Development of allocentric spatial recall from new viewpoints in virtual reality

Using landmarks and other scene features to recall locations from new viewpoints is a critical skill in spatial cognition. In an immersive virtual reality task, we asked children 3.5–4.5 years old to remember the location of a target using various cues. On some trials they could use information from their own self‐motion. On some trials they could use a view match. In the very hardest kind of trial, they were ‘teleported’ to a new viewpoint and could only use an allocentric spatial representation. This approach provides a strict test for allocentric coding (without either a matching viewpoint or self‐motion information) while avoiding additional task demands in previous studies (it does not require them to deal with a small table‐top environment or to manage stronger cue conflicts). Both the younger and older groups were able to point back at the target location better than chance when they could use view matching and/or self‐motion, but allocentric recall was only seen in the older group (4.0–4.5). In addition, we only obtained evidence for a specific kind of allocentric recall in the older group: they tracked one major axis of the space significantly above chance, r(158) = .28, but not the other, r(158) = ?.01. We conclude that there is a major qualitative change in coding for spatial recall around the fourth birthday, potentially followed by further development towards fully flexible recall from new viewpoints.     

Gender differences and the awareness of plagiarism in higher education

Plagiarism is increasingly prevalent in the educational and research culture in higher education. Students are more and more looking for quick solutions when writing research papers and theses. In this paper, students’ awareness of plagiarism and possible gender differences in this awareness are presented. Gender differences in plagiarism awareness were analysed both generally and within several socio-economic contexts (e.g. social life, living with parents/grandparents, living in a student hall of residence, motivation for study and working during studies). Our study was conducted at the University of Maribor in Slovenia. The findings have revealed statistically significant gender differences in students’ plagiarism awareness; specifically, women have a much more negative attitude towards plagiarism than men. Regarding awareness, students could be divided into three groups: (1) students who are aware of plagiarism but do not consider it wrong or unethical, (2) students who are unaware of plagiarism, and (3) students who are aware of plagiarism but continue to plagiarise despite knowing it to be wrong. A very busy social life, strong motivation for study and working during studies also strongly affect plagiarism and reveal gender differences. Based on the findings of the study, this paper puts forward recommendations for plagiarism prevention. Our recommendations encompass the implementation of a plagiarism policy within academic institutions, strict sanctions on plagiarism, teaching students how to avoid plagiarism and, finally, a national programme for the promotion of academic integrity.     

Instrumental rationality in psychopathy: implications from learning tasks

Whether psychopathic offenders are practically rational has attracted philosophical attention. The problem is relevant in theoretical discussions in moral psychology and in discussions concerning the appropriate social response to the crimes of these individuals. We argue that classical and current experiments concerning the instrumental learning in psychopaths cannot directly support the conclusion that they have impaired instrumental rationality, construed as the ability to transfer motivation by means-ends reasoning. We claim that these experiments appear to show that psychopaths in certain circumstances are not aware of the relevant means for their ends. Moreover, we suggest how further empirical research could help to settle the issue.     

Action-effect codes in and before the central bottleneck: evidence from the psychological refractory period paradigm

Voluntary motor actions aim at and are thus governed by predictable action effects. Therefore, representations of an action's effects normally must become activated prior to the action itself. In 5 psychological refractory period experiments the authors investigated whether the activation of such effect representations coincides with the response selection stage of information-processing theories. Participants performed 2 choice reaction tasks, separated by variable stimulus onset asynchronies. The authors varied the compatibility between responses and forthcoming sensorial effects (Experiments 1, 2, 3, and 5) or between responses and effect-resembling stimuli (Experiments 4 and 5) in one of the tasks. They observed that compatibility influences from forthcoming (anticipated) response effects were located within the response selection bottleneck, whereas compatibility influences from action-preceding (perceived) effects were due to processes before the bottleneck. These results point to a crucial role of the endogenous activation of action-effect representations for the selection of voluntary motor responses.     

