Compositionwork: A Method for Self-Investigation

This article presents compositionwork as a method based on dialogical self theory, according to which the self is understood as a multiplicity of I-positions (different sides of the self) in the landscape of the mind. The person making the composition uses language and stones to represent relevant I-positions of her- or himself self, thus externalizing these and creating a personal landscape of mind. As a result a meta-position is taken to this landscape, which facilitates its overview and understanding and may stimulate its further development. The method relates to the two basic dimensions of the self: verbal/reflexive and nonverbal/sensory, the integration of which forms an optimal condition for the development of the self. The idea of representing I-positions by using stones is inspired by Japanese rock gardens, which often represent the organization or development of the self. By their abstract and sensory quality, stones help to evoke and symbolize nonverbal aspects of the I-positions. First, we present the theoretical concepts relevant for compositionwork, and then we elaborate on the meaning of Japanese gardens as a representation of the mind and the use of stones as symbols. Finally, we present the method itself and examples of its application.     

Meaning in Life in Emerging Adulthood: A Person‐Oriented Approach

The present study investigated naturally occurring profiles based on two dimensions of meaning in life: Presence of Meaning and Search for Meaning. Cluster analysis was used to examine meaning‐in‐life profiles, and subsequent analyses identified different patterns in psychosocial functioning for each profile. A sample of 8,492 American emerging adults (72.5% women) from 30 colleges and universities completed measures on meaning in life, and positive and negative psychosocial functioning. Results provided support for five meaningful yet distinguishable profiles. A strong generalizability of the cluster solution was found across age, and partial generalizability was found across gender and ethnicity. Furthermore, the five profiles showed specific patterns in relation to positive and negative psychosocial functioning. Specifically, respondents with profiles high on Presence of Meaning showed the most adaptive psychosocial functioning, whereas respondents with profiles where meaning was largely absent showed maladaptive psychosocial functioning. The present study provided additional evidence for prior research concerning the complex relationship between Presence of Meaning and Search for Meaning, and their relation with psychosocial functioning. Our results offer a partial clarification of the nature of the Search for Meaning process by distinguishing between adaptive and maladaptive searching for meaning in life.     

Inference suppression and semantic memory retrieval: Every counterexample counts

Reasoning with conditionals involving causal content is known to be affected by retrieval of counterexamples from semantic memory. In this study we examined the characteristics of this search process in everyday conditional reasoning. In Experiment 1 we manipulated the number (zero to four) of explicitly presented counterexamples (alternative causes or disabling conditions) for causal conditionals. In Experiment 2, using a generation pretest, we measured the number of counterexamples participants could retrieve for a set of causal conditionals. One month after the pretest, participants were presented a reasoning task with the same conditionals. The experiments indicated that acceptance of modus ponens linearly decreased with every additionally retrieved disabler, whereas affirmation of the consequent acceptance linearly decreased as a function of the number of retrieved alternatives. Results for denial of the antecedent and modus tollens were less clear. The findings show that the search process does not necessarily stop after retrieval of a single counterexample and that every additional counterexample has an impact on the inference acceptance.     

Similarity and rules United: similarity- and rule-based processing in a single neural network

A central controversy in cognitive science concerns the roles of rules versus similarity. To gain some leverage on this problem, we propose that rule- versus similarity-based processes can be characterized as extremes in a multidimensional space that is composed of at least two dimensions: the number of features (Pothos, 2005) and the physical presence of features. The transition of similarity- to rule-based processing is conceptualized as a transition in this space. To illustrate this, we show how a neural network model uses input features (and in this sense produces similarity-based responses) when it has a low learning rate or in the early phases of training, but it switches to using self-generated, more abstract features (and in this sense produces rule-based responses) when it has a higher learning rate or is in the later phases of training. Relations with categorization and the psychology of learning are pointed out.     

Negative priming with numbers: No evidence for a semantic locus

Selective attention has been studied extensively using the negative priming (NP) paradigm. An important issue regards the representational level at which NP occurs. We investigated this issue by using numbers as stimuli. Because numbers have a well-defined semantic organization, which can be clearly measured by means of the distance effect, they are very suitable for testing the assumption that NP is situated at a central semantic level. Four experiments are presented in which the numerical distance between prime distractor and probe target was manipulated. The task was magnitude comparison. Target and distractor were defined on the basis of colour. In Experiment 1, all numbers were presented in Arabic format; NP was observed only with identical prime distractor and probe target, and no distance-related NP was observed. This could not be explained by a decay of inhibition since in Experiment 2 similar results were obtained with a shortened response-to-stimulus interval. Experiment 3 showed that these observations also hold for numbers presented verbally. Nevertheless, a cross-notational experiment with Arabic prime and verbal probe (Experiment 4) revealed no NP whatsoever and excluded the possibility that the absence of distance-related negative priming was the result of a fine-tuned inhibitory mechanism operating at the semantic level. The results are considered in the light of current theories of negative priming.     

Gender Differences in Loneliness Across the Lifespan: A Meta‐Analysis

Different theoretical contentions on gender differences in loneliness exist, often including the emergence of gender differences in particular developmental periods. To explain those ideas, the current meta‐analysis synthesizes the available evidence on gender differences in loneliness across the lifespan. Three‐level meta‐analyses were conducted with 751 effect sizes, covering 399,798 individuals (45.56% males). Results showed a close‐to‐zero overall effect (g = 0.07). Most examined moderators were non‐significant, except for age, the scope of the sampling area, and year of publication. Most importantly, all effects were small, suggesting that across the lifespan mean levels of loneliness are similar for males and females.