bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The role of self-regulation and habit in adherence to diet and physical activity guidelines among pregnant women
Authors: Kothe Emily Jane , Pinto Caitlin , Coen Emily , Sanmugam Shaznin , Mantha Vani
Published: July 2018

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to examine the influence of self-regulation and habit on fruit and vegetable intake and physical activity, among pregnant women who intended to adhere to fruit and vegetable and/or physical activity guidelines. Design: The present study adopted a prospective study design in which data was obtained at two time points, one month apart. Methods: One hundred and seventy-nine pregnant women aged between 19 and 45 participated in this study (M = 31.09, SD = 4.05). Women completed an online questionnaire at time one which assessed demographic information, fruit and vegetable intake, engagement in physical activity, intention, self-regulation and habit. One month later they completed a time two questionnaire that reassessed intention, dietary intake, and physical activity engagement. Women who completed both time points and were classified as “intenders” for fruit and vegetable consumption (n=88) and for physical activity (n=19) were retained for analysis.Results: A series of logistic regression analyses revealed habit to be a significant predictor of profile membership for fruit and vegetable consumption but not for physical activity. Contrary to initial expectations, self-regulation was not able to significantly predict adherence to fruit and vegetable or physical activity guidelines.Conclusions: For pregnant women, habit strength is likely to be influential in determining adherence to the recommended fruit and vegetable guidelines. Therefore, implementing habit-formation and automaticity-based interventions could promote optimal health behaviours and outcomes, which benefit both the mother and child. To improve the generalizability of these findings, physical activity should be explored further to better understand the determinants that influence adherence to the recommended physical activity guidelines.
The emerging causal understanding of institutional objects
Authors: Noyes Alexander , Keil Frank , Dunham Yarrow
Published: July 2018

Institutional objects, such as money, drivers’ licenses, and borders, have functions because of their social roles rather than their immediate physical properties. These objects are causally different than standard artifacts (e.g. hammers, chairs, and cars), sharing more commonality with other social roles. Thus, they inform psychological theories of human-made objects as well as children’s emerging understanding of social reality. We examined whether children (N = 180, ages 4-9) differentiate institutional objects from standard artifacts. Specifically, we examine whether children understand that mutual intentions (i.e., the intentions of a social collective) underlie the functional affordances of institutional objects in ways that they do not for standard artifacts. We find that young children assimilate institutional objects into their intuitive theories of standard artifacts; children begin to differentiate between the domains in the elementary school years.
Physical Activity Mediates the Association between Personality and Biomarkers of Health
Authors: Graham Eileen Kranz , Bastarache Emily , Milad Elizabeth , Turiano Nick , Cotter Kelly , Mroczek Dan
Published: July 2018

The current study investigated whether personality traits and facets predicted levels ofInterleukin-6, C-reactive protein, and Fibrinogen and whether physical activity mediated therelationship between personality and these biomarkers of health. High harm avoidance and low neuroticism were associated with elevated IL-6, while high social potency, high control, and low achievement were associated with elevated FGN. Mediation models suggested that physicalactivity mediated the association between higher levels of achievement and lower IL-6. Physical activity is an important factor in the health behavior model, and explains some of the associations between personality and downstream inflammation.
Reported self-control is not meaningfully associated with inhibition-related executive function: A Bayesian analysis
Authors: Saunders Blair , Milyavskaya Marina , Etz Alexander , Randles Daniel , Inzlicht Michael
Published: July 2018

Self-control is assessed using a remarkable array of measures. In a series of five data-sets (overall N = 2,641) and a mini meta-analysis, we explored the association between canonical operationalisations of self-control: The Self-Control Scale and two measures of inhibition-related executive functioning (the Stroop and Flanker paradigms). Overall, Bayesian correlational analyses suggested little-to-no relationship between self-reported self-control and performance on the Stroop and Flanker tasks. The Bayesian meta-analytical summary of all five data-sets further favoured a null relationship between both types of measurement. These results suggest that the field’s most widely used measure of self-reported self-control is uncorrelated with two of the most widely adopted executive functioning measures of self-control. Consequently, theoretical and practical conclusions drawn using one measure (e.g., the Self-Control Scale) cannot be generalised to findings using the other (e.g., the Stroop task). The lack of empirical correlation between measures of self-control do not invalidate either measure, but instead suggest that treatments of the construct of self-control need to pay greater attention to convergent validity among the many measures used to operationalize self-control.
The Effect of Ideological Identification on the Endorsement of Moral Values Depends on the Target Group
Authors: Voelkel Jan G. , Brandt Mark John
Published: July 2018

