The influence of heightened body‐awareness on walking through apertures

The reported study measured the ratio between aperture‐width and hip‐width that marked the critical transition from frontal walking to body rotation for male and female participants. Half of the participants of each sex wore form‐fitting lycra clothes and half loose‐fitting jogging suits. Participants wearing the form‐fitting clothing reported heightened body awareness relative to those wearing the loose‐fitting clothing. For male participants this difference was reflected in a smaller aperture‐to‐hip ratio in the form‐fitting than loose‐fitting clothing condition. That is, males walked frontally through smaller apertures when wearing form‐fitting than when wearing loose‐fitting clothing. For females there was no difference in walking action as a function of clothing style. Results are discussed in terms of the perception of action opportunities in the environment, the influence of body awareness on such perception and sex differences. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Self-informant Agreement for Personality and Evaluative Person Descriptors: Comparing Methods for Creating Informant Measures

Little attention typically is paid to the way self-report measures are translated for use in self-informant agreement studies. We studied two possible methods for creating informant measures: (a) the traditional method in which self-report items were translated from the first- to the third-person and (b) an alternative meta-perceptual method in which informants were directed to rate their perception of the targets' self-perception. We hypothesized that the latter method would yield stronger self-informant agreement for evaluative personality dimensions measured by indirect item markers. We studied these methods in a sample of 303 undergraduate friendship dyads. Results revealed mean-level differences between methods, similar self-informant agreement across methods, stronger agreement for Big Five dimensions than for evaluative dimensions, and incremental validity for meta-perceptual informant rating methods. Limited power reduced the interpretability of several sparse acquaintanceship effects. We conclude that traditional informant methods are appropriate for most personality traits, but meta-perceptual methods may be more appropriate when personality questionnaire items reflect indirect indicators of the trait being measured, which is particularly likely for evaluative traits.     

Differing effects of systemically administered rapamycin on consolidation and reconsolidation of context vs. cued fear memories

Rapamycin, an inhibitor of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) kinase, has attracted interest as a possible prophylactic for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)-associated fear memories. We report here that although rapamycin (40 mg/kg, i.p.) disrupted the consolidation and reconsolidation of fear-potentiated startle paradigm to a shock-paired context, it did not disrupt startle increases to a 4-sec odor cue, even though post-training increases in amygdala mTOR activity were prevented by rapamycin (also 40 mg/kg, i.p.). Thus, while rapamycin may prove useful in retarding the development of some PTSD-associated memories, its relative ineffectiveness against cued fear memories may limit its clinical usefulness.     

Affording cooperation: Embodied constraints,dynamics, and action-scaled invariance in joint lifting

Understanding the physical and interpersonal constraints that afford cooperation during real-world tasks requires consideration of the fit between the environment and task-relevant dimensions of coactors and the coactors’ fit with each other. In the present study, we examined how cooperation can emerge during ongoing interaction using the simple task of two actors’ moving long wooden planks. The system dynamics showed hysteresis: A past-action mode persisted when both solo and joint actions were possible. Moreover, pairs whose arm spans were both short, both long, or mismatched made action-mode transitions at similar points, when scaled by a relational measure. The relational measure of plank length to arm span was dictated by the pair member with the shorter arm span, who, thus, had a greater need to cooperate during the task. The results suggest that understanding affordances for cooperation requires giving more consideration to constraints imposed by the fit between coactors’ action capabilities.     

Effects of context on eye movements when reading about possible and impossible events

Plausibility violations resulting in impossible scenarios lead to earlier and longer lasting eye movement disruption than violations resulting in highly unlikely scenarios (K. Rayner, T. Warren, B. J. Juhasz, & S. P. Liversedge, 2004; T. Warren & K. McConnell, 2007). This could reflect either differences in the timing of availability of different kinds of information (e.g., selectional restrictions, world knowledge, and context) or differences in their relative power to guide semantic interpretation. The authors investigated eye movements to possible and impossible events in real-world and fantasy contexts to determine when contextual information influences detection of impossibility cued by a semantic mismatch between a verb and an argument. Gaze durations on a target word were longer to impossible events independent of context. However, a measure of the time elapsed from first fixating the target word to moving past it showed disruption only in the real-world context. These results suggest that contextual information did not eliminate initial disruption but moderated it quickly thereafter.     

