Increased spatial salience in the social Simon task: A response-coding account of spatial compatibility effects

A spatial compatibility effect (SCE) is typically observed in forced two-choice tasks in which a spatially defined response (e.g., pressing a left vs. a right key) has to be executed to a nonspatial feature of a stimulus (e.g., discriminating red from green) that is additionally connoted by a spatial feature (e.g., the stimulus points to the left or the right). Responses are faster and more accurate when the response side and the spatial stimulus feature are compatible than when they are incompatible. Previous research has demonstrated that SCEs are diminished when stimuli from only one response category are responded to in individual go/no-go tasks, whereas SCEs reemerge when two participants work jointly on two complementary, individual go/no-go tasks in a joint go/no-go task setting. This social Simon effect has been considered evidence for shared task representations. We show that SCEs emerge in individual go/no-go tasks when the spatial dimension is made more salient, whereas SCEs are eliminated in joint go/no-go tasks when the spatial dimension is made less salient. These findings are consistent with an account of social Simon effects in terms of spatial response coding, whereas they are inconsistent with an account of shared task representations. The relevance of social factors for spatial response coding is discussed.     

Placebo: Análisis conceptual de un constructo en transición

RESUMEN

Los autores comienzan planteando que las opiniones vertidas en algunas revisiones acerca del constructo placebo son respuestas a la evolución actual hacia el empleo de conceptualizaciones más cognitivas en la psicoterapia. Seguidamente ofrecen un breve repaso histórico de esta noción, para centrarse en sus aspectos denotativos y connotativos. Respecto a los primeros, revisan las dos metáforas dominantes que pueden encontrarse en la literatura: (a) los placebos como ingredientes inertes en vez de activos y (b) como agentes no específicos en vez de específicos. En relación con los aspectos connotativos, examinan las cuatro fuentes de donde proceden y afirman que distinguiendo entre los verdaderos efectos placebo y los artefactos de medida las connotaciones negativas de este constructo son inmerecidas. Seguidamente abordan su utilidad en la evaluación de la eficacia de la psicoterapia y responden a la cuestión de si las terapias actuales son más eficaces que el tratamiento inespecífico. Este trabajo concluye que como el placebo ha de jugar un papel crucial en la evaluación científica de la psicoterapia, rechazarlo prematuramente constituiría una regresión conceptual y metodológica.     

Resistance to extinction of human evaluative conditioning using a between‐subjects design

Surprise has been described in various contexts as a neutral, a positive, or a negative emotion. Six experiments are reported in which surprise ratings of unexpected positive and negative outcomes, with identical prior probabilities, were compared. For unexpected occurrences of events that are beyond the control of the protagonist, successes were consistently perceived as more surprising than failures. For unexpected action controlled outcomes for which the protagonist was partly responsible, failures were rated as more surprising than successes. The findings are interpreted as being due to an implicit contrast between out-of-control situations and success, in the first case, and between goal-directed efforts and failure, in the second.     

Deductive and inductive conditional inferences: Two modes of reasoning

A number of single- and dual-process theories provide competing explanations as to how reasoners evaluate conditional arguments. Some of these theories are typically linked to different instructions—namely deductive and inductive instructions. To assess whether responses under both instructions can be explained by a single process, or if they reflect two modes of conditional reasoning, we re-analysed four experiments that used both deductive and inductive instructions for conditional inference tasks. Our re-analysis provided evidence consistent with a single process. In two new experiments we established a double dissociation of deductive and inductive instructions when validity and plausibility of conditional problems were pitted against each other. This indicates that at least two processes contribute to conditional reasoning. We conclude that single-process theories of conditional reasoning cannot explain the observed results. Theories that postulate at least two processes are needed to account for our findings.     

