The whole is indeed more than the sum of its parts: perceptual averaging in the absence of individual item representation

We tested Ariely's (2001) proposal that the visual system represents the overall statistical properties of sets of objects against alternative accounts of rapid averaging involving sub-sampling strategies. In four experiments, observers could rapidly extract the mean size of a set of circles presented in an RSVP sequence, but could not reliably identify individual members. Experiment 1 contrasted performance on a member identification task with performance on a mean judgment task, and showed that the tasks could be dissociated based on whether the test probe was presented before or after the sequence, suggesting that member identification and mean judgment are subserved by different mechanisms. In Experiment 2, we confirmed that when given a choice between a probe corresponding to the mean size of the set and a foil corresponding to the mean of the smallest and largest items only, the former is preferred to the latter, even when observers are explicitly instructed to average only the smallest and largest items. Experiment 3 showed that a test item corresponding to the mean size of the set could be reliably discriminated from a foil but the largest item in the set, differing by an equivalent amount, could not. In Experiment 4, observers rejected test items dissimilar to the mean size of the set in a member identification task, favoring test items that corresponded to the mean of the set over items that were actually shown. These findings suggest that mean representation is accomplished without explicitly encoding individual items.     

Visualizing the temporal dynamics of spatial information processing responsible for the Simon effect and its amplification by inhibition of return

Research has shown that the Simon effect is larger for targets suffering from inhibition of return (IOR). We used speed–accuracy trade-off (SAT) methodology to explore the temporal dynamics underlying this interaction. In Experiment 1, a new method for sorting the data was used to reveal a monotonic decay in the impact of task-irrelevant location information that is responsible for the Simon effect. In Experiment 2, we show that IOR delays both task-relevant identity and task-irrelevant location codes; a relatively longer delay for location than identity codes accounts for the effect of IOR on the Simon effect. When location information was made task-relevant in Experiment 3, IOR delayed the accumulation of this information by about the same amount as when location was irrelevant. The results suggest that IOR, therefore, has a greater effect on location than identity information.     

Schedule control, supervisor support and work engagement: A winning combination for workers in hourly jobs?

The changing natures of both work and the lives of the U.S. workforce have created an array of challenges for organizations attempting to foster work engagement. To accommodate the work and family needs of an increasingly diverse workforce, many firms are offering flexible work solutions to employees. However, the distribution of these types of organizational resources is unequal, with workers in lower-wage hourly jobs having the least access to any form of flexibility. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship of schedule control, as a form of flexible work practice, and work engagement among workers employed in hourly retail jobs. Authors tested a model whereby the relationship between schedule control and work engagement is mediated by schedule satisfaction and perceived supervisor support. A sample of 1343 full-time hourly retail workers was used to address the study's purpose. Hypothesized relationships were fully or partially supported. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Avatars and emotional engagement in asynchronous online communication

The notion that an avatar can elicit a sense of emotional involvement or connection on the part of a user in asynchronous online communication was explored through a pair of content analyses of a popular online question-and-answer bulletin board. In the first study, questions accompanied by an avatar not only received more answers than questions without an avatar, but the answers were more likely to be characterized by expressions of empathy. In the second study, a preference for answering questions accompanied by an avatar was found to be associated with interpersonal, altruistic motives for answering questions. Results are discussed in terms of presence and alternative explanations, as well as practical implications.     

College students' Facebook stalking of ex-partners

There are abundant anecdotes and warnings of inappropriate behaviors on social networking sites, particularly about Facebook. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether individuals obsessively monitor or harass their ex-partners on Facebook (related to general "Facebook stalking") and, if so, whether those individuals would also engage in cyber obsessional pursuit (COP) and obsessive relational pursuit (ORI), which are categories of cyberstalking and stalking. A total of 411 valid participants answered questions about the ways they communicated with their ex-romantic partners using Facebook, resulting in three factors: Covert Provocation, Public Harassment, and Venting. Each category of Facebook harassment was related to perpetration of COP and ORI. Additionally, participants who engaged in COP were almost six times more likely to also perpetrate ORI. If participants admitted to engaging in some types of stalking behaviors, they did so online, offline, and on Facebook. Implications for social networking site usage and stalking laws are discussed. There is a kernel of truth to the popular term "Facebook stalking."     

