Variations in watch keeping performance as a function of the rate and duration of visual signals

This study was designed to assess the relative effects on watch keeping performance of five signal durations (0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, and 8.0sec) combined factorially with five signal rates (6, 12, 24, 48, and 96 sig/h). A visual display consisting of a red and green light mounted on a vertical vector was used; red-onset and green-offset were critical signals. The probability of correct detections increased monotonically with increases in signal duration; a stable rate of nearly 100% detection was approached at signal durations of 4.0 and 8.0 sec, independently of signal rates. The likelihood of detection was enhanced by increases in signal rates only at the 0.5-sec duration with the green-offset critical signal. Response time to correct detections increased with time on watch, independently of signal rates and durations.     

A study of male and female soldiers' beliefs about the “appropriateness” of various jobs for women in the army

The purpose of this paper is to document the often discussed (e.g., Goldman, 1973) and recently initiated expansion of women's role in the U.S. Army and to present evidence regarding one aspect of soldiers' probable reaction to this expansion — viz., the extent to which soldiers believe certain military jobs are appropriate for women and, in particular, the extent to which these beliefs are related to respondent sex, rank, and expectation of leaving the Army before retirement.     

Predicting Deviant Behavior by Neutralization: Myths and Findings

ABSTRACT

Neutralization theory states that deviant behavior is determined by the use of accounts rather than by an individual's acceptance of a social norm. A critical review of neutralization theory shows that (a) neutralization is only a weak predictor of norm-contradictive behavior, (b) high norm-acceptance seems to amplify the neutralization-behavior effect but might not be a prerequisite, and (c) in contrast to Minor's hardening process assumption, prior norm violation should increase impact of neutralization on behavior rather than decrease it. Future directions of neutralization research are suggested, based on a situational analysis of the neutralization process.     

The effects of dialogue-based task allocation on system performance in a computer-aided air traffic control task

The present study investigated dialogue-based human-computer task allocation. Five levels of allocation mode, four command strategies and a control condition, were examined in a high-task-load situation using a Latin square design. Five male participants acted as controllers in a simplified representation of an air traffic control system, sharing their task with a computer controller. Performance measures were metered on-line, and subjective ratings were recorded between trials. There were significant differences among the groups in the percentage of planes landed by the human-computer system, the total number of commands executed, and the number of allocation commands used. Other variables suggested for further study include comparisons of input mode, dialogue-initiation style, and degraded performance levels of the computer controller.     

A Necessity for MAP Kinase Activation in Mammalian Spatial Learning

Although the biochemical mechanisms underlying learning and memory have not yet been fully elucidated, mounting evidence suggests that activation of protein kinases and phosphorylation of their downstream effectors plays a major role. Recent findings in our laboratory have shown a requirement for the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade in hippocampal synaptic plasticity. Therefore, we used an inhibitor of MAPK activation, SL327, to test the role of the MAPK cascade in hippocampus-dependent learning in mice. SL327, which crosses the blood-brain barrier, was administered intraperitoneally at several concentrations to animals prior to cue and contextual fear conditioning. Administration of SL327 completely blocked contextual fear conditioning and significantly attenuated cue learning when measured 24 hr after training. To determine whether MAPK activation is required for spatial learning, we administered SL327 to mice prior to training in the Morris water maze. Animals treated with SL327 exhibited significant attenuation of water maze learning; they took significantly longer to find a hidden platform compared with vehicle-treated controls and also failed to use a selective search strategy during subsequent probe trials in which the platform was removed. These impairments cannot be attributed to nonspecific effects of the drug during the training phase; no deficit was seen in the visible platform task, and injection of SL327 following training produced no effect on the performance of these mice in the hidden platform task. These findings indicate that the MAPK cascade is required for spatial and contextual learning in mice.     

Executive functions and the down-regulation and up-regulation of emotion

This study examined the relationship between individual differences in executive functions (EF; assessed by measures of working memory, Stroop, trail making, and verbal fluency) and ability to down-regulate and up-regulate responses to emotionally evocative film clips. To ensure a wide range of EF, 48 participants with diverse neurodegenerative disorders and 21 older neurologically normal ageing participants were included. Participants were exposed to three different movie clips that were designed to elicit a mix of disgust and amusement. While watching the films they were either instructed to watch, down-regulate, and up-regulate their visible emotional responses. Heart rate and facial behaviours were monitored throughout. Emotion regulatory ability was operationalised as changes in heart rate and facial behaviour in the down- and up-regulation conditions, controlling for responses in the watch condition. Results indicated that higher verbal fluency scores were related to greater ability to regulate emotion in both the down-regulation and up-regulation conditions. This finding remained significant even after controlling for age and general cognitive functioning. No relationships were found between emotion regulation and the other EF measures. We believe these results derive from differences among EF measures, with verbal-fluency performance best capturing the complex sequence of controlled planning, activation, and monitoring required for successful emotion regulation. These findings contribute to our understanding of emotion-cognition interaction, suggesting a link between emotion-regulatory abilities and individual differences in complex executive functions.     

Inferences about the authentic self: when do actions say more than mental states?

Three studies involving 478 undergraduates examined the perceived importance of observable actions versus mental states in revealing the "true self"-the authentic and fundamental nature of a target person. Results suggest that when people have only limited information about a target, they believe that an action is more diagnostic of the individual's true self than the accompanying mental state. When participants have knowledge concerning chronic dispositional tendencies of the target, however, they judge that a chronic mental state is more diagnostic of the true self than a chronic action tendency. Considered together, the findings suggest that people conceptualize the true self as a relatively private entity but nevertheless believe that an action of a little-known person may be particularly informative about that individual. Perceived diagnosticity of the true self was partially mediated by inferences concerning the relative stability of actions versus states but not by inferences of volition.     

Recognizing the centrality of gender identity and stereotype knowledge in gender development and moving toward theoretical integration: reply to Bandura and Bussey (2004)

Most of the critique in the A. Bandura and K. Bussey (see record 2004-18097-001) commentary is a misunderstanding or misrepresentation of the points made by C. L. Martin, D. N. Ruble, and J. Szkrybalo in their 2002 Psychological Bulletin article (see record 2002-18663-003). First, Martin et al. never intended to present a comprehensive theory; instead, it was a review of 2 different cognitive approaches to gender development. Second, there is no time line test that has been failed; instead, gender cognitions may occur earlier than initially believed. Third, Bandura and Bussey dismissed central gender cognitions-gender identity and gender stereotype knowledge-despite considerable evidence in their support. Fourth, Bandura and Bussey never addressed the gaps and ambiguities inherent in their theory that Martin et al. questioned in their earlier article. Finally, Bandura and Bussey's misunderstandings of cognitive theorists' views on socialization agents, sociocultural influences, agency, and motivation created theoretical rifts where none exist.     

Effects of self-evaluation on the P300 event-related potential

The effects of self evaluation on the P300 event-related potential (ERP) were explored with 56 participants (16 men, 40 women; M age = 23.4 yr., SD = 1.2) across three conditions. The conditions included (1) a standard ERP auditory oddball discrimination between a random target (15% occurrence) and standard stimuli (85% occurrence), (2) the oddball task followed by the additional cognitive task of maintaining a mental count of the target tones, and (3) the oddball task followed by the additional cognitive task of self-evaluating whether they felt surprised by the current occurrence of the target tone. The added cognitive requirements for Conditions 2 and 3 required the subjects to maintain a cognitive readiness for the secondary stimulus-related task during their sensory discrimination response for the standard oddball task. During the self-evaluation condition, the P300 amplitude was significantly larger across all recording locations than the regular oddball condition and the cognitive count condition.