Effects of Task Interruption and Background Speech on Word Processed Writing

Task interruptions and background speech, both part of the everyday situation in office environments, impair cognitive performance. The current experiments explored the combined effects of background speech and task interruptions on word processed writing—arguably, a task representative of office work. Participants wrote stories, in silence or in the presence of background speech (monologues, halfalogues and dialogues), and were occasionally interrupted by a secondary task. Writing speed was comparably low during the immediate period after the interruption (Experiments 1 and 2); it took 10–15 s to regain full writing speed. Background speech had only a small effect on performance (Experiment 1), but a dialogue was more disruptive than a halfalogue (Experiment 2). Background speech did not add to the cost caused by task interruptions. However, subjective measures suggested that speech, just as interruptions, contributed to perceived workload. The findings are discussed in view of attentional capture and interference‐by‐process mechanisms.© 2016 The Authors. Applied Cognitive Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Short-term consolidation of individual identities leads to Lag-1 sparing

A rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) technique was used to investigate the role of the nature of processing carried out on targets in the Lag-1 sparing phenomenon. Lag-1 sparing refers to a higher accuracy in the task associated with the 2nd target when the 2 targets are immediately successive in the RSVP stream relative to when there are 1 or 2 intervening items between the targets. In 5 experiments, 0, 1, or 2 digits were embedded with equal probability in RSVP streams of letter distractors. In 4 of the experiments, subjects identified the digits in some blocks of trials, and they counted the number of presented digits in other blocks. In a 5th experiment, the counting task was replaced with a digit-sum task. The most interesting results were those from trials with 2 digits. Lag-1 sparing was always evident when the task involved the explicit identification of the digits. In addition, Lag-1 sparing was evident when subjects were required to sum 2 digits or to count digits of a prespecified parity subclass (e.g., count only even digits). In striking contrast, Lag-1 sparing was absent when subjects were required to count the digits independent of their parity subclass. These results suggest that the occurrence of Lag-1 sparing depends on the type of mental representation that must be generated on the basis of target information.     

A taxonomy of inductive problems

Inductive inferences about objects, features, categories, and relations have been studied for many years, but there are few attempts to chart the range of inductive problems that humans are able to solve. We present a taxonomy of inductive problems that helps to clarify the relationships between familiar inductive problems such as generalization, categorization, and identification, and that introduces new inductive problems for psychological investigation. Our taxonomy is founded on the idea that semantic knowledge is organized into systems of objects, features, categories, and relations, and we attempt to characterize all of the inductive problems that can arise when these systems are partially observed. Recent studies have begun to address some of the new problems in our taxonomy, and future work should aim to develop unified theories of inductive reasoning that explain how people solve all of the problems in the taxonomy.     

High second‐language proficiency protects against the effects of reverberation on listening comprehension

The purpose of this experiment was to investigate whether classroom reverberation influences second‐language (L2) listening comprehension. Moreover, we investigated whether individual differences in baseline L2 proficiency and in working memory capacity (WMC) modulate the effect of reverberation time on L2 listening comprehension. The results showed that L2 listening comprehension decreased as reverberation time increased. Participants with higher baseline L2 proficiency were less susceptible to this effect. WMC was also related to the effect of reverberation (although just barely significant), but the effect of WMC was eliminated when baseline L2 proficiency was statistically controlled. Taken together, the results suggest that top‐down cognitive capabilities support listening in adverse conditions. Potential implications for the Swedish national tests in English are discussed.     

Distraction of Counting by the Meaning of Background Speech: Are Spatial Memory Demands a Prerequisite?

This paper reexamines the effects of background speech on counting. Previous studies have shown that background sound disrupts counting in comparison with silence, but the magnitude of disruption is no larger for spoken numbers compared with that for non‐number speech (there is no effect of the meaning of background speech). The typical task used previously has been to count the number of sequentially presented visual events. We replicated the general finding in Experiment 1—that there is no effect of the meaning of background speech—in the context of the classic sequence counting task. In Experiment 2, the task was changed by having to‐be‐counted dots presented simultaneously and randomly across the visual field. Here, an effect attributable to the meaning of background speech emerged. Background speech that is similar in meaning to the focal task process contributes to the magnitude of disruption, but apparently only when spatial memory processes are a task prerequisite. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

George Lindbeck as a Potential Religious Pluralist

Interreligious dialogue and conversion are two contentious foci for understanding how religion operates. An interpretation of George Lindbeck serves as a starting point for discussion in this paper. The dominant reading is that Lindbeck claims that traditions absorb the world. Religious traditions are isolated, and the one with a greater capacity to assimilate others’ concerns emerges the strongest – implying what is called exclusivism. My proposal is that a different reading of Lindbeck is possible; I am not so much questioning Lindbeck as highlighting another aspect of his oeuvre. If grammar, framework and structure – and not propositional first‐order ontological contents – are given first place, dialogue and conversion appear differently. Questions must be raised, however; isn't it true that there is always some content and substance – even if hidden or disguised?     

