bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Remembering “primed” words: A counter-intuitive effect of repetition on recognition memory
Authors: Rosner Tamara M , López-Benítez Raúl , D'Angelo Maria C. , Thomson David R. , Milliken Bruce
Published: July 2018

The present study examines the effect of immediate repetition on recognition memory. In a series of 4 experiments, the study phase task was to name aloud a word that was immediately preceded by either the same word (repeated trials) or a different word (not-repeated trials). Across experiments, performance in the study phase demonstrated the anticipated benefit in naming times for repeated trials. More important, performance in the test phase revealed greater sensitivity for not-repeated than repeated trials. This effect was observed even when repetitions at study were separated by an unrelated word (Experiment 3), and was eliminated only when participants named both words in succession at study (Experiment 4). These findings fit nicely with the desirable difficulty principle (R. A. Bjork, 1994), as they demonstrate that items more easily processed at study (i.e., repeated items) are not as well-encoded as items that are more difficult to process at study (i.e., not-repeated items). Furthermore, the current study points to the possibility that attentional orienting in response to processing difficulty may constitute a broadly important cognitive control adaptation that impacts memory encoding.
Preprint - The painful duality of envy: Evidence for an integrative theory and a meta-analysis on the relation of envy and schadenfreude
Authors: Lange Jens , Weidman Aaron C. , Crusius Jan
Published: July 2018

Despite envy’s importance as a driver of social behavior, scholars disagree on its conceptualization. We review the literature and distinguish three incongruent theories: (a) Malicious Envy Theory (i.e., envy as uniform and malicious), (b) Dual Envy Theory (i.e., envy as taking on two forms, benign and malicious), and (c) Pain Theory of Envy (i.e., envy as uniform and driven by pain). Moreover, within and across theories, operationalizations of envy have included various different components. We integrate these conceptualizations using a data-driven approach, deriving a comprehensive theory of envy in five studies (total N = 1,237)—the Pain-driven Dual Envy (PaDE) Theory. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of an exhaustive set of envy components (Studies 1-4) suggest that envy consists of three factors: Pain (i.e., preoccupation with the envy-eliciting situation, inferiority), predicts both benign envy (i.e., desire for the envy object, improvement motivation, emulation of the other), and malicious envy (i.e., communication about the other, directed aggression, nondirected aggression). An experience-sampling study (Study 5) suggests that pain constitutes a quickly fading reaction, whereas benign and malicious envy are enduring attitudinal constructs. We apply this theory in a meta-analysis on the controversial relation of envy and schadenfreude (N = 4,366), finding that envy and schadenfreude are more strongly and positively correlated to the extent that the respective research operationalizes envy as malicious, compared to as pain or benign envy. We discuss how the PaDE Theory can illuminate research on envy in diverse settings, and envy’s relation to other distinct emotions.
Thanking, Apologizing, Bragging, and Blaming: Responsibility Exchange Theory and the Currency of Communication
Authors: Chaudhry Shereen Jehan , Loewenstein George
Published: July 2018

From the time we are children, we are taught to say “thank you” and “I’m sorry.” These communications are central to many social interactions, and the failure to say them often leads to conflict in relationships. Research has documented that, alongside the impact they can have on relationships, apologies and thanks can also impact material outcomes as small as restaurant tips and as significant as settlements of medical malpractice lawsuits. But, it is trivial to utter the words; how can such “cheap talk” carry so much value? In this paper, we propose a “responsibility exchange theory” that explains why these communications are not costless, and which draws connections between four forms of communication that have not previously been connected: thanking, apologizing, bragging, and blaming. All four of these communications relay information about credit or blame, and thus introduce image-based costs and benefits for both the communicator and the recipient of communication: Each of the four communications involves a tradeoff between appearing competent and appearing warm. By formalizing these social psychological insights with a utility-based approach to modeling communication, and by applying game theoretic analysis, we offer new insights about social communication. We test several of the model’s novel predictions about strategic communication in two experiments: The first involves hypothetical choices in a scenario study, and the second involves real choices in a live interaction. We end with a discussion of the theory’s place in the literature and consider extended predictions and applications as examples of future directions for research.
Falsifiability Is Not Optional
Authors: LeBel Etienne P. , Berger Derek Michael , Campbell Lorne , Loving Timothy
Published: July 2018

