bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
On the relation between the acquisition of singular-plural morpho-syntax and the conceptual distinction between one and more than one
Authors: Barner David , Thalwitz Dora , Wood Justin , Yang Shu-Ju , Carey Susan
Published: July 2018

We investigated the relationship between the acquisition of singular–pluralmorpho-syntax and children’s representation of the distinction betweensingular and plural sets. Experiment 1 tested 18-month-olds using themanual-search paradigm and found that, like 14-month-olds (Feigenson &Carey, 2005), they distinguished three objects from one but not fourobjects from one. Thus, they failed to represent four objects as ‘plural’or ‘more than one’. Experiment 2 found that children continued to fail atthe 1 vs. 4 manual-search task at 20 months of age, even when told, viaexplicit morpho-syntactic singular–plural cues, that one or many balls arebeing hidden. However, 22-and 24-month-olds succeeded both with and withoutverbal cues. Parental report data indicated that most 22-and 24-month-olds,but few 20-month-olds, had begun producing plural nouns in their speech.Also, the success among the older children was due to those children whohad reportedly begun producing plural nouns. We discuss a possible role forlanguage acquisition in children’s deployment of set-based quantificationand the distinction between singular and plural sets.
Similarity is as Similarity Does? A Critical Inquiry into the Effect of Thematic Association on Similarity
Authors: Honke Garrett , Kurtz Kenneth J.
Published: July 2018

Leading theories of psychological similarity are based on the degree of match in semantic content between compared cases (i.e., shared features, low dimensional distance, alignable relations). Broader forms of semantic relatedness such as the degree of association between cases (e.g., egg and spatula) are generally not considered to contribute to similarity judgments. However, empirical work has demonstrated a behavioral tendency to choose associated pairs over proximal pairs (i.e., high semantic content overlap) in similarity judgement tasks. As a result, dual-process models have been proposed that posit thematic integration in addition to content match as component processes of similarity. The present experiments investigate the thematic association effect in similarity in order to more clearly determine whether such a theoretical redirection is warranted. An alternative viewpoint is that confusion between similarity and association is the cause of the reported thematic bias. Experiment 1 introduces a modified similarity judgement task and addresses the impact of task instructions as a potential causal factor underlying the thematic association effect on similarity. Experiment 2 specifically compares the novel similarity task to a traditional two-alternative, forced choice triad task. Experiment 3 addresses the possibility of bias in the stimulus sets used in Experiments 1 and 2. Across the experiments we find association-based responding to be much less prevalent than in previous demonstrations: the traditional finding of a thematic preference only occurred when participants were specifically asked to select based on associativity (“goes with”). Modifications to conventional methodology that minimize biasing factors clearly attenuate the effect of association on similarity. We interpret these findings as evidence that that the thematic association effect derives from intrusions on psychological similarity, not from an additional component intrinsic to psychological similarity.
Testing the predictive validity of the open-minded cognition scale
Authors: Crawford Jarret , Brandt Mark
Published: July 2018

We identify both limitations to and important omissions in predictive validity tests of the open-minded cognition (OMC) scale, an indicator politically biased information processing. In five studies, we test two hypotheses derived from the conceptualization of OMC: the OMC outgroup attitude and OMC bias attenuation hypotheses. We find that whereas OMC is associated with less prejudice overall, evidence is mixed that it reduces prejudice towards attitudinally dissimilar groups, a key aspect of the OMC outgroup attitude hypothesis. We find mixed support for the OMC bias attenuation hypothesis: whereas OMC is associated with avoiding selective exposure to political information, it did not attenuate political biases across seven separate tests. We recommend further tests of the OMC scale’s predictive validity before its use to assess genuine differences in cognitive style.
Media multitasking is associated with higher risk for obesity and increased responsiveness to rewarding food stimuli
Authors: Lopez Richard B. , Wagner Dylan D.
Published: July 2018

Obesity among children and adolescents has dramatically increased over the past two to three decades and is now a major public health issue. During this same period, youth exposure to media devices also became increasingly prevalent. Here, we present the novel hypothesis that media multitasking (MMT)—the simultaneous use of and switching between unrelated forms of digital media—is associated with an imbalance between regulatory processes and reward-related responses to appetitive food stimuli, resulting in a greater sensitivity to external food cues among high media multitaskers. This, in turn, may contribute to overeating and weight gain over time. To test this hypothesis, we conducted two studies examining research participants who grew up during the recent period of escalating multitasking and obesity—and among whom 37% are overweight or obese. In Study 1, participants’ propensity to engage in MMT behaviors was associated with a higher risk for obesity (as indicated by higher body mass index and body fat percentage). Next, in Study 2, a subset of participants from Study 1 were exposed to appetitive food cues while undergoing functional neuroimaging and then, using passive mobile sensing, the time participants spent in various food points-of-sale over an academic term was inferred from GPS coordinates of their mobile device. Study 2 revealed that MMT was associated with an altered pattern of brain activity in response to appetizing food cues, specifically an imbalance favoring reward-related activity in ventral striatum and orbitofrontal cortex—relative to recruitment of the frontoparietal control network. This relationship was further tested in a mediation model, whereby increased MMT, via a brain imbalance favoring reward over control, was associated with greater time spent in campus eateries. Taken together, findings from both studies suggest the possibility that media multitasking may be implicated in the recent obesity epidemic.
Behavioral Reconsolidation Interference with Episodic Memory Within-Subjects is Elusive
Authors: Levy Daniel A. , Mika Rotem , Radzyminski Cecilia , Ben-Zvi Shir , Tibon Roni
Published: July 2018