Research suggests that liberals and conservatives use different moral foundations to reason about moral issues (moral divide hypothesis). An alternative prediction is that observed ideological differences in moral foundations are instead driven by ingroup-versus-outgroup categorizations of competing political groups (political group conflict hypothesis). In two pre-registered experiments (total N = 958), using experimentally manipulated measures of moral foundations, we test strong versions of both hypotheses and find partial support for both. Supporting the moral divide hypothesis, conservatives endorsed the binding foundations more strongly than liberals even when a moderate target group was explicitly specified. Supporting the political group conflict hypothesis, both conservatives and liberals endorsed moral foundations more when moral acts targeted ingroup versus outgroup members. These results have implications for improving measures of moral values and judgments and point to ways to enhance the effectiveness of strategies aimed at building bridges between people from different political camps.
The Costs and Benefits of Replication Studies
Authors: Coles Nicholas Alvaro , Tiokhin Leonid , Scheel Anne M. , Isager Peder Mortvedt , Lakens Daniel
Published: July 2018

In a summary of recent discussions about the role of direct replications in psychological science, Zwaan, Etz, Lucas, and Donnellan (2017; henceforth ZELD) argue that replications should be more mainstream, and discuss six common objections to direct replication studies. We believe that the debate about the importance of replication research is essentially driven by disagreements about the value of replication studies and the best way to allocate limited resources. We suggest that a decision theory framework (Wald, 1950) can provide a tool for researchers to (a) evaluate costs and benefits in order to determine when replication studies are worthwhile, and (b) specify their assumptions in quantifiable terms, facilitating more productive discussions in which the sources of disagreement about the value of replications can be identified.
A Methodological Review of Exploratory Factor Analysis in Sexuality Research: Used Practices, Best Practices, and Data Analysis Resources
Authors: Sakaluk John Kitchener , Short Stephen David
Published: July 2018

Sexuality researchers frequently use exploratory factor analysis (EFA), in order to illuminate the distinguishable theoretical constructs assessed by a set of variables. EFA entails a substantive number of analytic decisions to be made with respect to sample size determination, and how factors are extracted, rotated, and retained. The available analytic options, however, are not all equally empirically rigorous. In the present paper, we discuss the commonly available options for conducting EFA, and which constitute best practices for EFA. We also present the results of a methodological review of the analytic options for EFA used by sexuality researchers in over 200 EFAs, published in more than 160 articles and chapters from 1974 to 2014. Our review reveals that best practices for EFA are actually those least frequently used by sexuality researchers. We introduce freely available analytic resources to help make it easier for sexuality researchers to adhere to best practices when conducting EFAs in their own research.
Fourth Replication of Saffran, Newport, & Aslin (1996) Word segmentation: The role of distributional cues, Exp. 1
Authors: Choong Han Xiang , Eisape Tiwalayo , Grasso Shelby , Kurt Lisa , Lim Celine Jia Rong , Lin Jingrun , Milinazzo Carrie , Yang Yueran , Jennings Mariela , Skorb Lauren , Hartshorne Joshua K.
Published: July 2018

These are the results for an online replication of Saffran, Newport, & Aslin (1996) Word segmentation: The role of distributional cues, Journal of Memory and Language, 35, 606-621. This replication follows two online replications and an in-lab replication of the same experiment (Hartshorne 2017, Replication of Saffran, Newport, & Aslin (1996) Word segmentation: The role of distributional cues, Exp. 1. PsyArXiv doi:10.17605/OSF.IO/E5C64).
Pareidolia-proneness, reality discrimination errors, and visual hallucination-like experiences in a non-clinical sample
Authors: Smailes David , Burdis Emma , Gregoriou Constantina , Fenton Bryony , Dudley Rob
Published: July 2018

Introduction: It has been proposed that hallucinations occur because of problems with reality discrimination (when internal, self-generated cognitions are misattributed to an external, non-self source) and because of elevated levels of top-down processing. In this study, we examined whether visual reality discrimination abilities and elevated top-down processing (assessed via face pareidolia-proneness) were associated with how often non-clinical participants report visual hallucination-like experiences. Methods: Participants (N = 82, mean age = 23.12 years) completed a visual reality discrimination task and a face pareidolia task, as well as self-report measures of schizotypy and of the frequency of visual hallucination-like experiences. Results: Regression analysis demonstrated that the number of false alarms made on the visual reality discrimination task and the number of hits made on the face pareidolia task were independent predictors of the frequency of visual hallucination-like experiences. Correlations between performance on the task and levels of schizotypy were not statistically significant.Conclusions: These findings suggest that weaker visual reality discrimination abilities and elevated levels of top-down processing are associated with visual hallucination-proneness and are discussed in terms of the idea that clinical visual hallucinations and non-clinical visual hallucination-like experiences share similar cognitive mechanisms. This is a preprint of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Cognitive Neuropsychiatry on 06/DEC/2019, available at the following doi: 10.1080/13546805.2019.1700789
Yurisprudensi Terapeutik: Peran Integratif Psikologi dalam Proses Hukum untuk Melayani Kesejahteraan Pribadi (Well-Being) Klien Hukum
Authors: Abraham Juneman
Published: July 2018