Finkel, Eastwick, and Reis (2016; FER2016) argued the post-2011 methodological reform movement has focused narrowly on replicability, neglecting other essential goals of research. We agree multiple scientific goals are essential, but argue, however, a more fine-grained language, conceptualization, and approach to replication is needed to accomplish these goals. Replication is the general empirical mechanism for testing and falsifying theory. Sufficiently methodologically similar replications, also known as direct replications, test the basic existence of phenomena and ensure cumulative progress is possible a priori. In contrast, increasingly methodologically dissimilar replications, also known as conceptual replications, test the relevance of auxiliary hypotheses (e.g., manipulation and measurement issues, contextual factors) required to productively investigate validity and generalizability. Without prioritizing replicability, a field is not empirically falsifiable. We also disagree with FER2016’s position that “bigger samples are generally better, but … that very large samples could have the downside of commandeering resources that would have been better invested in other studies” (abstract). We identify problematic assumptions involved in FER2016’s modifications of our original research-economic model, and present an improved model that quantifies when (and whether) it is reasonable to worry that increasing statistical power will engender potential trade-offs. Sufficiently-powering studies (i.e., >80%) maximizes both research efficiency and confidence in the literature (research quality). Given we are in agreement with FER2016 on all key open science points, we are eager to start seeing the accelerated rate of cumulative knowledge development of social psychological phenomena such a sufficiently transparent, powered, and falsifiable approach will generate.
Is color an integral part of a rich mental simulation?
Authors: Hoeben Mannaert Lara Natasha , Dijkstra Katinka , Zwaan Rolf Antonius
Published: July 2018

Research suggests that language comprehenders simulate visual features such as shape during language comprehension. In sentence-picture verification tasks, whenever pictures match the shape or orientation implied by the previous sentence, responses are faster than when the pictures mismatch implied visual aspects. However, mixed results have been demonstrated when the sentence-picture paradigm was applied to color (Connell, Cognition, 102(3), 476–485, 2007; Zwaan & Pecher, PLOS ONE, 7(12), e51382, 2012). One of the aims of the current investigation was to resolve this issue. This was accomplished by conceptually replicating the original study on color, using the same paradigm but a different stimulus set. The second goal of this study was to assess how much perceptual information is included in a mental simulation. We examined this by reducing color saturation, a manipulation that does not sacrifice object identifiability. If reduction of one aspect of color does not alter the match effect, it would suggest that not all perceptual information is relevant for a mental simulation. Our results did not support this: We found a match advantage when objects were shown at normal levels of saturation, but this match advantage disappeared when saturation was reduced, yet still aided in object recognition compared to when color was entirely removed. Taken together, these results clearly show a strong match effect for color, and the perceptual richness of mental simulations during language comprehension.
The Liberal and Conservative Experience Across Academic Disciplines: An Extension of Inbar and Lammers
Authors: Honeycutt Nathan , Freberg Laura
Published: July 2018

Inbar and Lammers asked members of APA Division 8 (personality and social psychology) about their political orientation, hostility experienced related to their political orientation, and their willingness to discriminate against others based on perceived political orientation. In this replication and extension, 618 faculty members from various academic disciplines across four California State University campuses completed an online questionnaire that added parallel questions about the liberal experience to the original questions about the conservative experience. Participants were overwhelmingly liberal in self-report across all academic areas except agriculture. The conservative minority reported experiencing more hostility than the liberal majority, but both groups expressed similar “in-group/out-group” attitudes. Results supported the ideological-conflict hypothesis for discrimination and a “birds of a feather flock together” interpretation of the lack of political diversity among the professoriate.
Quantifying the informational value of classification images
Authors: Brinkman Loek , Goffin Stanny , van de Schoot Rens , van Haren Neeltje , Aarts Henk , Dotsch Ron
Published: July 2018

Reverse correlation is an influential psychophysical paradigm that uses participant’s responses to randomly varying images to build a Classification Image (CI), which is commonly interpreted as a visualization of a participant’s mental representation. It is unclear, however, how to statistically quantify the amount of signal present in CIs, which limits the interpretability of these images. In this paper, we propose a novel metric, infoVal, which assess informational value relative to a resampled random distribution, and can be interpreted as a z-score. In the first part, we define the infoVal metric and show, through simulations, that it adheres to typical Type I error-rates rated under various task conditions (internal validity). In the second part, we show that the metric correlates with markers of data quality in empirical RC data, such as the subjective recognizability, objective discriminability and test-retest reliability of CIs (convergent validity). In the final part, we demonstrate how the infoVal metric can be used to compare the informational value of reverse correlation datasets, comparing data acquired online versus data acquired in a controlled lab environment. We recommend a new standard of good practice where researchers assess infoVal scores of reverse correlation data to ensure that they do not read signal in CIs, where no signal is present. The infoVal metric is implemented in the open source rcicr R-package to facilitate its adoption. This work has now been published in Behavior Research Methods, and can be found here: https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758%2Fs13428-019-01232-2
Social motivation is associated with increased weight granted to cooperation-related cues in face evaluation tasks
Authors: Safra Lou , Baumard Nicolas , Wyart Valentin , Chevallier Coralie
Published: July 2018

