Sunday, July 30, 2017

Babies and math: A meta-analysis of infants’ simple arithmetic competence

Christodoulou, J., Lac, A., & Moore, D. S. (2017). Babies and math: A meta-analysis of infants’ simple arithmetic competence. Developmental Psychology, 53(8), 1405-1417.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/dev0000330

Abstract: Wynn’s (1992) seminal research reported that infants looked longer at stimuli representing “incorrect” versus “correct” solutions of basic addition and subtraction problems and concluded that infants have innate arithmetical abilities. Since then, infancy researchers have attempted to replicate this effect, yielding mixed findings. The present meta-analysis aimed to systematically compile and synthesize all of the primary replications and extensions of Wynn (1992) that have been conducted to date. The synthesis included 12 studies consisting of 26 independent samples and 550 unique infants. The summary effect, computed using a random-effects model, was statistically significant, d = +0.34, p < .001, suggesting that the phenomenon Wynn originally reported is reliable. Five different tests of publication bias yielded mixed results, suggesting that while a moderate level of publication bias is probable, the summary effect would be positive even after accounting for this issue. Out of the 10 metamoderators tested, none were found to be significant, but most of the moderator subgroups were significantly different from a null effect. Although this meta-analysis provides support for Wynn’s original findings, further research is warranted to understand the underlying mechanisms responsible for infants’ visual preferences for “mathematically incorrect” test stimuli.

Catching fire and spreading it: A glimpse into displayed entrepreneurial passion in crowdfunding campaigns

Li, J. (J.), Chen, X.-P., Kotha, S., & Fisher, G. (2017). Catching fire and spreading it: A glimpse into displayed entrepreneurial passion in crowdfunding campaigns. Journal of Applied Psychology, 102(7), 1075-1090. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/apl0000217

Abstract: Crowdfunding is an emerging phenomenon that enables entrepreneurs to solicit financial contributions for new projects from mass audiences. Drawing on the elaboration likelihood model of persuasion and emotional contagion theory, the authors examined the importance of displayed entrepreneurial passion when seeking resources in a crowdfunding context. They proposed that entrepreneurs’ displayed passion in the introductory video for a crowdfunding project increases viewers’ experienced enthusiasm about the project (i.e., passion contagion), which then prompts them to contribute financially and to share campaign information via social-media channels. Such sharing further facilitates campaign success. In addition, the authors proposed that perceived project innovativeness strengthens the positive effect of displayed passion on social-media exposure and the funding amount a project garners. They first tested their hypotheses in 2 studies using a combination of survey and archival data from the world’s 2 most popular crowdfunding platforms: Indiegogo (Study 1) and Kickstarter (Study 2). They then conducted an experiment (Study 3) to validate the proposed passion contagion process, and the effect of displayed entrepreneurial passion at the individual level. Findings from these 3 studies significantly supported their hypotheses. The authors discuss the theoretical and practical implications of their findings.

Robin Hood effects on motivation in math: Family interest moderates the effects of relevance interventions

Häfner, I., Flunger, B., Dicke, A.-L., Gaspard, H., Brisson, B. M., Nagengast, B., & Trautwein, U. (2017). Robin Hood effects on motivation in math: Family interest moderates the effects of relevance interventions. Developmental Psychology, 53(8), 1522-1539.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/dev0000337

Abstract: Using a cluster randomized field trial, the present study tested whether 2 relevance interventions affected students’ value beliefs, self-concept, and effort in math differently depending on family background (socioeconomic status, family interest (FI), and parental utility value). Eighty-two classrooms were randomly assigned to either 1 of 2 intervention conditions or a control group. Data from 1,916 students (Mage = 14.62, SDage = 0.47) and their predominantly Caucasian middle-class parents were obtained via separate questionnaires. Multilevel regression analyses with cross-level interactions were used to investigate differential intervention effects on students’ motivational beliefs 6 weeks and 5 months after the intervention. Socioeconomic status, FI, and parental utility values were investigated as moderators of the intervention effects. The intervention conditions were especially effective in promoting students’ utility, attainment, intrinsic value beliefs, and effort 5 months after the intervention for students whose parents reported lower levels of math interest. Furthermore, students whose parents reported low math utility values especially profited in terms of their utility and attainment math values 5 months after the intervention. No systematic differential intervention effects were found for socioeconomic status. These results highlight the effectiveness of relevance interventions in decreasing motivational gaps between students from families with fewer or more motivational resources. Findings point to the substantial importance of motivational family resources, which have been neglected in previous research.