Until recently there has been no general theory concerning the impact of legal processes upon participant wellbeing and its implications for attaining justice system objectives. This gap has been filled by therapeutic jurisprudence. Its essential premise is that the law does have therapeutic or anti-therapeutic consequences. This paper uses existing research to explore how the tools of the behavioral sciences, e.g. psychology, can be used to study the therapeutic and anti-therapeutic impact of the law, and that we can think creatively about improving the law’s healing potential without violating other important values. By claiming that justice is therapy, the therapeutic jurisprudence perspective reaches beyond how to design and operate a court into a larger question of how law clients should be treated by the justice system.
Neurobiological Functioning and the Personality Trait Hierarchy: Central Serotonergic Responsivity and the Stability Meta-trait
Authors: Wright Aidan G.C. , Creswell Kasey , Flory Janine , Muldoon Matthew , Manuck Stephen N.
Published: July 2018

Trait domains of the five-factor model (FFM) are not orthogonal, and two meta-traits have often been estimated from their covariation. Here we focus on the Stability meta-trait, which reflects shared variance in conscientiousness, agreeableness, and neuroticism (inversely). It has been hypothesized that Stability manifests, in part, due to individual differences in central serotonergic functioning. We explore this possibility in a community sample (N=441) using a multiverse analysis of multi-informant FFM traits and Stability predicting individual differences in central serotonergic functioning, as assessed by change in serum prolactin concentration following intravenous infusion of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, citalopram. Results were mixed, showing that trait neuroticism, agreeableness, and conscientiousness, as well as the Stability meta-trait, are significantly associated with prolactin response, but that these findings are contingent on a number of modeling decisions. Specifically, these effects were non-linear, emerging most strongly for those highest (lowest for neuroticism) on the component traits.
Cross-linguistic relations between quantifiers and numerals in language acquisition: Evidence from Japanese
Authors: Barner David , Libenson Amanda , Cheung Pierina , Takasaki Mayu
Published: July 2018

A study of 104 Japanese-speaking 2- to 5-year-olds tested the relationbetween numeral and quantifier acquisition. Experiment 1 assessed Japanesechildren’s comprehension of quantifiers, numerals, and classifiers.Relative to English-speaking counterparts, Japanese children were delayedin numeral comprehension at 2 years old, but showed no difference at 3 and4. Also, Japanese 2-year-olds had better comprehension of quantifiers,indicating that their delay was specific to numerals. A second studyexamined the speech of Japanese and English caregivers, to explore thesyntactic cues that might affect integer acquisition. In English,quantifiers and numerals occurred in similar syntactic positions, andoverlapped to a greater degree than in Japanese. Also, Japanese nouns wereoften dropped, and both quantifiers and numerals exhibited variablepositions relative to the nouns they modified. We conclude that syntacticcues in English facilitate bootstrapping numeral meanings from quantifiermeanings, and that such cues are weaker in classifier languages likeJapanese.
Relationship Satisfaction and Similarity of Personality Traits, Personal Values, and Attitudes
Authors: Leikas Sointu , Ilmarinen Ville Juhani , Verkasalo Markku , Vartiainen Hanna-Leena , Lönnqvist Jan-Erik
Published: July 2018

Spousal similarity and its consequences are widely studied, but methodologically challenging topics. We employed Response Surface Analysis to examine similarity along political attitudes, personal values, and personality traits. Opposite-sex couples (624 individuals) expecting a child were recruited. Spouses were highly similar regarding their political attitudes and moderately similar regarding trait Openness and the personal values Universalism and Tradition. Similarity for other traits and values was weak (e.g. Conscientiousness, Power values) or non-existent (e.g. Neuroticism, Benevolence values). Similarity in conservative vs. liberal attitudes was non-linear: a conservative-conservative union was most common. Women’s relationship satisfaction was related to similarity in left-right and liberal-conservative political attitudes, and both partners’ satisfaction was related to similarity in Self-Direction values. Similarity in personality traits was unrelated to relationship satisfaction.
Effects of childhood trauma on cortisol levels in suicide attempters and ideators
Authors: O'Connor Daryl Brian , Green Jessica , Ferguson Eamonn , Carroll Ronan O' , Connor Rory O'
Published: July 2018

