The effect of flanking context on visual classification: The joint contribution of interactions at different processing levels

Flanking characters that surround a target character may cause either facilitation of or interference with target classification, depending on experimental context. In three different experiments, the patterns of facilitative priming and interference were shown to change systematically as a function of onset asynchrony between flankers and target, illustrating differing time courses of the overlapping processes that each contributes to overall reaction time performance.     

Group‐based discrimination,national identification,and British Muslims’ attitudes toward non‐Muslims: the mediating role of perceived identity incompatibility

In two studies, we tested a model in which the perceived (in)compatibility of being British and Muslim (identity incompatibility) was expected to mediate between group‐based discrimination and the identifications and attitudes of British Muslims. In Study 1 (N = 76), anti‐Muslim discrimination was associated with lower national identification and more negative attitudes toward non‐Muslims, and these relationships were mediated by perceived identity incompatibility. In Study 2 (N = 70), we additionally found that anti‐Muslim discrimination predicted stronger endorsement of Islamic group rights, and this relationship was also mediated by perceived identity incompatibility. The studies highlight the importance of group‐based discrimination in shaping the perceived (in)compatibility of being British and Muslim, and, in turn, the identifications and attitudes of British Muslims.     

Correlates of low frustration tolerance in young adolescents

148 young adolescents who reported low frustration tolerance also reported more trait anger, state anger, and hostility.     

Short-term memory for emotional faces in dysphoria

The study aimed to determine if the memory bias for negative faces previously demonstrated in depression and dysphoria generalises from long- to short-term memory. A total of 29 dysphoric (DP) and 22 non-dysphoric (ND) participants were presented with a series of faces and asked to identify the emotion portrayed (happiness, sadness, anger, or neutral affect). Following a delay, four faces were presented (the original plus three distractors) and participants were asked to identify the target face. Half of the trials assessed memory for facial emotion, and the remaining trials examined memory for facial identity. At encoding, no group differences were apparent. At memory testing, relative to ND participants, DP participants exhibited impaired memory for all types of facial emotion and for facial identity when the faces featured happiness, anger, or neutral affect, but not sadness. DP participants exhibited impaired identity memory for happy faces relative to angry, sad, and neutral, whereas ND participants exhibited enhanced facial identity memory when faces were angry. In general, memory for faces was not related to performance at encoding. However, in DP participants only, memory for sad faces was related to sadness recognition at encoding. The results suggest that the negative memory bias for faces in dysphoria does not generalise from long- to short-term memory.     

Creating in Our Own Image: Artificial Intelligence and the Image of God

There is remarkable convergence between twentieth-century interpretations of the image of God ( imago Dei ), what it means for human beings to be created in God's image, and approaches toward creating in our own image in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). Both fields have viewed the intersection between God and humanity or humanity and computers in terms of either (1) a property or set of properties such as intelligence, (2) the functions we engage in or are capable of, or (3) the relationships we establish and maintain. Each of these three approaches reflects a different understanding of what stands at the core of our humanity. Functional and relational approaches were common in the late twentieth century, with a functional understanding the one most accepted by society at large. A relational view, however, gives new insights into human dignity in a computer age as well as new approaches to AI research.     

Serial learning: Identification of subjective subsequences

Learning of fixed arbitrary sequences proceeds by idiosyncratic subsequencing and assembly of the resulting subsequences. An error item that just precedes a subjective subsequence is a closely constrained member of that subsequence. Identification and characterization of subjective subsequences were accomplished by analyses of forward serial learning, free recall, and backward serial learning. We conclude that ordinary serial learning cannot be represented by traditional continuous-process theories, but instead must be treated by an organizational model.     

The Impact of Mode of Administration on the Equivalence of a Test Battery: A Quasi‐Experimental Design

Two quasi‐experimental studies were conducted to examine the equivalence of an online unsupervised test battery (ICES ability, interests and personality tests) in relation to supervised paper administration and to test whether differences were because of the lack of supervision, the test being online as opposed to on a PC, or the computerization of the test. In the first study, data from a sample of 86 employed individuals suggested a lack of equivalence on ability scales between online unsupervised and paper supervised testing modes. Effect sizes ranged from .04 to .49 and corrected coefficients of equivalence and stability from .65 to .81. Study two used a more controlled design as well as obtaining data on personality and interest scales. Data from 118 college and university students were collected, with 64 students replicating the design in study 1 and 54 tested in supervised paper and supervised PC modes. For the ability scales, a similar pattern to study 1 was seen between supervised paper and unsupervised online testing as well as between supervised paper and supervised PC testing. Data for interest and personality scales were more positive showing lower effect sizes and higher coefficient values across testing modes. When ability test data from the online testing group were compared with data from the PC group, results showed that the scales were affected by the computerization process rather than the lack of supervision or because they were in online as opposed to PC mode.     

Sex-role expectations changes by fathers for their sons

One hundred nineteen white father-son pairs served as subjects in an effort to examine the impact on sex-role redefinitions of boys' behavior as a result of shifting cultural attitudes toward androgyny. Two major questions were addressed: a) Do fathers' general sex-role beliefs influence their attitudes about sex roles they would like their sons to hold? and b) Do fathers' desires for the sex role attitudes they would like their sons to hold influence the attitudes their sons actually hold? A strong, positive relationship between fathers' and sons' sex-role beliefs and expectations emerged, especially among fathers of adolescent boys. The results are discussed in terms of the fathers' role in shaping their sons' beliefs.