The left-to-right bias in inhibition of return is due to the direction of reading

Previous research has shown a left-to-right bias in the inhibition-of-return effect. This bias was found in a sample of English-speaking participants who read in a predominantly left-to-right manner. The goal of the current study was to examine the role that the direction of text reading plays in this bias. The findings replicated the left-to-right bias with an English sample, but showed the opposite bias in an Arabic sample, who read text from right to left. Thus, the regularity of shifting attention in a particular way during text reading seems to be the cause of the bias observed.     

‘Big Five’ personality dimensions and social attainment: Evidence from beyond the campus

Research on the contribution of personality traits to attainment has focused heavily on grades among college students. Conscientiousness emerges consistently as the most powerful personality dimension. However, while university students are a convenient group to study, there remain questions about the generalizability, and utility of examining the link between personality and attainment, in a group that consists mainly of educational high-achievers who have not yet earned an income. In this study, data were instead drawn from a more diverse and representative sample gathered in the British National Child Development Study (NCDS). Regression analyses indicated that, in the general population compared to student samples, Openness and Emotional Stability are stronger predictors of educational attainment and earnings than conscientiousness.     

Ellipses on the surface of a picture

Shapes on the surface of a perspective picture may be misperceived. Subjects picked a match for an ellipse depicting the circular top of a cylinder. The top was depicted as tilted forward from 5 degrees to 85 degrees, generating a series of ellipses on the picture surface. The matches were biased towards a circle over a wide range of midrange tilts, which suggests that, influenced by features of perspective, they were seen as in-between the shape on the surface and the shape they depicted.     

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Beliefs of Arab-American Women Regarding Inherited Cancer Risk

The increasing incidence of breast cancer in the Arab world, coupled with a relatively early age of onset, raises concern for the presence of hereditary risk factors in this population. However, due to potential structural and cultural barriers, Arab Americans make up the smallest percentage of individuals tested for Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Syndrome in the United States. The objectives of this qualitative pilot focus group of 13 Arab-American women were to explore attitudes, knowledge and beliefs regarding hereditary breast cancer in the Arab-American community in metropolitan Detroit, identify barriers that would prevent women from seeking hereditary cancer screening/testing and determine who women would talk to about inherited cancer. Results indicated that cultural beliefs and personal experiences with cancer influenced the women’s perspectives on hereditary cancer risk. A high level of secrecy about cancer within Arab-American families was present, which may prevent accurate risk assessment and referral for genetic services. Other identified barriers that may influence hereditary risk assessment included stigma, fears and misconceptions of cancer. While these barriers were present, participants also expressed a strong need for education and tailored cancer risk information for their community.     

Islam and Mental Disorders of the Older Adults: Religious Text,Belief System and Caregiving Practices

Journal of Religion and Health - This paper illustrates the impact of Islamic religious texts on dementia care in the Middle East. It examines how old age and older adults mental disorders are...     

Supporting the attentional momentum view of IOR: is attention biased to go right?

Inhibition of return (IOR) refers to the finding that individuals are slower to respond to a target presented at a previously attended location than they are to respond to a target presented at a novel location (Posner & Cohen, 1984). The attentional momentum theory is a recent view of how attention moves around the environment, and it provides an account for the IOR effect that does not rely on an inhibitory mechanism (Pratt, Spalek, & Bradshaw, 1999). The present paper supports the attentional momentum viewpoint in two ways: first, by replicating the finding that reaction times to targets at the uncued locations are not all the same (Pratt et al., 1999) and second, by showing that responses made to all locations on the cued side of fixation, and not just to the locations that attention had previously traversed, are slower than are responses made to locations on the opposite side of fixation. We also demonstrate that there is a directional bias to the IOR effect that results in the effect's being larger when attention moves in a left-to-right manner.     

Immigration, lack of control and psychological distress: findings from the Oslo Health Study

The aims of this study are to compare the level of psychological distress between Norwegian born and immigrants from countries with different income levels and culture, and to investigate the explanatory effect of socioeconomic and psychosocial factors, with special emphasis on lack of control (powerlessness and self-efficacy). A cross-sectional survey with self-administered questionnaire was conducted in 2000-2001 in a sample of 15,723 adults living in Oslo. Psychological distress was measured by a ten-item shortened version of Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 items, whereas psychosocial variables were measured by various instruments. The results show that the level of psychological distress is significantly higher in immigrants from low- and middle-income countries than in the Norwegian born and the immigrants from high-income countries. They also report more powerlessness, more negative life events, less social support, less income and less paid work. It is concluded that negative life events, mainly related to social network, somatic health and economic situations, as well as lack of social support, are important mediators between immigration from low- and middle-income countries to Norway and psychological distress. Powerlessness also plays a role, but this is mainly because of a concept overlap between psychological distress and powerlessness.