Objectives: Suicide is a global health issue. Dysregulated hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity, asmeasured by cortisol levels, has been identified as one potential risk factor for suicide. Recent evidence hasindicated that blunted cortisol reactivity to stress is associated with suicidal behavior. The current study investigatedwhether childhood trauma was associated with blunted cortisol reactivity to a laboratory stressor andresting cortisol levels in suicide attempters and ideators.Methods: 160 Participants were recruited and grouped according to history of previous suicidal attempt, suicidalideation or as control participants. Participants completed background questionnaires, including the ChildhoodTrauma Questionnaire, before completing a laboratory stress task. Cortisol levels were assessed at rest andduring the stress task.Results: The highest levels of childhood trauma were reported in those who had attempted suicide (78.7%),followed by those who thought about suicide (37.7%) and then those with no suicidal history (17.8%).Moreover, regression analyses showed that childhood trauma was a significant predictor of blunted cortisolreactivity to stress and resting cortisol levels, such that higher levels of trauma were associated with lowercortisol levels in those with a suicidal history. Family history of suicide did not interact with the effects ofchildhood trauma on cortisol levels.Conclusions: These results indicate that childhood trauma is associated with blunted HPA axis activity in vulnerablepopulations in adulthood. The challenge for researchers is to elucidate the precise causal mechanismslinking trauma, cortisol and suicide risk and to investigate whether the effects of childhood trauma on cortisollevels are amendable to psychological intervention.
Encoding context determines risky choice
Authors: Madan Christopher R , Spetch Marcia L , Machado Fernanda , Mason Alice , Ludvig Elliot Andrew
Published: July 2018

Both memory and choice are influenced by context: Memory is enhanced when encoding and retrieval contexts match, and choice is swayed by available options. Here, we assessed how context influences risky choice in an experience-based task. Within a single session, we created two separate contexts by presenting blocks of trials in distinct backgrounds. Risky choices were context-dependent; given the same choice, people chose differently depending on other outcomes experienced in that context. Choices reflected an overweighting of the most extreme outcomes within each local context, rather than the global context of all outcomes. When tested in the non-trained context, people chose according to the context at encoding and not retrieval. In subsequent memory tests, people displayed biases specific to distinct contexts: extreme outcomes from each context were more accessible and judged as more frequent. These results pose a challenge for theories of choice that rely on retrieval as guiding choice.
Observing painful events in others leads to a temporally extended general response facilitation in the self
Authors: Galang Carl Michael Orquiola
Published: July 2018

Excitability in the motor cortex is modulated when we observe other people receiving a painful stimulus (Avenanti et al., 2005). However, the task dependency of this modulation is not well understood, as different paradigms have yielded seemingly different results. Previous neurophysiological work employing transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) suggests that watching another person’s hand being pierced by a needle leads to a muscle specific inhibition, assessed via motor evoked potentials. Results from previous behavioural studies suggest that overt behavioural responses are facilitated due to pain observation (Morrison et al., 2007a; 2007b). There are several paradigmatic differences both between typical TMS studies and behavioural studies, and within behavioural studies themselves, that limit our overall understanding of how pain observation affects the motor system. In the current study, we combine elements of typical TMS experimental designs in a behavioural assessment of how pain observation affects overt behavioural responding. Specifically, we examined the muscle specificity, timing, and direction of modulation of motor responses due to pain observation. To assess muscle specificity, we employed pain and non-pain videos from previous TMS studies in a Go/No-Go task in which participants responded by either pressing a key with their index finger or with their foot. To assess timing, we examined response times for Go signals presented at 0ms or 500ms after the video. Results indicate that observation of another individual receiving a painful stimulus leads to a non-effector specific, temporally extended response facilitation (e.g., finger and foot facilitation present at 0ms and 500ms delays), compared to observation of non-pain videos. This behavioural facilitation effect differs from the typical motor inhibition seen in TMS studies, and we argue that the effects of pain observation on the motor system are state-dependent, with different states induced via task instructions. We discuss our results in light of previous work on motor responses to pain observation.
Minority stress, emotion regulation, and substance misuse in sexual minorities
Authors: Rogers Andrew H. , Seager van Dyk Ilana , Haines Nathaniel , Hahn Hunter , Aldao Amelia , Ahn Woo-Young
Published: July 2018

