What Can Political Psychology Learn from Implicit Measures? Empirical Evidence and New Directions

Implicit measures have become very popular in virtually all areas of basic and applied psychology. However, there are empirical and theoretical arguments that might raise doubts about their usefulness in research on political attitudes. Based on a review of relevant evidence, we argue that implicit measures can be useful to identify distal sources of political preferences in domains where self‐presentation may bias self‐reports (e.g., influence of racial attitudes on voting decisions). In addition, implicit measures of proximal political attitudes can contribute to the prediction of future political decisions by virtue of their capability to predict biases in the processing of decision‐relevant information (e.g., prediction of voting behavior of undecided voters). These conclusions are supported by research showing that implicit measures predict real‐world political behavior over and above explicit measures. The reviewed findings suggest that implicit measures may serve as a useful supplement to improve the prediction of election outcomes. Open questions and potential directions for future research are discussed.     

选择多多益善?——选择集大小对消费者多样化寻求的影响

一系列实验发现消费者多样化寻求行为随选择集增大而呈现倒U型变化,这是由于过大选择集情况下消费者倾向于采取启发式信息处理策略导致多样化寻求行为降低。同时,个体的认知需求水平调节选择集大小与多样化寻求行为间的倒U型关系。此外,通过操纵个体认知困难,理论机制进一步得到验证:在认知困难条件下,消费者也会因采用启发式信息处理策略而导致多样化寻求行为显著降低。     

善心点亮创造力:内部动机和亲社会动机对创造力的影响

研究者普遍认为,个体的内部动机促进创造力,但这种观点受到了越来越多的挑战与质疑。最新的动机性信息加工理论认为,亲社会动机能使个体不仅关注新颖性,而且重视实用性,从而提高创造力。本研究采用2×2组间设计,操纵内部动机和亲社会动机,将被试随机分配到其中一种条件下完成一项创造任务。方差分析结果发现,内部动机和亲社会动机对创造力的影响存在交互作用,只有当亲社会动机高时,内部动机才显著提高创造力;内部动机和亲社会动机均高时,个体创造力最高。本研究证明了亲社会动机在创造过程中的重要性,为创造力研究提供了新的视角。     

Factors influencing drivers’ reading and comprehension of on-board traffic messages

IntroductionWhen variable message signs (VMS) or on-board traffic information systems are used, it is essential that while driving, motorists read and understand the information as soon as possible in order to make appropriate decisions to increase road safety and/or facilitate traffic flow. Thus, it is important to investigate the factors that may increase fast reading and comprehension of on-board traffic information.ObjectivesWe examined the influence of the type of message (warnings vs. recommendations), location of the pictogram (top or bottom of the text), type of display device (IPhone, Blackberry, or Tablet) and its position (horizontal or vertical) on drivers’ fast reading and comprehension of on-board messages provided via in-vehicle system. Moreover, we were interested in drivers’ acceptability of in-vehicle system.MethodForty-nine drivers (M_Men = 32, 19–65 years) participated to a reading and comprehension task while travelling on a desktop driving simulator. Participants were exposed to two series of 11 traffic messages displayed on one of the three devices. Reading and comprehension times were measured (= milliseconds) for each message. At the end, they had to fill in a questionnaire on their beliefs about on-board traffic messages and in-vehicle system.ResultsDrivers expressed a positive attitude toward on-board traffic messages and in-vehicle system. Reading and comprehension times were of approximately 4 seconds and were longer for warnings as compared to recommendations. The pictogram placed at the top of the text, the tablet and the vertical display device facilitated fast reading and comprehension.     

Psychological predictors of eco-driving: A longitudinal study

Eco-driving has well-known positive effects on fuel economy and greenhouse-gas emissions. Moreover, eco-driving reduces road-traffic noise, which is a serious threat to the health and well-being of many people. We investigated the psychological predictors of the adoption of eco-driving from the perspective of road-traffic noise abatement. The data came from 890 car drivers who participated in a longitudinal survey over four months. Specifically, we tested the effects of the intention to prevent road-traffic noise, variables derived from the theory of planned behavior (social norm, perceived behavioral control, and attitude), and variables derived from the health action process approach (implementation intention, maintenance self-efficacy, and action control) on the intention to practice eco-driving and on eco-driving behavior. The intention to prevent road-traffic noise was not linked to the intention to practice eco-driving. The strongest predictors of the intention to practice eco-driving were attitude and perceived behavioral control. The strongest predictor of eco-driving behavior was action control. The link between behavioral intention and behavior was weak, indicating that drivers have difficulties putting their intention to practice eco-driving into action. Therefore, intervention efforts should directly address and support the transition from intention to behavior. This could be accomplished by providing reminders, which help to maintain behavioral intention, and by providing behavior feedback, which helps car drivers to monitor their behavior.     

错误记忆产生的认知与神经机制：信息加工视角

采用信息加工视角, 在划分不同信息来源的基础上分析编码、存储(巩固)、再激活/再巩固和提取的一系列加工过程如何导致错误记忆形成, 由此总结出错误记忆产生的三个可能原因：(1)因缺乏针对目标事物特异性细节的记忆表征而侧重于编码和提取目标和非目标事物共享的抽象记忆表征, 使被试更倾向于依赖抽象表征对缺失的目标细节进行重构, 引发错误记忆; (2)目标事物启动了对应图式, 导致与图式相关的非目标事物记忆表征得到增强, 引发错误记忆; (3)误导信息干扰了再度激活状态下目标事物的记忆表征, 妨碍其进行准确的记忆再巩固, 从而引发错误记忆。未来研究可进一步探讨目标事物特异性细节的表征区域、不同类型的图式表征促进非目标事物记忆表征的具体机制以及提取阶段的图式复现对错误记忆形成的影响等问题。     

Will the most informative object stand? Determining the impact of structural context on informativeness judgements

A fundamental unsolved problem in the cognitive sciences concerns why, how, and to what extent humans judge object stimuli as conveying different amounts of information. Central to this problem is how the notion of informativeness is conceptualised by humans in the first place. In this paper, we investigate this question from the standpoint of how the structure of categories of objects influences informativeness judgements about their members. Results from our two experiments show that the structural or relational context surrounding single-object cues from a categorical stimulus largely determines such informativeness judgements. Moreover, we found that object cues elicit absolute magnitude judgements about their associated concept that are not consistent with the prototype interpretation of the concept. We were able to account for over 90% of the variance in the data from our two judgement experiments with a general theory and measure of information referred to as Representational Information.     

Experiencing the Bible

This study uses interpretative phenomenological analysis, a qualitative interview methodology, to examine the information experience of Catholic readers of the Bible. It presents a detailed, individual-focused account of how Catholics experience the Bible, in its diverse oral, print, and digital manifestations, as a source of religious information. Participants in this study were found to experience the Bible as God's Word, with which they interface in three thematic ways: Connections, Journey, and Practice. These themes are, in turn, linked by the processes of sharing, repetition, and interpretation. This work extends previous research on the religious reading of believers and numinous document experience, and it contributes to a budding conceptualization of reading as an example of document work rather than a merely cognitive activity.     

Gay–See also–Lesbian Resources for Believers

ABSTRACT

Few bibliographies exist that specifically focus on the resources available for lesbian and gay people of faith. This paper seeks to gather some of the best resources, both old and new, into a cohesive and comprehensive format as they mainly relate to the Christian tradition. Focusing on available books, as well as Internet resources, annotated lists have been assembled that document resources that many theological libraries might consider for purchase. Books have been categorized in typical library categories and each entry is annotated to aid in selection. Internet sites have also been annotated to explain their inclusion in the article.