Cross-modal interaction between vision and hearing: A speed—accuracy analysis

Cross-modal facilitation of response time (RT) is said to occur in a selective attention task when the introduction of an irrelevant sound increases the speed at which visual stimuli are detected and identified. To investigate the source of the facilitation in RT, we asked participants to rapidly identify the color of lights in the quiet and when accompanied by a pulse of noise. The resulting measures of accuracy and RT were used to derive speed-accuracy trade-off functions (SATFs) separately for the noise and the no-noise conditions. The two resulting SATFs have similar slopes and intercepts and, thus, can be treated as overlapping segments of a single function. That speeded identification of color with and without the presence of noise can be described by one SATF suggests, in turn, that cross-modal facilitation of RT represents a change in decision criterion induced by the auditory stimulus. Analogous changes in decision criteria might also underlie other measures of cross-modal interactions, such as auditory enhancement of brightness judgments.     

Attachment patterns moderate the relation between coping flexibility and illness acceptance among kidney transplant recipients

Background and Objectives: Post-transplant kidney recipients may experience psychological concerns which have been associated with negative health behaviors. Illness acceptance might have an important role in this process. In line with the Conservation of Resources Theory (COR), the current study aimed to examine the relationship between coping flexibility, attachment patterns and illness acceptance among post-transplant kidney recipients, and to evaluate whether attachment patterns moderate the link between coping flexibility and illness acceptance.

Design: The study employed a cross-sectional design.

Methods: Ninety-four post-transplant kidney recipients completed questionnaires assessing demographic and medical characteristics, illness acceptance, coping flexibility and attachment patterns.

Results: Our results indicated that coping flexibility was positively associated with illness acceptance. Moreover, attachment moderated this link, as high coping flexibility was associated with increased illness acceptance among individuals with low levels of attachment anxiety, a finding which was not significant when high levels of anxiety were reported.

Conclusions: This study highlights the potential importance of building greater flexibility in order to enhance illness acceptance among kidney transplants recipients. Moreover, the role of insecure attachment patterns in health-related outcomes among kidney transplants recipients is emphasized.     

A pinch or a lesion: a reconceptualization of biting consequences in mice

Intruder and resident male colony mice exhibit an array of distinct defensive and offensive behaviors. Intruders typically show more boxing, flight, defensive sideways position, on the back position and general locomotion, while residents exhibit higher levels of attack, olfactory investigation, aggressive grooming, and biting, with a preference for dorsal bite locations. Here, analysis of bite locations on the body of the intruder mice showed that the majority of bites produced few lesions (i.e. actual puncturing of the skin) when compared to scrapes or no markings. Most bites were directed to the back of the opponent animal with very few bites directed towards the opponents' vulnerable ventrum. In particular, bites directed at the relatively hairless ventrum produced no lesions. These findings, along with previous work on mice and rats, suggest that intraspecific offense with preferred target sites for biting, facilitates an effective but largely nonwounding interaction between resident and intruder mice. Furthermore, bruise and wound analyses suggest an association between bite targets and tissue damage. The preference for specific bite locations may be complimented by a differential intensity of attack, with the back attracting the strongest bites and the ventrum the weakest. This apparent nonwounding fighting pattern contradicts the current evaluation of rodent wounding severity in this paradigm and can therefore refine the usage of this model and of the protocols associated with it.     

Choosing to switch: Spontaneous task switching despite associated behavioral costs

The literature shows that switching among simple cognitive tasks is difficult and involves a performance cost. Accordingly, cost-benefit considerations seem to predict that task switching would not occur spontaneously. Here we show that spontaneous task switching is a robust phenomenon, despite its costs. In Experiment 1, participants had to judge shapes according to one of three possible dimensions. Importantly, they were given the option to choose another relevant dimension or let the computer program change the dimension for them, but only if they wanted to do so. The results showed that spontaneous task switching was prevalent, despite robust switching costs. Experiment 2 extended this finding in showing spontaneous switching from an easy task to a more difficult task. The authors provide two possible explanations for the phenomenon that posit that spontaneous switching may be unpreventable or even advantageous.     

Reporting intentional rating of the primes predicts priming effects in the affective misattribution procedure

In the affective misattribution procedure (AMP), pairs of prime and target stimuli appear rapidly in succession. Attitudes toward the prime influence the evaluation of the target despite instructions to avoid this influence. Because this priming effect presumably happens without people's knowledge, the AMP is used to study automatic evaluation. Participants in four studies performed the AMP and reported their perception of the priming effect. The authors found that the priming reflected reliable and valid attitudes toward the primes mostly among participants who reported that the priming occurred and that they intentionally rated the primes instead of the targets. The authors conclude that the AMP hardly captures attitude effects that escape people's knowledge. The AMP's good psychometric qualities as an attitude measure rely mainly on a small subset of participants who believe that they intentionally caused the attitude effect.     

The paradox of evolution

In the second (and expanded) version of Origin of the Species, Darwin introduces the term “advanced progressive development” in an attempt to describe the development of the more complex species from the simpler ones. More than 100 years have passed since Darwin tried to qualify and conceptualize the directional question of evolution, and very little progress has been made regarding the subject. The appearance of the species, from the simple to the more complex, is today an empirical fact, one which is no longer dependent upon any theory, including that of Darwin. This work examines the subject of advanced development in evolution by attempting to answer a few basic questions: What parameters may be used to evaluate complexity? Can any rules or order be identified as to the development of the species? Is the mechanism of “natural selection” sufficient to explain the direction or ‘purpose’ of evolution? Can the human race be included within the “rules” of Darwin's evolutionary theory?

The purpose of this essay is to develop and represent a new conceptual framework. Through this, it will be possible to offer a principle answer to all four questions.     

When Fatigue Turns Deadly: The Association Between Fatigue and Racial Bias in the Decision to Shoot

Racial bias in the decision to shoot can be minimized if individuals have ample cognitive resources to regulate automatic reactions. However, when individuals are fatigued, cognitive control may be compromised, which can lead to greater racial bias in shoot/don't-shoot decisions. The current studies provide evidence for this hypothesis experimentally using undergraduate participants (Study 1) and in a correlational design testing police recruits (Study 2). These results shed light on the processes underlying the decision to shoot and, given the high prevalence of fatigue among police officers, may have important practical implications.     

“Feeling Good in Your Own Skin” Part II: Idiomatic Expressions – The Way Language Connects to the Primary Levels of Mental Organization

After describing the role of sensations in the primary levels of mental organization, this part of the article suggests viewing somatic idioms as the language's way to connect with these levels. We seek to exemplify the qualities, meanings and functioning of idioms, since they serve as a basic key in investigating the different layers of the mind. Examples taken from clinical cases, as well as from universal literary products, such as fairy tales, provide useful contributions to this argument.     

Strategic modification of the evaluative priming effect does not reduce its sensitivity to uncontrolled evaluations

In the evaluative priming procedure the processing of a target stimulus is facilitated when preceded by a prime of the same valence. This procedure is used to investigate and measure the unintentional and uncontrolled influence of attitudes. Consistent with previous findings, in this research, when participants knew that primes are more likely to precede targets of opposite valence the typical priming effect was reversed. This may suggest that non-evaluative processes can eliminate the effect of unintentional evaluation. However, in five studies, success in reversing the priming effect was still related to people's evaluation of the primes. This suggests that unintentional evaluation affects performance in the evaluative priming procedure even when people successfully counteract the priming effect. Although behaviors that are sensitive to evaluative processes may be altered by rival processes, the rival processes do not necessarily decrease the absolute influence of the evaluative processes on those behaviors.