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals report higher levels of alcohol and substance misuse than their heterosexual peers, and previous research has linked these increased rates to LGB-specific stressors, termed minority stress. However, not everyone experiencing minority stress reports increased rates of alcohol and substance misuse. Emotion regulation (ER), which plays a critical role in psychopathology generally, is postulated to modulate the link between minority stress and psychopathology. However, it remains largely unknown whether ER plays a role in linking instances of minority stress with substance and alcohol use outcomes. To address the gap, the current study assessed 305 LGB individuals’ instances of minority stress, ER, and substance and alcohol use outcomes. We assessed the role of ER in alcohol and substance misuse among LGB individuals using moderated logistic regression and exploratory machine learning analyses. Moderated binary logistic regressions revealed that emotional non-acceptance moderated the relationship between minority stress and problematic substance use, such that those with poor ER were more likely to have problematic substance use. Additionally, deficits in goal-directed behavior moderated the relationship between minority stress and alcohol and substance use, but those with more deficits in goal-directed behavior had better outcomes. Exploratory machine learning analysis revealed multivariate patterns of additional facets of ER and psychiatric symptoms that are predictive of alcohol and substance use. These results highlight the important explanatory role that ER may have between instances of minority stress and substance and alcohol use in LGB individuals.
Research Methods for Studying Narrative Identity: A Primer
Authors: Adler Jonathan M. , Dunlop Will , Fivush Robyn , Lilgendahl Jennifer , Lodi-Smith Jennifer , McAdams Dan P. , McLean Kate C. , Pasupathi Monisha , Syed Moin
Published: July 2018

This paper provides a primer for researchers seeking an introduction to quantitative narrative research methods. It represents a consensus document of most common practices used by the co-authors. Key elements of conducting narrative research (e.g., asking narrative questions, designing narrative prompts, collecting narratives, coding narratives) are discussed, along with limitations to this approach and future directions.
Uncovering general, shared, and unique temporal patterns in ambulatory assessment data
Authors: Lane Stephanie , Gates Kathleen , Pike Hallie , Beltz Adriene M. , Wright Aidan G.C.
Published: July 2018

Intensive longitudinal data provide psychological researchers with the potential to better understand individual-level temporal processes. While the collection of such data has become increasingly common, there are a comparatively small number of methods well-suited for analyzing these data, and many methods assume homogeneity across individuals. A recent development rooted in structural equation and vector autoregressive modeling, Subgrouping Group Iterative Multiple Model Estimation (S-GIMME), provides one method for arriving at individual-level models composed of processes shared by the sample, processes shared by a subset of the sample, and processes unique to a given individual. As this algorithm was motivated and validated for use with neuroimaging data, its performance and utility is less understood in the context of ambulatory assessment data collected by psychologists. Here, we evaluate the performance of the S-GIMME algorithm across various conditions frequently encountered with daily diary (compared to neuroimaging) data; namely, a smaller number of variables, a lower number of time points, and smaller autoregressive effects. Importantly, we demonstrate for the first time the importance of the autoregressive effects in recovering data-generating connections and directions, and the ability to use S-GIMME with lengths of data commonly seen in daily diary studies. We demonstrate the use of the S-GIMME algorithm with an empirical example evaluating the general, shared, and unique temporal processes associated with a sample of individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Finally, we underscore the need for methods such as S-GIMME moving forward given the increasing use of intensive longitudinal data in psychological research, and the potential for these data to provide novel insights into human behavior and mental health.
Do children privilege phonological cues in noun class learning?
Authors: Culbertson Jennifer , Smith Kenny , Jarvinen Hanna , Haggarty Frances
Published: July 2018

Previous research on acquisition of noun class systems, such as grammatical gender, has shown that child learners rely disproportionately on phonological cues to class, even when competing semantic cues are more reliable. Culbertson, Gagliardi, and Smith (2017) use artificial language learning experiments with adults to argue that over-reliance on phonology may be due to the fact that phonological cues are available first; learners base early representations on surface phonological dependencies, only later integrating semantic cues from noun meanings. Here, we show that child learners (6-7 year-olds) show this same sensitivity to early availability. However, we also find intriguing evidence of developmental changes in sensitivity to semantics; when both cues are simultaneously available children are more likely to rely on a phonology cue than adults. Our results suggest that early availability and a bias in favor of phonological cues may both contribute to children’s over- reliance on phonology in natural language acquisition.
Perceptual biases during cued task switching relate to decision process differences between children and adults
Authors: Martinez Joel Eduardo , Mack Michael Louis , Bauer Jessie-Raye , Roe Mary Abbe , Church Jessica A.
Published: July 2018

Previous work suggests that children engage preparatory processing differently than adults in cued task switching. One potential consequence is that they are differentially biased by visual properties of the stimuli, e.g., target-choice similarity. We tested this possibility in 215 children and young adults ranging from 6 to 27 years of age. Participants played a cue-target game with varying levels of working memory (WM) and attentional demand where they matched multidimensional stimuli according to a cued dimension. Younger age, low WM demand, and matching fine grained dimensions (i.e. pattern) increased the bias of target-choice similarity on task performance. Older age, high WM, and matching global dimensions (i.e. shape) mitigated the bias. Developmental transitions to adult performance differed by task demands but generally occurred during early adolescence. A drift diffusion analysis revealed age and task differences in decision making strategies consistent with how similarity impacted task performance, indicating that, especially with low WM demand, children made impulsive, similarity-driven decisions. Our findings support the idea that children engage in preparation strategies that exacerbate perceptual biases on task performance; improvements are observed with age or through changes in task structure and stimuli. These results have implications for interpreting cognitive control performance in children
The co-evolution of emotional well-being with weak and strong friendship ties
Authors: Elmer Timon , Boda Zsófia , Stadtfeld Christoph
Published: July 2018

