bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Order, Complexity, and Aesthetic Appreciation
Authors: Van Geert Eline , Wagemans Johan
Published: July 2018

Which stimulus and person characteristics determine aesthetic appreciation? For many centuries, philosophers and scientists have been trying to solve this complex puzzle. Through the ages, order, complexity, and the balance between order and complexity have frequently been considered as an answer to this question. The literature on the topic, however, both theoretically and empirically speaking, is rather diffuse and contradictory. In this review, we give an overview of the main theories and empirical findings relating order, complexity, and their interplay to aesthetic appreciation, focusing on research concerning the visual modality. Additionally, we propose our own view on the interplay between order and complexity, in line with the reviewed theories and findings. Besides general relations, also individual differences in order, complexity, aesthetic appreciation, and their interrelations are discussed. With this review, we hope to conceptually clarify the literature and point to new roads for investigation in the field of human aesthetics.
Spontaneous facial expression in unscripted social interactions can be measured automatically
Authors: Girard Jeffrey M. , Cohn Jeffrey F , Jeni László A , Sayette Michael , De la Torre Fernando
Published: July 2018

Methods to assess individual facial actions have potential to shed light on important behavioral phenomena ranging from emotion and social interaction to psychological disorders and health. However, manual coding of such actions is labor intensive and requires extensive training. To date, establishing reliable automated coding of unscripted facial actions has been a daunting challenge impeding development of psychological theories and applications requiring facial expression assessment. It is therefore essential that automated coding systems be developed with enough precision and robustness to ease the burden of manual coding in challenging data involving variation in participant gender, ethnicity, head pose, speech, and occlusion. We report a major advance in automated coding of spontaneous facial actions during an unscripted social interaction involving three strangers. For each participant (n = 80, 47 % women, 15 % Nonwhite), 25 facial action units (AUs) were manually coded from video using the Facial Action Coding System. Twelve AUs occurred more than 3 % of the time and were processed using automated FACS coding. Automated coding showed very strong reliability for the proportion of time that each AU occurred (mean intraclass correlation = 0.89), and the more stringent criterion of frame-by-frame reliability was moderate to strong (mean Matthew’s correlation = 0.61). With few exceptions, differences in AU detection related to gender, ethnicity, pose, and average pixel intensity were small. Fewer than 6 % of frames could be coded manually but not automatically. These findings suggest automated FACS coding has progressed sufficiently to be applied to observational research in emotion and related areas of study.
Do Institutional Characteristics Predict Markers of Adulthood? A Close Replication of Fosse and Toyokawa (2016)
Authors: Grahe Jon E. , Corker Katherine S. , Schmolesky Matthew , Cramblet Alvarez Leslie D. , McFall Joseph Patrick , Lazzara Julie , Kemp Andrew
Published: July 2018

Recent research reveals that some variability in personality differences can be explained by contextual factors such as location. Though little research has systematically evaluated how such variables predict individual differences in Emerging Adulthood, Fosse and Toyokawa (2016) revealed that characteristics of one's university such as selectivity and liberal arts classification did predict respondents' perceived importance and attainment of milestones associated with adulthood. As a close replication of Fosse and Toyokawa (2016), the present findings supported our pre-registered hypotheses that liberal arts status predicted decreased perceived importance and lower attainment of some constructs of Markers of Adulthood, but did not support predictions that selectivity would also predict such differences. Our findings provide further evidence of the institutional effects that emerge in multi-sample individual difference studies and extends those findings with a broader and more diverse sample than was considered previously.
Serial Dependence in Visual Variance
Authors: Suárez-Pinilla Marta , Seth Anil , Roseboom Warrick
Published: July 2018

The recent history of perceptual experience has been shown to influence subsequent perception. Classically, this dependence on perceptual history has been examined in sensory adaptation paradigms, wherein prolonged exposure to a particular stimulus (e.g. a vertically oriented grating) produces changes in perception of subsequently presented stimuli (e.g. the tilt aftereffect). More recently, several studies have investigated the influence of shorter perceptual exposure with effects, referred to as serial dependence, being described for a variety of low and high-level perceptual dimensions. In this study, we examined serial dependence in the processing of dispersion statistics, namely variance - a key descriptor of the environment and indicative of the precision and reliability of ensemble representations. We found two opposite serial dependencies operating at different timescales, and likely originating at different processing levels: A positive, Bayesian-like bias was driven by the most recent exposures, dependent on feature-specific decision-making and appearing only when high confidence was placed in that decision; and a longer-lasting negative bias - akin to an adaptation after-effect - becoming manifest as the positive bias declined. Both effects were independent of spatial presentation location and the similarity of other close traits, such as mean direction of the visual variance stimulus. These findings suggest that visual variance processing occurs in high-level areas, but is also subject to a combination of multi-level mechanisms balancing perceptual stability and sensitivity, as with many different perceptual dimensions.
Augmented Reality Intervention for Social Communication in Autism in a School Classroom: Rated by Teachers and Parents as Effective and Usable in a Controlled, Longitudinal Pilot Study.
Authors: Sahin Ned T. , Abdus-Sabur Rafiq , Keshav Neha U. , Liu Runpeng , Salisbury Joseph P. , Vahabzadeh Arshya
Published: July 2018

