Capacity and contextual constraints on product activation: Evidence from task-irrelevant fact retrieval

Three experiments tested the limiting conditions of multiplication facts retrieval in a number-matching task (LeFevre, Bisanz, & Mrkonjic, 1988). By presenting two digits as cue and by requiring participants to decide whether a subsequent numerical target had been present in the pair, we found interference when the target coincided with the product of the cue digits. This was evidence for obligatory activation of multiplication facts. Also, we showed that multiplication facts retrieval occurred even in the absence of any arithmetic context (i.e., a multiplication sign between the cue digits) and did not require processing resources (i.e., the process met the capacity criterion of automaticity; Jonides, 1981), whereas manipulation of the spatial relation between the two operands (cue digits) negatively affected retrieval. The present work appears to be unique in the context of previous similar studies on mental calculation, which invariably adopted an arithmetic task as the primary demand. We identify this difference as the reason for the failure of all previous studies in revealing independence of multiplication facts from attentional resources. Furthermore, we suggest the application of a contextual definition of automaticity to this kind of retrieval, given the fact that it might depend both on association strength and on contextual setting variables.     

Gender and managers' causal attributions for subordinate performance: A field story

The study addresses the effect of gender on managers' causal explanations for subordinate work performance. Prior laboratory studies suggest women's work performance will be attributed in a manner disadvantageous to their career progression within organizations. There are, however, numerous reasons to question the generalizability of the laboratory work to organizational settings. The study was performed to address the gap in field research on this issue. Ninety-three mainly Caucasian managers in two organizations made attributions for successful and unsuccessful performance of direct subordinates. Contrary to the hypotheses, subordinate gender was unrelated to managers' causal explanations for either positive or negative outcomes. Implications of the results for future research on attributional gender effects in organizational settings are discussed.     

Linguistic marking,strategy, and affect in syllogistic reasoning

It has repeatedly been shown that three-term-series problems with unmarked comparatives (e.g., taller, higher) are solved more quickly than otherwise identical problems using their marked opposites (e.g., shorter, lower). Clark's principle of lexical marking accounts for these results in terms of a simpler semantic featural coding of the unmarked comparative with respect to its marked counterpart. Huttenlocher's theory of spatial imagery accounts for these same results via the subjects' mental ordering of the three terms as instructed by the problem statements. The present research demonstrated that while the lower latency of the unmarked adjective is a reliable effect, congruent ordering strategies are necessary for significant results. Subjects who order terms from unmarked to marked produce significant results for Clark's principle of lexical marking. Those who order terms in opposite direction do not. Further, it is shown that the choice of direction of ordering is itself significantly influenced by the affective value of the adjectives in context and to the individual subject.This research is based on a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the doctoral degree to the University of Illinois.     

A device for presenting attack opportunity as a reinforcer for operant behavior

A device is described which automatically measures barpresses reinforced by short opportunities to attack male mice. Data on barpress rates indicate rapid and reliable acquisition of preferences for reinforcer bars and rapid abolition of this preference when the reinforcement contingency is subsequently eliminated. The data are less reliable for reversal learning.     

Predicting feelings of cognitive competence in head start preschoolers

Little is known about what predicts the budding sense of self-competence in preschoolers. This is particularly true of cognitive competence, which may have implications for later schooling. Based on previous research with older children, it was expected that feelings of self-competence would be influenced by attitudes of significant others as well as intrapersonal dispositions. Forty-five Head Start preschoolers (M age = 4.36 years) served as participants. As expected, high effortful control and language competence, as well as teachers' ratings of competence, predicted positive feelings about cognitive competence in children. Further analysis revealed that the teachers' ratings were predicted by maternal education and language competence. The findings suggest that the development of cognitive self-concept in preschoolers is predicted by contextual and constitutional factors.     

Self-Perceived Peer Acceptance in Preschoolers of Differing Economic and Cultural Backgrounds

Self-evaluation begins in early childhood and becomes more nuanced as children get older. However, little is known about the specific factors that predict self-perception and in particular peer acceptance, early in life. This is especially true for low-income children and children of different ethnicities. This study examined 4-year-old children's feelings of social acceptance relative to teachers' perceptions. It also explored whether temperament, language skills, traditional parenting, and teachers' perceptions of peer acceptance were related to children's self-perceptions. Using 94 preschoolers from different cultural and economic backgrounds as participants, results of a mixed model analysis of variance indicated that the relation between children's self-perceptions and teachers' ratings were not uniform across economic and cultural groups. In addition, results of hierarchical multiple regression analyses demonstrated that traditional parenting was one of the strongest predictors of children's social self-perceptions. Beyond parenting, children with relatively good verbal skills, who were not temperamentally shy, tended to perceive themselves as socially competent.     

Postural Mechanisms to Control Body Displacements in the Performance of Lateral Gaze Shifts

Medialateral postural control mechanisms (bodyweight distribution and center of pressure location) have been studied in static conditions. Our objective was to determine how these mechanisms are adjusted to perform voluntary movements, in our case 80° lateral gaze shifts at 0.125 Hz and 0.25 Hz. In healthy, young adults, we expected body marker (neck, lower back) and center of pressure displacements to be significantly greater in gaze shift conditions than in the stationary gaze condition. To explain these changes in center of pressure displacement, the amplitude contribution of both mechanisms was expected to increase significantly. All these results were found accordingly. Unexpectedly, the active contribution of the bodyweight distribution mechanism was negatively related to body marker displacements in the gaze shift conditions (ns in stationary condition). Moreover, changes in the contribution of the mechanisms were statistically weaker in effect size than changes in body displacement. However, the participants were not unstable because they performed the visual tasks as requested. We propose that the strength of medialateral postural control mechanisms may not only be strengthened to control challenging ML stance conditions but also slightly weakened to allow the performance of adequate body motions in ongoing tasks.     

The neural correlates of happiness: A review of PET and fMRI studies using autobiographical recall methods

Although very difficult to define, happiness is becoming a core concept within contemporary psychology and affective neuroscience. In the last two decades, the increased use of neuroimaging techniques has facilitated empirical study of the neural correlates of happiness. This area of research utilizes procedures that induce positive emotion and mood, and autobiographical recall is one of the most widely used and effective approaches. In this article, we review eight positron emission tomography and seven functional magnetic resonance imaging studies that have investigated happiness by using autobiographical recall to induce emotion. Regardless of the neuroimaging technique used, the studies conducted so far have shown that remembering happy events is primarily associated with the activation of many areas, including anterior cingulate cortex, prefrontal cortex, and insula. Importantly, these areas are also found to be connected with other basic emotions, such as sadness and anger. In the conclusion, we integrate these findings, discussing important limitations of the extant literature and suggesting new research directions.