The social-encoding benefit in face recognition is generalized to other-race faces

Faces are visual stimuli that convey rich social information. Previous experiments found better recognition for faces that were evaluated based on their social traits than on their perceptual features during encoding. Here, we ask whether this social-encoding benefit in face recognition is also found for categories of faces that we have no previous social experience with, such as other-race faces. To answer this question, we first explored whether social and perceptual evaluations for other-race faces are consistent and valid. We then asked whether social evaluations during encoding improve recognition for other-race faces. Results show that social and perceptual evaluations of own- and other-race faces were valid. We also found high agreement in social and perceptual evaluations across individuals from different races. This indicates that evaluations of other-race faces are not random but meaningful. Furthermore, we found that social evaluations facilitated face recognition regardless of race, demonstrating a social-encoding benefit for both own- and other-race faces. Our findings highlight the role of social information in face recognition and show how it can be used to improve recognition of categories of faces that are hard to recognize due to lack of experience with them.     

Self-compassion and social anxiety disorder

Self-compassion refers to having an accepting and caring orientation towards oneself. Although self-compassion has been studied primarily in healthy populations, one particularly compelling clinical context in which to examine self-compassion is social anxiety disorder (SAD). SAD is characterized by high levels of negative self-criticism as well as an abiding concern about others' evaluation of one's performance. In the present study, we tested the hypotheses that: (1) people with SAD would demonstrate less self-compassion than healthy controls (HCs), (2) self-compassion would relate to severity of social anxiety and fear of evaluation among people with SAD, and (3) age would be negatively correlated with self-compassion for people with SAD, but not for HC. As expected, people with SAD reported less self-compassion than HCs on the Self-Compassion Scale and its subscales. Within the SAD group, lesser self-compassion was not generally associated with severity of social anxiety, but it was associated with greater fear of both negative and positive evaluation. Age was negatively correlated with self-compassion for people with SAD, whereas age was positively correlated with self-compassion for HC. These findings suggest that self-compassion may be a particularly important target for assessment and treatment in persons with SAD.     

Semantic encoding enhances the pictorial superiority effect in the oldest-old

ABSTRACT We examined the effect of a semantic orienting task during encoding on free recall and recognition of simple line drawings and matching words in middle-aged (44-59 years), older (60-89 years), and oldest-old (90+ years) adults. Participants studied line drawings and matching words presented in blocked order. Half of the participants were given a semantic orienting task and the other half received standard intentional learning instructions. Results confirmed that the pictorial superiority effect was greater in magnitude following semantic encoding compared to the control condition. Analyses of clustering in free recall revealed that oldest-old adults' encoding and retrieval strategies were generally similar to the two younger groups. Self-reported strategy use was less frequent among the oldest-old adults. These data strongly suggest that semantic elaboration is an effective compensatory mechanism underlying preserved episodic memory performance that persists well into the ninth decade of life.     

Patterns of visual dyslexia

This study reports two Hebrew-speaking individuals with acquired visual dyslexia. They made predominantly visual errors in reading, in all positions of the target words. Although both of them produced visual errors, their reading patterns crucially differed in three respects. KD had almost exclusively letter substitutions, and SF also made letter omissions, additions, letter position errors, and between-word migrations. KD had difficulties accessing abstract letter identity in single-letter tasks, and in letter naming, unlike SF, who named letters well. KD did not show lexical effects such as frequency and orthographic neighbourhood effects and produced nonword responses, whereas SF showed lexical effects, with a strong tendency to produce word responses. We suggest that these two patterns stem from two different deficits - KD has letter identity visual dyslexia, which results from a deficit in abstract letter identification in the orthographic-visual analysis system, yielding erroneous letter identities, whereas SF has visual-output dyslexia, which results from a deficit at a later stage, a stage that combines the outputs of the various functions of the orthographic-visual analyzer.     

Asymmetric option effects on ease of choice criticism and defense

Individuals often criticize others’ choices and seek to defend their own. In theory, the ease of criticizing a particular choice should correspond to the ease of defending it. However, we demonstrate that differences in the types of arguments put forth in choice criticism and defense result in a systematic discrepancy in the ease with which these tasks are performed. Specifically, criticism arguments tend to be based on norms or conventions, and defense arguments on idiosyncratic tastes or circumstances; accordingly, whether the chosen option is perceived as un/conventional has a significantly greater effect on the ease of choice criticism than on the ease of choice defense. Furthermore, assessing the ease of choice defense increases the choice share of unconventional options, whereas judging the ease of choice criticism has only a small impact on choice. We discuss the implications of our findings with respect to research on reason-based choice in socially-intensive environments.     

