Vertical metaphor with motion and judgment: a valenced congruency effect with fluency

Following metaphorical theories of affect, several research studies have shown that the spatial cues along a vertical dimension are useful in qualifying emotional experience (HAPPINESS is UP, SADNESS is DOWN). Three experiments were conducted to examine the role of vertical motion in affective judgment. They showed that positive stimuli moving UPWARD were evaluated more positively than those moving DOWNWARD, whereas negative stimuli moving DOWNWARD were evaluated as less negative than those moving UPWARD. They showed a valenced congruency effect, but an alternative hypothesis in terms of MORE is UP and LESS is DOWN was also examined. Finally, fluency mechanisms were investigated to confirm that relationships between affect and verticality were in accordance with a valenced congruency effect.     

Brand preference affects the threshold for perceptual awareness

Despite decades of scientific scrutiny, much is still unknown about the effects that brands have on perception. Brands are known to lead to changes in attention and mnemonic processing and by altering emotional preferences they imbue products with value. Less, however, is known about the exact mechanism through which this occurs. Here, a novel and unexpected finding is provided in which subjective brand preference alters the likelihood that a brand name will be consciously seen. By presenting brand names at brief durations, and having them respond using a graded evaluation of conscious perception, the Perception Awareness Scale, it is found that brand names for which there is either a positive and negative preference, subjects report seeing the name more clearly. Interestingly, and much to the contrary of studies of basic emotions, this effect is strongest for positive preference. Our results are discussed in light of other studies in consumer psychology and consciousness science. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dissociable yet tied inhibitory processes: The structure of inhibitory control

Cognitive and neural models have proposed the existence of a single inhibitory process that regulates behavior and depends on the right frontal operculum (rFO). The aim of this study was to make a contribution to the ongoing debate as to whether inhibition is a single process or is composed of multiple, independent processes. Here, within a single paradigm, we assessed the links between two inhibitory phenomena—namely, resistance to involuntary visual capture by abrupt onsets and resolving of spatial stimulus–response conflict. We did so by conducting three experiments, two involving healthy volunteers (Exps. 1 and 3), and one with the help of a well-documented patient, R.J., with selectively weakened inhibition following a lesion of the rFO. The results suggest that resistance to capture and stimulus–response conflict are independent, because (a) additive effects were found (Exps. 1 and 3), (b) capture did not correlate with compatibility effects (Exp. 1), (c) dual tasking affected the two phenomena differently (Exp. 3), and (d) a dissociation was found between the two in patient R.J. (Exp. 2). However, the results also show that these two phenomena may share some processing components, given that (a) both were affected in patient R.J., but to different degrees (Exp. 2), and (b) increasing the difficulty of dual tasking produced an increasingly negative correlation between capture and compatibility (Exp. 3), which suggests that when resources are withdrawn from the control of the former, they are used to control the latter.     

Olfactory–Visual Congruence Effects Stable Across Ages: Yellow Is Warmer When It Is Pleasantly Lemony

This study aimed to examine the age-related differences in the olfactory–visual cross-correspondences and the extent to which they are moderated by the odors pleasantness. Sixty participants aged from 20- to 75- years (young, middle-aged and older adults) performed a priming task to explore the influence of six olfactory primes (lemon, orange, rose, thyme, mint and fish) on the categorization (cool vs. warm) of six subsequent color targets (yellow, orange, pink, malachite green, grass-green, and blue-gray). We tested mixed effects models. Response times were regressed on covariates models using both fixed effects (Groups of age, olfactory Pleasantness and multimodal Condition) and cross-random effects (Subject, Color and Odor). The random effects coding for Odor (p < .001) and Color (p = .001) were significant. There was a significant interaction effect ( p= .004) between Condition × Pleasantness, but not with Groups of age. The compatibility effect (i.e., when odors and colors were congruent, the targets processing were facilitated) was as much enhanced as the olfactory primes were pleasant. Cross-correspondences between olfaction and vision may be robust in aging. They should be considered alongside spatiotemporal but also emotional congruency.     

Couple and Family Treatments: Study Quality and Level of Evidence

This paper examines the application of the guidelines for evidence‐based treatments in family therapy developed by Sexton and collaborators to a set of treatment models. These guidelines classify the models using criteria that take into account the distinctive features of couple and family treatments. A two‐step approach was taken: (1) The quality of each of the studies supporting the treatment models was assessed according to a list of ad hoc core criteria; (2) the level of evidence of each treatment model was determined using the guidelines. To reflect the stages of empirical validation present in the literature, nine models were selected: three models each with high, moderate, and low levels of empirical validation, determined by the number of randomized clinical trials (RCTs). The quality ratings highlighted the strengths and limitations of each of the studies that provided evidence backing the treatment models. The classification by level of evidence indicated that four of the models were level III, “evidence‐based” treatments; one was a level II, “evidence‐informed treatment with promising preliminary evidence‐based results”; and four were level I, “evidence‐informed” treatments. Using the guidelines helped identify treatments that are solid in terms of not only the number of RCTs but also the quality of the evidence supporting the efficacy of a given treatment. From a research perspective, this analysis highlighted areas to be addressed before some models can move up to a higher level of evidence. From a clinical perspective, the guidelines can help identify the models whose studies have produced clinically relevant results.     

Defending the Content Approach to Aesthetic Experience

This article defends the content approach to aesthetic experience. It begins by sketching this approach to aesthetic experience. It then rehearses certain recent criticisms of the view by Alan Goldman and attempts to rebut them. One of those criticisms raises a long‐standing concern about the author's account that has recently been called the “qua” problem. The article concludes by putting this issue to rest.