bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Measuring locus of control: A critique of general, children's, health‐ and work‐related locus of control questionnaires
Authors: Furnham Adrian , Steele Howard
Published: April 2011

This paper attempts a critical review not so much of the concept of locus of control as the plethora of unidimensional or sphere‐specific measures that have been developed in the past 25 years. After a brief history of the development of the concept of locus of control, various oft‐repeated and some new criticisms are considered. One frequent response to problems associated with the original concept and scale has been to develop new psychometrically validated, sphere‐ or topic‐specific measures. These are tabulated and reviewed under five headings: measures (either multidimensional or sphere‐specific) of the general concept of locus of control; measures devised specifically for children and adolescents; measures that have concentrated on aspects of mental and physical health; work, career and economic locus of control measures; and finally, measures which have extended the locus of control concept into other areas. The advantages and disadvantages of this proliferation of measures is considered in some detail, especially the issue of incremental validity, and recommendations are made for future work in this area.
Annett's theory that individuals heterozygous for the right shift gene are intellectually advantaged: Theoretical and empirical problems
Authors: McManus I. C. , Shergill S. , Bryden M. P.
Published: April 2011

Annett & Manning (1989; 1990a,b) have proposed that left‐handedness is maintained by a balanced polymorphism, whereby the rs+/‐ heterozygote manifests increased intellectual ability compared with the rs‐/‐ and rs+/+ homozygotes. In this paper we demonstrate that Annett's method of dividing subjects into putative genotypes does not allow the rs+/‐ genotype to be compared with the rs‐/‐ genotype within handedness groups. Our alternative method does allow heterozygous right‐handers to be compared both with rs+/+ and rs‐/‐ homozygotes. Using this method in undergraduates we find no evidence that supposed heterozygotes are relatively more intellectually able than homozygotes on tests of verbal IQ, spatial IQ, diagrammatic IQ or vocabulary.

Theoretical analysis of the balanced polymorphism hypothesis reveals additional limitations. Although estimation of the size of the heterozygote advantage suggests that it must be very large (21 or 45 IQ points) to explain the effects found by Annett & Manning, it nevertheless must be very small (3.4 IQ points) to be compatible with the known differences between right‐ and left‐handers in social class and intelligence. Moreover power analysis shows that the latter effect size is too small for Annett & Manning to have found effects in their studies. Additional power analyses show that studies looking for effects in groups of high intellectual ability, such as university students, are incapable of finding significant results, despite Annett claiming such effects.

If the Annett & Manning paradigm does demonstrate differences in intellectual ability related to skill asymmetry then those differences are unlikely to result from a balanced polymorphism, but instead probably reflect motivational or other differences between right‐handers of high and low degrees of laterality.
Who primed Roger Rabbit? An investigation of priming between individual items
Authors: Johnston Robert A. , Bruce Vicki
Published: April 2011

Three experiments are reported which examine priming effects operating in the recognition of familiar objects and their names. The stimuli employed allowed the direct comparison of these effects with results previously obtained from face recognition research by utilizing a subject‐response task common to both areas. Semantic (associative) priming was investigated in Expts 1 and 2 while identity (repetition) priming was examined in Expt 3. The three experiments supported the idea that parallels could be drawn between the recognition of objects and faces.
Spelling skills of lexical readers
Authors: Weekes Brendan S.
Published: April 2011

An experiment was conducted to examine spelling skills of adult readers who use a lexical reading strategy. Lexical readers were classified according to a tendency towards identifying single words via orthographic lexical access instead of via a sublexical routine. Word recognition was assessed using tasks requiring either direct orthographic lexical access or conversion of print to phonology. Results showed lexical readers were more accurate at spelling targets which required lexical access (irregularly spelt words and homophones) when compared with other subjects matched for reading ability but no different at spelling targets that do not require lexical access (non‐words and regularly spelt words). Differences in spelling skill were not due to variation in spelling task difficulty and could thus be attributed to a genuine preference for lexical readers to use a lexical spelling strategy. Correlations between errors on lexical spelling tasks were accompanied by null associations between errors on lexical and sublexical spelling tasks lending support to a dual‐route model of normal spelling. It is concluded that lexical readers use a lexical strategy when spelling words.
Articulatory loop and children's reading
Authors: Arthur Tansy A. A. , Hitch Graham J. , Halliday M. S.
Published: April 2011