It is a trope in psychological science to define the human species as inherently social. Yet, despite its key role in human behaviour, the mechanisms by which social bonding actually shapes social behaviour have not been fully characterized. Across six studies, we show that the motivation for social bonding does not indiscriminately increase individuals’ willingness to approach others but that it is instead associated with specific variations in social evaluations. Studies 1-4 demonstrate that social motivation is associated with a larger importance granted to cooperation-related cues, i.e. trustworthiness cues, during social evaluations. Studies 5 and 6 further reveal that this weighting difference leads strongly socially motivated participants to approach more partners that are perceived as both dominant and trustworthy. Taken together, our results provide support for the idea that humans’ social motivation is associated with specific social preferences that favour successful cooperative interactions and a widening of people’s cooperative circle.
Word final schwa is driven by intonation – the case of Bari Italian
Authors: Grice Martine , Savino Michelina , Roettger Timo Benjamin
Published: July 2018

Abstract: In order to convey pragmatic functions, a speaker has to select an intonation contour (the tune) in addition to the words that are to be spoken (the text). The tune and text are assumed to be independent of each other, such that any one intonation contour can be produced on different phrases, regardless of the number and nature of the segments they are made up of. However, if the segmental string is too short, certain tunes – especially those with a rising component – call for adjustments to the text. In Italian, for instance, loan words such as “chat” can be produced with a word final schwa when this word occurs at the end of a question. This paper investigates this word final schwa in the Bari variety in a number of different intonation contours. Although its presence and duration is to some extent dependent on idiosyncratic properties of speakers and words, schwa is largely conditioned by intonation. Schwa cannot thus be considered a mere phonetic artefact, since it is relevant for phonology, in that it facilitates the production of com-municatively relevant intonation contours.
How Actions Change Liking: The Effect of an Action's Outcome on the Evaluation of the Action's Object
Authors: Moran Tal , Lab Bar-Anan , Bar-Anan Yoav
Published: July 2018

People like positive objects (e.g., fun activities) and dislike negative objects (e.g., boring activities). However, objects usually do not appear in isolation; They are often objects of an action (the boring activities were removed from a class). Using a wide array of stimuli and procedures, 11 experiments (N = 5,574) found that evaluation of objects is biased by the outcome of an action performed on the objects. For example, when participants read that a gene increases the likelihood of possessing the trait kindness (an action with a positive outcome) they evaluated kindness more positively than after reading the gene inhibits the trait (an action with a negative outcome). Conversely, they disliked dishonesty more after reading about genes that increased dishonesty than after reading about genes that decreased dishonesty. The effect was incompatible with logical inference from the information provided. We found evidence that misattribution of the valence of the action’s outcome to the action’s object contributes to this effect. These findings extend knowledge about the factors that lead to evaluative change. Importantly, the results demonstrate a recursive evaluation process: the valence of the outcome of an action on the object determines the evaluation of the object, but the valence of the outcome is already based on a previous evaluation of the object itself.
"Girls can't play": The effects of stereotype threat on females’ gaming performance.
Authors: Kaye Linda Katherine , Pennington Charlotte Rebecca
Published: July 2018

The current study examined the impact of stereotype threat on female online gamers’ performance and further examined whether manipulating the availability of multiple social identities effectively eliminated these performance decrements. Further, participants’ implicit attitudes towards female online gamers were assessed. Eighty-one participants (60 female) were assigned to one of four experimental conditions: 1), stereotype threat, 2), multiple social identities, 3), female control, and 4), male control. They completed an Implicit Association Test and a gaming task. The number of coins collected in a five-minute time period provided a measure of gameplay performance. Results indicated that stereotype threatened females underperformed on the gaming task relative to males in the control condition. The intervention of multiple social identities successfully protected females’ gameplay performance from stereotype threat. Additionally, differences were found between conditions in implicit attitudes pertaining to gender-gaming competence. This research highlights the harmful effects of negative stereotypes on females’ gaming performance, and suggests that these decrements may be eliminated when females identify with an alternative positive social identity.
Greener grass or sour grapes? How people value future goals after initial failure
Authors: Sjåstad Hallgeir , Baumeister Roy , Ent Michael R
Published: July 2018

