Low is large: spatial location and pitch interact in voice-based body size estimation

Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics - The binding of incongruent cues poses a challenge for multimodal perception. Indeed, although taller objects emit sounds from higher elevations,...     

Variation in perceptions of physical dominance and trustworthiness predicts individual differences in the effect of relationship context on women's preferences for masculine pitch in men's voices

Several studies have found that women tend to demonstrate stronger preferences for masculine men as short-term partners than as long-term partners, though there is considerable variation among women in the magnitude of this effect. One possible source of this variation is individual differences in the extent to which women perceive masculine men to possess antisocial traits that are less costly in short-term relationships than in long-term relationships. Consistent with this proposal, here we show that the extent to which women report stronger preferences for men with low (i.e., masculine) voice pitch as short-term partners than as long-term partners is associated with the extent to which they attribute physical dominance and low trustworthiness to these masculine voices. Thus, our findings suggest that variation in the extent to which women attribute negative personality characteristics to masculine men predicts individual differences in the magnitude of the effect of relationship context on women's masculinity preferences, highlighting the importance of perceived personality attributions for individual differences in women's judgments of men's vocal attractiveness and, potentially, their mate preferences.     

Relation of intimate partner violence to salivary cortisol among couples expecting a first child

Despite advances in understanding the role that several physiological systems play in the occurrence of general violence, little progress has been made toward understanding biological correlates of intimate partner violence (IPV). We explored involvement of one physiological system, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Among 137 heterosexual couples expecting a first child, baseline level of HPA activity-assessed via salivary cortisol collected before a couple conflict discussion-was linked to both men's and women's violence perpetration. HPA reactivity to the conflict bout did not show an independent association with IPV. However, persisting elevation in men's, and down-regulation in women's, HPA activity during a further recovery period was linked to men's violence perpetration.     

Sources of avoidance motivation: Valence effects from physical effort and mental rotation

When reaching goals, organisms must simultaneously meet the overarching goal of conserving energy. According to the law of least effort, organisms will select the means associated with the least effort. The mechanisms underlying this bias remain unknown. One hypothesis is that organisms come to avoid situations associated with unnecessary effort by generating a negative valence toward the stimuli associated with such situations. Accordingly, merely using a dysfunctional, ‘slow’ computer mouse causes participants to dislike ambient neutral images (Study 1). In Study 2, nonsense shapes were liked less when associated with effortful processing (135° of mental rotation) versus easier processing (45° of rotation). Complementing ‘fluency’ effects found in perceptuo-semantic research, valence emerged from action-related processing in a principled fashion. The findings imply that negative valence associations may underlie avoidance motivations, and have practical implications for educational/workplace contexts in which effort and positive affect are conducive to success.     

Adaptation to different mouth shapes influences visual perception of ambiguous lip speech

We investigated the effects of adaptation to mouth shapes associated with different spoken sounds (sustained /m/ or /u/) on visual perception of lip speech. Participants were significantly more likely to label ambiguous faces on an /m/-to-/u/ continuum as saying /u/ following adaptation to /m/ mouth shapes than they were in a preadaptation test. By contrast, participants were significantly less likely to label the ambiguous faces as saying /u/ following adaptation to /u/ mouth shapes than they were in a preadaptation test. The magnitude of these aftereffects was equivalent when the same individual was shown in the adaptation and test phases of the experiment and when different individuals were presented in the adaptation and test phases. These findings present novel evidence that adaptation to natural variations in facial appearance influences face perception, and they extend previous research on face aftereffects to visual perception of lip speech.     

Facilitation of Extinction of Conditioned Fear by D-Cycloserine

Abstract— Excessive fear and anxiety are characteristic of disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and phobias and are believed to reflect abnormalities in neural systems governing the development and reduction of conditioned fear. Conditioned fear can be suppressed through a process known as extinction, in which repeated exposure to a feared stimulus in the absence of an aversive event leads to a gradual reduction in the fear response to that stimulus. Like conditioned fear learning, extinction is dependent on a particular protein (the N-methyl-D-aspartate or NMDA receptor) in a part of the brain called the amygdala. Blockade of this receptor blocks extinction and improving the activity of this receptor with a drug called D-cycloserine speeds up extinction in rats. Because exposure-based psychotherapy for fear disorders in humans resembles extinction in several respects, we investigated whether D-cycloserine might facilitate the loss of fear in human patients. Consistent with findings from the animal laboratory, patients receiving D-cycloserine benefited more from exposure-based psychotherapy than did placebo-treated controls. Although very preliminary, these data provide initial support for the use of cognitive enhancers in psychotherapy and demonstrate that preclinical studies in rodents can have direct benefits to humans.     

