Biases of spatial attention in vision and audition

Neurologically normal observers misperceive the midpoint of horizontal lines as systematically leftward of veridical center, a phenomenon known as pseudoneglect. Pseudoneglect is attributed to a tonic asymmetry of visuospatial attention favoring left hemispace. Whereas visuospatial attention is biased toward left hemispace, some evidence suggests that audiospatial attention may possess a right hemispatial bias. If spatial attention is supramodal, then the leftward bias observed in visual line bisection should also be expressed in auditory bisection tasks. If spatial attention is modality specific then bisection errors in visual and auditory spatial judgments are potentially dissociable. Subjects performed a bisection task for spatial intervals defined by auditory stimuli, as well as a tachistoscopic visual line bisection task. Subjects showed a significant leftward bias in the visual line bisection task and a significant rightward bias in the auditory interval bisection task. Performance across both tasks was, however, significantly positively correlated. These results imply the existence of both modality specific and supramodal attentional mechanisms where visuospatial attention has a prepotent leftward vector and audiospatial attention has a prepotent rightward vector of attention. In addition, the biases of both visuospatial and audiospatial attention are correlated.     

Self‐esteem as a monitor of fundamental psychological need satisfaction

Researchers have long theorized about the function of self‐esteem. Theories such as sociometer, terror management, and self‐determination have each received substantial empirical support, but all purport a different function of self‐esteem. Despite each theory's persuasiveness, they are sometimes at odds, and there remains no clear consensus regarding the function of self‐esteem. In the present paper, we propose the notion that self‐esteem monitors the meeting of multiple fundamental psychological needs, a theory we call the Need‐Satisfaction Framework of self‐esteem. We outline existing empirical support for our theory in the context of three well‐documented fundamental needs: belonging, self‐determination (i.e.,autonomy and competence), and meaning. Across all three needs, we review converging evidence supporting two hypotheses for self‐esteem's need‐monitoring function: (1) threats to needs lower self‐esteem and (2) high self‐esteem buffers defensive responses to need threats. We expand on established theoretical and empirical work in the domain of self‐esteem and also discuss testable future hypotheses.     

Individual Behavior Consistencies as Interactive Styles: Their Relation to Personality

Two experimental studies were carried out in order to find within-subject consistencies as individual differences in a concurrent choice situation simulating risk-taking. In a first experiment, six adults were exposed to different values of probability and numbers of reinforcement in a task involving betting on two simultaneous horse races displayed on a microcomputer monitor. In the second experiment, two subjects were exposed to a within-session replication of the first experiment. The results in both experiments support the reliability of within-subject consistencies when experimental tasks are built as open contingencies. The conceptual and experimental implications of the data are discussed in relation to the study of personality.

     

Psychology in Latin America: Historical reflections and perspectives

The present paper describes some of the most relevant events in the development of psychology in Latin America. After proposing a synthesis of antecedents, the paper addresses some scientific and professional activities leading to the birth of scientific psychology in several Latin American countries during the last decade of the 19th century. Next, the paper describes the foundation of university‐level institutions for education and professional training of psychologists during the first half of the 20th century. Finally, some reflections comment on the mechanisms which led to the creation and maintenance of several scientific communities contributing to a thriving contemporary Latin American psychology.