The interval for interference in conscious visual imagery

Three experiments are described that use dynamic visual noise (DVN) to interfere with words processed under visual and verbal processing instructions. In Experiment 1 DVN is presented to coincide with the encoding of the words or to coincide with the interval between encoding and recall. The results show that while DVN is a robust disruptor when it is applied during encoding to words processed under visual instruction, it has no effect during encoding when the words are processed under rote instruction. Moreover, DVN has no effect when it is applied during the retention interval, no matter what means are employed to encode the words. Experiment 2 extends these findings by again showing no effect of DVN during the retention interval, yet showing robust interference effects for visually processed words during recall. Finally, Experiment 3 demonstrates that the results of Experiments 1 and 2 cannot be explained by a difference in the time duration associated with application of DVN during the retention interval compared to during encoding and recall. Moreover, the differing decay functions for visually and verbally processed words during the intervals used in Experiment 3 suggest that any failure to cause interference is not because the two processing instructions resulted in words being retained in the same medium. The functions are consistent with word storage mechanisms reflecting appropriately verbal and visual properties. The results are discussed in terms of current models of visual working memory. It is argued that a full interpretation of the results requires a buffer mechanism as an important component of any model of visual working memory.     

A Semantic Network Approach to the Creativity Quotient (CQ)

The Creativity Quotient (CQ) is a novel metric building on ideational fluency that accounts for both the number of novel ideas (ideation) and the number of distinct categories (fluency) these ideas fall into. Categories are, however, difficult to define unambiguously and objectively. We propose that the principal contribution of this article is an entirely algorithmic approach based on concept networks, and an information metric defined thereon. It requires only measures of the similarity between concepts, which may come from databases such as Wordnet, Wikipedia, Google, or corpus analysis tools. In the special case of strong, unique categories it reduces directly to CQ.     

Personal project commitment in adolescence: The role of relatedness,competence and integrity

University (n = 175) and high school (n = 162) students rated their commitment to three personal projects self‐identified as central to their lives, the extent to which each project generated experiences of relatedness, competence and integrity, and how much approval it received from significant others. This study compared the ‘life’ (hobbies, fitness, church, life transitions, intrapersonal, etc.) and education projects of participants who spontaneously generated an example of each (98 university and 70 high school participants). Integrity and competence received higher ratings than relatedness and were the most important predictors of commitment to both types of project. For both groups, education projects received more family/adult approval than life projects and there was much greater variation in approval ratings for the latter. The results suggest that, at least for young people in New Zealand, feeling that you are good at a project and it fits with your values, is almost a proxy for commitment. It is possible that social factors play a less direct role, perhaps by influencing the choice of interpersonal settings in which to carry out important projects. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Using the CLOX drawing task to educate the public of the effects of hearing loss

We describe a task used to educate the public on the importance of hearing and the experience of hearing loss. During an open day at Nottingham University, participants were presented with verbal instructions (with or without a background masker) and asked to draw the image of a clock face as accurately as possible. Poorest performance was observed when the instructions were presented with a background masker. We suggest that the task could be applied effectively by healthcare professionals who aim to educate younger individuals of the difficulties associated with hearing loss.     

Bystander Sexism in the Intergroup Context: The Impact of Cat-calls on Women’s Reactions Towards Men

Despite the fact that sexism is an inherently intergroup phenomenon, women’s group-level responses to sexism have received relatively little empirical attention. We examine the intergroup reactions experienced by 114 female students at a U.S. university in New England who imagined being a bystander to a sexist cat-call remark or control greeting. Results indicate that women experienced greater negative intergroup emotions and motivations towards the outgroup of men after overhearing the cat-call remark. Further, the experience of group-based anger mediated the relationship between the effect of study condition on the motivation to move against, or oppose, men. Results indicate that bystanders can be affected by sexism and highlights how the collective groups of men and women can be implicated in individual instances of sexism.     

Categorization,categorical perception,and asymmetry in infants’ representation of face race

The present study examined whether 6‐ and 9‐month‐old Caucasian infants could categorize faces according to race. In Experiment 1, infants were familiarized with different female faces from a common ethnic background (i.e. either Caucasian or Asian) and then tested with female faces from a novel race category. Nine‐month‐olds were able to form discrete categories of Caucasian and Asian faces. However, 6‐month‐olds did not form discrete categories of faces based on race. In Experiment 2, a second group of 6‐ and 9‐month‐olds was tested to determine whether they could discriminate between different faces from the same race category. Results showed that both age groups could only discriminate between different faces from the own‐race category of Caucasian faces. The findings of the two experiments taken together suggest that 9‐month‐olds formed a category of Caucasian faces that are further differentiated at the individual level. In contrast, although they could form a category of Asian faces, they could not discriminate between such other‐race faces. This asymmetry in category formation at 9 months (i.e. categorization of own‐race faces vs. categorical perception of other‐race faces) suggests that differential experience with own‐ and other‐race faces plays an important role in infants’ acquisition of face processing abilities.     

The changes in psychological characteristics and reactions of elite athletes from injury onset until full recovery

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation was to describe the psychological characteristics and reactions of injured athletes and to examine the changes in these reactions throughout their rehabilitation. This study examined 136 elite injured athletes from 25 sports at four phases: upon injury, partial recovery, semi-recovery, and full recovery. Injury appraisal, athlete's demographics, and emotional and psychological variables were measured. Duration of injuries ranged from 4 to 99 weeks (M = 19 weeks). Changes were examined through a series of repeated measure MAN-OVAs with polynomial contrasts. Findings were typically as expected: increased confidence and vigor and decreased negative emotional responses over the recovery period. The changes over the recovery period were not always at a constant rate. Confidence of adhering to rehabilitation, passive, and emotion-focused coping, remained stable over time. The initial injury appraisal, regarding anticipated loss of time and the psychological impact of this, needs to be examined further. The psychological state of the athlete at the various stages of recovery has important implications for those diagnosing injuries and implementing rehabilitation programs.     

Adverse childhood experiences and coping strategies: identifying pathways to resiliency in adulthood

ABSTRACT

Objective

The current study examined whether coping strategies mediate the link between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and adult psychiatric and physical health outcomes.