Getting to know you: from view-dependent to view-invariant repetition priming for unfamiliar faces

Recent research suggests that repetition priming (RP) for unfamiliar faces is highly view dependent and is eliminated when the viewpoint of target faces changes between study and test. The current research examined whether increased familiarity with novel faces from a single viewpoint at study would support RP from an alternative viewpoint at test. Participants passively viewed novel face images from a single viewpoint at study (i.e., either front or three-quarters), with half of the images seen once and half seen on five occasions. During a sex classification task at test, participants were faster to respond to face images seen from the same view as that at study than they were to previously unseen distractor faces for both single exposure faces and faces seen on five occasions (i.e., standard RP). When, however, face images at test were shown from a different viewpoint from that at study, RP only occurred for faces viewed on five occasions.     

Assessing pupil concerns about transition to secondary school

Background. The primary–secondary transition can negatively affect pupils' emotional and psychological adjustment. However, methods for assessing concerns regarding secondary school are limited. A reliable and valid measure of transition‐related concerns would be useful both in evaluating and shaping the content and delivery of universal and targeted transition support programmes. Aims. To assess the validity of a quantitative self‐report measure of school concerns as an assessment tool during the primary–secondary school transition. Sample. A UK sample of 147 Year 6 primary school pupils and 263 Year 7 secondary school pupils. Method. Self‐reports of school concerns and school liking as well as self‐reported and peer assessments on a range of psychological adjustment measures were collected. Results. The School Concerns Questionnaire (SCQ) showed good reliability at primary and secondary school. Secondary concerns reduced significantly post‐transition. Three factors emerged from an exploratory factor analysis of the SCQ and the pattern of results was replicated for post‐transition concerns. Pupils with higher school concerns at secondary school reported reduced liking of school and reduced trust and respect for teachers. The SCQ was associated with generalized anxiety and female gender both pre‐and post‐transition. Peer problems and depression were associated with pre‐ and post‐transition concerns, respectively. Conclusions. The SCQ is a simple to complete, reliable, and valid tool for assessing primary–secondary transition concerns. It could serve a valuable role in the evaluation and development of universal and targeted school‐based initiatives that aim to promote positive secondary transition.     

The Cost of Caring? Emotional Labour,Wellbeing and the Clergy

Although members of the clergy experience working conditions that have been associated with “emotional labour”, little is known about the impact of this aspect of the job role on wellbeing. This study examined relationships between emotional labour and psychological distress and intrinsic job satisfaction in 188 UK-based clergy. Also investigated were the potential moderating effects of social support and training in counselling skills. Findings revealed significant associations between emotional labour and both psychological distress and job satisfaction. Evidence was found that counselling training and a wider social network may protect clergy from the negative impact of emotional labour, but social network size may also be a risk factor for wellbeing. Further research should examine the impact of emotional labour on clergy, and the factors that might help them manage this more effectively.     

The making of careers, the making of a discipline: Luck and chance in migrant careers in geriatric medicine

The geriatric specialty, unpopular among most UK born and trained medical graduates, provided an opportunity for career development and achievement for those doctors whose training had been non-standard for a variety of reasons. Migrant doctors who have played a substantive role in the UK National Health Service since its inception made an important contribution to the building of that specialty, at the same time building their own careers. This paper draws on oral history interviews with the UK trained pioneers of geriatric medicine and with South Asian overseas trained doctors who entered the geriatric specialty in the middle decades of the twentieth century. It critically reviews the literature of skilled migration, specifically in terms of ‘brain drain’ and ‘push–pull’, focusing on historical and socio-cognitive communities and emphasizes the contribution of individual narratives of career development in the lives of migrants. Focusing on the use of luck and chance in accounts it suggests that although such terms are indicative of chance upon opportunity, they also suggest a role for agency in career development in contexts which were not auspicious. The outcome, for those interviewed, was regarded positively in career terms, but also had a significant part to play in the development of the career of the specialty of geriatric medicine and in the lives of the marginalized people for whom they developed a service.     

