Role of Gestalt grouping in selective attention: evidence from the Stroop task

Selective attention has been intensively studied using the Stroop task. Evidence suggests that Stroop interference in a color-naming task arises partly because of visual attention sharing between color and word: Removing the target color after 150 msec reduces interference (Neumann, 1986). Moreover, removing both the color and the word simultaneously reduces interference less than does removing the color only (La Heij, van der Heijden, & Plooij, 2001). These findings could also be attributed to Gestalt grouping principles, such as common fate. We report three experiments in which the role of Gestalt grouping was further investigated. Experiment I replicated the reduced interference, using words and color patches. In Experiment 2, the color patch was not removed but only repositioned (<2 degrees) after 100 msec, which also reduced interference. In Experiment 3, the distractor was repositioned while the target remained stationary, again reducing interference. These results indicate a role for Gestalt grouping in selective attention.     

Risk and protective factors for urban African-American youth

The present study investigated risk and resilience processes in a sample of urban African-American youth. Risk and protective factors were assessed across ecological levels including individual, family and community. Both externalizing and internalizing symptomatology were included as measures of child adjustment. Youth and parental reports as well as various methods, such as the Experience Sampling Method, were used to capture the daily experiences of the adolescents from different perspectives. Poverty, hassles, and exposure to violence predicted higher rates of externalizing and internalizing symptoms. Individual and family protective variables emerged as powerful sources of resilience. An inner sense of confidence and helpful family support were associated with reductions in the deleterious effects of community poverty. Two main patterns, protective-stabilizing and overwhelming-risk, seemed to characterize most of the risk by protective factor interactions. The present findings are important for understanding the complex experiences of urban youth and furthering the literature on sources of risk and protection for African-Americans.     

Mentalization in children and mothers in the context of trauma: An initial study of the validity of the Child Reflective Functioning Scale

This study examined the validity of the Child Reflective Functioning Scale (CRFS: Ensink, Target, & Oandason, 2013, Child reflective functioning scale scoring manual: for application to the Child Attachment Interview. London, UK: Anna Freud Centre – University College London), a measure designed to assess reflective functioning (RF) or mentalization during middle childhood. Participants were 94 mother–child dyads divided into two subgroups; 46 dyads where children had histories of intrafamilial (n = 22 dyads) or extrafamilial (n = 24 dyads) sexual abuse, and a community control group composed of 48 mother–child dyads. RF of children and their mothers was assessed using videotaped and transcribed data gathered using the Child Attachment Interview and the Parent Development Interview (PDI: Slade, Aber, Bresi, Berger, & Kaplan, 2004, The parent development interview‐Revised. New York, NY: The City University of New York). The findings indicate that the CRFS proved reliable, with excellent intraclass correlation coefficients for general RF, as well as RF regarding self and others. Significant differences in RF were found between sexually abused children and the control group, and also between children who had experienced intrafamilial and extrafamilial sexual abuse. This provides support for the discriminant validity of the CRFS. Furthermore, maternal RF was associated with child RF. Both abuse and maternal RF made significant contributions to predicting children's RF regarding themselves, but child sexual abuse was the only variable that made a significant contribution to explaining variance in children's RF regarding others.     

Biography and Choice: Female Converts to Islam in the Netherlands

This article assesses the relevance of the rational-choice approach for understanding female conversion to Islam in the Netherlands. Rational-choice theories are important for focusing on the increasingly pluralistic character of the religious market and the active nature of religious actors. It is argued that women are active actors who make sensible choices. Yet the rational choice conception of rationality is rather limited and the specific characteristics of the commodity ‘Islam’ are not accounted for in this approach. In addition, the actors are presented as agents without identity and history. By analysing the life stories of three Dutch converts, it is shown how certain Islamic narratives become meaningful in their lives. By using a biographical approach, an attempt is made to bring the history and identity of the actors and the content of their faith into focus without denying the ‘rationality’ of their choice.     

Profiles of Identity Exploration and Commitment Across Domains

We examined the relationships between family structure, gender and age and profiles of identity exploration and commitment in the ideological (occupation, values, politics, religion, gender roles) and interpersonal identity (dating, friendships, and family) domains among 388 young adults. The general profile revealed low exploration in both domains, with ideological exploration being the lower, compared to high and comparable levels of commitment in the two domains. Older participants explored more than younger ones, and females gave more attention to the interpersonal domain than did males. Participants from original families explored more in the interpersonal domain than in the ideological domain, but their commitment was the same for the two domains. Participants from non-original families explored in equal amounts in the two domains, but were more committed in the interpersonal domain compared to participants from original families. Participants from non-original families explored more in the ideological domain than did participants from original families. Our findings indicate that individuals from non-original families exhibit positive outcomes and strengths that are often overlooked in the literature.     

Alexithymia,memory of emotion,emotional awareness,and perfectionism

The Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20; R. M. Bagby, J. D. A. Parker, & G. J. Taylor, 1994) is a self-assessment instrument designed to measure deficits in meta-emotional functioning (e.g., difficulties in identifying and describing emotions). Four studies were carried out to examine the association between the TAS-20 and (a) performance measures of meta-emotional functioning (memory of emotion and emotional awareness; Studies 1-2) and (b) measures of perfectionistic standards that may possibly be involved in the self-assessment of abilities-difficulties (Studies 3-4). The TAS-20 failed to correlate in the predicted direction with the performance measures but showed sizable correlations with measures of perfectionism. Moreover, perfectionism was found to predict TAS-20 scores independent of depression, anxiety, and somatic complaints. The results are discussed in terms of the TAS-20 measuring primarily certain aspects of meta-emotional self-efficacy.     

The proposed interaction between working memory and inhibition

Two experiments investigated the determinants of performance on a go/no-go task by studying the interplay of two executive function components, working memory (WM) and inhibition. Systematically varied task demands on WM and inhibition were used in the analysis of performance together with individual capacity measures of both functions, thereby investigating an interactive view of WM and inhibition. Further analyses were conducted with individual differences in general fluid intelligence (gF), in an attempt to study the role of higher order cognition in handling task demands. The results are new in presenting empirical evidence for interactive effects of the task demand variables in concert with individual WM capacity as well as with gF, suggesting that executive processes common to WM and gF are involved in inhibitory performance, whereas gF appears to reflect a broader function in controlling behaviour in relation to task goals, whether it involves active responding or not.