The Simon Effect in Action: Planning and/or On‐Line Control Effects?

Choice reaction tasks are performed faster when stimulus location corresponds to response location (Simon effect). This spatial stimulus–response compatibility effect affects performance at the level of action planning and execution. However, when response selection is completed before movement initiation, the Simon effect arises only at the planning level. The aim of this study was to ascertain whether when a precocious response selection is requested, the Simon effect can be detected on the kinematics characterizing the online control phase of a non‐ballistic movement. Participants were presented with red or green colored squares, which could appear on the right, left, above, or below a central cross. Depending on the square's color, participants had to release one of two buttons (right/left), then reach toward and press a corresponding lateral pad. We found evidence of the Simon effect on both action planning and on‐line control. Moreover, the investigation of response conflict at the level of previous trials (i.e., n?1), a factor that might determine interference at the level of the current response, revealed a conflict adaptation process across trials. Results are discussed in terms of current theories concerned with the Simon effect and the distinction between action planning and control.     

Measuring dating violence: Conflict or non-conflict related instructions?

Introduction

Dating violence, as well as the broader field of intimate partner violence, has mainly been investigated with two conflict-related questionnaires (Conflict in Adolescent Dating Relationship Inventory CADRI, Conflict Tactics Scale CTS). Indeed, the respondents have to report aggressive behaviors that occurred in a context of conflict. Such conflict-related instructions prevent us from investigating violence occurring outside a context of conflict.

Geographical Frame of Reference and Dangerous Intergroup Attitudes: A Double-Minority Study in Sri Lanka

An ethnic group can comprise a local majority, but be a minority within a broader geographic region or vice-versa. This situation has interesting psychological implications that may contribute to intergroup conflict. To test some of these implications, an experiment was conducted in Sri Lanka, during a ceasefire in the conflict between the government and Tamil rebellion forces. Participants were 100 Sinhalese students. An experimental manipulation was introduced to make one of two geographical regions salient: either just Sri Lanka (within which Sinhalese outnumber Tamils) or a broader region of south Asia (within which Sinhalese are outnumbered by Tamils). Following the manipulation, stereotypes and conflict-relevant attitudes were assessed. Results revealed that when Sinhalese participants were inclined to think of their group as the outnumbered minority, stereotypic perceptions of Tamils were more demonizing (i.e., depicting Tamils as more malevolent and also more competent), and their conflict-relevant attitudes were less conciliatory. These results have conceptual implications as well as implications for understanding conflict and conflict resolution.