In studies of behavioral reconsolidation interference, reactivation of a consolidated memory using some form of reminder is followed by the presentation of new information that can cause interference with that memory. Under these conditions, the interference not only impairs retrieval by indirect processes such as cue interference, but supposedly disrupts the original memory trace directly. Almost all studies of behavioral reconsolidation interference in episodic memory in humans have employed between-subjects paradigms, and deduced reminder effects from intrusion errors. Such studies might introduce confounds arising, for example, from differences in retrieval strategies engendered by the pre-test treatments. We therefore set out to examine whether behavioral reconsolidation interference in episodic memory might be demonstrated within-subjects and by direct memory strength rather than intrusion errors. In three separate experiments, we attempted to disrupt reconsolidation of episodic object-picture memory using a reminder + retroactive interference manipulation. We applied the manipulation over three consecutive days, using a forced-choice recognition test without intrusions from interfering learning, keeping all other study and test parameters constant. No effects of reminder-potentiated interference were observed for measures of accuracy, response times, subjective expressions of recollection, or levels of confidence, as substantiated by Bayesian analyses. These results highlight the difficulty of observing clear behavioral reconsolidation interference effects within-subjects in human episodic memory, and provide some indications of what might be boundary conditions for its demonstration.
The effect of prominence and cue association on retrieval processes: A computational account
Authors: Engelmann Felix , Jäger Lena A. , Vasishth Shravan
Published: July 2018

We present a comprehensive empirical evaluation of the ACT-R-based model of sentence processing developed by Lewis & Vasishth (2005) (LV05). The predictions of the model are compared with the results of a recent meta-analysis of published reading studies on retrieval interference in reflexive-/reciprocal-antecedent and subject-verb dependencies (Jäger, Engelmann, & Vasishth, 2017). The comparison shows that the model has only partial success in explaining the data; and we propose that its prediction space is restricted by oversimplifying assumptions. We then implement a revised model that takes into account differences between individual experimental designs in terms of the prominence of the target and the distractor in memory and context-dependent cue-feature associations. The predictions of the original and the revised model are quantitatively compared with the results of the meta-analysis. Our simulations show that, compared to the original LV05 model, the revised model accounts for the data better. The results suggest that effects of prominence and variable cue-feature associations need to be considered in the interpretation of existing empirical results and in the design and planning of future experiments. With regard to retrieval interference in sentence processing and to the broader field of psycholinguistic studies, we conclude that well-specified models in tandem with high-powered experiments are needed in order to uncover the underlying cognitive processes.
Supernatural norm enforcement: Thinking about Karma and God reduces selfishness among believers
Authors: White Cindel , Kelly John Michael , Shariff Azim , Norenzayan Ara
Published: July 2018

Four experiments (total N = 3591) examined how thinking about Karma and God increases adherence to social norms that prescribe fairness in anonymous dictator games. We found that (1) thinking about Karma decreased selfishness among karmic believers across religious affiliations, including Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, and non-religious Americans; (2) thinking about God also decreased selfishness among believers in God (but not among non-believers), replicating previous findings; and (3) thinking about both karma and God shifted participants’ initially selfish offers towards fairness (the normatively prosocial response), but had no effect on already fair offers. These supernatural framing effects were obtained and replicated in high-powered, pre-registered experiments and remained robust to several methodological checks, including hypothesis guessing, game familiarity, demographic variables, between- and within-subjects designs, and variation in data exclusion criteria. These results support the role of culturally-elaborated beliefs about supernatural justice as a motivator of believer’s adherence to prosocial norms.
Diversity not quantity in caregiver speech: Using computational modeling to isolate the effects of the quantity and the diversity of the input on vocabulary growth
Authors: Jones Gary , Rowland Caroline F
Published: July 2018