Three experiments investigated whether the articulatory loop is used as a temporary phonological store in 7‐ to 9‐year‐old children's reading. Performance of various reading tasks was examined with and without articulatory suppression, an interference procedure which disrupts the articulatory loop. Experiment 1 used a lexical decision task involving presentations of words, pseudohomophones (e.g. HUNNIE), and non‐homophonic non‐words. Pseudohomophones led to longer response times and more errors than non‐homophonic non‐words, but this effect was unaltered by articulatory suppression. Overall, suppression led to better performance, producing faster response times with no increase in errors. In Expt 2, suppression impaired performance on a rhyme‐judgement task. In Expt 3, children performed a lexical decision task in which letter strings were presented in either a normal format or in two parts arranged one above the other so as to enforce prelexical blending. Suppression led to faster response times and had no effect on errors, regardless of the need to combine the word segments. These results suggest that for beginning readers, as with fluent readers, the articulatory loop is used for rhyme judgements but a separate kind of phonological coding is used in making lexical decisions.
Testing the models? New data and commentary on Stanhope & Cohen (1993)
Authors: Bruce Vicki , Burton A. Mike , Walker Stephanie
Published: April 2011

Burton & Bruce (1992) proposed an extension of the interactive activation model of face recognition (Burton, Bruce & Johnston, 1990), in which the difficulty of retrieving proper names was explained without requiring an extra stage specific to proper name retrieval as suggested in the model of Bruce & Young (1986). Recently, Stanhope & Cohen (1993) have published data which it is claimed cast doubt upon both the Burton & Bruce (1992) and the Bruce & Young (1986) models of name retrieval. In this paper we first provide experimental data from a similar methodological ‘test’ of the Burton & Bruce model, which appears to support its prediction that information which is shared by several people should be easier to retrieve than information which is unique. We show that subjects are better at learning novel names or novel occupations that are shared by many faces than those that are unique. These data appear at odds with those of Stanhope & Cohen (1993). However, in our discussion we note a number of difficulties in interpreting the Stanhope & Cohen experiments. Moreover, we critically examine the use of paired associate learning experiments, such as those presented here and those of Stanhope & Cohen (1993), to test any model of the ‘steady state’ of a system, and make suggestions about the kind of future work which could indeed provide critical tests of these models.
The role of cognitive bias and skill in fruit machine gambling
Authors: Griffiths Mark D.
Published: April 2011

Although a single theory of the cognitive psychology of gambling is unlikely to fully explain persistent gambling, a number of recent studies have shown that there may be a strong cognitive bias involved in gambling behaviour. In this study a number of factors and variables relating to the cognitive psychology of fruit machine players were examined in 60 subjects (30 regular and 30 non‐regular gamblers) in a British amusement arcade. This involved the use of the ‘thinking aloud method’ and an examination of the role of skill using both objective (behavioural) and subjective (self‐report) measures. Results showed that regular gamblers produced significantly more irrational verbalizations than non‐regular gamblers, and that on subjective measures regular gamblers were significantly more skill oriented. Results of the objective measures demonstrated that with the same amount of money regular gamblers can gamble more times than non‐regular gamblers but this was not significant. The implications of these results are discussed and suggestions are made about the application of the results to the treatment of pathological gambling.
The sentence—picture verification task: Methodological and theoretical difficulties
Authors: Roberts Maxwell J. , Wood David J. , Gilmore David J.
Published: April 2011

The sentence‐picture verification task has received a great deal of attention over the years, and it has been a source of many interesting findings concerning the relationships between individual differences in people's abilities, task performance and strategy selection. However, there are a number of problems with interpreting data from this task as it appears to be particularly difficult to reliably classify subjects into distinct strategy groups. The purpose of this work was to review the various classification systems used by previous researchers and assess their validity. No system was found to be without problems, and it is suggested that previous conclusions derived from this task may not be justified.
Individual differences in mental imagery experience: Developmental changes and specialization
Authors: Isaac Anne R. , Marks David F.
Published: April 2011

This research has two purposes: (1) to study developmental changes and differences in visual and movement imagery in male and female children and adults; (2) to investigate whether systematic differences in imagery vividness can be measured in specialist groups. In Study 1, the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire and the Vividness of Movement Imagery Questionnaire were administered to 547 individuals in age groups from 7–8 to 50 + years of age. Significant increases in imagery vividness were found in females at 8–9 and in males at 10–11 years. In general females report more vivid imagery than males but at about 50 females' movement imagery reduced in vividness. In Studies 2–5 imagery differences in specialist groups were examined using the same two questionnaires with a total of 655 participants. In Study 2, children aged 7–15 years with poor movement control were found to be extremely poor imagers with 42 per cent reporting no imagery at all. In Study 3, physical education students reported more vivid imagery than students specializing in physics, English, and surveying. In Study 4, significant differences were found between elite athletes' imagery and that of matched controls. In Study 5, air traffic controllers and pilots were found to have significantly more vivid imagery than matched control groups. Introspective reports of imagery experience show a systematic pattern of relationships with age, gender, and specialization requiring high‐level performance of perceptual motor skills. These findings support the theory that mental imagery plays a key role in the planning and implementation of action.
Can caricatures really produce distinctiveness effects?
Authors: Stevenage Sarah V.
Published: April 2011

