Showing papers in "Journal of Experimental Psychology: General in 2012"

Effect size estimates: Current use, calculations, and interpretation.

Abstract: The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (American Psychological Association, 2001, American Psychological Association, 2010) calls for the reporting of effect sizes and their confidence intervals. Estimates of effect size are useful for determining the practical or theoretical importance of an effect, the relative contributions of factors, and the power of an analysis. We surveyed articles published in 2009 and 2010 in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, noting the statistical analyses reported and the associated reporting of effect size estimates. Effect sizes were reported for fewer than half of the analyses; no article reported a confidence interval for an effect size. The most often reported analysis was analysis of variance, and almost half of these reports were not accompanied by effect sizes. Partial η2 was the most commonly reported effect size estimate for analysis of variance. For t tests, 2/3 of the articles did not report an associated effect size estimate; Cohen's d was the most often reported. We provide a straightforward guide to understanding, selecting, calculating, and interpreting effect sizes for many types of data and to methods for calculating effect size confidence intervals and power analysis.

Why does working memory capacity predict variation in reading comprehension? On the influence of mind wandering and executive attention.

Abstract: Some people are better readers than others, and this variation in comprehension ability is predicted by measures of working memory capacity (WMC) The primary goal of this study was to investigate the mediating role of mind-wandering experiences in the association between WMC and normal individual differences in reading comprehension, as predicted by the executive-attention theory of WMC (eg, Engle & Kane, 2004) We used a latent-variable, structural-equation-model approach, testing skilled adult readers on 3 WMC span tasks, 7 varied reading-comprehension tasks, and 3 attention-control tasks Mind wandering was assessed using experimenter-scheduled thought probes during 4 different tasks (2 reading, 2 attention-control) The results support the executive-attention theory of WMC Mind wandering across the 4 tasks loaded onto a single latent factor, reflecting a stable individual difference Most important, mind wandering was a significant mediator in the relationship between WMC and reading comprehension, suggesting that the WMC–comprehension correlation is driven, in part, by attention control over intruding thoughts We discuss implications for theories of WMC, attention control, and reading comprehension

Divine intuition: cognitive style influences belief in God.

Abstract: Some have argued that belief in God is intuitive, a natural (by-)product of the human mind given its cognitive structure and social context. If this is true, the extent to which one believes in God may be influenced by one's more general tendency to rely on intuition versus reflection. Three studies support this hypothesis, linking intuitive cognitive style to belief in God. Study 1 showed that individual differences in cognitive style predict belief in God. Participants completed the Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT; Frederick, 2005), which employs math problems that, although easily solvable, have intuitively compelling incorrect answers. Participants who gave more intuitive answers on the CRT reported stronger belief in God. This effect was not mediated by education level, income, political orientation, or other demographic variables. Study 2 showed that the correlation between CRT scores and belief in God also holds when cognitive ability (IQ) and aspects of personality were controlled. Moreover, both studies demonstrated that intuitive CRT responses predicted the degree to which individuals reported having strengthened their belief in God since childhood, but not their familial religiosity during childhood, suggesting a causal relationship between cognitive style and change in belief over time. Study 3 revealed such a causal relationship over the short term: Experimentally inducing a mindset that favors intuition over reflection increases self-reported belief in God.

Mind over matter: reappraising arousal improves cardiovascular and cognitive responses to stress.

Abstract: Researchers have theorized that changing the way we think about our bodily responses can improve our physiological and cognitive reactions to stressful events. However, the underlying processes through which mental states improve downstream outcomes are not well-understood. To this end, we examined whether reappraising stress-induced arousal could improve cardiovascular outcomes and decrease attentional bias for emotionally-negative information. Participants were randomly assigned to either a reappraisal condition in which they were instructed to think about their physiological arousal during a stressful task as functional and adaptive, or to one of two control conditions: attention reorientation and no instructions. Relative to controls, participants instructed to reappraise their arousal exhibited more adaptive cardiovascular stress responses – increased cardiac efficiency and lower vascular resistance – and decreased attentional bias. Thus, reappraising arousal shows physiological and cognitive benefits. Implications for health and potential clinical applications are discussed.