Children who hear large amounts of diverse speech learn language more quickly than children who do not. However, high correlations between the amount and the diversity of the input in speech samples makes it difficult to isolate the influence of each. We overcame this problem by controlling the input to a computational model so that amount of exposure to linguistic input (quantity) and the quality of that input (lexical diversity) were independently manipulated. Sublexical, lexical, and multi-word knowledge were charted across development (Study 1), showing that while input quantity may be important early in learning, lexical diversity is ultimately more crucial, a prediction confirmed against children’s data (Study 2). The model trained on a lexically diverse input also performed better on nonword repetition and sentence recall tests (Study 3) and was quicker to learn new words over time (Study 4). A language input that is rich in lexical diversity outperforms equivalent richness in quantity for learned sublexical and lexical knowledge, for well-established language tests, and for acquiring words that have never been encountered before.
Today is tomorrow’s yesterday: Children’s acquisition of deictic time words
Authors: Tillman Katharine , Marghetis Tyler , Barner David , Srinivasan Mahesh
Published: July 2018

Deictic time words like “yesterday” and “tomorrow” pose a challenge to children not only because they are abstract, and label periods in time, but also because their denotations vary according to the time at which they are uttered: Monday’s “tomorrow” is different than Thursday’s. Although children produce these words as early as age 2 or 3, they do not use them in adult-like ways for several subsequent years. Here, we explored whether children have partial but systematic meanings for these words during the long delay before adult-like usage. We asked 3- to 8-year-olds to represent these words on a bidirectional, left to-right timeline that extended from the past (infancy) to the future (adulthood). This method allowed us to independently probe knowledge of these words’ deictic status (e.g., “yesterday” is in the past), relative ordering (e.g., “last week” was before “yesterday”), and remoteness from the present (e.g., “last week” was about 7 times longer ago than “yesterday”). We found that adult-like knowledge of deictic status and order emerge in synchrony, between ages 4 and 6, but that knowledge of remoteness emerges later, after age 7. Our findings suggest that children’s early use of deictic time words is not random, but instead reflects the gradual construction of a structured lexical domain.
Working memory and intra-individual variability in response time mediate fluid intelligence deficits associated with ADHD symptoms
Authors: Brydges Christopher , Ozolnieks Krista , Roberts Gareth
Published: July 2018

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neuropsychologicalcondition characterised by inattention and hyperactivity. Cognitive deficits are commonly observed in ADHD patients, including impaired working memory, response consistency, and fluid intelligence, which are theorised to be associated with one another. We aimed to determine if decreased fluid intelligence was associated with ADHD, and was mediated by deficits in working memory and intra-individual variability (IIV) in motor responding. The present study tested 142 young adults from the general population on a range of working memory, response time, and fluid intelligence tasks, and an ADHD self-report symptoms questionnaire. Results showed that total and hyperactive ADHD symptoms correlated significantly and negatively with fluid intelligence, but this association was fully mediated by both working memory and IIV in response time. However, inattentive symptoms were not associated with fluid intelligence. These results have important implications for clinicians using speeded psychometric tests as part of their assessment battery.
A Meta-Analysis of Test Scores in Proctored and Unproctored Ability Assessments
Authors: Steger Diana , Schroeders Ulrich , Gnambs Timo
Published: July 2018

Unproctored, web-based assessments are frequently compromised by a lack of control over the participants’ test taking behavior. It is likely that participants cheat if personal consequences are high. This meta-analysis summarizes findings on context effects in unproctored and proctored ability assessments and examines mean score differences and correlations between both assessment contexts. As potential moderators, we consider (a) the perceived consequences of the assessment, (b) countermeasures against cheating, (c) the susceptibility to cheating of the measure itself, and (d) the use of different test media. For standardized mean differences, a three-level random-effects meta-analysis based on 108 effect sizes from 49 studies (total N = 100,434) identified a pooled effect of Δ = 0.20, 95% CI [0.10, 0.31], indicating higher scores in unproctored assessments. Moderator analyses revealed significantly smaller effects for measures that are difficult to research on the Internet. Regarding rank order stability, a small subsample of studies (n = 5) providing 15 effect sizes (total N = 1,280) indicated considerable rank order changes (ρ = .58, 95% CI [.38, .78]). These results demonstrate that unproctored ability assessments are markedly biased by cheating. Unproctored assessments may be most suitable for tasks that are difficult to search on the Internet.
Multidimensional Perfectionism and Burnout: A Meta-Analysis
Authors: Curran Thomas
Published: July 2018