The effects of distinctiveness have previously been assessed using one set of distinctive faces and a separate set of typical faces. However, a much more controlled experimental design is to vary distinctiveness within a single set of faces by using caricatures and veridical line drawings. Four experiments which manipulated distinctiveness in this way are described. The first experiment examined the effect of distinctiveness enhancement on the performance on a face recognition task while the second experiment examined the same effect on a face classification task. The results mirrored those found when comparing faces that vary naturally in distinctiveness. Experiment 3 used a learned identification task to show that unfamiliar faces were also susceptible to distinctiveness‐enhancement effects. Furthermore, Experiment 4 showed that when given a limited amount of training, recognition of the real (photographed) faces was significantly better following training with caricatures as opposed to veridical line‐drawings. These results support the predictions arising from Valentine's multi‐dimensional space model (1991). Furthermore, they suggest that caricatures may be ideal materials to examine distinctiveness effects.
Visual imagery and enactment of actions in memory
Authors: Engelkamp Johannes
Published: April 2011

It was assumed that self‐performing an action necessarily focuses information‐ processing on action‐relevant information in order to guarantee smooth enactment. As a consequence, enacting an action should provide the subjects with excellent item‐specific information and hinder the subjects from encoding contextual information that is not a part of the action proper. These hypotheses were tested in paired‐associate learning experiments in which unrelated action‐verb‐pairs served as stimuli. Free recall (FR) of the action verbs was considered to indicate item‐ specific encoding, and cued recall (CR)—with one element of a pair serving as a cue for the other—to reflect context encoding. The verb‐pairs were learned essentially under four types of instructions: under standard learning instructions (as a control), under enactment instructions, under self‐imagery instructions, and under other‐ imagery instructions. The results demonstrated that enactment led to better FR than standard learning and the two imagery conditions, showing that enactment provides excellent item‐specific information. CR was equally poor after overt enactment and self‐imagined performance and worse after standard learning and after imagining somebody else performing an action, showing that motor encoding hinders pair integration—i.e. efficient context encoding.
The search for structure in conceptual representation: A response to Perruchet et al.
Authors: Richardson Ken
Published: April 2011

In a critical note of some of our studies, Perruchet, Pacteau & Gallego (1993) suggest that performance on category recognition, which we account for through storage of imperfect covariations, can in fact be accounted for in terms of a very simple exemplar‐storage model. It is argued here that Perruchet et al. exaggerate the effectiveness of their model; that they fail to mention experimental data that their exemplar model cannot account for; that their attempt to reduce the effectiveness of a covariation model to background knowledge is paradoxical; and that their own model is dangerously unconstrained, theoretically, in adopting arbitrary coefficients for improving data fits.
What makes a number easy to remember?
Authors: Milikowski Marisca , Elshout Jan J.
Published: April 2011

Natural categories (such as birds, furniture or pieces of music) include ‘good’ and ‘poor’ exemplars. While there are a number of factors that determine the extent to which an item is a good category member (prototypicality, distinctiveness, frequency of occurrence), a consistent experimental finding is that ‘good’ category members are better remembered than ‘poor’ ones. Can numbers be considered a natural category of this sort, with good and poor members? This study tested memory for number lists, using numbers between 1 and 100 in a list‐learning task in which both recall and recognition tests were given to over 500 subjects. Stepwise regression on the memorability scores for each number between 1 and 100 indicated that four attributes made a significant contribution to the variance. ANOVA confirmed that these attributes had individually significant effects on memory for numbers. Recognition and recall gave similar scores under these conditions. The order of memorability was (a) single digit numbers, (b) teen numbers (10–19), (c) doubled numbers (e.g. 44, 77, 22), (d) large tabled numbers (numbers which factor and therefore appear in the multiplication tables, such as 49, 36, 60, 84, 27), and (e) other numbers that do not fall into any of these categories. While memorability for single digit numbers was above 80 per cent, that for other numbers (no subcategory) was only around 40 per cent.
Does fortune favour the bald? Psychological correlates of hair loss in males
Authors: Wells Pamela A. , Willmoth Trevor , Russell Robin J. H.
Published: April 2011

In order to investigate the relationship between male hair loss and psychological distress, 182 men were recruited who had a wide range of ages and hair loss varying from none to severe. Care was taken to ensure that hair loss and age were uncorrelated in the sample. Multiple regression was used to predict possible consequences of baldness, controlling for age, and examining the interaction between baldness and age to see if consequences were especially severe in cases of premature baldness. Increasing degrees of hair loss were associated with loss of selfesteem, depression, introversion, neuroticism and feeling unattractive. These effects were more marked for young men in the case of self‐esteem, introversion and feeling unattractive.
I recognize your face but I can't remember your name: Is it because names are unique?
Authors: Harris Daryl M. , Kay Janice
Published: April 2011