Sensorimotor Coupling in Music and the Psychology of the Groove

Abstract: The urge to move in response to music, combined with the positive affect associated with the coupling of sensory and motor processes while engaging with music (referred to as sensorimotor coupling )i n a seemingly effortless way, is commonly described as the feeling of being in the groove. Here, we systematically explore this compelling phenomenon in a population of young adults. We utilize multiple levels of analysis, comprising phenomenological, behavioral, and computational techniques. Specifically, we show (a) that the concept of the groove is widely appreciated and understood in terms of a pleasurable drive toward action, (b) that a broad range of musical excerpts can be appraised reliably for the degree of perceived groove, (c) that the degree of experienced groove is inversely related to experienced difficulty of bimanual sensorimotor coupling under tapping regimes with varying levels of expressive constraint, (d) that high-groove stimuli elicit spontaneous rhythmic movements, and (e) that quantifiable measures of the quality of sensorimotor coupling predict the degree of experienced groove. Our results complement traditional discourse regarding the groove, which has tended to take the psychological phenomenon for granted and has focused instead on the musical and especially the rhythmic qualities of particular genres of music that lead to the perception of groove. We conclude that groove can be treated as a psychological construct and model system that allows for experimental exploration of the relationship between sensorimotor coupling with music and emotion.

Children discard a resource to avoid inequity

Abstract: Elucidating how inequity aversion (a tendency to dislike and correct unequal outcomes) functions as one develops is important to understanding more complex fairness considerations in adulthood. Although previous research has demonstrated that adults and children reduce inequity, it is unclear if people are actually responding negatively to inequity or if people dislike others getting more than them (motivated by social comparison) and like to share maximal resources, especially with those who have few resources (motivated by social welfare preferences). In order to evaluate if children are truly averse to inequity, we had 3- to 8-year-old children distribute resources to 3rd parties and found that 6- to 8-year-old children would rather throw a resource in the trash than distribute unequally, suggesting that concerns with equity can trump concerns with maximal sharing. We also demonstrated that children's reactions were not based on wanting to avoid upsetting the recipients or based on a preference for visual symmetry and that children will even throw away a resource that could have gone to themselves in order to avoid inequity. These results demonstrate the existence of inequity aversion in children, provide a new method for studying inequity aversion specifically, and suggest the need for new models to explain why inequity aversion may have evolved.

The interplay between nonsymbolic number and its continuous visual properties.

Abstract: To date, researchers investigating nonsymbolic number processes devoted little attention to the visual properties of their stimuli. This is unexpected, as nonsymbolic number is defined by its visual characteristics. When number changes, its visual properties change accordingly. In this study, we investigated the influence of different visual properties on nonsymbolic number processes and show that the current assumptions about the relation between number and its visual characteristics are incorrect. Similar to previous studies, we controlled the visual cues: Each visual cue was not predictive of number. Nevertheless, participants showed congruency effects induced by the visual properties of the stimuli. These congruency effects scaled with the number of visual cues manipulated, implicating that people do not extract number from a visual scene independent of its visual cues. Instead, number judgments are based on the integration of information from multiple visual cues. Consequently, current ways to control the visual cues of the number stimuli are insufficient, as they control only a single variable at the time. And, more important, the existence of an approximate number system that can extract number independent of the visual cues appears unlikely. We therefore propose that number judgment is the result of the weighing of several distinct visual cues.

Predicting Word Reading and Comprehension with Executive Function and Speed Measures Across Development: A Latent Variable Analysis

Abstract: The present study explored whether different executive control and speed measures (working memory, inhibition, processing speed, and naming speed) independently predict individual differences in word reading and reading comprehension. Although previous studies suggest these cognitive constructs are important for reading, we analyze the constructs simultaneously to test whether each is a unique predictor. We used latent variables from 483 participants (ages 8 to 16) to portion each cognitive and reading construct into its unique and shared variance. In these models we address two specific issues: (a) given that our wide age range may span the theoretical transition from “learning to read” to “reading to learn,” we first test whether the relation between word reading and reading comprehension is stable across two age groups (ages 8 to 10 and 11 to 16); and (b) the main theoretical question of interest: whether what is shared and what is separable for word reading and reading comprehension are associated with individual differences in working memory, inhibition, and measures of processing and naming speed. The results indicated that: (a) the relation between word reading and reading comprehension is largely invariant across the age groups; (b) working memory and general processing speed, but not inhibition or the speeded naming of non-alphanumeric stimuli, are unique predictors of both word reading and comprehension, with working memory equally important for both reading abilities and processing speed more important for word reading. These results have implications for understanding why reading comprehension and word reading are highly correlated yet separable.

