Benefits from attention depend on the target type in location-precued discrimination.

In previous research, we found that precuing of attention to a target location greatly improved discrimination of targets that differed in line arrangement, but had little effect on discrimination of targets that differed in line orientation. In the present research, a number of other targets that represent various feature differences were used. The new data are consistent with and extend our earlier findings by showing that (1) there is some effect of precuing with all targets tested, and (2) the size of precuing effects varies in a complex way with the nature of the target. Moreover, the difficulty of the discrimination cannot explain the size of the precuing effects. A framework for understanding the events occurring during trials in the location-cuing paradigm is presented and applied to these results.     

Position-linked interference in forming simple visual groups.

Experiments with 2-element visual groups reveal a form of interference that has several interesting properties. Observers judged the orientation of an imaginary line formed by 2 pixels (the target) while attempting to ignore a third pixel (the noise). Noise interfered with performance, even when it was made distinct from the target in various ways. This interference was strongly position linked; a single equation described the interference pattern for many different target-noise configurations. Maximum interference was observed not when the noise was closest to the target but when it was at a distance of half the separation between target pixels. Some initial findings were consistent with the idea that visual grouping reflects the operation of visual channels with Gabor-like receptive-field profiles. But subsequent results implicated processes that automatically construct visual boundaries.     

Social cognition and the manic defense: attributions, selective attention, and self-schema in bipolar affective disorder.

Manic patients, depressed bipolar patients, and normal controls were compared on measures of social cognition. Manic patients showed a normal self-serving bias on the Attributional Style Questionnaire, but depressed patients attributed negative events more than positive events to self. On an implicit test of attributional style, both patient groups attributed negative events more than positive events to self. Both patient groups showed slowed color naming for depression-related but not euphoria-related words. Manic patients, like normal controls, endorsed mainly positive words as true of self but, like the depressed patients, recalled mainly negative words. Findings from the implicit tests indicate a common form of psychological organization in manic and depressed patients, whereas the contrasts between the scores on the implicit and explicit measures are consistent with the hypothesis of a manic defense.     

In charge but not in control: the management of teaching relationships by adults with low perceived power

The paradoxical use of punitive force by adults with low perceived power was explored in teaching interactions. Punitive force was measured by the intensity of physical effort used in operating controls that displayed negative feedback to child trainees. Women who differed in perceived power were assigned to (a) situations in which they had high, low, or ambiguous control and (b) responsive, unresponsive, or ambiguously responsive children. Women with low perceived power--when given ambiguous control--were more likely than other women to (a) use high levels of punitive force and (b) show elevated levels of autonomic arousal. Arousal, in turn, partially mediated the relationship between perceived power and use of force. Women with low perceived power were also more likely to attribute intentionality to children whose behavior was ambiguous. Results were interpreted as having implications for violence within adult-child relationships.     

Frequency of reinforcement as a parameter of conditioned suppression

Two pigeons were trained on a multiple VI-1; VI-4 min schedule for food reinforcement until a stable differential rate of response was established. Each component of the multiple schedule was in effect for 10 min and was separated from the other by 1 min time out. An Estes-Skinner conditioned suppression procedure was superimposed on each component of the schedule. The relative magnitude of the suppression behavior was measured during its acquisition and extinction, and at CS durations of 100, 200, and 300 sec. The initial magnitude of the suppression behavior was less severe on the VI-1 baseline than on the VI-4, and it extinguished more rapidly on the VI-1. As the relative duration of the CS was increased, the suppression behavior became less severe on both baselines, but the initial differential magnitude in the suppression remained intact.     

Manager personality, manager service quality orientation, and service climate: test of a model

This article conceptually and empirically explores the relationships among manager personality, manager service quality orientation, and climate for customer service. Data were collected from 1,486 employees and 145 managers in grocery store departments (N = 145) to test the authors' theoretical model. Largely consistent with hypotheses, results revealed that core self-evaluations were positively related to managers' service quality orientation, even after dimensions of the Big Five model of personality were controlled, and that service quality orientation fully mediated the relationship between personality and global service climate. Implications for personality and organizational climate research are discussed.     

The Effects of Secret Instructions and Yes/no Questions on Maltreated and Non‐maltreated Children's Reports of a Minor Transgression

This study examined the effects of secret instructions (distinguishing between good/bad secrets and encouraging disclosure of bad secrets) and yes/no questions (DID: “Did the toy break?” versus DYR: “Do you remember if the toy broke?”) on 262 maltreated and non‐maltreated children's (age range 4–9 years) reports of a minor transgression. Over two‐thirds of children failed to disclose the transgression in response to free recall (invitations and cued invitations). The secret instruction increased disclosures early in free recall, but was not superior to no instruction when combined with cued invitations. Yes/no questions specifically asking about the transgression elicited disclosures from almost half of the children who had not previously disclosed, and false alarms were rare. DYR questions led to ambiguous responding among a substantial percentage of children, particularly younger children. The findings highlight the difficulties of eliciting transgression disclosures without direct questions. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.