Circle size and diameter tilt: A new look at integrality and separability

In six experiments using the speeded classification paradigm, we provide evidence that the ostensibly “separable” dimensions of size and orientation can produce patterns of either separability or asymmetric configurality, depending on the spatial arrangement of the stimuli. In all experiments, subjects classified large or small circles contairting a single line in one of two possible orientations. When the line touched the circle’s perimeter, thereby defining the diameter of the circle (Experiments 1–4), asymmetric configurality obtained: Variations in size interfered with classification by orientation, but variations in orientation did not interfere with classification by size, and redundancy gain was weak or absent. When the lines fell completely within (i.e., did not touch) the circles (Experiments 5 and 6), the results were consistent with separability: There was neither redundancy gain nor interference. Taken together, the results add to the growing body of evidence that classification of specific dimensional pairs as separable or integral may be less feasible than identifying the more general conditions that increase or decrease the psychological salience of dimensional structures and facilitate or interfere with selection of optimal processing strategies.     

Mental Simulations, Affect, and Subjective Confidence: Timing Is Everything

Three studies demonstrated that mental simulations and affect are related to temporal changes in subjective confidence. In Study 1, students' confidence in their midterm exam performance lessened from the first day of class (3.5 weeks before the exam) to exam day, and confidence correlated negatively with upward simulations (i.e., simulations that are better than reality) and negative affect. In Study 2, manipulated upward simulations produced low confidence and negative mood even when the exam was viewed from a distance; students who were forced to think about upward simulations 1 month prior to the exam felt no more confident than did students on exam day. In Study 3, manipulated negative moods produced low confidence and more upward simulations when students anticipated laboratory tasks, and again distal and proximal confidence did not differ. Discussion centers around reciprocal relations between mental simulations and affect, and a possibly integrative account of previous explanations.     

The semantic side of decision making

The research reported in this paper follows the perspective that decision making is a meaningful act that conveys information. Furthermore, the potential meanings associated with decision options may affect the decisions themselves. This idea is examined in the contexts of compensation, donation, and exchange. In general, judgments were relation dependent and meaning dependent. Furthermore, the results show nonmonotonicities and limited substitutability in a pattern that challenges straightforward ways of mapping decisions onto a common currency of utility.     

The Reduction(?) of Thermodynamics to Statistical Mechanics

Philosophical Studies -     

Emotion recognition training using composite faces generalises across identities but not all emotions

Many cognitive bias modification (CBM) tasks use facial expressions of emotion as stimuli. Some tasks use unique facial stimuli, while others use composite stimuli, given evidence that emotion is encoded prototypically. However, CBM using composite stimuli may be identity- or emotion-specific, and may not generalise to other stimuli. We investigated the generalisability of effects using composite faces in two experiments. Healthy adults in each study were randomised to one of four training conditions: two stimulus-congruent conditions, where same faces were used during all phases of the task, and two stimulus-incongruent conditions, where faces of the opposite sex (Experiment 1) or faces depicting another emotion (Experiment 2) were used after the modification phase. Our results suggested that training effects generalised across identities. However, our results indicated only partial generalisation across emotions. These findings suggest effects obtained using composite stimuli may extend beyond the stimuli used in the task but remain emotion-specific.     

Mental Simulation, Affect, and Personality: A Conceptual Framework

Recent advances in theory and research on the relations among mental simulation, affect, and personality are summarized and combined. Research has shown that (a) affect and mental simulations can influence each other, (b) mental simulations can serve diverse self-motives, and (c) personality characteristics are related to divergent functions of mental simulations. Findings in these three areas are synthesized into a conceptual framework on the basis of three attributes of mental simulations: (a) time, whether simulations are prospective or retrospective; (b) direction, whether simulations are upward or downward; and (c) focus, whether simulations are contrasted or assimilated. This integrated framework not only may enable a greater understanding of existing findings, but also suggests novel and unique predictions for future research on understanding personality processes, automaticity in simulations, and coping with life events.     

The American experience: Lessons learned

This paper discusses ten lessons learned since 1989 about handling allegations of scientific misconduct involving biomedical and behavioral research supported by the U. S. Public Health Service. An earlier version of this paper was presented at a symposium, Scientific Misconduct: An International Perspective, organised by The Medical University of Warsaw, 16 November, 1998. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Office of Research Integrity, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or any other federal agency.