Background: Impairment in social communication is the primary deficit in school-aged children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Research has shown that there are efficacious interventions to address social communication deficits, yet their delivery is hampered by the lack of human and time resources. Emerging assistive technologies, such as smartglasses, may be able to help augment the social communication interventions currently provided by human educators and therapists. While emerging research suggests assistive socio-emotional coaching smartglasses can be effective and usable in research settings, they have yet to be studied amidst the complex social, physical, and time-constrained environment of the school classroom. This single-subject study reports on the feasibility and efficacy of 16 intervention sessions of the Empowered Brain Face2Face module, a smartglasses-based social communication intervention.Methods: A 13-year-old fully-verbal adolescent male student with a diagnosis of ASD received a total of 16 smartglasses-aided intervention sessions over a two-week period. Interventions occurred twice-daily during school days, and were facilitated by school professionals. Outcomes were measured using the Social Responsiveness Scale 2 (SRS-2), a commonly used validated measure of social communication in children with ASD, by his parent, paraprofessional, and two teachers. Difficulties in usability during the study were recorded through observation notes. Results: The participant completed the three-week study (1 pre-intervention week (baseline) and 2 intervention weeks) without any observations of adverse effects or usability concerns. The parent and 3 educators completed the SRS-2 for the baseline and intervention weeks, demonstrating significant improvement in social communication after the intervention relative to baseline. The parent, special education teacher, and general education teacher noted marked reductions in SRS-2 total T score, with improvement in SRS-2 social communication, social motivation, social cognition, and restricted interests and repetitive behavior subscales. Conclusion: Smartglasses are a novel assistive technology that can help facilitate social communication and behavioral coaching for students with ASD. The use of the Face2Face module by Educators over a two-week period was associated with improvements in social communication. While further research is warranted, this study supports the use of this novel technology to deliver assistive social communication and behavioral coaching in schools.
Simple and rationale-providing SMS reminders to promote accelerometer use: A within-trial randomised trial comparing persuasive messages
Authors: Heino Matti Toivo Juhani , Knittle Keegan , Haukkala Ari , Vasankari Tommi , Hankonen Nelli
Published: July 2018

[Paper published open access at BMC Public Health; http://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-6121-2]Background: Literature on persuasion suggests compliance increases when requests are accompanied with a reason (i.e. the “because-heuristic”). The reliability of outcomes in physical activity research is dependent on sufficient accelerometer wear-time. This study tested whether SMS reminders—especially those that provided a rationale—are associated with increased accelerometer wear-time.Methods: We conducted a within-trial partially randomised controlled trial during baseline data collection in a school-based physical activity intervention trial. Of 375 participants (mean age=18.1), 280 (75%) opted to receive daily SMS reminders to wear their accelerometers. These 280 participants were then randomised to receive either succinct reminders or reminders including a rationale. Data was analyzed across groups using both frequentist and Bayesian methods.Results: No differences in total accelerometer wear minutes were detected between the succinct reminder group (Mdn=4909, IQR=3429–5857) and the rationale group (Mdn=4808, IQR=3571–5743); W=8860, p=0.65, CI95=-280.90–447.20. Similarly, we found no differences in wear time between participants receiving SMS reminders (Mdn=4859, IQR=3527–5808) and those not receiving them (Mdn=5067, IQR=3201–5885); W=10642.5, p=0.77, CI95=-424.20–305.30. Bayesian ANOVA favored a model of equal weartime means, over one of unequal means, by a Bayes Factor of 12.05. Accumulated days of valid accelerometer wear data did not differ either. Equivalence testing indicated rejection of effects more extreme than a Cohen’s d (standardised mean difference) of ± ~0.3.Conclusions: This study casts doubt on the effectiveness of using the because-heuristic via SMS messaging, to promote accelerometer wear time among youth. The because-heuristic might be limited to face-to-face communication and situations where no intention for or commitment to the behavior has yet been made. Other explanations for null effects include non-reading of messages, and reminder messages undermining the self-reminding strategies which would occur naturally in the absence of reminders.
The Dual Pillars of Grit: The Synergistic Benefits of Combining Perseverance and Passion Alignment for Job Performance
Authors: Jachimowicz Jon , Wihler Andreas , galinsky adam
Published: July 2018