Mindfulness Training Affects Attention—Or Is It Attentional Effort?

Abstract: Improvements in attentional performance are at the core of proposed mechanisms for stress reduction in mindfulness meditation practices. However, this claim can be questioned because no previous studies have actively manipulated test effort in control groups and controlled for effects of stress reduction per se. In a blinded design, 48 young, healthy meditation novices were randomly assigned to a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), nonmindfulness stress reduction (NMSR), or inactive control group. At posttest, inactive controls were randomly split into nonincentive and incentive controls, the latter receiving a financial reward to improve attentional performance. Pre- and postintervention, 5 validated attention paradigms were employed along with self-report scales on mindfulness and perceived stress and saliva cortisol samples to measure physiological stress. Attentional effects of MBSR, NMSR, and the financial incentive were comparable or significantly larger in the incentive group on all reaction-time-based measures. However, selective attention in the MBSR group improved significantly more than in any other group. Similarly, only the MBSR intervention improved the threshold for conscious perception and visual working memory capacity. Furthermore, stress-reducing effects of MBSR were supported because those in the MBSR group showed significantly less perceived and physiological stress while increasing their mindfulness levels significantly. We argue that MBSR may contribute uniquely to attentional improvements but that further research focusing on non-reaction-time-based measures and outcomes less confounded by test effort is needed. Critically, our data demonstrate that previously observed improvements of attention after MBSR may be seriously confounded by test effort and nonmindfulness stress reduction.

Internal representations reveal cultural diversity in expectations of facial expressions of emotion.

Abstract: Facial expressions have long been considered the "universal language of emotion." Yet consistent cultural differences in the recognition of facial expressions contradict such notions (e.g., R. E. Jack, C. Blais, C. Scheepers, P. G. Schyns, & R. Caldara, 2009). Rather, culture--as an intricate system of social concepts and beliefs--could generate different expectations (i.e., internal representations) of facial expression signals. To investigate, they used a powerful psychophysical technique (reverse correlation) to estimate the observer-specific internal representations of the 6 basic facial expressions of emotion (i.e., happy, surprise, fear, disgust, anger, and sad) in two culturally distinct groups (i.e., Western Caucasian [WC] and East Asian [EA]). Using complementary statistical image analyses, cultural specificity was directly revealed in these representations. Specifically, whereas WC internal representations predominantly featured the eyebrows and mouth, EA internal representations showed a preference for expressive information in the eye region. Closer inspection of the EA observer preference revealed a surprising feature: changes of gaze direction, shown primarily among the EA group. For the first time, it is revealed directly that culture can finely shape the internal representations of common facial expressions of emotion, challenging notions of a biologically hardwired "universal language of emotion."

The role of mind-wandering in measurements of general aptitude.

Abstract: Tests of working memory capacity (WMC) and fluid intelligence (gF) are thought to capture variability in a crucial cognitive capacity that is broadly predictive of success, yet pinpointing the exact nature of this capacity is an area of ongoing controversy. We propose that mind-wandering is associated with performance on tests of WMC and gF, thereby partially explaining both the reliable correlations between these tests and their broad predictive utility. Existing evidence indicates that both WMC and gF are correlated with performance on tasks of attention, yet more decisive evidence requires an assessment of the role of attention and, in particular, mind-wandering during performance of these tests. Four studies employing complementary methodological designs embedded thought sampling into tests of general aptitude and determined that mind-wandering was consistently associated with worse performance on these measures. Collectively, these studies implicate the capacity to avoid mind-wandering during demanding tasks as a potentially important source of success on measures of general aptitude, while also raising important questions about whether the previously documented relationship between WMC and mind-wandering can be exclusively attributed to executive failures preceding mind-wandering (McVay & Kane, 2010b).

