The interaction between emotion and executive control: Comparison between visual,auditory, and tactile modalities

The reciprocal connections between emotion and attention are vital for adaptive behaviour. Previous results demonstrated that the behavioural effects of emotional stimuli on performance are attenuated when executive control is recruited. The current research studied whether this attenuation is modality dependent. In two experiments, negative and neutral pictures were presented shortly before a visual, tactile, or auditory target in a Simon task. All three modalities demonstrated a Simon effect, a conflict adaptation effect, and an emotional interference effect. However, the interaction between picture valence and Simon congruency was found only in the visual task. Specifically, when the Simon target was visual, emotional interference was reduced during incongruent compared to congruent trials. These findings suggest that although the control-related effects observed in the Simon tasks are not modality dependent, the link between emotion and executive control is modality dependent. Presumably, this link occurs only when the emotional stimulus and the target are presented in the same modality.     

Facilitating supervisees’ developing competence through supervisory conversation

Research on assessing supervisees’ professional development (PD) has been primarily focused on formal end-point, summative evaluations. Little attention has been given to the role that routine supervisory conversations play in formative PD evaluations. This study takes a situated/dialogical approach to explore how PD evaluations are locally proposed, recognized, transacted, and conversationally accomplished in the conversations of actual supervision practice. Informed by ethnomethodology, we discursively analyzed episodes of supervisory sessions selected by supervisory dyads, which they regarded as significant to the supervisee’s PD. We describe and exemplify five conversational Practices by which supervisory dyads brought about shared evaluations vis-à-vis the supervisee’s PD, through supervisory conversations.     

Dynamic accountability in clinical training and supervision: Three orienting ideals

Despite the growing interest on making clinical practice accountable, research on how specific components of professional competence are relevant in actual training/supervision practice is as yet unspecified. This study explores this dynamic aspect of professional supervision. Three supervisory dyads, composed by an experienced supervisor and a doctoral counseling psychology student were used in the study. A qualitative, ethnomethodology-informed design was used to discursively analyze 16 significant episodes (SEs) in actual supervision meetings. This was complemented by 16 follow-up interviews. Three interpretative repertoires – ‘ideals’ – influencing participants’ accounting practices were identified: efficacy, responsiveness, and authenticity. The article discusses how structural (competency-based) and dynamic (practice-based) approaches to accountability can be combined to guide the appraisal of relevant professional competencies.     

The pyeTribe: Simultaneous eyetracking for economic games

The recent introduction of inexpensive eyetrackers has opened up a wealth of opportunities for researchers to study attention in interactive tasks. No software package has previously been available to help researchers exploit those opportunities. We created “the pyeTribe,” a software package that offers, among others, the following features: first, a communication platform between many eyetrackers to allow for simultaneous recording of multiple participants; second, the simultaneous calibration of multiple eyetrackers without the experimenter’s supervision; third, data collection restricted to periods of interest, thus reducing the volume of data and easing analysis. We used a standard economic game (the public goods game) to examine the data quality and demonstrate the potential of our software package. Moreover, we conducted a modeling analysis, which illustrates how combining process and behavioral data can improve models of human decision-making behavior in social situations. Our software is open source.     

Social network predictors of bullying and victimization

This study examined whether bullies, victims, and aggressive victims (those who are both bullies and victims) differed on classroom social network variables, gender, and ethnicity. Survey data were collected from a primarily Latino and Asian sample of 1,368 Southern California 6th graders (mean age = 11.3 years). Logistic regression analyses were performed to determine whether network characteristics and ethnicity were associated with each of the outcome variables. Consistent with social cognitive theory, friends' participation in aggressive behaviors was positively associated with being a bully or an aggressive victim, and negatively associated with being a victim. Consistent with social dominance theory, the number of friendship nominations received was negatively associated with being a victim. Female bullies received fewer friendship nominations, but had a higher proportion of reciprocated friendships. Victims were disproportionately Asian. The findings suggest that bullying prevention efforts targeting highly aggressive students may also diffuse to their friends, and that assertiveness training in handling aggressive situations may successfully combat bullying and aggression.     

Intergroup distinctiveness and differentiation: a meta-analytic integration

The authors examined the relation between perceptions of intergroup distinctiveness and intergroup differentiation in a meta-analysis. They tested the social identity theory prediction that low intergroup distinctiveness underlies differentiation (the "reactive distinctiveness" hypothesis) for effects on behavioral and judgmental differentiation. In addition, they examined the moderating power of 4 variables that H. Tajfel and J. C. Turner (1979) predicted would influence differentiation (group identification, relevance of the dimension of comparison, relevance of the outgroup. and nature of intergroup relations). Analysis of 60 tests revealed that the overall effect of distinctiveness on differentiation was not significantly different from 0, but reactive distinctiveness was found on behavioral differentiation measures, whereas reflective distinctiveness was found on judgmental differentiation measures. Only group identification was a reliable moderator. High identifiers showed reactive distinctiveness, whereas low identifiers showed reflective distinctiveness.