Prior research has found mixed evidence regarding the relationship between grit—defined as perseverance and passion for long-term goals—and job performance. We propose these inconsistencies have occurred for two reasons. First, the grit literature and its measurement has focused on perseverance and paid insufficient attention to passion. In contrast, we emphasize why a measure that adequately captures both perseverance and passion is necessary to predict higher job performance. Second, we propose that whether employees meet or fall short of desired passion—i.e., whether they experience passion alignment or passion gaps—is more important than their absolute levels of passion. We predict that the combination of perseverance and passion alignment has synergistic benefits for job performance. A survey of employees at a technology company matched to supervisor-rated job performance (N = 422) found that the current measure of grit that emphasizes perseverance did not have a main effect on supervisor-rated job performance. However, when employees experienced passion alignment, perseverance predicted job performance; in contrast, when employees experienced passion gaps, perseverance had no significant relationship with job performance. The current results help resolve the mixed evidence of grit’s relationship with job performance: because grit is the synergistic combination of perseverance and attaining desired levels of passion, theoretical and empirical specifications need to include passion alignment in the conceptualization and measurement of grit. The results suggest that grit without desired levels of passion is drudgery and insufficient to increase job performance. Instead, perseverance only propels employees forward when they experience passion alignment.
The psychometric properties of a brief version of the Systemizing Quotient
Authors: Veale Jaimie F. , Williams Matt N
Published: July 2018

The construct of systemizing—the drive to construct or understand systems—has an important role in the Extreme Male Brain theory of autism. While a brief version of the Systemizing Quotient (SQ) has been proposed, there is a need to assess its psychometric properties. This study assessed factorial and construct validity of an 8-item version of the SQ on a sample of 627 participants. A single-factor latent variable model with a single correlated error term showed adequate fit in a confirmatory factor analysis. This model also demonstrated metric invariance across genders when controlling for an effect of age on item responses. Reliability was acceptable, α =.72. As further evidence for construct validity, SQ scores showed expected relationships with mental rotation performance, study area, trait anxiety, childhood extroversion, childhood agreeableness, and gender. Overall, the results indicated good psychometric properties for the brief version of the SQ, suggesting that this scale could be useful when researchers require a systemizing measure that is minimally burdensome to complete.
Counteractive Control over Temptations: Promoting Resistance through Enhanced Perception of Conflict and Goal Value
Authors: Ozaki Yuka , Goto Takayuki , Kobayashi Mai , Hofmann Wilhelm
Published: July 2018

The present research explored people’s everyday practice of counteractive control. Experience sampling was used to test our prediction that strong temptations would promote self-control. Participants were 237 Japanese citizens with ages ranging from 18 to 69. Results indicated that perceived temptation prompted stronger resistance and restraint of behaviors, compared to those cases where no conflict was perceived. In addition, multilevel path analysis revealed the underlying process such that (a) a strong desire toward temptation intensified perception of conflict; (b) perceived conflict bolstered the value of goals that were in disagreement with the temptation; and (c) highly valued goals promoted self-control (i.e., stronger resistance and hence less yielding to temptation).
Transcending the Self: Awe, Elevation, and Inspiration
Authors: Shiota Michelle N. , Thrash Todd , Danvers Alexander Francois , Dombrowski John T.
Published: July 2018

Discusses recent research on awe, elevation, inspiration, and emotional states leading to self-transcendence.Chapter taken from the Handbook of Positive Emotions, edited by M.M. Tugade, M.N. Shiota, and L.D. Kirby.Posted with permission of Guilford Press.
Effects of Implicit Guidance on Contribution Quality in a Wiki-based Learning Environment
Authors: Heimbuch Sven , Bodemer Daniel
Published: July 2018

Learning within the scope of collaborative knowledge construction with Wikis offers opportunities for triggering socio-cognitive conflicts through controversies. Since the nature of discussions between users in Wikis is not easily recognisable, we were investigating the effects of visual highlighting as controversy awareness information. In this study we wanted to enable N = 81 participants to produce contributions of higher quality due to focused selection towards relevant contents. We conducted both qualitative and quantitative analyses on wiki contributions. The addition of visual highlights indicating controversies reinforced students to direct their attention towards important contents discussing the study's subject matter. When their selection behaviour was positively influenced it resulted in higher quality and more elaborate contributions to discussion threads and to the final revision of an article. We conclude that unobtrusive implicit guidance can facilitate collaborative knowledge construction processes and outcomes.
Extraordinary altruists exhibit enhanced self-other overlap in neural responses to distress
Authors: Brethel-Haurwitz Kristin M. , Cardinale Elise , Vekaria Kruti , Robertson Emily Lynne , Walitt Brian , VanMeter John , Marsh Abigail
Published: July 2018

