Perceived tempo change is dependent on base tempo and direction of change: Evidence for a generalized version of Schulze's (1978) internal beat model

Assumptions of a theory, still influential, of tempo perception by Schulze (1978) are reconsidered in view of counter-evidence from other time-perception and timing studies. Specifically, it is shown that the role of base tempo of stimuli and the orientation of tempo change (acceleration versus deceleration) have to be incorporated in them. Therefore, Schulze's assumptions were extended so as to include the two stimulus parameters. A generalized version of Schulze's internal beat model, one of three formal elaborations of the theory, was tested in an experiment which required subjects (N = 17) to tell the direction of change (acceleration or deceleration) in metronomic tone sequences presented at tempi of 1, 2, or 4 Hz, the amount of tempo change being varied in steps of 2% between –10% (acceleration) and + 10%, including zero change. Psychometric curves obtained from logistic regression analysis showed the limitation of the original assumptions and supported the proposed generalization of Schulze's model. The validity of the theoretical interpretation of the data was discussed with respect to some methodological constraints in the experiment, such as the presentation of the different tempo conditions and the time length of the metronomic stimuli used, and with respect to their applicability to the performance of expressive drift (rubato versus accelerando) in music.     

How borderline personality characteristics affect adolescents’ life satisfaction: The role of rejection sensitivity and social relations

The present study investigated the association between Borderline Personality characteristics (BP characteristics) and life satisfaction in a sample of 111 girls and 144 boys between the ages of 15 and 19 years. Mediation and moderation effects of rejection sensitivity and adolescents’ social relations with their parents and friends on this association were analyzed. Analyses revealed that more BP characteristics in both boys and girls, and more conflict with parents for girls predicted lower satisfaction with life. Furthermore, conflict with parents mediated and rejection sensitivity moderated the association between BP characteristics and life satisfaction, but again only for girls. Implications of these findings suggest the importance of family conflict management and a gender-specific approach in adolescents with BP characteristics.     

Social Job Stressors can Foster Employee Well-Being: Introducing the Concept of Social Challenge Stressors

Existing social stressor concepts disregard the variety of task-related situations at work that require skillful social behavior to maintain good social relationships while achieving certain task goals. In this article, we challenge the view that social stressors at work are solely dysfunctional aspects evoking employee ill health. Drawing from the challenge-hindrance stressor framework, we introduce the concept of social challenge stressors as a job characteristic and examine their relationships with individual well-and ill-being. In study 1, we developed a new scale for the measurement of social challenge stressors and tested the validity of the scale. Results from two independent samples indicated support for a single-factor structure and showed that social challenge stressors are distinct from related stressor concepts. Using two samples, one of which was already used to test the factor structure, we analyzed the unique contribution of social challenge stressors in predicting employee well- and ill-being. As expected, social challenge stressors were simultaneously related to psychological strain and well-being. Using time-lagged data, study 2 investigated mechanisms that may explain how social challenge stressors are linked to well-being and strain. In line with the stress-as-offense-to-self approach, we expected indirect relationships via self-esteem. Additionally, social support was expected to moderate the relationships between social stressors and self-esteem. Whereas the indirect relationships were mostly confirmed, we found no support for the buffering role of social support in the social hindrance stressors-self-esteem link. Although we found a moderation effect for social challenge stressors, results indicated a compensation model that conflicted with expectations.

     

Interregional and intraregional variability of intergroup attitudes predict online hostility

To what extent are intergroup attitudes associated with regional differences in online aggression and hostility? We test whether regional attitude biases towards minorities and their local variability (i.e. intraregional polarization) independently predict verbal hostility on social media. We measure online hostility using large US American samples from Twitter and measure regional attitudes using nationwide survey data from Project Implicit. Average regional biases against Black people, White people, and gay people are associated with regional differences in social media hostility, and this effect is confounded with regional racial and ideological opposition. In addition, intraregional variability in interracial attitudes is also positively associated with online hostility. In other words, there is greater online hostility in regions where residents disagree in their interracial attitudes. This effect is present both for the full resident sample and when restricting the sample to White attitude holders. We find that this relationship is also, in part, confounded with regional proportions of ideological and racial groups (attitudes are more heterogeneous in regions with greater ideological and racial diversity). We discuss potential mechanisms underlying these relationships, as well as the dangers of escalating conflict and hostility when individuals with diverging intergroup attitudes interact. © 2020 The Authors. European Journal of Personality published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Association of Personality Psychology     

The Syntax of Features

The syntax of features is a complicated and densely researched domain, from a variety of theoretical perspectives. The present paper takes one influential syntactic framework [the minimalist program of Chomsky, 1995] as its vantage point, and discusses the major issues that arise within this framework in the domain of the syntax of features, with particular emphasis on Case and agreement.     

Effects of eye movements on the recognition and localization of dichotic stimuli

Three experiments examined the effect of gaze shifts on overall performance and ear differences in dichotic listening. In the first two experiments, lights were switched on and off so as to induce rightward, leftward, or upward gaze during dichotic stimulation. The dichotic material consisted of musical passages in Experiment 1 and two kinds of verbal material in Experiment 2. Vertical eye movements enhanced the accuracy of identification of music but not verbal material. The lateral direction of eye movements affected subjects' ability to localize targets in Experiment 1: localization was more accurate in the direction toward which subjects were looking. In the third experiment it was found that optokinetic nystagmus (OKN) influenced the asymmetry of performance on a dichotic consonant-vowel (CV) test. The right-ear advantage was greatest when the OKN drum rotated from left to right and least when it rotated from right to left. The effect was due to corresponding variation in left-ear scores. Possible mechanisms through which shifts of gaze affect auditory identification and localization are proposed.     

Stutter events and linguistic stress

In the research reporting the concurrence between stuttering and linguistic stress the identification of stress loci has been established regularly through intuitive judgment of the experimenter. The present study reports on a more objective determination of stress loci, and their concurrence with stutter events, which strengthens justification of the usual procedure for identifying stress loci.