Stories of crime,stories of suffering: A narrative perspective on ethical issues in criminal justice counselling

Counsellors working with prisoners often listen to stories that are both stories of crime and stories of suffering. From a criminal justice perspective, the suffering of offenders is deliberately inflicted as punishment. From a counselling perspective, however, responding to the suffering of a client and even trying to relieve it is a basic ethical concern. So counsellors, working with offenders, may face the ethical question of how to integrate a response to the suffering of offenders with a response to crime, especially when confronted with stories of cruel, violent crimes. In this paper, it is argued that a narrative perspective on counselling offers a framework in which these responses may be integrated. Here, the principle of recognizing privileged authorship of persons is crucial. The concepts of ‘double listening for implicit others’ and ‘relationally rich stories’ are developed, which are based on concepts and ideas from narrative therapy. These serve as a first step of translating the narrative ethical framework to counselling practice.     

The Integration of Single Case Designs in Coaching Contexts: A Commentary for Applied Sport Psychologists

From personal experiences of working with coaches toward the modification of behaviors and psychological constructs that include motivation, enjoyment, and self-confidence, this commentary highlights how the integration of single case designs can enhance the services of sport psychology practitioners. Interventions within golf, soccer, and tennis are outlined, targeting factors pertinent to the coaches, their players or team members, and the development of relationships with parents. Single case designs are posited as enabling the implementation of personal, evidence-based interventions that yield perceptible differences in cognitive, affective, and behavioral responses within athletic populations; factors that enhance and underpin the practitioner-coach relationship.     

The Utility of the State Space Grid Method for Studying Peer Interactions in Youth Sport

Although previous studies indicate that peer interactions represent an important component of the youth sport experience, studies examining peer interactions in the sport context are limited. Furthermore, the methodological tools commonly used to investigate peer interactions have restricted researchers’ understandings of the complex, reciprocal nature of these experiences. This paper outlines the potential contribution of a novel dynamic systems-based methodology, the state space grid method (SSG; Lewis, Lamey, & Douglas, 1999 Lewis, M. D., Lamey, A. V. and Douglas, L. 1999. A new dynamic system method for the analysis of early socioemotional development. Developmental Science, 2: 457–475. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), to the study of peer interactions in sport. Concrete recommendations to guide the practical application of the SSG method to future peer research in youth sport are presented.     

Mindfulness reduces habitual responding based on implicit knowledge: Evidence from artificial grammar learning

Participants were unknowingly exposed to complex regularities in a working memory task. The existence of implicit knowledge was subsequently inferred from a preference for stimuli with similar grammatical regularities. Several affective traits have been shown to influence AGL performance positively, many of which are related to a tendency for automatic responding. We therefore tested whether the mindfulness trait predicted a reduction of grammatically congruent preferences, and used emotional primes to explore the influence of affect. Mindfulness was shown to correlate negatively with grammatically congruent responses. Negative primes were shown to result in faster and more negative evaluations. We conclude that grammatically congruent preference ratings rely on habitual responses, and that our findings provide empirical evidence for the non-reactive disposition of the mindfulness trait.     

Sanctifying Work: Effects on Satisfaction,Commitment, and Intent to Leave

Sanctification involves perceiving objects or events: (a) theistically by viewing them as having spiritual significance, or (b) nontheistically by viewing them as extraordinary and worthy of veneration and respect without any reference to a higher being. Previous research has found positive outcomes associated with sanctification, including increased satisfaction with marriage (Mahoney et al., 1999 Mahoney, A., Pargament, K. I., Jewell, T., Swank, A. B., Scott, E.Emery, E. 1999. Marriage and the spiritual realm: The role of proximal and distal religious constructs in marital functioning. Journal of Family Psychology, 13: 321–338. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), body image (Mahoney, Carels, et al., 2005 Mahoney, A., Carels, R. A., Pargament, K. I., Wachholtz, A., Leeper, L. E.Kaplar, M. 2005. The sanctification of the body and behavioral health patterns of college students. The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 15: 221–238. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]) and sexual intercourse (Murray-Swank, Pargament, & Mahoney, 2002 Murray-Swank, N. A., Pargament, K. I. and Mahoney, A. 2002. At the crossroads of sexuality and spirituality: The sanctification of sex by college students. The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 15: 199–219.  [Google Scholar]) to name a few. This study extends these findings into the world of work by demonstrating that those who sanctify their jobs are more satisfied, more committed to their organization, and at the same time less likely to intend to leave.