Shared neural representations during experienced and observed distress are hypothesized to reflect empathic neural simulation, which may support altruism. But the correspondence between real-world altruism and shared neural representations has not been directly tested, and empathy’s role in promoting altruism toward strangers has been questioned. Here we show that individuals who have performed costly altruism (donating a kidney to a stranger; n=25) exhibit greater self-other overlap than matched controls (n=27) in neural representations of pain and threat (fearful anticipation) in anterior insula (AI) in an empathic pain paradigm. Altruists exhibited greater self-other correspondence in pain-related activation in left AI, highlighting that group-level overlap was supported by individual-level associations between empathic pain and first-hand pain. Altruists exhibited enhanced functional coupling of left AI with left mid-insula during empathic pain and threat. Results show that heightened neural instantiations of empathy correspond to real-world altruism and highlight limitations of self-report.
Greater mindful eating practice is associated with better reversal learning
Authors: Janssen Lieneke Katharina , Duif Iris , van Loon Ilke , de Vries Jeanne , Speckens Anne , Cools Roshan , Aarts Esther
Published: July 2018

Mindfulness-based interventions are thought to reduce compulsive behavior such as overeating by promoting behavioral flexibility. Here the main aim was to provide support for mindfulness-mediated improvements in reversal learning, a direct measure of behavioral flexibility. We investigated whether an 8-week mindful eating intervention improved outcome-based reversal learning relative to an educational cooking (i.e., active control) intervention in a non-clinical population. Sixty-five healthy participants with a wide BMI range (19–35 kg/m2), who were motivated to change their eating habits, performed a deterministic reversal learning task that enabled the investigation of reward- and punishment-based reversal learning at baseline and following the intervention. No group differences in reversal learning were observed. However, time invested in the mindful eating, but not the educational cooking intervention correlated positively with changes in reversal learning, in a manner independent of outcome valence. These findings suggest that greater amount of mindfulness practice can lead to increased behavioral flexibility, which, in turn, might help overcome compulsive eating in clinical populations.
Judgements about double-embedded relative clauses differ between languages
Authors: Frank Stefan L. , Ernst Patty
Published: July 2018

When the middle verb phrase is removed from an English double-embedded sentence, the remainder of the sentence is read faster in spite of the ungrammaticality. It has been shown that this "missing-VP effect" is reversed in German and Dutch. The current study demonstrates that the same cross-linguistic difference holds for sentences judgments: Native speakers consider English double-embedded sentences more comprehensible and acceptable when the middle verb phrase is removed, whereas the same is not the case in Dutch. This interaction between language and grammaticality also appears in a within-subjects replication that tests Dutch native speakers in both languages. These results, in combination with earlier findings, give rise to a hybrid account according to which the missing-VP effect is caused by properties of the language as well as properties of working memory.
Behavioural and Neural Responses to Facial Disfigurement
Authors: Hartung Franziska
Published: July 2018

Attractive faces are associated with positive character traits and social skills. Moreover, attractive faces automatically evoke larger neural responses than faces of average attractiveness in ventral occipito-temporal cortical areas (such as the fusiform face area), suggesting that ventral visual stream, in addition to identifying objects, evaluates them. It is unclear whether this increased neural response arises from the reward value or the salience of attractive faces. Disfigured faces, by contrast, are linked to negative attributes. We asked participants (N=79) to report their degree of negative attitudes toward people with facial disfigurements and used the Implicit Association Test to assess their negative bias. We then tested competing hypotheses that larger neural responses in visual areas in response to attractive faces represent a reward or a saliency response by testing corresponding responses to faces with disfigurement. While undergoing functional MRI, participants (N=31) viewed photographs of people taken before and after surgical treatment of facial disfigurement and completed an unrelated task (indicating if each photograph depicted a male or female face). While there was no evidence for a self-reported bias, the Implicit Association Test provides behavioural support for a ‘disfigured is bad’ bias. The functional MRI results show that images of facial disfigurement compared to images of the same faces after surgical treatment, evoked greater neural responses within ventral occipito-temporal cortex, consistent with the hypothesis that ventral visual areas respond automatically to the salience of faces, rather than to their rewarding properties. Disfigured faces also produced diminished neural activity within the medial prefrontal cortex, an area associated with empathy and social cognition. This response may reflect suppressed mentalizing and an inhibition of empathy, a mechanism linked to dehumanization.
The Impact of Perceptual Fluency: An Observational Study on the Relationship between Accented Speech and Prosocial Behavior
Authors: Seo Changhyuk
Published: July 2018