A meta-analysis of research examining the relationships between multidimensional perfectionism and burnout is provided. In doing so, relationships before and after controlling for the relationship between dimensions of perfectionism were examined along with whether relationships were moderated by domain (work, sport, or education). A literature search yielded 43 studies (N = 9,838) and 663 effect sizes. Meta-analysis using random-effects models revealed that perfectionistic strivings had small negative or non-significant relationships with overall burnout and symptoms of burnout. By contrast, perfectionistic concerns displayed medium-to-large and medium positive relationships with overall burnout and symptoms of burnout. After controlling for the relationship between dimensions of perfectionism, "pure" perfectionistic strivings displayed notably larger negative relationships. In terms of moderation, in some cases, perfectionistic strivings were less adaptive and perfectionistic concerns more maladaptive in the work domain. Future research should examine explanatory mechanisms, adopt longitudinal designs, and develop interventions to reduce perfectionistic concerns fueled burnout.
Neural integration in body perception
Authors: Ramsey Richard
Published: July 2018

The perception of other people is instrumental in guiding social interactions. For example, the appearance of the human body cues a wide range of inferences regarding sex, age, health and personality, as well as emotional state and intentions, which influence social behaviour. To date, most neuroscience research on body perception has aimed to characterise the functional contribution of segregated patches of cortex in the ventral visual stream. In light of the growing prominence of network architectures in neuroscience, the current paper reviews neuroimaging studies that measure functional integration between different brain regions during body perception. The review demonstrates that body perception is not restricted to processing in the ventral visual stream, but instead reflects a functional alliance between the ventral visual stream and extended neural systems associated with action perception, executive functions and theory-of-mind. Overall, these findings demonstrate how body percepts are constructed through interactions in distributed brain networks and underscores that functional segregation and integration should be considered together when formulating neurocognitive theories of body perception. Insight from such an updated model of body perception generalises to inform the organisational structure of social perception and cognition more generally, and also informs disorders of body image, such as anorexia nervosa, which may rely on atypical integration of body-related information.
Witt_Criteria_For_Statistical_Significance_v1
Authors: Witt Jessica K.
Published: July 2018

What is best criterion for determining statistical significance? In psychology, the criterion has been p < .05. This criterion has been criticized since its inception, and the criticisms have only heighted with recent failures to replicate studies published in top psychology journals. Several replacement criteria have been suggested including reducing the alpha level to .005 or switching to other types of criteria such as Bayes factors or effect sizes. Here, various criteria for statistical significance were evaluated using signal detection analysis on the outcomes of simulated data. With respect to the ability to discriminate between true effects and null effects, both p-values and Bayes factors resulted in fairly high discriminability, and performance was equivalent across both. Discriminability was better for effect size. With respect to bias, the specific thresholds that produced maximally-optimal utility depended on sample size, although this dependency was particularly notable for p-values and less so for Bayes factors. These simulations help illustrate some of the main themes regarding the interpretation of p-values and statistical significance. Importantly, the novel application of signal detection theory to the issue of statistical significance highlights the need to focus on both false alarms and misses, rather than false alarms alone.
Psychological Factors Influencing Life Satisfaction of Undergraduates
Authors: Adewumi Bukunmi O , Ajayi Olubukola
Published: July 2018

This study was designed to assess the psychological factors influencing life satisfaction of undergraduates. The instruments used were Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS), Rosenberge Self-esteem Scale (RSS), and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). A total number of 190 participants were purposively selected across various faculties in Ekiti State University. Four hypotheses were tested using Independent t-test to find the effects of perceived stress, emotional intelligence, and self-esteem on life satisfaction. Multiple regression was used to find the joint and individual influences of these variables. The results showed that there is no significant influence of perceived stress on life satisfaction (t (75) = 1.23, p = .22, 95% CI [-1.14, 4.83). There is no significant influence of self-esteem on life satisfaction (t (51) = -1.31, p = .20, 95% CI [-5.28, 1.11), and there is no significant joint influence of perceived stress, emotional intelligence and self-esteem on life satisfaction (F (3,187) = 1.79, p = .15, R2 =.03). Additionally, perceived stress (β = .07, p = .33), emotional intelligence (β = .14, p = 054) and self-esteem (β = .02, p = .83) did not have independent influences on life satisfaction. Implications of the present findings for future research are discussed, as well as potential interventions for improving life satisfaction.
Reversing the manual digit bias in two-digit number comparison
Authors: Faulkenberry Thomas J.
Published: July 2018

Though recent work in numerical cognition has supported the embodiment of number representations (e.g., a mental number line), little is known about the embodiment of multi-digit number representations. Along this line, Bloechle, Huber, and Moeller (2015) found that pointing positions in two-digit number comparison were biased leftward toward the decade digit. Moreover, this bias was reduced in unit-decade incompatible pairs. In the present study, we tracked computer mouse movements as participants compared two-digit numbers to a fixed standard (55). Similar to Bloechle et al. (2015), we found that trajectories exhibited a leftward bias that was reduced for unit-decade incompatible comparisons. However, when positions of response labels were reversed, the biases reversed. That is, we found a rightward bias for compatible pairs that was reduced for incompatible pairs. This result calls into question a purely embodied representation of place value structure and instead supports a competition model of two-digit number representation.
The Language of New Terrorism: Differences in Psychological Dimensions of Communication in Dabiq and Inspire
Authors: Vergani Matteo , Bliuc Ana-Maria
Published: July 2018