Not just sticks and stones: Indirect ethnic discrimination leads to greater physiological reactivity

Huynh, V. W., Huynh, Q.-L., & Stein, M.-P. (2017). Not just sticks and stones: Indirect ethnic discrimination leads to greater physiological reactivity. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 23(3), 425-434.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000138

Abstract

Objectives: We examined the effect of indirect ethnic discrimination on physiological reactivity (i.e., cortisol, blood pressure, heart rate) in Latino emerging adults.

Method: Participants (N = 32) were randomly assigned to be exposed to indirect ethnic discrimination (experimental condition) or not (control condition) while undergoing a cognitive stress task.

Results: Greater total cortisol output was observed in participants in the experimental condition, relative to those in the control condition. No significant differences in heart rate or blood pressure were noted.

Conclusions: Results suggest that witnessing ethnic discrimination affects cortisol recovery responses, but not cardiovascular reactivity. Words that are not intentionally hurtful or directed at a specific person may still “hurt”—affecting biological processes associated with hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis and potentially leading to long-term health consequences

Music education, academic achievement, and executive functions

Holochwost, S. J., Propper, C. B., Wolf, D. P., Willoughby, M. T., Fisher, K. R., Kolacz, J., . . . Jaffee, S. R. (2017). Music education, academic achievement, and executive functions. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 11(2), 147-166. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/aca0000112

Abstract: This study examined whether music education was associated with improved performance on measures of academic achievement and executive functions. Participants were 265 school-age children (Grades 1 through 8, 58% female, and 86% African American) who were selected by lottery to participate in an out-of-school program offering individual- and large-ensemble training on orchestral instruments. Measures of academic achievement (standardized test scores and grades in English language arts and math) were taken from participants’ academic records, whereas executive functions (EFs) were assessed through students’ performance on a computerized battery of common EF tasks. Results indicated that, relative to controls, students in the music education program scored higher on standardized tests, t(217) = 2.74, p = .007; earned better grades in English language arts, t(163) = 3.58, p < .001, and math, t(163) = 2.56, p = .011; and exhibited superior performance on select tasks of EFs and short-term memory. Further analyses revealed that although the largest differences in performance were observed between students in the control group and those who had received the music program for 2 to 3 years, conditional effects were also observed on 3 EF tasks for students who had been in the program for 1 year. These findings are discussed in light of current educational policy, with a particular emphasis on the implications for future research designed to understand the pathways connecting music education and EFs.

False Polarization and False Moderation: Political Opponents Overestimate the Extremity of Each Other's Ideologies but Underestimate Each Other's Certainty

False Polarization and False Moderation: Political Opponents Overestimate the Extremity of Each Other's Ideologies but Underestimate Each Other's Certainty. Craig Blatz and Brett Mercier. Social Psychological and Personality Science, http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1948550617712034

Abstract: Past research finds that people hold moderate views on political issues while believing others are extreme. This false polarization has been demonstrated across a variety of different attitude dimensions and is explained by naive realism, the belief that one holds an unbiased view of reality. We argue that because people believe they see the world objectively, they should be very certain about their opinions, more certain than others expect. In three studies, we tested this false moderation of attitude certainty hypothesis and attempted to replicate past research on false polarization of attitude stance and perceived ideology of others. All three studies revealed a false moderation effect on judgments of certainty. Additionally, we replicate the finding that people false polarize others' ideology but do not find evidence for false polarization of specific stance.

Experiences of nursing students regarding sexual dreams

Gutiérrez-Puertas, L., Márquez-Hernández, V. V., & Aguilera-Manrique, G. (2017). Experiences of nursing students regarding sexual dreams. Dreaming, 27(2), 137-147. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/drm0000053

Abstract: The aim of this study was to describe the experiences related to sexual dreams in a sample of nursing degree students from the University of Almería, Spain. The research instrument used was an adapted version of the Sexual Dream Experience Questionnaire. This questionnaire is composed of 32 items, divided into 4 dimensions: Joyfulness, Aversion, Familiarity, and Bizarreness. The main results highlighted differences in relation to sex—men have more sexual dreams than women and place more importance on them. While foreplay is involved in the erotic dreams of both men and women, regular partners rarely appear in them. Male dreams tend to include more sexual partners than female dreams and the percentage of men or women who had dreamed about being raped or abused in their sexual dreams was very low. Ultimately, students showed a strong desire to have sexual dreams.

