Perceptual effects of preceding nonspeech rate on temporal properties of speech categories

The rate of context speech can influence phonetic perception. This study investigated the bounds of rate dependence by observing the influence of nonspeech precursor rate on speech categorization. Three experiments tested the effects of pure-tone precursor presentation rate on the perception of a [ba]-[wa] series defined by duration-varying formant transitions that shared critical temporal and spectral characteristics with the tones. Results showed small but consistent shifts in the stop-continuant boundary distinguishing [ba] and [wa] syllables as a function of the rate of precursor tones, across various manipulations in the amplitude of the tones. The effect of the tone precursors extended to the entire graded structure of the [w] category, as estimated by category goodness judgments. These results suggest a role for durational contrast in rate-dependent speech categorization.     

The legacy of Kenneth B. Clark to the APA. The Board of Social and Ethical Responsibility for Psychology

The American Psychological Association faced many challenges beginning around 1965, including the challenge to make psychology more inclusive of traditionally underrepresented groups. The larger context of social unrest and public and political focus on social problems framed these challenges. This article describes the events that led to the establishment of the Board of Social and Ethical Responsibility for Psychology in 1972 and highlights the role of Kenneth B. Clark in those events.     

Media Construction of White-Collar Violence Revisited: An Examination of Two Nightclub Tragedies

Wright, Cullen, and Blankenship (1995 Wright , John P. , Francis T. , Cullen , and Michael B. , Blankenship . 1995 . “ The Social Construction of Corporate Violence: Media Coverage of the Imperial Food Products Fire .” Crime and Delinquency 41 : 20 – 27 . [CSA] [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) examined print media constructions of a chicken-processing plant fire that killed scores of workers. They found that newspaper coverage of the fire was reluctant to describe the event as corporate violence. We examine the generalizability of Wright et al.'s study by conducting a content analysis of newspaper coverage of two events at nightclubs in Chicago, Illinois, and Warwick, Rhode Island, that left numerous people dead and injured. We found that although newspapers did discuss the extent of personal harm caused by the disasters and the potential criminal sanctions that could be imposed, they seldom made any specific claims as to the cause of the events (i.e., whether they were due to an accident, negligence, or criminal behavior). Contrasting findings between our study and Wright et al.'s suggests that more research should be done if we are to understand media constructions of corporate and white-collar violence.     

County-level IQ and fertility rates: A partial test of Differential-K theory

Human intelligence (IQ) correlates with a number of important life outcomes ranging from mortality and morbidity to social rank and status. Noticeably absent from the literature, however, has been a unifying framework from which to examine why IQ should correspond to so many seemingly disparate outcomes. Rushton’s Differential-K theory represents a theoretical perspective capable of accounting for the role of IQ in understanding human flourishing. We tested predictions suggested by Differential-K theory by examining the association between IQ at the aggregate level and two life-history variables: parental investment and fertility rates. Our results provide tentative support for some of the predictions of Differential-K theory.     

Risk,Uncertainty, and Gender Stereotypes in Healthcare Decisions

Disparities in healthcare access, treatment, and outcomes are widely prevalent for women and minorities. At the same time, healthcare choices have become increasingly intricate and correspondingly uncertain. We review contemporary issues in healthcare for women, with emphasis on access to care and on healthcare disparities. In the belief that forewarned is forearmed, we review the role of sexism and the psychology of decision making in producing health disparities. In the face of this complexity, therapists can help women seek sound healthcare and make informed choices. Implications for feminist therapy are suggested that emphasize client empowerment and agency.     

Black Criminals and White Officers: The Effects of Racially Misrepresenting Law Breakers and Law Defenders on Television News

Participants were exposed to a crime story embedded in a newscast in a 3 (Officer Race—Black, White, or Race Unidentified) × 3 (Perpetrator Race—Black, White, or Race Unidentified) × 2 (Prior News Viewing—Heavy, Light) factorial design. Afterward, participants were asked the likelihood that the depicted officer and perpetrator were either White or Black. In addition, participants were asked how positively they viewed the officer who was featured in the story. Results revealed that race unidentified perpetrators were rated as having a high likelihood of being Black. In addition, heavy news viewers were more likely than light news viewers to express a high likelihood that the unidentified officer was White. Finally, heavy news viewers were more likely than light news viewers to have positive perceptions of unidentified officers, but not of Black officers featured in a newscast. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed in light of cultivation and chronic activation.     

Constraints on decision making: Implications from genetics, personality, and addiction

An influential neurocomputational theory of the biological mechanisms of decision making, the “basal ganglia go/no-go model,” holds that individual variability in decision making is determined by differences in the makeup of a striatal system for approach and avoidance learning. The model has been tested empirically with the probabilistic selection task (PST), which determines whether individuals learn better from positive or negative feedback. In accordance with the model, in the present study we examined whether an individual’s ability to learn from positive and negative reinforcement can be predicted by genetic factors related to the midbrain dopamine system. We also asked whether psychiatric and personality factors related to substance dependence and dopamine affect PST performance. Although we found characteristics that predicted individual differences in approach versus avoidance learning, these observations were qualified by additional findings that appear inconsistent with the predictions of the go/no-go model. These results highlight a need for future research to validate the PST as a measure of basal ganglia reward learning.