Burton & Bruce (1992), and Cohen (1990a), offer alternative accounts of the differences in ‘normal’ and neurologically impaired subjects' abilities to recall people's names and other pieces of biographical information. Cohen claims that the principal difference between names and other biographical information is in their relative meaningfulness, while Burton & Bruce argue that uniqueness is the crucial variable. As yet existing empirical evidence cannot be explained within the framework of either of these accounts, although the Burton & Bruce (1992) proposal has the advantage of being implemented as an interactive activation model. This paper describes the case of a patient who, following a stroke, retained the ability to access ‘unique’ semantic information for familiar people she is no longer able to name. It is argued that this pattern of performance provides difficulties for the Burton & Bruce model. However, it can be accounted for by Cohen's account, and a modified version of Burton & Bruce's model (Bruce, Burton & Walker, 1994).
Classifying infants in the Strange Situation with three‐way mixture method of clustering
Authors: Kroonenberg Pieter M. , Basford Kaye E. , van Dam Marion
Published: April 2011

The quality of the attachment relationship between mother and infant is typically determined in the Strange Situation. The assignments of infants to the A (avoidant), B (secure), and C (resistant) attachment classes are largely but not exclusively based on measurements during the reunion episodes. In this paper, the measurements in the reunion episodes are used to derive a clustering of the infants via three‐way mixture method of clustering, a technique especially designed for clustering three‐ way data (here: infants, variables and episodes). The results are compared with the A‐B‐C classification, and the relevance of the outcomes for attachment research are discussed. At the same time, the paper aims to demonstrate the use and usefulness of the three‐way clustering procedure for data from the social and behavioural sciences.
Integral bias in the cognitive processing of emotionally linked pictures
Authors: Martin Maryanne , Jones Gregory V.
Published: April 2011

It is well established that human cognitive processes are subject to systematic biases associated with particular emotional states. But how do these cognitive biases arise? This question was addressed by means of a pictorial Stroop task which allowed the development of such a bias to be assessed. In each of two experiments, spider‐ phobic participants were significantly impaired at naming the colours of phobia‐ related pictures relative to those of control pictures. Investigation of the magnitude of this effect for participants of different ages allowed two contrasting hypotheses concerning the development of such biases to be compared. The integral bias hypothesis asserts that the effects of emotion on cognition reflect integral links between emotional states and cognitive mechanisms, links that are not arbitrary but instead are fixed constituents of our mental architecture. In contrast, the inferred bias hypothesis asserts that these effects arise as a consequence of the gradual establishment of associations between particular emotional states and particular patterns of cognitive behaviour. It was found that the magnitude of the observed bias remained approximately constant irrespective either of the ages of participants or of the directly estimated durations of their phobias. This fixed relation provides strong support for the integral bias explanation of the cognitive effects of an emotional disturbance. Finally, the evolutionary context in which integral links between emotion and cognition may arise is discussed.
Incremental category learning without external information: An algorithm for category‐opening internal learning (COIL)
Authors: MacGregor James N.
Published: April 2011

Over the past two decades the topic of category learning has received considerable attention. Category learning evolved from the earlier study of concept formation but differs from it in how concepts (or categories) are viewed. In concept formation, concepts were assumed to be strictly defined by necessary and sufficient characteristics whereas category learning extends consideration to more natural categories that are ‘fuzzy’ and ill‐defined. A number of category‐learning models have been proposed to explain how human participants categorize stimuli. Most of the models require external information in addition to the stimuli themselves in order to learn. This additional information may take the form of external feedback following decisions, information about the number of categories to use, or a ‘preview’ of a batch of category exemplars. In contrast, human participants appear to be able to learn category structures without these forms of additional information, although their success in doing so varies directly with the clarity of the classification to be learned. The article proposes mechanisms for category learning without external information which can be added to the majority of category‐learning models. The main mechanism is ‘self‐generated feedback’, where the learner provides feedback internally by assuming decisions to be correct. Using a model, self‐feedback was found to facilitate learning of two‐ and three‐category problems across varying levels of clarity of category structure. Conditions were used where the model was given (i) exemplars of each category with their category labels, (ii) the number of categories to use and (iii) neither. In all cases, learning occurred without external feedback. The degree of learning increased with increasing clarity of category structure. In this respect, as in most others, the results were similar to those reported for human participants.
Self priming from distinctive and caricatured faces
Authors: Calder Andrew J. , Young Andrew W. , Benson Philip J. , Perrett David I.
Published: April 2011

