Is pressure stressful? The impact of pressure on the stress response and category learning

We examined the basic question of whether pressure is stressful. We proposed that when examining the role of stress or pressure in cognitive performance, it is important to consider the type of pressure, the stress response, and the aspect of cognition assessed. In Experiment 1, outcome pressure was not experienced as stressful but did lead to impaired performance on a rule-based (RB) category-learning task, but not on a more procedural information-integration (II) task. In Experiment 2, the addition of monitoring pressure resulted in a modest stress response to combined pressure and impairment on both tasks. Across experiments, higher stress appraisals were associated with decreased performance on the RB, but not on the II, task. In turn, higher stress reactivity (i.e., heart rate) was associated with enhanced performance on the II, but not on the RB, task. This work represents an initial step toward integrating the stress cognition and pressure cognition literatures and suggests that integrating these fields may require consideration of the type of pressure, the stress response, and the cognitive system mediating performance.     

Reputation-like inference in domestic dogs (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Canis familiaris</Emphasis>)

Humans frequently interact with strangers absent prior direct experience with their behavior. Some conjecture that this may have favored evolution of a cognitive system within the hominoid clade or perhaps the primate order to assign reputations based on third-party exchanges. However, non-primate species’ acquisition of skills from experienced individuals, attention to communicative cues, and propensity to infer social rules suggests reputation inference may be more widespread. We utilized dogs’ sensitivity to humans’ social and communicative cues to explore whether dogs evidenced reputation-like inference for strangers through third-party interactions. Results indicated dogs spontaneously show reputation-like inference for strangers from indirect exchanges. Further manipulations revealed that dogs continued to evidence this ability despite reduction of specific components of the observed interactions, including reduction of visual social cues (i.e., face-to-face contact between the participants in the interaction) and the nature of the recipient (i.e., living, animate agent versus living, inanimate self-propelled agent). Dogs also continued to demonstrate reputation-like inference when local enhancement was controlled and in a begging paradigm. However, dogs did not evidence reputation-like inference when the observed interaction was inadvertent.     

Discrepancies in parents' and children's reports of child emotion regulation

The ability to regulate one’s emotions effectively has been linked with many aspects of well-being. The current study examined discrepancies between mothers’ and children’s reports of child emotion regulation. This investigation examined patterns of discrepancies for key aspects of emotion regulation (i.e., inhibition and dysregulated expression) and for three emotions (anger, sadness, worry). A total of 61 mother-child dyads (mean children’s age = 9.3 years) participated. As hypothesized, discrepancies for inhibition subscales were of a larger magnitude than those for dysregulated expression subscales. Furthermore, age was related to discrepancies in both anger subscales, parent reports of child externalizing symptoms were related to anger dysregulated expression discrepancies, and child reports of internalizing symptoms were related to sadness dysregulated expression discrepancies. Overall, the findings suggest that patterns of discrepant reports are not random but rather may provide meaningful and useful information about the nature of emotion regulation.     

Developmental differences in the use of visual information during a continuous bimanual coordination task

The authors examined the influence of different amounts of visual information when children 4 (CH4), 6 (CH6), and 8 (CH8) years of age, and adults (n = 12 in each group) performed a steady-state bimanual circle-drawing coordination task at self-selected speeds. All participants maintained in-phase coordination, but different strategies for maintaining the pattern emerged. A predictable relationship between variability and age was not observed, in that the CH8 group was not necessarily more consistent than the CH6 and CH4 groups. The authors conclude that children are transitioning from dependence on kinesthetic feedback to reliance on visual feedback around age 8, as suggested by L. Hay, C. Bard, M. Fleury, and N. Teasdale (1991; L. Hay, M. Fleury, C. Bard, & N. Teasdale, 1994; L. Hay & C. Redon, 1997), and that future studies are needed to further explore visual and kinesthetic feedback as potential control parameters during coordination tasks in developing children.     