Across six experiments (N=1,304), people dealt with failure by dismissing the value of future goals. Participants were randomly assigned to receive good or poor feedback on a practice trial of a cognitive test (Studies 1-3, 5-6) or their academic performance (Study 4). Those who received poor (vs. good) feedback predicted that they would feel less happy about a future top performance. However, when all participants received a top score on the actual test they became equally happy, regardless of initial feedback. That is, initial failure made people underestimate how good it would feel to succeed in the future. Inspired by Aesop’s fable of the fox and the grapes, we term this phenomenon the “sour-grape effect”: A systematic tendency to downplay the value of unattainable goals and rewards. Mediation analyses suggest that the low happiness predictions were a self-protective maneuver, indicated by apparent denial of the personal and future relevance of their performance. Moderation analysis showed that people high in achievement motivation constituted the main exception, as they predicted (correctly) that a big improvement would bring them joy. In a final and high-powered experiment, the effect generalized from predicted happiness to predicted pride and gratitude. Crucially, the sour-grape effect was found repeatedly across two different countries (USA and Norway) and multiple settings (lab, field, online), including two pre-registered replications. In line with the principle of "adaptive preferences" from philosophy and cognitive dissonance theory from psychology, the results suggest that what people want is restricted by what they can get.
Insight and the selection of ideas
Authors: Laukkonen Ruben , Webb Margaret E , Salvi Carola , Tangen Jason Marcus , Slagter Heleen A , Schooler Jonathan
Published: July 2018

Perhaps it is no accident that insight moments accompany some of humanity’s most important discoveries in science, medicine, and art. Here we propose that feelings of insight play a central role in (heuristically) selecting an idea from the stream of consciousness by capturing attention and eliciting a sense of intuitive confidence permitting fast action under uncertainty. The mechanisms underlying this Eureka heuristic are explained within an active inference framework. First, implicit restructuring via Bayesian reduction leads to a higher-order pre- diction error (i.e., the content of insight). Second, dopaminergic precision-weighting of the prediction error accounts for the intuitive confidence, pleasure, and attentional capture (i.e., the feeling of insight). This insight as precision account is consistent with the phenomenology, accuracy, and neural unfolding of insight, as well as its effects on belief and decision-making. We conclude by reflecting on dangers of the Eureka Heuristic, including the arising and entrenchment of false beliefs and the vulnerability of insights under psychoactive substances and misinformation.
Midfrontal theta and pupil dilation parametrically track subjective conflict (but also surprise) during intertemporal choice
Authors: Lin Hause , Saunders Blair , Hutcherson Cendri , Inzlicht Michael
Published: July 2018

Many everyday choices are based on personal, subjective preferences. When choosing between two options, we often feel conflicted, especially when trading off costs and benefits occurring at different times (e.g., saving for later versus spending now). Although previous work has investigated the neurophysiological basis of conflict during inhibitory control tasks, less is known about subjective conflict resulting from competing subjective preferences. In this pre-registered study, we investigated subjective conflict during intertemporal choice, whereby participants chose between smaller immediate versus larger delayed rewards (e.g., $15 today vs. $22 in 30 days). We used economic modeling to parametrically vary eleven different levels of conflict, and recorded EEG data and pupil dilation. Midfrontal theta power, derived from EEG, correlated with pupil responses, and our results suggest that these signals track different gradations of subjective conflict. Unexpectedly, both signals were also maximally enhanced when decisions were surprisingly easy. Therefore, these signals may track events requiring increased attention and adaptive shifts in behavioral responses, with subjective conflict being only one type of such event. Our results suggest that the neural systems underlying midfrontal theta and pupil responses interact when weighing costs and benefits during intertemporal choice. Thus, understanding these interactions might elucidate how individuals resolve self-control conflicts.
Investigating the fit between phonological feature systems and brain responses to speech using EEG
Authors: McCloy Daniel , Lee Adrian KC
Published: July 2018

This paper describes a technique to assess the correspondence between patterns of similarity in the brain’s response to speech sounds, and the patterns of similarity encoded in phonological feature systems. The technique is applied to three published phonological feature systems, which are found to differ in their ability to recover certain speech sound contrasts from the neural data.
Generalizability is not optional: Insights from a cross-cultural study of social discounting
Authors: Tiokhin Leonid , Hackman Joseph , Munira Shirajum , Jesmin Khaleda , Hruschka Daniel
Published: July 2018

Current scientific reforms focus more on solutions to the problem of reliability (e.g. direct replications) than generalizability. Here, we use a cross-cultural study of social discounting to illustrate the utility of a complementary focus on generalizability across diverse human populations. Social discounting is the tendency to sacrifice more for socially-close individuals—a phenomenon replicated across countries and laboratories. Yet, when adapting a typical protocol to low-literacy, resource-scarce settings in Bangladesh and Indonesia, we find no independent effect of social distance on generosity, despite still documenting this effect among U.S. participants. Several reliability and validity checks suggest that methodological issues alone cannot explain this finding. These results illustrate why we must complement replication efforts with investment in strong checks on generalizability. By failing to do so, we risk developing theories of human nature that reliably explain behavior among only a thin slice of humanity.
Factors Impacting Reporting Behavior of Alcohol Use in Moshi, Tanzania
Authors: Vissoci Joao Ricardo Nickenig
Published: July 2018

