Modulation sensitivity in the perceptual organization of speech

In a spoken utterance, a talker expresses linguistic constituents in serial order. A listener resolves these linguistic properties in the rapidly fading auditory sample. Classic measures agree that auditory integration occurs at a fine temporal grain. In contrast, recent studies have proposed that sensory integration of speech occurs at a coarser grain, approximate to the syllable, on the basis of indirect and relatively insensitive perceptual measures. Evidence from cognitive neuroscience and behavioral primatology has also been adduced to support the claim of sensory integration at the pace of syllables. In the present investigation, we used direct performance measures of integration, applying an acoustic technique to isolate the contribution of short-term acoustic properties to the assay of modulation sensitivity. In corroborating the classic finding of a fine temporal grain of integration, these functional measures can inform theory and speculation in accounts of speech perception.     

Is there an age deficit in the selection of mental sets?

Efficient selection of actions is dependent on higher-level constraints (mental sets) on lower-level selection. This paper explores the hypothesis that ageing leads to specific impairments associated with higher-level selection between mental sets. Indirect evidence for such a deficit comes from occasional findings of age differences in situations with high executive-control demands (e.g., Mayr & Kliegl, 1993) that are not easily explained in terms of other factors, such as general slowing or working memory parameters. More direct evidence comes from recent results with the so-called task-switching paradigm. Specifically, age-sensitive set-selection processes are indicated by age differences in “global selection costs” (i.e., the response-time difference between task-switching blocks and single-task blocks) which seem to be particularly large when demands in terms of “keeping competing mental sets apart” are high. Finally, data from a new variant of the task-switching paradigm (the “fade-out paradigm”) are reported which show that age differences in global costs persist substantially beyond a phase in which set-selection is actually necessary. Generally, evidence is consistent with the view that in older age, a costly set-selection mode of processing dominates over the more efficient within-set-selection mode of processing, possibly because of a problem with maintaining distinct representations of what ought to be done in the face of competing representations of what could be done in principle.     

Obtaining guilty knowledge in human intelligence interrogations: Comparing accusatorial and information-gathering approaches with a novel experimental paradigm

Substantial research has assessed interrogations seeking to obtain a criminal confession, and consequently much has been learned regarding the potential problems with confession evidence. However, an increasing focus on counter-terrorism, and therefore intelligence interrogations, reveals an obvious gap in the literature. Intelligence interrogations are primarily focused on collecting information from individuals as opposed to a confession linked to an alleged event, and little of the extant psychological literature can speak directly to such a scenario. The current research developed an experimental paradigm to test interrogation approaches in an intelligence-gathering context, providing a method for gathering empirical data on human intelligence collection. In the first implementation of this paradigm, accusatorial and information-gathering interrogation strategies were tested using a procedure high in psychological realism. Results indicate that an information-gathering approach yields more relevant information than an accusatorial approach and leads to more diagnostic impressions by third party observers.     

Visual masking and RSVP reveal neural competition

A test visual stimulus is harder to recognize when another stimulus is presented in close temporal vicinity; presenting stimuli in close spatial vicinity of a test stimulus reduces its visibility; presenting a stimulus to one eye can render invisible another stimulus presented to the other eye; and perceiving one interpretation of an ambiguous image prevents the simultaneous perception of other visual interpretations. A single, neurophysiological theory, which may be called 'neural competition' might explain all these phenomena: when two alternative neural visual representations co-exist in the brain, they compete against each other.     

Las Casas as Theological Counteroffensive: An Interpretation of Gustavo Gutiérrez's Las Casas: In Search of the Poor of Jesus Christ

Peruvian liberation theologian Gustavo Gutiérrez's massive work, Las Casas: In Search of the Poor of Jesus Christ, should not be read as a defensive or retreating move for liberation theology in the face of two decades of opposition. Rather, it is best understood as a creative and strategic counteroffensive to advance liberation theology in terms that the Vatican can only find difficult to counter. Nevertheless, liberation theology struggles with the difficulty of intellectually justifying itself on nondependency and non-Marxist grounds. In any case, the struggle for the work of liberation in Latin America continues.     

The Role of Psychological Climate in Neutralizing the Effects of Organizational Politics on Work Outcomes

The present study examined the moderating impact of psychological climate on the relationship between perceived organizational politics and both commitment and turnover intent. Data were gathered from 131 restaurant employees who completed surveys at work. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that a 6-factor conceptualization (supportive management, role clarity, contribution, recognition, self-expression, and challenge) provided the most adequate model representation of the psychological climate construct. Results indicate that politics perceptions interacted with each climate factor (with the exception of challenge) in predicting commitment. Conversely, politics perceptions interacted only with supportive management and self-expression to predict turnover intent. Implications for theoretical development and empirical research in this domain are provided.     

Rodney King and O. J. Revisited: The Impact of Race and Defendant Empathy Induction on Judicial Decisions

White university students participated in a study to investigate the impact of defendant race and empathetic induction on a subsequent juror decision-making task. Participants read a passage involving a Black or a White defendant in a criminal case. They were subsequently induced to feel no empathy, low empathy, or high empathy for the defendant. When compared to participants in the low- and control empathy conditions, those in the high-empathy condition reported greater target empathy, made attributions that were more situational, and assigned more lenient punishments. The results also indicate that group membership can moderate the impact of empathetic induction. When compared to the participants in the Black defendant condition, those in the White defendant condition reported greater target empathy, made attributions that were more situational, and assigned more lenient punishments. Implications for both empathy and judicial decision-making research are discussed.