Visual memory performance for color depends on spatiotemporal context

Performance on visual short-term memory for features has been known to depend on stimulus complexity, spatial layout, and feature context. However, with few exceptions, memory capacity has been measured for abruptly appearing, single-instance displays. In everyday life, objects often have a spatiotemporal history as they or the observer move around. In three experiments, we investigated the effect of spatiotemporal history on explicit memory for color. Observers saw a memory display emerge from behind a wall, after which it disappeared again. The test display then emerged from either the same side as the memory display or the opposite side. In the first two experiments, memory improved for intermediate set sizes when the test display emerged in the same way as the memory display. A third experiment then showed that the benefit was tied to the original motion trajectory and not to the display object per se. The results indicate that memory for color is embedded in a richer episodic context that includes the spatiotemporal history of the display.     

How Comparable are the Gallup World Poll Life Satisfaction Data?

This paper explores the degree to which the new data on life satisfaction from the Gallup World Poll are comparable to those used in previous empirical studies, predominantly those from the World Values Survey. Differences might arise due to the timing and anchoring of questions in the Gallup data. The paper identifies a set of large outlier countries, and estimates suggest that the two datasets tend to generate rather different results, questioning the degree to which they measure the same concept.     

Abrupt onsets capture attention independent of top-down control settings II: Additivity is no evidence for filtering

Is attentional capture contingent on top-down control settings or involuntarily driven by salient stimuli? Supporting the stimulus-driven attentional capture view, Schreij, Owens, and Theeuwes (2008) found that an onset distractor caused a response delay, in spite of participants’ having adopted an attentional set for a color feature. However, Folk, Remington, and Wu (2009) claimed that this delay reflects separate, nonspatial filtering costs instead, because the onset effects were additive with color-based capture effects, and capture should have caused underadditivity. The present Experiment 1 shows that contingent capture caused by additional color cues is also additive, just like the onset effect. This makes additivity a dubious diagnostic with regard to spatial capture. Experiment 2 demonstrates that it is possible to obtain underadditivity when attention-demanding distractors have sufficient capturing power. Experiment 3 shows that the abrupt onset interference turns into a benefit when the locations of the onset and the target coincide. Together, these results argue in favor of stimulus-driven attentional capture by abrupt onsets.     

Irrelevant onsets cause inhibition of return regardless of attentional set

It is disputed whether onsets capture spatial attention either in a purely stimulus-driven fashion or only when they are contingent on one's attentional set. According to the latter assumption, interference from irrelevant onsets may result from nonspatial filtering costs. In the present study, we used inhibition of return (IOR) as a marker for spatial attention. IOR occurs mainly for locations that attention has visited before. Participants searched for a red object among white objects. An attentional set for redness was demonstrated by a spatial validity effect of red cues on response times. However, a stronger validity effect was found for irrelevant white onsets, which slowed responses when the onset contained a distractor, but speeded them when the onset contained a target. Most importantly, this onset benefit for targets turned into a deficit at longer SOAs, indicating IOR. We conclude that onset distractors capture spatial attention regardless of the observer's attentional set.     

Beyond individual justice facets: How (Mis)alignment between justice climates affects customer satisfaction through frontline customer extra-role service behavior

ABSTRACT

This study examines the combined effect of organizational justice facets on store-level customer extra-role service behavior, and subsequently on customer satisfaction. Hypotheses were tested on a sample of 1,951 employees in 121 business units from four countries, and on 55,731 customers of an international retailer. The results of polynomial regression and response surface analysis revealed that unit customer service performance and customer satisfaction are higher when justice facets are aligned at high levels, compared to when they are aligned at low levels. Moreover, we found evidence that the consequences of misalignment between justice facets are asymmetrical. Unit outcomes were higher when distributive justice (DJ) and procedural justice (PJ) climates were both higher than the interpersonal justice climate, compared to when the inverse was true. Conversely, unit outcomes increased when informational justice (INF-J) climate was higher than DJ and PJ climates, compared to when DJ and PJ climates were higher than INF-J climates. The observed effects of misalignment between justice facets were non-linear, as complex curvilinear relationships were moderator-dependent. Customer satisfaction was higher in stores with higher team customer service behavior, and team service behavior was found to be a significant conduit by which justice facets (mis)alignment influence customer satisfaction.     

Entrepreneurial orientation: A psychological model of success among southern African small business owners

This study examines the relationship of the psychological construct Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) with business success in a sample of N?=?248 southern African business owners. We reintroduce the individual in EO research and show the importance of the person of the entrepreneur for business performance: Hierarchical regression analyses revealed significant relationships between EO components (personal initiative, achievement-, and risk-taking orientation) as well as overall EO and business performance. In addition, confirmatory factor analysis supported a single factor construct of EO that consists of learning, achievement, and autonomy orientation, competitive aggressiveness, innovative and risk-taking orientation, and of personal initiative.

In this study, we develop an individual-based psychological concept of Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) and investigate the relationship between business owners' EO and business performance in southern Africa. EO has primarily been discussed from a firm-level perspective (e.g., ; ). It characterized businesses in their early years and was found to be important for firm success. In contrast, we apply a psychological approach with EO as an interindividual difference variable. Thus, our focus is the business owner and the general relationship between individual EO and performance of southern African small business owners.     

Positivity effect in healthy aging in observational but not active feedback-learning

ABSTRACT

The present study investigated the impact of healthy aging on the bias to learn from positive or negative performance feedback in observational and active feedback learning. In active learning, a previous study had already shown a negative learning bias in healthy seniors older than 75 years, while no bias was found for younger seniors. However, healthy aging is accompanied by a ‘positivity effect’, a tendency to primarily attend to stimuli with positive valence. Based on recent findings of dissociable neural mechanisms in active and observational feedback learning, the positivity effect was hypothesized to influence older participants' observational feedback learning in particular. In two separate experiments, groups of young (mean age 27) and older participants (mean age 60 years) completed an observational or active learning task designed to differentially assess positive and negative learning. Older but not younger observational learners showed a significant bias to learn better from positive than negative feedback. In accordance with previous findings, no bias was found for active learning. This pattern of results is discussed in terms of differences in the neural underpinnings of active and observational learning from performance feedback.     

Calibration processes in a serial talent test

ObjectivesIn the beginning of serial evaluations, raters assess performances without knowledge about following performances. We assume that judges must observe a certain number of performances to calibrate their judgment scale, leading to systematic biases (avoidance of extreme judgments) in the beginning of judgment series. The present experiment investigates how many performance observations are necessary to calibrate internal judgment scales, leading to consistent judgments.DesignA between-group design was used.MethodVideos of a talent-test were presented in different orders. Every performance was presented in early, medium, and late positions. Thirty participants rated these series and we assessed the effect of performance position on performance evaluations.ResultsWe found calibration biases within the first nine performances; after that, evaluations remained stable and consistent.ConclusionCalibration processes are completed after a specific number of judgments; this implies interesting interventions for consistent judgments independent of the position in a series.