We investigate differences in the psychological aspects underpinning Western mobilisation of two terrorist groups by analysing their English-language propaganda. Based on a computerized analysis of the language used in two English-language online magazines circulated by ISIS and al-Qaeda (i.e., Dabiq and Inspire), we found significant differences in their language - the ISIS’ language being higher in authoritarianism and its level of religiousness. In a follow-up experimental study, we found that being high in religiousness and authoritarianism predicts more positive attitudes towards the language used by ISIS, but not towards the language used by al-Qaeda. The results suggest that ISIS’ propaganda may be more effective in mobilising individuals who are more authoritarian and more focused on religion than that of al-Qaeda. These findings are consistent with the behaviour observed in recent homegrown terrorist attacks in the USA and Europe.
Danger Zone 5.0 Behavioral
Authors: Jarbo Kevin , Flemming Rory , Verstynen Timothy D.
Published: July 2018

Title: Sensory uncertainty impacts avoidance during spatial decisionsAbstract: When making risky spatial decisions humans incorporate estimates of sensorimotor variability and costs on outcomes to bias their spatial selections away from regions that incur feedback penalties. Since selection variability depends on the reliability of sensory signals, increasing the spatial variance of targets during visually-guided actions should increase the degree of this avoidance. Healthy adult participants (N = 20) used a computer mouse to indicate their selection of the mean of a target, represented as a 2D Gaussian distribution of dots presented on a computer display. Reward feedback on each trial corresponded to the estimation error of the selection. Either increasing or decreasing the spatial variance of the dots modulated the spatial uncertainty of the target. A non-target distractor cue was presented as an adjacent distribution of dots. On a subset of trials, feedback scores were penalized with increased proximity to the distractor mean. As expected, increasing the spatial variance of the target distribution increased selection variability. More importantly, on trials where proximity to the distractor cue incurred a penalty, increasing variance of the target increased selection bias away from the distractor cue and prolonged reaction times. These results confirm predictions that increased sensory uncertainty increases avoidance during risky spatial decisions.
Emerging Adulthood: Developmental Stage, Theory, or Nonsense?
Authors: Syed Moin
Published: July 2018

Arnett’s (2000) theory of emerging adulthood has been both widely celebrated and stronglycriticized. However, it has not yet been closely scrutinized for what it claims to be: “a newtheory of development for the late teens though the twenties.” (p. 469). The purpose of thischapter is to take up this scrutiny, evaluating some of the major postulations and criticisms ofemerging adulthood in light of the available evidence. In particular, the chapter focuses on threebroad claims pertaining to emerging adulthood: 1) that it is a developmental stage, 2) that it is atheory, and 3) that it is nonsense. The analysis presented in the chapter is not meant to resolvethe debates in the field, but rather to examine the nuance and celebrate the complexity of thequestions in order to stimulate further theory and research on the topic.
Large inversion effects are not specific to faces and do not vary with object expertise
Authors: Rezlescu Constantin , Chapman Angus F. , Susilo Tirta , Caramazza Alfonso
Published: July 2018

Visual object recognition is impaired when stimuli are shown upside-down. This phenomenon is known as the inversion effect, and a substantial body of evidence suggests it is much larger for faces than non-face objects. The large inversion effect for faces has been widely used as key evidence that face processing is special, and hundreds of studies have used it as a tool to investigate face-specific processes. Here we show that large inversion effects are not specific to faces. We developed two car tasks that tap basic object recognition and within-class recognition. Both car tasks generated large inversion effects (~25% on a three-choice format), which were identical to those produced by parallel face tasks. Additional analyses showed that the large car inversion effects did not vary with expertise. Our findings demonstrate that non-face object recognition can depend on processes that are highly orientation-specific, challenging a critical behavioral marker of face-specific processes.
Introducing the Leroy Problem: Extending the Frequency vs. Probability Debate to Racial Stereotypes via an Evolutionary Perspective [slightly revised]
Authors: Mirza Nazia S. , Blumberg Herbert
Published: July 2018