Social ties are strongly related to well-being. But what characterizes this relationship? This study investigates social mechanisms explaining how social ties affect well-being through social integration and social influence, and how well-being affects social ties through social selection. We hypothesize that highly integrated individuals–those with more extensive and dense friendship networks–report higher emotional well-being than others. Moreover, emotional well-being should be influenced by the well-being of close friends. Finally, well-being should affect friendship selection when individuals prefer others with higher levels of well-being, and others whose well-being is similar to theirs. We test our hypotheses using longitudinal social network and well-being data of 117 individuals living in a graduate housing community. The application of a novel extension of Stochastic Actor-Oriented Models for ordered networks (ordered SAOMs) allows us to detail and test our hypotheses for weak- and strong-tied friendship networks simultaneously. Results do not support our social integration and social influence hypotheses but provide evidence for selection: individuals with higher emotional well-being tend to have more strong-tied friends, and there are homophily processes regarding emotional well-being in strong-tied networks. Our study highlights the two-directional relationship between social ties and well-being, and demonstrates the importance of considering different tie strengths for various social processes.
Building up and wearing down episodic memory: Mnemonic discrimination and relational binding
Authors: Ngo Chi , Lin Ying , Newcombe Nora , Olson Ingrid R.
Published: July 2018

Our capacity to form and retrieve episodic memories improves over childhood but declines in old age. Understanding these changes requires decomposing episodic memory into its components: (1) mnemonic discrimination of similar people, objects and contexts, and (2) relational binding of these components. We designed novel memory tasks to assess these component processes involving animations that are appropriate across the lifespan (ages 4 - 80 in our sample). In Experiment 1, we assessed mnemonic discrimination of objects as well as relational binding in a common task format. Both components follow an inverted U-shaped curve across age but were positively correlated only in the aging group. In Experiment 2, we examined mnemonic discrimination of context and its effect on relational binding. Relational memory in low-similarity contexts showed robust gains between the ages of 4 and 6, and 6-year-olds performed similarly to adults. In contrast, relational memory in high-similarity contexts showed more protracted development, with 4- and 6-year-olds both performing worse than young adults and not differing from each other. Relational memory in both context conditions declined in aging. As in Experiment 1, performances in low- and high-similarity contexts were strongly related only in the older adults. This multi-process approach provides important theoretical insights into lifespan changes in episodic memory.
The Incremental Validity of Average State Self-Reports Over Global Self-Reports of Personality
Authors: Finnigan Katherine M. , Vazire Simine
Published: July 2018

Personality traits are most often assessed using global self-reports of one’s general patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behavior. However, recent theories have challenged the idea that global self-reports are the best way to assess traits. Whole Trait Theory postulates that repeated measures of a person’s self-reported personality states (i.e., the average of many state self-reports) can be an alternative and potentially superior way of measuring a person’s trait level (Fleeson & Jayawickreme, 2015). Our goal is to examine the validity of average state self-reports of personality for measuring between-person differences in what people are typically like. In order to validate average states as a measure of personality, we examine if they are incrementally valid in predicting informant reports above and beyond global self-reports. In two samples, we find that average state self-reports tend to correlate with informant reports, although this relationship is weaker than the relationship between global self-reports and informant reports. Further, using structural equation modeling, we find that average state self-reports do not significantly predict informant reports independently of global self-reports. Our results suggest that average state self-reports may not contain information about between-person differences in personality traits beyond what is captured by global self-reports, and that average state self-reports may contain more self-bias than is commonly believed. We discuss the implications of these findings for research on daily manifestations of personality and the accuracy of self-reports.
Confidence in masked orientation discrimination decisions is informed by both evidence and visibility
Authors: Rausch Manuel , Hellmann Sebastian , Zehetleitner Michael
Published: July 2018

How do human observers determine their degree of belief of being correct in a visual discrimination decision, i.e. their confidence? According to prominent theories of confidence, the quality of stimulation should be positively related to confidence in correct decisions and negatively to confidence in incorrect decisions. However, in a backwards-masked orientation discrimination task with varying stimulus-onset asynchrony (SOA), we observed that confidence in incorrect decisions increased with stimulus quality as well. Model fitting to decision and confidence data revealed that the best explanation for the present data was the new weighted evidence and visibility model, according to which confidence is determined by evidence about the orientation as well as the general visibility of the stimulus. Signal detection models, post-decisional accumulation models, two channel models, and decision-time based models were all unable to explain the pattern of confidence as a function of SOA and decision correctness. We suggest that the metacognitive system combines several cues to being correct in visual discrimination decisions to calculate decision confidence.
A single-boundary accumulator model of response times in an addition verification task
Authors: Faulkenberry Thomas J.
Published: July 2018

