When does visual attention select all features of a distractor?

What happens after visual attention is allocated to an object? Although many theories of attention assume that all of its features are selected and processed, there has been little direct evidence that an irrelevant feature dimension of an attended nontarget is processed. In 5 experiments presented here, the authors used a singleton paradigm to investigate the effect of attention on nontarget objects. Participants made a speeded feature discrimination of a target for which the response was either compatible or incompatible with an irrelevant feature dimension of a distractor. The results show that the irrelevant distractor features were processed to the point that they interfered with the response to the target. The response compatibility effect was observed even when the location of the target or the distractor was invariant, although it was much weaker when both locations were invariant. These results demonstrate that in many circumstances, an attended distractor is completely selected and fully processed, and the complete processing of distractors depends on a number of factors, many of which are related to the strength of attention to the distractor.     

Abstract stimuli associated with threat through conditioning cannot be detected preattentively

Studies of anxiety suggest that threat stimuli can be identified preattentively, but this conclusion is questionable because of possible low-level perceptual confounds. Two experiments used visual search tasks in which abstract shapes were conditioned to carry neutral or negative valence. Experiment 1 found generally faster responses to threat-associated abstract stimuli but no evidence that they were detected preattentively, irrespective of trait anxiety level. A similar pattern was found in Experiment 2, in which individuals high in snake or spider fear showed no evidence of preattentive detection of abstract stimuli associated with their feared object. In contrast, implicit behavioral measures showed significant effects of conditioning, demonstrating that targets associated with threat were negatively evaluated in these experiments.     

Punishing and atoning: a new critique of penal substitution

The doctrine of penal substitution claims that it was good (or required) for God to punish in response to human sin, and that Christ received this punishment in our stead. I argue that this doctrine’s central factual claim—that Christ was punished by God—is mistaken. In order to punish someone, one must at least believe the recipient is responsible for an offense. But God surely did not believe the innocent Christ was responsible for an offense, let alone the offense of human sin. So, the central factual claim is mistaken. In the final section, I show that this critique of penal substitution does not apply to the closely-related Anselmian satisfaction theory.     

Environmentalism as a context for expressing identity and generativity: patterns among activists and uninvolved youth and midlife adults

Previous qualitative studies have identified themes of generativity and identity development in the interviews of environmental activists (Chan, 2009 ; Horwitz, 1996 ), suggesting their importance as motives for environmental behavior. The purpose of our study was to extend this work by identifying positive relationships between identity maturity, generativity, and environmentalism using quantitative methodologies. To explore these relationships, we designed quasi‐experimental and correlational studies. We recruited 54 environmental activists and 56 comparison individuals, half of whom were youth (mean age = 22 years) and the other half midlife adults (mean age = 43 years). Sixty‐three percent of our sample was female. Participants completed several environmental, generativity, and identity questionnaires. We found that activists and comparison individuals differed on the identity maturity, generativity, and environmental measures overall. Further, greater identity maturity and generativity were associated with higher environmental engagement. And generativity was found to mediate the relation between identity maturity and environmentalism. Our findings suggest that engaging in generative behaviors may be an important part of the process in forming an environmental identity and engaging in environmental actions.