Bayesian vs. frequentist paradigms are here extended to the issue of racial stereotypes. It has been widely argued that human beings do not embody an innate probability of calculus and are not Bayesian thinkers. Bayesian probabilists argue that probability refers to subjective degrees of confidence, while the frequentists believe probability refers to frequencies of events in the real world. A growing body of research has shown that frequentist versions of Bayesian problems elicit Bayesian reasoning. This study (N = 118) replicated Fiedler's finding that a frequency version of the Linda problem elicits Bayesian reasoning in about 75% of participants, compared to 17% for the probability version in Tversky and Kahneman's studies. It also found, however, that the inductive reasoning mechanism that operates on frequency input is not activated when there is a racial stereotype generated.
On seeking souls in brain graphs: fancy neuroimaging analysis gone wrong?
Authors: Hlinka Jaroslav
Published: July 2018

An increasing number of studies is currently focusing on ‘personality neuroscience’, a term labeling the research aimed at neuroimaging correlates of inter-individual temperament and character variability. Among other methods, a graph theoretical analysis of the functional connectivity in resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging data was applied in a recent study by Gao et al. (2013, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience). This paper aims to replicate this study and extends the original statistical methods in order to demonstrate the effect of multiple comparison problem. In contrast to the original study, five personality dimensions were obtained in the revised ‘Big Five’ Personality Inventory. Using a larger sample (84 subjects) and an equivalent data analysis procedure, we obtained widely disagreeing results compared to the original study. While the Gao et al. reported a range of significant correlations between personality dimensions and some of the network metrics, we failed to replicate any significant correlations when FDR testing was applied. These results demonstrate that as with other neuroimaging studies, appropriate control of multiple comparison problem should be meticulously applied in order to prevent such false alarms in research into neurological substrates of personality differences. Of course, we do not attempt to disprove the existence of some link between personality and brain’s intrinsic functional architecture. Nevertheless, this link is very likely much more subtle and elusive than was suggested in previous studies.
Enhancing responsibility: Directions for an interdisciplinary investigation
Authors: Fischborn Marcelo
Published: July 2018

[Note: articles are in English; Intro, Discussion, and Conclusion are in Portuguese.] Responsibility practices that are part of our daily lives involve, among other things, standards about how one should praise, blame, or punish people for their actions, as well as particular acts that follow those standards to a greater or lesser extent. A classical question in philosophy asks whether human beings can actually be morally responsible for what they do. This dissertation argues that addressing this classical question is insufficient if one wants the investigation of moral responsibility to serve the goal of improving ordinary responsibility practices. As an alternative, I offer directions for an interdisciplinary investigation that I take to be in a better position to promote that goal. My argument is developed in five articles and a discussion section. The first four articles describe limitations of skeptical views, which deny the existence of moral responsibility. The first article assesses a skeptical argument based on results from neuroscience that intends to show that there is no free will. I argue that a premise in the argument—which says that choices are determined by events in the brain—is not supported by the available results. The second article argues that, despite the fact that existent results do not show that choices are determined by brain events, further studies in neuroscience could in principle do that. The third article begins the discussion of limitations that concern the implementability of some of the changes in responsibility practices recommended in skeptical approaches. Specifically, I describe challenges that attempts to reduce the severity of legal punishment are likely to face due to psychological facts about belief in free will and desire to punish. The forth article presents results from an original experiment that sought to test a hypothesis about the workings of belief in free will and the desire to punish, namely the hypothesis that the desire to punish causally affects beliefs about free will. Results failed to support the hypothesis. Finally, the fifth article presents what I call the enhancement model, i.e., a proposal about how to structure an interdisciplinary investigation that can promote the enhancement of ordinary responsibility practices. The final discussion section shows how the enhancement model overcomes some of the limitations of recent discussions about the existence of moral responsibility, which includes not just the skeptical views considered in earlier articles, but also views that affirm the existence of moral responsibility and free will. The central claim of this dissertation, therefore, is that the investigation of moral responsibility can be rearranged so as to further the goal of improving ordinary responsibility practices.
The Limits of Learning: Exploration, Generalization, and the Development of Learning Traps
Authors: Rich Alexander , Gureckis Todd Matthew
Published: July 2018

Learning usually improves the accuracy of beliefs through the accumulation of experience. But are there limits to learning that prevent us from accurately understanding our world? In this paper we investigate the concept of a “learning trap”—the formation of a stable false belief even with extensive experience. Our review highlights how these traps develop though the interaction of learning and decision making in unknown environments. We further document a particularly pernicious learning trap driven by selective attention, a mechanism often assumed to facilitate learning in complex environments. Using computer simulation we demonstrate the key attributes of the agent and environment that lead to this new type of learning trap. Then, in a series of experiments we present evidence that people robustly fall into this trap, even in the presence of various interventions predicted to meliorate it. These results highlight a fundamental limit to learning and adaptive behavior that impacts individuals, organizations, animals, and machines.
The psychology of offering an apology: Understanding the barriers to apologizing and how to overcome them
Authors: Schumann Karina
Published: July 2018