Biopsychosocial etiology of obsessions and compulsions: an integrated behavioral-genetic and cognitive-behavioral analysis

Accumulating evidence suggests that particular kinds of dysfunctional beliefs contribute to obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms. Three domains of beliefs have been identified: (a) perfectionism and intolerance of uncertainty, (b) overimportance of thoughts and the need to control thoughts, and (c) inflated responsibility and overestimation of threat. These beliefs and OC symptoms are both heritable. Although it is widely acknowledged that OC symptoms probably have a complex biopsychosocial etiology, to our knowledge there has been no previous attempt to integrate dysfunctional beliefs and genetic factors into a unified, empirically supported model. The present study was an initial step in that direction. A community sample of monozygotic and dizygotic twins (N = 307 pairs) completed measures of dysfunctional beliefs and OC symptoms. Structural equation modeling was used to compare 3 models: (a) the belief causation model, in which genetic and environmental factors influence beliefs and OC symptoms, and beliefs also influence symptoms; (b) the symptom causation model, which is the same as (a) except that symptoms cause beliefs; and (c) the belief coeffect model, in which beliefs and OC symptoms are the product of common genetic and environmental factors, and beliefs have no causal influence on symptoms. The belief causation model was the best fitting model. Beliefs accounted for a mean of 18% of phenotypic variance in OC symptoms. Genetic and environmental factors, respectively, accounted for an additional 36% and 47% of phenotypic variance. The results suggest that further biopsychosocial investigations may be fruitful for unraveling the etiology of obsessions and compulsions.     

The relationship of parental warm responsiveness and negativity to emerging behavior problems following traumatic brain injury in young children

Parenting behaviors play a critical role in the child's behavioral development, particularly for children with neurological deficits. This study examined the relationship of parental warm responsiveness and negativity to changes in behavior following traumatic brain injury (TBI) in young children relative to an age-matched cohort of children with orthopedic injuries (OI). It was hypothesized that responsive parenting would buffer the adverse effects of TBI on child behavior, whereas parental negativity would exacerbate these effects. Children, ages 3-7 years, hospitalized for TBI (n = 80) or OI (n = 113), were seen acutely and again 6 months later. Parent-child dyads were videotaped during free play. Parents completed behavior ratings (Child Behavior Checklist; T. M. Achenbach & L. A. Rescorla, 2001) at both visits, with baseline ratings reflecting preinjury behavior. Hypotheses were tested using multiple regression, with preinjury behavior ratings, race, income, child IQ, family functioning, and acute parental distress serving as covariates. Parental responsiveness and negativity had stronger associations with emerging externalizing behaviors and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms among children with severe TBI. Findings suggest that parenting quality may facilitate or impede behavioral recovery following early TBI. Interventions that increase positive parenting may partially ameliorate emerging behavior problems.     

A flipped spoon and chin prompt to increase mouth clean

We treated the liquid refusal of a 15-month-old girl using 2 antecedent manipulations: flipped spoon and chin prompt. Use of the chin prompt in the absence of the flipped spoon failed to produce increases in mouth clean (a product measure of swallowing). By contrast, modest increases in mouth clean resulted from the implementation of the flipped spoon alone. The greatest increases in mouth clean resulted from the combination of the 2 manipulations.     

The role of negative reinforcement in infant caregiving: an experimental simulation

We observed 11 undergraduates in an experiment designed to simulate infant caregiving. In negative reinforcement conditions experienced by all participants, a targeted caregiving response (e.g., rocking a baby doll) produced escape from, and avoidance of, a recorded infant cry. Nine participants' caregiving was shown to be controlled by this negative reinforcement contingency. Nine participants experienced an extinction condition that consisted of an inescapable cry, and the previously reinforced caregiving responses of 2 of these participants were resistant to extinction. For both of these participants, the previously reinforced response was eliminated when an alternative form of caregiving was reinforced. These results highlight the role of negative reinforcement in infant caregiving and suggest the need for additional research on the effects of crying on caregivers as well as the development of effective strategies for minimizing infant crying.