In‐group relevance facilitates learning across existing and new associations

Studies have shown that attention prioritizes stimuli associated with the in‐group. However, the extent to which this so‐called in‐group favoritism is driven by relevance is not clear. Here, we investigated this issue in a group of university rowers using a novel perceptual matching task based on the team label–color associations. Across three experiments, participants showed enhanced performance for the in‐group stimulus regardless of its familiarity level. These findings confirmed the role of relevance in in‐group favoritism. In a further control study, the advantage for certain stimuli was not found in an independent sample of participants who were not identified with the teams but were familiar with the label–color associations, indicating that in‐group relevance was necessary for the in‐group favoritism. Together, these findings suggest that in‐group relevance facilitates learning across existing and new associations. The consequences of these findings for understanding in‐group effects on perceptual processing are discussed.     

One man’s freedom fighter is another man’s terrorist: a selected overview of the psychoanalytic and group analytic study of terrorism

This paper is an attempt to understand the significant increase in terrorism worldwide following the 9/11 Al-Quaida bombings which triggered the Bush Administration’s “war on terror”, leading to two wars and ultimately to the emergence of Daesh. I explore the motivation for social violence as terrorism, which can be carried out by the state or by its citizens, and look at how one man’s freedom fighter is another’s terrorist. The paper looks at why seemingly ordinary people are converted into ‘homegrown’ jihadists and how alienation and shame are the driving forces of violence. I give a selected overview of psychoanalytical ideas that try to make sense of the unconscious roots of aggression, hatred and violence. As terrorism is a social activity group analysis has an important contribution to make in understanding the violence of large groupings. The media has a crucial role to play as sensationalist coverage of violence provides terrorists with a free media platform. Both the media and terrorists need an audience and feed off each other. This paper will explore these themes.     

Assessment of the Language Preferences of Five Children with Autism from Spanish-Speaking Homes

Although the number of English Language Learner students is increasing in the US school system, little is known about the preferences of language of instruction, particularly among young students with autism. We implemented a choice assessment with five children with autism to determine preference between English and Spanish instruction using a concurrent-operant design. Participants were allowed to choose between English instruction, Spanish instruction, and a no-language control condition using BIGmack communication devices. We compared choice allocation between previously mastered skills (easy tasks) and targets in the acquisition phase of learning (difficult tasks). None of the participants indicated a preference for language of instruction during easy tasks, while four participants indicated a preference during difficult tasks. Results suggest that the concurrent-operant procedure is an effective method for assessing preference of language of instruction with students with autism.     

Reflections 10 Years Post–Hurricane Katrina: Implications for Addiction Counseling

Ten years post–Hurricane Katrina, the authors reflected on the aftermath through the eyes of addiction treatment professionals to become better prepared for future tragedies. The lessons learned, the authors' personal reflections, and implications for clinical practice and counselor education are provided.     

The Unconscious Consumer: Effects of Environment on Consumer Behavior

In this article, we argue that consumer behavior is often strongly influenced by subtle environmental cues. Using grocery shopping as an example (or a “leitmotif,” if you wish), we first argue that the traditional perspective on consumer choice based on conscious information processing leaves much variance to be explained. Instead, we propose that many choices are made unconsciously and are strongly affected by the environment. Our argument is based on research on the perception–behavior link and on automatic goal pursuit.     

The effects of concurrent verbal and visual tasks on category learning

Current theories of category learning posit separate verbal and nonverbal learning systems. Past research suggests that the verbal system relies on verbal working memory and executive functioning and learns rule-defined categories; the nonverbal system does not rely on verbal working memory and learns non-rule-defined categories (E. M. Waldron & F. G. Ashby, 2001; D. Zeithamova & W. T. Maddox, 2006). However, relatively little research has explored the importance of visual working memory or visual processing for either system. The authors investigated the role of working memory (Experiment 1a and 1b), visual processing (Experiment 2), and executive functioning for each system, using a concurrent task methodology. It was found that visual tasks with high executive functioning demands and verbal tasks with high or low executive demands disrupted rule-defined learning, whereas any visual task, regardless of executive functioning demand, disrupted non-rule-defined learning. Taken together, these results confirm the importance of verbal working memory and executive functioning for the verbal system and provide new evidence for the importance of visual processing for the nonverbal system. These results help to clarify understanding of the nonverbal system and have implications for multiple systems theories of category learning (F. G. Ashby, L. A. Alfonso-Reese, A. U. Turken, & E. M. Waldron, 1998).     

Identifying the task characteristics that predict children's construction task performance

Construction tasks form a major part of children's play and can be linked to achievement in maths and science. However there is a lack of understanding of construction task ability and development. Therefore, there is little foundation for the applied use of construction tasks, such as in teaching or research, as there are no apparent methods for assessing difficulty. This empirical research identifies four construction task characteristics that impact on cognition and predict construction task difficulty in children aged 7–8 and 10–11 years and adults. The results also reveal a developmental trajectory in construction ability. The research provides a method to quantify, predict and control the complexity of construction tasks for future research and to inform applied use. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Accountability for others,perceived resources,and well being: Convergent restricted non‐linear results in two samples

This two‐sample investigation examined the influence of perceived resources on the form and magnitude of the relationships between accountability for others (AFO) and job tension and job satisfaction. Employing resource theory, we hypothesized that the non‐linear relationship between AFO and job tension would surface only for individuals high in perceived resources, whereas the association between these constructs would be positive and linear for individuals low in perceived resources. A similar relationship was hypothesized for AFO and job satisfaction in which the non‐linear effect would arise for individuals high in perceived resources, and negative linear effects would emerge for those low in perceived resources. Data from two samples (N= 201; N= 182) provided support and replication for the hypotheses. Implications of the results and directions for future research are discussed.