Anticipated outgroup evaluations and intergroup bias

A study is reported that tests the hypothesis that group members exhibit intergroup bias in response to the belief that outsiders will discriminate against them. To this end, two experimental conditions are included in which subjects anticipate either biased evaluations or fair evaluations respectively. In a control condition, subjects do not expect to be evaluated from an external source. Results indicated, as expected, that those who anticipated biased evaluations from an outgroup exhibited bias themselves, while those who anticipated fair evaluations exhibited outgroup favouritism. The fact that control subjects exhibited the same degree of bias as those who anticipated biased evaluations from the outgroup poses some difficulties for the hypothesized connection between anticipated discrimination and intergoup bias. Thus, it appears that intergroup bias is the rule and not the exception in an intergroup context. Nevertheless, it is clear that anticipated evaluations of outgroup members can effect intergroup bias.     

Singles ads: Gender,social class,and time

The contents of 800 singles ads were examined. They were compared by the gender of the advertiser, the year of appearance (1991 and 1986), and the SES of the target readership (affluent and general). There were very few advertisers who listed themselves as black, so these ads were not included in the study. Gender differences were most important. Men were more likely to offer financial security and seek attractiveness. Women were more likely to offer attractiveness and seek financial security. The gender differences were in agreement with those reported for over a decade and from many geographical areas, although less than half of the advertisers mentioned either finances or attractiveness. Contrary to our hypotheses, the contents of mens' and womens' ads were more different in 1991 than they had been in 1986 and more in conformity with sexual stereotypes. Ads in a paper with an affluent readership were more likely to mention educational and financial status while ads in a paper with a readership throughout the metropolitan area were more likely to mention physical characteristics.     

The influence of perceptual and motor factors on bimanual coordination in a polyrhythmic tapping task

Summary In this study the role of perceptual and motor factors on the motor organization (integrated versus parallel) adopted by musically skilled and unskilled subjects in a polyrhythmic tapping task was investigated. Subjects tapped a 3:2 polyrhythm to match the timing of two isochronous tone trains, one tone train for each hand. Perceptual factors were examined by the manipulation of the frequency difference between the tone trains to produce either an integrated or a streamed percept. Motor factors were examined by comparison of performance on two versions of the 3:2 polyrhythm. In one (simultaneous) version, each cycle of the polyrhythm began with a simultaneous left- and right-hand tap. In the other (shifted) version a 100-ms interval was introduced between the initial left and right taps in each cycle. Examination of the pattern of variances and covariances among intertap intervals suggested that most of the subjects in this study adopted an integrated motor organization that involved interleaving the timing of the two hands. Further analysis revealed that a serial chained model described the pattern of covariances best for the simultaneous pattern, whereas a hierarchical organization described the pattern of covariances for the shifted pattern best. The finding that performance was more accurate with integrated tones than with streamed tones provides some support for a perceptual-motor facilitation hypothesis.     

A stochastic model for inter-keypress times in a typing task

A mathematical model for the inter-keypress times (IKT) in a typing task is proposed. The model, which includes a diffusion process terminated by a single response threshold, was evaluated using data obtained from typists. The differences in performance for successive cross-hand and within-hand keypresses were examined using IKT distributions and hazard functions, and it was shown that the empirical hazard functions could be fit by the theoretical hazard function derived from the convolution of normal and inverse Gaussian random variables. Some possible applications of the model for the evaluation of fatigue and strategic effects in typing are suggested.     

Interference with visual short-term memory

Working memory (Baddeley and Hitch 1974) incorporates the notion of a visuo-spatial sketch pad; a mechanism thought to be specialized for short-term storage of visuo-spatial material. However, the nature and characteristics of this hypothesized mechanism are as yet unclear. Two experiments are reported which examined selective interference in short-term visual memory. Experiment 1 contrasted recognition memory span for visual matrix patterns with that for visually presented letter sequences. These two span tasks were combined with concurrent arithmetic or a concurrent task which involved manipulation of visuo-spatial material. Results suggested that although there was a small, significant disruption by concurrent arithmetic of span for the matrix patterns, there was a substantially larger disruption of the letter span task. The converse was true for the secondary visuo-spatial task. Experiment 2 combined the span tasks with two established tasks developed by Brooks (1967). Span for matrix patterns was disrupted by a visuo-spatial task but not by a secondary verbal task. The converse was true for letter span. These results suggest that the impairment in short-term visual memory resulting from secondary arithmetic reflects a small general processing load, but that the selective interference due to mode of processing is by far the stronger effect. Results are interpreted as being entirely consistent with the notion of a specialized visuo-spatial mechanism in working memory.     

