Searching for two categories of target in dynamic visual displays impairs monitoring ability

Target onsets in dynamically changing displays can be predicted when contingencies exist between different stimulus states over time. In the present study, we examined predictive monitoring when participants searched dynamically changing displays of numbers and colored squares for a color target, a number target, or both. Stimuli were presented in both contiguous and discrete spatial configurations. Response time (RT) and accuracy were recorded, and evidence of predictive monitoring was assessed via first fixations and refixations of target‐predictive stimuli. RTs to target onsets and evidence of predictive monitoring were reduced in dual‐target, relative to single‐target, conditions. Further, predictive monitoring did not speed RTs but was influenced by display configuration. In particular, discrete displays impaired monitoring for number targets in the dual‐target condition. Implications exist for real‐world visual tasks involving multiple target categories and for visual display design.     

On the border: young adults with LGBQ parents navigate LGBTQ communities

Little research has examined the perspectives of young adults with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) parents, particularly in relation to their identification with the LGBTQ community. To address this gap, we conducted a qualitative study of 42 young adults (ages 18-29) who were raised by LGBQ parents. We found that participants often described their sense of belonging to the LGBTQ community as shifting over the life course. Some participants, particularly those whose parents had always been out, felt connected to the LGBTQ community as children. Of these, most maintained those connections over time. However, some increasingly deidentified with the LGBTQ community, which they sometimes attributed to their own heterosexual identification. Others, particularly those whose parents came out later in life, described a lack of connection to the LGBTQ community as children. Of these, most became increasingly identified with the community, which they often attributed to their own and their parents' increasing sense of comfort with their parents' sexuality. Heterosexual participants who sought out LGBTQ-oriented groups in young adulthood sometimes encountered resistance from these groups, whereby participants' reasons for wanting to become involved were not readily apparent or appreciated. Our findings highlight the need for practitioners to understand the complex and often changing role of the LGBTQ community in the lives of young adults with LGBQ parents.     

Validity for an Integrated Laboratory Analogue of Sexual Aggression and Bystander Intervention

This study sought to develop and validate an integrated laboratory paradigm of sexual aggression and bystander intervention. Participants were a diverse community sample (54% African American) of heterosexual males (N = 156) between 21 and 35 years of age who were recruited to complete the study with a male friend and an ostensibly single, heterosexual female who reported a strong dislike of sexual content in the media. Participants viewed a sexually explicit or nonsexually explicit film clip as part of contrived media rating task and made individual choices of which film clip to show the female confederate. Immediately thereafter, participants were required to reach consensus on a group decision of which film clip to show the female confederate. Subjecting a target to an unwanted experience with a sexual connotation was operationalized as selection of the sexually explicit video, whereas successful bystander intervention was operationalized as the event of one partner individually selecting the sexually explicit video but then selecting the nonsexually explicit video for the group choice. Results demonstrated that a 1‐year history of sexual aggression and endorsement of pertinent misogynistic attitudes significantly predicted selection of the sexually‐explicit video. In addition, bystander efficacy significantly predicted men's successful prevention of their male peer's intent to show the female confederate a sexually explicit video. Discussion focused on how these data inform future research and bystander intervention programming for sexual aggression. Aggr. Behav. 38:309–321, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Influence of stimulus amplitude on unintended visuomotor entrainment

Rhythmic limb movements have been shown to spontaneously coordinate with rhythmic environmental stimuli. Previous research has demonstrated how such entrainment depends on the difference between the movement periods of the limb and the stimulus, and on the degree to which the actor visually tracks the stimulus. Here we present an experiment that investigated how stimulus amplitude influences unintended visuomotor entrainment. Participants performed rhythmic forearm movements while visually tracking an oscillating stimulus. The amplitude and period of stimulus motion were manipulated. Larger stimulus amplitudes resulted in stronger entrainment irrespective of how participants visually tracked the movements of the stimulus. Visual tracking, however, did result in increased entrainment for large, but not small, stimulus amplitudes. Collectively, the results indicate that the movement amplitude of environmental stimuli plays a significant role in the emergence of unintended visuomotor entrainment.     

