Social attention and real-world scenes: the roles of action, competition and social content

The present study examined how social attention is influenced by social content and the presence of items that are available for attention. We monitored observers' eye movements while they freely viewed real-world social scenes containing either 1 or 3 people situated among a variety of objects. Building from the work of Yarbus (1965/1967) we hypothesized that observers would demonstrate a preferential bias to fixate the eyes of the people in the scene, although other items would also receive attention. In addition, we hypothesized that fixations to the eyes would increase as the social content (i.e., number of people) increased. Both hypotheses were supported by the data, and we also found that the level of activity in the scene influenced attention to eyes when social content was high. The present results provide support for the notion that the eyes are selected by others in order to extract social information. Our study also suggests a simple and surreptitious methodology for studying social attention to real-world stimuli in a range of populations, such as those with autism spectrum disorders.     

Inhibition of return: Unraveling a paradox

Although inhibition of return (IOR) is widely believed to aid search by discouraging reexamination of previously inspected locations, its impact actually appears to decline as the number of target locations increases. We test three possible reasons for this paradoxical result: (1) IOR is capacity-limited, (2) IOR is sensitive to subtle changes in target location probability, and (3) IOR decays with distance from a previously attended location. The present investigation provides strong support for the third explanation, indicating that a gradient of inhibition is centered on previously attended locations. We note that this inhibitory gradient resolves a paradox in the literature. Moreover, we speculate that the inhibitory gradient may reflect a “similarity space” within which target locations near to the cue are tagged with inhibition due to their similarity to the cued location. The farther the target location is away, the less similar it is to the cued location, and thus the less inhibition it receives.     

The Relationship Between Immediate Turnover and Employee Theft in the Restaurant Industry

This paper explores the relationship between immediate turnover and employee theft. Study 1 examined turnover and theft data from a large fast-food chain. The results suggested a relationship between theft and turnover rates. In Study 2, a laboratory study designed to test the causation of the relationship, participants indicated that they would be more likely to steal when they were leaving in two weeks than when leaving in two years. There was no significant interaction with management control. Results suggest that managers might reduce theft by implementing specific strategies when they are aware that employees are terminating employment.     

Neurocognitive profiles of preterm infants randomly assigned to lower or higher hematocrit thresholds for transfusion

Objective: Preterm infants are frequently transfused with red blood cells based on standardized guidelines or clinical concerns that anemia taxes infants' physiological compensatory mechanisms and thereby threatens their health and well-being. The impact of various transfusion guidelines on long-term neurocognitive outcome is not known. The purpose of this study is to evaluate long-term neurocognitive outcome on children born prematurely and treated at birth with different transfusion guidelines.

Methods: Neurocognitive outcomes were examined at school age for 56 preterm infants randomly assigned to a liberal (n?=?33) or restrictive (n?=?23) transfusion strategy. Tests of intelligence, achievement, language, visual-spatial/motor, and memory skills were administered. Between-group differences were assessed.

Results: Those in the liberal transfusion group performed more poorly than those in the restrictive group on measures of associative verbal fluency, visual memory, and reading.

Conclusions: Findings highlight possible long-term neurodevelopmental consequences of maintaining higher hematocrit levels.     

Twelve-month-olds' understanding of prior actions and final goals

Twelve-month-olds were habituated to trials in which a grasping action preceded the holding of an object. Infants recovered looking to test events when a new object was held, but only when this was preceded by prior contact with the object.     

Glowing Praise and the Envious Gaze: Social Dilemmas Surrounding the Public Recognition of Achievement

To determine whether well-intentioned attempts to recognize superior achievement might backfire, these studies drew on recent advances to social comparison theory that emphasize interpersonal costs of outperformance (e.g., Exline & Lobel, 1999b). Undergraduates (N = 122) were asked how top performance on exams should be recognized (Study 1). Students strongly preferred private, anonymous forms of recognition to more public forms of recognition. Study 2 suggested that preferences for recognition reflect sensitivity to both positive and negative peer responses. Study 2 also revealed individual differences in preferences for recognition. Narcissism was positively associated with desire for public recognition and negatively associated with concern about being the target of peer hostility. Competitiveness was associated with beliefs that being recognized for superior achievement would bring hostile reactions from peers. Sociotropy was associated with high levels of concern about both negative and positive peer reactions to public recognition. These findings complement prior research suggesting that public recognition, although self-enhancing, may create social dilemmas. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.