Speak your mind and I will make it right: the case of “selection task”

ABSTRACT

The “Wason selection task” is still one of the most studied tasks in cognitive psychology. We argue that the low performance originally obtained seems to be caused by how the information of the task is presented. By systematically manipulating the task instructions, making explicit the information that participants are required to infer in accordance with the logical interpretation of the material implication “if, then”, we found an improvement in performance. In Experiment 1, the conditional rule has been formulated within a relevant context and in accordance with the conversational rules of communication, hence transmitting the actual meaning of the material implication. In Experiment 2, a similar improvement has been obtained even without the realistic scenario, only by making explicit the unidirectionality of the material implication. We conclude that task instructions are often formulate neglecting the conversational rules of communication, and this greatly reduces the possibility to succeed in the task.     

PREDICTORS AND EFFECTS OF SELF-OBJECTIFICATION IN LESBIANS

The majority of research on self-objectification has focused on heterosexual women's experiences. This study sought to examine experiences of self-objectification in lesbian women. A path model was developed to examine the relationships between participants' feminist self-identification, levels of internalized heterosexism, objectified body consciousness, and the clinically relevant variables of negative eating attitudes and depression. As has been found with heterosexual women, body surveillance led to shame, which led to negative clinical outcomes. A direct path was also found between levels of surveillance and negative eating attitudes, consistent with previous research on self-objectification among lesbians. Feminist self-identification was not significantly related to the other variables, in contrast to previous research with heterosexual women. Internalized heterosexism was related to negative clinical outcomes, both indirectly through objectification variables and directly to depressive symptomatology. These results provide evidence that self-objectification and internalized heterosexism have negative impacts on the mental health of lesbian women.     

Erfolg,Ausdauer und Aktivität beim Säugling und Kleinkind

Psychological Research -     

Understanding the link between work engagement and affective organisational commitment: The moderating effect of role stress

This study aimed to explore the moderating effect of role ambiguity and role conflict on the relationship between work engagement and affective organisational commitment. Using convenience sampling, a final sample of 179 IT-specialists of services companies in southern Spain was obtained. Moderation analyses were performed using the hierarchical regressions and bootstrapping method (Bias-Corrected confidence intervals). Results showed that work engagement was positively related to affective commitment while role ambiguity and role conflict were negatively related to it. However, only role conflict moderated the relationship between work engagement and affective commitment. That is, at high levels of role conflict, IT-specialists perceiving higher levels of work engagement reported lower levels of affective commitment. This study highlights the hindrance effect of role conflict on one of the most important consequences of work engagement: affective commitment with the organisation. An adequate definition of role and positions could help to reduce the levels of role conflict, increasing the emotional bond to the organisation.     

Die Sehrichtung monokularer und binokularer Objekte bei Bewegung und das Zustandekommen des Tiefeneffektes

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