Art and authenticity: the importance of originals in judgments of value.

Abstract: Why are original artworks valued more than identical duplicates? The present studies explore 2 mechanisms underlying the special value of original artwork: the assessment of the art object as a unique creative act (performance) and the degree of physical contact with the original artist (contagion). Across 5 experiments, participants were exposed to hypothetical scenarios in which an original object was duplicated. The type of object varied across experiments (e.g., a painting vs. a piece of furniture) as did the circumstances surrounding the creation of the original object and the duplicate. Overall, the results support assessments of performance and contagion as key factors underlying the value of original artwork, and they are consistent with the conclusion that the discrepancy in value between original artworks and perfect duplicates derives from people's lay theories about the domain of art, rather than from associations with particular kinds of art or certain cases of forgery. In May of 2000, the two major auction houses, Christie's and Sotheby's, released their spring catalogues only to discover that both were selling the same painting, Paul Gaugin's Vase de Fleurs (Lilas). The two paintings were sent to an expert who identified one as the real Gaugin and the other as a forgery. However, both were traced back to the same source, an individual named Ely Sakhai. As was later revealed by an FBI investigation, Sakhai had purchased a number of lesser known paintings by impressionist and postimpressionist artists, such as Paul Gauguin, Claude Monet, Pierre-August Renoir, and Marc Chagall. He then hired skilled forgers to copy the original paintings and would sell the duplicates with the genuine certificate of authenticity attached. After the duplicate painting had changed hands several times, Sakhai would often have the original painting re-authenticated and would sell it as well. When he was caught, Sakhai was sentenced to 4 years in prison and was ordered to pay a fine of $12.5 million (C. Thomp- son, 2005). Why does the origin of an artwork matter so much? More specifically, why are original artworks valued more than identical duplicates? In this article, we explore the special value that people assign to original artwork as well as the underlying reasons for it. Across five experiments, we found that the value placed on orig- inals is to some extent special to art—the drop in value for a duplicate artwork is more than the drop in value for a duplicate of a nonartistic artifact. This is true even when the original artwork and the original artifact are both one of a kind, their values are equated, and the method of production is identical. Our findings suggest, then, that the discrepancy in value between original art- works and identical duplicates derives from people's lay theories about the domain of art, rather than from associations with partic- ular kinds of art or certain cases of forgery. This article also examines the psychological mechanisms underly- ing the special value of original artworks. We identify two key dimensions that are particularly important to the valuation of original artworks: the assessment of the art object as a unique creative act (performance) and the degree of physical contact with the original artist (contagion). These mechanisms and their proposed role in the valuation of art are discussed in the following sections.

Boosting wisdom: distance from the self enhances wise reasoning, attitudes, and behavior.

Abstract: Although humans strive to be wise, they often fail to do so when reasoning over issues that have profound personal implications. Here we examine whether psychological distance enhances wise reasoning, attitudes and behavior under such circumstances. Two experiments demonstrate that cueing people to reason about personally meaningful issues (Study 1: Career prospects for the unemployed during an economic recession; Study 2: Anticipated societal changes associated with one’s chosen candidate losing the 2008 U.S. Presidential election) from a distanced perspective enhances wise reasoning (dialecticism; intellectual humility), attitudes (cooperation-related attitude assimilation), and behavior (willingness to join a bipartisan group).

Symbolic estrangement: evidence against a strong association between numerical symbols and the quantities they represent.

Abstract: Are numerals estranged from a sense of the actual quantities they represent? We demonstrate that, irrespective of numerical size or distance, direct comparison of the relative quantities represented by symbolic and nonsymbolic formats leads to performance markedly worse than when comparing 2 nonsymbolic quantities (Experiment 1). Experiment 2 shows that this effect cannot be attributed to differences in perceptual processing streams. Experiment 3 shows that there is no additional cost of mixing 2 formats that are both symbolic; that is, the decrement in mixing formats is specific to mixing symbolic and nonsymbolic representations. In sum, we show that accessing a sense of how much a numerical symbol actually represents is a surprisingly difficult and nontrivial process. Our data are consistent with the view that numerical symbols operate primarily as an associative system in which relations between symbols come to overshadow those between symbols and their quantity referents.

