Measuring online volitional response control with a continuous tracking task

We present a new tracking task designed to measure elements of response control in particular types of response adjustments such as stopping. In this task, participants track a visual target by manually pressing on a force sensor to yield a trace of force over time. Hardware specifications are detailed, as is an algorithm for determining the latencies of response adjustments such as stopping. We illustrate the use of the task in two experiments. Experiment 1 explores the reliability of data produced by the task. Experiment 2 examines some of the issues that can be addressed using the new task. These results demonstrate the usefulness and potential of the task for gauging response control within the context of the stopping literature.     

Programming strategies for rapid aiming movements under simple and choice reaction time conditions

Increases in reaction time (RT) as a function of response complexity have been shown to differ between simple and choice RT tasks. Of interest in the present study was whether the influence of response complexity on RT depends on the extent to which movements are programmed in advance of movement initiation versus during execution (i.e., online). The task consisted of manual aiming movements to one or two targets (one- vs. two-element responses) under simple and choice RT conditions. The probe RT technique was employed to assess attention demands during RT and movement execution. Simple RT was greater for the two- than for the single-target responses but choice RT was not influenced by the number of elements. In both RT tasks, reaction times to the probe increased as a function of number of elements when the probe occurred during movement execution. The presence of the probe also caused an increase in aiming errors in the simple but not choice RT task. These findings indicated that online programming was occurring in both RT tasks. In the simple RT task, increased executive control mediated the integration between response elements through the utilization of visual feedback to facilitate the implementation of the second element.     

Some factors affecting response in recognition tests

Experiments were designed to investigate some of the factors which might affect a subject's responses in a recognition test. Two experiments are described. In the first, subjects were shown 12 similar photographs. They were then given a recognition test of 12 photographs, of which a number varying from o to 12 had been shown in the original display. All the photographs were sufficiently alike to render some guessing essential. It was found that subjects tended to select approximately 50 per cent. as having been seen previously and to reject 50 per cent. When a second and similar display and recognition test followed immediately, there was a tendency for subjects to make more “yes” responses, without any improvement in accuracy. The effect of giving serial presentation first was to increase the number accepted not only in that test but also in a test using simultaneous presentation which succeeded it. It was also shown that when a correct decision was possible but difficult a positively correct response (in this case recognizing something seen before) was easier than a negatively correct one (rejecting something not seen before).

In the second experiment subjects were shown a picture and were then asked to describe it from memory. Immediately afterwards half the group was given a multiple-choice recognition test while the other half was given a single-choice recognition test. It was found that accuracy and certainty of decision varied with the nature of the choice situation. The results are discussed in relation to a theory of adaptation levels.     

Thinking About Thinking About Work: A Meta-Analysis of Off-Job Positive and Negative Work-Related Thoughts

Work is frequently on the minds of employees—even during evenings, weekends, and vacations. The present study is the first comprehensive meta-analysis of off-job work-related thoughts (WRTs; i.e., thoughts employees have about work when they are not at work). We were particularly interested in comparing off-job positive and negative work-related thoughts (PWRTs and NWRTs; i.e., thoughts about positive/negative work experiences or characteristics) to each other and other off-job WRT constructs, which we integrated into a typology. We coded 520 effect sizes from 171 independent samples (N = 58,682) and conducted a random-effects, individual-correction meta-analysis. We found that PWRTs and NWRTs were unrelated, and psychological detachment was negatively related to NWRTs but unrelated to PWRTs. Furthermore, PWRTs and NWRTs exhibited significantly different relationships with various antecedents (e.g., age, negative affectivity) and outcomes (e.g., work engagement, burnout). Compared to PWRTs and NWRTs, psychological detachment and problem-solving pondering exhibited generally weaker relationships with outcomes. NWRTs contaminated with negative affective strains (i.e., negative work-related thoughts and feelings) exhibited generally stronger relationships with outcomes. Overall, our meta-analytic findings indicate that PWRTs and NWRTs are different and underscore the importance of empirically and conceptually separating PWRTs and NWRTs from each other and other off-job WRT constructs. The findings also complement the nascent literature on interventions that target promoting PWRTs and reducing NWRTs.

     

A sociofunctional approach to prejudice at the polls: are atheists more politically disadvantaged than gays and Blacks?

Prejudice against atheists is pervasive in the United States. Atheists lag behind virtually all other minority groups on measures of social acceptance. The sociofunctional approach suggests that distrust is at the core of anti‐atheist prejudice, thus making it qualitatively different than prejudice against other disadvantaged groups. Accordingly, this research examined political bias against atheists, gays, and Blacks and the affective content accompanying such biases. Results indicated that atheists suffered the largest deficit in voting intentions from Christian participants, and this deficit was accompanied by distrust, disgust, and fear, thereby suggesting that the affective content of anti‐atheist prejudice is both broader and more extreme than prejudice against other historically disadvantaged groups. Theoretical and applied implications are discussed.     

The Realm of the Sacred,Wherein We May Not Draw an Inference from Something which Itself Has Been Inferred: A Reading of Talmud Bavli Zevachim Folio 50

The exegesis of sacred rites in the Talmud is subject to a restriction on the iteration and composition of inference rules. In order to determine the scope and limits of that restriction, the sages of the Talmud deploy those very same inference rules. We present the remarkable features of this early use of self-reference to navigate logical constraints and uncover the hidden complexity behind the sages’ arguments. Appendix 11 ¹Hebrew and Aramaic transliteration approximates traditional Sephardic pronunciation, which is closer to academic standard transliteration than the various Ashkenazic pronunciations, yet is legible. Specific references follow the convention of folio (number), side (a or b), number of lines from the top or (if negative) bottom of the page. contains a translation of the relevant sugya.     

Movement duration does not affect automatic online control

Pisella et al. (2000) have shown that fast aiming movements are automatically modified on-line in response to a change in target position. Specifically, when a movement is less than 300 ms in duration the reach is completed to a target’s new location even when one never intended to respond to the target jump. In contrast, when movements are slower, the reach is completed according to instructions. At present, it is unclear if it is possible for one’s intentions to guide the initial stages of these slow movements. To determine if the intentional control mechanism can guide the initial stages of a slow aiming movement, participants aimed to targets that could jump at movement onset, with a slow and very slow movement time goal. In particular, participants were to point towards (“pro-point”) or away from (“anti-point”) the target jump, with a movement time goal of 500 or 1200 ms. Results showed that in the anti-point condition, movement trajectories first deviated in the same direction as the target jump, followed by a response in the intended (opposite) direction. This suggests that while movement outcome is controlled by the intentional system, even in these slow aiming movements the automatic system is engaged at movement onset.     

Predictors of aggression in Southeast Asian female prisoners

Although aggression is universal, few studies examine violence from an Asian perspective, and even fewer consider female offenders from Southeast Asia. The current study examined whether correlates of aggression in western male offenders are similarly effective for predicting aggression in female inmates (n = 114) from a local prison in Singapore. Aggression was measured using the Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire (comprising dimensions of physical and verbal aggression, anger and hostility) which we sought to predict from measures of impulsivity, general personality traits (neuroticism, agreeableness), psychopathy, and empathy. Impulsivity and agreeableness were significant predictors of self-reported physical and verbal aggression and anger, whereas neuroticism contributed to anger. Neuroticism and psychopathy were significant predictors of hostility. Empathy did not significantly predict any of the four aggression dimensions. Personality, impulsivity and psychopathy appear fair predictors of aggression for female offenders from Southeast Asia, just as they are for the western male offenders.