Affective priming with pictures of emotional scenes: the role of perceptual similarity and category relatedness

Prime pictures portraying pleasant or unpleasant scenes were briefly presented (150-ms display; SOAs of 300 or 800 ms), followed by probe pictures either congruent or incongruent in emotional valence. In an evaluative decision task, participants responded whether the probe was emotionally positive or negative. Affective priming was reflected in shorter response latencies for congruent than for incongruent prime-probe pairs. Although this effect was enhanced by perceptual similarity between the prime and the probe, it also occurred for probes that were physically different, and the effect generalized across semantic categories (animals vs. people). It is concluded that affective priming is a genuine phenomenon, in that it occurs as a function of stimulus emotional content, in the absence of both perceptual similarity and semantic category relatedness between the prime and the probe.     

Parafoveal semantic processing of emotional visual scenes

The authors investigated whether emotional pictorial stimuli are especially likely to be processed in parafoveal vision. Pairs of emotional and neutral visual scenes were presented parafoveally (2.1 degrees or 2.5 degrees of visual angle from a central fixation point) for 150-3,000 ms, followed by an immediate recognition test (500-ms delay). Results indicated that (a) the first fixation was more likely to be placed onto the emotional than the neutral scene; (b) recognition sensitivity (A') was generally higher for the emotional than for the neutral scene when the scenes were paired, but there were no differences when presented individually; and (c) the superior sensitivity for emotional scenes survived changes in size, color, and spatial orientation, but not in meaning. The data suggest that semantic analysis of emotional scenes can begin in parafoveal vision in advance of foveal fixation.     

Predictive inferences take time to develop

In order to determine the time course of inferences about predictable events, predicting or control contexts were presented, followed by a target word (Exps. 1A, B, and C) or a continuation sentence (Exp. 2) that confirmed or disconfirmed the predicted event. Relative to the control condition, under the predicting condition there was facilitation in naming the confirming target words 1500 ms after the onset of the last word in the context (Exp. 1C), but not after 500 ms (Exp. 1A), and only a tendency after 1000 ms (Exp. 1B). In addition, there was facilitation in reading the post-target and final regions of the continuation sentence that confirmed the predicted event, as well as inhibition when the predicted event was disconfirmed, but no effect was observed on the target word itself (Exp. 2). It is concluded that, when the predicted event is highly constrained by the context, predictive inferences are likely to be drawn on-line, but they take time to construct. Received: 14 January 1998 / Accepted: 21 April 1998     

Perceptual and Response Bias in Unilateral Neglect: Two Modified Versions of the Milner Landmark Task

Perceptual and response bias in estimating the proportion of the two segments of prebisected lines were disambiguated in a group of 121 patients suffering from left neglect by means of two variants of the Milner Landmark task (Milner et al., 1993). The first variant, LANDMARK-V, required a verbal response; the second variant, LANDMARK-M, required manual pointing. The paper reports and discusses the results obtained on each task and their correlations, as well as the relationships between either kind of bias and the intrahemispheric location of the lesion. It is argued that besides their usefulness as a diagnostic tool the proposed variants of the Milner Landmark task provide results that are worth further investigation in their own right.     

Reliability Generalization Study of the Yale–Brown Obsessive–Compulsive Scale for Children and Adolescents

The Yale–Brown Obsessive–Compulsive Scale for children and adolescents (CY–BOCS) is a frequently applied test to assess obsessive–compulsive symptoms. We conducted a reliability generalization meta-analysis on the CY–BOCS to estimate the average reliability, search for reliability moderators, and propose a predictive model that researchers and clinicians can use to estimate the expected reliability of the CY–BOCS scores. A total of 47 studies reporting a reliability coefficient with the data at hand were included in the meta-analysis. The results showed good reliability and a large variability associated to the standard deviation of total scores and sample size.     

Behavioral and emotional problems among Italian international adoptees and non-adopted children: father's and mother's reports

This study intends to fill the gap in empirical research carried out in Italy regarding international adoptees' behavioral and emotional problems. Assuming a multi-informant approach, it aims to compare parents' reports of behavioral problems of adopted and non-adopted children and to examine parental agreement. The sample was composed of 186 adoptive couples and 195 biological couples with the target child between ages 7 and 11 years. The mother and father filled in the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) separately. Analysis of the CBCL revealed that adopted children are perceived by their parents as having more Total and Externalizing Problems than are their non-adopted counterparts. Moreover, they are more likely to demonstrate attention difficulties and aggressive behavior. The agreement between parents turned out to be moderate for adoptive parents and slightly lower for the biological ones. Consistent with most adoption research, the results confirm the higher risk of behavioral problems among adopted children. They also shed light on the significant perceptual discrepancy between mothers and fathers, underlining the importance of considering both parents' reports in the study of adopted children's adjustment.