Accent is one of the major factors that influences the impression of a speech. To see whether there is a meaningful relationship between lectures given in a non-Standard American English (nSAE) accent and applause at the end of each lecture, randomly-assigned 112 lecturers at the University of Toronto were observed. As predicted, lectures given in the nSAE accent did not in general receive applause regardless of the class size, class duration, etc. whereas those given in the SAE accent either received or not received applause, suggesting that other independent variables are at work in this case. While this result indirectly supports previous studies that confirmed a positive relationship between accented speech and its negative evaluation, it further illustrates that a speech given in the nSAE accent may subtly influence the social behavior of the perceiver toward the speech in question.
The Causal Effects of Relational Security and Insecurity on Condom Use Attitudes and Acquisition Behavior
Authors: Sakaluk John Kitchener , Gillath Omri
Published: July 2018

Research on attachment and condom use has been limited to correlational studies of self-report measures, yielding inconsistent results. Here, we examined the causal effects of attachment priming on self-reported condom use attitudes and an observational measure of condom acquisition behavior. In three experiments, participants were exposed to one of three attachment primes (security, anxiety, or avoidance) or a control prime. For Study 1, participants in the security and anxiety conditions preferred condom non-use to a greater extent, compared to participants in the avoidance condition. This effect was replicated in Study 2, and was mediated by perceptions of sexual health threat. In Study 3, the effect of security priming on condom acquisition behavior was eliminated through the use of a framing manipulation, though, the effect of primed attachment on condom use attitudes was not significant. A Meta-Analysis, however, revealed that the predicted effects of attachment priming were consistent across the three studies, supporting the role of attachment in evaluations of condom use. Priming attachment security or anxiety lead participants to perceive their sexual partners as less of a sexual health threat, resulting in a devaluation of condom use. Primed security also reduced condom acquisition behavior, though this negative effect eliminated by framing condoms as protecting a partner’s sexual health. Overall, these studies suggest that relational factors, such as attachment, require greater consideration when studying sexual health and designing interventions.
The Effect of Haptic and Ambient Temperature Experience on Prosocial Behavior
Authors: Lynott Dermot , Corker Katherine S. , Connell Louise , O'Brien Kerry S
Published: July 2018

Research in social embodied cognition has found numerous positive associations between higher temperatures and prosocial behavior, with “warmer is better” effects demonstrating greater altruism, social proximity, and affective attributions. However, recent failures to replicate experimental findings in this area have called some effects into question. By contrast, epidemiological research has frequently observed that higher ambient temperatures are correlated with increases in societal volatility and antisocial behaviors, with “warmer is worse” effects demonstrated by increases in warfare, city-center rioting, and sporting aggression. Using a sample size (N = 611) larger than many previous studies in the social priming domain, we examined whether higher ambient temperature and/or higher prop temperature (i.e., holding a hot/cold therapeutic pack) lead to more prosocial behavior. Results showed that warmer ambient temperatures were weakly associated with more prosocial than selfish choices. However, calculation of Bayes Factors suggests that the evidence is better characterized as inconclusive. As previously published analyses of the same data set used in this study show (Lynott et al., 2014), prop temperature did not lead to increased prosocial responding, which fails to support predictions from particular accounts of social embodiment. We discuss possible reasons for the inconclusive findings and for the broad range of effect sizes observed more generally in the literature.
Using 26 thousand diary entries to show ovulatory changes in sexual desire and behaviour
Authors: Arslan Ruben C. , Schilling Katharina Maya , Gerlach Tanja M. , Penke Lars
Published: July 2018

Previous research reported ovulatory changes in women’s appearance, mate preferences, extra- and in-pair sexual desire and behaviour, but has been criticised for small sample sizes, inappropriate designs, and undisclosed flexibility in analyses. In the present study, we sought to address these criticisms by preregistering our hypotheses and analysis plan and by collecting a large diary sample. We gathered over 26 thousand usable online self-reports in a diary format from 1043 women, of which 421 were naturally cycling. We inferred the fertile period from menstrual onset reports. We used hormonal contraceptive users as a quasi-control group, as they experience menstruation, but not ovulation. We probed our results for robustness to different approaches (including different fertility estimates, different exclusion criteria, adjusting for potential confounds, moderation by methodological factors). We found robust evidence supporting previously reported ovulatory increases in extra-pair desire and behaviour, in-pair desire, and self-perceived desirability, as well as no unexpected associations. Yet, we did not find predicted effects on partner mate retention behaviour, clothing choices, or narcissism. Contrary to some of the earlier literature, partners’ sexual attractiveness did not moderate the cycle shifts. Taken together, the replicability of the existing literature on ovulatory changes was mixed. We conclude with simulation-based recommendations for reading the past literature and for designing future large-scale preregistered within-subject studies to understand ovulatory cycle changes and the effects of hormonal contraception. Interindividual differences in the size of ovulatory changes emerge as an important area for further study.
Orthography, Word Recognition, and Reading
Authors: Braze David , Gong Tao
Published: July 2018

