A comparison of methods for assessing preference for social interactions

Researchers have evaluated a variety of methods for assessing preference for social interactions, and generally have found that such assessments accurately identify differentially reinforcing, preferred interactions. However, few researchers have compared methods for assessing preference for social interactions, and none have done so with participants across different skill levels. The current study compared the stability and validity of hierarchies produced by social interaction preference assessments (SIPA) and picture-based multiple stimulus without replacement preference assessments (MSWO) with 8 individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The MSWO most often produced valid hierarchies for participants who could match, identify, and tact pictures of social interactions and that the SIPA most often produced valid hierarchies for participants who could not identify or tact pictures of social interactions. A vocal paired-stimulus preference assessment (PSPA) was also conducted with a subset of participants who communicated vocally, and it produced valid hierarchies. Considerations and recommendations for selecting a method of assessing preference for social interactions are discussed.     

The roles of order,distance, and interstitial items in temporal visual statistical learning

Humans are adept at learning regularities in a visual environment, even without explicit cues to structure and in the absence of instruction—this has been termed “visual statistical learning” (VSL). The nature of the representations resulting from VSL are still poorly understood. In five experiments, we examined the specificity of temporal VSL representations. In Experiments 1A, 1B, and 2, we compared recognition rates of triplets and all embedded pairs to chance. Robust learning of all structures was evident, and even pairs of non-adjacent items in a sequentially presented triplet (AC extracted from a triplet composed of ABC) were recognized at above-chance levels. In Experiment 3, we asked whether people could recognize rearranged pairs to examine the flexibility of learned representations. Recognition of all possible orders of target triplets and pairs was significantly higher than chance, and there were no differences between canonical orderings and their corresponding randomized orderings, suggesting that learners were not dependent upon originally experienced stimulus orderings to recognize co-occurrence. Experiment 4 demonstrates the essential role of an interstitial item in VSL representations. By comparing the learning of quadruplet sets (e.g., ABCD) and triplet sets (e.g., ABC), we found learning of AC and BD in ABCD (quadruplet) sets were better than the learning of AC in ABC (triplet) sets. This pattern of results might result from the critical role of interstitial items in statistical learning. In short, our work supports the idea of generalized representation in VSL and provides evidence about how this representation is structured.     

Effects of priming self‐construals on self‐evaluations: Cultural game player perspective

This study examined the validity of situational view on culture‐specific behaviours focusing on self‐evaluation. Two experiments with American students as samples were conducted to examine whether priming their self‐construals would affect individuals' self‐evaluation. In Experiment 1, the participants' self‐evaluation was compared across different conditions of primed self‐contruals. In Experiment 2, the participants were split into 2 groups based on their initial default self‐consturals and, the self‐evaluations were compared across the 2 groups after priming self‐contruals. The results demonstrated that although the participants' self‐evaluation was initially in accord with their default self‐construal, it changed into accord with the primed self‐construals. The findings supported the proposed cultural game player view. Implications on situational view of self‐evaluation are also discussed.     

“Prison Will Either Make Ya or Break Ya”: Punishment,Deterrence, and the Criminal Lifestyle

Although a prison sentence is often considered to be among the worst punishments that the state can provide, previous research indicates that offenders do not necessarily share this view. Some inmates, for example, adjust to prison life with relative ease, do not view their time in prison as severe punishment, and may even prefer prison to alternative sanctions such as boot camp or probation. To help explain such views, we point to the utility of a “criminal lifestyle” perspective. We argue that offenders who are committed to the values of the criminal subculture tend to view prison in a unique way. For various reasons, such offenders are less likely than others to view imprisonment as difficult or severe and they are less likely to be deterred by prison. Drawing on data from a large inmate survey, we find initial empirical support for these arguments. Implications for deterrence and future research are discussed.     

Desgabets on Cartesian Minds

George Berkeley maintains both anti-abstractionism (that abstract ideas are impossible) and idealism (that physical objects and their qualities are mind-dependent). Some scholars (including Atherton, Bolton, and Pappas) have argued, in different ways, that Berkeley uses anti-abstractionism as a premise in a simple argument for idealism. In this paper, I argue that the relation between anti-abstractionism and idealism in Berkeley's metaphysics is more complex than these scholars acknowledge. Berkeley distinguishes between two kinds of abstraction, singling abstraction and generalizing abstraction. He then rests his case for idealism, not on the denial of the possibility of generalizing abstraction, but rather on the denial of the possibility of singling abstraction. Moreover, Berkeley's argument does not rest on a blanket rejection of all forms of singling abstraction. Rather, the fundamental anti-abstractionist assumption, for his purposes, is the claim that primary qualities cannot be mentally singled out from secondary qualities. Crucially, the claim that the existence of physical objects cannot be mentally singled out from their being perceived is not a premise in, but rather a consequence of, Berkeley's argument for idealism. Berkeley's argument therefore avoids circularity inasmuch as it appeals to the impossibility of singly abstracting one idea in order to establish the impossibility of singly abstracting another.     

No evidence of age-related increases in unconscious plagiarism during free recall

In three experiments younger and older participants took part in a group generation task prior to a delayed recall task. In each, participants were required to recall the items that they had generated, avoiding plagiarism errors. All studies showed the same pattern: older adults did not plagiarise their partners any more than younger adults did. However, older adults were more likely than younger adults to intrude with entirely novel items not previously generated by anyone. These findings stand in opposition to the single previous demonstration of age-related increases in plagiarism during recall.     

An experience-sampling measure of job satisfaction and its relationships with affectivity,mood at work,job beliefs,and general job satisfaction

In this article, we proposed an experience-sampling method of measuring job satisfaction, assessed the contributions of average levels of mood at work and job beliefs to the prediction of job satisfaction, and examined the role of mood in mediating the relationship between affectivity and job satisfaction. The study involved a three-phase multisource longitudinal design that included experience-sampling surveys in the second phase of the study. Results suggested that average levels of experience-sampled job satisfaction indicate the general attitudinal construct of job satisfaction. As expected, pleasant mood at work and beliefs about the job made independent contributions to the prediction of job satisfaction (as measured with an overall evaluation and with an experience-sampling measure). In support of our mediation hypotheses, pleasant mood mediated the affectivity?–?job satisfaction relationship and the mediating effect was much stronger when job satisfaction was assessed with the experience-sampling method.     

Taxonicity of anxiety sensitivity: an empirical test among youth

Taxometric coherent cut kinetic analyses were used to test the latent structure of anxiety sensitivity (AS) among 371 youth. Anxiety sensitivity was indexed by the 18-item Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index (CASI; Silverman et al., J. Clin. Child Psychol. (1991), 20, 162-168). Two sets of manifest indicators of AS were constructed using the CASI: (1) three item-parcel manifest indicators: disease concerns, unsteady concerns, and mental illness concerns; and (2) nine single-item indicators representing each of these three facets of AS. Results from standard and short-scale MAXCOV procedures, internal consistency tests, analyses of simulated Monte Carlo data, and MAMBAC external consistency tests indicated that the latent structure of anxiety sensitivity among youth was taxonic. Estimated base rate of the observed AS taxon ranged between 13.6 and 16.5%. The present findings are discussed in terms of theoretical implications for the study of AS and vulnerability for anxiety psychopathology.