Positive illusions about one's partner's physical attractiveness

This study examined couples’ ratings of self and partner physical attractiveness. On the basis of the theory of positive illusions, it was expected that individuals would rate their partners as more attractive than their partners would rate themselves. Both members of 93 heterosexual couples, with a mean relationship length of about 14 years, provided ratings of both their own and their partner's physical attractiveness. Results support the theory that individuals hold positive illusions about their partner's physical attractiveness. Implications of these results in terms of relationship-enhancing biases are discussed.     

If it is easy to remember,then it is not secure: Metacognitive beliefs affect password selection

In this research, we applied current theories of metacognition to study computer security and tested the idea that users' password selection is affected by the metacognitive belief that if a password is memorable, then it is not secure. In two experiments, different types of eight‐character passwords and longer, more secure sentences were presented. Participants rated perceived memorability and perceived security of the passwords and indicated whether they would use them in a critical and in a noncritical service. The results confirmed the belief. Sentences that are in fact highly secure and perceived as highly memorable were also perceived as weak passwords. The belief strongly affected password selection for critical services, but it had no effect on noncritical services. In sum, long sentences are a particularly interesting type of password because they meet both security and memorability criteria, but their use is limited by a false belief.     

Metacognitive myopia and the overutilization of misleading advice

Previous research on advice taking has explained the failure to exploit collective wisdom in terms of the egocentric underweighting of advice provided by independent others. The present research is concerned with an opposite and more radical source of irrational advice taking, namely, the failure to critically assess the validity of advice due to metacognitive myopia. Participants could use the advice of one or two experts when estimating health risks. They read sketches of the study samples that experts had drawn to estimate conditional probabilities (e.g., of HIV‐given drug addiction). Whether samples were valid or seriously biased, subsequent judgments were strongly affected by any advice (Experiment 1). Uncritical reliance on any advice persisted when participants were sensitized to the contrast of valid and invalid advice in a repeated measures design (Experiment 2), when participants themselves believed advice not to be valid (Experiment 3), and even after full debriefing about invalid advice (Experiment 4). Lay advice exerted a similar influence as expert advice (Experiment 5). Although these provocative results are independent of numeracy and consensus (Experiment 6), they highlight the impact of metacognitive myopia as an impediment of social rationality.     

A Critical Review of Self-perceptions and the Positive Illusory Bias in Children with ADHD

Despite significant functional problems in multiple domains, children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) unexpectedly provide extremely positive reports of their own competence in comparison to other criteria reflecting actual competence. This counterintuitive phenomenon is known as the positive illusory bias (PIB). This article provides a comprehensive and critical review of the literature examining the self-perceptions of children with ADHD and the PIB. Specifically, we analyze methodological and statistical challenges associated with the investigation of the phenomenon, the theoretical basis for the PIB, and the effects of sample heterogeneity on self-perception patterns. We conclude by discussing the implications of this work and providing recommendations for advancing research in this area.     

Effects of self‐explanation as a metacognitive strategy for solving mathematical word problems1

Abstract: This study examined how a metacognitive strategy known as self‐explanation influences word problem solving in elementary school children. Participants were 79 sixth‐graders. They were assigned to one of three groups: the self‐explanation group, the self‐learning group, or the control group. Students in each group performed a ratio word problem test and a transfer test. The results showed that students in the self‐explanation group outperformed students in the other two groups on both the ratio word problem test and on the transfer test. In addition, high explainers who generated more self‐explanations relating to deep understanding of worked‐out examples outperformed low explainers on both ratio word problem and transfer tests. The self‐explanation effect is discussed.     

汉字错误记忆的形、音编码差异研究

采取DRM范式,要求被试判断词表项目的字形结构或音调,从而间接学习词表,考察了关联性、不同编码方式和测验情境（测验次数、测验词颜色两个变量）对真实和错误记忆的影响。实验发现：（1）随着关联性的增加,未学词的错误再认率也增加,说明关联性是引发错误记忆的必要条件;（2）字形判断比字音判断下的错误再认率要高,说明汉字中形—义联结可能比音—义联结更加紧密;（3）测验情境对真实和错误记忆影响并不相同,表明两者虽然同源,但具有完全不同的机制。     

Illusory Control and Motives for Control: The Role of Connection and Intentionality

An experiment was done to examine the control heuristic perspective on illusory control and the effects of motives on control judgments, using a computer task similar to the light onset task used in previous research. Desire for the outcome and reinforcement were manipulated. As predicted from a control heuristic perspective, the effect of level of reinforcement on judgments of personal control was mediated by the measure of perceived connection: the perception of the number of positive confirming cases. Motives increased illusions of control, but only in the high reinforcement condition. A mediational analysis that examined how motives affect control judgments found that when the motive to get the outcomes was high, participants had higher estimates of having acted intentionally and these estimates partially mediated the relationship between the motivation manipulation and judgments of control. It appears that perceptions of connection mediate the relationship between reinforcement and illusory control, while judgments of intentionality partially mediate the effect of motives for control and illusory control.     

学困生关于材料特征的元认知知识与应用的实验研究

本研究以62名学习困难学生(以下简称差生或学困生)和63名优生为被试,采用三因素混合实验设计,对优差生的阅读元认知知识及其应用特点进行了研究。结果表明：(1)优生对材料组织特征的元认知知识水平显著高于对词汇难度特征的元认知知识水平,而差生不存在显著差异;(2)九年级学生对材料组织特征的元认知知识水平显著高于词汇难度特征的元认知知识水平;其他年级之间没有显著差异;(3)在实际的阅读过程中,优生进行时间分配的人数显著多于学困生;学习困难学生的元认知知识与元认知控制的联系显著弱于优生。     

Undecidable Decisions: Rationality Limits and Decision-making Heuristics

In this article the theoretic evolution and the empirical-experimental efforts that have led to the affirmation of the bounded/procedural rationality paradigm are discussed. Moreover, the debate on supporters of the “optimization” approach and supporters of the “bounded/procedural rationality” approach is traced, highlighting the irreconcilability of these two approaches and, in retort, a solid defense against a merely “reductionist” attempt of the innovative context of the Simonian theory. Critically going over the debate on decision dynamics, it becomes clear how, due to the uncertain nature of rational processes, it is impossible to establish the decision-making best way. The imperfect character of individual choice is explained by how the decider identifies a solution that appears satisfying in that moment due to cognitive and temporal limits.     

The effect of working memory load on semantic illusions: What the phonological loop and central executive have to contribute

When asked how many animals of each kind Moses took on the Ark, most people respond with “two” despite the substituted name (Moses for Noah) in the question. Possible explanations for semantic illusions appear to be related to processing limitations such as those of working memory. Indeed, individual working memory capacity has an impact upon how sentences containing substitutions are processed. This experiment examined further the role of working memory in the occurrence of semantic illusions using a dual-task working memory load approach. Participants verified statements while engaging in either articulatory suppression or random number generation. Secondary task type had a significant effect on semantic illusion rate, but only when comparing the control condition to the two dual-task conditions. Furthermore, secondary task performance in the random number generation condition declined, suggesting a tradeoff between tasks. Response time analyses also showed a different pattern of processing across the conditions. The findings suggest that the phonological loop plays a role in representing semantic illusion sentences coherently and in monitoring for details, while the role of the central executive is to assist gist-processing of sentences. This usually efficient strategy leads to error in the case of semantic illusions.