Part‐set cueing effects in a diagnostic setting with professional auditors

The aim of this research is to examine the generality of the part‐set cueing effect, a well‐known memory‐inhibition phenomenon in basic research, to professional problem diagnosis. Three experiments were conducted. Experiment 1 examines whether part‐set cueing affects the ability of auditors to recall diagnoses, and if so, whether memory inhibition is affected by the plausibility of the hypotheses. Experiment 2 examines whether the part‐set cueing effect is sensitive to changes in the symptoms that drive the diagnosis and whether differences in inhibition occur because of prompt plausibility or because of target plausibility. Experiment 3 extends the findings of the first two experiments to hypothesis generation and discriminates between competing accounts for the part‐set cueing effect. The results show that part‐set cueing effects occur during hypothesis generation and that they are robust to changes in the symptoms. However, the results from the experiments reveal an asymmetric inhibition effect. Inhibition is significant when prompts contain low plausibility hypotheses that are also high in severity. When prompts consist of high plausibility or low severity hypotheses, no inhibition is observed. These findings are considered to be consistent with an editing account of the part‐set cueing phenomenon. The implications of these findings to problem diagnosis and decision aids are discussed. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Using intraverbal training to increase symbolic play in children with autism spectrum disorder

We evaluated the effects of an intraverbal training procedure on the acquisition, maintenance, and generalization of object‐substitution symbolic play in three 6‐year‐old Korean boys with autism spectrum disorder. A multiple probe across four behaviors design was used. All children acquired target symbolic play behavior, and novel responses emerged in training and follow‐up conditions. Generalization of object substitutions to untaught objects occurred in all three children. Free play observations indicated that symbolic play emerged in one child, and functional play increased in all three children.     

Dreaming under fire: the psyche in times of continuous stress

Continuous stress and trauma are manifested in dreams, the study of which can expand our knowledge concerning unconscious reactions to trauma and efforts of coping with continuous traumatic situations. In our research we asked people living under continuous threat of rocket attacks to record their dreams and their associations to them during four consecutive weeks. We collected 609 dreams from 44 women and 18 men (age range 14-62). The dreams submitted were analysed according to the Jungian approach in the light of the information and associations presented by the subjects. Full dream series of dreamers from each group were analysed in an attempt to capture the depth-psychological experience of living and dreaming under fire. The most frequent themes found were: ‘concrete vs. symbolic', ‘togetherness', ‘active ego', ‘fear and anxiety', ‘shadow' and ‘personal issue'. The subjects were divided into three age groups. Differences between the occurrences of themes were examined. On the unconscious level our results showed that the adolescents group seemed to be the most vulnerable to the stress situation (preponderance of concrete dreams), the mature adults group was the least influenced by it (preponderance of symbolic dreams and of the ‘personal issue' theme) and the young adults group made the greatest psychological efforts for coping (preponderance of ‘active ego' theme). We noted few anima figures appearing in the men's dreams, while animus figures appeared in the women's dreams. In another study undertaken immediately after one of the recent wars in Gaza we collected dreams of Israelis living in the south of Israel who were under heavy daily rocket attacks, and dreams of Palestinians living in the West Bank. The most significant difference we found between the groups was a preponderance of symbolic dreams among the Palestinians, as opposed to a preponderance of concrete trauma dreams among the Israeli group living on the Gaza border. In both groups we found archetypal symbols of evil. In conclusion, dreams can help us detect emotional distress, even when subjects seem ‘ok'. Early detection and working with dreams can help prevent the severity of delayed PTSD.     

Short-term memory for responses: the "choose-small" effect

Pigeons' short-term memory for fixed-ratio requirements was assessed using a delayed symbolic matching-to-sample procedure. Different choices were reinforced after fixed-ratio 10 and fixed-ratio 40 requirements, and delays of 0, 5, or 20 s were sometimes placed between sample ratios and choice. All birds made disproportionate numbers of responses to the small-ratio choice alternative when delays were interposed between ratios and choice, and this bias increased as a function of delay. Preference for the small fixed-ratio alternative was also observed on "no-sample" trials, during which the choice alternatives were presented without a prior sample ratio. This "choose-small" bias is analogous to results obtained by Spetch and Wilkie (1983) with event duration as the discriminative stimulus. The choose-small bias was attenuated when the houselight was turned on during delays, but overall accuracy was not influenced systematically by the houselight manipulation.     

