Representations of scene layout can consist of independent, functional pieces

A scene prime can induce a mental representation of layout that is functional in the sense that it facilitates the processing of depth relations in a subsequent same-scene target. Five experiments indicated that the representation can consist of separate and independent functional regions. In each experiment, primes with as many as four unrelated regions facilitated spatial processing within each region. The prime representations were functional despite structural discontinuity at region borders. The results indicate a limitation in the importance of structural constraint in representations of scene layout. However, when structural disruption occurred within regions that were perceived (Experiment 5), spatial processing was slowed. The results suggest that scene representation is more top down than is scene perception; the effects of structural disruption were overcome within representations, but not within perception.     

The effects of different adults as therapists during functional analyses

The differential effects of caregivers and inpatient staff members as therapists on behavior were evaluated within a reversal design. Results indicated that problem behaviors were higher in the presence of caregivers relative to inpatient staff. These results are discussed in terms of how antecedent stimuli can affect functional analysis outcomes.     

When should evidence be disclosed in an interview with a suspect? An experiment with mock-suspects

The question of whether to disclose evidence to a suspect early on, or later, in an interview is often of critical importance for police officers' interviewing strategies. To shed light on this issue, an experiment was conducted in which 95 participants each committed a mock-theft as a hidden ‘witness’ observed them. A statement from the witness was presented to them during a subsequent interview in which they were ‘suspects’. The time at which this evidence was disclosed to participants, and the evidence strength, was manipulated. Each participant was randomly assigned to one of four conditions; Early Weak, Early Strong, Late Weak, or Late Strong. Both late evidence disclosure, and strong evidence, produced higher confession rates than did early disclosure or weak evidence, and late disclosure of weak evidence resulted in the withdrawal of most of the confessions which had previously been made. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hormones and personality: Testosterone as a marker of individual differences

Recently, testosterone (T) has been linked to behaviors that are conceptually related to dominance as a personality characteristic. Although evidence for this association is growing, the psychometric properties of T as an individual difference variable have been largely neglected. For T to be considered a biological marker of dispositional dominance it is critical that it demonstrates high test–retest reliability and good convergent and discriminant validity. Two studies tested the temporal stability of salivary T in humans and the relationship between T and traditional measures of personality. Across both studies, test–retest reliability for T was high and comparable to the short-term stability of questionnaire-based and implicitly assessed personality assessment instruments. In being modestly correlated with self-reported dominance, T showed some evidence of convergent validity. In being statistically independent from conceptually unrelated personality constructs (such as Emotional Stability and Openness to Experience) it showed good evidence of discriminant validity. The findings strengthen the psychometric foundation for using T as a hormonal marker of individual differences.     

Intimate partner violence and the capacity and desire for self-control

ABSTRACT

According to Tittle, the effect of self-control on one’s criminal offending is a product of both an individual’s capacity to exercise self-control as well as their desire to do so. The present study utilized self-report data gathered at a large urban university in Florida (n = 1,307) to test both the independent and interactive effects of self-control capacity and self-control desire on intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration. The study suggests that while both capacity and desire for control have effects on one’s likelihood of reporting IPV perpetration, these effects were independent of each other and no evidence of interaction between to two were observed.     

Relationships Between Scores on the General Purpose Abbreviated Battery of Stanford-Binet IV,Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised,Columbia Mental Maturity Scale,and Goodenough-Harris Drawing Test

This study investigated the correlations among the “General Purpose Abbreviated Battery” of the Stanford-Binet IV: Fourth Edition, the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised, the Columbia Mental Maturity Scale, and the Goodenough-Harris Drawing Test. A third-grade class of 23 children (11 boys, 12 girls) took all four of the tests, and the intercorrelations of the total scores of the four tests were calculated. The Binet IV and Peabody correlation was statistically significant (p < .01) as was the correlation between Binet IV and Columbia (p < .05). The correlation between Binet IV and Goodenough-Harris was not statistically significant (p > .05).