A comparison of forward blocking and reduced overshadowing in human causal learning

In this study, we directly compared forward blocking with reduced overshadowing in a human causal learning study using an A+, B- (first learning stage), AX+, BY+, KL+ (second learning stage) design. The results showed that reduced overshadowing was significantly stronger than forward blocking. These results are problematic for at least some associative learning models but were predicted on the basis of higher order reasoning accounts of cue competition in human causal learning.     

Is World Poverty a Moral Problem for the Wealthy?

This article discusses the question of poverty and wealth in light of several theses put forward by Larry Temkin. The claim that there is a sort of cosmic injustice involved when great disparities of ability or of wealth are found. He is concerned especially about disparities that are undeserved. It is agreed that this is unfortunate, but not agreed that they are unjust in a sense that supports the imposition of rectification on anyone else. Nor is poverty typically undeserved in the only really relevant sense: the poor simply do not produce enough to earn them high incomes, and probably correct incomes they derive are indeed what such efforts are worth in the circumstances. That persons with very low incomes may merit our sympathy is accepted, but sympathy leads to charity, rather than to the involuntary exploitation of the better off. The essay concludes with further observations about the relevance of free markets, and points to the iniquities of the restrictions on commerce that are the most potent source of perpetuated poverty today.     

Magnifying effects on visual word recognition: a dynamic display for internet-based experiments

A visual presentation procedure is introduced that presents target words followed by a dynamic mask until recognition. This form of stimulus degradation prolongs the word recognition process. Differences in word recognition latencies—which are usually quite small—are magnified, and thus can be more easily observed. The results of two experiments on the Internet with a total of 141 participants establish the task’s ability to magnify differences in word recognition latencies stemming from word familiarity (Experiment 1) and word prototypicality (Experiment 2). Both factors interact with stimulus degradation, but at different presentation intervals; these results are discussed as evidence for comparing models of word recognition. The new procedure can be used for assessing individual differences, such as implicit motives and self-focused attention. Further applications are discussed.     

MICROANALYSIS OF CONCRETE REASONING II.

Groups of five-year-old subjects were given some items involving elementary combinations of addition and subtraction of one unit. Predictions from the following two hypotheses were tested and confirmed. (1) Difficulty is directly related to the number of transformations involved. (2) Difficulty is directly related to the number of non-redundant elements involved. Some variations in the exact phrasing of the questions were shown to have no appreciable effects.     

PATTERNS OF EXPERIENCE AND THE ACQUISITION OF CONSERVATION OF LENGTH

The effects of five procedures on the acquisition of conservation of length were studied. A Müller-Lyer illusion was used to induce apparent changes in length in the test- and practice-situations. Two procedures involved practice on addition-subtraction, one a progressive increase in the strength of the Müller-Lyer illusion, and one the anticipation of the outcome of displacements of the objects. A fifth procedure was a composite of the other four. The results showed some acquisitions in all groups, with highest frequency in the anticipation group, and lowest in the increase-in-illusion group.     

Multiple,speeded assessments: Initial evidence on subgroup differences and applicant perceptions

Recently, shorter assessments have emerged as potential alternatives for more resourceful traditional selection approaches. Multiple, speeded assessments (MSAs) represent such an alternative. In MSAs, candidates participate in a large number of short (a maximum of 5 min), behavioral simulations in which they face a variety of job situations. Initial psychometric evidence on the validity of MSAs is promising. Yet, validity represents only one piece of evidence. It is not known whether MSAs disadvantage specific subgroups, which may inhibit diversity. There is also no information on candidates' experience of going through an MSA, which is pivotal for the attractiveness of the organization's selection process. Therefore, this study investigates an MSA in terms of subgroup differences (gender and nationality) and applicant perceptions. Master of Business Administration (MBA) students (N = 96) proceeded through 18 short role-plays sampling junior management situations. Score differences between men and women were negligible. Yet, there were large score differences between national citizens and foreigners. There was no evidence for predictive bias for nationality, though. Of the applicant reaction measures, interpersonal treatment perceptions contributed most to overall fairness perceptions. These findings add to the evidence in support of MSAs, while also stressing to remain vigilant for potential score differences among subgroups.     

Evidence for a developmental shift in the motivation underlying helping in early childhood

We investigated children's positive emotions as an indicator of their underlying prosocial motivation. In Study 1, 2-, and 5-year-old children (N = 64) could either help an individual or watch as another person provided help. Following the helping event and using depth sensor imaging, we measured children's positive emotions through changes in postural elevation. For 2-year-olds, helping the individual and watching another person help was equally rewarding; 5-year-olds showed greater postural elevation after actively helping. In Study 2, 5-year-olds’ (N = 59) positive emotions following helping were greater when an audience was watching. Together, these results suggest that 2-year-old children have an intrinsic concern that individuals be helped whereas 5-year-old children have an additional, strategic motivation to improve their reputation by helping.     

Increasingly cautious sampling,not the black colouration of unpalatable prey,is used by fish in avoidance learning

Animal Cognition - The efficiency of aposematic colouration of prey is based on the innate bias or facilitation of avoidance learning of predators. In many toxic bufonids, larvae are uniformly...     

Phonological representation and speech understanding with cochlear implants in deafened adults

In the present study cognitive performance in 15 deafened adult cochlear implant candidates was examined and related to level of speech understanding after 12 months of experience with the implant. The implant group performed on par with normal hearing controls in all cognitive tasks used in the study with one exception: Performance was significantly lower in cognitive tasks where use of a phonological representation of sound is a key task-demand. Observations of the implanted individuals’ level of speech understanding indicate that only those individuals who, pre-operatively, were in possession of phonological representations comparable to that of normal hearing could follow and understand a speaker that was out of sight. The results are discussed with respect to (a) deterioration in the phonological representation of sounds as a function of absence of external auditory stimulation, and (b) the role of cognitive factors in predicting success in speech understanding with the implant.