Burton, Bruce & Johnston (1990) have recently presented an interactive activation and competition (IAC) model of face recognition. Within this architecture they present accounts of repetition priming, semantic priming and distinctiveness effects with faces. This model predicts that a short‐lived priming effect should extend from a person's face to their name, this is called ‘self priming’. The model also predicts that the distinctiveness of the person's face should interact with the amount of self priming found. We tested this prediction with distinctive and typical face sets (Expt 1); results confirmed the prediction. From a hybrid of Valentine's (1991 a) multidimensional space framework and Burton et al.'s IAC model we derived a second prediction, that a caricature of a face should produce more self‐priming than the veridical or an anti‐caricatured (shifted towards an average face) representation of the face. Using continuous‐tone caricatures of photographic quality we tested this prediction in Expts 2 and 3; results again confirmed the prediction. This finding is consistent with the idea that caricaturing works by enhancing the face's distinctiveness.
Mother tongue, language of schooling and bilingual digit span
Authors: Chincotta Dino , Underwood Geoffrey
Published: April 2011

The present study investigated whether language differences in digit span are due to differential levels of familiarity and practice arising from experiences associated with the mother tongue (language of the home), language of the school or to cross‐linguistic differences in word length. Mother tongue and language of schooling were varied orthogonally to create four bilingual types: Finnish or Swedish mother tongue and language of schooling (FF and SS), Finnish mother tongue and Swedish language of schooling (FS) and vice versa (SF). Subjects were tested for digit reading rate and digit span with and without articulatory suppression. The results showed that constant bilinguals (FF and SS) obtained faster reading rates and larger digit spans in their dominant language, whereas compound bilinguals (FS and SF) showed no difference between the languages on either measure. Language of schooling was identified as a powerful determinant of bilingual digit span differences, but did not account for the full range of findings.
The measurement of hand preference: A validation study comparing three groups of right‐handers
Authors: Bishop D. V. M. , Ross V. A. , Daniels M. S. , Bright P.
Published: April 2011

Three groups of right‐handers were identified using the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory. Exclusive strong right‐handers (Rs: N = 18) reported that they always used the right hand for eight or more of the 10 activities, and usually used the right hand for the remainder. Exclusive weak right‐handers (Rw: N = 15) usually used the right hand for three or more activities, and always used the right hand for the remainder. Predominant right‐handers (Rp: N = 18) preferred the right hand for most items, but used the left hand for at least one activity. These groups did not differ on three measures of relative skill of the two hands: peg‐moving, tapping and dotting. Groups Rs and Rw were also indistinguishable in terms of the hand used for reaching for cards placed in different spatial positions. However, the reaching measure did discriminate group Rp, which included some individuals who reached predominantly with the left hand. It is concluded that preference batteries should quantify degree of hand preference in terms of the number of activities for which a preference is shown, ignoring the distinction between ‘usually’ and ‘always’. The behavioural reaching measure shows promise as a method for providing a unitary scale of hand preference.
A connectionist model of alexia: Covert recognition and case mixing effects
Authors: Mayall Kate , Humphreys Glyn
Published: April 2011

A connectionist model was developed to simulate the production of phonological, semantic and orthographic lexical representations from an orthographic input code. When lesioned, the network displayed many of the characteristics of the neurological disorder, pure alexia. These included: greater accuracy in the recognition of letters compared to words, and (in some cases) spared semantic categorization and lexical decision ability relative to naming. Performance was superior for high relative to low frequency words and (for some lesions) for ‘high imageability’ words with more semantic referents. Similar to alexic patients, errors in the model tended to be visually rather than semantically related to target words and disrupted input had a greater effect on naming than on lexical decision performance. There were also tendencies apparent in the model which have not so far been reported for alexic patients but are found in other neurological patients, including category specificity effects and superior performance on superordinate relative to subordinate semantic categorization.

Noise was added to the input units of the unlesioned and lesioned model in an attempt to simulate case mixing effects on both normal and alexic reading. The unlesioned model demonstrated similar effects to normal readers with mixed case stimuli (Besner & McCann, 1987; Mayall & Humphreys, 1996). Further, effects on the lesioned model were comparable to those found with alexic patients (Bub & Arguin, 1995; Mayall & Humphreys, submitted).

