Repetition costs in word identification: evaluating a stimulus–response integration account

Stimulus repetition facilitates performance in many experimental contexts. However, an episodic approach to interpreting repetition effects suggests that repetition effects should depend on how stimuli are encoded. In Experiments 1-3, stimulus repetition in a word identification task led to a cost rather than a benefit in performance, but only when the prime was presented for a relatively long duration. One account of these results is that long prime durations allow integration between stimulus and response codes to occur, which in turn can interfere with responding to a following identical target. In Experiment 4, a stimulus intensity based episodic specificity effect that was insensitive to the proportion of repeated trials supported this stimulus-response integration account.     

Semantic priming effects from single words in a lexical decision task

The present research examines the semantic priming effects of a centrally presented single prime word to which participants were instructed to either "attend and remember" or "ignore". The prime word was followed by a central probe target on which the participants made a lexical decision task. The main variables manipulated across experiments were prime duration (50 or 100 ms), the presence or absence of a mask following the prime, and the presence (or absence) and type of distractor stimulus (random set of consonants or pseudowords) on the probe display. There was a consistent interaction between the instructions and the semantic priming effects. Relative to the "attend and remember" instruction, an "ignore" instruction produced reduced positive priming from single primes presented for 100 ms, irrespective of the presence or absence of a prime mask, and regardless of whether the probe target was presented with or without distractors. Additionally, reliable negative priming was found from ignored primes presented for briefer durations (50 ms) and immediately followed by a mask. Methodological and theoretical implications of the present findings for the extant negative priming literature are discussed.     

Separate mechanisms recruited by exogenous and endogenous spatial cues: evidence from a spatial Stroop paradigm

The present experiments tested whether endogenous and exogenous cues produce separate effects on target processing. In Experiment 1, participants discriminated whether an arrow presented left or right of fixation pointed to the left or right. For 1 group, the arrow was preceded by a peripheral noninformative cue. For the other group, the arrow was preceded by a central, symbolic, informative cue. The 2 types of cues modulated the spatial Stroop effect in opposite ways, with endogenous cues producing larger spatial Stroop effects for valid trials and exogenous cues producing smaller spatial Stroop effects for valid trials. In Experiments 2A and 2B, the influence of peripheral noninformative and peripheral informative cues on the spatial Stroop effect was directly compared. The spatial Stroop effect was smaller for valid than for invalid trials for both types of cues. These results point to a distinction between the influence of central and peripheral attentional cues on performance and are not consistent with a unitary view of endogenous and exogenous attention.     

Mental Attention, Consciousness, and the Progressive Emergence of Wisdom

I discuss the mental–attentional mechanisms of consciousness, meditation, and the emergence of wisdom. A developmental (neoPiagetian), dynamic flash-light model of mental attention is used. I model the initial stages of consciousness in infancy, showing that the growth of consciousness is influenced by the number of schemes that attention can coordinate. I discuss ordinary consciousness in adults and the stages/levels of adult development in consciousness. Wisdom is defined as an expectable but often missed outcome of adult development. To accelerate access to wisdom, two complementary paths are mentioned: a natural life-experience path and a meditation path. Maturational organismic factors and the role of mental attentional mechanisms in these two paths are discussed, and a constructivist neuropsychological model of what happens in the brain during meditation, and in higher consciousness, is sketched. Processes involved in higher stages of consciousness are then examined from this perspective.     

视觉工作记忆的巩固加工：时程、模式及机制

在视觉工作记忆加工过程中, 对记忆项目的维持及操作需要将转瞬即逝的感觉输入转换为稳定的记忆表征, 这一加工过程被定义为视觉工作记忆巩固。鉴于巩固在视觉工作记忆中所起到的“门控”作用, 研究者们已经发展出多种研究范式对其可能涉及的运作机制进行探讨。然而, 在不同范式下所观察到的巩固时程存在较大差异, 其所遵循的巩固模式也尚不清晰。此外, 对于巩固所涉及的理论及神经机制亦存在不同的观点。通过对比不同范式的差异性及梳理各方的观点, 可以有效推动这些问题的解决。未来研究除了可以在多种范式下对巩固模式进行验证, 还可以探究注意在巩固中的作用, 以及项目熟悉性等因素会对巩固加工产生何种影响。     

