Correction to: Continuous flash suppression and monocular pattern masking impact subjective awareness similarly

Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics - There is an error in Fig. 4, part A. In the “continuous flash suppression” box, the labels “non-dominant eye” and...     

Changing the rate and hippocampal dependence of trace eyeblink conditioning: slow learning enhances survival of new neurons

Trace eyeblink conditioning in which a conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus are separated by a gap, is hippocampal dependent and can rescue new neurons in the adult dentate gyrus from death (e.g., Beylin et al., 2001; Gould et al., 1999). Tasks requiring more training trials for reliable expression of the conditioned response are most effective in enhancing survival of neurons (Waddell & Shors, 2008). To dissociate hippocampal dependence from acquisition rate, we facilitated hippocampal-dependent trace eyeblink conditioning in two ways: a shorter trace interval and signaling the intertrial interval with a post-US cue. Trace conditioning with a shorter trace interval (250ms) requires an intact hippocampus, and acquisition is faster relative to rats trained with a 500ms trace interval (e.g., Weiss et al., 1999). Using excitotoxic hippocampal lesions, we confirmed that eyeblink conditioning with the 250 or 500ms trace interval is hippocampal dependent. However, training with the post-US cue was not hippocampal dependent. The majority of lesion rats in this condition reached criterion of conditioned responding. To determine whether hippocampal dependence is sufficient to rescue adult-generated neurons in the dentate gyrus, rats were injected with BrdU and trained in one of the three trace eyeblink arrangements one week later. Of these training procedures, only the 500ms trace interval enhanced survival of new cells; acquisition of this task proceeded slowly relative to the 250ms and post-US cue conditions. These data demonstrate that rate of acquisition and not hippocampal dependence determines the impact of learning on adult neurogenesis.     

Affiliation Goals and Health Behaviors

People are inherently driven by the need to form and maintain relationships, and these affiliation goals can influence health behaviors in two ways: (a) indirectly, by increasing a person's attention to others and subsequently leaving them more likely to emulate the health behaviors of others (social contagion); (b) directly, by leading people to be more likely to engage in health behaviors they perceive as helping them to form and maintain relationships with others (self-initiated behavioral engagement). In this review, we discuss the evidence for the catalyzing role of affiliation goals in these two processes for a variety of positive (e.g., exercising, smoking-cessation) and detrimental health behaviors (e.g., binge drinking and eating, needle sharing). Additionally, we discuss individual difference factors that may temporarily or chronically activate affiliation goals and ultimately impact health behaviors. Affiliation goals hold many implications for future work, and for improving interventions.     

Comparative analysis of movement characteristics during dead-reckoning-based navigation in humans and rats

Human and rat movement organization was investigated as they searched for randomly located rewards without access to visual information. Under dark conditions, rats foraged for randomly located food pellets (Experiment 1). Blindfolded humans were instructed to search for an ostensible hidden coin using a metal detector (Experiment 2). After locating the food pellet, rats carried it back to the refuge, and after a designated searching time, humans were instructed to return to the start location. Although both species exhibited a high degree of similarity in searching path movement organization and ability to return to the start location, disruption of human searching path organization was associated with impairments in returning to the start location. These results support the vestibular "gain" account of movement organization during dead-reckoning-based navigation.     

Comparing observational software with paper and pencil for time-sampled data: A field test of Interval Manager (INTMAN)

In this article, we describe the Interval Manager (INTMAN) software system for collecting timesampled observational data and present a preliminary application comparing the program with a traditional paper-and-pencil method. INTMAN is a computer-assisted alternative to traditional paper-and-pencil methods for collecting fixed interval time-sampled observational data. The INTMAN data collection software runs on Pocket PC handheld computers and includes a desktop application for Microsoft Windows that is used for data analysis. Standard analysis options include modified frequencies, percent of intervals, conditional probabilities, and kappa agreement matrices and values. INTMAN and a standardized paper-and-pencil method were compared under identical conditions on five dimensions: setup time, duration of data entry, duration of interobserver agreement calculations, accuracy, and cost. Overall, the computer-assisted program was a more efficient and accurate data collection system for time-sampled data than the traditional method.     

An investigation of appearance motives for tanning: The development and evaluation of the Physical Appearance Reasons For Tanning Scale (PARTS) and its relation to sunbathing and indoor tanning intentions

Motives for UV exposure have been shown to be related to appearance concerns, yet little research has examined specific tan appearance attitudes. Given this lacuna, Study 1 involved the identification of six factors among college female tanners: general attractiveness, media influence, family/friends influence, physical fitness appearance, acne reasons, and skin aging concerns. In Study 2, a separate sample of college female tanners were used to validate a higher order factor model, which demonstrated acceptable fit. Additionally, the factors converged in the expected directions, with the general attractiveness and skin aging concerns being the best correlate of UV exposure and sun-protection intentions. The relevance of these findings to skin cancer prevention is discussed.     

On the outside looking in: loneliness and social monitoring

The skill-deficit view of loneliness posits that unskilled social interactions block lonely individuals from social inclusion. The current studies examine loneliness in relation to social attention and perception processes thought to be important for socially skilled behavior. Two studies investigate the association between social monitoring (attention to social information and cues) and self-reported loneliness and number of close social ties. In Study 1, higher levels of loneliness are related to increased rather than decreased incidental social memory. In Study 2, individuals with fewer reported friends show heightened decoding of social cues in faces and voices. Results of these studies suggest that the attentional and perceptual building blocks of socially skilled behavior remain intact, and perhaps enhanced, in lonely individuals. Implications for recent models of belonging regulation and theories of loneliness are discussed.     

Influence of Therapist and Client Behaviors on Therapy Alliance

This study considers the combined effect of therapist behaviors and couples interaction dynamics on therapeutic alliance because it seems to be a significant predictor of successful therapy outcomes. We measured therapeutic alliance using the Working Alliance Inventory, Observer Version (WAI-O), which includes three subscales: goals, tasks, and bond. We investigated the combined effect of therapist behaviors and couples interactions on therapeutic alliance. There were three significant findings: (1) the models better predicted therapeutic alliance for men clients than women clients; (2) combined consideration of partner behaviors and therapist behaviors provided the stronger prediction of therapeutic alliance; and (3) different variables predicted alliance for women clients versus men clients.