Has someone moved my plate? The immediate and persistent effects of object location changes on gaze allocation during natural scene viewing

In this study, we investigated the immediate and persisting effects of object location changes on gaze control during scene viewing. Participants repeatedly inspected a randomized set of naturalistic scenes for later questioning. On the seventh presentation, an object was shown at a new location, whereas the change was reversed for all subsequent presentations of the scene. We tested whether deviations from stored scene representations would modify eye movements to the changed regions and whether these effects would persist. We found that changed objects were looked at longer and more often, regardless of change reportability. These effects were most pronounced immediately after the change occurred and quickly leveled off once a scene remained unchanged. However, participants continued to perform short validation checks to changed scene regions, which implies a persistent modulation of eye movement control beyond the occurrence of object location changes.     

Centrifugal acceleration to 3Gz is related to increased release of stress hormones and decreased mood in men and women

It has been suggested that the central and peripheral neural processes (CPNP) are affected by gravitational changes. Based on the previous experiments during parabolic flights, central and peripheral changes may not only be due to the changed gravitational forces but also due to neuroendocrine reactions related to the psycho-physiological consequences of gravitational changes. The present study focuses on the interaction of neuroendocrine changes and the physical and mental states after acceleration to three-time terrestrial gravity (3Gz). Eleven participants (29.4+/-5.1 [SD] years (male (n=8): 30+/-5.1 years; female (n=3): 27.7+/-2.1 years) underwent a 15 min acceleration to 3Gz in a human centrifuge. Before and after the acceleration to 3Gz circulating stress hormone concentrations (cortisol, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), prolactin, epinephrine, norepinephrine) and perceived physical and mental states were recorded. A second control group of 11 participants underwent the same testing procedure in a laboratory session. Serum cortisol concentration during exposure to the centrifugal acceleration increased by 70%, plasma concentration of ACTH increased threefold, prolactin twofold, epinephrine by 70% and norepinephrine by 45%, whereas the perceived physical well-being decreased. These findings demonstrate that psycho-physiological changes have to be regarded as a relevant factor for the changes in CPNP during phases of hypergravity exposure.     

Upsetting Behavior: Reactions to Personal and Bystander Sexual Harassment Experiences

The current research was designed to examine objective and contextual factors related to the appraisal of potentially sexually harassing situations. Working female participants (n = 208) from a mid-sized southwestern university completed a workplace experiences survey in small groups. The majority of participants were Hispanic/Latina (77.9%). We predicted that characteristics of personal harassment experiences (e.g., number of distinct types of behaviors experienced, frequency, duration) and bystander harassment experiences would contribute independently to how upset women were by their own sexual harassment experiences. Results indicated that characteristics of personal harassment experiences and bystander experiences did predict how upset women were by their own gender harassment and by unwanted sexual attention experiences. Results are discussed in terms of the importance of considering multiple types of workplace stressors (e.g., personal and bystander sexual harassment experiences) and their relation to the appraisal process.     

Separating cue encoding from target processing in the explicit task-cuing procedure: are there "true" task switch effects?

Six experiments were conducted to separate cue encoding from target processing in explicitly cued task switching to determine whether task switch effects could be separated from cue encoding effects and to determine the nature of the representations produced by cue encoding. Subjects were required to respond to the cue, indicating which cue was presented (Experiments 1, 3a, and 4a) or which task was cued (Experiments 2, 3b, and 4b), before performing the cued task on the target. Cue encoding was successfully separated from target processing when the cue response indicated which task was cued but not when it indicated which cue was presented. Task switch effects were found when this separation was successful, suggesting that there are "true" task switch effects independent of cue encoding. Analysis of the conditions required for successful separation suggested that cue encoding results in a semantic categorical representation of the task to be performed rather than verbal or phonological representations of individual cues. Implications for the authors' past modeling of task-switching performance are discussed.     

Evidenzbasierte Psychotherapie

Zusammenfassung Seit einiger Zeit wird auch in der Psychotherapie – so wie in anderen Bereichen der Medizin – eine intensive und kontroverse Diskussion über die wissenschaftlichen Standards und deren Praxisrelevanz geführt. Dabei nehmen Fragen der Qualitätssicherung und der Entwicklung von Leitlinien einen zunehmenden Raum ein. Von besonderer Bedeutung sind in diesem Zusammenhang die Evidence Based Medicine (EbM) und ihre methodischen Standards, in deren Mittelpunkt experimentelle Therapiestudien stehen. Im Beitrag wird das Konzept der Evidence Based Medicine im Kontext der Psychotherapie (Evidence based Psychotherapy) vorgestellt und unter methodischen und inhaltlichen Gesichtspunkten diskutiert. Eine zentrale Frage ist dabei die inhaltliche Aussagekraft und die Übertragbarkeit von wissenschaftlichen Befunden auf die klinische Praxis.      

Task-set inhibition in chunked task sequences

Exploring the hierarchical control relationship between different levels of representation and processing is important for understanding how the mind controls itself. In the present study, the relationship between chunking (a sequence-level process) and task-set inhibition (a task-level process) in the performance of task sequences was investigated to evaluate the hypothesis that within-chunk facilitation reduces then−2 repetition cost (slower performance forn−2 task repetitions than forn−2 task switches) attributed to task-set inhibition. An experiment is reported in which subjects were induced to chunk sequences such thatn−2 repetitions occurred within or between chunks. Direct evidence of chunking was obtained, andn−2 repetition cost was smaller whenn−2 repetitions occurred within chunks than between chunks. These findings are consistent with an elaborated hypothesis that attributes the reduction inn−2 repetition cost to priming of task goals rather than direct modulation of task-set inhibition.     

Knowledge alters visual contrast sensitivity

Research has shown that the visual system’s sensitivity to variations in luminance (visual contrast) within a particular area of the retina is affected in a bottom-up fashion by the ambient contrast levels in nearby regions. Specifically, changes in the ambient contrast in areas surrounding the target area alter the sensitivity to visual contrast within the target area. More recent research has shown that paying attention to the target or target area modulates contrast sensitivity, suggesting a top-down influence over contrast sensitivity that is mediated by attention. Here we report another form of top-down influence over contrast sensitivity that is unlikely to be mediated by attention. In particular, we show that knowledge and/or expectations about the levels of visual contrast that may appear in upcoming targets also affect how sensitive the observer is to the contrast in the target. This sort of knowledge-driven, top-down contrast sensitivity control could be used to preset the visual system’s contrast sensitivity to maximize discriminability and to protect contrast-sensitive processes from a contrast overload. Overall, our results suggest that existing models of contrast sensitivity might benefit from the inclusion of top-down control mechanisms.     

The Biobehavioral Model of Persuasion: Generating Challenge Appraisals to Promote Health1

By borrowing from the biopsychosocial model of challenge and threat, we may understand when health communications adequately motivate behavior change or when they are overly distressing and inhibit behavior change. The present studies were guided by the biobehavioral model of persuasion, which predicts that different health appeals should evoke different appraisals, as well as psychological and physiological responses that motivate the adoption or rejection of health behaviors. Challenging messages should be associated with approach motivational tendencies, whereas threatening messages should be linked to avoidance. Findings from 2 experiments support the biobehavioral model of persuasion and offer mechanisms that confer message effectiveness. By understanding the psychological and physiological processes that drive message effectiveness, message designers can create more effective health appeals.