Reward-priming impacts visual working memory maintenance: Evidence from human electrophysiology

Reward can benefit visual processing of reward-associated objects in a non-strategic way. Recent studies have suggested that such influence extends also to visual working memory (VWM) representations of reward-associated stimuli. However, it is not clear yet which mechanisms underlie the behavioural effects in VWM tasks: reward could directly impact on our ability to maintain representations in VWM or it could influence memory indirectly via priming of attentional selection. To distinguish between these alternatives we measured event-related potential indices of selective attention – the N2pc – and VWM maintenance – the CDA (contralateral delay activity) – while participants completed a VWM task. Results show that reward outcome in one trial caused similarly coloured targets to be strongly represented in VWM in subsequent trials, as expressed in a larger-amplitude CDA This was not preceded by a corresponding effect on attentional selection, in so far as our key manipulation had no impact on the N2pc. In a second experiment, we found that reward priming produced a behavioural benefit that emerged over time, suggesting that the representations of reward-associated items stored in VWM are more resistant to interference and decay. We conclude that when the task stresses VWM maintenance, it is at this representational level that reward will have impact.     

Bullying in school and adolescent sense of empowerment: an analysis of relationships with parents,friends, and teachers

We explore the development of bullying and victimization in school by investigating 11‐, 13‐ and 15‐year‐olds' sense of interpersonal empowerment with parents, friends and teachers. A national sample of 4386 male and female students from 243 middle and secondary schools in Italy were surveyed. Boys were more likely than girls to be bullies and more likely to have been a bully/victim. Victimization and the likelihood of being both a bully and a victim declined with age. Bullying increased with age among boys whereas for girls it was slightly more prevalent at age 13 than ages 11 or 15. The sense of empowerment students experience with their teachers decreased in the older cohorts. Disempowered relationships with teachers consistently predicted bullying behaviour. Higher social competence was reported by 13‐ and 15‐year‐old bullies. Chronically bullied students had lower social competence in all age cohorts. Otherwise, predictors of victimization varied by age: 11‐year‐old victims felt less empowered by their teachers; 15‐year‐old victims reported more difficulties in negotiating cooperative relationships with parents. Bullies in all cohorts and younger bully/victims feel less empowered by their teachers. These findings suggest that students who are disempowered by teachers may either compensate by oppressing (bullying) peers or generalize the power differential with peers (become a victim). Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Are the effects of attention on speed judgments genuinely perceptual?

A number of studies in recent years have suggested that exogenous and endogenous attention might enhance the perceived magnitude of various perceptual attributes, such as contrast and motion speed. Those studies have generally used comparative judgments as a measure to assess the point of subjective equality; however, similarity judgments have been proposed as possibly less prone to decision biases (Schneider & Komlos, 2008). In three experiments, using a similarity judgment task, we did not find any evidence of motion speed enhancement by exogenous attention. We suggest that the effect revealed by comparative judgments arises at the decisional, rather than the perceptual, stage.     

An Emotionally Inexpressive (Type C) Coping Style Influences HIV Disease Progression at Six and Twelve Month Follow-ups

This study examined the effects of specific psychosocial factors on the progression of HIV infection in 200 HIV-1 seropositive but asymptomatic men and women. At baseline, participants' disease status was determined, and they were administered self-report assessments of coping style, social support and loneliness. Participants were classified at 6 and 12 month follow-ups as progressed or unchanged, compared to their baseline status. In logistic regression analyses, higher baseline Type C coping scores (indicating emotional inexpressiveness and decreased recognition of needs and feelings) significantly predicted progression at 6 months ( p <0.01) and 12 months ( p <0.02), but only among participants classified at baseline as CDC-A2 (between 200-499 CD4 cells/mm 3 ). In participants originally classified as CDC-A1 (CD4 cell counts > 500/mm 3 ), no psychosocial variable showed any significant relationship. Results emphasize the need to consider the disease context, as well as the interaction between biological and psychological factors in contributing to disease progression.     

Prove it! The Burden of Proof Game in Science vs. Pseudoscience Disputes

The concept of burden of proof is used in a wide range of discourses, from philosophy to law, science, skepticism, and even in everyday reasoning. This paper provides an analysis of the proper deployment of burden of proof, focusing in particular on skeptical discussions of pseudoscience and the paranormal, where burden of proof assignments are most poignant and relatively clear-cut. We argue that burden of proof is often misapplied or used as a mere rhetorical gambit, with little appreciation of the underlying principles. The paper elaborates on an important distinction between evidential and prudential varieties of burdens of proof, which is cashed out in terms of Bayesian probabilities and error management theory. Finally, we explore the relationship between burden of proof and several (alleged) informal logical fallacies. This allows us to get a firmer grip on the concept and its applications in different domains, and also to clear up some confusions with regard to when exactly some fallacies (ad hominem, ad ignorantiam, and petitio principii) may or may not occur.     

Filtering visual onsets via habituation: A context-specific long-term memory of irrelevant stimuli

The fact that we are often immediately attracted by sudden visual onsets provides a clear advantage for our survival. However, how can we resist from being continuously distracted by irrelevant repetitive onsets? Since the seminal work of Sokolov (1963), habituation of the orienting of attention has long been proposed to be a possible filtering mechanism. Here, in two experiments, we provide novel evidence showing that (a) habituation of capture of focused visual attention relies on a stored representation of the distractor onsets in relation to their context, and (b) that once formed such representation endures unchanged for weeks without any further exposure to the distractors. In agreement with the proposal of Wagner (1979) concerning the associative nature of habituation, the results of Experiment 1 suggest that habituation of attentional capture is context specific. Furthermore, the results of Experiment 2 show that to filter visual distractors our cognitive system uses long-lasting memories of the irrelevant information. Although distractor filtering can be implemented via top-down inhibitory control, neural and cognitive mechanisms underlying habituation provide a straightforward explanation for the reduced distraction obtained with training, thus working like an automatic filter that prevents irrelevant recurring stimuli from gaining access to higher stages of analysis.     

Maternal representations during pregnancy and early infant-mother interactions

This paper deals with the influence of maternal representations during pregnancy on the subsequent mother-infant relationship and the infant's style of attachment at 1 year of age. Psychoanalytic thinking, beginning with Freud to the most recent contributions, has considered the great importance of the mental dynamics between parents and children to which empirical research according to Bowlby's theoretical perspective has contributed. The current research project was planned in order to study the intergenerational processes. Starting during pregnancy, the woman was interviewed specifically to study maternal representations of herself as a mother and of the future baby. When the child was 1 year old, the style of attachment was studied during the Ainsworth Strange Situation paradigm and, at the same time, the mother was given the Adult Attachment Interview. Case studies are presented to illustrate, from the clinical point of view, the mental dynamics during pregnancy and the influence on the style of attachment of the baby. The clinical implications are discussed especially in terms of the fantasies in pregnancy and their relevance for the subsequent mother-infant relationship.