Being in one's chosen job determines pre‐training attitudes and training outcomes

The present study introduces a new important variable into a model of training motivation, namely that of being in one's chosen job. Evidence exists that having some control and choice over aspects of training have positive effects on training motivation. We propose that being in one's chosen job will also have such an effect, as it provides trainees with greater autonomy regarding their career progression (e.g., Gagné & Deci, 2005 ) and aligns their training activity closely with their personal goals (e.g., Locke & Latham, 2002 ). Pre‐ and post‐training surveys were completed by 232 instructors who were themselves on a military training course. Results confirmed the positive effects of being in one's chosen job on the pre‐training attitudes of self‐efficacy and training motivation with further direct effects on motivation to transfer, and indirect effects on knowledge acquisition and post‐training self‐efficacy. Findings have both theoretical and practical ramifications. Being in one's chosen job should be incorporated into models of training motivation and, whenever possible, employees being re‐deployed should be granted their job preference because this is associated with important positive effects on pre‐training attitudes and motivation to transfer new skills to the work environment.     

Stress,appraisal and work routine in wartime: do men and women differ?

Past research has devoted little attention to the role of work routine (i.e., adherence to a consistent pattern of attending work in a regular, predictable manner) in civilians' lives during wartime. The current study offers competing theoretical arguments on how work routine and gender combine to moderate the association between primary appraisal and war-related stress among civilians during the second Lebanon war (July–August 2006). Data were collected using telephone interviews (based on a structured questionnaire) with 2072 civilians. The sample was obtained using a within-strata random-sampling method. Our results suggest that negative affect (a symptom of stress) is associated with more negative primary appraisal of the war situation (i.e., higher threat appraisal). The association between negative affect and appraisal was attenuated among individuals engaging in regular work routine and among men. Moreover, the positive relationship between work routine and appraisal was stronger among women than among men. This study provides insight into the role of the workplace in the lives of civilians exposed to continuing in unsafe situations. In light of the past research suggesting that women are more vulnerable to war-related stress than men, this study proposes that regular work routine may be particularly beneficial for women.     

Anger In Or Out,Which Is Healthier? An Attempt To Reconcile Inconsistent Findings

Abstract

A survey of the literature concerning the relationship between style of anger expression and health disorders does not lead to a clear-cut conclusion. Some studies suggest that the outward expression of anger (anger-out) contributes to health problems of various types, while others present evidence suggesting that it is the suppression of anger (anger-in) which contributes to health problems. The present study examined three conceivable explanations for the contradictory evidence produced in this research area: (1) different aspects of anger expression are differentially related to the individual's health; (2) the pattern of anger expression is related differentially to health disorders of different types; (3) the degree of matching between the individual's style of anger expression and social desirability accounts for the inconsistency in the empirical findings. A sample of 134 men underwent comprehensive medical examinations and also filled in several anger expression questionnaires. The results supported the first hypothesis, namely that intensity of anger expression was negatively correlated with ill health while frequency of anger expression was positively correlated with ill health. No support was found for the hypothesis that anger expression relates differentially to health disorders of different types. However, the matching hypothesis was confirmed in part. It was found that individuals low on both intensity of anger expression and social desirability reported the highest frequency of health problems. The theoretical significance of these findings and their practical implications are discussed.     

framing of prenatal screening test results and women's health-illness orientations as determinants of perceptions of fetal health and approval of amniocentesis

Abstract

Framing effects of medical test results and interactions of these effects with personal perspectives were investigated in the context of prenatal screening. Hundred and Thirty-three pregnant women undergoing the ‘triple-test’ were assessed as having health or illness orientations, and were randomly presented with reassuring/moderate/severe diagnoses framed in normal/abnormal terms, forming a 2 × 3 × 2 between subjects design. Evaluations of fetus' health and recommendations to perform amniocentesis were assessed. Findings showed healthier evaluations of the fetus and weaker recommendations to perform amniocentesis in normal versus abnormal framings. An interaction was found between framing, diagnosis, and personal orientations: women with health orientations receiving a moderate diagnosis framed in abnormal terms were significantly more inclined to recommend amniocentesis than illness-oriented women given the same diagnosis; the normal/abnormal framing of severe diagnoses yielded opposite effects on health-oriented versus illness-oriented women. The influences of framing effects and health/ illness orientations on health perceptions and behavioral intentions were discussed.