Background & Aims: There are limited resources and treatment for alcohol use disorders in low and middle income countries, where alcohol use disorders are under-reported. This study examines the potential factors associated with a patient’s disclosure of alcohol use to a healthcare practitioner in Moshi, Tanzania.Design: We conducted surveys amongst injury patients seeking care at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center, Moshi, Tanzania on demographics, alcohol use behaviors, alcohol use disorders, perceived alcohol stigma, and alcohol related complications and their impact on disclosure of alcohol use to a healthcare provider. We used path analysis modeling to evaluate the complex relationship between these variables.Setting: Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center (KCMC), is the third largest hospital in the country and the referral hospital for northwestern Tanzania. KCMC was selected as a central location to assess general perceptions related to alcohol use in this relatively affluent region.
From photograph to face-to-face: Brief interactions change person and personality judgments
Authors: Satchell Liam
Published: July 2018

Research into ‘first impressions’ frequently uses photographs of faces as representations of unknown others. This is the case for legitimate concerns about standardisation, sample size and experimental control. However, there is little work investigating the robustness of these first impressions through first interactions. A sample of 97 pairs of stranger participants (N= 194) completed personality measures (of Big Five and Triarchic Model of Psychopathy), made personality and social judgments of a photograph of the face of their to-be partner, then engaged in five minutes (maximum) of unstructured interaction with their partner and then made their judgments again. The behaviour of the participants in the interaction was coded using 76 criteria. Generally, before and after judgments were correlated, but significantly different at Time 2. Personality judgment accuracy at Time 1 was poor overall but at Time 2 participants showed self-other agreement on Neuroticism, Extraversion and psychopathic Boldness. At Time 1 participant ratings of confidence were more similar to negative valence but at Time 2 confidence was a positive attribute. Coded behaviours related to ‘engagement’ were those that influenced the person judgments the most, and these were related to Extraversion, Agreeableness and Boldness of participants. Overall, the results of this study show that first personality and person judgments change from photographs to face-to-face interaction. Person judgment research should be aware of the extent to which judgments of photographs relate to first interaction.
Benefits of Open and High-Powered Research Outweigh Costs
Authors: LeBel Etienne P. , Campbell Lorne , Loving Timothy
Published: July 2018

Several researchers recently outlined unacknowledged costs of open science practices, arguing these costs may outweigh benefits and stifle discovery of novel findings. We scrutinize these researchers' (1) statistical concern that heightened stringency with respect to false-positives will increase false-negatives and (2) meta-scientific concern that larger samples and executing direct replications engender opportunity costs that will decrease the rate of making novel discoveries. We argue their statistical concern is unwarranted given open science proponents recommend such practices to reduce the inflated Type I error rate from .35 down to .05 and simultaneously call for high-powered research to reduce the inflated Type II error rate. Regarding their meta-concern, we demonstrate that incurring some costs is required to increase the rate (and frequency) of making true discoveries because distinguishing true from false hypotheses requires a low Type I error rate, high statistical power, and independent direct replications. We also examine pragmatic concerns raised regarding adopting open science practices for relationship science (pre-registration, open materials, open data, direct replications, sample size); while acknowledging these concerns, we argue they are overstated given available solutions. We conclude benefits of open science practices outweigh costs for both individual researchers and the collective field in the long run, but that short term costs may exist for researchers because of the currently dysfunctional academic incentive structure. Our analysis implies our field's incentive structure needs to change whereby better alignment exists between researcher's career interests and the field's cumulative progress. We delineate recent proposals aimed at such incentive structure re-alignment.
Turn up, tune in, don’t drop out: The relationship between lecture attendance, use of lecture recordings, and achievement at different levels of study.
Authors: Nordmann Emily , Calder Colin , Bishop Paul , Irwin Amy , Comber Darren
Published: July 2018

