The development of perceptual grouping biases in infancy: A Japanese-English cross-linguistic study

Perceptual grouping has traditionally been thought to be governed by innate, universal principles. However, recent work has found differences in Japanese and English speakers’ non-linguistic perceptual grouping, implicating language in non-linguistic perceptual processes (Iversen, Patel, & Ohgushi, 2008). Two experiments test Japanese- and English-learning infants of 5–6 and 7–8 months of age to explore the development of grouping preferences. At 5–6 months, neither the Japanese nor the English infants revealed any systematic perceptual biases. However, by 7–8 months, the same age as when linguistic phrasal grouping develops, infants developed non-linguistic grouping preferences consistent with their language’s structure (and the grouping biases found in adulthood). These results reveal an early difference in non-linguistic perception between infants growing up in different language environments. The possibility that infants’ linguistic phrasal grouping is bootstrapped by abstract perceptual principles is discussed.     

Be yourself,believe in yourself,and be happy: Self‐efficacy as a mediator between personality factors and subjective well‐being

Strobel, M., Tumasjan, A. & Spörrle, M. (2011). Be yourself, believe in yourself, and be happy: Self‐efficacy as a mediator between personality factors and subjective well‐being. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 52, 43–48. Research has shown close connections between personality and subjective well‐being (SWB), suggesting that personality traits predispose individuals to experience different levels of SWB. Moreover, numerous studies have shown that self‐efficacy is related to both personality factors and SWB. Extending previous research, we show that general self‐efficacy functionally connects personality factors and two components of SWB (life satisfaction and subjective happiness). Our results demonstrate the mediating role of self‐efficacy in linking personality factors and SWB. Consistent with our expectations, the influence of neuroticism, extraversion, openness, and conscientiousness on life satisfaction was mediated by self‐efficacy. Furthermore, self‐efficacy mediated the influence of openness and conscientiousness, but not that of neuroticism and extraversion, on subjective happiness. Results highlight the importance of cognitive beliefs in functionally linking personality traits and SWB.     

Factors associated with mothers' obesity stigma and young children's weight stereotypes

Parents and children hold negative attitudes about obesity, but little is known about individual differences in obesity stigma. The current study examined authoritarian parenting style, beliefs about the controllability of weight and fear of fat in relation to mothers' dislike of overweight individuals. Factors related to children's weight stereotypes were also investigated. Forty-nine mothers and children (43% girls) participated. Mothers showed more dislike and blame toward adults who are overweight than children who are overweight; parents were most often blamed for children's weight status. Authoritarian parenting and beliefs about controllability were related to mothers' anti-fat attitudes, but fear of fat was not. However, mothers' fear of fat was the best predictor of children's negative stereotypes toward overweight peers. The current study provides some preliminary insight into the role of mothers in children's attitudes about weight. Examining individual difference factors is also useful in planning targeted interventions to lessen obesity stigma.     

Perceptual representation of spam and phishing emails

Understanding how computer users allocate attention to features of potentially dangerous emails could help mitigate costly errors. Which features are salient? How stable is attention allocation across variation in email features? We attempted to measure the mental salience of several email features common in spam and/or phishing emails. We created two email sets: one in which messages contained company logos and urgent actionable links and one without these features. Participants rated pairwise similarity of emails within each set. Multidimensional scaling (MDS) analysis was conducted to quantify psychological similarity between emails. A separate group rated the same emails for presence of five other features: important downloadable content, collecting personal information, account deletion or suspension, advertisement, and large images with clickable content. Regressing feature ratings onto the MDS coordinates revealed that similarity judgments were influenced mostly by advertisement/large images and collecting personal information, regardless of presence or absence of company logos and urgent actionable links.     

Spectral decomposition of variability in synchronization and continuation tapping: comparisons between auditory and visual pacing and feedback conditions

Spectral analysis was applied to study the variability in human rhythmic synchronization to a visual, auditory or combined auditory-visual metronome of about 2 Hz, as well as the variability in continuation tapping at the same rate with or without visual or auditory feedback. In synchronization, variability was larger in the visual condition than in the auditory and combined conditions, but only below frequencies of about 0.3 Hz. Thus, there seem to be at least two sources of variability in synchronization, one being modality-independent and limited to intervals shorter than 3 s, and the other being modality-dependent and evident as slow "drift", especially in the visual task. In continuation tapping, variability did not depend reliably on the presence or modality of feedback. However, spectral analysis revealed a change in the temporal structure of variability around 0.08 Hz (a period of about 12 s or 24 taps), which roughly agrees with earlier findings reported in the literature.