Selective response activation can begin before stimulus recognition is complete: a psychophysiological and error analysis of continuous flow

In discussions of process models of human information processing, the continuous flow conception (Eriksen and Schultz 1979) plays a prominent role. A central prediction of this conception is that any information in a display associated with a response activates that response as soon as it becomes available in the perceptual system. If it concerns the correct response channel, then response facilitation occurs. If it concerns the incorrect response channel, then response competition occurs. To assess these mechanisms more directly, we used psychophysiological measures as well as reaction time (RT). We used the latency of the P3 component of the event related brain potential (ERP) as an index of stimulus evaluation duration, the onset of lateralized motor activity derived from the ERP as an index of selective central motor activation, and the onset of electromyographic activity as an index of the start of peripheral motor activation. Subjects were required to respond to target letters that were either flanked by letters that signalled the opposite response (incompatible arrays), by the target itself (compatible arrays), by letters not associated with a response (neutral arrays), or by no other letters (targets alone). Our results replicated the basic findings obtained in this paradigm. RTs to targets alone did not differ from RTs to compatible arrays. The latter were faster than RTs to neutral arrays, which were faster than RTs to incompatible arrays. P3 latencies were longer on incompatible than on neutral trials, and longer on compatible than on target alone trials. Incorrect central response activation on incompatible trials and correct central response activation on compatible trials, both began earlier than on target alone trials. Peripheral responding on both trial types, however, began later than on target alone trials. More incompatible but less compatible trials than neutral ones exhibited incorrect peripheral response activation. Peripheral response execution was faster and more accurate on compatible than on target alone trials, while it was slower and less accurate on incompatible than on neutral trials. These results indicate, that the flankers activated their associated response channel while display evaluation was still going on, and that response facilitation and competition occurred. After applying criteria proposed by Miller (1988), it was concluded that the set of stimulus recognition processes and the set of response activation processes cannot be regarded as independent stages of processing.     

Identification of letters in the predesignated target paradigm: a word superiority effect for the common word the

The size of the perceptual unit used in reading was addressed using the predesignated target paradigm. Sixteen subjects viewed the following stimuli in random order: the words tee, the, tie, and toe; the nonwords eet, eht, eit, and eot; and the letters e, h, i, and o. Subjects fixated on the location of the center letter and identified the letter as e, h, i, or o, alternatives which were known to them at the onset. A word superiority effect was obtained for the common word the but not for the less common words tee, tie, and toe. The word superiority effect was attributable to bias rather than discriminability: Subjects exhibited a bias to perceive the words in this experiment as the (i.e., there was a bias to perceive h in the t e stimulus presentations). These results suggest that the common word the is processed in reading units that are larger than the letter, and that the system is biased to perceive common rather than uncommon words in data-limited conditions.     

Panic disorder: cognitive-behavioral treatment

The effectiveness of an integrated treatment program utilizing cognitive-behavioral therapies for Panic Disorder was examined. Treatment was comprised of Cognitive Model of Panic-derived procedures, Cognitive Therapy and Applied Relaxation Training. Subjects meeting DSM-III-R criteria for Panic Disorder received thirteen 2.5-hr sessions of outpatient therapy in small groups, over a 12-week period. Subjects were given an extensive rationale of the etiology, development and maintenance of Panic Disorder, within the framework of the Cognitive Model of Panic, and controlled behavioral experiments in panic evocation to internal panicogenic cues, cognitive reappraisal of somatic and ideational cues, breathing retraining, Applied Relaxation Training and Cognitive Therapy to identify and remediate maladaptive beliefs and dysfunctional cognitive schemas. A comprehensive assessment battery was given at pre-mid-post-treatment which included measures of tripartite functioning, global severity, panic, fear, anxiety, depression and psychiatric symptomatology. Analyses indicated statistically significant improvements across all outcome domains. All subjects were free of spontaneous (uncued) panic attacks at post-treatment, and all met operationalized criteria for high endstate functioning. These findings are discussed, with recommendations for future research.