Shape‐ and Trait‐Congruency: Using Appearance‐based Cues as a Basis for Product Recommendations

This research demonstrates that a consumer's physical appearance—and, more specifically, his or her body size—predictably influences the product(s) that the consumer is recommended. Four studies conducted in both field and lab settings show that agents more frequently recommend round (vs. angular) shaped products to heavier targets, notably for products and categories in which body size is irrelevant (e.g., lamps and perfume). We attribute this to a combination of shape‐congruency and trait‐congruency, whereby individuals choose products for others based on shared dimensions of the person and product.     

Negative emotion words are less susceptible to repetition blindness

Repeated and orthographically similar words are vulnerable in RSVP, as observed using the repetition blindness (RB) paradigm. Prior researchers have claimed that RB is increased for emotion words, but the mechanism for this was unclear. We argued that RB should be reduced for words with properties that capture attention, such as emotion words. Employing orthographic repetition blindness, our data showed that words with negative emotional valence had a report advantage when they were the second of two similar words (e.g., less RB occurred with HORSE curse than with HORSE purse). This renders emotion RB similar to the use of emotion words in the attentional blink phenomenon. The findings demonstrate the neglected role of competition in conscious recognition of multiple words under conditions of brief display and masking.     

Self‐generated variability in object images predicts vocabulary growth

Object names are a major component of early vocabularies and learning object names depends on being able to visually recognize objects in the world. However, the fundamental visual challenge of the moment‐to‐moment variations in object appearances that learners must resolve has received little attention in word learning research. Here we provide the first evidence that image‐level object variability matters and may be the link that connects infant object manipulation to vocabulary development. Using head‐mounted eye tracking, the present study objectively measured individual differences in the moment‐to‐moment variability of visual instances of the same object, from infants’ first‐person views. Infants who generated more variable visual object images through manual object manipulation at 15 months of age experienced greater vocabulary growth over the next six months. Elucidating infants’ everyday visual experiences with objects may constitute a crucial missing link in our understanding of the developmental trajectory of object name learning.     

Comparing statistical learning across perceptual modalities in infancy: An investigation of underlying learning mechanism(s)

Statistical learning (SL), sensitivity to probabilistic regularities in sensory input, has been widely implicated in cognitive and perceptual development. Little is known, however, about the underlying mechanisms of SL and whether they undergo developmental change. One way to approach these questions is to compare SL across perceptual modalities. While a decade of research has compared auditory and visual SL in adults, we present the first direct comparison of visual and auditory SL in infants (8–10 months). Learning was evidenced in both perceptual modalities but with opposite directions of preference: Infants in the auditory condition displayed a novelty preference, while infants in the visual condition showed a familiarity preference. Interpreting these results within the Hunter and Ames model (1988), where familiarity preferences reflect a weaker stage of encoding than novelty preferences, we conclude that there is weaker learning in the visual modality than the auditory modality for this age. In addition, we found evidence of different developmental trajectories across modalities: Auditory SL increased while visual SL did not change for this age range. The results suggest that SL is not an abstract, amodal ability; for the types of stimuli and statistics tested, we find that auditory SL precedes the development of visual SL and is consistent with recent work comparing SL across modalities in older children.     

A Pilot Study Exploring PTSD Symptom Clusters as Mediators between Trauma Exposure and Attachment Behaviors in Married Adults

The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the mediating effect of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom clusters on the association between trauma exposure and attachment behaviors. Results from bootstrapped mediation analyses with a sample of 116 married adults revealed that total PTSD, avoidance, negative alterations in cognition/mood, and arousal symptoms partially mediated the effect of trauma exposure on perceived attachment behaviors in men only; the intrusion symptom cluster was not significant and there were no significant mediation effects for women. Findings shed light on possible gender variant mechanisms by which trauma may threaten secure attachment bonds in couples.     

