Mental rotation in schizophrenia

Motor imagery provides a direct insight into action representations. The aim of the present study was to investigate the level of impairment of action monitoring in schizophrenia by evaluating the performance of schizophrenic patients on mental rotation tasks. We raised the following questions: (1) Are schizophrenic patients impaired in motor imagery both at the explicit and at the implicit level? (2) Are body parts more difficult for them to mentally rotate than objects? (3) Is there any link between the performance and the hallucinating symptom profile? The schizophrenic patients (n = 13) displayed the same pattern of performance as the control subjects (n = 13). More particularly, schizophrenic patients’ reaction time varied as a function of the angular disparity of the stimuli. On the other hand, they were significantly slower and less accurate. Interestingly, patients suffering from hallucinations made significantly more errors than non-hallucinatory patients. We discussed these latter results in terms of deficit of the forward model. We emphasized the necessity to distinguish different levels of action, more or less impaired in schizophrenia.     

Players’ Gender and Male Referees’ Decisions About Aggression in French Soccer: A Preliminary Study

The aim of this study was to examine (a) aggression displayed by players and (b) referees decisions about these behaviors as a function of the gender of the players in French soccer. Twenty-six games (13 for women and 13 for men) were videotaped. Instrumental aggressive acts and referees decisions were then observed. The findings indicated a significant effect of gender on instrumental aggression and referees decisions related to these behaviors. Male players displayed more instrumental aggressive acts than female players did. Nevertheless, relative to the total number of aggressive acts displayed, referees penalized women more than men. Gender stereotypes might be a relevant explanation for these results, as soccer is generally perceived as a masculine-type sport, particularly in France, and aggression as a masculine characteristic.     

Role of proprioceptive information in movement programming and control in 5 to 11-year old children

The role of proprioceptive inputs in the control of goal-directed movements was examined, by means of the tendon vibration technique, in 5 to 11-year old children performing a serial pointing task. Children pointed, with movements of various amplitudes and at various positions, by alternating wrist flexions and extensions. Tendon vibration was applied to both agonist and antagonist muscles to perturb relevant muscular proprioceptive inputs during the static or dynamic phase of the task, i.e., during stops on targets or during movement execution. Constant and variable amplitude errors as well as constant position error were evaluated. Vibratory perturbation applied during movement execution resulted in a similar reduction in movement amplitude, yielding an increased constant error in all age groups and a systematic position error in the direction of the movement starting point. Perturbing proprioception during static phases preceding movement resulted in an age-related increase in the variable amplitude error, which was maximal in 5-year old children performing extension movements. The results were interpreted in terms of the use of proprioceptive information in the feedforward and feedback based components of movement control in children. In particular, the results indicated (1) developmental changes in the relative weighting of each component, (2) an increased capacity to move from one strategy to the other, depending on the availability of information, and (3) developmental changes from an alternated to an integrated control of amplitude and position in serial pointing.     

An additive factor analysis of the effect of depression on the reaction time of old patients

Depressed participants display longer reaction times (RTs) than control participants. The present study was aimed at deciphering which stages of processing are affected by depression in old adults. Sixteen old depressed patients and 16 old healthy volunteers performed a two-choice visual RT task. Signal intensity, stimulus-response mapping and foreperiod duration were manipulated so as to affect the stages of stimulus preprocessing, response selection and motor adjustment, respectively. Reaction time data suggest that depression spares the stage of stimulus preprocessing but affects the stage of motor adjustment. An analysis of the error rate leaves open the possibility that depression alters the stage of response selection.     

Do not prime hawks with doves: the interplay of construct activation and consistency of social value orientation on cooperative behavior

Low and high consistent pro-socials and pro-selfs were primed with neutral, morality, or might concepts in mixed-motive situations. The authors expected participants' social value orientation to influence cooperative behavior among (a) high consistent individuals in all prime conditions and (b) low consistent individuals in the neutral prime condition only. The authors also expected the primes to influence cooperative behavior more among low than high consistent individuals. Four experiments using supra-liminal (Experiments 1, 2, and 4) or subliminal (Experiment 3) priming and 2-person (Experiments 1-3) or N-person (Experiment 4) social dilemmas partially supported these initial predictions. One intriguing exception was that morality primes reduced cooperation among high consistent pro-selfs. Experiments 2-4 allowed testing for the potential role of expectations in shaping participants' cooperative behavior.     

