Modifying the gestalt factor of proximity: theories compared

A theoretical controversy between adaptation-level (AL) theory and response-frequency-equalization (RFE) theory was examined. The stimulus presented for judgment was a matrix of dots which varied in appearance as the relative horizontal and vertical separation between the dots was altered. The matrix appeared to be columns of dots (larger horizontal separation), rows of dots (larger vertical separation), or neither row-like nor column-like (when the two separations were equal). A stimulus with an extreme row organization was presented on alternate trials and resulted in more vertical judgments. Both AL theory and RFE theory are shown to be inadequate on two counts. They both predict that the response latencies to the vertical stimuli should be affected, whereas these were unaffected. They both predict that in terms of the categorical decision, 'horizontal' or 'vertical', the responses to both horizontal and vertical stimuli should be affected. It is shown that the context effect is almost entirely on the horizontal stimuli. These results are consistent with a spatial-adaptation model.     

Countering anti-Muslim attitudes among Christian and religiously unaffiliated 13- to 15-year-old students in England and Wales: testing the contact hypothesis

ABSTRACT

Drawing on data provided by 5,811 students from schools in England, Wales, and London who self-identified as either ‘no religion’ or as Christian, this study explored the effect of the contact hypothesis (having friends who are Muslims) on scores recorded on the seven-item Scale of Anti-Muslim Attitude (SAMA), after controlling for type of school (with or without a religious character), location (England, Wales, and London), personal factors (sex and age), psychological factors (extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism) and religious factors (self-assigned affiliation as Christian, worship attendance, and belief in God). The data demonstrated the positive effect of having friends who are Muslim on lowering anti-Muslim attitudes. The path is then described from educational research to curriculum development in the design of resources that offer young learners vicarious experience of having friends who are Muslims.     

Irrelevant Cultural Influences on Belief

Recent work in psychology on ‘cultural cognition’ suggests that our cultural background drives our attitudes towards a range of politically contentious issues in science such as global warming. This work is part of a more general attempt to investigate the ways in which our wants, wishes and desires impact on our assessments of information, events and theories. Put crudely, the idea is that we confirm our assessments of the evidence for and against scientific theories with clear political relevance to our pre‐existing political beliefs and convictions. In this article, I explore the epistemological consequences of cultural cognition. What does it mean for the rationality of our beliefs about issues such as global warming? I argue for an unsettling conclusion. Not only are those on the ‘political right’ who reject the scientific consensus on issues like global warming unjustified in doing so, some of those on the ‘political left’ who accept the consensus are also unjustified in doing so. I finish by addressing the practical implications of my conclusions.