The effect of asymmetrical sample training on retention functions for hedonic samples in rats

Rats were trained in a symbolic delayed matching-to-sample task to discriminate sample stimuli that consisted of the presence of food or the absence of food. Asymmetrical sample training was provided in which one group was initially trained with only the food sample and the other group was initially trained with only the no-food sample. In addition, within each group half of the rats were trained with an illuminated intertrial interval (ITI) and the remaining rats with a dark ITI. While the retention functions did not differ as a function of which sample was trained first, they did differ as a function of the similarity in the illumination conditions during the ITI and the delay interval. Symmetrical retention functions were obtained when the lighting conditions were similar and slightly asymmetrical retention functions were obtained when the lighting conditions were dissimilar. Probe tests confirmed that features of the no-food sample were attended to and used to generate a memory representation for the no-food sample. The results are not consistent with the hypothesis that asymmetrical sample training encourages coding of the sample introduced initially and default responding to the subsequently introduced sample. Rats generate memory representations for both samples when asymmetrical sample training is given with hedonic samples.     

Exploring the role of primary and supplementary motor areas in simple motor tasks with fNIRS

Studies employing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have highlighted a covariation between the amplitude of hemodynamic responses recorded in primary and supplementary motor areas (M1 and SMA) and the duration of a motor task. A subset of these studies have hinted to a possible functional dissociation between processing carried out in these areas, with SMA primarily involved in action preparation, while M1 involved in action execution. This proposed functional dissociation was explored in the present study using a different technique--functional near-infrared spectroscopy--which enabled a finer-grained monitoring of the temporal characteristics of the hemodynamic response compared to fMRI. Here, hemodynamic responses in M1 and SMA were recorded in 7 participants during a right-finger-tapping task of short (1 s) or long (3 s) duration. Hemodynamic responses of larger amplitude were recorded from both contralateral M1 and SMA during long-duration than short-duration tapping. Furthermore, the analysis of the temporal profiles of these responses revealed a more sustained and prolonged activity for long-duration versus short-duration tapping in M1, but not in SMA. Rather than functionally dissociable areas, the present results are more compatible with the hypothesis that M1 and SMA subserve different, though strongly interacting, functional subroutines subtended in motor task preparation and execution.     

‘Murder by Milligrams’: Enhancement Technologies and Therapeutic Zeal in Timothy Findley’s Headhunter”

In his 1993 novel Headhunter, Canadian author Timothy Findley describes the tendency of some medical practitioners to put scientific interests above the therapeutic needs of the individual. As the book's title and name of the main character Dr. Kurtz attest, Findley reflects the colonialist teleology found in Heart of Darkness as an analogue for the therapeutic zeal shown by many of the physicians in Headhunter. In the novel, such zeal is especially problematic when it is combined with so-called enhancement technologies, since enhancement, like colonialism, can be based in the prejudices of the practitioner and/or the dominant society, rather than in the needs of the patient. To counter therapeutic zeal, Findley, like Conrad, proposes an ethics of restraint in which the practitioner's empathy outweighs his or her desire for scientific discovery.     

Same same but different!? The differential influence of smilies and emoticons on person perception

Emoticons (ASCII-based character strings) and smilies (pictograms) are widely used in computer-mediated communication as substitutes to compensate for the absence of nonverbal cues. Although their usage has been investigated in numerous studies, it remains open whether they provoke differential effects and whether they lead to person perception patterns similar to what is known from face-to-face interactions. Based on findings from research about person perception and nonverbal communication, we investigated the differential effects of smilies and emoticons with regard to recipients' mood, message evaluation, and person perception in an experimental online study (n=127) with a 2(smiley/emoticon) by 2(positive/negative) between-subjects design (with an additional control condition). Results generally support earlier findings, indicating that the valence of the cue (smiley or emoticon) affects the corresponding impression formation. Further, findings concerning the differential influence of both forms of cues show that there are no differences with regard to message interpretation, whereas smiling smilies have a stronger impact on personal mood than smiling emoticons. The perception of a writer's commitment was only altered by smilies, suggesting that they elicit a stronger impact than emoticons.     

