A slow component of classic Stroop interference

The interference in colour naming may extend beyond critical Stroop trials. This “slow” effect was first discovered in emotional Stroop tasks, but is extended here to classical Stroop. In two experiments, meaningless coloured letter strings followed a colour word or neutral word. Student participants (Experiment 1), and 18 stroke patients and 18 matched controls (Experiment 2) showed substantial interference by incongruent colour words, both in the word trial (fast component) and in the subsequent string trial (slow component). Different patient subgroups emerged from the comparison of Stroop performance with the controls. An association of fast and slow components was only found in one subgroup. Exploratory analyses revealed no clear differences in damage location between subgroups. Fast interference caused by colour-meaning conflict may be specific for classical Stroop, but the broader occurrence of slow effects suggests a more generalised process of disengagement from attention-demanding stimuli.     

Smart and easy: Co-occurring activation of spontaneous trait inferences and spontaneous situational inferences

Social perceivers have been shown to draw spontaneous trait inferences (STI’s) about the behavior of an actor as well as spontaneous situational inferences (SSI’s) about the situation the actor is in. In two studies, we examined inferences about behaviors that allow for both an STI and an SSI. In Experiment 1, using a probe recognition paradigm, we found activation of both STI’s and SSI’s. In Experiment 2, using a relearning paradigm, we again found activation of both STI’s and SSI’s, regardless of temporarily activated processing goals. Results are discussed in light of three-stage models of the process of social inference.     

Comment on Wagner,Elejabarrieta and Lahnsteiner (1995): From sperm and ovum to gender stereotypes

Wagner, Elejabarrieta and Lahnsteiner (1995) conclude that people use gender-stereotypic attributes and sexual metaphors in describing the sperm and the ovum. The conclusion is criticized on the basis of two arguments: (1) the sperm is, in actuality, more active than the ovum and this difference is reflected in subjects' judgements; (2) in their study, the researchers themselves induced (a) the person metaphor and (b) gender categories. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Gender subgroups: intergroup bias within the sexes

We examined intergroup bias (more favourable evaluations of ingroups than outgroups) at the level of gender subgroups. Male and female subjects listed subgroups of men and women (e.g. career woman, mother). For each subgroup mentioned, we asked the same subjects to (a) describe the characteristics of this group in their own words (coded as positive or negative); (b) give an overall evaluative rating of this group; and (c) indicate whether they themselves belonged to this group. There was no indication that subjects' perceptions of subgroups of their own sex were more favourable than of other-sex subgroups. Within subjects' own gender category, on the other hand, subgroups they belonged to were described and rated more favourably than subgroups they did not belong to. These results, which can be explained by social identity motives, illustrate that subgrouping does not resolve the problem of negative outgroup stereotyping, but merely transfers it to the subordinate level. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Skulking around the dinosaur: Eliciting cues to children's deception via strategic disclosure of evidence

Research has shown that cues to deception are more salient as an effect of strategic use of evidence (SUE) during interviews. This study examined the feasibility of the SUE‐technique for eliciting cues to children's deception. Experiment 1 investigated verbal cues to deception as a function of early vs. late disclosure of evidence. Eighty‐four children (12–14 years) either guilty or innocent of a mock crime were interviewed. As predicted, deceptive statements were significantly more inconsistent with the evidence than truthful statements, and this was more pronounced as a function of late compared to early disclosure of evidence. In Experiment 2, adult observers (N = 168) made veracity assessments of the videotaped statements. Observers in the late disclosure condition achieved an accuracy rate higher than chance (63.1%), whereas accuracy rates in the early disclosure condition were at chance level (56%). Accuracy rates were significantly higher for truthful (70.2%), than deceptive statements (48.8%). Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effects of social influence on children's memory reports: the omission and commission error asymmetry

Children in two age groups (7 vs. 12 yrs, N= 174) individually interacted with a stranger and were later interviewed about this event. Right before the interview, each child encountered the stranger once again and he engaged in a conversation where he either suggested that a (central or peripheral) detail originally present in the event had actually not been there or that an originally non-present (central or peripheral) detail had in fact been there. It was hypothesized that the two types of misinformation would result in omission and commission errors respectively. The results showed that the social influence resulted in an asymmetric effect (i.e., more commission than omission errors). Importantly, we also found that the children made more errors with respect to the peripheral detail (a suitcase), compared to the central detail (a passenger). Younger children did not make more errors (neither omission nor commission errors) than older children.     

Familiarity breeds distortion: the effects of media exposure on false reports concerning media coverage of the terrorist attacks in london on 7 July 2005

The present experiment investigated whether increased media exposure could lead to an increase in memory distortions regarding a traumatic public event: the explosion of the No. 30 bus in Tavistock Square, London on 7 July 2005. A total of 150 Swedish and 150 UK participants completed a series of questionnaires about their memory of either (i) the aftermath of the explosion, (ii) a non-existent computerised reconstruction of the moment of the explosion, or (iii) non-existent closed circuit television footage of the moment of the explosion. In line with the availability heuristic, U.K. participants were more likely than Swedish participants to claim to have seen all three types of footage. Furthermore, a subsample of U.K. participants who appeared to have developed false "memories" of seeing the No. 30 bus explode scored significantly higher on measures of dissociation and fantasy proneness than participants who did not develop false "memories". This experiment provides further support for the role of imaginative processes in the development of false memories.     

Religious identity development of adolescents in religious affiliated schools. A theoretical foundation for empirical research

The question, how religious affiliated schools for secondary education shape religious education and what effects this education has on the religious identity development of pupils, is relevant in a time when the position of religious affiliated schools is highly disputable. In earlier empirical research on religious identity development of adolescence, hardly any attention was paid to the theoretical framework of this question. Therefore, connections are sought with the identity theory of Erikson and with operationalizations of his theory by Marcia and others. The key concepts are ‘exploration’ and ‘commitment’. Religious identity development is seen from a pragmatic perspective in which the transactional relation of individuals and environment is stressed.     

Adverse effects of predictive testing for Huntington disease underestimated: long-term effects 7-10 years after the test.

The 7-10-year psychological effects of presymptomatic testing for Huntington disease are described in 142 individuals and 104 partners. Questionnaires included the Beck Hopelessness Scale (A. T. Beck, A. Weissman, D. Lester, & L. Trexler, 1974), the Impact of Event Scale (M. J. Horowitz, N. Wilner. & W. Alvarez. 1979). and the General Health Questionnaire (D. P. Goldberg. 1972). Carriers and their partners were more distressed immediately after the test result, although their outlooks improved somewhat in the 2-3-year posttest period. However, they became more pessimistic thereafter, when approaching the age of onset. Carriers, who were lost to follow-up after disclosure of test results, reported more distress pretest than did retained carriers. This demonstrates that studies that report few harmful effects may have underestimated the real impact. Moreover, follow-up studies need to investigate time effects for longer than a few years.