The similarity of the performance characteristics of the model to those of pure alexic patients suggests that the architectures of the modelled and the human reading system encompass common properties, and that covert recognition in pure alexia can be attributed to the architecture of the word processing system.
Overconfidence, base rates and outcome positivity/negativity of predicted events
Authors: Pulford Briony D. , Colman Andrew M.
Published: April 2011

Overconfidence is said to occur when a person's confidence in a series of predictions exceeds the level of accuracy achieved. In this experiment, questionnaire items requiring predictions of personal life‐events were selected according to their objective base rates of occurrence and their outcome positivity/negativity for participants in a pilot study. The 98 participants in the main experiment predicted whether they would experience each event within the next week and rated their confidence in their predictions. Predictions were compared with responses to a follow‐up questionnaire a week later to determine accuracy. Significant over‐confidence occurred, but it was greater for positive‐outcome than negative‐outcome items, and the results revealed a curvilinear relationship between base rates and overconfidence, with maximum overconfidence at intermediate base rate levels and underconfidence at both extremes of the base rate range. Subjects tended to overestimate base rates below 40 per cent and to underestimate higher base rates.
Responses to music in aerobic exercise and yogic relaxation classes
Authors: North Adrian C. , Hargreaves David J.
Published: April 2011

Berlyne's theory of aesthetic response was investigated in two naturalistic music listening situations. Fifty participants in an aerobic exercise class, and 50 participants in a yogic relaxation class were presented with five three‐minute musical excerpts representing a range of complexity. Participants rated these excerpts on scales of either liking or complexity and appropriateness. The relationship between ratings of liking and complexity was broadly consistent with the prediction of an inverted‐U function, although not significantly so in the data obtained from the aerobics group. The prediction that a positive monotonic relationship should exist between ratings of liking and appropriateness was also confirmed.
Object recognition from point‐light stimuli: Evidence of covariation structures in conceptual representation
Authors: Richardson Ken , Webster David S.
Published: April 2011

Current theories of concepts and categorization involve easily identifiable attributes or features as the basic informational fodder of representation, and some composite of such features as the conceptual representation. This ‘standard model’ is now being questioned on a number of empirical and theoretical grounds, especially those concerning the informational origins of features. In this paper we examine the evocation of conceptual functions by point‐light stimuli in which objects and constituent features are not directly given at all, but have to be constructed and construed in some way. We have maintained in previous studies that conceptual representation depends upon nested covariation hierarchies, and here suggest that the evocativeness of point‐light stimuli can be explained by the structured covariation information they present. In two studies we found evidence that variation in the overall amount and the structure of covariation information in point‐light stimuli is associated with variation in a number of conceptual response functions, such as the recognizability of objects from the stimuli, and the dispersion of responses. We take these results as evidence that conceptual representation depends upon, and features and other constituents are generated ‘on‐line’ from, nested covariation hierarchies.
Transfer and retention of implicit and explicit learning
Authors: Lee Yuh‐shiow , Vakoch Douglas A.
Published: April 2011

Two parallel tasks involving rule learning were used to assess implicit and explicit learning. The complex task (occurring in the complex rule‐line condition) involves predominantly implicit learning, and the simple task (occurring in the simple rule‐number condition) requires primarily explicit learning. Implicit learning clearly showed negative transfer from previous implicit learning experience, whereas explicit learning showed strong positive transfer. Subjects' explicit knowledge declined and implicit knowledge remained at the same level when retested one week later. The results are discussed in terms of principles guiding the learning and transfer of explicit and implicit knowledge. This is consistent with the assertion that implicit and explicit learning involve two functionally different learning systems.
Asymmetric affective evaluation of words and faces
Authors: Raccuglia R. Alexander , Phaf R. Hans
Published: April 2011

In two experiments the relationship between direct and indirect forms of affective evaluation was investigated within the framework of a dual‐pathway model (LeDoux, 1986,1989). Emotionally valenced faces were hypothesized to be more directly evaluated affectively than valenced words. A Stroop‐like asymmetry was expected, with faces interfering more with word evaluation than vice versa. Similar to experiments investigating affective influences of words on words (Greenwald, Klinger & Liu, 1989), a backward dichoptic pattern‐masking technique was used in both experiments, with lateralized presentations of targets and masked primes in a short and a long presentation condition. In Expt 1, priming of emotionally negative, neutral and positive faces on the affective evaluation of emotionally negative, neutral and positive words was investigated in a two‐alternative forced‐choice task. In Expt 2, primes and targets were reversed. A clear asymmetry occurred in both subliminal and supraliminal conditions, but completely opposite to the one expected. Implications for a dual‐pathway model are discussed.
Repetition priming of homographs and novel objects: Evidence for an item‐specific locus
Authors: Dean Michael P. , Young Andrew W.
Published: April 2011