Personality,age, and fluid intelligence

A total of 383 participants (aged 19 to 66 years) completed the Raven's Progressive Matrices, the Myers‐Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), the Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation‐Behavior (FIRO‐B), and the California Psychological Inventory‐434 (CPI‐434). Results showed that IQ was positively correlated with perceiving (MBTI), control (FIRO‐B), intellectual efficiency (CPI‐434), achievement via independence (CPI‐434), and negatively correlated with sensing (MBTI), internality (CPI‐434) and norm‐favouring (CPI‐434), supporting the majority of the hypotheses. Participants' age was correlated with many measures, particularly intelligence and accounted for a third of the variance in IQ scores. Limitations are considered.     

Positive overgeneralization and Behavioral Approach System (BAS) sensitivity interact to predict prospective increases in hypomanic symptoms: a behavioral high-risk design

Recent work has identified Behavioral Approach System (BAS) sensitivity as a risk factor for the first onset and recurrence of mood episodes in bipolar disorder, but little work has evaluated risk factors for the prospective development of hypomanic symptoms in individuals at risk for, but without a history of, bipolar disorder. The present study used a prospective behavioral high-risk design to evaluate the impact of positive overgeneralization, a cognitive correlate of risk for hypomania, on hypomanic symptoms in individuals with high vs. moderate BAS sensitivity, but without a history of mood elevation. Hierarchical linear regressions indicated that upward positive overgeneralization and BAS sensitivity interacted to predict increased levels of hypomanic symptoms at follow-up, controlling for initial hypomanic symptoms. The pattern of this interaction was such that positive overgeneralization predicted higher levels of hypomanic symptoms among high-BAS, but not moderate-BAS, individuals. Thus, the self-reported tendency to experience grandiose increases in confidence following success may confer additional risk for mood elevation among individuals already at risk for developing bipolar disorder. Potential implications for prevention and treatment are discussed.     

Evaluative conditioning may occur with and without contingency awareness

Evaluative conditioning (EC) is considered to play an important role in the attitude formation. One of the ongoing debates in this field concerns the impact of contingency awareness (i.e., awareness of the contingent relationship between conditioned and unconditioned stimulus, CS–US) on the EC occurrence. Despite the claims that EC does not require awareness of CS–US contingencies, the recent studies have claimed just the opposite. However, a number of methodological issues can be raised to undermine those claims. In two experiments, we tried to eliminate potential faults and sought to learn whether EC occurs with or without contingency awareness of either US identity or US valence. We report significant EC effects both with and without contingency awareness. These results provide support for the claim that the EC effects might be produced by independent mechanisms linked to awareness. We also argue that those mechanisms are differently captured by available measures of EC.     

Perceived Racism and Encouragement Among African American Adults

The effects of spirituality, racial socialization, and ethnic pride on encouragement in the face of racism among African American adults (N= 201) were investigated. The negative relationship between perceived racism and encouragement disappeared when spirituality, ethnic pride, and a racial socialization history were entered into the regression equation. Se investigaron los efectos de la espiritualidad, la socialización racial y el orgullo étnico sobre el ánimo para enfrentarse al racismo entre adultos Afroamericanos (N = 201). La relación negativa entre el racismo percibido y el ánimo desapareció cuando se introdujeron en la ecuación regresiva la espiritualidad, el orgullo étnico y una historia de socialización racial.     

False Memory Is in the Details: Photographic Details Differentially Predict Memory Formation

Although false memory formation is a well‐documented phenomenon, the strength and rates of false memory formation vary across studies. Research indicates that the types of details provided in suggestions differentially influence memory formation, with some details enhancing and others impeding memories. This study explored the facilitation of false memories using doctored photographs, by manipulating the presence of salient familiar and unfamiliar details within photographs. Over three interviews, 82 participants viewed four photographs allegedly provided by parents. One was a doctored photograph depicting a hot‐air balloon ride, in which the presence of salient self‐relevant and unfamiliar details was varied. Participants rated the strength of their memory and associated memory characteristics for the events. Including self‐relevant details without unfamiliar details resulted in the highest memory ratings and greater increases in memory characteristic ratings. Memories were weakest when both details were provided. The theoretical implications of the findings are discussed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.