The rich are different: Unravelling the perceived and self‐reported personality profiles of high‐net‐worth individuals

Beyond money and possessions, how are the rich different from the general population? Drawing on a unique sample of high‐net‐worth individuals from Germany (≥1 million Euro in financial assets; N = 130), nationally representative data (N = 22,981), and an additional online panel (N = 690), we provide the first direct investigation of the stereotypically perceived and self‐reported personality profiles of high‐net‐worth individuals. Investigating the broad personality traits of the Big Five and the more specific traits of narcissism and locus of control, we find that stereotypes about wealthy people's personality are accurate albeit somewhat exaggerated and that wealthy people can be characterized as stable, flexible, and agentic individuals who are focused more on themselves than on others.     

Visual word recognition is accompanied by covert articulation: evidence for a speech-like phonological representation

Two lexical decision task (LDT) experiments examined whether visual word recognition involves the use of a speech-like phonological code that may be generated via covert articulation. In Experiment 1, each visual item was presented with an irrelevant spoken word (ISW) that was either phonologically identical, similar, or dissimilar to it. An ISW delayed classification of a visual word when the two were phonologically similar, and it delayed the classification of a pseudoword when it was identical to the base word from which the pseudoword was derived. In Experiment 2, a LDT was performed with and without articulatory suppression, and pseudowords consisted of regular pseudowords and pseudohomophones. Articulatory suppression decreased sound-specific ISW effects for words and regular pseudowords but not for pseudohomophones. These findings indicate that the processing of an orthographically legal letter sequence generally involves the specification of more than one sound code, one of which involves covert articulation.     

Eye movements during the reading of compound words and the influence of lexeme meaning

We examined the use of lexeme meaning during the processing of spatially unified bilexemic compound words by manipulating both the location and the word frequency of the lexeme that primarily defined the meaning of a compound (i.e., the dominant lexeme). The semantically dominant and nondominant lexemes occupied either the beginning or the ending compound word location, and the beginning and ending lexemes could be either high- or low-frequency words. Three tasks were used--lexical decision, naming, and sentence reading--all of which focused on the effects of lexeme frequency as a function of lexeme dominance. The results revealed a larger word frequency effect for the dominant lexeme in all three tasks. Eye movements during sentence reading further revealed larger word frequency effects for the dominant lexeme via several oculomotor motor measures, including the duration of the first fixation on a compound word. These findings favor theoretical conceptions in which the use of lexeme meaning is an integral part of the compound recognition process.     

The Future is Bright? Effects of Mood on Perception of the Future

Most people believe that the future will bring them more good things than bad, and therefore have high hopes for the future (MacLeod et al. Cogn Emot 10:69–85, 1996). However, many patients with mood disorders do not hold this positive belief about the future. At the extreme, low expectations of positive outcomes in the future can lead to feelings of hopelessness (O’Connor et al. Psychol Health Med 5:155–161, 2000). This paper aims to extend the literature on subjective probability of future events, using a mood induction paradigm to examine the effects of transient mood change on perceived likelihood of future events in a non-clinical community sample. Participants rated likelihood of future events from a standardized list and from their own lives. Ratings were made in both normal and experimentally-induced positive or negative mood. Results show that self-generated future events were perceived to be more likely than those from a standardized list, and that negative mood significantly biased perceived likelihood of other-generated future events. Participants rating standardized list events saw positive outcomes as less likely and negative outcomes as more likely in induced negative mood than they did in normal mood. Mood had no effect on ratings of self-generated events. Possible directions for future research are discussed.

Phonology in multisyllabic word recognition

The present study used two word-naming experiments to investigate whether a phonological representation is computed in the perception of multisyllabic words. In the first experiment, 100- or 250-msec beginning syllable previews were given, followed by the whole word. The results indicated that no phonological representation was computed at 100 msec, but a phonological representation was computed at 250 msec. In Experiment 2, the second syllable was given as a prime for either 100 or 250 msec. The results showed that no phonological representation was computed for the end of a multisyllabic word. Results are discussed in terms of current dual-route theory and connectionist models.This research was supported by a National Science Foundation grant BNS90110067. We thank Kim Clements, Cindy Connine, Fred Smith, Steve Straight, Sheldon Li, Steve Specht, Greg Boheimer, Deb Briihl, Rich Topoloski, Anna Chomiak and Chris Bruun for their support.     

