Self-efficacy does not appear to mediate training’s effect on performance based on the moderation-of-process design

ABSTRACT

Researchers in the area of training and motivation have concluded that training causes improvements in performance partially via training’s influence on self-efficacy. A set of studies employing a moderation-of-process design contradicts this conclusion. Specifically, when two groups of trainees did not know their performance was increasing during training, their self-efficacy did not increase. Two other groups were able to observe improving performance, which enhanced self-efficacy. However, both groups in both studies exhibited equal improvement in performance. This effect was shown in two contexts: training on a physical task and training on a cognitive task. These results demonstrate that self-efficacy might not always play a causal role in determining training’s influence. The studies highlight the value of a rarely used moderation-of-process method for assessing mediation.     

Hemodynamic responses to speech and music in preverbal infants

Numerous studies have provided clues about the ontogeny of lateralization of auditory processing in humans, but most have employed specific subtypes of stimuli and/or have assessed responses in discrete temporal windows. The present study used near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to establish changes in hemodynamic activity in the neocortex of preverbal infants (aged 4–11 months) while they were exposed to two distinct types of complex auditory stimuli (full sentences and musical phrases). Measurements were taken from bilateral temporal regions, including both anterior and posterior superior temporal gyri. When the infant sample was treated as a homogenous group, no significant effects emerged for stimulus type. However, when infants’ hemodynamic responses were categorized according to their overall changes in volume, two very clear neurophysiological patterns emerged. A high-responder group showed a pattern of early and increasing activation, primarily in the left hemisphere, similar to that observed in comparable studies with adults. In contrast, a low-responder group showed a pattern of gradual decreases in activation over time. Although age did track with responder type, no significant differences between these groups emerged for stimulus type, suggesting that the high- versus low-responder characterization generalizes across classes of auditory stimuli. These results highlight a new way to conceptualize the variable cortical blood flow patterns that are frequently observed across infants and stimuli, with hemodynamic response volumes potentially serving as an early indicator of developmental changes in auditory-processing sensitivity.     

Can I see your passport please? Perceptual discrimination of own- and other-race faces

Psychological research has consistently demonstrated that individuals are better at discriminating faces of their own race when compared with faces of another, less familiar race. Given the racial/ethnic diversity of individuals screened by security personnel at transportation and border checkpoints, it is important to understand whether the cross-race effect may play a role in simultaneous perceptual discrimination tasks that mimic such screening operations. Three experiments assessed the deleterious effects of cross-racial identification in this context. Results demonstrated greater discrimination accuracy for own- versus other-race faces, and a propensity for screeners to be overconfident in their decisions, particularly for other-race persons. Further, perceived age differences between the target and his identification photo and the use of a disguise were found to moderate cross-race effects during this task.     

Selection can be performed effectively without temporal binding,but could be even more effective with it

Experiments using spatial cues and spatial probes provide strong evidence for an attention mechanism that chooses a location and selects all information at that location. This selection process can work very quickly; so quickly that selection probably begins before segmentation and grouping. It can be implemented in a neural network simply and efficiently without temporal binding. In conjunction with this spatial attention, however, temporal binding can potentially enhance visual selection in complex scenes. First, it would allow a target object to be selected without also selecting a superimposed distractor. Second, it could maintain representations of objects after attention has moved to another object. Third, it could allow multiple parts of an object or scene to be selected, segmented, and analysed simultaneously. Thus, temporal synchrony should be more likely to appear during tasks with overlapping targets and distractors, and tasks that require that multiple objects or multipart objects be analysed and remembered simultaneously.     

Too much of a good thing? Examining the relationship between passion for exercise and exercise dependence

ObjectivesTo examine the relationship between passion (i.e., love for an activity that is valued for which and a great deal of time is invested) for exercise and exercise dependence symptoms.DesignA cross-sectional correlational survey design was utilised.MethodA total of 480 participants (n = 275 females, n = 205 males; M_age = 18.58, SD = 1.66) completed the Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire (Godin, Jobin, & Bouillon, 1986), the Passion Scale (Vallerand et al., 2003), and the Exercise Dependence Scale-Revised (Hausenblas, Symons-Downs, & Nigg, 2004). Path analysis using structural equation modelling was used to assess the relationships between passion and exercise dependence.ResultsPath analysis using structural equation modelling via AMOS 20.0 (Arbuckle, 2011) revealed that harmonious passion (i.e., being in control of the activity and deciding when and when not to engage in it) was positively related to the exercise dependence dimensions of time and tolerance. On the other hand, obsessive passion (i.e., an internal compulsion to engage in the activity even when not appropriate to do so) was positively related to all seven exercise dependence dimensions: time, tolerance, withdrawal, continuance, intention effects, lack of control, and reduction in other activities (CFI = .91, RMSEA = .05, SRMR = .06).ConclusionAn empirical relationship has been established to support the proposed theoretical link between passion (harmonious and obsessive) for exercise and exercise dependence dimensions.     