Current theories of mathematical cognition offer competing accounts of the interplay between encoding and calculation in mental arithmetic. Additive models propose that manipulations of problem format do not interact with the cognitive processes used in calculation. Alternatively, interactive models suppose that format manipulations have a direct effect on calculation processes. In the present study, we tested these competing models by fitting participants’ RT distributions in an arithmetic verification task with a single- boundary accumulator model (the shifted Wald distribution). We found that in addition to providing a more complete description of RT distributions, the accumulator model afforded a potentially more sensitive test of format effects. Specifically, we found that format affected drift rate, which implies that problem format has a direct impact on calculation processes. These data give further support for an interactive model of mental arithmetic.
The Effect of Pathological Narcissism on Interpersonal and Affective Processes in Social Interactions
Authors: Wright Aidan G.C. , Stepp Stephanie , Scott Lori , Hallquist Michael , Beeney Joseph E. , Lazarus Sophie A. , Pilkonis Paul A.
Published: July 2018

This manuscript has been accepted for publication at the Journal of Abnormal Psychology (http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/abn). The American Psychological Association retains the copyright. It been copyedited and is not the final version of record. Additionally, Supplementary Materials and Mplus output files for the models that make up this study are archived here for full reporting of the model parameters.
Question Wording and Item Formulation
Authors: Elson Malte
Published: July 2018

In most empirical research with human subjects, at least some data are collected by recording self-reported responses. However, the overlap between exhibiting a behavior and reporting about the same is less than perfect. Responding to self-report instruments is itself a behavior governed by a number of factors, such as item wording, that can bias data and inferences. Thus, the methodology underlying the formulation of questions is essential to many topics in communication research. Researchers can adopt strategies to maximize the diagnostic value of their items and scales, such as avoiding itemorder effects, selecting an appropriate response format, reducing ambiguity in the wording, and controlling for careless responding.
How sustainable are different levels of consciousness?
Authors: Wiersma Erik Johan
Published: July 2018

The human brain processes a wide variety of inputs and does so either consciously or subconsciously. According to the Global Workspace theory, conscious processing involves broadcasting of information to several regions of the brain and subconscious processing involves more localized processing. This theoretical paper aims to expand on some of the aspects of the Global Workspace theory: how the properties of incoming information result in it being processed subconsciously or consciously; why processing can be either be sustained or short-lived; how the Global Workspace theory may apply both to real-time sensory input as well as to internally retained information. This paper proposes that: familiar input which does not elicit intense emotions becomes processed subconsciously and such processing can be continuous and sustained; input that elicits relatively intense emotions is subjected to highly sustainable conscious processing; input can also undergo meta-conscious processing. Such processing is not very sustainable but can exert control over other cognitive processes. This paper also discusses possible benefits of regulating cognitive processes this way.
Engaging regularly with fiction influences connectivity in cortical areas for language and mentalizing
Authors: Willems Roel , Hartung Franziska
Published: July 2018

Behavioral evidence suggests that engaging with fiction is positively correlated with social abilities. The rationale behind this link is that engaging with fictional narratives offers a ‘training modus’ for mentalizing and empathizing. We investigated the influence of the amount of reading that participants report doing in their daily lives, on connections between brain areas while they listened to literary narratives. Participants (N=57) listened to two literary narratives while brain activation was measured with fMRI. We computed time-course correlations between brain regions, and compared the correlation values from listening to narratives to listening to reversed speech. The between-region correlations were then related to the amount of fiction that participants read in their daily lives. Our results show that amount of fiction reading is related to functional connectivity in areas known to be involved in language and mentalizing. This suggests that reading fiction influences social cognition as well as language skills.
Groups Outperform Individuals in Tacit Coordination by Using Consensual and Disjunctive Salience
Authors: Chartier Christopher R.
Published: July 2018

Tacit coordination between individuals has received considerable research attention (Mehta, Starmer & Sugden, 1994; Abele, & Stasser, 2008). However, groups often must coordinate tacitly with other groups, and such intergroup coordination has been rarely studied. In three experiments, we found that interacting groups are more successful at coordinating tacitly than are individuals. This advantage is driven by two types of coordination salience that are uniquely derived from groups deliberating and making collective responses. Consensual salience occurs when groups select a response because a majority of members support it. Majorities efficiently identify popular response tendencies (i.e., focal points) and thereby increase the chances of matching other groups’ responses. Disjunctive salience occurs when at least one member of a group suggests a focal point. We propose that focal points are often demonstratively evident when mentioned, and if proposed by any group member, are likely to be adopted as the group response.
Replication of “Experiencing physical warmth promotes interpersonal warmth” by Williams & Bargh (2008, Science)
Authors: Lynott Dermot , Corker Katherine S. , Wortman Jessica , Connell Louise , Donnellan Brent , Lucas Richard E. , O'Brien Kerry S
Published: July 2018