Two experiments examined the nature of the memory representations underlying repetition priming. In Expt 1, homographs (words with two meanings) were presented accompanied by bias words that demanded one particular interpretation of each. These homographs were then used in a test phase picture‐word matching task. Repeated items accompanied by a picture that demanded another interpretation of the word showed as much facilitation as repeated items accompanied by a picture that preserved the trained interpretation of the homograph. Under the same encoding conditions, participants were able to remember which bias words accompanied the homographs at training, yet there was no evidence of a role for the retrieval of interpretive encoding operations in producing the repetition priming observed; results were instead consistent with activation of item‐specific representations underlying the effect. This locus of repetition priming was further investigated in Expt 2. Participants made same‐different responses to pairs of simultaneously presented novel objects. There was no reduction in facilitation of responding following recombination of pairings of items between training and test, as compared to pairs repeated intact. These results are not compatible with accounts of the priming effect based only on the retrieval of prior processing episodes, or the reinstatement of prior processing demands. The results are consistent with a perceptual locus of the priming effect, based not on pre‐existing representations or connections, but on representations of structure and form of individual stimuli.
Intra‐ and inter‐modal repetition priming of familiar faces and voices
Authors: Ellis Hadyn D. , Jones Dylan M. , Mosdell Nick
Published: April 2011

Two experiments explored repetition priming for familiar voices and faces. Expt 1 revealed that, like faces, prior exposure to a voice in a gender judgment task speeds its subsequent classification as familiar or unfamiliar, some minutes later. Faces and voices do not prime one another, however; a result consistent with the notion that evidence is initially accumulated separately for voices and faces. In Expt 2, a prediction derived from the IAC model of Burton, Bruce & Johnston (1990) was explored. The results confirmed that inter‐modal repetition priming occurs when the interval between exposures to different personal identification stimuli are separated by a short SOA. This result is consistent with similar ones reported by Calder (1993) and Young, Flude, Hellawell & Ellis (1994) for face‐name combinations.
Beyond psychobiography: Towards more effective syntheses of psychology and biography
Authors: Howe Michael J. A.
Published: April 2011

The question of how particular children develop into unusually competent or creative men and women has intrigued scholars in the very different disciplines of biography and scientific psychology. That both traditions make essential contributions is indicated by the fact that numerous psychologists interested in individual development have drawn upon biographical sources of information and many biographers have engaged in the kinds of psychodynamic theorizing associated with psychobiography. It is suggested here that psychology has considerably more to offer to the study of individual development than psychobiographers have realized, and that findings emerging from empirical research can provide insights that are not routinely available to biographers. The article then considers five necessary aspects of an approach that would maximize the impact of scientific psychology on our understanding of the development of exceptional individuals.
Predicting road traffic accidents: The role of social deviance and violations
Authors: Lawton Rebecca , Parker Dianne , Stradling Stephen G. , Manstead Antony S. R.
Published: April 2011

A study by West, Elander & French (1993a) examining the relationship between mild social deviance and accident rates on the road was extended and replicated. West et al. (1993a) report that the relationship between mild social deviance and accident rates was partly mediated by faster driving speed. The aim of the present research was to determine whether a broader measure of road traffic violations would fully mediate the relationship between mild social deviance and accident rates. Self‐reports of violations (using the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire), mild social deviance and accident rates were collected for 830 drivers, together with information about age, sex and annual mileage. A series of Poisson regressions were computed to investigate the relationship between these predictor variables and accident rates. The data confirmed the relationship between mild social deviance and accident rates. However, this relationship appeared to be mediated by the propensity to commit driving violations and unspecified factors associated with age. The results of the analysis are discussed with reference to the appropriateness of various intervention strategies to promote safer driving.
Dynamics of behaviour in the Strange Situation: A structural equation approach
Authors: Kroonenberg P. M. , van Dam M. , van IJzendoorn M. H. , Mooijaart A.
Published: April 2011

In this paper, we present a structural equation approach to modelling infant behaviour in the Strange Situation. A model was developed on a Dutch data set, and was subsequently cross‐validated for an American data set containing the original Ainsworth data. Model building is reported in some detail as no previous similar analyses of the Strange Situation exist in the literature. The latent variables in the preferred model are stranger wariness, minimization or deactivation of attachment concerns, and maximization or hyperactivation of attachment concerns. Stranger wariness influences only the subsequent behaviour towards the mother, and behaviour in the second reunion episode is dependent on the same mother behaviour in the first reunion episode, and not on other mother behaviours. Structural equation modelling behaviour in the Strange Situation is shown to provide further insight into the dynamics of the procedure.
Reply to Kline, Laming, Lovie, Luce and Morgan
Authors: Michell Joel
Published: April 2011

