Memory for temporally dynamic scenes

Recognition memory was investigated for individual frames extracted from temporally continuous, visually rich film segments of 5–15 min. Participants viewed a short clip from a film in either a coherent or a jumbled order, followed by a recognition test of studied frames. Foils came either from an earlier or a later part of the film (Experiment 1) or from deleted segments selected from random cuts of varying duration (0.5 to 30?s) within the film itself (Experiment 2). When the foils came from an earlier or later part of the film (Experiment 1), recognition was excellent, with the hit rate far exceeding the false-alarm rate (.78 vs. 18). In Experiment 2, recognition was far worse, with the hit rate (.76) exceeding the false-alarm rate only for foils drawn from the longest cuts (15 and 30?s) and matching the false-alarm rate for the 5?s segments. When the foils were drawn from the briefest cuts (0.5 and 1.0 s), the false-alarm rate exceeded the hit rate. Unexpectedly, jumbling had no effect on recognition in either experiment. These results are consistent with the view that memory for complex visually temporal events is excellent, with the integrity unperturbed by disruption of the global structure of the visual stream. Disruption of memory was observed only when foils were drawn from embedded segments of duration less than 5?s, an outcome consistent with the view that memory at these shortest durations are consolidated with expectations drawn from the previous stream.     

Affect in the abstract: Abstract mindsets promote sensitivity to affect

Affective information is a key element of abstract, gist-based representations. Given this central role of affect in abstract representations, the authors hypothesized that those in an abstract mindset may show more sensitivity to affective information when attending to, interpreting, or responding to external stimuli. Across 5 studies, the authors present consistent evidence that those who tend to view the world in more abstract versus concrete terms, or who have been experimentally induced into an abstract (versus concrete) mindset, had their attention automatically captured by highly-affective stimuli (Studies 1a, 1b, and 1c), automatically extracted the affective connotation of stimuli presented outside of awareness (Study 2), and behaved more consistently with their affective construal of stimuli (Study 3). These findings suggest that the numerous dispositional and situational factors that influence the level at which one construes the world may also have, heretofore overlooked, consequences for basic affective processing. The present research also emphasizes the interdependence of so-called affective and cognitive processes, bridging major literatures on construal and affect that have developed largely independently.     

An Ecological Process Model of Systems Change

In June 2007 the American Journal of Community Psychology published a special issue focused on theories, methods and interventions for systems change which included calls from the editors and authors for theoretical advancement in this field. We propose a conceptual model of systems change that integrates familiar and fundamental community psychology principles (succession, interdependence, cycling of resources, adaptation) and accentuates a process orientation. To situate our framework we offer a definition of systems change and a brief review of the ecological perspective and principles. The Ecological Process Model of Systems Change is depicted, described and applied to a case example of policy driven systems level change in publicly funded social programs. We conclude by identifying salient implications for thinking and action which flow from the Model.     

Personality and economics: Overview and proposed framework

We sketch a framework for exploring the overlap between, and integration of, personality/temperament/character traits and economics. This integrative framework incorporates the study of the evolution and biology of personality, and an investment model from economics. We offer models of the development of traits and the expression of behavior associated with traits that are environmentally contingent. We demonstrate how economic games offer a well-defined and constrained social context to explore and test predictions concerning traits derived from evolutionary theory. We discuss open areas of research in the integration of personality and economics, such as fundamental identification problems in identifying traits. We finish by proposing an agenda for collaborative research on the personality-economics interface (e.g., examining anti-social behavior, psychometrics of preferences, etc.).     

In Search of Bandhood: Consultation with Original Music Groups

Original music groups present a unique and under-explored example of self-initiated task groups. The intragroup life and negotiation of creative differences in three diverse original music groups from New York City were explored. Establishment of a shared group ideology and management of organizational tensions, identified in Murnighan and Conlon's study of professional string quartets, appeared central in the bands' cohesion. The role of group therapist, as a band consultant, was examined.     

The structure of the cognitive revolution: an examination from the philosophy of science

The received view is that psychology has undergone several scientific revolutions similar to those that occurred in the physical sciences. Of these, this paper will consider the cognitive revolution. Because the arguments in favor of the existence of a cognitive revolution are cast using the concepts and terms of revolutionary science, we will examine the cognitive revolution using accounts of revolutionary science advanced by five influential philosophers of science. Specifically, we will draw from the philosophical positions of Popper, Kuhn, Lakatos, Laudan, and Gross for the purpose of discussion. We conclude that no substantive revolution took place according to these accounts. This conclusion is based on data gathered from some of the major participants in the "cognitive revolution" and on a general scholarly survey of the literature. We argue that the so-called cognitive revolution is best characterized as a socio-rhetorical phenomenon.     

Shock-induced hyperalgesia: IV. Generality

Brief-moderate shock (3, 0.75 s, 1.0 mA) has opposite effects on different measures of pain, inducing antinociception on the tail-flick test while lowering vocalization thresholds to shock and heat (hyperalgesia) and enhancing fear conditioned by a gridshock unconditioned stimulus (US). This study examined the generality of shock-induced hyperalgesia under a range of conditions and explored parallels to sensitized startle. Reduced vocalization thresholds to shock and antinociception emerged at a similar shock intensity. Severe shocks (3, 25 s, 1.0 mA or 3, 2 s, 3.0 mA) lowered vocalization threshold to shock but increased vocalization and motor thresholds to heat and undermined fear conditioned by a gridshock or a startling tone US. All shock schedules facilitated startle, but only brief-moderate shock inflated fear conditioning. The findings suggest that brief-moderate shock enhances the affective impact of aversive stimuli, whereas severe shocks attenuate pain.     

Cutting Deep: The Transformative Power of Art in the Anatomy Lab

On Tuesday evenings at New York University School of Medicine (NYUSoM), the anatomy lab is transformed into an art studio. Medical students gather with a spirit of creative enterprise and a unique goal: to turn anatomy into art. They are participants in Art & Anatomy, an innovative drawing course within the Master Scholars Program in Humanistic Medicine (MSPHM)—a component of NYUSoM, which offers elective courses across a range of interdisciplinary topics in medical humanities. Art & Anatomy has had approximately four hundred fifty participants since its inception in 2009. The educational intention of the course is to use drawing as an active mode of learning that enhances visual-perceptual ability and three-dimensional (3D) spatial understanding of the body's interior; however, the course also opens a creative space for participants to process the emotional complexities of cadaver dissection and the anatomy lab experience. The anatomy lab can be the training ground for clinical detachment, but many U.S. medical schools are beginning to attend more closely to the emotional aspects of dissection. The authors maintain that the inherently expressive nature of drawing makes the Art & Anatomy course a novel and effective approach to this endeavor. Select student artwork and a curriculum overview are provided.     

Correia Semantics Revisited

Despite a renewed interest in Richard Angell’s logic of analytic containment (\({\mathsf{AC}}\)), the first semantics for \({\mathsf{AC}}\) introduced by Fabrice Correia has remained largely unexamined. This paper describes a reasonable approach to Correia semantics by means of a correspondence with a nine-valued semantics for \({\mathsf{AC}}\). The present inquiry employs this correspondence to provide characterizations of a number of propositional logics intermediate between \({\mathsf{AC}}\) and classical logic. In particular, we examine Correia’s purported characterization of classical logic with respect to his semantics, showing the condition Correia cites in fact characterizes the “logic of paradox” \({\mathsf{LP}}\) and provide a correct characterization. Finally, we consider some remarks on related matters, such as the applicability of the present correspondence to the analysis of the system \({\mathsf{AC}^{\ast}}\) and an intriguing relationship between Correia’s models and articular models for first degree entailment.