How brains beware: neural mechanisms of emotional attention

Emotional processes not only serve to record the value of sensory events, but also to elicit adaptive responses and modify perception. Recent research using functional brain imaging in human subjects has begun to reveal neural substrates by which sensory processing and attention can be modulated by the affective significance of stimuli. The amygdala plays a crucial role in providing both direct and indirect top-down signals on sensory pathways, which can influence the representation of emotional events, especially when related to threat. These modulatory effects implement specialized mechanisms of 'emotional attention' that might supplement but also compete with other sources of top-down control on perception. This work should help to elucidate the neural processes and temporal dynamics governing the integration of cognitive and affective influences in attention and behaviour.     

Is the association between childhood maltreatment and aggressive behavior mediated by hostile attribution bias in women? A discordant twin and sibling study

Understanding the mechanisms behind aggressive behavior (AGG) is vital so that effective prevention and intervention strategies can be developed. Maltreated children are hypothesized to be prone to social information processing biases, such as hostile attribution bias (HAB), which, in turn, may increase the likelihood of behaving aggressively. The first aim of the present study was to replicate findings regarding associations between childhood maltreatment (CM), HAB, and aggression in a population‐based sample of Finnish female twins and their sisters (N = 2,167). However, these associations might not be causal but instead confounded by familial factors, shared between the variables. The second aim was, thus, to test the associations when potential confounding by familial (genetic or common environmental) effects were controlled for using a multilevel discordant twin and sibling design within (a) 379 pairs of twins (n_pairs = 239) or siblings (n_pairs = 140), and (b) within the 131 monozygotic (MZ) twin pairs. Consistent with previous studies, HAB mediated the association between CM and AGG when familial confounding was uncontrolled. No support was found for the mediation when controlling for familial confounding. Between‐pair associations were found between CM and AGG, and between CM and HAB. In addition, within‐pair associations were found between HAB and AGG, and between CM and AGG, however, these were nonsignificant in the discordant MZ analysis, offering the most stringent control of familial confounding. The results indicate the necessity of taking familial confounding into account when investigating the development of AGG.     

Adult age differences in the realism of confidence judgments: overconfidence, format dependence, and cognitive predictors

Realistic confidence judgments are essential to everyday functioning, but few studies have addressed the issue of age differences in overconfidence. Therefore, the authors examined this issue with probability judgment and intuitive confidence intervals in a sample of 122 healthy adults (ages: 35-40, 55-60, 70-75 years). In line with predictions based on the na?ve sampling model (P. Juslin, A. Winman, & P. Hansson, 2007), substantial format dependence was observed, with extreme overconfidence when confidence was expressed as an intuitive confidence interval but not when confidence was expressed as a probability judgment. Moreover, an age-related increase in overconfidence was selectively observed when confidence was expressed as intuitive confidence intervals. Structural equation modeling indicated that the age-related increases in overconfidence were mediated by a general cognitive ability factor that may reflect executive processes. Finally, the results indicated that part of the negative influence of increased age on general ability may be compensated for by an age-related increase in domain-relevant knowledge.     

Emotional Attention: Uncovering the Mechanisms of Affective Biases in Perception

ABSTRACT— The emotional significance of sensory events may influence attention in a reflexive manner, but these effects vary across paradigms and participants. Recent research indicates that specific circuits in the brain may serve to amplify neural responses to emotional stimuli, a modulation similar to attentional effects usually driven by endogenous goals. However, this modulation involves distinct sources in emotional systems such as the amygdala, and may thus operate partly independent of top-down control by attentional systems in frontoparietal cortices. It remains to be clarified to what degree these emotional effects are influenced by specific perceptual and emotional dimensions, automaticity and attentional resources, task goals or expectations, and individual personality traits.