The evocative power of words: activation of concepts by verbal and nonverbal means.

Abstract: A major part of learning a language is learning to map spoken words onto objects in the environment. An open question is what are the consequences of this learning for cognition and perception? Here, we present a series of experiments that examine effects of verbal labels on the activation of conceptual information as measured through picture verification tasks. We find that verbal cues, such as the word "cat," lead to faster and more accurate verification of congruent objects and rejection of incongruent objects than do either nonverbal cues, such as the sound of a cat meowing, or words that do not directly refer to the object, such as the word "meowing." This label advantage does not arise from verbal labels being more familiar or easier to process than other cues, and it does extends to newly learned labels and sounds. Despite having equivalent facility in learning associations between novel objects and labels or sounds, conceptual information is activated more effectively through verbal means than through nonverbal means. Thus, rather than simply accessing nonverbal concepts, language activates aspects of a conceptual representation in a particularly effective way. We offer preliminary support that representations activated via verbal means are more categorical and show greater consistency between subjects. These results inform the understanding of how human cognition is shaped by language and hint at effects that different patterns of naming can have on conceptual structure.

The Pot Calling the Kettle Black: Distancing Response to Ethical Dissonance

Abstract: Six studies demonstrate the “pot calling the kettle black” phenomenon whereby people are guilty of the very fault they identify in others. Recalling an undeniable ethical failure, people experience ethical dissonance between their moral values and their behavioral misconduct. Our findings indicate that to reduce ethical dissonance, individuals use a double-distancing mechanism. Using an overcompensating ethical code, they judge others more harshly and present themselves as more virtuous and ethical (Studies 1, 2, 3). We show this mechanism is exclusive for ethical dissonance and is not triggered by salience of ethicality (Study 4), general sense of personal failure, or ethically neutral cognitive dissonance (Study 5). Finally, it is characterized by some boundary conditions (Study 6). We discuss the theoretical contribution of this work to research on moral regulation and ethical behavior.

Rocking to the beat: Effects of music and partner's movements on spontaneous interpersonal coordination.

Abstract: People move to music and coordinate their movements with others spontaneously. Does music enhance spontaneous coordination? We compared the influence of visual information (seeing or not seeing another person) and auditory information (hearing movement or music or hearing no sound) on spontaneous coordination. Pairs of participants were seated side by side in rocking chairs, told a cover story, and asked to rock at a comfortable rate. Both seeing and hearing the other person rock elicited spontaneous coordination, and effects of hearing amplified those of seeing. Coupling with the music was weaker than with the partner, and the music competed with the partner's influence, reducing coordination. Music did, however, function as a kind of social glue: participants who synchronized more with the music felt more connected.

Dissociating contingency awareness and conditioned attitudes: Evidence of contingency-unaware evaluative conditioning.

Abstract: Whether human evaluative conditioning can occur without contingency awareness has been the subject of an intense and ongoing debate for decades, troubled by a wide array of methodological difficulties. Following recent methodological innovations, the available evidence currently points to the conclusion that evaluative conditioning effects do not occur without contingency awareness. In a simulation, we demonstrate, however, that these innovations are strongly biased toward the conclusion that evaluative conditioning requires contingency awareness, confounding the measurement of contingency memory with conditioned attitudes. We adopt a process-dissociation procedure to separate the memory and attitude components. In 4 studies, the attitude parameter is validated using existing attitudes and applied to probe for contingency-unaware evaluative conditioning. A fifth experiment incorporates a time-delay manipulation confirming the dissociability of the attitude and memory components. The results indicate that evaluative conditioning can produce attitudes without conscious awareness of the contingencies. Implications for theories of evaluative conditioning and associative learning are discussed.

