Valuable orientations capture attention

Visual attention has long been known to be drawn to stimuli that are physically salient or congruent with task-specific goals. Several recent studies have shown that attention is also captured by stimuli that are neither salient nor task relevant, but that are rendered in a colour that has previously been associated with reward. We investigated whether another feature dimension—orientation—can be associated with reward via learning and thereby elicit value-driven attentional capture. In a training phase, participants received a monetary reward for identifying the colour of Gabor patches exhibiting one of two target orientations. A subsequent test phase in which no reward was delivered required participants to search for Gabor patches exhibiting one of two spatial frequencies (orientation was now irrelevant to the task). Previously rewarded orientations robustly captured attention. We conclude that reward learning can imbue features other than colour—in this case, specific orientations—with persistent value.     

Ethical Dilemmas of Confidentiality With Adolescent Clients: Case Studies From Psychologists

Navigating limits to confidentiality with adolescent clients can be ethically and professionally challenging. This study follows on from a previous quantitative survey of psychologists about confidentiality dilemmas with adolescents. The current study used qualitative methods to explore such dilemmas in greater depth. Twenty Australian psychologists were interviewed and asked to describe an ethically challenging past case. Cases were then used to facilitate discussion about the decision-making process and outcomes. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using interpretive content and thematic analysis. Three key findings are discussed. First, it is of little use to perceive confidentiality dilemmas as binary choices (breach/don’t breach) because psychologists described 5 distinct options. These can be conceptualized on a spectrum of varying degrees of client autonomy, ranging from “no disclosure” (highest client autonomy) to “disclosure without the client’s knowledge or consent” (lowest client autonomy). Second, confidentiality dilemmas often involve balancing multiple and conflicting risks regarding both immediate and future harm. Third, a range of strategies are employed by psychologists to minimize potential harms when disclosing information. These are primarily aimed at maintaining the therapeutic relationship and empowering clients. These findings and the case studies described provide a valuable resource for teaching and professional development.     

The Language of Creativity: Evidence from Humans and Large Language Models

Recent developments in computerized scoring via semantic distance have provided automated assessments of verbal creativity. Here, we extend past work, applying computational linguistic approaches to characterize salient features of creative text. We hypothesize that, in addition to semantic diversity, the degree to which a story includes perceptual details, thus transporting the reader to another time and place, would be predictive of creativity. Additionally, we explore the use of generative language models to supplement human data collection and examine the extent to which machine-generated stories can mimic human creativity. We collect 600 short stories from human participants and GPT-3, subsequently randomized and assessed on their creative quality. Results indicate that the presence of perceptual details, in conjunction with semantic diversity, is highly predictive of creativity. These results were replicated in an independent sample of stories (n = 120) generated by GPT-4. We do not observe a significant difference between human and AI-generated stories in terms of creativity ratings, and we also observe positive correlations between human and AI assessments of creativity. Implications and future directions are discussed.     

A comparison of parental attention and preferred items during tummy time: A consecutive controlled case series evaluation

Tummy time is an activity for infants to practice their early motor skills. Although most pediatricians recommend tummy time, parents may avoid the procedures due to indices of infant discomfort during this period. This consecutive controlled case series evaluation compared the effects of preferred items selected from a preference assessment with those of parental attention on head evaluation and negative vocalizations during tummy time. In addition, we directly evaluated parental choice by inviting parents to select which tummy time treatment they wanted to implement. We found that both preferred items and parental attention effectively increased head elevation and decreased negative vocalizations during tummy time; however, parents tended to prefer the treatment that included the preferred item.     

Predictors of the intent to adopt preventive innovations: a meta‐analysis

Because the literature suggests significant differences in the adoption rate of traditional innovations and those innovations classified as preventive, we examine the effectiveness of the constructs of the theory of planned behavior and social cognitive theory in predicting the adoption of preventive innovations. The current study synthesized 89 correlations from 63 studies (n = 31,158). The corrected mean correlation estimates were .51 for attitude, .52 for subjective norms, and .43 for planned behavioral control. The corrected mean correlation estimate for self‐efficacy was .47. By understanding the predictor variables of the intent to adopt a preventive innovation, proponents of specific preventive innovations may be better equipped to select strategies that could accelerate the diffusion process.     

Retention of a Time Pressure Heuristic in a Target Identification Task

S. Rice and D. Keller (2009) previously reported that participants who were put under time pressure tended to comply more with a diagnostic aid than participants who were not put under time pressure. The present study investigates whether or not learning the benefits of this time pressure heuristic carries over to a second session. Seventy-two New Mexico State University students performed a simulated target-detection task, assisted by a 95% reliable diagnostic aid. Participants were exposed to the following conditions, which were composed of two sessions: speeded–speeded, unspeeded–speeded, speeded–unspeeded, or unspeeded–unspeeded. Results showed that participants who completed the speeded condition for Session 1 performed just as well in the 2nd session regardless of whether or not they were put under time pressure. Participants found that complying with the aid was beneficial to overall performance and continued to comply in a 2nd session even when allowed more time to overrule the aid.