Don’t wait to incubate: Immediate versus delayed incubation in divergent thinking

Previous evidence for the effectiveness of immediate incubation in divergent creative tasks has been weak, because earlier studies exhibited a range of methodological problems. This issue is theoretically important, as a demonstration of the effects of immediate incubation would strengthen the case for the involvement of unconscious work in incubation effects. For the present experiment, we used a creative divergent-thinking task (alternative uses) in which separate experimental groups had incubation periods that were either delayed or immediate and that consisted of either spatial or verbal tasks. Control groups were tested without incubation periods, and we carried out checks for intermittent conscious work on the target task during the incubation periods. The results showed significant incubation effects that were stronger for immediate than for delayed incubation. Performance was not different between the verbal and spatial incubation conditions, and we found no evidence for intermittent conscious working during the incubation periods. These results support a role for unconscious work in creative divergent thinking, particularly in the case of immediate incubation.     

Response suppression contributes to recency in serial recall

Serial recall is often assumed to involve response suppression: the removal or inhibition of items already recalled so that they are not recalled again. Evidence for response suppression includes repetition inhibition and the separation of erroneous repetitions. Some theorists have suggested that response suppression, by eliminating competing responses, also contributes to recency in forward serial recall. We present experiments in which performance on the final item was examined as a function of whether or not the preceding retrievals entailed suppression of potential response competitors. In line with the predictions of response suppression, recency was found to be reduced when the earlier recall errors consisted of intrusion errors (which leave list items unsuppressed) rather than transposition errors (which involve suppression).     

When do counterstereotypic ingroup members inspire versus deflate? The effect of successful professional women on young women's leadership self-concept

Three experiments tested whether and when exposure to counterstereotypic ingroup members enhances women's implicit leadership self-concept. Participants read about professional women leaders framed as similar to versus different from most women (Experiment 1) or having the same versus different collegiate background as participants (Experiment 3). Experiment 2 manipulated similarity by giving false feedback about participants' similarity to women leaders. In all cases, seeing women leaders reduced implicit self-stereotyping relative to controls but only when they were portrayed as similar to one's ingroup (Experiment 1) and oneself (Experiments 2-3). Leaders portrayed as dissimilar either had no effect on self-beliefs (Experiment 1 and 3) or increased implicit self-stereotyping (Experiment 2). Dissimilar leaders also deflated participants' career goals and explicit leadership beliefs (Experiment 3). Finally, implicit self-beliefs became less stereotypic regardless of whether women believed the similarity feedback, but explicit self-beliefs changed only when they believed the feedback to be true (Experiment 2).     

Prediction of foot clearance parameters as a precursor to forecasting the risk of tripping and falling

Tripping and falling is a serious health problem for older citizens due to the high medical costs incurred and the high mortality rates precipitated mostly by hip fractures that do not heal well. Current falls prevention technology encompasses a broad range of interventions; both passive (e.g., safer environments, hip protectors) and active (e.g., sensor-based fall detectors) which attempt to reduce the effects of tripping and falling. However the majority of these interventions minimizes the impact of falls and do not directly reduce the risk of falling. This paper investigates the prediction of gait parameters related to foot-to-ground clearance height during the leg swing phase which have been physically associated with tripping and falling risk in the elderly. The objective is to predict parameters of foot trajectory several walking cycles in advance so that anticipated low foot clearance could be addressed early with more volitional countermeasures, e.g., slowing down or stopping. In this primer study, foot kinematics was recorded with a highly accurate motion capture system for 10 healthy adults (25-32 years) and 11 older adults (65-82 years) with a history of falls who each performed treadmill walking for at least 10 min. Vertical foot displacement during the swing phase has three characteristic inflection points and we used these peak values and their normalized time as the target prediction values. These target variables were paired with features extracted from the corresponding foot acceleration signal (obtained through double differentiation). A generalized regression neural network (GRNN) was used to independently predict the gait variables over a prediction horizon (number of gait cycles ahead) of 1-10 gait cycles. It was found that the GRNN attained 0.32-1.10 cm prediction errors in the peak variables and 2-8% errors in the prediction of normalized peak times, with slightly better accuracies in the healthy group compared to elderly fallers. Prediction accuracy decreased linearly (best fit) at a slow rate with increasing prediction horizon ranging from 0.03 to 0.11 cm per step for peak displacement variables and 0.34 × 10(-3) - 1.81 × 10(-3)% per step for normalized peak time variables. Further time series analysis of the target gait variable revealed high autocorrelations in the faller group indicating the presence of cyclic patterns in elderly walking strategies compared to almost random walking patterns in the healthy group. The results are promising because the technique can be extended to portable sensor-based devices which measure foot accelerations to predict the onset of risky foot clearance, thus leading to a more effective falls prevention technology.     

