A negativity bias in interpersonal evaluation

Two studies were conducted to demonstrate a bias toward negativity in evaluations of persons or their work in particular social circumstances. In Study 1, subjects evaluated materials written by peers. Those working under conditions that placed them in low status relative to the audience for their evaluations, or conditions that made their intellectual position within a group insecure, showed a clear bias toward negativity in those evaluations. Only individuals who believed their audience to be of relatively low status and at the same time believed their intellectual position to be secure did not show this bias. In Study 2, subjects viewed a videotape of a stimulus person and rated him on several intellectual and social dimensions. Again, subjects believed their audience to be of either relatively high or relatively low status. As a cross dimension, they were given instructions to focus on either the intellectual or the social abilities of the stimulus person while viewing the videotape. A strong main effect of audience status was demonstrated, but only in ratings of intellectual traits; subjects who believed their audience to be of relatively high status rated the stimulus person's intellectual qualities significantly more negatively. Moreover, this effect was independent of the instructional focus subjects had been given. The negativity bias is discussed in the context of previous demonstrations of biases toward weighting negative information more heavily than positive information, as well as previous demonstrations of seemingly pervasive positivity biases in memory and judgment.     

Extending end-state comfort effect: do we consider the beginning state comfort of another?

Sharing a drink or passing a tool to another person is frequently done in our daily lives. However, a second thought is rarely given about how the object should be handed; instead we pay attention to other factors (e.g., the company). This interaction (handing a tool to someone) is interesting, since it may give insight to how motor intentions are predicted. Research has demonstrated that individuals exhibit an end-state comfort effect when manipulating objects, and it is of interest to determine how this is applied to a joint-action paradigm. The purpose of this experiment was to determine if participants would anticipate the confederate's postural requirements and pass tools in a manner that allowed the confederate to have beginning state comfort and thus facilitate the motion sequence as a whole. That is, would the participant incur the cost of the movement by adopting an awkward posture to facilitate the use of the tool by the confederate? The results demonstrated that participants allowed the confederate to adopt a comfortable beginning state comfort on 100% of the trials for all the tools. However, the participants did not sacrifice end-state comfort, demonstrating that the participants were able to plan ahead to both maximize their own end-state comfort and the beginning state comfort of the confederate.     

Visual illusions affect both movement planning and on-line control: a multiple cue position on bias and goal-directed action

Over the last decade, there has been an interest in the impact of visual illusions on the control of action. Much of this work has been motivated by Milner and Goodale's two visual system model of visual processing. This model is based on a hypothesized dissociation between cognitive judgments and the visual control of action. It holds that action is immune to the visual context that provides the basis for the illusion-induced bias associated with cognitive judgments. Recently, Glover has challenged this position and has suggested that movement planning, but not movement execution is susceptible to visual illusions. Research from our lab is inconsistent with both models of visual-motor processing. With respect to the planning and control model, kinematic evidence shows that the impact of an illusion on manual aiming increases as the limb approaches the target. For the Ebbinghaus illusion, this involved a decrease in the time after peak velocity to accommodate the 'perceived' size of the target. For the Müller-Lyer illusion, the influence of the figure's tails increased from peak velocity to the end of the movement. Although our findings contradict a strong version of the two visual systems hypothesis, we did find dissociations between perception and action in another experiment. In this Müller-Lyer study, perceptual decisions were influenced by misjudgment of extent, while action was influenced by misjudgment of target position. Overall, our findings are consistent with the idea that it is often necessary to use visual context to make adjustments to ongoing movements.     

Influence of endogenous and exogenous orientations of attention on inhibition of return in a cross-modal target-target aiming task

The authors conducted 2 experiments in which participants (N = 16 in each) executed successive unimanual aiming movements to target locations that were indicated by the onset of either an auditory or a visual stimulus. In Experiment 1 (exogenous orientation), inhibition of return (IOR) effects were observed, with reliable reaction time (RT) costs associated with movements returning to the same target and a trend toward larger IOR effects in left than in right space. There was no influence of stimulus modality on the magnitude of IOR. IOR was also observed in Experiment 2 (endogenous orientation), except the influence of stimulus modality reliably mediated those effect. In that case, IOR was evident only when the previous modality was visual and the current modality was auditory. Together, the results of those 2 experiments suggest that in situations in which 2 paired movements constitute the response criteria, IOR is both supramodal and lateralized to contralateral space.     

