The brain's hemispheres and controlled search of the lexicon: evidence from fixated words and pseudowords

Difference between the brain's hemispheres in efficiency of intentional search of the mental lexicon with phonological, orthographic, and semantic strategies was investigated. Letter strings for lexical decision were presented at fixation, with a lateralized distractor to the LVF or RVF. Word results revealed that both hemispheres were capable of using each of the three strategies, but the right hemisphere had better baseline processing of orthography and was better at processing semantics. Pseudoword results supported the right hemisphere advantage for orthography and showed a left hemisphere advantage for phonology and assessment of possible semantic relationships. Taken together, the data support the idea that the right hemisphere uses orthography to make efficient decisions about novelty of an item, while the left engages in grapheme-to-phoneme conversion to test hypotheses about unfamiliar items. The convergence of data with previous research reveals that the procedure, as well as analyses of pseudowords, inform laterality research.     

When two become one: Temporally dynamic integration of the face and voice

In everyday interactions with others, people have to deal with the sight of a face and sound of a voice at the same time. How the perceptual system brings this information together over hundreds of milliseconds to perceive others remains unclear. In 2 studies, we investigated how facial and vocal cues are integrated during real-time social categorization by recording participants' hand movements (via the streaming x, y coordinates of the computer mouse) en route to “male” and “female” responses on the screen. Participants were presented with male and female faces that were accompanied by a same-sex voice morphed to be either sex-typical (e.g., masculinized male voice) or sex-atypical (i.e., feminized male voice). Before settling into ultimate sex categorizations of the face, the simultaneous processing of a sex-atypical voice led the hand to be continuously attracted to the opposite sex-category response across construal. This is evidence that ongoing results from voice perception continuously influence face perception across processing. Thus, social categorization involves dynamic updates of gradual integration of the face and voice.     

The Color of Safety: Ingroup Associated Colors make Beer Safer

Individuals display high levels of trust and express feelings of safety when interacting with social ingroup members. Here, we investigated whether cues related to ingroup membership would change perceptions of the safety of alcohol. Participants were exposed to images of beer in either a standard can or a can featuring the colors of their university (i.e., ‘fan cans’). We hypothesized that exposure to fan cans would change perceptions of the risks of beer drinking. Results showed that participants exposed to fan cans rated beer consumption as less dangerous (Experiment 1), were more likely to automatically activate safety-related mental content after unconscious perception of beer cues (Experiment 2), and viewed their ingroup's party practices as less dangerous (Experiment 3). These results provide evidence that ingroup-associated colors can serve as a safety cue for alcohol, which may in theory perpetuate alcohol-related risk-taking, already a cause for concern on college and university campuses.     

Are intelligence and creativity really so different? : Fluid intelligence, executive processes, and strategy use in divergent thinking

Contemporary creativity research views intelligence and creativity as essentially unrelated abilities, and many studies have found only modest correlations between them. The present research, based on improved approaches to creativity assessment and latent variable modeling, proposes that fluid and executive cognition is in fact central to creative thought. In Study 1, the substantial effect of fluid intelligence (Gf) on creativity was mediated by executive switching, the number of times people switched idea categories during the divergent thinking tasks. In Study 2, half the sample was given an effective strategy for an unusual uses task. The strategy condition interacted with Gf: people high in Gf did better when given the strategy, consistent with their higher ability to maintain access to it and use it despite interference. Taken together, the findings suggest that divergent thinking is more convergent than modern creativity theories presume.     

“Does degree of asymmetry relate to performance?” A critical review

In a recent paper, Chiarello, Welcome, Halderman, and Leonard (2009) reported positive correlations between word-related visual field asymmetries and reading performance. They argued that strong word processing lateralization represents a more optimal brain organization for reading acquisition. Their empirical results contrasted sharply with those of another such large-scale study, by Boles, Barth, and Merrill (2008). We reported negative correlations between asymmetry and performance when both were measured using the same visual lexical tasks. Most recently, within-task negative correlations were also reported by Hirnstein, Leask, Rose, and Hausmann (2010). Here two major differences between studies are explored. Task purity refers to the influence of the same mental processes on both the asymmetry and performance measures, and is arguably maximal in studies measuring both within the same task. The other difference concerns the measurement of asymmetry. Linear corrections for ceiling and floor effects were used by Chiarello et al. and Hirnstein et al., while we used a more appropriate nonlinear one. Their results are difficult to interpret for those reasons. The operation of a third variable to which both asymmetry and performance are positively correlated could also be a factor in the Chiarello et al. findings. The Boles et al. findings reflect a negative correlation between an asymmetric visual lexical process and performance measured within the same task.     

Need fulfillment and motivation in physical education predict trajectories of change in leisure-time physical activity in early adolescence

ObjectivesWe examined (1) how psychological need fulfillment and motivation in physical education and leisure-time physical activity change during early adolescence, and (2) the degree to which need fulfillment and motivation predict trajectories of change in physical activity.DesignLongitudinal survey.MethodsStudents (N = 134, ages 10–13 years) completed surveys assessing perceived competence, autonomy, relatedness, intrinsic motivation, and identified, introjected, and external regulations in physical education, and leisure time physical activity each semester in school for 3 years.ResultsUnconditional growth models showed an average increase in physical activity. Competence also increased, while autonomy and relatedness, and identified and introjected regulation decreased. Conditional models showed that students with higher levels of autonomy, relatedness, intrinsic motivation, and identified regulation had higher levels of physical activity at baseline and throughout the study. Students with lower levels of autonomy, relatedness, intrinsic motivation, and identified regulation experienced significantly greater increases in physical activity, but these effects were very small.ConclusionsNeed fulfillment and motivation variables positively predict physical activity. While youth with lower levels of need fulfillment and motivation have lower levels of physical activity, they also tend to increase physical activity levels more across early adolescence. These associations highlight how physical education experiences in early adolescence may influence change in physical activity, and suggest efforts to foster need fulfillment and autonomous regulation in physical education may promote physical activity.     

Exploring the interplay between sport modality and cognitive function in open- and closed-skill athletes

The degree to which each sport modality relies on cognitive visual skills is hitherto under-researched. This study sought to further understanding of the relationship between sport modality and visual search ability, visual working memory, and reasoning. Ninety-five participants took part in the present study. In order to assess visual search ability, we employed the Visual Search Task. Visual working memory was assessed through the Corsi Block Tapping – Backwards Task. Reasoning abilities were assessed through the Cognitive Reflection Task. Results indicate that visual search skills appear to benefit to a higher extent from open-skill sports when compared to closed-skill sports. It is important to emphasize, however, that this result was associated with a small effect size. Moreover, the present findings indicate that closed-skill athletes do not differ in terms of visual search abilities, working memory, and reasoning abilities when compared to control individuals.