125 years of perceptual-motor skill research

This article celebrates the contribution that the American Journal of Psychology (AJP) has made to the area of perceptual-motor skill over its 125-year history. We highlight the articles published in AJP and trace the technical and theoretical developments that stem from this groundbreaking work. Included in our overview are AJP articles on the excitability of the motor system, motor learning, adaptation to visual rearrangement, the ecological approach to perception and action, and the measurement of human handedness. We conclude by identifying a number of areas associated with perceptual-motor skill where AJP continues to make an important contribution.     

Gaze behaviour during space perception and spatial decision making

A series of four experiments investigating gaze behavior and decision making in the context of wayfinding is reported. Participants were presented with screenshots of choice points taken in large virtual environments. Each screenshot depicted alternative path options. In Experiment 1, participants had to decide between them to find an object hidden in the environment. In Experiment 2, participants were first informed about which path option to take as if following a guided route. Subsequently, they were presented with the same images in random order and had to indicate which path option they chose during initial exposure. In Experiment 1, we demonstrate (1) that participants have a tendency to choose the path option that featured the longer line of sight, and (2) a robust gaze bias towards the eventually chosen path option. In Experiment 2, systematic differences in gaze behavior towards the alternative path options between encoding and decoding were observed. Based on data from Experiments 1 and 2 and two control experiments ensuring that fixation patterns were specific to the spatial tasks, we develop a tentative model of gaze behavior during wayfinding decision making suggesting that particular attention was paid to image areas depicting changes in the local geometry of the environments such as corners, openings, and occlusions. Together, the results suggest that gaze during a wayfinding tasks is directed toward, and can be predicted by, a subset of environmental features and that gaze bias effects are a general phenomenon of visual decision making.     

Perfectionistic self-presentation, socially prescribed perfectionism, and suicide in youth: a test of the perfectionism social disconnection model

The role of interpersonal components of perfectionism in suicide outcomes among youth was assessed and the Perfectionism Social Disconnection Model (PSDM) was tested by determining whether the links between socially prescribed perfectionism (SPP) and perfectionistic self-presentation (PSP) and suicide outcomes are mediated by experiences of social disconnection, as indicated by social hopelessness and being bullied. PSP, trait perfectionism, suicide outcomes, and experiences of being bullied and social hopelessness were measured in 152 psychiatric outpatient children and adolescents. Correlational tests confirmed that PSP and SPP were associated with suicide outcomes and these interpersonal perfectionism components were associated significantly with bullying and social hopelessness. Support was also obtained for the PSDM. The relationship between the PSP facets, particularly nondisplay of imperfections, and suicide outcomes were mediated by being bullied. Additionally, the relationship between all interpersonal components of perfectionism and suicide risk was mediated by social hopelessness. Theoretical and clinical implications of interpersonal components of perfectionism and social disconnection in suicide outcomes for youth are discussed.     

Childhood Trauma, Adult Sexual Assault, and Adult Gender Expression among Lesbian and Bisexual Women

Several studies have demonstrated that lesbian and bisexual women are more likely than heterosexual women to report childhood abuse and adult sexual assault. It is unknown, however, which sexual minority women are most likely to experience such abuse. We recruited adult sexual minority women living in the US through electronic fliers sent to listservs and website groups inviting them to complete an online survey (N?=?1,243). We examined differences in both childhood abuse and adult sexual assault by women’s current gender identity (i.e., butch, femme, androgynous, or other) and a continuous measure of gender expression (from butch/masculine to femme/feminine), adjusting for sexual orientation identity, age, education, and income. Results indicated that a more butch/masculine current self-assessment of gender expression, but not gender identity, was associated with more overall reported childhood trauma. Although one aspect of gender expression, a more butch/masculine gender role, was associated with adult sexual assault, feminine appearance and a femme gender identity also significantly predicted adult sexual assault. These findings highlight the significance of gender identity and expression in identifying women at greater risk for various abuse experiences.     

Health Care Behaviours and Beliefs in Hasidic Jewish Populations: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Cultural issues impact on health care, including individuals’ health care behaviours and beliefs. Hasidic Jews, with their strict religious observance, emphasis on kabbalah, cultural insularity and spiritual leader, their Rebbe, comprise a distinct cultural group. The reviewed studies reveal that Hasidic Jews may seek spiritual healing and incorporate religion in their explanatory models of illness; illness attracts stigma; psychiatric patients’ symptomatology may have religious content; social and cultural factors may challenge health care delivery. The extant research has implications for clinical practice. However, many studies exhibited methodological shortcomings with authors providing incomplete analyses of the extent to which findings are authentically Hasidic. High-quality research is required to better inform the provision of culturally competent care to Hasidic patients.