Moral reframing: A technique for effective and persuasive communication across political divides

The political landscape in the US and many other countries is characterized by policy impasses and animosity between rival political groups. Research finds that these divisions are fueled in part by disparate moral concerns and convictions that undermine communication and understanding between liberals and conservatives. This “moral empathy gap” is particularly evident in the moral underpinnings of the political arguments members of each side employ when trying to persuade one another. Both liberals and conservatives typically craft arguments based on their own moral convictions rather than the convictions of the people they target for persuasion. As a result, these moral arguments tend to be unpersuasive, even offensive, to their recipients. The technique of moral reframing—whereby a position an individual would not normally support is framed in a way that is consistent with that individual's moral values—can be an effective means for political communication and persuasion. Over the last decade, studies of moral reframing have shown its effectiveness across a wide range of polarized topics, including views of economic inequality, environmental protection, same‐sex marriage, and major party candidates for the US presidency. In this article, we review the moral reframing literature, examining potential mediators and moderators of the effect, and discuss important questions that remain unanswered about this phenomenon.     

Establishing family foundations: intervention effects on coparenting, parent/infant well-being, and parent-child relations.

This study investigated the ability of a theoretically driven, psychosocial prevention program implemented through childbirth education programs to enhance the coparental relationship, parental mental health, the parent-child relationship, and infant emotional and physiological regulation. A sample of 169 heterosexual, adult couples who were expecting their 1st child was randomized to intervention and control conditions. The intervention families participated in Family Foundations, a series of 8 classes, delivered before and after birth, that was designed as a universal prevention program (i.e., it was applicable to all couples, not just those at high risk). Intent-to-treat analyses indicated significant program effects on coparental support, maternal depression and anxiety, distress in the parent-child relationship, and several indicators of infant regulation. Intervention effects were not moderated by income, but greater positive impact of the program was found for lower educated parents and for families with a father who reported higher levels of insecure attachment in close relationships. These findings support the view that coparenting is a potentially malleable intervention target that may influence family relationships as well as parent and child well-being.     

Treating sleep disturbance in infants: What generalizes?

When treating infant sleep problems implementing treatment procedures at bedtime‐only might be easier and more efficient than requiring parents to implement procedures throughout the night, but only if improvements at bedtime generalize to later in the night. This study investigated the immediate and generalized effect of treating bedtime settling problems and later night waking in infants and whether it was parent or child behavior that generalized. Parents recorded sleep problems of seven infants (6–20 months) who exhibited chronic sleep disturbance, then implemented a graduated checking procedure at bedtime‐only (Setting 1). A multiple‐baseline across‐settings and participants design was employed. Immediate (in Setting 1) and any generalized effects (in Setting 2) on wakings and other changes in parent and child behavior were assessed by diary information and all‐night infra‐red video recordings. Clinically significant reductions in sleep problems were evident for five out of seven infants, but these were not consistently observed until parents generalized their use of the procedure throughout the night. There was no evidence that the infants generalized changes in self‐soothing from bedtime to later. It is concluded that changes in infant sleep problems are unlikely to occur unless parents actually alter their management of the problems across all settings in which the problems occur. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effects of acute 17beta-estradiol treatment on gene expression in the young female mouse hippocampus

Previous studies have demonstrated that treatment with 17beta-estradiol (E(2)) improves both spatial and nonspatial memory in young female mice. Still unclear, however, are the molecular mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of E(2) on memory. We have previously demonstrated that a single post-training intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of 0.2 mg/kg E(2) can enhance hippocampal-dependent spatial and object memory consolidation (e.g., Gresack & Frick, 2006b). Therefore, in the present study, we performed a microarray analysis on the dorsal hippocampi of 4-month-old female mice injected i.p. with vehicle or 0.2 mg/kg E(2). Genes were considered differentially expressed following E(2) treatment if they showed a greater than 2-fold change in RNA expression levels compared to controls. Overall, out of a total of approximately 25,000 genes represented on the array, 204 genes showed altered mRNA expression levels upon E(2) treatment, with 111 up-regulated and 93 down-regulated. Of these, 17 of the up-regulated and 6 of the down-regulated genes are known to be involved in learning and memory. mRNA expression changes in 5 of the genes were confirmed by real-time quantitative PCR analysis, and protein changes in these same genes were confirmed by Western blot analysis: Hsp70, a heat shock protein known to be estrogen responsive; Igfbp2, an IGF-I binding protein; Actn4, an actin binding protein involved in protein trafficking; Tubb2a, the major component of microtubules; and Snap25, a synaptosome-specific protein required for neurotransmitter release. The types of genes altered indicate that E(2) may induce changes in the structural mechanics of cells within the dorsal hippocampus that could be conducive to promoting memory consolidation.