Perceived discrimination as worldview threat or worldview confirmation: implications for self-esteem

In 3 studies, the authors tested the hypothesis that discrimination targets' worldview moderates the impact of perceived discrimination on self-esteem among devalued groups. In Study 1, perceiving discrimination against the ingroup was negatively associated with self-esteem among Latino Americans who endorsed a meritocracy worldview (e.g., believed that individuals of any group can get ahead in America and that success stems from hard work) but was positively associated with self-esteem among those who rejected this worldview. Study 2 showed that exposure to discrimination against their ingroup (vs. a non-self-relevant group) led to lower self-esteem, greater feelings of personal vulnerability, and ingroup blame among Latino Americans who endorsed a meritocracy worldview but to higher self-esteem and decreased ingroup blame among Latino Americans who rejected it. Study 3 showed that compared with women informed that prejudice against their ingroup is pervasive, women informed that prejudice against their ingroup is rare had higher self-esteem if they endorsed a meritocracy worldview but lower self-esteem if they rejected this worldview. Findings support the idea that perceiving discrimination against one's ingroup threatens the worldview of individuals who believe that status in society is earned but confirms the worldview of individuals who do not.     

Professional service involvement of leadership faculty: An assessment of gender,role, and satisfaction

This study explored gender differences among educational administration faculty and their participation in and satisfaction with professional association activities. The study population would be characterized as overwhelmingly male and white, but with women and minority candidates beginning to enter the faculty ranks. Women faculty reported involvement in more professional service activities and a slightly higher satisfaction with their involvement than their male colleagues. However, women participated in different types of and more professional association activities than men.     

Ethical issues in genetics

The first section of the Notes on Moral Theology reviews ethical issues in genetics through the lenses of privacy-confidentiality; risk-benefit analysis in relation to prenatal diagnosis and gene therapy; and freedom-determinism/human dignity in the context of cloning. The author provides an overview of developments in genetics and highlights thematic issues common to these developments.     

The process of learning from small-scale maps

Two experiments are reported that test the general hypothesis that learning from a small scale map proceeds in a global to local fashion, structured by the spatial subdivisions present in the map. In Experiment 1, a fairly simple map depicting a single fictitious country containing provinces and cities was used as the to-be-learned stimulus. Evidence for a provincial to capital to city learning process was found, with map recall best when subjects used an imagery learning strategy. In Experiment 2, a more complex map containing multiple countries, with provincial and city elements present was used. The global to local learning process was replicated, as well as the beneficial effects of an imagery study strategy. Results are discussed in terms of progressive image differentiation and total information set size.     

Diamond-winged variants of the Müller-Lyer figure: A test of Virsu’s (1971) centroid theory

Diamond-winged variants of the Müller-Lyer figure were used to test predictions of Virsu’s (1971) theory of the Müller-Lyer illusion based on efferent readiness for eye movements toward the figure’s center of gravity, A Müller-Lyer figure with diamond-shaped wings resulted in a greater center-of-gravity distance than the corresponding, conventional Müller-Lyer figure, but fin length and the rest of the figure remained constant; in Virsu’s study, fin length and center-of-gravity distance covaried. Results were consistent with Virsu’s data when we used the stimulus conditions that he reported. Results from a wider range of stimuli challenge Virsu’s theory, and thus are consistent with the conclusions of Brigell, Uhlarik, and Goldhorn (1977).     

Early and late selection in partial report: Evidence from degraded displays

In studies of iconic memory using the bar-probe task, subjects see a brief display of target letters and are probed by an arrow to report one of them. According to the classic early-selection account, subjects use the probe to select material for perceptual analysis from a precategorical (iconic) memory, but according to late-selection theories, subjects first identify the letters and then use the probe to select one letter for report from the set of categorized items. Pashler (1984) based his test for the locus of selection on a manipulation of display quality in previewed displays. He presented a target for 200 msec and then added a probe, together with the target, for an additional 150 msec. Reducing the target’s stimulus quality increased response latency. If the subjects identified the characters before the probe appeared and then selected an item for report, the clarity of the original array should not have affected response latency. Hence, Pashler concluded that his subjects used the probe to select from a precategorical store (early selection). Pashler’s experiment did not force subjects to rely on memory of the target; hence, although his experiment documented a situation in which subjects used early selection, it did not rule out late selection in studies of information persistence. We replicated Pashler’s findings and, using his logic, showed that when subjects are forced to rely on memory of the target, they select from a categorized store.