Social Psychology and Media: Critical Considerations

In this paper, we argue that media saturate everyday living, and that people engage with and are engaged by media in diverse and complex ways. We suggest a need for an informed social psychology of media that conceptualises media as social practice, and attends to media practices as they occur. We propose that much media psychology research is limited because it: (i) focuses too strongly on documenting causal, and usually negative, media effects; (ii) continues to apply unsuitable research methodologies and theories to investigating media and ignores advances in media research and theory arising outside the discipline; and (iii) largely ignores the social contexts in which media engagements occur. These arguments are illustrated by studies that take a more social and critical approach to media research and that show possibilities for overcoming these limitations and developing insights into psychological concerns enmeshed in media practices.     

The relationship of social support to depressive symptoms during the transition to high school

The transition to high school is studied as a time when students may experience disruptions in their social support systems. Peer support, family support, and school belonging were hypothesized to be associated with adolescent adjustment, specifically depressive symptoms. Participants included 104 eighth graders and 101 ninth graders from a middle- to high-income, predominantly white community in southern Rhode Island. In year 2, 60 of the original 8th graders were surveyed as 9th graders. Three hypotheses were examined: Social support declines from 8th to 9th grade; depressive symptoms increase from 8th to 9th grade; and social support is significantly associated with depressive symptoms. The hypotheses were tested using cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. Results indicated that 9th graders experienced more depressive symptoms and lower levels of school belonging as compared to the 8th graders. Changes in parent support and peer support were significantly associated with depressive symptoms in the transition to high school. Implications for increasing school belonging in the 9th grade are discussed.     

Primary or "specific" language impairment and children learning a second language

We review empirical findings from children with primary or "specific" language impairment (PLI) and children who learn a single language from birth (L1) and a second language (L2) beginning in childhood. The PLI profile is presented in terms of both language and nonlinguistic features. The discussion of L2 learners emphasizes variable patterns of growth and skill distribution in L1 and L2 which complicate the identification of PLI in linguistically diverse learners. We then introduce our research program, designed to map out common ground and potential fault lines between typically developing children learning one or two languages, as compared to children with PLI.     

How Does It Feel to Be a Star?

Over the past three decades, research on the social dimensions of emotions has grown exponentially, particularly in the area of “emotion management.” In this project, we will attempt to add to this body of research by studying the social aspects of labeling or “instantiating” feelings. The data for the project come from televised red-carpet interviews conducted with celebrities immediately prior to awards ceremonies. By focusing on the generic aspects of the emotional claims-making put forth by interviewers and interviewees, we demonstrate how the labeling of emotions is an interpretive, interactive task.

Body image and explicit and implicit anti-fat attitudes: the mediating role of physical appearance comparisons

Prejudice against overweight people is rife. However, there is a paucity of research on the underlying reasons for it. In two studies the relationship between body image, the tendency to make physical appearance-related comparisons (PACS), and both explicit and implicit anti-fat attitudes was examined. In Study 1 (n = 227) people with a high tendency to make physical appearance-related comparisons (high PACS scorers) reported lower self-appearance evaluation, but higher appearance orientation and explicit anti-fat attitudes. The PACS fully mediated the relationship between appearance orientation and explicit anti-fat attitudes. Study 2 (n = 134) found that the PACS also mediated the relationship between appearance orientation and implicit anti-fat attitudes. Thus, individual differences in factors such as body image and the tendency to make appearance-related comparisons, appear to play a central role in both explicit and implicit anti-fat attitudes.