Challenging perceptual tasks require more attention: The influence of task difficulty on the N1 effect of temporal orienting

Both filter and resource models of attention suggest an influence of task difficulty on the size of early attention effects. As for temporal orienting, the idea that early effects are modulated by task difficulty has not been tested directly, so far. To fill this empirical gap, the present study used an auditory temporal-orienting task, in which two differently pitched pure tones served as targets. To manipulate perceptual difficulty, the pitch difference between the targets was either small or large. Temporal orienting enhanced the N1 component of the auditory event-related potential. This early, sensory effect tended to be larger in the more difficult condition, particularly over the frontal scalp. Notably, increasing task difficulty affected predominantly the processing of attended stimuli. Hence, temporal orienting may operate by increasing processing resources or gain settings for the attended time point – rather than by withdrawing resources from the unattended time point.     

Leader Inquisitiveness,Political Skill,and Follower Attributions of Leader Charisma and Effectiveness: Test of a moderated mediation model

Given the variability in personality's relationship with leadership and the use of personality measures in leader selection and assessment, we examine the joint influence of leader trait inquisitiveness and leader political skill on subordinate perceptions of leader charisma and effectiveness. Findings indicate a positive main effect of political skill on charisma, the positive relationship between inquisitiveness and charisma is moderated by heightened political skill, and charisma mediates the relationship between the inquisitiveness by political skill interaction and perceived effectiveness. The moderated mediation results of our study suggest that organizations should not only select creative and imaginative leaders, but also select those who are politically skilled or provide political skill training.     

Adult but not juvenile Barbary macaques spontaneously recognize group members from pictures

For group-living animals, it is crucial to distinguish one’s own group members from those of other groups. Studies applying operant conditioning revealed that monkeys living in relatively small groups are able to recognize their own group members when tested with photographs of group members and other conspecifics. Employing a simple looking time paradigm, we here show that Barbary macaques living in two social groups comprising 46 and 57 individuals, respectively, at the enclosure ‘La Forêt des Singes’ at Rocamadour are able to spontaneously distinguish photographs of members of their own group from those depicting animals that belong to another group. This ability appears to develop with age, as juveniles did not discriminate between members of their own group and another group, although they showed generally more interest in the pictures than did adults. Juveniles frequently displayed picture directed behaviours such as lip-smacking, touching and sniffing in both conditions, indicating that the stimuli were highly salient to them. In conclusion, it appears that at least adult monkeys are able to memorize the faces of a large number of individuals. Whether the difference in behaviour is based on individual recognition of one’s own group members or simply the discrimination based on familiarity remains unresolved. However, both mechanisms would be sufficient for group membership identification.     

Effects of temporal trial-by-trial cuing on early and late stages of auditory processing: Evidence from event-related potentials

Temporal-cuing studies show faster responding to stimuli at an attended versus unattended time point. Whether the mechanisms involved in this temporal orienting of attention are located early or late in the processing stream has not been answered unequivocally. To address this question, we measured event-related potentials in two versions of an auditory temporal cuing task: Stimuli at the uncued time point either required a response (Experiment 1) or did not (Experiment 2). In both tasks, attention was oriented to the cued time point, but attention could be selectively focused on the cued time point only in Experiment 2. In both experiments, temporal orienting was associated with a late positivity in the timerange of the P3. An early enhancement in the timerange of the auditory N1 was observed only in Experiment 2. Thus, temporal attention improves auditory processing at early sensory levels only when it can be focused selectively.