Orthographies differ from one another in terms of their scripts and in the specifics of the mapping from script to linguistic unit. Orthographic depth, the complexity of the mapping from script to language, modulates the ease with which an orthography is learned. Within an orthography, the consistency or regularity of a particular spelling pattern will temper the difficulty with which written words containing that pattern can be recognized. There is hope for a unified cross-orthography account of visual word recognition, although details of how non-alphabetic writing systems (e.g., syllabaries, morpho-syllabaries, alphasyllabaries) may be fit into theoretical frameworks built on a foundation of empirical work on alphabetic reading are not entirely clear. There is a substantial gap in the literature with regard to reading and literacy in languages that make use of non-alphabetic writing systems. This euro-centric bias in reading research continues to limit advances in our understanding of the potential for literacy as a universal human capacity.
Obesity has limited behavioural overlap with addiction and psychiatric phenotypes
Authors: Vainik Uku , Misic Bratislav , Zeighami Yashar , Michaud Andréanne , Mõttus René , Dagher Alain
Published: July 2018

Obesity is a widespread health condition1, likely driven by increased availability of inexpensive high-calorie food2. People vary in their behavioural response to food plenty. Such variation is likely driven by behavioural styles3,4, as behaviour accounts for entire food intake5. A prominent hypothesis is that people with obesity respond to rewards similarly to people with addictions such as alcohol abuse or smoking6,7. For instance, perceived overeating or “Uncontrolled Eating” (UE) is the most common obesity-associated personality trait8 and resembles the perceived loss of control seen in drug addiction. Likewise, both obesity and addictive behaviours have similar correlations with broad personality domains3. Here, we seek to empirically test whether obesity and UE overlap behaviourally with addiction and psychiatric disorders, collectively referred to as phenotypes. We test for behavioural similarity by linking the personality profiles of each phenotype. NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R/3) profiles of 28 phenotypes were extracted from 22 studies, encompassing summary statistics from 18,611 unique participants. Obesity had moderate and UE high behavioural similarity with addictions. UE also overlapped behaviourally with most psychiatric phenotypes, whereas obesity was behaviourally similar with mood disorders and certain personality disorders. Facet-based phenotype profiles provided more information than domain-based profiles.
Validating a Standardized Approach to the Taylor Aggression Paradigm
Authors: Chester David , Lasko Emily
Published: July 2018

The Taylor Aggression Paradigm (TAP) is a frequently-used laboratory measure of aggression. However, the flexibility inherent in its implementation and analysis can undermine its validity. To test whether the TAP is a valid aggression measure irrespective of this flexibility, we conducted two preregistered studies (Study 1 N = 177, Study 2 N = 167) of a standardized version of the TAP. Across both studies, TAP scores showed agreement with other laboratory aggression measures, were magnified by an experimental provocation manipulation, and were associated with traits typically linked to aggressive behavior. Mixed evidence was found for the external and discriminant validity of the task. Individual responses largely loaded onto a single component, suggesting that the aggregate scoring approach accurately represents the underlying data structure. These results provide preliminary support for the internal validity of this TAP approach and highlight the utility of preregistration in psychometric research.
The Role of Individualism, Gender and Situational Factors on Probabilities of Committing Offences in a French Drivers Sample
Authors: Varet Florent , Granié Marie-Axelle , Apostolidis Themis
Published: July 2018

Driving offences can be a cause of road crashes and their psychosocial determinants have been studied using different approaches. Recent studies have found that cultural values, transposed at individual level through the vertical-horizontal individualism-collectivism model, may be relevant for understanding offending behaviours in drivers and pedestrians. Within this framework, we propose to test these relationships in a sample of French drivers (N = 666). In addition, we aim to explore the role of situational factors and gender differences, as potential moderators for the effects of individualist and collectivist values on offending behaviours. In an online survey experiment, drivers had to evaluate their probabilities of committing several driving offences in three driving situations, manipulating traffic density level and the probability of being caught by the authorities. Statistical analyses showed that, compared to a control situation, probabilities of offending were lower in the heavy traffic condition and even lower in the high probability of being caught condition. Probabilities of offending were also higher for men than women and were positively predicted by vertical individualism. However, the main effects suggested that horizontal collectivism and vertical individualism predicted posit offences for men only, depending on situation for vertical individualism. These results were qualified by significant interactions between driving situation, gender and vertical individualism and between gender and horizontal collectivism. These findings are discussed in relation to gender differences in value expression. Perspectives to improve the relevance of the value framework mobilized, the importance to consider situational context to understand driving offending behaviours and safety implications are also discussed.
Moving forward with questions of process and procedure in cognitive bias modification research: three points of consideration
Authors: Parsons Sam
Published: July 2018

