, friendliness, charitableness, and cooperativeness were solicited from participants and then rated on the relevant trait dimension by an independent group. The result is data representing rankings, raw scores, andz-scores in an index of 500 behaviors across 10 trait categories that can be used by researchers to study moral and immoral behaviors. The full index of behaviors is available at www .psychonomic.org/archive/.     

Different working memory capacity in normal young adults for visual and tactile letter recognition task

Thirty-nine young adult participants performing the visual and tactile n-back working memory task were compared. In the visual task, letters were presented on a computer screen and in the tactile task, plastic letters embedded on a board were explored tactually. The amount of incorrect responses increased with increasing memory load in both tasks, but was significantly lower in the visual task. Subgrouping the participants with extreme performances into "skilled" and "poor" performers showed that the best performance was found among "skilled" visual performers, and the worst one among "poor" tactile performers. There was more interindividual variation among tactile than visual performance. We conclude that tactile working memory capacity, measured here by letter recognition and letter memory, is generally more limited and shows more variability than visual memory in normal sighted participants.     

From Gaming to Hating: Extreme-Right Ideological Indoctrination and Mobilization for Violence of Children on Online Gaming Platforms

As a consequence of numerous extreme-right terror attacks in which the perpetrators posted their manifestos and attack life streams on online platforms adjacent to the video gaming community, as well as radicalized within that environment to a significant degree (e.g., Christchurch, New Zealand; Halle, Germany), increasing scholarly and policymaker interest is focusing on far-right radicalization and recruitment within online video game environments. Yet little empirical insights exist about the specific engagement between right-wing extremists and their potential recruits on these platforms. This study presents findings from a qualitative exploration of German police-investigation files for two children who radicalized on gaming platforms to become involved in extreme-right criminal behavior, including the plotting of a terrorist attack. The study demonstrates the importance of online and offline factor interaction, especially regarding the role of familiar criminogenic factors, as well as the social–emotional bonding between potential recruits and extremist gamers created through shared gaming experiences that lead to high-intensity extremist radicalization aimed at offline behavioral changes. The study did not find evidence for strategic organizational far-right recruitment campaigns, but rather multidirectional social-networking processes which were also initiated by the potential recruits.