A Conceptual Construction of Complexity Levels Theory in Spacetime Categorical Ontology: Non-Abelian Algebraic Topology, Many-Valued Logics and Dynamic Systems

A novel conceptual framework is introduced for the Complexity Levels Theory in a Categorical Ontology of Space and Time. This conceptual and formal construction is intended for ontological studies of Emergent Biosystems, Super-complex Dynamics, Evolution and Human Consciousness. A claim is defended concerning the universal representation of an item’s essence in categorical terms. As an essential example, relational structures of living organisms are well represented by applying the important categorical concept of natural transformations to biomolecular reactions and relational structures that emerge from the latter in living systems. Thus, several relational theories of living systems can be represented by natural transformations of organismic, relational structures. The ascent of man and other living organisms through adaptation, is viewed in novel categorical terms, such as variable biogroupoid representations of evolving species. Such precise but flexible evolutionary concepts will allow the further development of the unifying theme of local-to-global approaches to highly complex systems in order to represent novel patterns of relations that emerge in super- and ultra-complex systems in terms of compositions of local procedures. Solutions to such local-to-global problems in highly complex systems with ‘broken symmetry’ might be possible to be reached with the help of higher homotopy theorems in algebraic topology such as the generalized van Kampen theorems (HHvKT). Categories of many-valued, ?ukasiewicz-Moisil (LM) logic algebras provide useful concepts for representing the intrinsic dynamic ‘asymmetry’ of genetic networks in organismic development and evolution, as well as to derive novel results for (non-commutative) Quantum Logics. Furthermore, as recently pointed out by Baianu and Poli (Theory and applications of ontology, vol 1. Springer, Berlin, in press), LM-logic algebras may also provide the appropriate framework for future developments of the ontological theory of levels with its complex/entangled/intertwined ramifications in psychology, sociology and ecology. As shown in the preceding two papers in this issue, a paradigm shift towards non-commutative, or non-Abelian, theories of highly complex dynamics—which is presently unfolding in physics, mathematics, life and cognitive sciences—may be implemented through realizations of higher dimensional algebras in neurosciences and psychology, as well as in human genomics, bioinformatics and interactomics.     

Stress in Doctors: A Pilot Study of the University Teaching Hospital,Lusaka, Zambia

This study had the objective of explored the stressful aspects of a doctor's job at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) in Lusaka, Zambia. Stress can have a serious effect on the work output of a doctor and on their physical and mental health. The data were collected from 41 doctors at UTH using the Perceived Stress Scale and a stress check list. The results revealed that out of the list of 14 possible stressors, Zambian doctors in this sample identified an average of 7.3 aspects of their job (SD=2.7) as being stressful. Lack of resources to carry out their job, the workload, the low level of reward and the long working hours were most frequently identified as stressors.     

The Role of Attachment Style in Predicting Repetition of Adolescent Self‐Harm: A Longitudinal Study

This study investigated whether insecure attachment is associated with poorer outcomes at 6‐month follow‐up in adolescents who self‐harm. At baseline the Child Attachment Interview was administered to 52 adolescents (13‐17 years) referred to specialist child and adolescent mental health services and with a recent history of self‐harm. Participants also completed self‐report measures of self‐harm, peer attachment, anxiety, and depression and were administered the means end problem‐solving task. Self‐harm behavior and problem‐solving skills were assessed again at 6‐month follow‐up. At baseline, 14 (27%) were securely attached to their mothers. In the 49 (94%) adolescents followed‐up, those with insecure maternal attachment and insecure peer attachment were more likely to have repeated self‐harm. In addition, securely attached adolescents showed greater improvement in problem‐solving skills. These findings indicate that secure maternal and peer attachments may help recovery from self‐harm, possibly by supporting the acquisition of problem‐solving skills, and highlights the importance of social connections and attachments for youth with a history of self‐harm.