Windows executable software for the progressive demasking task

The progressive demasking (PDM) task is a perceptual identification task using degraded stimulus presentation procedures, but with the advantage of providing response time (RT) measures on each trial. Participants simply press a response button whenever they recognize a word. In this article, we present newly developed, easy-to-use freeware for PDM. Considering the difficulty of programming such a paradigm with standard experimental software, we developed a program based on high-level C libraries to be executed on Windows XP computers. The program execution is millisecond accurate forRT measurements and generates the fewest possible display duration errors.     

Social identity,relative group status and intergroup attitudes: when favourable outcomes change intergroup relations…for the worse

This study examines in a natural setting (N = 253) the effects of favourable outcomes at the individual and group levels on the relations between members of high (nondisabled) and low (disabled) status groups. Consistent with past research, the results show that, overall, high‐status group members are more likely than low‐status group members to display ingroup bias. Furthermore, as hypothesized on the basis of the role of relative gratification in intergroup relations, a favourable group outcome led high‐status group members to derogate the low‐status outgroup. On the other hand, as predicted from the assumption that outgroup favouritism reflects a strategy of individual mobility, a favourable individual outcome led low‐status group members to display an evaluative bias in favour of, and to identify with, the high‐status outgroup. The implications of these findings for the explanation of outgroup favouritism and outgroup derogation are discussed. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Putting Social Psychology into Serious Games

Video or computer gaming is quickly becoming a significant part of many people's lives. We review several emerging themes in both the social psychological literature and popular culture that show the potential for a productive integration of social psychology and video gaming. In particular, we examine the growing impact of serious games and outline some social psychological principles that could be implemented in the context of games for social cognitive training.     

The confederate's and others' self-conversion: a neglected phenomenon

The authors analyzed a neglected phenomenon: self-conversion. Rather than concentrating on the influence exerted by a confederate on a naive participant, the authors studied how the confederate is himself or herself influenced by the position that he or she defends at the request of the experimenter. This experiment is particularly revealing with respect to a fundamental aspect of the psychology of the proselytizing of minority groups: In the process of convincing others, one also convinces oneself. Exerting influence on others thus leads to self-conversion, which allows the group to reinforce its beliefs and to stand up to conformity pressures.     

CANTAB explicit memory is less impaired in addicted schizophrenia patients

It has been suggested that in order to sustain the lifestyle of substance abuse, addicted schizophrenia patients would have less negative symptoms, better social skills, and less cognitive impairments. Mounting evidence supports the first two assumptions, but data lack regarding cognition in dual diagnosis schizophrenia. Seventy-six schizophrenia outpatients (DSM-IV) were divided into two groups: with (n = 44) and without (n = 32) a substance use disorder. Motor speed and visuo-spatial explicit memory were investigated using CANTAB. As expected, dual diagnosis patients showed a better cognitive performance. Our results suggest either that substance abuse relieves the cognitive deficits of schizophrenia or that the patients with less cognitive deficits are more prone to substance abuse.     

A warm heart and a clear head. The contingent effects of weather on mood and cognition

Prior studies on the association between weather and psychological changes have produced mixed results. In part, this inconsistency may be because weather's psychological effects are moderated by two important factors: the season and time spent outside. In two correlational studies and an experiment manipulating participants' time outdoors (total N = 605), pleasant weather (higher temperature or barometric pressure) was related to higher mood, better memory, and "broadened" cognitive style during the spring as time spent outside increased. The same relationships between mood and weather were not observed during other times of year, and indeed hotter weather was associated with lower mood in the summer. These results are consistent with findings on seasonal affective disorder, and suggest that pleasant weather improves mood and broadens cognition in the spring because people have been deprived of such weather during the winter.     

Attitudes Toward Affirmative Action in the United States and Canada

Attitudes toward affirmative action programs were investigated using a U.S. sample, an English speaking Canadian sample, and a French speaking Canadian sample. Results indicate that cultural influences in the form of individualism-collectivism were small but that ethnic and linguistic memberships were major influences on attitudes toward those programs.     

A New Perspective on Preferential Treatment: The Role of Ambiguity and Self-Efficacy

Knowledge of being selected preferentially has been shown to have negative effects. This study examined how changing the operationalization of preferential treatment to allow for perceptions of ambiguity in the nature of the selection decision may lead to changes in research conclusions. Eighty-four female undergraduates were led to believe they were selected to perform a mathematical task based on their merit, direct preferential treatment, or a more ambiguous or indirect preferential treatment. Results indicated that participants' self-efficacy levels affected their interpretations of the manipulation and performance. Implications for the study of preferential treatment are discussed.     

Macroscopic marital interaction coding systems: Are they interchangeable?

The present study sought to determine the convergent validity of two macroscopic marital interaction coding systems: the Marital Interaction Coding System-Global and the Global Couple Interaction Coding System. The sample consisted of 40 couples who completed the Dyadic Adjustment Scale, the Potential Problem Checklist and a 30-min problem solving interactional task. Filmed interactions were coded by separate teams of observers using the Marital Interaction Coding System-Global and the Global Couple Interaction Coding System. Results showed that interobserver agreement, as assessed through intraclass correlations, was satisfactory for both coding systems. Between-system comparisons revealed that convergent validity coefficients were moderate; thus, it seems premature to conclude that macroscopic coding systems are interchangeable. Finally, multiple regression analyses indicated that both systems contained significant non-redundant behavioral predictors of marital adjustment. Implications of these results are discussed.