Self and Identity Among Aging Immigrants in The Joy Luck Club

This article uses George Herbert Mead's theory of symbolic interaction to examine self and identity among aging immigrants in Amy Tan's novel The Joy Luck Club (1989). Social scientists have largely bypassed analysis of fictional accounts of the Asian diaspora. My motivation for employing Mead's theory is to extend social scientific analysis to novels on aging and ethnicity. By examining self-narratives in fictional representations of the aging immigrant experience, I assess how identity develops out of particular social conditions and is achieved through social, psychological processes. Despite some limitations, symbolic interaction offers insights into the process whereby the present brings reinterpretation of the past and individuals are compelled to assign meaning to their life histories.     

Sample-specific ratio effects in matching to sample

In a symbolic matching-to-sample task, pigeons were trained using sample-specific, fixed-ratio “observing responses.” Subsequently, in a mixed condition, each sample was presented equally often with each ratio requirement, i.e., the ratios were no longer correlated with the samples. In a second experiment, pigeons were trained initially in the mixed condition and subsequently shifted to the sample-specific condition in which the required ratios were correlated with the samples. Results of both experiments suggested joint control of choices by ratio value and by the exteroceptive stimuli. The discriminative properties of the ratios appeared to outweigh absolute ratio-size effects.     

Memory for recent behavior in the pigeon

Variations of the symbolic delayed-matching-to-sample procedure were used to study a pigeon's memory for a small number of pecks. In the first experiment a choice of a left or right sidekey after a delay or retention interval was reinforced if a bird had not pecked at all or had pecked exactly once, before the delay, respectively. In the second experiment a choice of a red or green sidekey, regardless of its position, was reinforced if a bird had not pecked at all or had pecked exactly twice, respectively. In the first experiment a bird could orient toward the correct choice during the delay, whereas it could not in the second experiment. In a third experiment a feature-probing method was used to study a pigeon's memory for a number of pecks in the context of certain other pecks. The results showed that a pigeon can remember a small number of pecks for one-half to one minute or more and that the percent correct is a decreasing function of the log retention interval. When a second number of pecks is different from the first number, memory for the first number lasts only a few seconds. When a second number is the same, memory lasts considerably longer. The more recent number of pecks is remembered better. The results are interpreted in terms of a theory which holds that a reinforcer, in general, may act on a subjects' memory for recent behavior to generate patterns of behavior.     

Unemployment and self-conception: A symbolic interactionist analysis

A symbolic interactionist analysis of the relationship between unemployment and self-conception was tested using a cross-sectional questionnaire design (n = 88). Job loss had significant negative associations with reflected appraisals (perceived evaluations) from friends, family, employers, unemployed people and people in general. Significant relationships between reflected appraisals and the evaluative, consistency and involvement dimensions of self-concept were also observed. Consistent with symbolic interactionist theory, path analysis showed that reflected appraisals mediated the relationship between employment status and self-conception. Unemployment duration and gender both moderated the effects of reflected appraisal upon self-conception such that reflected appraisals were associated with different self-concept dimensions for unemployed men versus unemployed women and ‘shorter’ versus ‘longer-term’ unemployed people. Results are discussed in the context of recent developments in the social psychology of the self-concept. Suggestions for future research are outlined.     

How does exposure to masked individuals affect White Americans' attitudes toward Asian American and Pacific Islanders?

Across three studies, conducted between Spring 2020 and Spring 2021, we tested whether exposure to an Asian American/Pacific Islander (AAPI) target person wearing a face mask would increase or decrease White Americans' perceived threat from and positivity toward AAPI individuals. Although results varied by study, a single-paper meta-analysis revealed that the masked (compared to unmasked) AAPI target resulted in greater positivity toward AAPIs, due to reduced perceptions of both symbolic threat to group values and realistic threat to group health. Positivity toward AAPIs did not reliably differ after exposure to a masked versus unmasked White target. Implications for interventions that encourage COVID-safe behaviors and combat anti-AAPI attitudes are discussed.     

雇主品牌结构与求职倾向关系

利用重新修订非特指行业的雇主品牌量表,以求职倾向为因变量,通过两个有递进关系的研究,证实不仅雇主品牌结构的功能特征正向影响求职倾向,雇主品牌结构的象征特征与求职者追求的理想自我形象一致性也正向影响求职倾向,表明人们求职时既注重满足个人物质利益的雇主品牌功能特征,也关注求职企业雇主的特征风格与自我理想形象的契合。