There is ongoing debate surrounding the efficacy of Cognitive Bias Modification (CBM) for the reduction of emotional vulnerability. In part, the debate stems from researchers asking different questions of the existing research. Specifically, differences depend on whether researchers were interested in; the clinical effects of CBM procedures (did CBM reduce emotional vulnerability, irrespective of an assessment of bias change?), or the clinical effects of successfully modifying the cognitive bias process of interest via CBM (did CBM change the targeted bias, and did this change in bias predict reductions in emotional vulnerability?). Here, three considerations are raised that, regardless of the research question of interest, have yet to be fully addressed in moving forward with CBM research. First, the need for clarity in study designs to determine which question is being addressed. Second, CBM interventions that routinely produce the intended change in bias need to be developed before addressing whether there is any subsequent change in emotional vulnerability. Third, this relies on developing reliable assessments of bias as an essential foundation for addressing any further questions about processes or procedures.
Your move or mine? Music training and kinematic compatibility modulate synchronization with self- versus other-generated dance movement
Authors: Su Yi-Huang , Keller Peter E.
Published: July 2018

Note: This is a pre-print of an article published in the journal "Psychological Research". The final authenticated version is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-018-0987-6.A full-text view-only version of the published paper can be freely accessed at: http://rdcu.be/FOZeAbstract:Motor simulation has been implicated in how musicians anticipate the rhythm of another musician’s action to achieve interpersonal synchronization. Here we investigated whether similar mechanisms govern a related form of rhythmic action: dance. We examined (1) whether synchronization with visual dance stimuli was influenced by movement agency, (2) whether music training modulated simulation efficiency, and (3) what cues were relevant for simulating the dance rhythm. Participants were first recorded dancing the basic Charleston steps paced by a metronome, and later in a synchronization task they tapped to the rhythm of their own point-light dance stimuli, stimuli of another physically-matched participant or one matched in movement kinematics, and a quantitative average across individuals. Results indicated that, while there was no overall “self advantage” and synchronization was generally most stable with the least variable (averaged) stimuli, motor simulation was driven – indicated by high tap-beat variability correlations – by familiar movement kinematics rather than morphological features. Furthermore, music training facilitated simulation, such that musicians outperformed non-musicians when synchronizing with others’ movements but not with their own movements. These findings support action simulation as underlying synchronization in dance, linking action observation and rhythm processing in a common motor framework.
The role of similarity in inattentional blindness: Selective enhancement, selective suppression, or both?
Authors: Wood Katherine , Simons Daniel J.
Published: July 2018

When people selectively pay attention to one set of objects and ignore another, unexpected stimuli often go unnoticed. Noticing rates are higher when the unexpected object matches the features of the attended items and lower when it matches those of the ignored items. No prior studies have fully disentangled these aspects of similarity; in previous work, the unexpected object fell on a continuum between the attended and ignored objects, so increasing the similarity to one set of objects necessarily decreased it to the other. We designed an inattentional blindness task in which we held similarity to the attended set constant and varied it with respect only to the ignored set, or vice versa. In Experiment 1, objects that were more similar to the attended set were noticed more often and objects that were more similar to the ignored set were noticed less often. Experiment 2, using a different set of unexpected objects, replicated the result that similarity to the ignored set affected noticing, but showed no effect of similarity to the attended set. In both experiments, the pattern of noticing rates differed for similarity with respect to the attended and ignored items, suggesting that suppression of ignored objects functions independently of enhancement of attended objects.
Weighing Outcome vs. Intent Across Societies_preprint
Authors: McNamara Rita Anne , Willard Aiyana Koka , Norenzayan Ara , Henrich Joseph
Published: July 2018

Mental state reasoning has been theorized as a core feature of how we navigate our social worlds, and as especially vital to moral reasoning. Judgments of moral wrong-doing and punish-worthiness often hinge upon evaluations of the perpetrator’s mental states. In two studies, we examine how differences in cultural conceptions about how one should think about others’ minds influence the relative importance of intent vs. outcome in moral judgments. We recruit participation from three societies, differing in emphasis on mental state reasoning: Indigenous iTaukei Fijians from Yasawa Island (Yasawans) who normatively avoid mental state inference in favor of focus on relationships and consequences of actions; Indo-Fijians who normatively emphasize relationships but do not avoid mental state inference; and North Americans who emphasize individual autonomy and interpreting others’ behaviors as the direct result of mental states. In study 1, Yasawan participants placed more emphasis on outcome than Indo-Fijians or North Americans by judging accidents more harshly than failed attempts. Study 2 tested whether underlying differences in the salience of mental states drives study 1 effects by inducing Yasawan and North American participants to think about thoughts vs. actions before making moral judgments. When induced to think about thoughts, Yasawan participants shifted to judge failed attempts more harshly than accidents. Results suggest that culturally-transmitted concepts about how to interpret the social world shape patterns of moral judgments, possibly via mental state inference.
Depression in early adolescence: Contributions from relational aggression and variation in the oxytocin receptor gene
Authors: Kushner Shauna C , Tackett Jennifer L , Herzhoff Kathrin , Vrshek-Schallhorn Suzanne
Published: July 2018