People are willing to pay less for a risky prospect than for its worst possible outcome

Reminder of how averse we are to risks:

Gneezy et al. (2006) documented that people were willing to pay less for a risky prospect than for its worst possible outcome. For instance, people were willing to pay an average of $26.10 for a $50 Barnes and Noble gift card but only $16.12 for a gamble where participants were guaranteed to win either a $50 or $100 gift card, each with a 50% probability. This general finding has been replicated by many independent research teams (e.g., Andreoni & Sprenger, 2011; Newman & Mochon, 2012; Simonsohn, 2009; Wang, Feng, & Keller, 2013; Yang, Vosgerau, & Loewenstein, 2013). *

In a previous summary: When Risk Is Weird: Unexplained Transaction Features Lower Valuations. Robert Mislavsky and Uri Simonsohn. Management Science, https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2983852

Effects of professional experience and time pressure on passport-matching performance

Wirth, B. E., & Carbon, C.-C. (2017). An easy game for frauds? Effects of professional experience and time pressure on passport-matching performance. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 23(2), 138-157. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/xap0000114

Abstract: Despite extensive research on unfamiliar face matching, little is known about factors that might affect matching performance in real-life scenarios. We conducted 2 experiments to investigate the effects of several such factors on unfamiliar face-matching performance in a passport-check scenario. In Experiment 1, we assessed the effect of professional experience on passport-matching performance. The matching performance of 96 German Federal Police officers working at Munich Airport was compared with that of 48 novices without specific face-matching experience. Police officers significantly outperformed novices, but nevertheless missed a high ratio of frauds. Moreover, the effects of manipulating specific facial features (with paraphernalia like glasses and jewelry, distinctive features like moles and scars, and hairstyle) and of variations in the physical distance between the faces being matched were investigated. Whereas manipulation of physical distance did not have a significant effect, manipulations of facial features impaired matching performance. In Experiment 2, passport-matching performance was assessed in relation to time constraints. Novices matched passports either without time constraints, or under a local time limit (which is typically used in laboratory studies), or under a global time limit (which usually occurs during real-life border controls). Time pressure (especially the global time limit) significantly impaired matching performance.

Holistic processing of static and moving faces

Zhao, M., & Bülthoff, I. (2017). Holistic processing of static and moving faces. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 43(7), 1020-1035.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/xlm0000368

Abstract: Humans’ face ability develops and matures with extensive experience in perceiving, recognizing, and interacting with faces that move most of the time. However, how facial movements affect 1 core aspect of face ability—holistic face processing—remains unclear. Here we investigated the influence of rigid facial motion on holistic and part-based face processing by manipulating the presence of facial motion during study and at test in a composite face task. The results showed that rigidly moving faces were processed as holistically as static faces (Experiment 1). Holistic processing of moving faces persisted whether facial motion was presented during study, at test, or both (Experiment 2). Moreover, when faces were inverted to eliminate the contributions of both an upright face template and observers’ expertise with upright faces, rigid facial motion facilitated holistic face processing (Experiment 3). Thus, holistic processing represents a general principle of face perception that applies to both static and dynamic faces, rather than being limited to static faces. These results support an emerging view that both perceiver-based and face-based factors contribute to holistic face processing, and they offer new insights on what underlies holistic face processing, how information supporting holistic face processing interacts with each other, and why facial motion may affect face recognition and holistic face processing differently.

Does the cerebellum contribute to human navigation by processing sequential information?

Tedesco, A. M., etal. (2017). Does the cerebellum contribute to human navigation by processing sequential information? Neuropsychology, 31(5), 564-574. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/neu0000354

Abstract

Objective: Several authors have proposed that the cerebellum has an important role in functions of higher order as a general mode of sequence detection, independently from the nature of the information. The aim of this study was to verify whether the cerebellum mediates the processing of navigational sequential information and to determine whether it is influenced by the modality of the stimuli presentation.

Method: We tested 12 cerebellar patients and 12 healthy age-matched participants in 2 comparable navigational tasks (Walking Corsi Test and the Magic Carpet) requiring to memorizing a sequence of spatial locations. The 2 tasks differ each other for the modality of stimuli presentation: in the Walking Corsi Test the sequence is shown by an examiner that walks on the carpet, whereas in the Magic Carpet it is shown by a computer that lights up the tiles in the sequence. We hypothesize that different mental processes are implicated between the Walking Corsi Test and the Magic Carpet. Indeed, whereas watching the examiner, who performs the sequence on the carpet, allows the patient to simulate the action mentally in the Walking Corsi Test, such simulation cannot be triggered in the Magic Carpet.

Results: Our results showed that cerebellar patients obtained scores significantly lower than control participants only in the Magic Carpet.

Conclusions: We interpreted the patients’ performance as a specific deficit in detecting and ordering single independent stimuli as a sequence, when the maintenance of stimulus–response associations is more demanding.

