Convergent validity of the Agnew Relationship Measure and the Working Alliance Inventory

The convergent validity of the Agnew Relationship Measure (ARM) and the Working Alliance Inventory (WAI) was assessed in samples drawn from 2 comparative clinical trials of time-limited psychotherapies for depression. In 1 sample, clients (n = 18) and therapists (n = 4) completed self-report versions of both measures after every session (n = 198). In the other sample, clients (n = 39) and therapists (n = 6) completed the ARM, and observers subsequently rated selected audiotaped sessions (n = 78) using the WAI. In both samples, the ARM's core alliance scales (Bond, Partnership, and Confidence) were correlated with the WAI's scales (Bond, Tasks, and Goals) strongly when assessed within client and therapist perspectives and, with some qualifications, moderately when assessed between client, therapist, and observer perspectives, supporting the assumption that the ARM and the WAI measure some of the same core constructs.     

Fitting the mind to the world: face adaptation and attractiveness aftereffects

Average faces are attractive, but what is average depends on experience. We examined the effect of brief exposure to consistent facial distortions on what looks normal (average) and what looks attractive. Adaptation to a consistent distortion shifted what looked most normal, and what looked most attractive, toward that distortion. These normality and attractiveness aftereffects occurred when the adapting and test faces differed in orientation by 90° (+45° vs. −45°), suggesting adaptation of high-level neurons whose coding is not strictly retino- topic. Our results suggest that perceptual adaptation can rapidly recalibrate people's preferences to fit the faces they see. The results also suggest that average faces are attractive because of their central location in a distribution of faces (i.e., prototypicality), rather than because of any intrinsic appeal of particular physical characteristics. Recalibration of preferences may have important consequences, given the powerful effects of perceived attractiveness on person perception, mate choice, social interactions, and social outcomes for individuals.     

Distinguishing between memory illusions and actual memories using phenomenological measurements and explicit warnings

Previous research has demonstrated that the false memory effect is robust and that false memories are essentially indistinguishable from memories for events that actually occurred. The current study used several techniques intended to eliminate false memories (source monitoring decisions, confidence ratings, remember/know judgments, and explicit warnings). A robust false memory effect was found in each experiment. However, participants were able to differentiate false memories and actual memories when using specific phenomenological tasks. The current findings provide insight into basic human memory processes.     

Multinational data show that conspiracy beliefs are associated with the perception (and reality) of poor national economic performance

While a great deal is known about the individual difference factors associated with conspiracy beliefs, much less is known about the country-level factors that shape people's willingness to believe conspiracy theories. In the current article we discuss the possibility that willingness to believe conspiracy theories might be shaped by the perception (and reality) of poor economic performance at the national level. To test this notion, we surveyed 6723 participants from 36 countries. In line with predictions, propensity to believe conspiracy theories was negatively associated with perceptions of current and future national economic vitality. Furthermore, countries with higher GDP per capita tended to have lower belief in conspiracy theories. The data suggest that conspiracy beliefs are not just caused by intrapsychic factors but are also shaped by difficult economic circumstances for which distrust might have a rational basis.     

Factors affecting the success of referential communication

A study was designed to determine the factors that cause difficulty to adolescent listeners performing referential communication. Difficulties might arise because of (a) inability to detect message inadequacy, (b) misperception of task demands, or (c) inability to formulate an adequate question. The results of the present study showed that both able and less able subjects were able to detect message inadequacy almost perfectly, but that less able subjects had severe difficulty in formulating adequate requests for more information. Analysis suggests that in our 13-to 14-year-old subjects information-processing limitations, rather than lack of purely linguistic skills, account for most of the error variance when the task demands are transparent.This research was supported by a grant from the Leverhulme Foundation (U.K.) to the third author, and a grant from the Economic and Social Research Council (U.K.) to the first author (reference CO8250011). We are grateful to R. Lee Humphreys for advice and assistance.     

Laterality effects in identification of caricatures and photographs of famous faces

Recent evidence suggests that memory representations of familiar faces may exaggerate distinctive information as do caricatures (G. Rhodes, S. Brennan, & S. Carey, Cognitive Psychology, 1987). Therefore caricatures should be effective representations of faces and should yield a right hemisphere processing advantage, as do photographs of faces. Photographs and caricatures of famous faces were presented to the left visual (LVF), the right visual field (RVF), and centrally (CVF), in a name-face verification task. There was a LVF (right hemisphere) advantage for both caricatures and photographs on name-face mismatches but no VF difference for matches. These results were true for both accuracy and reaction time. Processing strategy differences that may account for the difference between matches and mismatches are discussed. Performance was generally better for photographs than for caricatures, irrespective of visual field condition.     

The Relation Between Norm Accessibility,Pornography Use,and Parental Mediation Among Emerging Adults

Widespread access to and use of pornography has led to concern about the potentially negative effects of exposure to pornography on emerging adults—its largest user group. Past research shows that salient social norms can influence subsequent behavior. This study, therefore, explored the relationship between salient pornography-related norms and pornography use among emerging adults, as well as the relationship between parental mediation of pornography during adolescence and emerging adults’ salient pornography-related norms. Results revealed that emerging adults are more likely to view pornography when they hold a salient belief (norm) that their peers both approve of viewing and regularly view pornography. The study also found that parents’ provision of rules about viewing pornography during adolescence may reduce future pornography use by instilling the salient belief that the parent disapproves of viewing pornography. These findings suggest that the effect of rules in the home about adolescents’ use of pornography may persist into emerging adulthood.