Categorizing sounds by pitch: effects of stimulus similarity and response repetition

Two experiments were performed to determine whether categorization of the pitch of a probe tone is influenced by the pitch of, and response made to, a preceding prime tone. The prime and the probe could be drawn either from a pool of low-frequency sounds or from a pool of high-frequency sounds. The results of both experiments indicated that the performance obtained was best when the prime and the probe were the same pitch (and therefore required the same response), intermediate when the two sounds differed in pitch and required different responses, and slowest when the prime and the probe differed in pitch but required the same response (i.e., they were drawn from the same frequency pool). The results of Experiment 2 revealed in addition that when a repeated response was required, performance declined as the magnitude of the frequency change increased and that responses were made more quickly and accurately if the direction of the frequency change was away from the alternative category than if it was toward the alternative category. The results demonstrate that categorization of sounds by pitch is accomplished with reference to a previous processing episode.     

Big-fish-little-pond effect on academic self-concept. A cross-cultural (26-country) test of the negative effects of academically selective schools

Academically selective schools are intended to affect academic self-concept positively, but theoretical and empirical research demonstrates that the effects are negative. The big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE), an application of social comparison theory to educational settings, posits that a student will have a lower academic self-concept in an academically selective school than in a nonselective school. This study, the largest cross-cultural study of the BFLPE ever undertaken, tested theoretical predictions for nationally representative samples of approximately 4,000 15-year-olds from each of 26 countries (N = 103,558) who completed the same self-concept instrument and achievement tests. Consistent with the BFLPE, the effects of school-average achievement were negative in all 26 countries (M beta = -.20, SD = .08), demonstrating the BFLPE's cross-cultural generalizability.     

Molecular analyses of the effects of d-amphetamine on fixed-interval schedule performances of rats.

A series of doses (0.5 to 2.0 mg/kg) of d-amphetamine was administered to rats whose lever pressing was maintained by fixed-interval 30-s, 60-s, or 120-s schedules of reinforcement by sucrose delivery. Under both saline and d-amphetamine conditions, molecular features of responding were reliably described in terms of the distribution of postreinforcement pauses and local response rate following the onset of responding. Postreinforcement pause always varied from interval to interval but, on average, shortened under the drug. Local response rate (response rate exclusive of pause time) tended to decrease under the drug, and where acceleration occurred within runs of responses, it was reduced by the drug. All of these effects were dose-related. These findings suggest that fixed-interval behavior can be analyzed effectively at a molecular level, and that the effects of d-amphetamine are best described as disruption of temporal discrimination.     

Gender and orientation stereotypes bias source-monitoring attributions

Four experiments were conducted to determine whether gender stereotypes influence source-monitoring decision processes. Statements that were consistent with a male were more often correctly attributed to a male source and less frequently correctly attributed to a female. The reverse was true for items traditionally associated with a female. Both of these biases were reversed if participants believed the speaker was either a gay male or a lesbian female. These effects persisted under divided attention during test, suggesting that they are caused by automatic influences. But these biases were partially attenuated when participants first considered the detrimental impact of stereotypes. Because these biases were absent for gender-neutral statements, the results from this study show that the content of a memory can influence judgements about the context in which something was learned. The authors argue that the data are most consistent with a heuristic, early selection process that can be influenced by a conscious, late correction process (e.g., Jacoby, Kelly, & McElree, 1999).     

Fan effects in event-based prospective memory

Three experiments investigated whether event-based prospective memory was affected by the associative fan of the cues to be detected. The associative fan was operationally defined as the number of associates paired with event-based cues in a paired associate learning phase. Subsequent to the paired associate learning, participants were given a lexical decision task in which event-based cues were embedded. The results from Experiments 1 and 2 confirmed that a larger associative fan significantly reduced event-based cue detection. The third experiment confirmed that the absolute strength of an association does not affect performance, rather the number of associations does. As an ancillary issue, the authors tested whether cue detection was affected by the familiarity of the background words used in the lexical decision task. No consistent evidence for a discrepancy plus search model of prospective memory was found.     

On Seeing to the Horses: Issues in Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religious Studies After Bonino and Lindbeck

This article re-examines so-called “experiential approaches” to theology and religious studies. In affirming the need of the educator to attend to both cognitive and affective aspects within teaching and learning, and in using many concrete examples from classroom practice, the article critically engages with Latin American liberation theology and post-liberalism in an attempt to clarify what “experience” is being referenced when “experiential methods” are used. The importance of the concrete worlds of individual students, the responsibility of educators to be conscious of their own power in shaping the educational experience, and the desirability of attending to issues surrounding economic disadvantage within theology and religious studies feature prominently in the study. We conclude that, though no experience is neutral, educational contexts in theology and religious studies can offer exemplary settings for profound self-discovery, exploration, and personal development through the “hermeneutical friction” created by critical examination of the narrative worlds within which we live.     

Assessing Spiritual Health via Four Domains of Spiritual Wellbeing: The SH4DI

This study argues for the assessment of spiritual health in terms of four domains of wellbeing concerned with self, community, environment, and God. This view of spiritual health is supported by data from 311 teachers in the UK. The Spiritual Health in Four Domains Index (SH4DI) developed from these data both provides an overall index of spiritual health and distinguishes among six different spiritual health perspectives represented by personalists, communalists, environmentalists, religionists, existentialists, and globalists.