Leaders as Planners and Movers: Supervisors' Regulatory Modes and Subordinates' Performance

In three field studies, we found that leaders high in both locomotion and assessment tendencies (Studies 1 and 2: evaluated by subordinates; Study 3: evaluated by leaders themselves) elicited higher levels of performance from their subordinates (Studies 1 and 3: as assessed by the subordinates themselves; Study 2: as assessed by their supervisors) than leaders low in one or both of these tendencies. The research supports the notion that locomotion and assessment constitute critical regulatory functions whose conjunction is indispensible for successful performance, whether on the level of the individual (Kruglanski et al., 2000) or the group (Mauro et al., 2009).     

Salience modulation in serial preexposure: implications for perceptual learning

In three experiments rats were given serial preexposure to two flavor stimuli. In Experiment 1, some animals were given exposure to AX followed by the presentation of BX, a forward schedule; the others were given backward preexposure (BX→AX). Conditioning and test trials with the A element showed that salience or effectiveness of A was better protected in the forward than in the backward condition. Experiments 2 and 3 assessed the relevance of this salience modulation mechanism for perceptual learning. In these experiments, generalization of a conditioned aversion from AX to BX was reduced in the forward (but not in the backward) condition only after prolonged exposure, indicating that the establishment of an inhibitory link from B to A is required for successful discrimination. However, generalization to a novel compound stimulus, NX, was reduced in the forward group both after short and long preexposure, suggesting the existence of salience modulation processes that work in parallel with associative inhibition. These results seem to support the existence of a salience modulation mechanism that seems to be beyond the scope of current theories of perceptual learning.     

The impact of the HEXACO personality model in predicting socio-political attitudes: The moderating role of interest in politics

In this paper, the relationships between the HEXACO personality model and socio-political attitudes were investigated. It was hypothesized that the relationship between Honesty-Humility and Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) and that between Openness and Right Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) were moderated by interest in politics. Three hundred and forty-four individuals participated in the study. Results showed that Honesty-Humility affected SDO and Openness affected RWA more strongly among individuals with a higher level of interest in politics. Facet-level analyses revealed that Humility and Experiential Openness were uniquely connected to ideology. These effects were also moderated by interest in politics.     

Effects of category label activation about the elderly

The present research focuses on the study of behavioral effects of non-conscious activation of categories among outgroup (young people) and ingroup members (elderly people). Specifically, non-conscious activation of labels that designate the same group, but with different valence (old vs. elderly), showed an effect on a behavior not directly related to interaction with elderly. The first study with young individuals (N= 62) shows that, after non-conscious activation of a negative label (old), participants displayed longer RTs in the first phase of the task than in the case of positive label (elderly) priming. The second study (N= 40), performed with elderly people, shows a similar result, after non-conscious activation of a negative label (old), elderly people showed longer RTs in the first phase of the task, compared with the group in the non-conscious positive label activation condition. Results concerning the theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Influence of perceived social support and functioning on the quality of life of patients with schizophrenia and their caregivers

Perception of social support and functioning of patients with schizophrenia and their primary caregivers and its relationship to quality of life are described. Forty-five patients and their 45 relatives, treated at the Mental Health Services in Arica, Chile, participated. Both patients and caregivers in the study have a poor perception of social support with regard to extra-family people, as well as a low social integration. However, patients showed adequate capacity to function within their immediate family. Unlike what was found in developed countries, these patients showed moderate levels of quality of life, with a strong relationship with perceptions of the social support they receive from family and significant others and the ability to establish and maintain social contacts. Quality of life of primary caregivers is linked to patients' ability to establish and maintain social contacts within the family group, as in other social instances, such as keeping a job. The results of the study suggest the need to consider the design and application of programs of support for these patients and their caregivers, with the central aim of the social functioning of the above-mentioned patients and their familiar and community integration.     

