Results-blind review: a masked crusader for science

The organizational sciences are entering a confidence crisis where a growing number of scholars recognize our science is imperfect and our knowledge base is potentially flawed. One contributing factor that scholars have identified is the peer-review process; issues such as QRPs, positive outcome biases and publication bias are, in part, a product of the traditional peer-review process and contribute to the questionable credibility of our science. The current paper focuses on the results-blind review as a solution to improve the existing system because it has received little attention yet fits well with the nature of our discipline (e.g., not entirely grant-funded, field-research oriented). Using a mixed-methods approach, we surveyed 203 editorial board members to understand the scientific community’s reactions to the results-blind review initiative and readiness to implement change. Our results suggest that there are noted advantages of the results-blind review process and the scientific community is open to the initiative in our field. However, our data also suggest that there may be some hesitations about the initiative, particularly with implementing a new review process. Based on the results, we offer actionable recommendations for authors, reviewers, and editors regarding the results-blind review.     

Conceptions of identity: the challenge of sexual fluidity to Christian notions of marriage

ABSTRACT

In this paper, I consider the concept of identity as foundational to the heteronormative constructions of marriage manifesting in Christian interpretations of the institution. In an attempt to destabilize what I consider the congealing function of identity, I examine current research on sexuality fluidity emerging from Lisa Diamond’s work. I argue that the evidence of sexual fluidity in women challenges stable identity markers characteristic of marriage conceived of within the male–female binary. Sexual fluidity, thus, ultimately disrupts heteronormative claims of Christian marriage.     

Seven‐year‐olds’ aggressive choices in a computer game can be predicted in infancy

Concerns about the relationship between computer games and children's aggression have been expressed for decades, but it is not yet clear whether the content of such games evokes aggression or a prior history of aggression promotes children's interest in aggressive games. Two hundred and sixty‐six 7‐year‐old children from a nationally representative longitudinal sample in the UK played a novel computer game (CAMGAME) in which the child's avatar encountered a series of social challenges that might evoke aggressive, prosocial or neutral behaviour. Aggressive choices during the game were predicted by well‐known risk factors for aggressive conduct problems and the children's own early angry aggressiveness as infants. These findings suggest that children who are predisposed to aggression bring those tendencies to virtual as well as real environments.     

Are there age differences in attention to emotional images following a sad mood induction? Evidence from a free-viewing eye-tracking paradigm

Two experiments examined age differences in the effect of a sad mood induction (MI) on attention to emotional images. Younger and older adults viewed sets of four images while their eye gaze was tracked throughout an 8-s presentation. Images were viewed before and after a sad MI to assess the effect of a sad mood on attention to positive and negative scenes. Younger and older adults exhibited positively biased attention after the sad MI, significantly increasing their attention to positive images, with no evidence of an age difference in either experiment. A test of participants’ recognition memory for the images indicated that the sad MI reduced memory accuracy for sad images for younger and older adults. The results suggest that heightened attention to positive images following a sad MI reflects an affect regulation strategy related to mood repair. The implications for theories of the positivity effect are discussed.     

Traveling Without a Destination? A Dialogical Analysis of Professional Identity Construction Among Australian Double Degree Psychology Students

This paper presents findings from a study of Australian double degree psychology students’ construction of professional identity. Dialogical self theory was used as a framework to conceptualize professional identity construction and to identify the I-positions, the voices of others, and the relationships between these voices within the self. Results revealed that conflicting voices were heard within the self, creating tensions in students’ professional identification. Moreover, it seems that when trying to navigate their study journeys, students rely on several, sometimes unintentional, value orientations to assist them in moving forward from these struggles. Findings are considered in the context of further developing dialogical self theory and the enhancement of curricula that focus on multiprofessional and interdisciplinary learning and teaching.     

Working memory deficits in boys with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): An examination of orthographic coding and episodic buffer processes

The episodic buffer component of working memory was examined in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and typically developing peers (TD). Thirty-two children (ADHD = 16, TD = 16) completed three versions of a phonological working memory task that varied with regard to stimulus presentation modality (auditory, visual, or dual auditory and visual), as well as a visuospatial task. Children with ADHD experienced the largest magnitude working memory deficits when phonological stimuli were presented via a unimodal, auditory format. Their performance improved during visual and dual modality conditions but remained significantly below the performance of children in the TD group. In contrast, the TD group did not exhibit performance differences between the auditory- and visual-phonological conditions but recalled significantly more stimuli during the dual-phonological condition. Furthermore, relative to TD children, children with ADHD recalled disproportionately fewer phonological stimuli as set sizes increased, regardless of presentation modality. Finally, an examination of working memory components indicated that the largest magnitude between-group difference was associated with the central executive. Collectively, these findings suggest that ADHD-related working memory deficits reflect a combination of impaired central executive and phonological storage/rehearsal processes, as well as an impaired ability to benefit from bound multimodal information processed by the episodic buffer.     

Do age-related differences in episodic feeling of knowing accuracy depend on the timing of the judgement?

The current study investigated whether there were age-related differences in episodic feeling-of-knowing (FOK) accuracy and whether accuracy was influenced by when the FOK judgements were made. Younger and older participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions that manipulated the timing of the FOK in relation to cued recall and associative recognition. Age-related differences in FOK accuracy were not reliable either when the FOK was immediate or when it was delayed. Moreover, FOK accuracy was above chance for both age groups. Remember/Know (RK) judgements correlated reliably with FOKs for unrecalled words for both age groups and did not vary by FOK timing. The invariance in FOK accuracy occurred despite robust age differences in associative cued recall and associative recognition, as well as age differences in recollection as measured by RK judgements. The findings are inconsistent with the argument that there is a general age deficit in episodic FOK accuracy. Possible reasons for discrepant findings in the literature are discussed.