Maternal and Infant Temperament Characteristics as Contributors to Parenting Stress in the First Year Postpartum

Although prominent models emphasize that maternal, child, and situational variables are associated with parenting stress, previous research has often neglected to examine associations between maternal and infant temperament characteristics and stress experienced in the parenting role. Additionally, while predictors of global parenting stress have been examined, predictors of stress related to specific aspects of the parenting role have been largely unexplored. The present study examined maternal and infant temperament characteristics as predictors of parenting stress, both globally and specifically. Mothers (n = 159) completed measures of depressive and anxiety symptoms and a measure of adult temperament when their infants were 4 months old. At 6 months postpartum, caregivers completed a measure of infant temperament, and at 8 months postpartum, a measure of parenting stress. Results indicated that maternal effortful control and infant negative emotionality predicted global maternal parenting stress. Additionally, all maternal and infant temperament variables, with the exception of maternal negative affectivity and infant surgency/extraversion, were uniquely predictive of at least one specific aspect of parenting‐related stress. Findings emphasize the importance of considering maternal and infant temperament characteristics as contributors to parenting stress in the first year postpartum. Implications of these findings for future research and intervention are discussed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

But consider the alternative: The influence of positive affect on overconfidence

Three studies find evidence that positive affect reduces comparative overconfidence (overplacement). This occurs because positive affect attenuates focalism via decreasing people's tendency to overweight information regarding themselves in the light of information concerning others. Specifically, Study 1 provides evidence that positive affect leads to more realistic estimates of comparative ability and that other-focus partially mediates this effect. Then, Study 2 provides causal evidence that positive affect independently influences other-focus and that other-focus, in turn, influences overplacement. Additionally, Study 2 uses an indirect measure of focalism to better capture this attentional process. Finally, Study 3 explores the influence of negative affect on overplacement. In addition, each study finds that positive affect does not influence overconfidence regarding participant's raw performances (overestimation) as this type of overconfidence is not dependent on self-other comparisons.     

Being bad isn't always good: affective context moderates the attention bias toward negative information

Research has demonstrated that people automatically devote more attention to negative information than to positive information. The authors conducted 3 experiments to test whether this bias is attenuated by a person's affective context. Specifically, the authors primed participants with positive and negative information using traditional (e.g., subliminal semantic priming) and nontraditional (e.g., social interactions) means and measured the amount of attention they allocated to positive and negative information. With both event-related brain potentials (Experiment 1) and the Stroop task (Experiments 2 and 3), results suggest that the attention bias to negative information is attenuated or eliminated when positive constructs are made accessible. The implications of this result for other biases to negative information and for the self-reinforcing nature of emotional disorders are discussed.     

Listener perceptions of stuttering across two presentation modes: a quantitative and qualitative approach

The purpose of this study was to compare participants' quantitative and qualitative judgments of various forms and frequencies of stuttering, during either audiovisual or audio-only presentation modes. A total of 64 participants voluntarily agreed to participate in the study. Each participant was randomly assigned and exposed to only one of the four conditions of varying stuttering severity levels. The assigned speech sample was presented to the participant in either the audiovisual or audio-only mode. After watching or listening to the sample, participants completed a six-item Likert scale and were asked four open-ended questions. Comments made by listeners were developed into positive and negative comments as well as sorted into five theme clusters. The data analyses revealed a number of non-significant differences across mean Likert scale ratings for the six statements and for the number of positive and negative comments between the two presentation modes. However, the results provided partial support for the notion that as the frequency of stuttering increases, listeners tend to make increasingly more negative comments about the speaker. Additionally, there were no clear differences in comments across the five theme clusters between the two presentation modes. The findings suggest that the type of presentation mode does not appear to affect listeners' perceptions of stuttering to the same extent that stuttering severity does. EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES: The reader will be able to: (1) describe how listeners perceive and react to various frequencies of stuttering; (2) explain how audiovisual versus audio-only samples impact listener perceptions of stuttering and (3) provide examples of the ways in which qualitative data can enhance the understanding of how listeners react to various levels of stuttering.     

REPLACING MALADAPTIVE SPEECH WITH VERBAL LABELING RESPONSES: AN ANALYSIS OF GENERALIZED RESPONDING

We taught three mentally handicapped students to answer questions with verbal labels and evaluated the generalized effects of this training on their maladaptive speech (e.g., echolalia) and correct responding to untrained questions. The students received cues-pause-point training on an initial question set followed by generalization assessments on a different set in another setting. Probes were conducted on novel questions in three other settings to determine the strength and spread of the generalization effect. A multiple baseline across subjects design revealed that maladaptive speech was replaced with correct labels (answers) to questions in the training and all generalization settings. These results replicate and extend previous research that suggested that cues-pause-point procedures may be useful in replacing maladaptive speech patterns by teaching students to use their verbal labeling repertoires.