Large visuospatial sex difference in line judgment: possible role of attentional factors

This article describes a large sex difference on a new, group-administered visuospatial task, the Judgment of Line Angle and Position (JLAP) test, and investigates the role of attentional factors in the difference. On the JLAP, adapted from a neuropsychological task (Benton et al., 1983), participants evaluate spatial attributes of lines. Study 1: College males (N = 48) outperformed females (N = 80), resulting in a large effect for sex (d = 0.85). Errors were more common on oblique (vs horizontal or vertical) lines, especially for females. Study 2: Task attributes were manipulated (N = 33 males and 36 females) to study the role of attentional factors. Findings suggest that males are more likely than females to normally attend to and be aided by geometrical reference cues.     

Searching for stimulus-driven shifts of attention

Several types of dynamic cues (e.g., abrupt onsets, motion) draw attention in visual search tasks even when they are irrelevant. Although these stimuli appear to capture attention in a stimulus-driven fashion, typical visual search tasks might induce an intentional strategy to focus on dynamic events. Because observers can only begin their search when the search display suddenly appears, they might orient to any dynamic display change (Folk, Remington, & Johnston, 1992; Gibson & Kelsey, 1998). If so, the appearance of capture might result from task-induced biases rather than from the properties of the stimulus. In fact, such biases can even create the appearance of stimulus-driven capture by stimuli that typically do not capture attention (Gibson & Kelsey, 1998). The possibility of task-induced, topdown biases plagues the interpretation of all previous studies claiming stimulus-driven attention capture by dynamic stimuli. In two experiments, we attempt to eliminate potential task-induced biases by removing any need to monitor for display changes. In the first experiment, search displays did not change on most trials. In the second experiment, although new search displays appeared on each trial, we ensured that observers never saw the changes, by making them during large saccades. In both cases, dynamic events still received search priority, suggesting that some dynamic stimuli capture attention in a stimulus-driven fashion.     

Graphing calculators and students' conceptions of the derivative

This study compared the effect of using graphing calculators on college students' conceptual understanding of the derivative with the traditional teaching approach in Calculus I course. Students (49 men and 52 women) in four classes at a large public university participated. On a posttest, women who were taught calculus using the graphing calculator had significantly higher scores than those taught by the traditional method.     

The five-factor model and driving behavior: personality and involvement in vehicular accidents

Participants completed both the NEO-PI-R personality measure and measures of prior involvement in driving accidents. Significant negative correlations were found between the factor of Agreeableness and the total number of driving tickets received as well as the sum of combined at-fault accidents, not-at-fault accidents, and driving tickets received by participants. Implications and potential future directions for research are discussed.     

What is this thing called frequency?

When researchers are interested in the influence of long-term knowledge on performance, printed word frequency is typically the variable of choice. Despite this preference, we know little about what frequency norms measure. They ostensibly index how often and how recently words are experienced, but words appear in context, so frequency potentially reflects an influence of connections with other words. This paper presents the results of a large free association study as well as the results of experiments designed to evaluate the hypothesis that common words have stronger connections to other words. The norms indicate that common words tend to be more concrete but they do not appear to have more associates, stronger associates, or more connections among their associates. Two extralist cued recall experiments showed that, with other attributes being equal, high- and low-frequency words were equally effective as test cues. These results suggest that frequency does not achieve its effects because of stronger or greater numbers of connections to other words, as implied in SAM. Other results indicated that common words have more connections from other words, including their associates, and that free association provides a valid index of associative strength.     

Clinical and research implications of revising psychological tests

This article integrates those of other contributors to this special section, "Methods and Implications of Revising Assessment Instruments," to underscore important conceptual factors to consider when undertaking test revisions. These considerations include determination of when test measures have become sufficiently understood to be incorporated in a test revision, cohort effects, revision of administration formats and test instructions, and comparisons of performance levels across test versions. The discussion of these factors also takes into consideration clinical practice and educational implications of making a transition to revised test versions.     

The influence of egocentrism and focalism on people's optimism in competitions: when what affects us equally affects me more

Six experiments investigated people's optimism in competitions. The studies involved hypothetical and real competitions (course grades in Experiments 1 and 2, a trivia game in Experiments 3-5, and a poker game in Experiment 6) in which the presence of shared adversities and benefits (factors that would generally hinder or help the absolute performance of all competitors) was manipulated. Shared adversities tended to reduce people's subjective likelihoods of winning, whereas shared benefits tended to increase them. The findings suggest that when people judge their likelihood of winning, their assessments of their own strengths and weaknesses have greater impact than their assessments of their competitors' strengths and weaknesses. We identify egocentrism and focalism as two causes of the bias. The experiments revealed moderators of this bias, but also illustrated its robust nature across a variety of conditions.     

Local vs. global covert visual attention: Are two states necessary? Comment on Liechty et al., 2003

Liechty, Pieters, and Wedel (2003) report an eye-tracking experiment that is taken to support the distinction between two states of covert visual attention: local versus global. We discuss several logical problems with this dichotomy and their experiment, and then provide an alternate account of their data using a model, E-Z Reader, that requires only a single attention state.We thank Keith Rayner and two anonymous reviewers for comments on an earlier version of this paper.     

The Adult Attachment Interview and observed couple interaction: implications for an intergenerational perspective on couple therapy

One of the assumptions of intergenerational family therapy is that how a person thinks and talks about family-of-origin experiences has important implications for current family relationships. The Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) is a measure of attachment security based on how coherently the person can discuss attachment experiences in childhood. This study examined the relationship between attachment security, as measured by the AAI, and couple interaction, as measured by the Georgia Marriage Q-Sort (GMQ), in a sample of 28 couples in therapy for relationship problems. During a conflict resolution discussion, those individuals who were less coherent in discussing their family of origin expressed more negative affect, less respect, less openness, more avoidance, and less willingness to negotiate when interacting with their partner. No evidence of intra-couple effects or "buffering" was found. The findings support a key assumption of intergenerational approaches to family therapy and suggest that applying attachment theory is a promising direction for refining and developing new interventions for couples.     

Fear of the dark: interactive effects of beliefs about danger and ambient darkness on ethnic stereotypes

Two studies examined effects of ambient darkness and chronic beliefs about danger on activation of stereotypes about Blacks. Chronic beliefs were measured by a Belief in a Dangerous World (BDW) questionnaire. In Study, 1, participants in either a dimly lit or dark room saw photos of Black men and rated the extent to which specific traits described the cultural stereotype of Blacks. In Study 2, participants in either a well-lit or dark room completed reaction-time tasks assessing implicit associations between Blacks and evaluative attributes. Separate measures assessed stereotypes connoting danger versus those that are merely derogatory. Results revealed BDW x Darkness interactions on activation of danger-relevant stereotypes: BDW positively predicted activation in dark but not in light conditions. It appears that chronic beliefs about danger can facilitate activation of functionally relevant stereotypes, but this effect occurs primarily under circumstances (such as darkness) that heuristically suggest vulnerability to harm. Conceptual implications are discussed.