Lecture capture tends to polarise the views of academic staff. Some view it as encouraging non-attendance at lectures. Others view it as a valuable adjunct, allowing students to revisit the lecture experience and providing opportunities for clarification and repetition of key points. However, data supporting either of these stances remains scarce. Irrespective of these views, a more pertinent question pertains to the impact of lecture attendance and the use of recordings on student achievement. Findings remain unclear due to methodological issues, inconsistent findings. and a lack of differentiation of students by year of study. This paper investigated the impact of attendance, lecture recording and student attainment across four years of an undergraduate programme. For first year students, attendance and recording use were positive predictors of performance. For weaker students, supplementary recording use was beneficial but only better students use of the recordings helped overcome the impact of low attendance. For second year students, attendance and recording use were positively correlated with, but no longer predictive of, achievement. There was no relationship for honours year students. We found no compelling evidence for a negative effect of recording use, or that attendance and recording use were related. We suggest focusing on improving lecture attendance through monitoring whilst also providing recordings for supplementary use, particularly in first year. Finally, our findings highlight the need to consider third variables such as year of study and first language when conducting and comparing lecture capture research.
What’s Going on in My Baby’s Mind? Mothers’ Executive Functions Contribute to Individual Differences in Maternal Mentalization During Mother-Infant Interactions
Authors: Yatziv Tal , Kessler Yoav , Atzaba-Poria Naama
Published: July 2018

Maternal mentalization refers to a mother’s capacity to understand mental-states of herself and her child and to regard her child as a psychological agent. In mother-infant interactions, this capacity is commonly conceptualized as maternal mind-mindedness, which can be divided into two dimensions: appropriate and nonattuned interpretations of the infants’ mental-states. Appropriate mind-mindedness refers to interpretations that seem to be compatible with the infant’s behaviors, whereas the nonattuned mind-mindedness refers to noncompatible interpretations. The aim of this study was to investigate the cognitive mechanisms that contribute to mind-mindedness. Specifically, we investigated the role of executive functions in appropriate and nonattuned mind-mindedness, and the moderating roles of two infant-related factors, prematurity (as a stressful context) and child temperament (as a context of unpredictability and negative emotionality). To this end, mother-infant free play interactions were coded for mind-mindedness in a sample of 102 mothers and their 6-month-old infants (61 preterm, 41 full-term). When children were 66-months old, mothers completed cognitive tasks that assessed working memory updating, resistance to interference, response inhibition, and shifting. Appropriate mind-mindedness was positively associated with updating, and this link was stronger when infant temperament was rated as more difficult. Furthermore, among mothers of full-term infants, mothers’ resistance to interference was negatively associated with nonattuned mind-mindedness. This link was not evident in the stressful context of premature birth. Mothers’ response inhibition and shifting were not associated with either of the mind-mindedness dimensions. Implications on understanding variability in maternal mentalization during mother-infant interactions and the roles of executive functions in parenting are discussed.
Not as distinct as you think: Reasons to doubt that morality comprises a unified and objective conceptual category
Authors: Theriault Jordan E. , Young Liane
Published: July 2018

That morality comprises a distinct and objective conceptual category is a critical claim for the target article. We dispute this claim. Statistical conclusions about a distinct moral domain were not justified in prior work, on account of the “stimuli-as-fixed-effects” fallacy. Furthermore, we have found that, behaviorally and neurally, morals share more in common with preferences than facts.
Why should any body have a self?
Authors: Hohwy Jakob , Michael John
Published: July 2018

We use a general computational framework for brain function to develop a theory of the self. The theory is that the self is an inferred model of endogenous, deeply hidden causes of behavior. The general framework for brain function on which we base this theory is that the brain is fundamentally an organ for prediction error minimization.There are three related parts to this project. In the first part (Sections 2-3), we explain how prediction error minimization must lead to the inference of a network of deeply hidden endogenous causes. The key concept here is that prediction error minimization in the long term approximates hierarchical Bayesian inference, where the hierarchy is critical to understand the place of the self, and the body, in the world.In the second part (Sections 4-5), we discuss why such a set of hidden endogenous causes should qualify as a self. We show how a comprehensive prediction error minimization account can accommodate key characteristics of the self. It turns out that, though the modelled endogenous causes are just some among other inferred causes of sensory input, the model is special in being, in a special sense, a model of itself.The third part (Sections 6-7) identifies a threat from such self-modelling: how can a self-model be accurate if it represents itself? We propose that we learn to be who we are through a positive feedback loop: from infancy onward, humans apply agent-models to understand what other agents are up to in their environment, and actively align themselves with those models. Accurate self-models arise and are sustained as a natural consequence of humans’ skill in modeling and interacting with each other. The concluding section situates this inferentialist yet realist theory of the self with respect to narrative conceptions of the self.
Knowledge Tracing Using the Brain
Authors: Halpern David , Tubridy Shannon , Wang Hong Yu , Gasser Camille , Popp Pamela Joy Osborn , Davachi Lila , Gureckis Todd Matthew
Published: July 2018