Representing Exact Number Visually Using Mental Abacus

Abstract: Mental abacus (MA) is a system for performing rapid and precise arithmetic by manipulating a mental representation of an abacus, a physical calculation device. Previous work has speculated that MA is based on visual imagery, suggesting that it might be a method of representing exact number nonlinguistically, but given the limitations on visual working memory, it is unknown how MA structures could be stored. We investigated the structure of the representations underlying MA in a group of children in India. Our results suggest that MA is represented in visual working memory by splitting the abacus into a series of columns, each of which is independently stored as a unit with its own detailed substructure. In addition, we show that the computations of practiced MA users (but not those of control participants) are relatively insensitive to verbal interference, consistent with the hypothesis that MA is a nonlinguistic format for exact numerical computation. Human adults, unlike other animals, have the capacity to per- form exact numerical computations. Although other creatures are sensitive to precise differences between small quantities and can represent the approximate magnitude of large sets, no nonhuman species can represent and manipulate large, exact numerosities (Feigenson, Dehaene, & Spelke, 2004). Multiple forms of evi- dence suggest that this human capacity is related to natural lan- guage (Barner, Chow, & Yang, 2009; Dehaene, Spelke, Pinel, Stanescu, & Tsivkin, 1999; Frank, Everett, Fedorenko, & Gibson, 2008; Gordon, 2004; Pica, Lemer, Izard, & Dehaene, 2004; Wynn, 1990). Language, however, may not be the sole cognitive system capable of symbolically representing exact number. Experienced users of an abacus—a physical calculation device—can learn to perform arithmetic computations mentally, as though visualizing a mental abacus (MA; Hatano, Myake, & Binks, 1977; Hatano & Osawa, 1983; Hishitani, 1990; Miller & Stigler, 1991; Stigler, 1984; Stigler, Chalip, & Miller, 1986). Previous work, reviewed below, has described the MA phenom- enon and has provided suggestive evidence that MA is represented nonlinguistically, in a visual format. However, this proposal re- mains tentative for two reasons. First, early studies that directly tested the role of language in MA were compelling but imperfect and used sometimes informal methods to test small and unusual populations of participants. Second, previous proposals fail to explain how MA could be represented in a visual format. The present study addressed these issues in a series of three experi- ments. We conducted detailed studies of MA processing to ask how it might be represented in visual working memory, given known limitations on the nonlinguistic processing of quantity information. In addition, we used a dual-task paradigm to test the role of language in MA computations. Taken together, our results support the view that MA relies on visual resources, and in particular the ability to represent multiple groupings of objects in parallel, to create visual representations of exact number that differ fundamentally from those constructed using natural language.

A scale distortion theory of anchoring.

Abstract: We propose that anchoring is often best interpreted as a scaling effect--that the anchor changes how the response scale is used, not how the focal stimulus is perceived. Of importance, we maintain that this holds true even for so-called objective scales (e.g., pounds, calories, meters, etc.). In support of this theory of scale distortion, we show that prior exposure to a numeric standard changes respondents' use of that specific response scale but does not generalize to conceptually affiliated judgments rendered on similar scales. Our findings highlight the necessity of distinguishing response language effects from representational effects in places where the need for that distinction has often been assumed away.

A frog in your throat or in your ear? Searching for the causes of poor singing

Abstract: Singing is a cultural universal and an important part of modern society, yet many people fail to sing in tune. Many possible causes have been posited to explain poor singing abilities; foremost among these are poor perceptual ability, poor motor control, and sensorimotor mapping errors. To help discriminate between these causes of poor singing, we conducted 5 experiments testing musicians and nonmusicians in pitch matching and judgment tasks. Experiment 1 introduces a new instrument called a slider, on which participants can match pitches without using their voice. Pitch matching on the slider can be directly compared with vocal pitch matching, and results showed that both musicians and nonmusicians were more accurate using the slider than their voices to match target pitches, arguing against a perceptual explanation of singing deficits. Experiment 2 added a self-matching condition and showed that nonmusicians were better at matching their own voice than a synthesized voice timbre, but were still not as accurate as on the slider. This suggests a timbral translation type of mapping error. Experiments 3 and 4 demonstrated that singers do not improve over multiple sung responses, or with the aid of a visual representation of pitch. Experiment 5 showed that listeners were more accurate at perceiving the pitch of the synthesized tones than actual voice tones. The pattern of results across experiments demonstrates multiple possible causes of poor singing, and attributes most of the problem to poor motor control and timbral-translation errors, rather than a purely perceptual deficit, as other studies have suggested.

