Learning to like or dislike by association: No need for contingency awareness

One way to learn to like or dislike a neutral target stimulus is through associations with positive or negative context stimuli. The present research investigates whether people need to be aware of the association between a target and a context stimulus (i.e., contingency aware) in order for associative learning of likes and dislikes to occur. We predicted that awareness of the association between context and target is necessary when target novelty is low, but not when target novelty is high. We conducted two experiments in which we varied target novelty and measured contingency awareness using a picture-bound recognition task. This allowed us to separately investigate evaluative conditioning for “contingency awareness” and “contingency unawareness” context–target pairs. The results show, as predicted, that awareness of the association between context and target is needed for low-novelty targets but not needed for high-novelty targets.     

Distinguishing stereotype threat from priming effects: on the role of the social self and threat-based concerns

It has been argued that priming negative stereotypic traits is sufficient to cause stereotype threat. The present research challenges this assumption by highlighting the role of the social self and targets' concerns about confirming a negative group-based stereotype. Specifically, in 3 experiments the authors demonstrate that stereotype threat adversely affects the test performance and threat-based concerns of targets (but not nontargets) because only targets' social self is linked to the negative group stereotype. Trait priming, however, harms the test performance of both targets and nontargets but has no effect on their threat-based concerns because trait priming does not require such a link between the social self and the group stereotype. Moreover, the authors show that merely increasing the accessibility of the social self in nonthreatening situations leads to the underperformance of targets but has no meaningful effect on nontargets' test performance.     

"On models and vases: Body dissatisfaction and proneness to social comparison effects": Retraction of Trampe, Stapel, and Siero (2007)

Reports the retraction of "On models and vases: Body dissatisfaction and proneness to social comparison effects" by Debra Trampe, Diederik A. Stapel and Frans W. Siero (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2007[Jan], Vol 92[1], 106-118). This retraction follows the results of an investigation into the work of Diederik A. Stapel (further information on the investigation can be found here: https://www.commissielevelt.nl/). The Noort Committee has determined data supplied by Diederik A. Stapel to be fraudulent. His co-authors were unaware of his actions and were not involved in the collection of the fraudulent data. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2006-23056-009.) When and why do media-portrayed physically attractive women affect perceivers' self-evaluations? In 6 studies, the authors showed that whether such images affect self-evaluations depends jointly on target features and perceiver features. In Study 1, exposure to a physically attractive target, compared with exposure to an equally attractive model, lowered women's self-evaluations. Study 2 showed that body-dissatisfied women, to a greater extent than body-satisfied women, report that they compare their bodies with other women's bodies. In Study 3, body-dissatisfied women, but not body-satisfied women, were affected by both attractive models and nonmodels. Furthermore, in Study 4, it was body-dissatisfied women, rather than body-satisfied women, who evaluated themselves negatively after exposure to a thin (versus a fat) vase. The authors replicated this result in Study 5 by manipulating, instead of measuring, body dissatisfaction. Finally, Study 6 results suggested that body dissatisfaction increases proneness to social comparison effects because body dissatisfaction increases self-activation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

Retraction statement: When different is better: Performance following upward comparison

The following article from European Journal of Social Psychology, “When different is better: Performance following upward comparison” by Camille S. Johnson and Diederik A. Stapel, published online on 18 August 2006 in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com ), has been retracted by agreement between the co‐author, the journal Editor in Chief, Tom Postmes, and John Wiley and Sons Ltd. The retraction has been agreed following the results of an investigation into the work of Diederik A. Stapel ( https://www.commissielevelt.nl/ ). The Levelt Committee has determined that this article contained data that was fabricated by Diederik A. Stapel. His co‐author was unaware of his actions, and not in any way involved. REFERENCE Johnson, C. S., & Stapel D. A.(2007). When different is better: Performance following upward comparison.European Journal of Social Psychology, 37(2), 258–275. DOI: 10.1002/ejsp.361     

Online prediction of others' actions: the contribution of the target object, action context and movement kinematics

Previous research investigated the contributions of target objects, situational context and movement kinematics to action prediction separately. The current study addresses how these three factors combine in the prediction of observed actions. Participants observed an actor whose movements were constrained by the situational context or not, and object-directed or not. After several steps, participants had to indicate how the action would continue. Experiment 1 shows that predictions were most accurate when the action was constrained and object-directed. Experiments 2A and 2B investigated whether these predictions relied more on the presence of a target object or cues in the actor's movement kinematics. The target object was artificially moved to another location or occluded. Results suggest a crucial role for kinematics. In sum, observers predict actions based on target objects and situational constraints, and they exploit subtle movement cues of the observed actor rather than the direct visual information about target objects and context.     

The secret life of emotions

The possibility of unconsciously evoked emotions is often denied because awareness of an emotion's cause is considered to be precisely what produces the emotion. However, we argue that because emotional responding is important for successful living, both global and specific emotional responses can be induced without awareness. The present research used quick and super-quick subliminal priming techniques, and cognitive, feelings, and behavioral measures, to test this hypothesis. Our results show that both global moods and specific emotions can be evoked without conscious awareness of their cause.     

Unconscious and spontaneous and...complex: the three selves model of social comparison assimilation and contrast

Several theoretical perspectives predict that social comparisons lead to simple, default-driven effects when triggered outside of conscious awareness. These theoretical perspectives differ, however, in the default effects they predict. Some theories argue for self-evaluative contrast, whereas others argue for self-evaluative assimilation. The current studies tested the prediction that the default effect would vary as a function of the social context and the type of self-concept activated. When attention was focused on the personal self, contrast effects emerged. When attention was focused on collective or possible selves, assimilation effects emerged. These findings suggest that a wide range of comparison effects can be triggered spontaneously and outside of conscious awareness. However, some results also show ways in which social comparison processes simplify when deliberate reflection is lacking.     

It depends on your perspective: The role of self-relevance in stereotype-based underperformance

Much research has examined how stereotype threat leads to the underperformance of stereotyped targets. The underlying cause for this effect, however, remains unclear. Some researchers argue that stereotype threat can be explained from a behavioral-priming perspective, while others claim that it necessarily involves concerns about confirming a negative self-relevant stereotype. The current experiment highlights the critical role of self-relevance in distinguishing between stereotype priming and stereotype threat. Results showed that when participants wrote about a stereotyped target from a first-person perspective, both targets and non-targets performed poorly under stereotype threat conditions, because writing from a first-person perspective made the stereotype self-relevant for non-targets. But when participants wrote about a stereotyped target from a third-person perspective, only targets underperformed since the stereotype was already self-relevant. Moreover, when the stereotype was made self-relevant non-targets experienced the same threat-based concerns that targets experience under stereotype threat conditions.