After committing an offense, a transgressor faces an important decision regarding whether and how to apologize to the person who was harmed. The actions he or she chooses to take after committing an offense can have dramatic implications for the victim, the transgressor, and their relationship. Although high quality apologies are extremely effective at promoting reconciliation, transgressors often choose to offer a perfunctory apology, withhold an apology, or respond defensively to the victim. Why might this be? In this article, I propose three major barriers to offering high quality apologies: (1) low concern for the victim or relationship, (2) perceived threat to self-image, and (3) perceived apology ineffectiveness. I review recent research examining how these barriers affect transgressors’ apology behavior, and describe insights this emerging work provides for developing methods to move transgressors towards more reparative behavior. Finally, I discuss important directions for future research.
General Factors of Psychopathology, Personality, and Personality Disorder: Across Domain Comparisons
Authors: Oltmanns Joshua R. , Smith Gregory T. , Oltmanns Thomas , Widiger Thomas A.
Published: July 2018

Three separate and distinct literatures exist investigating general factors of psychopathology (p factor), personality (GFP), and personality disorder (g-PD). Surprisingly, there has been little-to-no investigation regarding the convergence of these three distinct general factors. In the present investigation, two studies were conducted examining the convergence of the p factor, GFP, and g-PD. In Study 1, a combined model extracting all three factors from self-report data simultaneously found high convergence. The findings for the g-PD and GFP were replicated in Study 2 using multi-method data, wherein the GFP and the g-PD were extracted from a community sample of 1,630 older adults and correlated with an index of maladaptivity. The present findings support the position that general factors of psychopathology, personality disorder, and personality are likely to entail a common individual differences continuum, which may impact on how these general factors are to be understood.
Occupational Future Time Perspective: A Meta-Analysis of Antecedents and Outcomes
Authors: Rudolph Cort , Kooij Dorien , Rauvola Rachel Sisu , Zacher Hannes
Published: July 2018

Occupational future time perspective (OFTP) refers to employees’ perceptions of their future in the employment context. Based on lifespan and organizational psychology theories, we review research on OFTP and offer a meta-analysis of antecedents and outcomes of OFTP (K = 40 independent samples, N = 19,112 workers). Results show that OFTP is associated with individual characteristics and personal resources, including age (ρ = -0.55), job tenure (ρ = -0.23), organizational tenure (ρ = -0.25), educational level (ρ = 0.16), and self-rated physical health (ρ = 0.16), as well as job characteristics, like job autonomy (ρ = 0.22). Moreover, OFTP is related to important work outcomes, including job satisfaction (ρ = 0.28), organizational commitment (ρ = 0.41), work engagement (ρ = 0.22), retirement intentions (ρ = -0.37), and work continuance intentions (ρ = 0.16). OFTP is also related to task (ρ = 0.11) and contextual performance (ρ = 0.20). Additional analyses show that OFTP predicts job attitudes and work performance above and beyond the effects of another developmental regulation construct, selection, optimization, and compensation (SOC) strategies. Overall, the findings of our meta-analysis suggest that OFTP is an important construct in the context of an aging workforce.
Successful Structure Learning from Observational Data
Authors: Rothe Anselm , Deverett Ben , Mayrhofer Ralf , Kemp Charles
Published: July 2018

Previous work suggests that humans find it difficult to learn the structure of causal systems given observational data alone. We identify two conditions that enable successful structure learning from observational data: people succeed if the underlying causal system is deterministic, and if each pattern of observations has a single root cause. In four experiments, we show that either condition alone is sufficient to enable high levels of performance, but that performance is poor if neither condition applies. A fifth experiment suggests that neither determinism nor root sparsity takes priority over the other. Our data are broadly consistent with a Bayesian model that embodies a preference for structures that make the observed data not only possible but probable.
A Brief Report on the Relationship between Attachment Style, Self-Esteem, and Multidimensional Romantic Jealousy
Authors: Coban Elif , Bhogal Manpal Singh
Published: July 2018

Previous research has found strong relationships between attachment style, self-esteem multidimensional jealousy. As a result, we explored the role of attachment style and self-esteem in participants’ experience of cognitive, jealousy and emotional jealousy, with an aim to replicate previous findings in the field. Our findings show that closeness predicted cognitive jealousy, however, attachment style, and self-esteem did not predict emotional, cognitive and behavioural jealousy, thus failing to replicate previous research exploring the role of attachment style, and self-esteem in relation to multidimensional romantic jealousy.
Sustained conscious access to incidental memories in RSVP
Authors: Matthews Julian , Wu Jamin , Corneille Vanessa , Hohwy Jakob , van Boxtel Jeroen , Tsuchiya Naotsugu
Published: July 2018