Interactive effects of cumulative lifetime traumatic brain injuries and combat exposure on posttraumatic stress among deployed military personnel

Growing research links Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) with greater posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Much of this research has focused on the influence of the presence or severity of a single TBI while neglecting the potential cumulative effects of multiple TBIs incurred across an individual’s lifetime on combat-related PTSD. The present study addressed this gap using a sample of 157 military service members and 4 civilian contractors who underwent structured TBI interviews at a military hospital in Iraq and completed the Combat Experiences Scale (CES) and Posttraumatic Checklist – Military (PCL-M). Results indicated that a greater number of lifetime TBIs were associated with greater PTSD symptoms when accounting for the presence and severity of a recent, deployment-related TBI. Additionally, a significant interaction of number of lifetime TBIs and combat exposure emerged, indicating that exposure to combat yielded greater PTSD symptoms among those with multiple lifetime TBIs compared to those with one or zero lifetime TBIs. These data suggest that incurring multiple TBIs may amplify the link between combat exposure and PTSD and underscore the need to screen for lifetime TBI history.     

Couples' Perceptions of Each Other's Daily Affect: Empathic Accuracy,Assumed Similarity,and Indirect Accuracy

This study examined couples' perceptions of each other's daily affect, using a daily diary methodology. Specifically, we tested the extent to which couples accurately inferred how their partner was feeling (empathic accuracy) and the extent to which spouses used their own feelings as a gauge for how their partner was feeling (assumed similarity). We also tested for indirect accuracy in couples' perceptions; that is, that assumed similarity in the context of actual similarity leads to empathic accuracy. Participants were 51 couples who completed daily diaries for seven consecutive nights. Results based on the Actor‐Partner Interdependence Model indicated that couples showed both empathic accuracy and assumed similarity in their perception of their partner's positive affect; however, they used assumed similarity in rating their partner's hard negative (anger, hostility) and soft negative (sadness, fear) affect. Furthermore, tests of indirect accuracy found that wives were indirectly accurate in perceiving their husbands' positive affect and both husbands and wives were indirectly accurate in perceiving each other's hard negative affect because they were biased. Complementing laboratory studies, the present study highlights that examining couples' perceptions of each other's feelings in contexts of daily life, and differentiating positive and negative emotions, can further our understanding of the role of emotions for healthy relationship functioning.     

Effects of stimulus presentation order during auditory–visual conditional discrimination training for children with autism spectrum disorder

Children with autism spectrum disorder are typically taught conditional discriminations using a match‐to‐sample arrangement. Consideration should be given to the temporal order in which antecedent stimuli (the sample and comparison stimuli) are presented during match‐to‐sample trials, as various arrangements have been used in the extant literature. The purpose of the current study was to compare the effects of four stimulus presentation orders on the acquisition of auditory–visual conditional discriminations. The study included participants from a clinically relevant population (three children with autism spectrum disorder), employed clinically relevant teaching procedures, and included two presentation formats not included in previous comparison evaluations (simultaneous and sample‐first with re‐presentation conditions). Results were found to be learner‐specific; that is, a different stimulus presentation format was most efficient for each participant. We provide suggestions to evaluate stimulus control topographies and enhance experimental control in match‐to‐sample arrangements.     

Built to last: Interactive effects of perceived overqualification and proactive personality on new employee adjustment

We integrate relative deprivation and broaden and build theories to develop a process-based model of perceived overqualification and its relationship with new employee adjustment via “broaden and build” mechanisms (i.e., reciprocal relationships between initial status and change trajectories in work-related positive affect and perceived job autonomy). Additionally, we examine how new employee proactive personality may influence this process. Analyses of weekly survey responses from 331 new employees of a large financial institution throughout their first 90 days of employment revealed that those who felt overqualified generally experienced less work-related positive affect and perceived less job autonomy when beginning their jobs (assessed the first week of employment) than their more qualified counterparts. Moreover, initial levels of perceived job autonomy were positively associated with adjustment outcomes (assessed at 90 days of employment) via linear change in positive affect over time (assessed weekly, up to 8 weeks of employment). These findings suggest that perceived overqualification may negatively influence newcomer adjustment by stunting broaden and build processes. However, proactive personality attenuated this effect. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.