Factor models of the Beck Depression Inventory-II. Validation with coronary patients and a critique of Ward's model

The objective of this study was to validate in a sample of 205 coronary patients a factor model for the BDI-II, especially a model that would allow for modeling of depressive symptoms after explicitly removing bias related to somatic symptoms of depression that would overlap those of heart disease. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses for ordinal data were conducted. A one-factor model, six correlated two-factor models and, derivatives thereof, seven models with a single General Depression factor and two uncorrelated factors, were analyzed. Exploratory analysis extracted two factors, Somatic-affective and Cognitive. Confirmatory factor analyses showed the worst fit for the one-factor model. Two-factor models were surpassed in goodness of fit by the models of general-factor and group factors. Among these, the General, Somatic-affective and Cognitive (G-Sa-C) model of Beck with students is noteworthy. The reduced General, Somatic and Cognitive (G-S-C) model of Ward showed the worst goodness of fit. Our model surpasses the cutoff criteria of all fit indexes. We conclude that the inclusion of a general-factor and group factors in all the models surpasses the results of G-S-C model and, therefore, questions it. The G-Sa-C model is strengthened.     

Influence of background on precision of 3D depth judgment tasks in a real environment

Presently, little is known about the effect of curved backgrounds against which the target stimulus is presented on precision in stereoacuity. The experiment analyzed the influence of stimulus orientation and 3D background configuration on stereoscopic vision. Participants were instructed to perform 3D visual alignment tasks on a modified version of the Howard-Dolman apparatus, whereupon precision in depth perception for different curved backgrounds (flat, black, concave, and convex) was evaluated. In addition, the influence of stimulus orientation (0 degrees, 45 degrees, and 90 degrees) on precision was examined. The findings revealed an underestimation in the perceived depth in all background configurations, indicating highest and lowest precision outcomes for convex and concave backgrounds, respectively. In addition, a significant interaction of background and orientation was found. It was concluded that, in a real environment, background local depth cues are integrated with target stimuli to contribute to depth perception.     

Deciding where to attend: priming of pop-out drives target selection

With attention and eye-movements humans orient to targets of interest. This orienting occurs faster when the same target repeats: priming of pop-out (PoP). While reaction times (RTs) can be important, PoP's real function could be to steer where to orient, a possibility underexposed in many current paradigms, as these predesignate a target to which to orient. In a novel procedure we intermixed pop-out trials (one oddball target, two identical distractors) with choice trials (one item of each kind) where observers freely chose an item to attend to. Pop-out trials strongly drove subsequent choice: observers typically chose the preceding target. Conversely, choice trials affected subsequent pop-out RTs. Conventional PoP measures correlated positively with our choice measures among observers, suggesting common mechanisms. Our results support PoP accounts centered on altered target priority, and underscore PoP's importance for visual exploration.     

Lateralisation of language and emotion in schizotypal personality: Evidence from dichotic listening

Striking disturbances have been reported in language and emotional prosody processing by patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. In view of this and of research suggesting that schizotypal personality traits can also be expressed sub-clinically, the present study aimed to discover whether similar disturbances would be reflected in cognitive laterality patterns when symptoms of schizotypy are present yet at a non-clinical level. A dichotic listening task was used to examine the sensitivity and speed with which 132 right-handed participants (85 females and 47 males, mean age = 32.44, SD = 12.29) detected both words and emotional prosody, all of whom also completed the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire. Findings indicated that both high (n = 64) and low (n = 68) schizotypy groups demonstrated the typical right ear advantage for the detection of words and left ear advantage for the detection of emotional prosody. Individuals with higher schizotypal personality scores also demonstrated poorer sensitivity in detecting emotional prosody. These results reveal that within the healthy population, higher levels of schizotypy are not associated with the atypical lateralisation of language and emotion. Nevertheless, the existence of these symptoms does signal the presence of shared characteristics with the clinical sphere, namely poorer emotion recognition performance.     

Full naming with bi-dimensional abstract stimuli in six-year-old children

The aim of this study was to evaluate a procedure to reveal the emergence of full naming in typically developing children. In Experiment 1, five 6-year-old children (a) learned tacts of pictures and the emergence of the selection of these pictures upon hearing their names was tested; and (b) the selection of other pictures was taught and the emergence of the tacts was tested. All children showed the emergence of picture selection and 3 children showed the emergence of the tacts. In Experiment 2a, the children's correct repetition of the names of 3 pictures was verified first, then the experimenter presented the pictures with their names without requiring any behavior other than attending. Finally, the emergence of picture selection and the tacts was tested. Experiment 2b replicated Experiment 2a with words that were easier to pronounce. Picture selection and the tacts emerged; this performance documented full naming for the first time with typically developing children. These procedures can be used to induce naming capacity in children who lack it; hence, they can be applied to teach children with learning delays.