Flexible parafoveal encoding of character order supports word predictability effects in Chinese reading: Evidence from eye movements

Several eye-movement studies have revealed flexibility in the parafoveal processing of character-order information in Chinese reading. In particular, studies show that processing a two-character word in a sentence benefits more from parafoveal preview of a nonword created by transposing rather than replacing its two characters. One issue that has not been investigated is whether the contextual predictability of the target word influences this processing of character order information. However, such a finding would provide novel evidence for an early influence of context on lexical processing in Chinese reading. Accordingly, we investigated this issue in an eye-movement experiment using the boundary paradigm and sentences containing two-character target words with high or low contextual predictability. Prior to the reader’s gaze crossing an invisible boundary, each target word was shown normally (i.e. a valid preview) or with its two characters either transposed or replaced by unrelated characters to create invalid nonword previews. These invalid previews reverted to the target word once the reader’s gaze crossed the invisible boundary. The results showed larger preview benefits (i.e. a decrease in fixation times) for target words following transposed-character than substituted-character previews, revealing a transposed-character effect similar to that in previous research. In addition, a word predictability effect (shorter fixation times for words with high than low predictability) was observed following both valid and transposed-character previews, but not substituted-character previews. The findings therefore reveal that context can influence an early stage of lexical processing in Chinese reading during which character order is processed flexibly.

     

Fear and aggression in the rat

The effect of fear on two types of aggression in rats was investigated by adding a cat stimulus to a colony in which the dominant male was attacking an intruder (offensive aggression), or, to a tube test situation in which defensive biting was measured before and during tail shock. The cat completely abolished offense in the colony; when the cat was presented and removed before a strange rat was placed in the colony, attack on the intruder was also reduced. In contrast, defensive biting was unchanged or even slightly potentiated by the presence of the cat, demonstrating a separation of the effects of fear on offensive and defensive aggression.     

Predictors and outcomes of workplace violence and aggression

The authors developed and assessed the psychometric properties of an instrument measuring risk for workplace violence and expanded a model linking (a) risk and experience of violence and aggression from the public and (b) experience of aggression from coworkers to emotional well-being, psychosomatic well-being, affective commitment, and turnover intentions. Using data from 254 employees representing 71 different occupations, the measure demonstrated acceptable within-occupation and 1-month test-retest reliability. The data supported the model and showed that public-initiated violence and aggression and coworker-initiated aggression were differentially associated with personal and organizational outcomes.     

Action-based and vision-based selection of input: Two sources of control

In the first part of this paper we review evidence suggesting that there exists a mechanism that selects input on the basis of its similarity to the required action. This response-based input selection differs from the more established space- and object-based input selection in that it is not constrained by the structure of the input. Our evidence suggests that the two-choice Stroop effect is caused by this response-based selection mechanism. By contrast, it is known that the flanker effect is determined by the space- and object- based selection mechanisms. We explore whether the conflict resolution of the Stroop and flanker tasks is different as well by embedding these two tasks in a PRP (Psychological Refractory Period) paradigm. We show that the Stroop and the PRP effects are additive whereas the flanker and the PRP effects are underadditive, suggesting that the processes in charge of the conflict resolution in the Stroop and the flanker tasks are indeed different. We discuss possible reasons for this difference, and discuss possible ways in which the response-based mechanism can be implemented in information processing models.     

Employment of persons with disabilities in information technology jobs: literature review for "IT works"

This article reviews relevant literature as to the labor pool of qualified individuals with disabilities and employment in information technology (IT) sector jobs. First, the article reviews the empirical literature on barriers to employment in IT for persons with disabilities. The examination then is extended to studies of barriers to employment for individuals with disabilities in other employment sectors. Findings illustrate the limited experiences that IT and non-IT companies have in employing and accommodating employees with disabilities. Implications are discussed for enhancing the employment of qualified workers with disabilities in IT through research, education, training, and mentoring programs.     

Psychiatric and substance use disorders as risk factors for attempted suicide among adolescents: a case control study

The objective of this research was to test substance-related and non-substance-related psychiatric disorders as predictors of attempted suicide among adolescents. Ninety-six psychiatrically disordered suicide attempters were matched one-to-one to 96 psychiatrically disordered non-attempters on age, race, gender, and the presence/absence of major depression. Conditional logistic regression was used to test psychiatric risk factors for their power to predict attempted suicide among adolescents. Bipolar disorder, cocaine use disorders, and conduct disorder were found to be predictive of attempted suicide in univariate testing. Bipolar disorder, inhalant use disorders, cocaine use disorders, and hallucinogen use disorders were found to be predictive of attempted suicide, after adjusting for all other covariates. Loglinear analyses revealed high odds ratios associated with the comorbidities of alcohol use disorder with conduct disorder and drug use disorders with conduct disorder in both groups. Higher rates of cocaine use disorder/conduct disorder, hallucinogen use disorder/conduct disorder, and alcohol use disorder/ conduct disorder were found among suicide attempters. Evaluation of these particular comorbid conditions should be part of the adolescent suicide risk assessment.     

Win-shift and win-stay learning in the short-beaked echidna (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Tachyglossus aculeatus</Emphasis>)

Numerous previous investigators have explained species differences in spatial memory performance in terms of differences in foraging ecology. In three experiments we attempted to extend these findings by examining the extent to which the spatial memory performance of echidnas (or "spiny anteaters") can be understood in terms of the spatio-temporal distribution of their prey (ants and termites). This is a species and a foraging situation that have not been examined in this way before. Echidnas were better able to learn to avoid a previously rewarding location (to "win-shift") than to learn to return to a previously rewarding location (to "win-stay"), at short retention intervals, but were unable to learn either of these strategies at retention intervals of 90 min. The short retention interval results support the ecological hypothesis, but the long retention interval results do not. Electronic Publication     

Effects of stress on nonassociative learning processes in male and female rats

In this study we assessed habituation and sensitization of the acoustic startle response (ASR) to discern whether intense, inescapable stress affects nonassociative learning differently in male and female rats. Rats were inescapably stressed 2 hours per day over 3 consecutive days. ASR magnitudes were measured at several times post-stress (1, 4, 8, and 15 days after cessation). Females generally showed greater ASR magnitudes (compared to males), but both sexes exhibited short and long-term habituation across the testing days. ASR magnitudes were only affected by stress in male subjects. The effect in males was an increase in short-term sensitization of the ASR on post-stress day-4. The results suggest that stressed males and females react differently to ASR testing, in that stress males appear to develop an exaggerated ASR response over repeated test sessions due to short-term sensitization. The source of the short-term sensitization is discussed with regards to possible stress-induced enhanced contextual learning during ASR testing on post-stress day-1.     

Facial Expressions of Emotion: Are Angry Faces Detected More Efficiently?

The rapid detection of facial expressions of anger or threat has obvious adaptive value. In this study, we examined the efficiency of facial processing by means of a visual search task. Participants searched displays of schematic faces and were required to determine whether the faces displayed were all the same or whether one was different. Four main results were found: (1) When displays contained the same faces, people were slower in detecting the absence of a discrepant face when the faces displayed angry (or sad/angry) rather than happy expressions. (2) When displays contained a discrepant face people were faster in detecting this when the discrepant face displayed an angry rather than a happy expression. (3) Neither of these patterns for same and different displays was apparent when face displays were inverted, or when just the mouth was presented in isolation. (4) The search slopes for angry targets were significantly lower than for happy targets. These results suggest that detection of angry facial expressions is fast and efficient, although does not "pop-out" in the traditional sense.