Knowledge tracing is a popular and successful approach to modeling student learning. In this paper, we investigate whether the addition of neuroimaging observations to a knowledge tracing model enables accurate prediction of memory performance in held-out data. We propose a Hidden Markov Model of memory acquisition related to Bayesian Knowledge Tracing and show how continuous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) signals can be incorporated as observations related to latent knowledge states. We then show, using data collected from a simple second-language learning experiment, that fMRI data acquired during a learning session can be used to improve predictions about student memory at test. The fitted models can also potentially give new insight into the neural mechanisms that contribute to learning and memory.
Questions for a science of moral responsibility
Authors: Fischborn Marcelo
Published: July 2018

In the last few decades, the literature on moral responsibility has been increasingly populated by scientific studies. Studies in neuroscience and psychology, in particular, have been claimed to be relevant for discussions about moral responsibility in a number of ways. And at the same time, there is not yet a systematic understanding of the sort of questions a science of moral responsibility is supposed to answer. This paper is an attempt to move toward of such an understanding. I discuss three models for framing scientific questions relevant to an investigation of moral responsibility. The favored model—the Enhancement model—proposes that a science of moral responsibility has two descriptive tasks. First, science can describe the causes and effects of the many sorts of responses that constitute the human practices of moral responsibility, such as praise, blame, and punishment. And, second, science can describe how modifications aiming at the improvement of such practices can be achieved. Relatively to the other models to be considered, the Enhancement model is broader in scope and less tied to the traditional philosophical agenda on moral responsibility.
Loneliness Effects on Personality: Preprint
Authors: Mund Marcus , Neyer Franz-Josef
Published: July 2018

Individuals feel lonely hen they perceive a discrepancy between the desired and actually experienced quantity and quality of social relationships. Prior research has demonstrated the importance of loneliness for various health-related aspects. In the present article, we extend the existing literature on loneliness by investigating its role for predicting personality traits and their development from late adolescence to early midlife. Using data from a representative German sample (N = 12,402) sampling individuals from three different birth cohorts, we found loneliness to predict the levels of all Big Five traits but Openness five years later. The effects of loneliness on the development of neuroticism and extraversion reached statistical significance but were only marginal in terms of effect size. Furthermore, we found that a self-regulatory focus geared to the prevention of negative events mediated the effects of loneliness on later levels of the Big Five.
Interaction Of Brand And Taste In The Liking Of Cola Drinks By School Children
Authors: Bartneck Christoph , Bartneck Hanna
Published: July 2018

Sugar sweetened soft drinks play an important role in obesity and world wide brands, such as Coca Cola, spend considerable resources on branding and advertising. As a result, their soft drinks tend to be up to 2.5 times more expensive than store brand cola drinks. We investigated the effect that the taste and the label has on the liking of cola drinks by school children. Taste did not have any significant effect and there was a significant interaction effect between the label and the taste. The children preferred cola drinks with their correct labels. A familiar brand with a familiar taste is liked more and the Coca-Cola company with its large advertising campaign and market share take advantage of this effect.
Learning As It Happens: A Decade of Analyzing and Shaping a Large-Scale Online Learning System
Authors: Brinkhuis Matthieu J. S. , Savi Alexander Olof , Hofman Abe Dirk , Coomans Frederik , Maris Gunter , van der Maas Han
Published: July 2018

With the advent of computers in education, and the ample availability of online learning and practice environments, enormous amounts of data on learning become available. The purpose of this paper is to present a decade of experience with analyzing and improving an online practice environment for math, which has thus far recorded over a billion responses. We present the methods we use to both steer and analyze this system in real-time, using scoring rules on accuracy and response times, a tailored rating system to provide both learners and items with current ability and difficulty ratings, and an adaptive engine that matches learners to items. Moreover, we explore the quality of fit by means of prediction accuracy and parallel item reliability. Limitations and pitfalls are discussed by diagnosing sources of misfit, like violations of unidimensionality and unforeseen dynamics. Finally, directions for development are discussed, including embedded learning analytics and a focus on online experimentation to evaluate both the system itself and the users' learning gains. Though many challenges remain open, we believe that large steps have been made in providing methods to efficiently manage and research educational big data from a massive online learning system.
The effect of personality and social context on willingness to share emotion information on social media
Authors: Dupré Damien , Andelic Nicole , Zajac Anna , Morrison Gawain , McKeown Gary John
Published: July 2018

