Effects of spatial frequency content on classification of face gender and expression

The role of different spatial frequency bands on face gender and expression categorization was studied in three experiments. Accuracy and reaction time were measured for unfiltered, low-pass (cut-off frequency of 1 cycle/deg) and high-pass (cutoff frequency of 3 cycles/deg) filtered faces. Filtered and unfiltered faces were equated in root-mean-squared contrast. For low-pass filtered faces reaction times were higher than unfiltered and high-pass filtered faces in both categorization tasks. In the expression task, these results were obtained with expressive faces presented in isolation (Experiment 1) and also with neutral-expressive dynamic sequences where each expressive face was preceded by a briefly presented neutral version of the same face (Experiment 2). For high-pass filtered faces different effects were observed on gender and expression categorization. While both speed and accuracy of gender categorization were reduced comparing to unfiltered faces, the efficiency of expression classification remained similar. Finally, we found no differences between expressive and non expressive faces in the effects of spatial frequency filtering on gender categorization (Experiment 3). These results show a common role of information from the high spatial frequency band in the categorization of face gender and expression.     

Assessment of the efficacy of a psychological treatment for women victims of violence by their intimate male partner

This study evaluates the long-term efficacy of a brief psychotherapeutic cognitive-behavioral program in group format for female victims of violence by their intimate partner. 53 battered women were randomized into one of two intervention programs: one including among others exposure technique (n = 28) and another one in which exposure procedures were substituted by communication skills training (n = 25). Additionally, both programs included: psycho-education, breath control, training to improve self-esteem, cognitive restructuring, problem-solving, planning pleasant activities, and relapse prevention. The treatment was carried out in 8 weekly sessions. Measures of posttraumatic symptoms, anxiety, depression, self-esteem and anger expression were analyzed at pre- and post-treatment, and at 1-, 3-, 6- and 12-months follow-ups. Results show a pronounced decrease of posttraumatic, depressive and anxiety symptoms, which maintained in the different measure moments, with scarce difference between the two programs. The results and their clinical implications are discussed.     

The Social Phobia Inventory: screening and cross-cultural validation in Spanish adolescents

Availability of brief, self-report measures to be used as screening instruments is crucial to detect correctly youth with social anxiety disorder and therefore, reach those otherwise under-detected and under-treated. A previous study revealed that the Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN) was potentially an appropriate measure for screening social anxiety among US adolescents. However, there is a lack of information concerning its properties as a screening test in other cultures and languages. This is the main objective of this study, although further validity of the scale is provided as well. The sample consisted of 192 adolescents (a sample composed of 114 subjects with a principal diagnosis of social anxiety disorder; and a group consisting of 78 subjects with no diagnosis of social phobia). Results suggest that the Social Phobia Inventory has demonstrated good psychometric properties and indeed may be used as a screening tool in Spanish-speaking adolescents.     

Brief version of the Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale - Straightforward Items (BFNE-S): psychometric properties in a Spanish population

The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Brief version of the Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale - Straightforward Items (BFNE-S) in a non-clinical Spanish population. Rodebaugh et al. (2004) recommend the use of this scale composed of 8 straightforwardly-worded items, instead of the 12-item version of the BFNE. The sample consisted of 542 undergraduate students, 71.3% of whom were women and 28.7% were men; the mean age was 21.71 (4.78) years. Exploratory factor analysis produced one factor which accounted for 51.28% of variance. The internal consistency of the scale was alpha = .89. The BFNE-S correlated with the Social Avoidance and Distress Scale (r = .44), the Personal Report of Confidence as Speaker Modified (r = .44), the Public Speaking Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (r = -.38) and both subscales of the Self-Statements during Public Speaking (SSPS-P r = -.22; SSPS-N r = .53). ANOVAs revealed significant differences in the BFNE-S amongst a non-clinical population, persons suffering from specific social phobia, non-generalized social phobia and generalized social phobia.     

Dealing with conflicting information: young children's reliance on what they see versus what they are told

Children often learn about the world through direct observation. However, much of children's knowledge is acquired through the testimony of others. This research investigates how preschoolers weigh these two sources of information when they are in conflict. Children watched as an adult hid a toy in one location. Then the adult told children that the toy was in a different location (i.e. false testimony). When retrieving the toy, 4- and 5-year-olds relied on what they had seen and disregarded the adult's false testimony. However, most 3-year-olds deferred to the false testimony, despite what they had directly observed. Importantly, with a positive searching experience based on what they saw, or with a single prior experience with an adult as unreliable, 3-year-olds subsequently relied on their first-hand observation and disregarded the adult's false testimony. Thus, young children may initially be credulous toward others' false testimony that contradicts their direct observation, but skepticism can develop quickly through experience.     