Perceptions of masculinity and fatherhood among men experiencing homelessness

Rice, A., Kim, J. Y. C., Nguyen, C., Liu, W. M., Fall, K., & Galligan, P. (2017). Perceptions of masculinity and fatherhood among men experiencing homelessness. Psychological Services, 14(2), 257-268. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ser0000134

Abstract: This study explored the perceptions of fatherhood held by 11 men living in a homeless shelter. Using consensual qualitative research methodology (CQR; Hill, 2012), we investigated perceptions of masculinity and fatherhood among fathers experiencing homelessness. Participants described (a) their perceptions of masculinity and fatherhood and changes resulting from homelessness, (b) physical and psychological challenges of being a father experiencing homelessness, and (c) expectations of homeless fathers. The fathers generally expressed feelings of low self-esteem related to their perceived difficulty fulfilling the role of providers for their family; however, they also adapted their view of fatherhood to include roles suited to their situation, such as that of guide, teacher, and role model. Suggestions are made for clinicians in helping fathers navigate and develop these roles, and limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

This Hamptons trailer park is a billionaire hotspot - the indescribable cachet that comes with shabby chic

This Hamptons trailer park is a billionaire hotspot. By Jennifer Gould Keil. NY Post, Jul 26, 2017.
https://nypost.com/2017/07/26/this-hamptons-trailer-park-is-a-billionaire-hotspot/

Owning a trailer at the park has become the ultimate status symbol for the tony Long Island town’s summering rich and famous, many of whom use their relatively modest mobile digs as a second pad to escape with the family or even as a glorified changing room after a long day of romping in Montauk’s waves.

There’s also the indescribable cachet that comes with shabby chic.

“All you own is the box of air above the land,” noted a former Montauk Shores trailer owner. “Whoever buys here is essentially buying a 24-foot-wide-by-50-foot-long box of air.”

Remember: The Perils of Proclaiming an Authentic Organizational Identity. By Balázs Kovács, Glenn Carroll & David Lehman. Sociological Science, January 2017, https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/publications/perils-proclaiming-authentic-organizational-identity

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Why Elites Love Authentic Lowbrow Culture: Overcoming High-Status Denigration with Outsider Art. By Oliver Hahl, Ezra W. Zuckerman, Minjae Kim
American Sociological Review, http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0003122417710642

Characterizing autism-relevant social behavior in poodles (Canis familiaris) via owner report

Zamzow, R. M., Lit, L., Hamilton, S., & Beversdorf, D. Q. (2017). Characterizing autism-relevant social behavior in poodles (Canis familiaris) via owner report. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 131(2), 139-149. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/com0000060

Abstract: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social communication and the presence of restricted, repetitive behaviors. It can be difficult to model the complex behavioral features of this disorder with rodent models, which have limited similarity to human behaviors. The domestic dog may be a promising model of complex human behavior, including core features of ASD. The present study examines ASD-relevant social behavior in Miniature and Standard Poodles using an owner-report questionnaire with questions adapted from the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (Lord, Rutter, DiLavore, & Risi, 2000). A previous study identified 3 behavioral constructs examined by this questionnaire: initiation of reciprocal social behaviors, response to social interaction, and communication. In the present study, confirmatory and experimental factor analyses used to assess how collected data fit with the previous model revealed moderate model fit and a similar factorial structure. Between-breed comparisons across these factors and at the individual question level revealed differences between Miniature and Standard Poodles in showing behaviors. Cluster analyses used to group dogs within each breed according to social behavior identified smaller subgroups of dogs with less social behavior across all 3 factors compared with the average within each breed. Within- and between-breed differences in social behavior warrant investigation of genetic variation underlying this complex trait as it relates to ASD-relevant behavior.

The Authoritarian Left Withdraws from Politics: Ideological Asymmetry in the Relationship between Authoritarianism and Political Engagement

The Authoritarian Left Withdraws from Politics: Ideological Asymmetry in the Relationship between Authoritarianism and Political Engagement. Christopher Federico, Emily Fisher & Grace Deason. Journal of Politics, July 2017, Pages 1010-1023, http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/692126

Abstract: In this article, we argue that authoritarianism will be associated with reduced political interest and participation to a greater extent among those who identify with the left rather than the right because left-leaning politics - which challenges the status quo - threatens more instability and flux. Using data from the United States, we provide evidence for this first hypothesis. Using multinational European data, we also provide support for a second hypothesis that this interaction would be more evident in "Westernized" contexts, where the traditional left-right difference is clearly defined, than in Eastern European countries, where its meaning is less distinct; and we conceptually replicate the authoritarianism results using a measure of support for "conservation" values favoring security, conformity, and tradition. Together, these results suggest that the lower visibility of left-wing authoritarianism relative to its counterpart on the right may be due in part to greater withdrawal from politics among left-leaning authoritarians.

Keywords: authoritarianism, values, ideology, political engagement.