Corralling the Ingroup: Deviant Derogation and Perception of Group Variability

ABSTRACT

Two experiments investigated the relationship between the evaluation of a deviant group member and the perceived group variability among participants with varying degrees of ingroup identification. In Experiment 1 (N?=?79) ingroup identification was negatively associated with perceived ingroup variability following the presentation of a deviant ingroup member. This relationship was mediated by ratings of the deviant: the stronger the identification, the more negatively the deviant was evaluated, and the more homogeneous the ingroup was perceived. These effects were replicated in Experiment 2 (N?=?169), which also showed that there was no association between ingroup identification and the representation of the outgroup following exposure to a deviant outgroup member. The findings suggest that deviant derogation may serve to isolate undesirable members from the rest of the ingroup and protect the group's identity.     

The proximate memory mechanism underlying the survival-processing effect: Richness of encoding or interactive imagery?

Nairne and collaborators showed that assessing the relevance of words in the context of an imagined survival scenario boosts memory for these words. Although this survival-processing advantage has attracted a considerable amount of research, little is known about the proximate memory mechanism mediating this effect. Recently, Kroneisen and Erdfelder (2011) argued that it is not survival processing itself that facilitates recall but rather the richness and distinctiveness of encoding that is triggered by the survival-processing task. Alternatively, however, it is also conceivable that survival processing fosters interactive imagery, a process known to improve associative learning. To test these explanations we compared relevance-rating and interactive imagery tasks for survival and control scenarios. Results show that the survival advantage replicates in the relevance-rating condition but vanishes in the interactive imagery condition. This refutes the interactive imagery explanation and corroborates the richness-of-encoding hypothesis of the survival-processing effect.     

Age-related associative deficits and the isolation effect

ABSTRACT

If all but one of the items in a list are similar (e.g., all black except one red), memory for the different item is enhanced (the isolation effect). Older adults generally show similar or smaller isolation effects compared to young adults, which has been attributed to age-related deficits in associative memory whereby older adults are less able to associate an isolated stimulus to its isolating feature. Experiment 1 examined the isolation effect for isolation based on spatial position, modality and color; in Experiment 2, the criterion for isolation was the associative relation between stimuli. The results consistently showed no differences between young and older participants in the magnitude of the isolation effect. Whilst age deficits in associative memory may act to reduce the isolation effect in older adults, age deficits in self-initiated processing and inhibitory functionality may counteract this reduction by enhancing the isolation effect in older adults.     

Reflection-Impulsivity in Mexican Children: Cross-Cultural Relationships

Urban Mexican children aged 5 (n = 23) and 9 (n = 87) years were given the Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFFT). The results indicate that the MFFT was a valid test of cognitive style for Mexican children. The younger children's MFFT performance was characterized as fast and inaccurate in relation to the older children's performance, which was slower and more accurate. Cross-cultural comparisons of Mexican MFFT scores with normative data from America, Japan, and Israel indicated that Mexican children were relatively impulsive in cognitive style in relation to children of other cultures. Potential factors contributing to these cross-cultural differences are discussed here.     

Executive function outcomes of children with traumatic brain injury sustained before three years

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a common cause of disability in childhood. While the outcomes of TBI sustained in school years has been heavily researched, very little is known about the impact of TBI in infants and young children. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of TBI on executive function (EF) in children who sustained a TBI before 3 years of age. A group of 55 children, 19 with a mild TBI, 16 children with a moderate-severe TBI, and 20 uninjured comparison children participated. The EF of children aged 3 to 6 years were compared using child-based measures of attentional control and information processing. Parents completed questionnaires rating their child's EF. Severity groups differed on the child-based EF measure of attentional control with children with TBI performing below the control group. There were no significant group differences for information processing or parent-rated EF. It appears that children who sustain a TBI before the age of 3 years display impairments in some areas of attentional control 3–4 years postinjury. The findings fit with the existing EF literature for older children.     

童年中期同伴关系与孤独感的中介变量检验

以571名小学三、四、五、六年级的儿童为被试,考察了儿童社会喜好、友谊质量、社交自我知觉与孤独感的关系,检验了社交自我知觉在同伴关系变量与孤独感间的中介作用。结果表明,社会喜好、友谊质量、社交自我知觉和孤独感间相关显著,并且存在显著的性别差异;社交自我知觉在同伴关系变量与孤独感间存在中介的作用;独立的中介效应检验中,社会喜好、友谊质量均通过社交自我知觉的中介作用与孤独感发生联系,同时,也存在直接的联系;综合模型中,社会喜好只通过社交自我知觉的中介作用与孤独感产生联系,不存在直接效应,而友谊质量与孤独感既存在中介的联系,同时也存在直接联系。     

词汇判断中汉语多义词识别的优势效应

运用词汇判断任务,考察了汉语双字词识别中的多义性效应。实验一运用2个真字任意组合构成的假词（如：镜社）作填充材料,发现多义词识别的优势效应仅仅存在于错误率中。实验二运用与源真词（如：冲锋）同音形似的假词（如：冲烽）作填充材料,促使被试更多地在语义水平上做出判断,结果发现很强的多义词识别的优势效应,这种效应主要表现在低频词上。两个实验结果表明,在词汇判断中用不同的假词作填充词会影响被试的词汇判断策略,从而在不同水平上通达词义。最后,用反馈模型对实验结果进行了解释。     

关于成本沉没效应的实验研究

运用IAT 技术,通过实验,证明“损失厌恶”具有内隐性,“损失厌恶”存在内隐偏差,并且二者具有很强的稳定性,即不受当前情绪及刺激材料性质等的影响,为进一步认识成本沉没效应等现象的本质特点提供了证据。     

加工焦点性和任务负荷对不同认知方式大学生前瞻记忆的影响

采用双任务范式,探讨了加工焦点性和进行中任务负荷对不同认知方式大学生前瞻记忆的影响。包括两个实验:实验一探讨进行中任务与前瞻记忆任务加工的焦点性和加工类型的一致性对不同认知方式大学生前瞻记忆的影响;实验二探讨进行中任务负荷对不同认知方式大学生在在焦点加工和非焦点加工条件下前瞻记忆的影响。结果显示:焦点加工条件下的前瞻记忆成绩高于非焦点加工,且不受进行中任务负荷的影响;不管进行中任务与前瞻记忆任务的加工类型是否一致,在进行中任务负荷较高且非焦点加工条件下,场独立大学生的前瞻记忆成绩高于场依存大学生。本研究结果支持多重加工理论。     

注视方向的知觉对注视追随行为的影响

他人的注视线索可诱导观察者将注意自动地转移到该线索所指示的方向上去(注视追随), 但仍不清楚注视方向的知觉在注视追随中起到何种作用。本研究结合注视适应和注视线索提示范式发现：知觉到的注视线索角度越大, 其线索提示效应越强; 知觉适应后被试判断注视方向的准确性下降, 注视线索引起的注意转移量显著减少。可见, 对注视方向的知觉能直接影响注视追随行为, 而注视方向抽取受到刺激显著性(注视角度)和知觉适应等因素的调节。这提示：在意识状态下, 注视知觉与注视追随存在直接联系, 即可能存在从注视知觉系统到注意转移系统的皮层加工通路; 注视追随并非纯粹的反射式加工, 它受自上而下知觉经验的调节。