Aversive life events enhance human freezing responses.

Abstract: In the present study, we investigated the effect of prior aversive life events on freezing-like responses. Fifty healthy females were presented neutral, pleasant, and unpleasant images from the International Affective Picture System while standing on a stabilometric platform and wearing a polar band to assess body sway and heart rate. In the total sample, only unpleasant pictures elicited reduced body sway and reduced heart rate (freezing). Moreover, participants who had experienced 1 or more aversive life events showed greater reductions in heart rate for unpleasant versus pleasant pictures than those who had experienced no such event. In addition, relative to no-event participants, single-event participants showed reduced body sway to unpleasant pictures, while multiple-event participants showed reduced body sway in response to all picture categories. These results indicate that aversive life events affect automatic freezing responses and may indicate the cumulative effect of multiple trauma. The experimental paradigm presented is a promising method to study freezing as a primary defense response in trauma-related disorders.

Stability and Change in Markers of Core Numerical Competencies

Abstract: Dot enumeration (DE) and number comparison (NC) abilities are considered markers of core number competence. Differences in DE/NC reaction time (RT) signatures are thought to distinguish between typical and atypical number development. Whether a child's DE and NC signatures change or remain stable over time, relative to other developmental signatures, is unknown. To investigate these issues, the DE and NC RT signatures of 159 children were assessed 7 times over 6 years. Cluster analyses identified within-task and across-age subgroups. DE signatures comprised 4 parameters: (a) the RT slope within the subitizing range, (b) the RT slope for the counting range, (c) the subitizing range (indicated by the point of slope discontinuity), and (d) the overall average DE RT response. NC RT signatures comprised 2 parameters (NC intercept and slope) derived from RTs comparing numbers 1 to 9. Analyses yielded 3 distinct DE and NC profiles at each age. Within-age subgroup profiles reflected differences in 3 of the 4 DE parameters and only 1 NC parameter. Systematic changes in parameters were observed across ages for both tasks, and both tasks broadly identified the same subgroups. Sixty-nine percent of children were assigned to the same subgroup across age, even though parameters themselves changed across age. Subgroups did not differ in processing speed or nonverbal reasoning, suggesting that DE and NC do not tap general cognitive abilities but reflect individual differences specific to the domain of numbers. Indeed, both DE and NC subgroup membership at 6 years predicted computation ability at 6 years, 9.5 years, and 10 years.

Fluid movement and creativity.

Abstract: Cognitive scientists describe creativity as fluid thought. Drawing from findings on gesture and embodied cognition, we hypothesized that the physical experience of fluidity, relative to nonfluidity, would lead to more fluid, creative thought. Across 3 experiments, fluid arm movement led to enhanced creativity in 3 domains: creative generation, cognitive flexibility, and remote associations. Alternative mechanisms such as enhanced mood and motivation were also examined. These results suggest that creativity can be influenced by certain types of physical movement.

Unconscious evaluation of faces on social dimensions.

Abstract: It has been proposed that two major axes, dominance and trustworthiness, characterize the social dimensions of face evaluation. Whether evaluation of faces on these social dimensions is restricted to conscious appraisal or happens at a preconscious level is unknown. Here we provide behavioral evidence that such preconscious evaluations exist and that they are likely to be interpretations arising from interactions between the face stimuli and observer-specific traits. Monocularly viewed faces that varied independently along two social dimensions of trust and dominance were rendered invisible by continuous flash suppression (CFS) when a flashing pattern was presented to the other eye. Participants pressed a button as soon as they saw the face emerge from suppression to indicate whether the previously hidden face was located slightly to the left or right of central fixation. Dominant and untrustworthy faces took significantly longer time to emerge (T2E) compared with neutral faces. A control experiment showed these findings could not reflect delayed motor responses to conscious faces. Finally, we showed that participants' self-reported propensity to trust was strongly predictive of untrust avoidance (i.e., difference in T2E for untrustworthy vs neutral faces) as well as dominance avoidance (i.e., difference in T2E for dominant vs neutral faces). Dominance avoidance was also correlated with submissive behavior. We suggest that such prolongation of suppression for threatening faces may result from a passive fear response, leading to slowed visual perception.