Factorial invariance,differential item functioning,and norms of the Orgasm Rating Scale

Background/Objective: Orgasm Rating Scale (ORS) assess the subjective orgasm experience in context of sexual relationship. It is composed of four dimensions attributed to the orgasm (Affective, Sensory, Intimacy, and Rewards). The purpose is to analyse the factorial invariance of the ORS across groups, to examine the metric equivalence across sex, and to present the standard scores. Method: A total of 1,472 Spanish adults (715 men and 757 women) were evaluated. They were distributed across age groups (18-34, 35-49 and 50 years old and older). Factorial invariance across different groups and the differential functioning of the items across sex were analyzed, internal consistency was examined, and the standard scores were developed. Results: The structure of the ORS showed strict measurement invariance across sex, relationship status, sexual orientation and education level. It also reached a scalar measurement invariance across age range and duration of the relationship. Some items showed a differential functioning between sexes. Conclusions: The Spanish version of the ORS is invariant across different groups at a factorial level, and it shows equivalence across sex in most of its items at a metric level. The standard scores allow a more accurate assessment of the subjective orgasm experience in context of sexual relationship.     

Spanish version of the Sexual Excitation/Sexual Inhibition Inventory for Women: Factorial structure,reliability and validity evidences

Background/Objective: The Dual Control Model suggests that sexual excitation and associated behaviors are the result of the balance between relatively independent excitatory and inhibitory mechanisms. Based on this theoretical model, the Sexual Excitation/Sexual Inhibition Inventory for Women (SESII-W) was developed to evaluate excitation and inhibition dimensions in women. The aim was to adapt and validate the SESII-W in the Spanish population. Method: A sample of 1,380 heterosexual women (aged 18 to 52) completed the Spanish SESII-W, together with other related instruments. After the translation and adaptation of the SESII-W, a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was performed. Results: CFA resulted in a version consisting of 33 items divided into eight sub-factors, which were grouped into two higher-order factors (Sexual Excitation and Sexual Inhibition). The sub-factors demonstrated adequate internal consistency values except for Sexual Power Dynamics and Concerns about Sexual Function. Test-retest reliabilities were good. Their scores correlated with erotophilia, sexual sensation seeking, age at first intercourse, and number of sexual partners in the expected direction. Conclusions: The Spanish version of SESII-W has adequate psychometric guarantees for use in clinical practice and research, although it would be necessary to further revise factors that showed a lower level of reliability.     

Analysis of categorical moderators in mixed‐effects meta‐analysis: Consequences of using pooled versus separate estimates of the residual between‐studies variances

Subgroup analyses allow us to examine the influence of a categorical moderator on the effect size in meta‐analysis. We conducted a simulation study using a dichotomous moderator, and compared the impact of pooled versus separate estimates of the residual between‐studies variance on the statistical performance of the Q _{B (P)} and Q _{B (S)} tests for subgroup analyses assuming a mixed‐effects model. Our results suggested that similar performance can be expected as long as there are at least 20 studies and these are approximately balanced across categories. Conversely, when subgroups were unbalanced, the practical consequences of having heterogeneous residual between‐studies variances were more evident, with both tests leading to the wrong statistical conclusion more often than in the conditions with balanced subgroups. A pooled estimate should be preferred for most scenarios, unless the residual between‐studies variances are clearly different and there are enough studies in each category to obtain precise separate estimates.     

情绪调节自我效能感在神经质、尽责性与心盛之间的中介作用

以412名大学生为被试,运用问卷调查法探讨情绪调节自我效能感在神经质、尽责性与心盛之间的中介作用。结果表明,(1)神经质与表达积极情绪效能、调节消极情绪效能、心盛呈负相关;(2)尽责性与表达积极情绪效能、调节消极情绪效能、心盛呈正相关;(3)表达积极情绪效能、调节消极情绪效能与心盛呈正相关;(4)神经质通过情绪调节自我效能感的中介作用间接影响心盛,同时尽责性不仅直接影响心盛,还能通过情绪调节自我效能感的中介作用间接影响心盛。