The effectiveness of three strategies to reduce the influence of bias in evaluations of female leaders

This study tests the effectiveness of three strategies [structured free recall (SFR), source monitoring, and error management] to reduce the impact of raters' stereotypes on evaluations of female leaders. Results reveal several three‐way interactions indicating that that the strategies became more effective as raters' implicit bias decreased. Findings show that the source monitoring and SFR methods were more effective than the error management strategy. The results have implications for improving opportunities for women to advance through the leadership ranks. This study adds to the literature by comparing multiple strategies to reduce the influence of individuals' biases in evaluations of women in leadership positions and revealing the importance of considering raters' implicit gender biases in evaluations.     

Models of recognition: A review of arguments in favor of a dual-process account

The majority of computationally specified models of recognition memory have been based on a single-process interpretation, claiming that familiarity is the only influence on recognition. There is increasing evidence that recognition is, in fact, based on two processes: recollection and familiarity. This article reviews the current state of the evidence for dual-process models, including the usefulness of the remember/know paradigm, and interprets the relevant results in terms of the source of activation confusion (SAC) model of memory. We argue that the evidence from each of the areas we discuss, when combined, presents a strong case that inclusion of a recollection process is necessary. Given this conclusion, we also argue that the dual-process claim that the recollection process is always available is, in fact, more parsimonious than the single-process claim that the recollection process is used only in certain paradigms. The value of a well-specified process model such as the SAC model is discussed with regard to other types of dual-process models.     

Does incongruence of lexicosemantic and prosodic information cause discernible cognitive conflict?

We are often required to interpret discordant emotional signals. Whereas equivalent cognitive paradigms cause noticeable conflict via their behavioral and psychophysiological effects, the same may not necessarily be true for discordant emotions. Skin conductance responses (SCRs) and heart rates (HRs) were measured during a classic Stroop task and one in which the emotions conveyed by lexicosemantic content and prosody were congruent or incongruent. The participants’ task was to identify the emotion conveyed by lexicosemantic content or prosody. No relationship was observed between HR and congruence. SCR was higher during incongruent than during congruent conditions of the experimental task (as well as in the classic Stroop task), but no difference in SCR was observed in a comparison between congruence effects during lexicosemantic emotion identification and those during prosodic emotion identification. It is concluded that incongruence between lexicosemantic and prosodic emotion does cause notable cognitive conflict. Functional neuroanatomic implications are discussed.     

The effects of exposure to feminist ideology on women's body image

Body image disturbance has become a common problem among women and there is a need to focus on creating empirically supported treatments. Psychoeducational interventions have reduced body image dissatisfaction, but their impact is limited because they do not offer women adaptive methods of interpreting the many appearance-related messages they receive. This study examined if exposure to a feminist perspective may provide alternative interpretations of cultural messages, thereby increasing body image satisfaction. Participants were randomly assigned to a feminist or psychoeducational intervention, or a control group. Exposure to the feminist condition resulted in increased self-identification as a feminist and greater appearance satisfaction, and changes in feminist identity were related to positive changes in body image. The findings indicate that exposure to feminist theories may serve as an effective intervention strategy.     

Rhythm deficits in 'tone deafness'

It is commonly observed that 'tone deaf' individuals are unable to hear the beat of a tune, yet deficits on simple timing tests have not been found. In this study, we investigated rhythm processing in nine individuals with congenital amusia ('tone deafness') and nine controls. Participants were presented with pairs of 5-note sequences, and were required to detect the presence of a lengthened interval. In different conditions the sound sequences were presented isochronously or in an integer-ratio rhythm, and these were either monotonic or varied randomly in pitch. It was found that the 'tone deaf' participants exhibited inferior rhythm analysis for the sequences that varied in pitch compared to those that did not, whereas the controls obtained equivalent thresholds for these two conditions. These results suggest that the rhythm deficits in congenital amusia result from the pitch-variations in music.     

The effects of undergarment type on the urinary continence of toddlers

There is a growing trend toward later toilet training of typically developing children. This trend is a problem for caregivers and professionals who work with young children, because it is associated with a number of costs and health risks in child-care settings. Results of a recent study (Tarbox, Williams, & Friman, 2004) suggest that wearing underwear may facilitate the development of toileting skills. Based on these findings, we examined the effects of wearing disposable diapers, disposable pull-on training pants, and underwear on urinary continence of 5 typically developing toddlers in a child-care setting. Underwear decreased incontinence and increased continent urinations for 2 of the 5 participants, produced no improvement in 2 participants, and when combined with increased fluid intake and longer sitting periods, produced some favorable trends for the 5th participant.     

Which cues are available to 24-month-olds? Evidence from point-of-gaze measures during search

In previous research 2-year-olds have failed to show knowledge of solidity in a search task in which a ball rolled behind a screen and was stopped by a barrier. The screen had four doors and the barrier was visible above the door hiding the ball. To establish what cues 2-year-olds might be using, precise point-of-gaze measures were taken during the hiding event. A transparent screen with opaque doors provided two cues: (1) the ball could be tracked until it failed to emerge, and (2) the barrier's position could indicate the correct door. Point-of-gaze measures revealed that children failed to use the more indirect cue of the barrier, which requires reasoning and spatial integration. Their search success was predicted only by the more immediate cue of actively tracking the ball. These findings support the claim that children use best those cues directly related to the object's disappearance, while failing to use cues that entail higher cognitive demands.     

Relationships among team ability composition, team mental models, and team performance

This study examined the relationship between the similarity and accuracy of team mental models and compared the extent to which each predicted team performance. The relationship between team ability composition and team mental models was also investigated. Eighty-three dyadic teams worked on a complex skill task in a 2-week training protocol. Results indicated that although similarity and accuracy of team mental models were significantly related, accuracy was a stronger predictor of team performance. In addition, team ability was more strongly related to the accuracy than to the similarity of team mental models and accuracy partially mediated the relationship between team ability and team performance, but similarity did not.