Scale and construal: How larger measurement units shrink length estimates and expand mental horizons

Scale can vary by requiring a different number of units to measure the same target. But what are the consequences of using fewer, larger units? We draw on past psychophysical research that shows how using fewer units reduces clutter in measurement, translating to shorter length estimates. Additionally, we propose that larger scale is associated with targets further from a person’s immediate experience (i.e., psychologically distant) and higher order mental representation. Evidence from Study 1 indicates that framing a target as further away causes it to be estimated as shorter because people use larger units to measure it compared to when the same target is framed as nearby. Two subsequent studies suggest that direct manipulation of larger (versus smaller) measurement scale produces not only shorter length estimates, but also more distal timing judgments (Study 2) and abstract mental representation (Study 3). Implications for scale and level of mental construal are discussed.     

The Slow Creation of Humanity

The concept of “humanity”—the belief that “all humanity is one undivided and indivisible family”—has been created slowly in human consciousness since the fifteenth century. Humanity has found increasing expression in international law through the ending of slavery, the creation of “crimes against humanity,” and the advancement of human rights. This slow creation of humanity is described by reviewing the vital contributions of Bartolomé de Las Casas, Granville Sharp, Edmund Dene Morel, H. G. Wells, and Eleanor Roosevelt. Still, the creation of humanity is incomplete. The author's research on “identification with all humanity” is summarized. Finally, speculation is offered on the social and psychological foundations of identification with all humanity, on factors that undermine it, and on how it might be enlarged.     

Training social cognition: from imitation to Theory of Mind

Evidence for successful socio-cognitive training in typical adults is rare. This study attempted to improve Theory of Mind (ToM) and visual perspective taking in healthy adults by training participants to either imitate or to inhibit imitation. Twenty-four hours after training, all participants completed tests of ToM and visual perspective taking. The group trained to inhibit their tendency to imitate showed improved performance on the visual perspective-taking test, but not the ToM test. Neither imitation training, nor general inhibition training, had this effect. These results support a novel theory of social cognition suggesting that the same self-other discrimination process underlies imitation inhibition and perspective taking. Imitation, perspective taking and ToM are all pro-social processes--ways in which we reach out to others. Therefore, it is striking that perspective taking can be enhanced by suppressing imitation; to understand another, sometimes we need, not to get closer, but to pull away.     

When Is Difficult Planning Good Planning? The Effects of Scenario‐Based Planning on Optimistic Prediction Bias

As a general rule, individuals tend to be optimistic in predicting when they will complete an upcoming activity. Building upon the ease of generation theory, we examined how dividing the planning process into multiple steps would impact the magnitude of optimism in “real world” planning. In Experiment 1 we found a decrease in optimistic prediction bias when individuals described their plans by generating a relatively difficult five‐step, rather than a relatively easy two‐step, optimistic scenario. In Experiment 2 the bias diminished when individuals generated the easy, rather than difficult, pessimistic scenario. In Experiment 3 the bias decreased even among individuals who generated the easy, rather than difficult, optimistic scenario when they were led to negatively interpret the feeling of ease.     

A feature-inversion effect: can an isolated feature show behavior like the face-inversion effect?

The face-inversion effect (FIE) is explained by the configural-processing hypothesis. It proposes that inversion disrupts configural information processing (spatial links among facial features) and leaves the processing of featural information (eyes, nose, and mouth) comparatively intact. According to this hypothesis, an inverted isolated facial feature cannot show a feature-inversion effect--that is, behavior similar to the FIE--since all the spatial links between it and the other features in a face are eliminated; that is, the configural information is removed. The findings of the present study, which show that isolated eyes do exhibit the feature-inversion effect, support the extended configural-processing hypothesis. This proposes that inversion also impairs processing of the configural information within the eyes themselves. Removal of the brows in whole faces tended to interfere with processing of the configural information in the upright position but to facilitate processing in the inverted position.     

Illness perceptions account for variation in positive outlook as well as psychological distress in rheumatoid arthritis

Psychological distress in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with adverse clinical outcomes, and appears highly related to patients' illness perceptions. This study aimed to investigate the association between illness perceptions, psychological distress, positive outlook and physical outcomes in RA. Two hundred and thirty patients aged >18 years and prescribed at least one disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) were recruited from outpatient clinics across Hertfordshire (England). Patients completed a questionnaire that assessed psychological distress and positive outlook (depression, anxiety and positive outlook scale), illness perceptions (IPQ-R) and functional disability (health assessment questionnaire). Information regarding prescribed medication and disease activity [disease activity score (DAS28)] was collected from medical notes. Psychological distress, but not positive outlook, was associated with functional disability and DAS28. After controlling for sex, age and DAS28, perceptions of greater symptomatology (identity) and lesser understanding of RA (coherence) were significantly associated with increased psychological distress. Perceptions of greater treatment control were associated with greater positive outlook, but only for those with low DAS28. Coherence was also associated with positive outlook. These findings indicate that illness perceptions may influence psychological distress and positive outlook in RA patients, and may therefore be a useful basis for future psychological interventions.     

Early predictors of self‐regulation in middle childhood

The present study examined the contribution of caregiving practices at ages 4–5 (Time 1) to children's capacity for self‐regulation at ages 8–9 (Time 2). The multi‐ethnic sample comprised 549 children of National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) participants. High levels of maternal warmth and low levels of physically punitive discipline at Time 1 were associated with a greater capacity for self‐regulation at Time 2. These associations remained significant once initial levels of self‐regulation were taken into account, indicating that the development of self‐regulation is open to caregiver influence during childhood. Neither child gender nor ethnicity moderated the effects of early parenting practices on later self‐regulation; the interaction between low maternal warmth and high discipline was also non‐significant. Findings add to the literature on how early parenting practices shape children's capacity for effective self‐regulation, and have implications for researchers and practitioners. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Does interpolated interference affect only the short-term store in a free recall task?

Counting backward by threes following list presentation depresses only the terminal segment of the serial position curve in a free recall task. It was found that if the list is presented a second time, the entire curve is reduced uniformly, not merely the terminal segment. The significance of this result is discussed with respect to the duplexity and unitary theories of memory.     

Correlates of career progression among Mexican-American college graduates

Individual and structural correlates of career progression were studied among 111 Mexican-American college graduates. Results of the study were that career progression was correlated to (1) high school grades, (2) tolerance for ambiguity, (3) work ethic, (4) psychological success, and (5) need for achievement. Career progression was related to both the extent of career development programs available and the industry in which the employing organization was located.