Do Inferences about Age Differences in Emotional Experience Depend on the Parameters Analyzed?

Age differences in emotional experience are assessed through self-report scales or questionnaires referring to a specific period of varying length, and examining different parameters of emotional response. A recent meta-analysis suggests that the type of instrument and parameter used could account for some of the inconsistencies in the results. The present study shows comparisons between emotional experience in samples of younger (N = 120, aged 20–27) and older (N = 103, aged 55–75) participants. An Emotional Self-Monitoring record was administered every day for a week. The results show that emotional expression was highly stable over time. However, they also show that some theoretical assumptions about individual age differences in emotional experience and age depend on the parameters on which the analysis is based (occurrence, frequency and intensity, and emotional balance).     

Tits use amodal completion in predator recognition: a field experiment

Amodal completion enables an animal to perceive partly concealed objects as an entirety, and to interact with them appropriately. Several studies, based upon either operant conditioning or filial imprinting techniques, have shown that various animals (both mammals and birds) can perform amodal completion. Before this study, the use of amodal completion by untrained animals in the recognition of objects had not been considered. Using two feeders, we observed in a field experiment the reaction of tits to the torso of a sparrowhawk (partly occluded or an ‘amputated’ dummy) in two different treatments (sparrowhawk torso vs. complete dummy pigeon; and torso vs. complete dummy sparrowhawk). It is clear that the birds considered the two torso variants as predators and kept away from both of them when the second feeder offered a ‘pigeon’ instead. On the other hand, when a ‘complete sparrowhawk’ was present on the second feeder, the number of visits to the occluded torso remained low; while the number of visits to the amputated one increased threefold. Birds risked perching near what was clearly an amputated torso; while the fear of a “hiding” (occluded) torso remained unchanged, when the second feeder did not provide a safe alternative. Such discrimination between torsos requires the ability for amodal completion. Our results demonstrate that in their recognition process, the birds not only use simple sign stimuli, but also complex cognitive functions.     

Income,Motivation, and Satisfaction with Life: An Empirical Analysis

This paper focuses on how different types of motivations can condition satisfaction with life, studying whether individual heterogeneity in motivations affects the relationship between income and life satisfaction and whether the relationship between motivation and satisfaction differs for people in different income-groups. Data used in this study comes from the World Values Survey and the focus is placed on the relationship between income, motivation and satisfaction with life. Once variables such as gender, age, religion, health or education are controlled for, we find that different motivations significantly affect individual wellbeing. Moreover, our results suggest that moving from extrinsic to intrinsic motivation leads individuals to enjoy greater satisfaction with life. This is so independent of the level of income, but the role of intrinsic motivation is particularly significant for people in the low-income class. Life satisfaction also increases, within extrinsic motivation, when moving from importance placed on a good income to focusing on security and, within intrinsic motivation, when moving from emphasis placed on social relatedness to an increased feeling of accomplishment. Overall, our results suggest that different goals and intended outcomes condition individual’s perceptions of wellbeing, with intrinsic motivations being crucial in attaining greater levels of satisfaction with life.     

Usage frequencies of complement-taking verbs in Spanish and English: Data from Spanish monolinguals and Spanish—English bilinguals

Verb bias, or the tendency of a verb to appear with a certain type of complement, has been employed in psycholinguistic literature as a tool to test competing models of sentence processing. To date, the vast majority of sentence processing research involving verb bias has been conducted almost exclusively with monolingual speakers, and predominantly with monolingual English speakers, despite the fact that most of the world’s population is bilingual. To test the generality of competing theories of sentence comprehension, it is important to conduct cross-linguistic studies of sentence processing and to add bilingual data to theories of sentence comprehension. Given this, it is critical for the field to develop verb bias estimates from monolingual speakers of languages other than English and from bilingual populations. We begin to address these issues in two norming studies. Study 1 provides verb bias norming data for 135 Spanish verbs. A second aim of Study 1 was to determine whether verb bias estimates remain stable over time. In Study 2, we asked whether Spanish—English speakers are able to learn verb-specific information, such as verb bias, in their second language. The answer to this question is critical to conducting studies that examine when, during the course of sentence comprehension, bilingual speakers exploit verb information specific to the second language. To facilitate cross-linguistic work, we compared our verb bias results with those provided by monolingual English speakers in a previous norming study conducted by Garnsey, Lotocky, Pearlmutter, and Myers (1997). Our Spanish data demonstrated that individual verbs showed significant similarities in their verb bias across the 3 years of data collection. We also show that bilinguals are able to learn the biases of verbs in their second language, even when immersed in the first language environment. Appendixes A–C, containing the bilingual norms discussed in the article, may be downloaded from http://brm.psychonomic-journals.org/content/supplemental.