Does Teaming Obscure Low Performance? Exploring the Temporal Effects of Team Performance Diversity

Organizations are increasingly using team-based projects to achieve goals. As such, it is important to understand how team members (e.g., their differences) influence team outcomes such as effectiveness. In the present study, we examine performance diversity, differences in members’ past performance, as an antecedent to team effectiveness. In addition, we assessed the length of time the group performed together as a moderator and social loafing among members as a mediator of the performance diversity—team effectiveness relationship. Using multisource data for 673 individuals in 139 project teams, we found that performance diversity had an increasingly negative effect for groups that were together longer. Specifically, greater diversity resulted in more social loafing, thereby diminishing team satisfaction and supervisor-rated team performance.     

Semantic interference in language production is due to graded similarity,not response relevance

There is an ongoing debate on the question whether semantic interference effects in language production reflect competitive processes at the level of lexical selection or whether they reflect a post-lexical bottleneck, occupied in particular by response-relevant distractor words. To disentangle item-inherent categorical relatedness and task-related response relevance effects, we combined the picture–word interference task with the conditional naming paradigm in an orthogonal design, varying categorical relatedness and task-related response relevance independent of each other. Participants were instructed to name only objects that are typically seen in or on the water (e.g. canoe) and refrain from naming objects that are typically located outside the water (e.g. bike), and vice versa. Semantic relatedness and the response relevance of superimposed distractor words were manipulated orthogonally. The pattern of results revealed no evidence for response relevance as a major source of semantic interference effects in the PWI paradigm. In contrast, our data demonstrate that semantic similarity beyond categorical relations is critical for interference effects to be observed. Together, these findings provide support for the assumption that lexical selection is competitive and that semantic interference effects in the PWI paradigm reflect this competition.     

Anxiety and Depression in Children with HFASDs: Symptom Levels and Source Differences

The purpose of this study was to: (1) examine symptom levels of anxiety and depression in children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (HFASDs) compared with matched control children using child self-reports and parent ratings; and (2) examine source differences within the two condition groups. An overall multivariate effect indicated significantly elevated depression and anxiety symptoms for children with HFASDs based on parent reports; however no significant between-group differences based on child self-reports. Within-condition source comparisons (parent vs. child) revealed a significant multivariate effect indicating a significant difference in symptoms of depression and anxiety for the HFASD group but none for the control. Correlations between parent and child reports for the HFASD group suggested some positive association between child-reports and parent-reports for depressive symptoms only; however, the difference in average scores reflected a substantial discrepancy in the magnitude of symptoms by rater. Implications for clinical assessment and future research are provided.     

Construing in Action: Experiencing Embodiment

Construing anticipation as an embodied process implies including experience and action within personal construct theorization and application. This has led many authors to read somatic disorders in psychological terms and to consider psychotherapy as an experiential process. This article exemplifies a possible transposition of personal construct psychology in action through experimenting with ways of construing. Some simple body movement experiences are presented as means for exploring our personal anticipations in relation to others. This may represent a starting point for the elaboration of our personal theories and practices.     

Individual differences in the perception of similarity and difference

Thematically related concepts like coffee and milk are judged to be more similar than thematically unrelated concepts like coffee and lemonade. We investigated whether thematic relations exert a small effect that occurs consistently across participants (i.e., a generalized model), or a large effect that occurs inconsistently across participants (i.e., an individualized model). We also examined whether difference judgments mirrored similarity or whether these judgments were, in fact, non-inverse. Five studies demonstrated the necessity of an individualized model for both perceived similarity and difference, and additionally provided evidence that thematic relations affect similarity more than difference. Results suggest that models of similarity and difference must be attuned to large and consistent individual variability in the weighting of thematic relations.