Eye movements reveal sustained implicit processing of others' mental states

Abstract: The ability to attribute mental states to others is crucial for social competency. To assess mentalizing abilities, in false-belief tasks participants attempt to identify an actor’s belief about an object’s location as opposed to the object’s actual location. Passing this test on explicit measures is typically achieved by 4 years of age, but recent eye movement studies reveal registration of others’ beliefs by 7 to 15 months. Consequently, a 2-path mentalizing system has been proposed, consisting of a late developing, cognitively demanding component and an early developing, implicit/automatic component. To date, investigations on the implicit system have been based on single-trial experiments only or have not examined how it operates across time. In addition, no study has examined the extent to which participants are conscious of the belief states of others during these tasks. Thus, the existence of a distinct implicit mentalizing system is yet to be demonstrated definitively. Here we show that adults engaged in a primary unrelated task display eye movement patterns consistent with mental state attributions across a sustained temporal period. Debriefing supported the hypothesis that this mentalizing was implicit. It appears there indeed exists a distinct implicit mental state attribution system.

A tri-reference point theory of decision making under risk.

Abstract: The tri-reference point (TRP) theory takes into account minimum requirements (MR), the status quo (SQ), and goals (G) in decision making under risk. The 3 reference points demarcate risky outcomes and risk perception into 4 functional regions: success (expected value of x ≥ G), gain (SQ G > SQ. We present TRP assumptions and value functions and a mathematical formalization of the theory. We conducted empirical tests of crucial TRP predictions using both explicit and implicit reference points. We show that decision makers consider both G and MR and give greater weight to MR than G, indicating failure aversion (i.e., the disutility of a failure is greater than the utility of a success in the same task) in addition to loss aversion (i.e., the disutility of a loss is greater than the utility of the same amount of gain). Captured by a double-S shaped value function with 3 inflection points, risk preferences switched between risk seeking and risk aversion when the distribution of a gamble straddled a different reference point. The existence of MR (not G) significantly shifted choice preference toward risk aversion even when the outcome distribution of a gamble was well above the MR. Single reference point based models such as prospect theory cannot consistently account for these findings. The TRP theory provides simple guidelines for evaluating risky choices for individuals and organizational management. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved). Language: en

ERN and the placebo: a misattribution approach to studying the arousal properties of the error-related negativity

Abstract: Performance monitoring in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) has largely been viewed as a cognitive, computational process devoid of emotion. A growing body of research, however, suggests that performance is moderated by motivational engagement and that a signal generated by the ACC, the error-related negativity (ERN), may partially reflect a distress response to errors. Although suggestive, this past work is hampered by use of correlational designs or by designs that confound affect and cognitive performance. Here we use the misattribution of arousal paradigm—an experimental paradigm that pilot research shows can dissociate affect from cognitive performance—to investigate the extent to which the ERN has arousal properties. Forty university students completed a misattribution of arousal paradigm by consuming a beverage they believed would either increase their anxiety or would have no side effects and then completed a go/no-go task while we recorded ERNs. Results indicate that participants who were given the opportunity to misattribute arousal exhibited a reduced ERN compared with participants who were not given any misattribution cues. This occurred despite no measurable differences in performance on the go/no-go task. In addition, correlations between the ERN and behavior were observed only for participants who did not misattribute their arousal to the placebo beverage. Taken together, these results suggest that the ERN is dissociable from cognitive performance but not negative affect.

A Test of the Circumvention-of-Limits Hypothesis in Scientific Problem Solving: The Case of Geological Bedrock Mapping

Abstract: Sources of individual differences in scientific problem solving were investigated. Participants representing a wide range of experience in geology completed tests of visuospatial ability and geological knowledge, and performed a geological bedrock mapping task, in which they attempted to infer the geological structure of an area in the Tobacco Root Mountains of Montana. A Visuospatial Ability × Geological Knowledge interaction was found, such that visuospatial ability positively predicted mapping performance at low, but not high, levels of geological knowledge. This finding suggests that high levels of domain knowledge may sometimes enable circumvention of performance limitations associated with cognitive abilities.