Interpersonal stress arising from relational aggression (RA)—the intentional effort to harm others via rejection and exclusion—may increase risk for depression in youth. Biological vulnerabilities related to the hormone oxytocin, which affects social behavior and stress responses, may exacerbate this risk. In a community sample of 307 youth (52% female; age range = 10-14 years), we tested whether (1) the association between RA and subsequent depressive symptoms was mediated through social problems, and (2) a single nucleotide polymorphism (rs53576) in the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) moderated this indirect association between RA and depression, where GG homozygotes are hypothesized to be more sensitive to the effects of social problems than A-allele carriers. Youth-reported RA and depressive symptoms were measured using a structured interview and a questionnaire, respectively. DNA was extracted from saliva collected with Oragene kits. Consistent with the interpersonal theory of depression, the association between relational aggression and subsequent depressive symptoms was mediated by social problems. This indirect effect was further moderated by rs53576 genotype, such that GG homozygotes showed a stronger mediation effect than A-carriers. These results suggest that rs53576 variants confer vulnerability for depression within the context of interpersonal risk factors, such that youth with the GG genotype may be particularly sensitive to the social consequences resulting from RA.
Workplace Accommodations for Employees with Disabilities: A Multilevel Model of Employer Decision-Making
Authors: Telwatte Apsara , Anglim Jeromy , Wynton Sarah K. A. , Moulding Richard
Published: July 2018

Purpose: Existing research suggests that the decision to grant or deny workplace accommodations for people with disabilities is influenced by a range of legal and non-legal factors. However, less is known about how these factors operate at the within-person level. Thus, we proposed and tested a multilevel model of the accommodation decision-making process, which we applied to better understand why people with psychological disabilities often experience greater challenges in obtaining accommodations. Method: A sample of 159 Australian adults, composed mostly of managers and HR professionals, read 12 vignettes involving requests for accommodations from existing employees. The requests differed in whether they were for psychological or physical disabilities. For each vignette, participants rated their empathy with the employee, the legitimacy of the employee's disability, the necessity for productivity, the perceived cost, and the reasonableness, and indicated whether they would grant the accommodation. Results: Multilevel modeling indicated that greater empathy, legitimacy, and necessity, and lower perceived cost predicted perceptions of greater reasonableness and greater granting. Accommodation requests from employees with psychological disabilities were seen as less reasonable and were less likely to be granted; much of this effect seemed to be driven by perceptions that such accommodations were less necessary for productivity. Ratings on accommodations were influenced both by general between-person tendencies and within-person appraisals of particular scenarios. Conclusions: The study points to a need for organizations to more clearly establish guidelines for how decision-makers should fairly evaluate accommodation requests for employees with psychological disabilities and disability more broadly.
A pluralist account of knowledge as a natural kind
Authors: Stephens Andreas
Published: July 2018

In an attempt to address some long-standing issues of epistemology, Hilary Kornblith proposes that knowledge is a natural kind the identification of which is the unique responsibility of one particular science: cognitive ethology. As Kornblith sees it, the natural kind thus picked out is knowledge as construed by reliabilism. Yet the claim that cognitive ethology has this special role has not convinced all critics. The present article argues that knowledge plays a causal and explanatory role within many of our more fruitful current theories, diverging from the reliabilist conception even in disciplines that are closely related to cognitive ethology, and thus still dealing with knowledge as a natural as opposed to a social phenomenon, where special attention will be given to cognitive neuroscience. However, rather than discarding the natural kind approach altogether, it is argued that many of Kornblith’s insights can in fact be preserved within a framework that is both naturalist and pluralist.
Evolution of word meanings through metaphorical mapping: Systematicity over the past millennium.
Authors: Xu Yang , Malt Barbara Claire , Srinivasan Mahesh
Published: July 2018

One way that languages are able to communicate a potentially infinite set of ideas through a finite lexicon is by compressing emerging meanings into words, such that over time, individual words come to express multiple, related senses of meaning. We propose that overarching communicative and cognitive pressures have created systematic directionality in how new metaphorical senses have developed from existing word senses over the history of English. Given a large set of pairs of semantic domains, we used computational models to test which domains have been more commonly the starting points (source domains) and which the ending points (target domains) of metaphorical mappings over the past millennium. We found that a compact set of variables, including externality, embodiment, and valence, explain directionality in the majority of about 5000 metaphorical mappings recorded over the past 1100 years. These results provide the first large-scale historical evidence that metaphorical mapping is systematic, and driven by measurable communicative and cognitive principles.