We report the results of three high-powered, independent replications of Study 2 from Williamsand Bargh (2008). Participants evaluated hot or cold instant therapeutic packs before choosing a reward for participation that was framed as a prosocial (i.e., treat for a friend) or self-interested reward (i.e., treat for the self). Williams and Bargh predicted that evaluating the hot pack would lead to a higher probability of making a prosocial choice compared to evaluating the cold pack. We did not replicate the effect in any individual lab or when considering the results of the three replications together (total N = 861). We conclude that there is no evidence that brief exposure to warm therapeutic packs induces greater prosocial responding than exposure to cold therapeutic packs.
Do Researchers Anchor their Beliefs on the Outcome of an Initial Study? Testing the Time-Reversal Heuristic
Authors: Ernst Anja Franziska , Hoekstra Rink , Wagenmakers Eric-Jan , gelman andrew , van Ravenzwaaij Don
Published: July 2018

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An Appraisal Theory of Empathy and Other Vicarious Emotional Experiences
Authors: Wondra Joshua Daniel , Ellsworth Phoebe C.
Published: July 2018

Empathy, feeling what others feel, is regarded as a special phenomenon that is separate fromother emotional experiences. Emotion theories say little about feeling emotions for others and empathy theories say little about how feeling emotions for others relates to normal firsthand emotional experience. Current empathy theories focus on how we feel emotions for others who feel the same thing, but not how we feel emotions for others that they do not feel, such as feeling angry for someone who is sad or feeling embarrassed for someone who is self assured. We propose an appraisal theory of vicarious emotional experiences, including empathy, based on appraisal theories of emotion. According to this theory, emotions for others are based on how we evaluate their situations, just as firsthand emotions are based on how we evaluate our own situations. We discuss how this framework can predict empathic emotion matching and also the experience of emotions for others that do not match what they feel. The theory treats empathy as a normal part of emotional experience.
The Morphospace of Consciousness
Authors: Arsiwalla Xerxes D. , Moulin-Frier Clement , Herreros Ivan , Sanchez-Fibla Marti , Verschure Paul
Published: July 2018

Given recent proposals to synthesize consciousness, how many forms of conscious machines can one distinguish and on what grounds? Based on current clinical scales of consciousness, that measure cognitive awareness and wakefulness, we take a perspective on how contemporary artificially intelligent machines and synthetically engineered life forms would measure on these scales. To do so, we argue that awareness and wakefulness can be associated to computational and autonomous complexity respectively. Then, building on insights from cognitive robotics, we ask what function consciousness serves, and interpret it as an evolutionary game-theoretic strategy. We make the case for a third type of complexity necessary for describing consciousness, namely, social complexity. Having identified these complexity types, allows us to represent both, biological and synthetic systems in a common morphospace. This suggests an embodiment-based taxonomy of consciousness. In particular, we distinguish four forms of consciousness, based on embodiment: biological, synthetic, group (resulting from group interactions) and simulated consciousness (embodied by virtual agents within a simulated reality). Such a taxonomy is useful for studying comparative signatures of consciousness across domains, in order to highlight design principles necessary to engineer conscious machines. This is particularly relevant in the light of recent developments at the crossroads of neuroscience, biomedical engineering, artificial intelligence and biomimetics.
Examining the effects of probe frequency, response options, and framing within the thought-probe method
Authors: Robison Matthew Kyle , Miller Ashley L. , Unsworth Nash
Published: July 2018

A recent surge of interest into the empirical measurement of mind-wandering has led to an increase in the use of thought-probing to measure attentional states, which has led to a large degree of variability in methodologies across studies (Weinstein, in press). Three sources of variation in methodology include the frequency of thought probes during a task, the number of response options provided for each probe, and the way in which various attentional states are framed during task instructions. Method variation can potentially affect behavioral performance on the tasks into which thought probes are embedded, the experience of various attentional states within those tasks, and/or response biases to thought probes. Therefore, such variation can be problematic both pragmatically and theoretically. Across three experiments we examined how manipulating probe frequency, response options, and framing affected behavioral performance and responses to thought probes. Probe frequency and framing did not affect behavioral performance or probe responses. But based on the present results we argue that thought probes need at least three response corresponding to on-task, off-task, and task-related interference. When specifically investigating mind-wandering, probe responses should also distinguish between mind-wandering, external distraction, and mind-blanking.