Flashbulb memories and the underlying mechanisms of their formation: Toward an emotional-integrative model

Flashbulb memories (FBMs) are detailed recollections of the context in which people first heard about important events. The present study investigates three models of the formation and maintenance of FBM. Two models have previously been proposed in the literature (Brown & Kulik, 1977; Conway et al., 1994). A third model of FBM that integrates theories of FBM and recent developments in the field of emotions is proposed. The present study compares these three competing models by investigating the FBMs that Belgian citizens developed upon learning of the unexpected death of their king Baudouin. Structural equation modeling revealed that, as compared to the two previously proposed models, the third model, which takes into account emotional processes, better explains FBM.     

Linking servant leadership to positive deviant behavior: The mediating role of self-determination theory

How can servant leadership focused primarily on developing employees help them to become more ethical and prosocial, and to achieve positive results reaching beyond mere compliance with their tasks? More specifically, we propose that servant leadership may influence employees to engage in positive deviant behavior (PDB), meaning non-conforming behavior that is positive and ethical. Using self-determination theory (SDT), our research examines the effect of perceived servant leadership on the adoption of PDB by employees, mediated by basic psychological needs satisfaction and intrinsic motivation. To this end, we conducted a quantitative study of 344 French employees’ answers to an online survey. Structural equation modeling results indicated that the relationship between perceived servant leadership and innovative PDB is strongly predicted by SDT. Intrinsic motivation mediates the relationship between perceived servant leadership, satisfaction of basic psychological needs, and innovative PDB. Several limitations and implications will be discussed.     

The rich get richer,the poor get even: Perceived socioeconomic position influences micro‐social distributions of wealth

Economic inequality has a robust negative effect on a range of important societal outcomes, including health, wellbeing, and education. Yet, it remains insufficiently understood why, how, and by whom unequal systems tend to be perpetuated. In two studies we examine whether psychological mindsets adopted by the wealthy and the poor in their micro‐social transactions act to perpetuate or challenge inequality. We hypothesized that occupying a wealthier socioeconomic position promotes the pursuit of self‐interest and contributes to inequality maintenance; poorer socioeconomic position, on the other hand, should promote the pursuit of fairness and equality restoration. In Study 1, participants completed an ultimatum game as proposers after being primed to believe they are wealthier or poorer, offering money to either poor or wealthy responders. As expected, the wealthy pursued their self‐interest and the net effect of this behavior contributes to the maintenance of inequality. Conversely, the poor pursued fairness and the net effect of this behavior challenges inequality. In Study 2, participants were responders deciding whether to accept or reject unfair distributions. Compared to the wealthier, the poorer challenged inequality by rejecting unequal offers. The links between micro‐social processes and macro‐societal inequality are discussed.     

Validation of the Greek Cypriot Translation of the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure

Psychopathy is conceived of as a pathological constellation of personality traits, manifested in aberrant behavioral, interpersonal, and emotional tendencies. This study examined within a Greek-speaking nonclinical sample (N = 419) associations between differing phenotypic dimensions of psychopathy (boldness, meanness, disinhibition) assessed via the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure (TriPM) and self-report criterion measures of psychopathology, personality, and history of abuse and neglect. Consistent with predictions of the triarchic model of psychopathy, evidence was found for distinct correlates of the 3 phenotypic dimensions. Boldness was associated with both adaptive (immunity to anxiety/distress, fearlessness, low hostility) and maladaptive tendencies (grandiose manipulative traits, Machiavellian features including desire for control/status, and verbal aggression). Meanness was related to callous and unemotional traits, features of Machiavellianism (e.g., amoral manipulation and distrust of others), physical aggression, and absence of positive parenting. Disinhibition, by contrast, was characterized by anxiety and distress, exposure to violence, and retrospective accounts of abuse history, along with impulsive, irresponsible, and hostile tendencies. These findings indicate that the Greek-Cypriot translation of the TriPM effectively assesses the constructs of the triarchic model and extend what we know about their empirical correlates.