Neural mechanisms of affective interference in schizotypy

Negatively valenced stimuli foster cognitive impairment in schizotypy and schizophrenia. To identify relevant brain mechanisms, the authors had 16 positive-schizotypy and 16 control participants perform an emotional Stroop task, judging the ink color of negative and neutral words during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of regional brain activity. Schizotypy individuals showed increased right and decreased left activity in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, indicating a deficit in maintenance of attentional set in the presence of negative emotional distractors. They also showed abnormal activity in ventral limbic areas, including decreased activity in nucleus accumbens and increased activity in hippocampus and amygdala, a circuit involved in the integration of cognitive and affective processes. These results indicate that aspects of emotion-cognition processes and the brain mechanisms that implement them are similar in schizotypy and schizophrenia.     

Turnover intentions and voluntary turnover: the moderating roles of self-monitoring, locus of control, proactive personality, and risk aversion

This article explores moderators of the relationship between turnover intentions and turnover behavior to better explain why some employees translate intentions into behavior and other employees do not. Individual differences in self-monitoring, locus of control, proactive personality, and risk aversion were examined. Results indicate that self-monitoring and risk aversion moderate the intentions-turnover link. Specifically, the relationship between turnover intentions and turnover is stronger for low self-monitors and those lower in risk aversion. Locus of control moderated the relationship in 1 of 2 samples such that the relationship was stronger for those with an internal locus of control. Proactive personality, however, did not directly moderate the relationship between intentions and turnover behaviors.     

Line spacing in Mondrian paintings and computer-generated modifications

Students compared computer-generated pictures of which 1 had line spacing and orientation proportional to that in a Mondrian picture (Mondrian-like), and 9 had divergent line spacing (divergently spaced). Preference was above average for the Mondrian-like picture compared with that for the divergently spaced pictures. However, participants did not prefer the Mondrian-like picture to divergently spaced pictures that were preselected as aesthetically pleasing by other participants. The results of the present experiments suggest that a computer algorithm can be developed to modify a picture in a way that is comparable with the way in which humans modify a picture to obtain a preferred picture. If aesthetic appeal is used in the storage and retrieval of visual information, then the algorithm could provide a better understanding of human perceptual processes. The results are related to consistency of aesthetic judgments across participants, levels of processing, and apparent contrast effects.     

A Review of the Children’s Inventory of Anger (ChIA): A Needed Measure

A review and critique of the Children’s Inventory of Anger (ChIA) is presented. The ChIA is a 39-item measure that operationalizes anger according to the conceptualization set forth by Ellis in Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy. The ChIA consists of four subscales (Frustration, Physical Aggression, Peer Relationships, and Authority Relations) which provide information regarding situations that are commonly associated with the experience of anger. Preliminary validity studies demonstrate that the ChIA has excellent reliability and high face validity. The forms are user friendly and easily scored, with norms tables conveniently located within the form. A computer-scoring program is available which significantly reduces clerical errors. The application of the instrument in practice is discussed. Due to the fact that the ChIA attempts to link assessment and intervention it should be useful in advancing the field in regard to treatment evaluation and substantiation of treatment validity. It is also expected to have considerable research utility.     

Silent reading rate and memory span

This paper reports two experiments concerned with the form of the linear function relating memory span to pronunciation rate. Experiment 1 asked whether the intercept of the equation is attributable to an interaction between modality, word-length, and serial position. The results lead us to reject this possibility. Experiment 2 examined the shape of the span function for visual presentation of lists read aloud or silently. The results show that the intercept of the span function disappears for silent presentation but not for aloud presentation. The results are discussed in terms of a balance between two opposing effects of word-length.     

Individual Accountability in Cooperative Learning Groups at the College Level: Differential Effects on High,Average, and Low Exam Performers

Over a three-semester period in a large undergraduate human development course, students were assigned to 5–7 member groups to work together in preparing for an exam in one of the five content units in the course. Their exam performance was tracked over three units: a baseline unit in which students worked only individually, a unit in which they worked in cooperative teams, and a follow-up unit in which the formal cooperative team structure was removed. Three different bonus-credit contingencies were used in the cooperative learning unit across the three semesters: (a) awarding full bonus credit to each individual in the group if the group as a whole improved its exam performance by the specified amount, (b) awarding partial bonus credit to each individual in the group if the group as a whole improved it exam performance by the specified amount and full bonus credit to each individual who also improved by the specified amount, and (c) awarding full bonus credit to an individual in the group if both the group and the individual improved exam performance by the specified amount. The three contingencies produced somewhat similar patterns of change for low and average performers, but the high performers fared better under the last two contingencies than under the group-only contingency.     

Does the compatibility effect in the race Implicit Association Test reflect familiarity or affect?

In the Implicit Association Test (IAT; Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998) involving race classification (white vs. black), an apparent compatibility effect is found between the “pleasant” attribute and the “white” category. This race IAT effect has been interpreted in terms of “implicit prejudice”—that is, more positive evaluation of whites than of blacks that is not open to consciousness. We suggested instead that the race IAT effect is better interpreted in terms of the salience asymmetry account proposed by Rothermund and Wentura (2004), whereby greater familiarity with the white category makes it more salient. Evidence that has been presented against the familiarity interpretation is considered, and alternative interpretations of findings related to the race IAT effect are discussed.     

Applying a psychoeducational perspective to ADHD

This article examines whether various cognitive abilities are associated with symptoms of ADHD. Cognitive ability is conceptualized using Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory as measured using the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability (3rd ed.). This article also examines whether test session behavior mediates the association between cognitive ability and ADHD. Participants are children ages 6 to 12 with (n= 33) and without (n= 19) ADHD. Results show that inattentive symptoms of ADHD are significantly related to the CHC ability of processing speed above and beyond the effect of test session behavior. Symptoms of ADHD (both inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity) are also significantly associated with visual spatial processing, but this is completely mediated by test session behavior. It is concluded that inattentive symptoms of ADHD are associated with slower processing speed and that this relationship is not explained by test session behavior.     

Amygdala activation to sad pictures during high-field (4 tesla) functional magnetic resonance imaging

Fear-related processing in the amygdala has been well documented, but its role in signaling other emotions remains controversial. The authors recovered signal loss in the amygdala at high-field strength using an inward spiral pulse sequence and probed its response to pictures varying in their degree of portrayed sadness. These pictures were presented as intermittent task-irrelevant distractors during a concurrent visual oddball task. Relative to neutral distractors, sad distractors elicited greater activation along ventral brain regions, including the amygdala, fusiform gyrus, and inferior frontal gyrus. In contrast, oddball targets engaged dorsal sectors of frontal, parietal, and cingulate cortices. The amygdala's role in emotional evaluation thus extends to images of grief and despair as well as to those depicting violence and threat.