Suppression of intrusive thoughts and working memory capacity in repressive coping

Previous research using a thought suppression paradigm found that repressors are more skilled in suppressing anxious autobiographical thoughts than low anxious, high anxious, and defensive high anxious people. Another line of research showed that individual differences in working memory capacity are related to the ability to intentionally suppress intrusive thoughts. This study aimed at combining these findings and sought to investigate whether repressors' superior ability to suppress intrusive thoughts is related to a larger working memory capacity. Results indicate that in a thought suppression paradigm, repressors report fewer intrusive thoughts for their most anxious experiences than participants in the 3 other subgroups. Furthermore, the superior ability of repressors to avoid intrusive thoughts can be explained largely by their higher working memory capacity.     

Hippocampal Mek/Erk signaling mediates extinction of contextual freezing behavior

Fear memories elicit multiple behavioral responses, encompassing avoidance, or behavioral inhibition in response to threatening contexts. Context-specific freezing, reflecting fear-induced behavioral inhibition, has been proposed as one of the main risks factors for the development of anxiety disorders. We attempted to define the key hippocampal mediators of extinction in a mouse model of context-dependent freezing. Nine-week-old male C57BL/6J mice were trained and tested for contextual fear conditioning and extinction. Freezing behavior scored by unbiased sampling, was used as an index of fear. Proteomic, immunoblot, and immunohistochemical approaches were employed to identify, verify, and analyze the alterations of the hippocampal extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (Erk-1/2). Targeted pharmacological inhibition of the Erk-1/2 activating kinase, the mitogen activated and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (Mek), served to establish the role of Mek/Erk signaling in extinction. When compared to acquisition, extinction of contextual freezing triggered a rapid activation of Erk-1/2 showing a distinctive time-course, nuclear localization, and subcellular isoform distribution. These differences suggested that the upstream regulation and downstream effects of this pathway might be specific for each process. Dorsohippocampal injections of the Mek inhibitors U0126 (0.5 microg/site) and PD98059 (1.5 microg/site) immediately after the nonreinforced trials prevented Erk-1/2 activation and significantly impaired extinction. This effect was dissociable from potential actions on memory retrieval or reconsolidation. On the basis of these findings, we propose that hippocampal Mek/Erk signaling might serve as one of the key mediators of contextual fear extinction.     

Draining the pond: why Singer’s defense of the duty to aid the world’s poor is self-defeating

Philosophical Studies - Peter Singer’s defense of the duty to aid the world’s poor by the pond analogy is self-defeating. It cannot be both true that you ought to save the drowning...     

The Reference Frame Effect: An Intergroup Perspective on Language Attitudes

Invoking self‐categorization and social identity theories, this study predicted that ingroups would be evaluated more favorably than outgroups, but that ingroup membership would change as a function of reference frame. Using the matched‐guise technique, moderate and broad American Southern English accented guises were presented to Californian listeners (N = 175). These were paired either with a Californian‐accented (interregional reference frame) or Punjabi‐accented English speaker (international reference frame). Listeners reported a stronger sense of connection with the Southern‐accented guises, perceived their accents as more similar, and upgraded them on solidarity traits when reference frame was international (i.e., ingroup categorization) rather than interregional (i.e., outgroup categorization). Reference frame had no effect on status ratings. Implications of this reference frame effect are discussed.     

Doing one's duty: chronological age,felt autonomy,and subjective well‐being

Existential, psychosocial, and organismic theories propose that human beings tend towards greater autonomy over the lifespan, and that greater autonomy is associated with greater happiness. We tested these two ideas in the under‐studied domain of social duties by examining the associations between chronological age, felt autonomy while engaging in various social duties, and subjective well‐being (SWB). Study 1 found that older Americans felt more autonomous while voting, tipping, and paying taxes, Study 2 showed that American parents felt more autonomous in their work and citizenship roles compared with their own children, and Study 3 found that older Singaporeans felt more autonomous while obeying authorities, helping distant relatives, and staying politically informed. In all three studies, felt autonomy was also associated with higher SWB. It appears that older persons better internalize their social duties, to their own and societies' benefit. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.