The adaptability of self-action perception and movement control when the limb is passively versus actively moved

Research suggests that perceptual experience of our movements adapts together with movement control when we are the agents of our actions. Is this agency critical for perceptual and motor adaptation? We had participants view cursor feedback during elbow extension–flexion movements when they (1) actively moved their arm, or (2) had their arm passively moved. We probed adaptation of movement perception by having participants report the reversal point of their unseen movement. We probed adaptation of movement control by having them aim to a target. Perception and control of active movement were influenced by both types of exposure, although adaptation was stronger following active exposure. Furthermore, both types of exposure led to a change in the perception of passive movements. Our findings support the notion that perception and control adapt together, and they suggest that some adaptation is due to recalibrated proprioception that arises independently of active engagement with the environment.     

Characterizing variation in the functional connectome: promise and pitfalls

The functional MRI (fMRI) community has zealously embraced resting state or intrinsic functional connectivity approaches to mapping brain organization. Having demonstrated their utility for charting the large-scale functional architecture of the brain, the field is now leveraging task-independent methods for the investigation of phenotypic variation and the identification of biomarkers for clinical conditions. Enthusiasm aside, questions regarding the significance and validity of intrinsic brain phenomena remain. Here, we discuss these challenges and outline current developments that, in moving the field toward discovery science, permit a shift from cartography toward a mechanistic understanding of the neural bases of variation in cognition, emotion and behavior.     

Inhibited prime-trial distractor responses solely produce the visual spatial negative priming effect

Responding to a target??s current (probe trial) location is slower when it appears at a former distractor-occupied position (i.e., ignored-repetition [IR] trial), relative to when it arises at a new location (i.e., control trial). This RT(IR) > RT(Control) inequality defines the spatial negative priming (SNP) effect in latency terms. It is uncertain whether the elevated RT(IR) is due to the inhibition of the distractor-occupied location or to the inhibition of this location??s assigned manual response (SNP locus issue). The main aim here was to examine the SNP locus issue. Notably, our SNP design used centrally presented visual events and included having two locations share a common response (many:1 location-to-response mapping) and the use of informative (70?% validity) or uninformative probe-trial response cues. The many:1 mapping trials allowed for the detection of location and response inhibition presence. Results showed that the latter, but not the former, causes inhibitory aftereffects (e.g., SNP) following uninformative response cues. Consistent with this finding, when the informative response cue was valid and was assigned to the many:1 probe response that had just served as the prime distractor response, inhibitory aftereffects were eliminated, when the probe target appeared at the prime distractor position (IR trial) or at a new location (distractor?Cresponse repeat trial). Blocked retrieval of stored distractor-processing representations was proposed as the mechanism for inhibitory aftereffect prevention.     

The loss of power: How illusions of alliance contribute to powerholders’ downfall

Though people in positions of power have many advantages that sustain their power, stories abound of individuals who fall from their lofty perch. How does this happen? The current research examined the role of illusions of alliance, which we define as overestimating the strength of one’s alliances with others. We tested whether powerholders lose power when they possess overly positive perceptions of their relationships with others, which in turn leads to the weakening of those relationships. Studies 1 and 2 found that powerful individuals were more likely to hold illusions of alliance. Using laboratory as well as field contexts, Studies 3, 4, and 5 found that individuals with power who held illusions of alliance obtained fewer resources, were excluded more frequently from alliances, and lost their power. These findings suggest that power sometimes leads to its own demise because powerful individuals erroneously assume that others feel allied to them.     

When overconfidence is revealed to others: Testing the status-enhancement theory of overconfidence

The status-enhancement theory of overconfidence proposes that overconfidence pervades self-judgment because it helps people attain higher social status. Prior work has found that highly confident individuals attained higher status regardless of whether their confidence was justified by actual ability ( Anderson, Brion, Moore, & Kennedy, 2012). However, those initial findings were observed in contexts where individuals’ actual abilities were unlikely to be discovered by others. What happens to overconfident individuals when others learn how good they truly are at the task? If those individuals are penalized with status demotions, then the status costs might outweigh the status benefits of overconfidence – thereby casting doubt on the benefits of overconfidence. In three studies, we found that group members did not react negatively to individuals revealed as overconfident, and in fact still viewed them positively. Therefore, the status benefits of overconfidence outweighed any possible status costs, lending further support to the status-enhancement theory.     

Sampling and Data Collection Methods in Sales Force Research: Issues and Recommendations for Improvement

Samples used in sales force research studies found in JM, JMR, JPSSM, and IMM over a seventeen year period were examined to discover the extent to which sales force sampling has met the issues of covering different industries and types of salespeople, of satisfying technical sampling requirements, and of clearly reporting on sampling methods. Recommendations for improving standards for conducting and reporting sales force sampling methodology in terms of the resources available are offered.