Breast cancer and cerebral laterality

In reviewing and summarizing work at our institution, we have identified some surprising consistencies in patients with breast cancer. Breast cancer shows four features of cerebral laterality: excess left-handedness, atypical season-of-birth patterns, the risk factor of advanced maternal age, and an association with prenatal sex hormones. Since hypopigmentation also relates to cerebral laterality, a consequence of the association of breast cancer and cerebral laterality is that eye color should be measured as a function of side of disease and age at diagnosis in women with breast cancer.     

Effects of centrality on retrieval of text-based concepts

Four experiments examined the effect of centrality on retrieval time using a wide range of testing conditions. Subjects read passages containing concepts that were rated as central, moderately central, or peripheral to a passage, and then were asked to retrieve those concepts. Experiment 1 used a probe recognition task that contained foils that were unrelated to the passage, and it was found that central concepts were recognized more quickly than peripheral concepts. In Experiment 2, the foils were passage related, resulting in a much larger recognition advantage of central concepts over peripheral concepts. Experiment 3 used a speeded-recall task. Again central concepts were recalled more quickly than less central concepts. Experiment 4 ruled out a simple strength argument. The results of all four experiments are discussed in terms of text being represented as an integrated network. Within this network, central concepts are more interconnected, providing additional access routes that facilitate retrieval.     

On the psychology of the recognition heuristic: retrieval primacy as a key determinant of its use

The recognition heuristic is a prime example of a boundedly rational mind tool that rests on an evolved capacity, recognition, and exploits environmental structures. When originally proposed, it was conjectured that no other probabilistic cue reverses the recognition-based inference (D. G. Goldstein & G. Gigerenzer, 2002). More recent studies challenged this view and gave rise to the argument that recognition enters inferences just like any other probabilistic cue. By linking research on the heuristic with research on recognition memory, the authors argue that the retrieval of recognition information is not tantamount to the retrieval of other probabilistic cues. Specifically, the retrieval of subjective recognition precedes that of an objective probabilistic cue and occurs at little to no cognitive cost. This retrieval primacy gives rise to 2 predictions, both of which have been empirically supported: Inferences in line with the recognition heuristic (a) are made faster than inferences inconsistent with it and (b) are more prevalent under time pressure. Suspension of the heuristic, in contrast, requires additional time, and direct knowledge of the criterion variable, if available, can trigger such suspension.     

Input-specific long-term potentiation in the rat lateral amygdala of horizontal slices

Long-term potentiation (LTP) at input synapses to the lateral nucleus of the amygdala (LA) is a candidate mechanism for memory storage during fear learning. Cellular mechanisms of LTP have been nearly exclusively investigated in coronal brain slices. In our experiments, we used a horizontal brain slice preparation of rats that preserved most of the connections to cortical areas and the hippocampus. The stimulation electrodes were located either within the external capsule (EC) or the LA. The aim of the present study was to investigate the mechanisms of LTP induced either by weak theta burst stimulation (TBS) or strong high frequency stimulation (HFS) using the two different stimulation sites. Whereas both TBS and HFS of afferences running through the LA induced stable LTP, TBS failed to induce LTP of EC-inputs to the LA. The present findings also show that LTP in the LA exhibits vulnerability at different time windows after induction. The time window was dependent on the kind of stimulated afferences. Later LTP becomes resistant to disruption by low frequency stimulation. We could show that both used inputs depended on NMDA receptors for LTP-induction. LTP induced by stimulation of fibers within the LA was not altered by nifedipine (10 microM). In contrast, EC-induced LTP was dependent on L-type voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCC). Finally, we found a higher magnitude of LTP in females using TBS, whereas HFS did not cause gender-specific differences. Our study supports the conclusion that the form of LA-LTP depend on which afferences are activated and what pattern of stimulation is used to induce LTP.