Sharing personal information is an important way of communicating on social media. Among the information possibly shared, new sensors and tools allow people to share emotion information via facial emotion recognition. This paper questions whether people are prepared to share personal information such as their own emotion on social media. In the current study we examined how factors such as felt emotion, motivation for sharing on social media as well as personality affected participants’ willingness to share self-reported emotion or facial expression online. By carrying out a GLMM analysis, this study found that participants’ willingness to share self-reported emotion and facial expressions was influenced by their personality traits and the motivation for sharing their emotion information that they were given. From our results we can conclude that the estimated level of privacy for certain emotional information, such as facial expression, is influenced by the motivation for sharing the information online.
Comparing self-report measures of grandiose narcissism, vulnerable narcissism, and narcissistic personality disorder in a male offender sample
Authors: Krusemark Elizabeth , Campbell W. Keith , Crowe Michael L , Miller Josh
Published: July 2018

Despite a growing interest in the use of self-report measures of narcissism among student, community and clinical samples, the research on narcissism in prison samples is sparse, despite elevated rates of narcissism in these samples. The current study examined the relations between commonly used measures of grandiose narcissism (Narcissistic Personality Inventory-13; NPI-13), vulnerable narcissism (Hypersensitive Narcissism Scale; HSNS) and narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) (Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire; PDQ) in a sample of adult male offenders (N = 179). The NPI-13 and PDQ NPD scales overlapped substantially with one another and manifested similar empirical profiles (rICC = .81) with both being substantially correlated with interview-based symptoms of NPD, entitlement, psychopathy, and externalizing behaviors. Conversely, the HSNS manifested more limited relations with other measures of NPD and related traits (e.g., entitlement), as well as externalizing behaviors and was more strongly related to internalizing symptoms. Consistent with previous work, NPD appears to be a blend of grandiose and vulnerable narcissism as the PDQ’s empirical profile overlapped with that of the HSNS (rICC = .51), which was not true for the NPI-13 (rICC = .18). Analyses of the incremental validity of the three measures suggested that the NPI-13 was particularly successful in accounting for unique variance in these relevant criteria. These results underscore the benefit of utilizing multiple measures to distinguish empirical correlates of grandiose narcissism, vulnerable narcissism and NPD.
Theory of Mind network activity is associated with metaethical judgment: An item analysis
Authors: Theriault Jordan E. , Waytz Adam , Heiphetz Larisa , Young Liane
Published: July 2018

The theory of mind network (ToMN) is a set of brain regions activated by a variety of social tasks. Recent work has proposed that these associations with ToMN activity may relate to a common underlying computation: processing prediction error in social contexts. The present work presents evidence consistent with this hypothesis, using a fine-grained item analysis to examine the relationship between ToMN activity and variance in stimulus features. We used an existing dataset (consisting of statements about morals, facts, and preferences) to explore variability in ToMN activity elicited by moral statements, using metaethical judgments (i.e. judgments of how fact-like/preference-like morals are) as a proxy for their predictability/support by social consensus. Study 1 validated expected patterns of behavioral judgments in our stimuli set, and Study 2 associated by-stimulus estimates of metaethical judgment with ToMN activity, showing that ToMN activity was negatively associated with objective morals and positively associated with subjective morals. Whole brain analyses indicated that these associations were strongest in bilateral temporoparietal junction (TPJ). We also observed additional by-stimulus associations with ToMN, including positive associations with the presence of a person (across morals, facts, and preferences), a negative association with agreement (among morals only), and a positive association with mental inference (in preferences only, across 3 independent measures and behavioral samples). We discuss these findings in the context of recent predictive processing models, and highlight how predictive models may facilitate new perspectives on metaethics, the centrality of morality to personal identity, and distinctions between social domains (e.g. morals vs. preferences).
Behavior stability and individual differences in Pavlovian extended conditioning
Authors: Calcagni Gianluca , Pellón Ricardo , Caballero-Garrido Ernesto
Published: July 2018

How stable and general is behavior once maximum learning is reached? To answer this question and understand post-acquisition behavior and its related individual differences, we propose a psychological principle that naturally extends associative models of Pavlovian conditioning to a dynamical oscillatory model where subjects have a greater memory capacity than usually postulated, but with greater forecast uncertainty. This results in a greater resistance to learning in the first few sessions followed by an over-optimal response peak and a sequence of progressively damped response oscillations. We detected the first peak and trough of the new learning curve in our data, but their dispersion was too large to also check the presence of oscillations with smaller amplitude. We ran an unusually long experiment with 32 rats over 3960 trials, where we excluded habituation and other well-known phenomena as sources of variability in the subjects' performance. Using the data of this and another Pavlovian experiment by Harris et al. (2015), as an illustration of the principle we tested the theory against the basic associative single-cue Rescorla-Wagner (RW) model. We found evidence that the RW model is the best nonlinear regression to data only for a minority of the subjects, while its dynamical extension can explain the almost totality of data with strong to very strong evidence. Finally, an analysis of short-scale fluctuations of individual responses showed that they are described by random white noise, in contrast with the colored-noise findings in human performance.