In visual search of natural scenes, differentiation of briefly fixated but task-irrelevant distractor items from incidental memory is often comparable to explicit memorization. However, many characteristics of incidental memory remain unclear, including the capacity for its conscious retrieval. Here, we examined incidental memory for faces in either upright or inverted orientation using Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP). Subjects were instructed to detect a target face in a sequence of 8-15 faces cropped from natural scene photographs (Experiment 1). If the target face was identified within a brief time window, the subject proceeded to an incidental memory task. Here, subjects used incidental memory to discriminate between a probe face (a distractor in the RSVP stream) and a novel, foil face. In Experiment 2 we reduced scene-related semantic coherency by intermixing faces from multiple scenes and contrasted incidental memory with explicit memory; a condition where subjects actively memorised each face from the sequence without searching for a target. In both experiments, we measured objective performance (Type 1 AUC) and metacognitive accuracy (Type 2 AUC) revealing sustained and consciously accessible incidental memory for upright and inverted faces. In novel analyses of face categories, we examined whether accuracy or metacognitive judgements are affected by shared semantic features (i.e., similarity in gender, race, age). Similarity enhanced the accuracy of incidental memory discriminations but did not influence metacognition. We conclude that incidental memory is sustained and consciously accessible, is not reliant on scene contexts, and not enhanced by explicit memorization.
Forgetting is a Feature, not a Bug: Intentionally Forgetting Some Things Helps Us Remember Others by Freeing up Working Memory Resources
Authors: Popov Vencislav , Marevic Ivan , Rummel Jan , Reder Lynne
Published: July 2018

We used an item-method directed forgetting paradigm to test whether instructions to forget or to remember one item in a list affects memory for the subsequent item in that list. In two experiments, we found that free and cued recall were higher when a word-pair was preceded during study by a to-be-forgotten (TBF) word pair. This effect was cumulative – performance was higher when more of the preceding items during study were TBF. It also interacted with lag between study items – the effect decreased as the lag between the current and a prior item increased. Experiment 2 used a dual-task paradigm in which we suppressed either verbal rehearsal or attentional refreshing during encoding. We found that neither task removed the effect, thus the advantage from previous TBF items could not be due to rehearsal or attentional borrowing. We propose that storing items in long-term memory depletes a limited pool of resources that recovers over time, and that TBF items deplete fewer resources, leaving more available for storing subsequent items. A computational model implementing the theory provided excellent fits to the data.
A meta-analysis of the effects of transcranial direct current brain stimulation on multiple realms of social behavior
Authors: Bell Sarah Beth
Published: July 2018

This meta-analysis examines the effects of transcranial direct current brain stimulation (tDCS) applied to the prefrontal cortex on a variety of social behaviors including aggression, overeating, impulsivity, bias, honesty, and risk-taking. 48 studies were included in this meta-analysis, N=2,196. tDCS was found to have an overall effect size of d=-0.2, which means tDCS reduced the undesirable behavior by a small but significant amount. tDCS was most effective at reducing risk-taking behavior, bias, and overeating. tDCS was not significantly effective at reducing aggression, impulsivity, or dishonesty. Moderators such as brain region of interest, online versus offline stimulation, within versus between subjects designs, dose, and duration were examined. Publication bias was also examined with three different tools, and significant publication bias was found in the literature in this meta-analysis. These findings indicate high likelihood that many tDCS studies with null findings exist and have not been added to our published literature. Taken together, these results suggest that tDCS works better on some social behaviors than others, but overall, can reduce antisocial behavior by a small but significant amount.Keywords: transcranial direct current stimulation, meta-analysis, social psychology, prefrontal cortex, prosocial behavior
When Intergroup Contact is Uncommon and Bias is Strong: The Case of Anti-Transgender Bias
Authors: Hoffarth Mark Romeo , Hodson Gordon
Published: July 2018

In contrast to the centrality of “coming out” in the gay rights movement, transgender people may be less likely to disclose their transgender status due to the severity of anti-transgender stigma, structural factors, and differences in how transgender status and sexual identity are expressed. As a consequence, intergroup contact with transgender people may be less common than gay contact, which may limit its effectiveness. In Study 1 (N = 174), transgender contact was much less frequent than gay contact, and transgender contact frequency was not associated with anti-transgender bias, although more positive transgender contact was associated with lower anti-transgender bias, and gay contact frequency was also independently associated with lower anti-transgender bias. In Study 2 (N = 277), greater transgender “media contact” was associated with increased empathy for transgender people and decreased anti-transgender bias. In addition, several participants left unsolicited anti-transgender comments at the end of the study, and these participants tended to have less transgender contact and were higher in Right-Wing Authoritarianism and Social Dominance Orientation. Our results suggest that increasing contact with the LGBT community and increasing media representations of transgender people may decrease anti-transgender bias. Future directions building on these results are discussed.