My paper proposed first, that psychology is committed to the scientific task of testing the hypothesis that its supposedly measurable attributes really are quantitative; second, that from its inception, modern quantitative psychology has, with few exceptions, ignored this task, concentrating instead upon the instrumental task of quantification; and third, that modern psychology has adopted an intellectually pathological defence mechanism against recognizing the existence of this scientific task. The commentaries by Kline, Laming, Lovie, Luce and Morgan either amplify or criticize my arguments for these theses. I will consider each thesis in turn, presenting a sketch of my argument and then assessing the force of the criticisms.
Repetition priming between parts and wholes: Tests of a computational model of familiar face recognition
Authors: Ellis Andrew W. , Burton A. Mike , Young Andy , Flude Brenda M.
Published: April 2011

Four experiments are reported which assess repetition priming between parts of famous faces and whole faces. Their results are compared with the predictions of a computational model based on principles of interactive activation with competition (IAC). Experiment 1 showed that familiarity decisions to whole‐face photographs were primed more by prior recognition of the whole face than by recognition of part of the face (the internal features). Experiments 2 and 3 found that priming from recognizing one part of a face to recognizing a different, non‐overlapping part was less than the priming observed from one part to itself. These results are as predicted by the IAC model. That model also predicts that the recognition of part of a face will be primed more by prior recognition of the whole face than by recognition of the same part, but Expt 4 found more priming from a part to itself than from the whole to the part. This result can be accommodated within a revised IAC model if at least some missing features are treated as adding noise to the recognition process rather than simply a lack of input. We suggest that this treatment of missing features is compatible with the notion of global features suggested by the concepts of wholistic coding. The ability of alternative, episode‐based theories of repetition priming to explain the obtained results is discussed.
Sex differences on Bartel's task: An investigation into perception of real and depicted distances
Authors: Deregowski J. B. , Shepherd J. W. , Slaven G. A.
Published: April 2011

A new method derived from Bartel's (1958) studies was used to investigate sex differences in spatial perception. Battel employed two related tasks; one of these tasks called for responses to a pictorial stimulus representing spatial arrangement in perspective and the other for responses to an analogous task presented in three dimensions. Modified forms of both these tasks were used. Consistent differences between men and women were found, the men showing greater distance constancy in relation both to real and to depicted distances. In addition a decline of such constancy with age was observed. The pictorial task was also used to test two groups of students of architecture: one relatively inexperienced and the other more experienced with the discipline, on the assumption that experience of spatial judgments might influence performance on this task. It was found that whilst familiarity did not affect responses there was a consistent difference between responses of men and women.
Probability misjudgment and belief in the paranormal: A newspaper survey
Authors: Blackmore Susan J.
Published: April 2011

In a newspaper survey with 6238 respondents 59 per cent were believers in the paranormal. There was a large sex difference: 70 per cent of females were believers but only 48 per cent of males. Respondents were asked whether a list of 10 statements were true for them, and to estimate numbers true for other people. The ‘probability misjudgment’ theories predicted that believers would underestimate the number of statements true for other people, more than non‐believers. This was not found, but believers did claim that more statements were true for them. The ‘probability misjudgment’ theories are not supported.
The effects of spatial visualization and students' sex on mathematical achievement
Authors: Manger Terje , Eikeland Ole‐Johan
Published: April 2011

Sex differences in mathematical achievement and spatial visualization skill were examined in a sample of 724 Norwegian sixth‐grade students. Boys had significantly higher mean mathematics scores than girls. Significant sex differences favouring boys were found in the subsamples of most difficult tasks, but not in the subsamples of easiest tasks. No significant sex difference in spatial visualization was found. The hypothesis that boys' superior achievement in mathematics is due to a superior ability in spatial visualization was not supported. Although the effect of spatial visualization on mathematical achievement increased significantly up to a certain level of mathematics task difficulty, the hypothesis that the effect of spatial visualization on mathematical achievement increases with increasing task difficulty was not fully supported. With increasing mathematics task difficulty, it is hypothesized that boys, more than girls, will benefit from spatial visualization. This hypothesis was not supported by the present elementary school data.
What causes a tip‐of‐the‐tongue state? Evidence for lexical neighbourhood effects in speech production
Authors: Harley Trevor A. , Bown Helen E.
Published: April 2011

Are we more likely to have tip‐of‐the‐tongue (TOT) states on some words rather than others? We report two experiments in which we manipulate the frequency and phonological distinctiveness of the target words. We show that TOTs are more likely to arise on low‐frequency words that have few close phonological neighbours. We further discuss the effect of word length upon lexical access. The data are interpreted in terms of a two‐stage model of lexical access in speech production. We argue that TOTs arise because of a transient difficulty in accessing unusual phonological word forms after the corresponding abstract lexical representation has been successfully accessed. Our data fit a partial activation model of the origin of TOTs rather than an interference model. Indeed, we argue that phonological neighbours usually play a supporting rather than a blocking role in lexical access. We conclude that the role of lexical neighbourhoods may have been underestimated in previous research on lexicalization in language production.